Match Information
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Longridge Town 0-4 Charnock Richard
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When: Tuesday 30th July 2024
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Kick-off: 7.45pm
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Where: Inglewhite Road, Longridge, Preston, Lancashire PR3 2DB
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Competition: North West Counties League Premier Division
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Attendance: 328
After a Saturday trip to watch Holker Old Boys, my week long stay in the varied North West Counties League hinterland offered me the Tuesday night opportunity to visit Longridge Town.
They were one of the very few Step 5 clubs I hadn’t previously been to and had hovered on my personal groundhopping radar for quite some time.
This dated back to July 2019 when I spotted an unusual Sunday pre-season friendly on sports betting schedules with Longridge entertaining Football League side Blackpool.
I actually made firm plans to attend but the advance overnight weather forecast featured a yellow warning for rain so I decided not to travel in fear of a postponement.
Later on, Longridge participated in several reasonable FA Vase runs which attracted my attention although I didn’t make it to their Inglewhite Road venue until now.
Incidentally, Longridge itself is a market town housing 7,700 residents situated seven miles north east of Preston.
Longridge Town FC have come a long way since being formed in 1996 through the amalgamation of the two main long-established clubs in the town - Longridge United and Longridge St Wilfrid’s.
They subsequently climbed up from the Preston & District League Third Division via the West Lancashire League. Promotion was ultimately achieved to the NWCL in 2018.
Ground Description
Adjoining the local cricket club where a fixture was taking place concurrently until the light faded. Inside the Inglewhite Road football ground, a modern prefab grandstand straddles the halfway line containing 100 red tip-up seats across four rows.
Beyond this is an older looking covered shelter consisting of four steps of wooden terracing plus bench seating at the top. And behind the far goal lies a covered terrace for 100 fans spread over four metal steps.
I liked the fact that the rear wall here was decorated in a host of colourful Longridge Town club flags adding nicely to the sense of occasion. These declared rousing words of encouragement such as “The Ridge”, “Ridge Army” and “Up The Ridge Est.1996”.
There is a training pitch at the other end enabling scores of kids to enjoy a kick-about throughout the evening. Indeed, I noticed a lovely family feel prevails at Longridge Town in general. Another positive aspect is scenic views of Lancashire’s Ribble Valley hills stretching into the far distance.
Also, ample car parking is available and friendly club stewards directed drivers to vacant spaces on what turned out to be a busy occasion.
Programme Details
Sold at the entry hut for £2. It incorporated 28 professionally produced colour pages and was entitled “THIS IS OUR TOWN”.
Articles included the manager’s notes, opposition club history for Charnock Richard, sponsorship details, an overview of the English football pyramid, a map outlining Longridge Town’s 2024/25 away day adventures, NWCL table, fixtures/appearances/results, fund raiser activities, player sponsorship and the two squad lists.
All in all, a really good addition to my extensive collection of groundhopping memorabilia. Furthermore, up to date photocopied teamsheets were handed out free of charge to everyone entering the ground. A nice helpful welcoming touch.
The Match
Two clubs located 18 miles apart who finished 19th and 4th respectively in the NWCL Premier Division table last season.
Charnock Richard is best known for providing the name of a prominent M6 Motorway service station but the local football team are doing well too.
Pre-match publicity on Longridge Town’s Twitter X feed declared: “Just when you thought it couldn't get any tastier 😋 Almost time for the first derby of the season!”
A healthy crowd figure of 328 assembled delivering great vociferous support for both sides. Charnock Richard were comfortable winners on the night racking up well-taken goals courtesy of Matty Davies (4 minutes), Luke Power (9 mins), Luke Power (52 mins) and Nathan Nickeas (90 mins).
Post-Match
I returned to my lakeside lodge accommodation to intently study football odds and fixtures for the following evening.
I thereby identified an enticing choice of either AFC Blackpool or Garstang FC as two nearby new grounds I could visit at Step 6.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
