Bray Wanderers - Carilsle Grounds

Bray Wanderers FC

Carlisle Grounds

Quinsborough Road
Bray

County Wicklow

Ireland

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1521

Friday 6th March 2026

Bray Wanderers 2-1 Athlone Town

League Of Ireland First Division

BRAY WANDERERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was formed in 1922 by players of St Kevin's Gaelic FC following a dispute. During the early years, they played second fiddle to Bray Unknowns in the town who had already established themselves at Carlisle Grounds. The time during the Second World War was when things started change. Wanderers were reformed in 1942 following some difficult years during the mid-1930s. In 1943, Unknowns were voted out of the League of Ireland following years of poor results. The two clubs would play in the Leinster League for many years, with Wanderers winning the title three seasons in a row between 1958 & 1960. During the 1973/74 season, the two clubs merged and then in 1985, Bray Wanderers were elected to the League of Ireland following its expansion to two divisions.

It was a successful first season for the club as they lifted the First Division title in their debut season. They'd only last a couple of seasons in the Premier Division, being relegated back in 1988. During their spell back in the First Division, they won the FAI Cup in 1990, beating St Francis 3–0 in the first final to be played at Lansdowne Road, the former national stadium. This gave them a chance to compete in Europe, and despite gaining a respectable 1-1 draw against Trabzonspor in the first leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying Round, they lost 3-1 on aggregate. They returned to the Premier Division the same year, but again their spell would be short, with them going back down in 1993 and having a couple of lowly First Division finishes. A double of the League of Ireland First Division and the League of Ireland First Division Shield saw Bray return to the Premier Division in 1996. The club continued to alternate between the two tiers, with the turn of the millennium proving a happy time. They won the FAI Cup in 1999, beating Finn Harps 2-1 before a record finish of 4th in the Premier Division in 2000.

That cup win saw the club's second and currently last foray into European football, as they lost 8-0 on aggregate to Grashoppers Zürich. The Swiss side was managed by future England manager Roy Hodgson. Bray continued to flirt with and occasionally succumb to relegation, including a two-season spell in the First Division between 2002 & 2004. They then enjoyed a sustained spell in the Premier Division, although three 6th place finishes were as good as it got for them. Wanderers were relegated back to the First Division in 2018 and have been there ever since. The closest they came to returning was in 2020, when they finished as runners-up to Drogheda United. In 2021, the club merged with, or effectively took over fellow First Division club Cabinteely. The decision was not without controvesy and it led to a drop in attendance for a while.

MY BLOG

It had been a long and frustrating journey in my attempt to see a game in Ireland. Problem upon problem cropped up, mainly related to the obscenely high accommodation prices. That was after I had got over the fact that all games were on Friday night, meaning making a weekend of it, football-wise, was impossible. This was a shame as I'd have liked to take in a Gaelic Football game too, if the times worked out right. It must have been considered around ten times, but each time, it proved to be terrible value for money, and I ended up going elsewhere. But finally, the need to go to Bamber Bridge gave me an idea - fly in from London and out to Manchester and get two great ticks. Unlike fellow hopper Daniel, who talked of Ireland as if it were as good as River Plate v Boca Juniors, I was not willing to sleep on the airport floor like a tramp when I had a full day ahead of me on the Saturday. Maybe in the future, when I can go straight home to bed, but not for the first time. For once, Colin proved to be a help rather than a hindrance by bringing the price of a room down to a sensible level if we shared a twin. It would be in Bray, which would dictate our match choice, but then, their coastal location appealed to me. Just over £56 was decent for Ireland. Flights were another snag, with prices going up and down with baffling regularity. A great price of £17.58 was secured for the Manchester-to-Dublin leg on Saturday, 24th January. A few days later, the flight out was purchased for £33.48. Not ideal, but not outrageous either.

