Lower Breck - Anfield Sports & Community Centre

Lower Breck FC

Anfield Sports & Community Centre 

Lower Breck Road 

Liverpool 

Merseyside 

L6 0AG

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Ground Number: 1364

Saturday 12th October 2024

The Martyrs 11-2 AFC Swan

Merseyside Christian League

LOWER BRECK & MERSEY CHRISTIAN LEAGUE

The primary tenant of this venue, Lower Breck FC, was established in 2010 in the Tuebrook area of Liverpool. They won the  South Liverpool  Youth Division in their debut season and the West Cheshire AFL the year after that. They joined forces with a pub side called 'The Famous Grapes' in 2012 but that could not halt their success as they lifted their third consecutive title in the Liverpool Premier County Division 2.  4th place in Division 1 was good enough for promotion to the Premier Divison in their first season. They spent four seasons here, finishing as runners-up behind Aigburth Peoples Hall in 2017 before winning the title the following year. Three seasons were spent in the North West Counties Division 1 North before results over the pandemic seasons saw them promoted to the Premier Division. Lower Breck reached the 3rd Round of the FA Vase in 2020 and have won a host of local competitions including the Liverpool County Cup in 2017.

The Merseyside Christian League was founded in 1974 by a group of Christian footballers who wanted to provide a competitive and enjoyable footballing experience for people of all abilities. The league has since grown to become one of the largest amateur football leagues in Merseyside. At its peak, it contained over 100 teams across various divisions but now has just one dvision of ten sides. Of the teams I was seeing today, the Martyrs were the more successful having won the title last year and finished as runners-up the year before that.

MY VISIT

I always like to try and get in full value for my efforts when going away and more often than not, that involves a morning league. My favourite of these is the Sunderland Over 40's League where I have seen a fair few games when in the North East. The Midland U21 League and the Coventry Christian League have also proved worth visiting. I'd be introduced to a new competition this weekend in the Merseyside Christian League. It was the perfect opportunity to tick off Lower Breck FC which although I'd heard great things about the people at the club, was not the most inspiring ground. It was a real bonus that both clubs I would be watching were good on social media.

From our game at Vauxhall Motors last night, I dropped off Ollie and Sean at the local train station before returning to our hotel at 10.20. Within 15 minutes Colin was in bed and asleep after his exhausting zero-hour workday, Despite being awake since 4 am, I was wide awake and had a few cans whilst typing my blog as I didn't fancy my chances of sleep for a while. I eventually got into bed and fell asleep just before midnight, waking just before 6 am. Colin was keen to save money with his free bus pass and it was only £5.30 for the whole day's travel. The train would have been another £8.80 on top of that and the bus ticket still would have been required. The bus left on time at 7.33 and would hopefully get us into Liverpool at the optimum time. It was perfect and after a stop at Greggs for Colin, we got to the Lime Kiln at 9.01. I ordered a breakfast muffin, an energy drink to take with me and a pint of Black Dragon for £7.48. We left at 9.25 both in good spirits. It was ten minutes back to the bus station where we hopped straight on the 12 which dropped us a short walk from the ground. We were there 15 minutes before kickoff but a kids' game overran. I held off getting most of my pictures until they finished. Instead, I purchased a plastic cup for a fiver, the priciest I've ever bought but it was a nice one.

 

The Martyrs were 5th and had won three, drawn one and lost one of their games so far. Last time out, they had lost 2-0 to AFC St Teresa's. AFC Swan were 6th and had won two and lost three of their games. Last time out they won 1-0 at basement boys St Vincent De Paul. We met with Ollie the Southport fan and the game kicked off at 10.30. Within the first couple of minutes, The Martyrs led 2-0 thanks to some less-than-stellar defending. The hosts were in the Liverpool green and white strip whilst the visitors were in a yellow Juventus strip. After 15 minutes it was 3-0, a ball across the six-yard box and a close-range finish. Two minutes later, it was 4-0, the keeper's poor clearance being charged down and deflected into the net. AFC Swan then had a couple of chances before The Martyrs broke down the right and finished with a low shot on 25 minutes for 5-0 and then on 27 it was 6-0 from a similar move. A cross from the right and a shot from the edge of the area made it 7-0 on 31 minutes. A short half-time saw the second-half kickoff at 11.20. It was 8-0 on 50 minutes, the ball hit the woodwork twice before being bundled home. It was a shame as the first shot would have been a cracker. It was 9-0 on 55 minutes, a shot from just inside the area. AFC Swan pulled one back on 70 minutes to make it 9-1. A cracking strike that flew in the top left-hand corner made it 10-1 on 78 minutes. On 81 minutes it was 11-1, in off the post from the edge of the area. Three minutes from time, AFC Swan pulled one back for 11-2, a good volley from the edge of the area.

 

THE GROUND

THE ANFIELD SPORTS CENTRE is not the most exciting setup with a three-sided cage with a couple of drop-in stands. The club have done superbly though to make it homely with flags and club livery. The club room has food, a bar and a range of merch that would put some football league clubs to shame. There's tons of parking and the ground is well-linked by buses. Overall a great club well worth a visit.