11am 5 June 2022
Eccles Sunday League, Division Two
The Swan 7 D & P United 0 (att 48)
I usually preface reports of Eccles League games with a reminder that while I don't generally watch Sunday league football I do watch summer leagues, and this competition made the switch several years ago.
It seems to be thriving since moving away from winter football, and even now occasionally throws up a previously unvisited venue. The Swan play at the Broughton Cricket and Rugby Union ground in Salford.
It's a venue with history, having apparently, in 1878, staged the first ever floodlit rugby match. The impressive two-storey clubhouse might not date back that far, but it provides a good backdrop to the playing field.
A rugby pitch runs widthways in front of the clubhouse, while the football pitch is beyond it at right angles, and feels enclosed with houses surrounding the perimeter.
Unusually for this league The Swan are well supported, and their fans had plenty to cheer as they overwhelmed opponents who take their name from the Dog and Partridge pub in Eccles.
They home side were ruthless in the opening half, scoring four and coming close to adding several more. The second period was more even in terms of play, but further goals rounded off a great morning for The Swan.
The format of this year's Eccles Sunday League is a challenge to work out, and the league's Full Time website isn't helpful. As far as I can tell, teams were initially split into three groups, playing each other once to determine which divisions they'd be in for the second phase. This was a second phase division two encounter.
Brilliant 👏
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