The Joy of Non-League Football
I watched some football at the weekend.
Leeds v Tottenham was the early Saturday kick off and I caught most of the match on TV. Pretty much everything that was terrible with the modern day Premier League was on display.
There was a ridiculous ankle breaker challenge from a Leeds player, followed by a bizarre series of decisions from the referee and VAR officials. Leeds were probably the better team over 90 minutes, but the big moment of the game was undoubtedly the VAR controversy.
After the game it emerged that the Leeds player responsible for the dangerous tackle had been racially abused on social media after the game. Overall a very depressing and predictable outcome. In the words of Antonio Conte, "one regular day of Barclays, that's all I ask for. Will never happen".
After watching the game on TV, I went out with my family to watch my local Non-League team South Liverpool FC play Euxton Villa, which was an entirely different experience.
South Liverpool is a "phoenix club" currently competing in the North West Counties League Premier Division, which is effectively the 9th Division in the English football pyramid. The club has a proud history dating back to the 1890s which you can read more about here. South Liverpool sadly ran into financial problems in the 1980s and 1990s, before re-forming in the early 2000s.
The quality of the football was not bad at all. Euxton Villa had the better first half, taking an early lead after one of the South Liverpool first choice defenders picked up an injury and had to be subbed off.
In the second half, South Liverpool made a dramatic comeback, culminating in their striker winning a penalty at the death of the game, which he dramatically converted to draw 3-3.
The overall match day experience was good. The attendance number was 145, the club officials were very friendly and welcoming, and home and away supporters cordially mingled in the ground. Ticket prices were £7 for adults and £4 concession. Compare that to £70 for a Leeds v Tottenham ticket!
I had an enjoyable day out and will definitely be visiting Jericho Lane again in future. Up the South!