TT No.47: Andy Gallon - Wed 24th September 2008; Irlam FC v Bootle; NW Counties League Div One;      Res: 2-2; Att: 180; Admission: £3; Programme: £1 (36pp); FGIF Match Rating: *****

Manchester versus Liverpool at almost anything would produce a watchable spectacle. This North West Counties League football version of the cities' old rivalry went snap, crackle and pop from start to finish. Bootle, who twice came from behind to collect a point, will feel disappointed not to have won having created most of the best chances, particularly in the second half. But then defeat would have been hard on Irlam FC, who played their part in a compelling contest which proved a fitting way to mark the first competitive game under the home club's new floodlights.   But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's have a look at the background. The story of Irlam FC and the Silver Street ground is several chapters long. Irlam Town, who rose as high as the Northern Premier League, used to play at the site until going bust in the early 1990s. The local authority, in what would appear to be a rather myopic move, opted to demolish all the structures after intervention by vandals and other ne'er do wells. Mitchell Shackleton, formed in 1969 as the works team of an engineering company based in Patricroft, were becoming a force in the Manchester League and added Irlam to their name in 2001. The following year they were told their Salteye Park ground was to be razed to make way for a new stadium for Salford City Reds rugby league club. Grant aid - a "small fortune", according to secretary Warren Dodd - enabled a new ground to be built on the Silver Street site. Irlam Mitchell Shackleton began playing there from late 2003, with Football Foundation chairman Dave Richards performing the opening ceremony. The club became Irlam FC in 2004 and this summer secured promotion to the North West Counties League First Division, again giving the community the opportunity to watch senior football. Phew!   I never went to the original Silver Street but I can't imagine it was as well appointed as its spotless successor. Irlam FC are obviously chuffed with the transformation because the inside cover of their match programme features a 'then and now' photo montage. Tucked away in a Lower Irlam council estate within sight and sound of the M62 motorway, the ground's setting could be relentlessly urban. It's not. There are open fields on two sides and plenty of trees dotted about. A more orderly enclosure you couldn't wish to find. A decent sized car park covered with aggregate fronts the access gate and turnstile, the latter bearing a cheery 'Welcome to Irlam FC' sign. Arriving spectators come out in the south-west corner. A red-brick single storey building with a pitched roof to the left houses the dressing rooms. A plaque in the corridor commemorates the opening ceremony conducted by Richards on November 10th 2003. Beyond, next to a raised area of flagged hardstanding, a portable building contains a kitchen and chairs and tables for the consumption of refreshments. This west touchline also boasts a small kit stand, about 10 yards in length and offering four rows of blue plastic tip-up seats, and the dugouts, which are of an unusual 'bus shelter' design with breeze block wraparounds.   The sole area of covered standing is on the west side of the south end and this fills in the area between the goal and the corner flag. A couple of broad steps of terracing are sheltered by metal sheeting bolted to a sturdy girder frame. Concrete hardstanding runs round the ground, with the perimeter fence one of concrete panels. A similar fence surrounds the pitch. Much use is made of glossy dark green paint, and this attractive house colour scheme helps blend Silver Street's ingredients into an appetising dish. The new lights are mounted on masts, with four per side and two lamps on each. The old system, featuring lower masts, is still in place and the lamps have been turned round on the east side to illuminate the second pitch, which lies beyond the boundary fence and is used, among other things, for pre-match warm-ups. There is room to expand, particularly at each end, where there is a considerable expanse of turf. Irlam FC's next project is to win funding to build a social club for the use of club and community, though given the economic climate, they accept the cash might he hard to come by. Perhaps the biggest benefit to the club is being located in a football-daft area. A pre-match stroll down the main road in the Cadishead direction to the impressive acreage of Prince's Park revealed numerous junior teams training hard. Future Irlam FC first-teamers?   On a perfect evening - cool, clear, dry and almost still - the stage was set for a great game, and the teams did not disappoint. Bootle could have been two up in a high-tempo opening spell, with Lee Lambert denying Mark Kilroy and Paul McDonald. Despite swimming against the metaphorical incoming tide, the hosts went ahead with a cracking goal in the 10th minute. Lively winger Chris Palmer, the Irlam FC skipper whose holding work and distribution were the main feature of the first half, exchanged passes with Gary Prescott and fired a low shot past Mark Mawdsley. Chances came and went in both penalty areas but the Merseysiders were next to find the net when, with 34 minutes on the clock, Will Dolan forced the ball over the line from close range after Lambert, never assured when challenged in the air, had flapped at a corner. Moments later, Mawdsley did brilliantly to paw away a goalbound Darren Andrews header to ensure parity at the break.   The helter-skelter pace slackened slightly in the second half and Bootle began to get the upper hand as Palmer's influence diminished steadily. Lee Mitchell failed to convert twice when well placed and was made to regret his wastefulness when, in the 58th minute, Ryan Hutchinson tucked away a penalty awarded on the intervention of a linesman for a foul on Andrews. Bootle equalised with a spot-kick of their own with 15 minutes left. Sean Devlin clearly waylaid Paul Tosney on the right side of the box and Carl Dale wasn't about to look that particular gift horse in the mouth. Neither team could find a winner in a frantic finish.   Irlam FC look well positioned - in every sense - to restore at least Northern Premier League football to Silver Street. Mitchells, as they are still nicknamed in a pleasing nod to their past, have the facilities, the organisation, the enthusiasm and - crucially - the support. Even taking into account the high number of groundhoppers in the crowd, 180 is an excellent gate for this level on a midweek night. Being part of the Salford/Manchester metropolis should ensure a conveyor belt of talent through the doors, and I'd suggest it will be only a matter of time before the club climb out of the bottom division of the North West Counties League.

contributed on 25/09/08