From a busy weekend, I had a few drinks on Sunday evening, before work at 4 am on Monday. It had been an unhealthy weekend, and I did feel a bit sluggish at work. I spent the afternoon and evening researching upcoming trips, including the Bray Wanderers' history for this blog. It was the standard Tuesday off, with the surprise announcement that Colin would be joining me on my Austria - Slovenia - Italy Trip in a couple of weeks. Usually, he gets substantial discounts compared to me, but on this occasion, he paid around £60 extra to book flights because of the delay. The difference would have been greater had I booked at an optimal time, but only by a tenner at most. At least I got a great deal for us on hotels, which will make it a great value trip. In the evening, I made my 40th visit to Watchet Lane to watch Holmer Green v Wembley. Sadly, my local team lost 2-0 in a poor performance. It was my short day at work the next day, but I was still tired. I had the ordeal of dealing with the NHS for my partially deaf Mum when I got home. They have notes on her file telling them to email or text. There is also a message on her voicemail repeating the same information, but people still cannot follow simple instructions. I spent half an hour on hold and still didn't resolve the issue, insisting that they would call back. Around 45 minutes were spent in the end after being called back and put on hold. I'm sick of people who refuse to use modern methods of communication, and only someone with a brain the size of a peanut would use phone calls as a method of communication when they are so inconvenient and time-consuming, especially when the quality of the phone line makes it sound like you are phoning Mars in the 1960s. Thankfully, I sorted it in the end, although her arranged hospital transport was two hours late in the morning, and then only after being chased up by a kind and helpful neighbour.

 

I had my last day at work for five days, and I was feeling pretty jaded at 4 am. I am looking forward to some well-earned time off, although with Colin coming, I'll probably be going back to work for a rest next week!. I came home, put the wash on and checked in with RyanAir. I messaged Colin to do the same. If he ignores the message and ends up paying an airport check-in fee, that's on him. He eventually rang me as he didn't know what nationality he was, and still didn't manage to get checked in. I intensified my planning for this trip, having decided to save central Dublin for another time. Originally, I was planning on going to Swords and Dun Laoghaire, but Dundalk Fan River advised me that I'd be pushing it to do both if I was aiming to get to Bray in good time. It was good to get advice from someone in the know, and it made perfect sense as it was easier to get to the Dart train line from there. The prices for transport in Dublin were a pleasant surprise. Just 8 Euros for 24 hours of travel, as long as I avoid the airport express. A bargain in one of the priciest cities I've seen. I got in the mood in the evening by watching the Saipan movie I'd wanted to see for ages. Official sources were asking for £16 just to RENT the movie, which was taking the absolute piss. They can stick it up their bollocks as Roy Keane might say. Had they charged a fiver, I'd have paid no questions but instead I found an alternative way to watch it for free. It's the same greed that has led to the popularity of dodgy firesticks and the like, and the companies have only themselves to blame. It was a decent movie and very interesting.

 

I went to sleep at a pretty much normal time and woke up around my normal work time. I had plenty of time to kill before it was time to leave at 7. Colin's Dad hadn't been able to work out how to check him in on the app, but he kindly gave us a lift to the station. We were 15 minutes ahead of time, taking the Chiltern, Circle, Thameslink and Tram to Lloyd Park. This was for the Coombe Lodge Wetherspoons, around 15 minutes walk away. It had been reviewed poorly on Google, and in my case reviews were very mixed. My breakfast arrived five minutes after Colin's, maybe due to my penchant for Black Pudding. Annoyingly, you couldn't get a pint until 10 am, an hour later than usual in Spoons. I ordered Strongbow but was pretty sure I got Stowford Press. But I couldn't be arsed to chase it up. From there, walking, tram and train to Gatwick took around 40 minutes. After security, Spoons furnished me with two pints of Stowford Press and some cheesy chips for around £17. We got chatting to some fans who were off to see Deportivo LA Coruna this weekend. There were delays all over the place, thanks to people; we finally started getting airborne 90 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The other end was a bit more efficient, but the mobile data not working properly was a pain. I was trying and trying as the plane landed but was getting nothing. I'd had this problem before in Sweden for some random reason. That time, purchasing an e sim from Saily sorted the issue, and although it took time, it eventually kicked in. It was a slow and frustrating journey in the traffic, so I was thinking that going straight to Bray might be the best option. That turned out to be the case as there were further delays on the Dart train. The utterly dismal service finally pulled in just short of kickoff. It had been a stressful journey; it should have been a comfortable time for two Wetherspoons and a nice look around Bray, but instead, I was going to be late for kickoff. Amazingly, time was made up. With a simple check-in, we jogged, dumped our bags in a lovely room and jogged back just in time for kickoff.

 

Bray Wanderers were in 6th, and were in average form in their three games so far. They had drawn 1-1 with Longford Town, won 1-0 at basement side Treaty United and lost 1-0 at Cork City. Athlone Town were in 2nd place and had won two and drawn one so far. On the opening day, they beat Finn Harps 2-1, won 1-0 at Kerry and drew 2-2 with Wexford. My needs were of the liquid variety, and although you couldn't drink beside the pitch, the fan zone offered a restricted view. It was a first half that saw Bray dominate but not seriously threaten. At half time, it was a visit to the club shop for a scarf and then to the tea bar for Taco Fleek Fries. These took a while due to excess demand, but were superb when they came. Athlone opened the scoring from close range on 66 minutes, Patrick Ferry very much against the run of play. The equaliser, right up the other six minutes later was very much deserved through Tyreik Sammy. Not long after, Alain Kizenga gave them the lead, although we didn't have the best view of the goal seen as it was at the far end. Bray saw out the win to gain a deserved three points. It had been a great evening, and the people were very friendly, a worthy first tick in Ireland.

