1874 Northwich 
vs 
City of Liverpool
vs City of LiverpoolRecap
SEASON OFF TO LOSING START AS 1874 HIT FOR SIX
By Garry Clarke
1874 NORTHWICH 3-6 CITY OF LIVERPOOL
1874 Northwich’s 2018/19 season got off to a losing start as a disjointed error ridden performance saw them hit for six by City of Liverpool at St Luke’s Barton Stadium on the opening day of the season.
Slow to start 1874 allowed a well organized, hard working City of Liverpool team to dictate the early going. Debutant goalkeeper Josh Samburg was required to make several saves in the opening 15 minutes to keep the visitors at bay while at the other end a dangerous Callum Gardner cross just evaded Scott McGowan as it fizzed across the City goal.
Despite getting his hand to the ball, Samburg was unable to prevent Dave Forbes powerful downward header from bouncing up into the net after a 18th minute corner found him unmarked in the middle of the 1874 area.
City doubled their advantage three minutes later when Samburg collided with Danny Thomas while trying to clear a bouncing ball, the collision gave Craig Cairns the simple task of tapping the ball into an empty net.
1874 started to come more into the game with Gardner firing over the bar on the half hour mark and ten minutes later, having survived several City corners, struck back to halve the deficit. Ryan Mitchell, who played for City of Liverpool at the start of last season, reacted first to head home from close range when from a corner City keeper Ben Ashcroft parried a McGowan shot.
The visitors restored their two goal advantage on the stroke of half time when Cairns lobbed the ball over Samburg after Francis Foy’s pass found him unmarked in the 1874 area.
Eight minutes into the second half Gardner on debut curled a 25 yard free kick round City’s defensive wall into the bottom corner of the net to give 1874 hope of salvaging something from the game.
However, just three minutes later City restored their two goal advantage Karl Clair slotting the ball home after being set up by Cairns who was allowed to run unchallenged across the face of 1874’s defence.
Cairns completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute firing home from 10 yards out after the ball was deflected into his path after a team mates shot was blocked.
Changing from four at the back to three, 1874 pushed more men forward in search of a way back into the game. McGowan and Kyle Riley both drew saves from Ashcroft, but pushing forward left gap at the back which were exploited in style by City substitute John McGrath in style. Racing down the right wing he cut inside rounding the 1874 defence to fire a stunning shot from a tight angle into the far side of the net in the 83rd minute.
1874 completed the scoring in the 85th minute of a disappointing afternoon for anyone in green and black. Marking his return to the club Matt Beadle rose highest to head home from a Gardner corner.
1874 – Samburg, Connor (Parker 73), Russell, Thomas (Riley 73), Mitchell, Jones, Gardner. M Woolley, McGowan, Freakes (Beadle 62), Kennerley. Subs not used Woods, Winthrop.
CITY – Ashcroft, Lester, Foy, McEllin, Dalton, Denson, Holt, Clair (Pepper), Cairns, (Peterson 73) McDonald, Forbes (McGrath 79). Subs not used Hazlehurst, Davies
GOALS – 1874 Mitchell 40, Gardner 53, Beadle 85.
City – Cairns 21,45, 70 Forbes 18 Clair 56 McGrath 83
REFEREE – A Bell
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 4 Aug 2018 | 3:00 pm | Hallmark Security League Premier | 2018/19 | 433 |
Results
| Club | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1874 Northwich | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| City of Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Officials
| Referee | Assistant Referee 1 | Assistant Referee 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Ball | Nigel Usher | Peter Brown |
KO
25
39
53
61
63
73
73
80
80
FT