The Game on the 10th August...

This was another great day in GKA history as we opened the 2019/20 blog with a men’s football afterthought. Two community led club’s battled it out for a chance to progress into the Preliminary Round of the men’s game.

Drawn Number 25 Avro FC V Litherland Remyca

It was our trip to Avro FC’s Vestacare Stadium for their first ever entry into the Emirates FA Cup.

I had two guests for our opening encounter, and they were previous blog 'FA Cup Semi Final' and 'VIP One Off Special' returners, Adam and Tim Webster.  Adam is a fellow blogger as he tends to cycle around with his companion Peggy and create excellent little movies and photos of their adventures https://www.cyclingwithdogs.com/ .

However, Peggy wasn’t available as we were concerned about her renowned fouling ability on the pitch! ('joke' provided by Adam Webster). 

Adam appears to live in a hotbed of non-league football grounds and it only took us 15 minutes from his house to get to Vestacare.

It must have been a busy day as the Car Park was full and blog driver Tim had to park on a near-bye street.  

You can see the guests’ arrival here.

We headed directly into the club bar for the GKA’s first taste of non-league hospitality in 2019.  The bar was quiet, appeared friendly and we ordered a pint of Tetley’s, a Sam Miguel, a can of Pepsi and 3 hot dogs – this all came to £16.15.  The hot dogs were £1.50 each and we got kinda ‘swindled’ as there was a jar of massive German hotdogs on display behind the bar, but the one’s we got were only half the size – still tasty though. I'm not sure how much the pints cost, but it must have been somewhere around the region of £4.50 each. 

We moved into the stadium and it was £5 entry and the program cost £2. 

However, we jumped at the chance of a ‘meal deal’ in which it was £10 for entry, a program, plus a pie and a pint (Pies were £2, and pints appeared to be somewhere in the region of £4.50). 

 Hand model, Tim Webster.

As we moved into the Stadium, it seemed like Ryanair extras, as there was a sign saying £2 extra to sit in the stand.  I’m surprised it wasn’t extra for hand luggage or toilet usage. 

* Since posting this blog I've been informed by Avro FC that the above sign relates to Oldham RLFC who share the ground - Avro FC do not charge extra, so I stand corrected and appreciate the support. Avro FC have informed that they will cover this sign during their games to avoid any fan confusion.   


Below is how the other half live as the ground also had a Private box area and I saw a lady in there eating Pringles away from the riffraff…

The ghostly figure is me, taking the photo 

Customary Corner flag photo

Ball on a stand

The fun started, and the passion of football could be seen all around. The Avro Team were practicing penalties and there was a fan behind the goal that kept winding them up, but I wasn’t sure if he knew them or if it was a Litherland fan – it seemed good natured banter.  The game kicked off and, just next to the £2 extra sign on the main stand, a group of around 10 Avro fans started singing ‘Looking back on when we first met.’ One fan had a drum and as they banged out a rhythm, the rain started heavily onto the artificial surface.  We moved behind the goal to get some cover and spent most of the game with a slight restricted view.  

This reminded me of the 2014 GKA visit to see Everton V Swansea in which I got £1 off the ticket price.

At Avro we were treated to a cracking first half of football that saw 7 goals, some excellent team play, some great long-range screamers and a few bar and crossbar hits.  The worse the weather got, the better the Avro team seemed to play, but they went in at half time 3-4 down.

Above was the moment Liam Ellis scored a penalty for Avro to make it 1-2 after 15 minutes!

At half time it was Avro 3-4 Litherland so we moved into the Bar to use up our voucher.

We moved into a different much larger bar that was busy, but not too packed, and it didn’t take long to get served.  I would rate this as a good pie, because it was served at a warm eatable temperature and the filling was excellent. Temperature is important, as Blog Guest Tim was once served a hot dog at Salford City that could only be eaten if he 'warmed it up' in his Bovril first. Well done on the pie front Avro FC.   

I know this is a cliché in football, but it really was a game of 2 halves.  As the weather improved, the game got worse.  We moved away from our restricted view and the game got a little tetchy for both the players and the fans. For much of the second half it felt like Agro FC as parts of the crowd abused the referee for his decisions.  It seemed like a lot of pints had be sunk (not for the players) and this brought out more passion from the fans.  The game was accompanied by shouts of ‘Ref you’re a bald daft twat’ and ‘open your eyes next time.’ A Remyaca fan turned to me and said, ‘I was a Ref for 30 years and we always got abuse.  I bet these fans complaining couldn’t do any better.’

Football is a subjective game and as the ref blow a whistle for a ‘high feet’ decision I agreed with how he’d called it, but a lot of fans where hurling him abuse.  That’s part of the beauty of the game and that helps drive the passion and debate. Part of the reason I’m writing this blog is to see if the fans give as much grief to the refs and the players in the Women’s FC Cup – it will be interesting to see.

It was a goalless second half and great day out for the GKA.

See game report above…

There was a fan 'level-crossing' as we had to wait for the players to leave the field before we could vacate the stadium. As I stood next to the main singer and drummer for Avro FC, one of the Litherland fans said ‘That guy should be sectioned ’ – the banter never ends on a great day out and an excellent opening adventure. 

Thank you to both teams and sets of fans for the good times…    

Excellent Geeky Stats time (Men’s afterthought).

Route: -

Avro FC 3 – 4 Litherland Remyca

RIP Team and Stadium

Avro FC - Vestacare Stadium

Number of fans

Can’t find official numbers anywhere – somewhere around 190 (GKA guess)

* Since posting - I've been informed by Ryan Lewis (@RazzLewis) and Avro FC that the official attendance was 150.  Cheers for the update. 

Prize Money Leaders

Litherland Remyca £2,250

GKA Men’s League Table

Team	Won	Drawn	Goals For	Goals Against	GD	Points
Litherland Remyca	1	0	4	3	1	3
Avro FC	0	0	3	4	-1	0

Penalties (Men V Women)

Men 1 – 0 Women 

Next up for Litherland Remyca is a Preliminary Round tie against Sheffield FC.  I will keep an eye on this route and keep you posted, however, I won’t be attending all the games as this blog's focus is on the Women’s FA Cup…

Starting next Sunday 18^th August, with our featured game of...

Draw Number 3 Mossley Hill v Burnley Belvedere

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