Well phase 1 worked perfectly a clear run up nice lunch and great conversation,however Mother Nature decided to put her finger in the spokes with a bit of a cold snap,so over drinks I saw that the BB match was off,after the main course my fall back of Chorley had also bitten the dust so it was scratting around to see if there was anything within half an hours drive South,the joys of the internet.
So that's what brought me to Warrington still in the NPL Division 1 North. but a top of the table clash with Northwich Victoria,never been to Warrington before but had of course seen the ground on the box when they famously beat Exeter in the cup
So I made a call to the club and a very pleasant lady said pitchside photography would be fine,on arrival I was directed by really nice stewards to the chairman who confirmed that was fine,as an aside at no time did they ask for any freebies as a condition unlike their opponents who I had covered in the FA Cup v Bromley,you can guess who I was silently supporting then.
I was not alone as a photographer called Simon was shooting the game for the Non League Paper on behalf of Media Images,another nice guy,this was turning into a really great afternoon,anyhow Warrington are one of those clubs who have a full blown mascot,not sure of his name but he was very photogenic
So to the match and as has become a regular occurrence recently as kick off approached down came the rain,and a bit of sleet but hey ho that's life,anyhow a very entertaining match with Warrington absorbing early pressure before a decisive moment in the game when unable to stop Warrington's Chris Gaghan breaking clear fairly Mo Ali was red carded for a deliberate foul.This like 4 of the 6 goals happened at the opposite end of the pitch to where I (and Simon were) so all I got was a forlorn Mr Ali leaving the pitch,one of the joys of football photography is actually being at the right end occasionally
Obviously Warrington were now in the ascendancy and 2 goals later in the first half saw them comfortably on top at half time ,obviously being at the wrong end all I got was an arty celebration shot
Come the second half Northwich were still making a fight of it but it all appeared to be over when Warrington scored again with 20 minutes to go seemingly putting the match to bed,there was however to be a twist in the tale
Within the next 10 minutes Northwich had made 3-0 3-2 ,the second an absolute screamer from Bennett and Warrington were rattled,other half chances fell the way of Northwich but they were finally undone in the 90th minute when Warrington got their fourth,this time I was a the right end and wonder of wonders the scorer Deegan ran towards the camera to give some nice celebration shots,if you have a copy of the Non League paper you will see Simon's version
So a really nice day a set of shots I was pleased with and a stress free journey home,I will make a point of visiting Warrington again
