Irlam 1 - 3 Bootle

Date: Saturday 24th January 2009
Competition: Vodkat Challenge Cup 3R
Venue: Silver Street, Irlam, Manchester
Attendance: 092

Ticket In: £3.00
Programme: £1.00
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Total: £4.00

Ah that old chestnut, cup football. With the FA Cup gripping the nation this weekend, what better way to spend it then to take in some live cup football. But the FA Cup has now sadly reached that boring stage where it’s full of overpaid professionals that dive about the place and roll about clutching their shins when they’ve taken a slight knock to the back, not for me thank you! So the next best thing is obviously the Vodkat Challenge Cup, and the match between Irlam and Bootle that will have a bit of added spice due to the Liverpool and Manchester rivalry. Irlam are a fairly unknown entity to me at the moment as I have never seen them play before today. They, like Wigan Robin Park and AFC Liverpool, were accepted into the North West Counties League at the start of this season, hence this will be their first time in this competition. Bootle on the other hand have, of course, been in this competition before and last season were 1 kick of the ball away from lifting the trophy. They were defeated in an epic final 3-5 on penalties after a 2-2 draw against Premier Division side Maine Road, who lifted the trophy for the first time. They got their ultimate revenge in this seasons competition however as they were drawn against Maine Road in the opening round and after a replay, knocked the holders out of the competition.

Irlam’s ground is called Silver Street, for seemingly no other reason than it lies on a road called Silver Street in Irlam, reason enough to name a ground as far as I’m concerned. The clubhouse is a cosy little place with a few tables and seating options in a converted portakabin. Both drinks, alcoholic and soft are available along with a good selection of food. The big screen TV, although having seen better days itself, gives the early birds in the ground the chance to see the conclusion of the Hartlepool United against West Ham United FA Cup fixture. On the whole, Silver Street is a tidy looking ground with a pitch that looks in frankly superb condition, give or take a few boggy patches that have obviously suffered with the weather. Two small stands offer shelter from the elements and attempt to encourage a bit of atmosphere, one of which offers a small amount of seating. The rest of the ground offers 92million miles of headroom. A short sum up would basically say basic, but polished.

A cup tie feel washes over the ground as the two teams emerge from the changing rooms and onto the pitch, Irlam in their home kit of all blue with Bootle in their colours of all yellow. Formalities are concluded with the match officials prior to kickoff and Irlam get the match underway. But they got underway in disastrous fashion and after three minutes were trailing. A long ball was played downfield and Irlam goalkeeper Lee Lambert came to head it away from outside the penalty area, but the ball bounced over him and Bootle’s Andy Fowler pounced, picking up the loose ball and slotting it into the empty net from the angle to give Bootle a very quick lead. Bootle continued to press forward and a run down the wing in the 12th minute saw them almost extend their lead when a low cross was allowed to run to the penalty area and a fierce low shot was driven in, but keeper Lambert atoned for his earlier error by producing a fine low save and allowing his defence to clear the danger. However the danger was only cleared temporarily as from the resultant throw in, an initial effort on goal cracked the woodwork and rebounded back to Mark Kilroy, who was on hand to tap the ball into the net with the keeper stranded to double Bootle’s lead with only 13 minutes on the clock. Bootle nearly extended their lead even further in the 18th minute when a free kick was delivered dangerously into the penalty area and headed on towards goal by a Bootle forward, just to see the ball strike the foot of the post and allow Irlam to clear. The first 20 minutes of the match had seen Bootle totally dominate proceedings and they would probably be disappointed to only be two goals in front as Irlam hadn’t threatened the Bootle goal as of yet. Another chance for Bootle fell in the 26th minute when another aerial ball was headed half clear by the Irlam defence and recovered by a Bootle player, who tried his luck from range and Irlam keeper Lambert just managed to get his body behind it to divert it for a corner kick. Irlam’s first real threatening chance came just after the half hour mark when they won themselves a free kick, the delivery of which was played dangerously into the penalty area but headed wide by the waiting Irlam player. The half drew to its conclusion with Bootle still looking the better of the two sides, although they were unable to further add to their lead before half time. The match had gotten off to an electric start, but when Bootle got their two goals they quickly turned it down a gear, but were still the better looking of the two sides. It looks like a simple passage through to the next round for Bootle at the moment, Irlam have a lot of work to do to recover this.

Half Time:
Irlam 0 – 2 Bootle

Quite what the half time break did to the two teams is unclear. Perhaps Bootle thought they were already through and took their foot off the pedal completely, or Irlam got a rollicking off their manager and decided that they weren’t quite ready to exit this competition yet. In any case, the return from the half time break saw the momentum chance completely as Irlam looked like a side possessed and went after the Bootle goal with determination. Two early efforts zipped wide of the post before the half became slightly more even in the 54th minute. But Irlam’s efforts and pressure were rewarded in the 61st minute when they deservedly blew the game wide open again. Referee Salisbury awarded Irlam a free kick in a dangerous position. The delivery was only half cleared by the Bootle defence before being sent right back into the box and defender Chris Hilton rose the highest in the box to head the ball into the corner in the net and give Bootle keeper Mark Mawdsley no chance, game on once again. Irlam continued to apply pressure for the equaliser but Bootle were now beginning to show signs of life again. And in the 71st minute they ended the match as a contest when they were awarded a penalty kick. Mahooney was chopped down right on the edge of the box and referee Salisbury awarded the visitors a penalty kick. Andy Fowler accepted the responsibility and drilled the ball low into the left hand corner after sending Lambert the wrong way to restore Bootle’s two goal lead, back to the drawing board for Irlam. Who almost responded immediately when two minutes later they were awarded another free kick in a dangerous position. This time going for the direct route to goal, the Irlam striker sent a superb delivery towards goal that beat the keeper, but couldn’t beat the crossbar, the rebound was headed over the bar. It was at this point you began to think that this perhaps wasn’t going to be Irlam’s day. And so this proved as Bootle managed to close the game out with a degree of comfort and progress into the next round of the competition as a valiant Irlam bowed out.

In short, this match was an absolutely cracking cup tie. In many ways, I prefer fixtures like these to league matches. Irlam were left with little choice but to go hell for leather after conceding twice early on, but it looked as if they weren’t going to be able to manage it based on their first half performance as Bootle coped with everything that was thrown at them. The 2nd half though was a completely different story and Irlam looked the stronger of the two sides, whatever the manager said at half time it certainly worked. Irlam’s goal was well deserved and brought the game back to life again, especially when they continued to press forward for the equaliser. But you sort of thought that it wouldn’t be Irlam’s day when they conceded the penalty and then struck the crossbar from the restart. But for £3.00, the fans there today well have easily gotten their money’s worth in a very entertaining match indeed. Irlam bow out of the competition despite a credible fightback, whereas Bootle march on to what they must surely hope is a 2nd successive final. Congratulations to Bootle.

Full Time:
Irlam 1 – 3 Bootle

View more pics at:
http://www.photobucket.com/irlambootle