 

THE GROUND

CARLISLE GROUNDS is a decent venue. The main stand probably holds around 1,500. This is fully covered and appears to be the oldest part of the ground. Save for a few supporting pillars and floodlights, it offered good views and decent legroom. Opposite is uncovered seating for around 1,000. This is the allocated away fans space, although it is soft segregation. Both goals have open flat standing. The facilities are good. The club shop has a decent range, sadly no pennants that I could see. The fan zone offers drinks, and although you have to remain there to drink your pint (6.5 Euros), a reasonable range is on offer. Plastic glasses, sadly, no club logo though. The food is where the ground really excels, with a number of stalls. Burgers and chicken looked good, but I went for some delicious loaded fries, which are as good as I've had. Everything is cooked to order, so it comes out piping hot. Nearby is the Dart station, which is good near Bray but poor near Dublin. There is a pleasant town nearby, which includes a Tesco Express for cans if you are on a budget

Atherton Laburnum Rovers - Crilly Park

Atherton Laburnum Rovers FC
Crilly Park

Spa Road
Atherton
Greater Manchester
M4 9JX

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1520
Saturday 1st March 2026
Atherton LR - Euxton Villa
NWC Premier





ATHERTON LR - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1956 as a junior team called Laburnum Rovers - named after the local fields where they played their games at. After progressing to adult football - the Leigh and District and Bolton Combination, they moved into their current home and joined the Cheshire League in 1980, adding Atherton to their name. This was absorbed into the newly-established North West Counties League in 1982, with Atherton Laburnum Rovers placed in the second tier. Despite finishing second-bottom in 1987, the club was elevated to the top tier due to the quality of its facilities. They took to their new level well and after winning the title for the second season in a row, took the promotion to the NPL D1 in 1994, at the time, a step 3 league. Despite a club record finish of 10th in 1996, they finished bottom of the following season and were relegated back to the North West Counties League. Results didn't really improve, and in 2000, they were relegated to the second tier. The bounceback was immediate as they finished 3rd behind Warrington Town and Tetley Walker to win promotion back up. Rovers found the going tough, though and after finishing in the top half once in the intervening period, were relegated again in 2012. They finished 8th in 2014, but then generally finished in the lower reaches of the table. They finished bottom of the newly-established Division 1 North in 2019, but things have improved since then. The club were runners-up to FC St Helens in 2024 but lost in the playoffs to South Liverpool. They put that right last season, winning the title last season and returning to the Premier Division.

In the FA Cup, the club's best-ever run came in 1996. They needed three games to overcome Liversedge, but then beat Ilkeston Town and Curzon Ashton to reach the third qualifying round. A 2-2 draw was gained in the home game but LR lost the replay 2-0. They never won a game during their brief stint in the FA Trophy but had a notable run to the FA Vase semi-final in 1994. After beating Prudhoe East End, Penrith, Thackley and Bridgnorth Town, the club were handed a tricky-looking game against Aldershot Town, who were on the march to the Football League. It took three games, but eventually, they prevailed and were handed a semi-final against Diss Town. Unable to be separated over two legs, they eventually lost a replay at the neutral ground of VS Rugby by the scoreline of 2-1. Local cup honours include the NWCFL Trophy in 1993 and 1994, the Bolton Combination Division 2 Cup in 1965 and 1966, the Bolton Hospital Cup in 1985, 2002 and 2004, the Goldline Trophy in 1999, 2004 and 2005 and the Westhoughton Charity Cup in 1982. Their record attendance came in 1994 as 1,740 turned out to watch the FA Vase Quarter Final game with Aldershot Town.

The town of Atherton has a population of 22,000 and is near Wigan. It is home to Coronation Street actor and I'm a celebrity star Andy Whyment, who plays Kirk Sutherland in the soap. Atherton Laburnum Rovers are the middle-ranked team in the town, sitting below Atherton Collieries of the NPL Premier but above Atherton Town of the Manchester League. The former are their main rivals, and LR used to be the top dog. The last decade or so has not been kind to them, as Colls have shown what can be achieved with a decent social media team and an enthusiastic bunch of volunteers, inspiring the team to earn three promotions in that time.

