AFC Liverpool v 1874 Northwich, 1st May 2018

It was always going to be one of those matches in which a fan was going to kick every ball. Burscough's win against Bootle had put us back into the bottom four, with us having played a game more than our relegation rivals.

With Maine Road conceeding a late equaliser to Padiham the previous Saturday, the relegation picture was starting to look like Road would need a miracle. Burscough would probably get out of it now. That meant the final relegation place would probably be between ourselves and Abbey Hey.

1874 were virtually playing every night to catch up with their fixture backlog, which was caused by a combination of multiple postponements and their FA Vase run. It appeared that they had fielded a fairly young side.

1874 looked dangerous every time they went forward, but thankfully Jack Ferguson did not need to make any saves. But one or two dangerous crosses perhaps needed just a touch.

We took the lead  on 21 minutes through Callum Schorah, who slotted in after  a scramble. Myself and Steve Fraser were dancing around with the rattles in the far corner pen behind the Crossender Road goal.

As the rest of the half wore on, our play did suggest that we could create more. One sliced clearance from a defender went slightly over, whilst a header over from Jon Croasdale, possibly from the subsequent corner, went just over. 1874 Keeper Greg Hall was called to make one important save just before the interval to keep it at 1-0.

As Steve and I were walking towards the boardroom for half time refreshments, an 1874 fan suggested Scott McGowan and another big hitter would be coming on. It was a worry. Thankfully though, the Reds extended the lead five minutes after the restart when Callum Schorah played in the unmarked Zach Hardacre, who shot under Hall.

Just past the hour mark, our nerves were given a chance to settle when Greg Hall handled on the edge of the box. Hall was dismissed, and an 1874 outfield player went into goal.

Although the makeshift keeper did escape unscathed from Callum Schorah's free kick which followed Hall's red card, he did perhaps understandably have one gittery moment when he failed to collect a ball. The ball slipped from his hands, and we could not quite force it over the line from the scramble which ensued.

Steve did have a good chap with a couple of members of the 1874 staff who were sat in the stand. They appreciated both the rattling and the banter from Kenny. 

The result was put beyond doubt with a few minutes to go, as the makeshift keeper was finally beaten by a Jon Croasdale header. The result lifted us out of the bottom four at the expense of Abbey Hey, ahead of the final full weekend of fixtures.

We now had two final home games against Runcorn Linnets and Charnock Richard to complete the job. But sadly we lost both of those games 2-1 and our seven year stay in the North West Counties Premier Division was at an end.