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Marshalls v Capenhurst Villa

3pm  25 January 2020

West Cheshire League, Division One
Marshalls 7 Capenhurst Villa 1 (att 36)

It's sometimes tempting to think there's a not a huge difference in standard between leagues when you get into the amateur ranks. But, enjoyable as the day's earlier Liverpool Old Boys League match was, this game was at another level entirely.

The West Cheshire League, in particular its top division which sits at 'step seven' of the non-League pyramid, usually delivers football of a high standard. Marshalls were excellent, and in the first half at least Capenhurst had no answer.

The hosts scored early, soon doubled their lead, and although the visitors got one goal back they trailed by an insurmountable 5-1 by half time. Marshalls had made it seven with half-an-hour left to play, and would surely have score more had they not been reduced to 10 men.

The straight red card, for a reckless challenge, was justified, but seemed harsh compared to other incidents in the game which had only resulted in yellow cards being waved at offenders.

Being a man down for the final 15 minutes or so didn't lessen Marshalls' dominance, but they saw the time out by keeping possession rather than chasing a bigger score. Capenhurst, although outplayed, looked a good side at times, and contributed to an enjoyable 90 minutes.

The game was on pitch three at Heron Eccles, the pitch furthest from the changing rooms and a right angles to pitches one and two. There's a spectator area on the near side, and a pair of dugouts on the far side.

As it's the only pitch with dugouts I assume it's where Marshalls' first team play all their home fixtures. While this game was happening Liverpool Hibernia were hosting AFC Kirkby on pitch two, and pitch one was unused other than for some impromptu kickabouts.







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