GROUND PHOTOS FROM 12TH FEBRUARY 2008
Taken on the way to Bury 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers. It would take me another three years to start hopping properly.

MY VISIT

This was the ground that I was probably looking forward to the most out of this hop. A real old classic, I believe, an old committee at the club turned down the chance to host in 2017. The games that day turned out to be Atherton Colls (who were hosting for the second time, having stepped in as a late replacement for a snowbound Emley, West Didsbury & Chorlton and Maine Road. I'd only recently done that latter and would do the middle ground later. I ended up going to Skelmersdale United's old ground and Knypersley Victoria. I attempted to visit Atherton LR for the first time on 10th March 2020. However, on the coach journey, the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, very British indeed. I ended up seeing an academy game at Manchester City's smaller stadium instead. The pandemic, prolonged by people's lack of hygiene and stupidity, kicked in soon after, and it would be a torrid and dismal time for hoppers. I might have attempted to revisit since, but I can't recall. Either way. I was glad when it was named in the hop lineup for this year.

It had been the usual boozy weekend, but I wasn't planning on having any more until I got home at least. I had a good night's sleep, though, waking at 7.15. It had been a decent room, the only bad thing being the lack of soundproofing and a desk. Overall, though, great value for money. After getting ready, we left at 9.15 and went to the Poulton Elk Wetherspoons for breakfast. Breakfast muffin, black pudding and a pint of Cranberry juice set me up a treat for the day before we left at 10. It was a decent journey, although with 25 miles of petrol in my tank, I had to fill up. Colin took his time in the shop, delaying us, but we were still at the ground half an hour before kickoff. I parked in a side street and walked the couple of minutes towards the ground, paying £8 to get in. The club had pulled out all of the stops and was relaying useful information about the next hop game over the tannoy. I went to the merchandise stall and got a cup filled with sweets for £2. The food queue was busy, and so I headed to the bar, not expecting to buy anything. However, the chance to sample a local brew, Skuna Fruition, was too good to turn down and at 4%, I'd be OK to drive. It was my favourite ground of the hop so far, and it had a good vibe about it. I'd have liked more time, ideally, but I was still pitchside as the teams came out.

 

Atherton LR were having a good season, sitting 8th, having won twenty, drawn two, and lost eleven of their games. They were in fantastic form, having won their last six, the latest a 3-1 win at Barnoldswick Town eleven days ago. Euxton Villa were 16th and had won ten, drawn ten and lost twelve so far. Form-wise, they had won three and lost three of their last six. In their last game in midweek, they'd won 1-0 at Ramsbottom United. The hosts started brightly and took the lead through a Joe Bacon header on 12 minutes. Just before half-time, I went to the tea bar. The service was not as efficient as at AFC Blackpool last night in terms of moving through the queue, but once I'd placed my order, the service was swift. The double cheeseburger was excellent too, very tasty and filling for £7. Euxton Villa barely threatened, and so Atherton made it 2-0 on 75 minutes, a low drive from just inside the area by Abiola Obasoto. There was plenty of injury time, eight minutes in fact, not great when I had a tight schedule for the second game.

 

Atherton LR had been my favourite club of the hop and had got the day spot on in almost every respect. Sunday being Sunday, though, there was always going to be strife and disappointment. We left as soon as we heard the final whistle and got away before most people. It was a stop-start journey to my intended game at Pilkington, and once we got there, the grim entrance did not indicate that there was a football team down the end of the road. We got there ten minutes in and finally found the ground. We had seen teams matching the kit colours of our two intended sides on a distant grass pitch. Our disappointment was confirmed when we got to the main stadium and found a kids' game on it. That was the signal to turn around and go home early. It was a decent journey, but with Colin sleeping, the music soon got irritating. Instead, I put on an Audiobook called Tuned Out by Keith A Pearson. It's one I have listened to many times before, but it still made the journey fly by. Colin woke from his slumbers around half an hour from home, with me dropping him off at 5.45 and getting home at 6. Despite losing two games from my schedule, it had still been a good weekend with everyone from clubs to supporters benefiting from the event.

THE GROUND

CRILLY PARK is a great non-league ground. The focal point is the main stand, which is elevated and provides a great view. Opposite is a sizeable cover, meaning around 300 fans can be seated under cover along with 500 standing. The rest is uncovered. There was a great range of merchandise, food, and drink, all of which were excellent. The car park was quite small, but there was plenty of street parking. Buses run nearby and Atherton train station is not that far away.