AFC Liverpool v Squires Gate, 10th March 2023

It was a very friday busy night on the turnstile, made busier by 4 or 5 kids each passing me a tenner and cleaning me out from change! That said a bumper crowd of 171 was very welcome indeed.

It was so busy I was stuck in the turnstile for about 20 minutes after the delayed kick-off. When I got relieved of my duties I headed up to the Crossender Road end.

The Reds were largely on the front foot. One passage of play led to a scramble, but we found Nathan Pennington in the Gate goal very stubborn. At the other end Jack McGovern had to be alert, although wasn't tested to the same extent as his opposite number.

After the break, the Reds went close again. Another passage of play saw us thwarted by a combination of the woodwork, Pennington and the linesman's flag. Pennington was being called upon regularly to save his side.

On 52 minutes all hell nearly let loose. Tom Douglas made a firm challenge which may have been late. Gate players were incensed. One player who got involved already had a booking, and he was off.

A few minutes later, myself and a few fellow fans were confused that Gate had been reduced to 9 men. Apparently another player (the no 2) had been sin binned for a part in the brawl.

We were still finding Pennington in defiant form, and it was clear that it would take something very special to beat him. That moment came in the 68th minute courtesy of a Kyle Schorah beauty from just outside the area, which curled away from the keeper into his top left corner. Get in!

On the whole, we managed everything well from then onwards. There was I recall one Squires Gate effort which ended on the roof of Jack's net. But we did wrap the points deep into injury time. Tom Croughan got played in down the right. He squared it for substitute Mark Madden to get the all important goal.

As I mentioned, it was a bigger than usual crowd that night. Amongst the crowd that night, were a few German Brentford fans sampling the Merseyside non-league scene ahead of Brentord's Saturday fixture at Goodison. Alan Harrison's announcement generated a few Brentford chants. Steve Fraser reminded everyone that it wouldn't go down well with Jack in goal!

We could even have made it 3-0 before the end. But you who know who in the Gate goal was there once more, and Nathan Pennington was very much the reason it only ended 2-0. The win put us on 62 points, just 9 points away from achieving our best ever North West Counties League Premier Division tally, with 7 games still remaining.

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