Date: Tuesday 1st September 2009
Competition: Vodkat NWCFL Premier Div
Venue: The Delta Taxis Stadium, Bootle, Merseyide
Attendance: 115
A late intervention from mother nature means my intended destination for a football match had to be changed at the last minute this evening, but only 10 miles down the road where the weather will almost certainly have been the same yet the pitch at the Delta Taxi’s Stadium has held up fine. The aforementioned stadium is the home to Bootle FC, newly promoted to the Vodkat League Premier Division as champions of Division One and making a fantastic start to life in a higher flight.
From their opening four league games they have acquired 10 points from a possible 12 and will surely be challenging at the leagues summit come the end of the season. I make them favourites to win tonight as their opponents are Winsford United, who currently lie in the lower half of the table and have made a far harder time of things in their start to the season. Pre match predictions are for a heavy Bootle victory this evening.Kickoff time rolled around and the two teams followed the match officials out of the tunnel, Bootle in their home strip of all blue and Winsford in their changed strip of orange shirts and black shorts. The game got underway in none too surprising circumstances as Bootle made the better start and were quickly on the attack, and after blasting a ball over the bar from the edge of the penalty area and a good opportunity passing them by, they won themselves a corner in the 5th minute. The delivery of the corner was taken low and hard to the back of the penalty area but the Winsford defence was able to half clear the ball to safety and the chance passed for the home side.
Another good chance was created by Bootle when they won themselves a throw in the 10th minute. The ball eventually being crossed into the penalty area from this possession and the Bootle forwards header was over the bar. Winsford then had a chance themselves when they won a corner in the 20th minute and the delivery was right into the danger area but a Bootle defender managed to head the ball away from danger and concede a throw in. The throw in was taken long and back into the penalty area but the Bootle defence wasn’t stretched in dealing with the attack. With the game rapidly becoming a stale and dour affair from the neutrals point of view, Bootle tried a long range effort in the 22nd minute but the Winsford keeper made the comfortable looking save and the match remained scoreless. But as they had been threatening to do for the majority of the match, Bootle broke the deadlock in the 34th minute. Andy Fowler received the ball in the penalty area as the Winsford defence appealed for an offside flag that was not forthcoming. Fowler then evaded his defender and drilled the ball past the keeper at his near post to give his side the lead. This lead was doubled in the 39th minute when an appalling gaffe by a Winsford defender allowed Bootle to regain the ball in an attacking position. The ball was then worked out wide and Andy Fowler delivered a pinpoint cross into the penalty area where Hardwick’s diving header had the keeper stranded and the ball in the net to double the hosts advantage. 
This would be the score at halftime in a game that had been dull and uninspiring for those of a neutral perspective. It’s been all one way traffic so far and it was only a matter of time before Bootle took the lead, although the overall entertainment value has been poor. Winsford now have to score to make this game even remotely exciting but they don’t look likely to do that at all, it’s hard to see anything other than a comfortable victory for Bootle at this stage.Half Time:
Bootle 2 – 0 Winsford United
The first chance of the 2nd half fell to the visitors in the 50th minute when a great piece of control on the edge of the box saw a Winsford United forward bring the ball under control and fire a shot at the near post that was kept out by a combination of both Bootle keeper and post before being cleared away from danger. But after this Bootle were right back on the attack and in the 52nd minute an effort from range sailed over the crossbar. The home side then had the ball in the net on another two occasions in the 58th and 61st minutes but both goals were disallowed with a raised flag from the referee’s assistant. A Winsford United corner in the 63rd minute gave them a chance to get back into the match, the delivery was returned to the kick taker from the near post and his second cross into the area was headed clear by a Bootle defender and the chance passed.
But another chance for the visitors two minutes later came when a Winsford forward won some space from his defenders, but with the goal at his mercy he blasted is over the crossbar and a glorious opportunity for Winsford to get back into the match was wasted. Bootle wrapped the contest up in the 71st minute when they scored their third goal of the match when a cross to the back post was flicked back to the unmarked Jamie Hay and his header beat the keeper at his far post to put the match to bed and confirm Bootle’s victory. A late Winsford United flurry wasn’t enough to get them on the score sheet and the referee’s full time whistle signalled another victory for Bootle.It was a very dull game for the neutral, Bootle never really looked uncomfortable or troubled at any time and were unfortunately dragged down to Winsford United’s level at the start of the match, neither team looked like they were wanting to keep possession and the passing game was sloppy.
The goals Bootle scored killed the game off as a spectacle as Winsford were not able to match their standard of play. Bootle march on with their undefeated start to the season and congratulations to them on their victory.Full Time:
Bootle 3 – 0 Winsford United
