Saturday 6th January 2018 (3pm), NWCFL Premier Division
City of Liverpool v West
TDP Solicitors Stadium, L30 1NY
£5 adults, £3 concessions, free for under-16s accompanied by an adult
West open 2018 with a trip to Merseyside for a first-ever meeting with City of Liverpool.
This will be West’s second visit to the TDP Solicitors Stadium this season, with August’s match against landlords Bootle ending in a 3-3 draw.
The referee may be kept busy on Saturday afternoon – according to the NWCFL’s discipline table, City of Liverpool and West have the dubious honour of being the Premier Division’s most ill-disciplined teams.
At a glance
| CoL | v | West |
| 10th | Position | 17th |
| WWLWW | Form (all competitions) | LLWLL |
| 18 | Played | 21 |
| 9 | Won | 8 |
| 4 | Drawn | 1 |
| 5 | Lost | 12 |
| 31 | Points | 25 |
| 41 | Goals for | 43 |
| 26 | Goals against | 61 |
| Karl Noon (11) | Top scorer (all competitions) | Tom Bailey (23) |
| West v CoL (NWCFL era): No previous meetings |
The Purps
Though they only played their first match in July 2016, City of Liverpool have already established a reputation as cup specialists as well as proving to be a thorn in the side of their Merseyside rivals. The Purps claimed a double in their maiden season, winning both of the NWCFL’s league cups, and also won promotion to the Premier Division by dispatching neighbours Litherland REMYCA 3-0 in the First Division play-off final.
The Purps continued in a similar vein this season – after beating Atherton Collieries in the NWCFL’s Challenge Cup curtain-raiser, they hammered Prescot Cables 8-2 on the way to the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, where they were agonisingly edged out at home to NPL Premier Division Nantwich Town in front of a four-figure crowd. There was a similar story in the FA Vase, as the Purps accounted for AFC Liverpool before bowing out at Stockton Town in the third round proper.
Their cup exploits are over for this season – their Macron Cup defence ended disappointingly at AFC Darwen – so attentions will turn to securing a top-half finish in their first season at level 9. That is likely to just be the beginning for a club whose average attendance is the highest in the NWCFL and higher than all but three NPL Division One North sides.
Getting to the TDP Solicitors Stadium
By car
The quickest route from Chorlton to Bootle is via the M62 and takes around 45 to 70 minutes. Please check traffic news before you set off.
By rail
Aintree station is just under a mile from the ground. From Piccadilly, change at Liverpool Lime Street. See the National Rail website for train times.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d304332.83474353235!2d-2.890107940440417!3d53.42197464069552!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e0!4m5!1s0x487badf039c1da9d%3A0xf4755e85bb10d34f!2sChorlton%2C+Aberdeen%2C+Wilbraham+Road%2C+Manchester!3m2!1d53.4427799!2d-2.273543!4m5!1s0x487b23b02198ad65%3A0x16b1b8e6678efb39!2sBootle+Football+Club%2C+TDP+Solicitors+Stadium%2C+Bootle+L30+1NY!3m2!1d53.471554!2d-2.9610849999999997!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1515150266841&w=600&h=450]
