Soccer Travels: Non-League Football - A day out at Atherton Collieries

Up close and personal lower league football

One of the best aspects of living in the northwest of England is that you are never far from a non-league football team’s stadium. Within a few miles of my house, there are a dozen non-league teams from various levels of semi-professional, amateur, and fully-professional football.

On Saturday, needing a football fix, having not been to a live match since April, I made the short drive to the Skuna Stadium, home of Atherton Collieries AFC. I’ve been a few times to see Collieries during the regular season, but this was the first time I went to see a preseason fixture. Atherton took on Bolton Wanderers B team in the game, strengthening a relationship between the two clubs that stretches back years.

Founded in 1916, Collieries were formed by local miners who worked in the pits around the Atherton area. The Skuna Stadium isn’t too far from the Lancashire Mining Museum, which provides a great insight into the region’s past in the coal mining industry. The region’s mining history can be seen in the area and many of the older population may have, in some way, had a direct link to mining.

Colls currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, which is the seventh tier of English football. So many times I’ve daydreamed of winning the Euro Millions lottery and buying a club at this level.

The Skuna is just off the main road amongst old terrace housing and a few newer buildings. The ground is easy enough to reach, but don’t expect much parking in the area. Finlay (my 10-year-old son) and I were dropped off nearby and made a short walk up to the stadium.

It is an old ground with a single gate for entry. There are no tickets at this level, just pay at the gate. On previous visits, it was cash-only, but the club has invested in a card machine. Unfortunately, I was charged double by the person at the gate due to their inexperience using the card machine. At least the money goes to a good cause, local football.

Prices on Saturday were £7 and £4. We added a match programme for £2 to get to know the 2023-24 team further. Unfortunately, due to chilly, rainy weather across the northwest of England, fans stayed away from the Skuna. It was the smallest crowd I’d experienced at the stadium.

Despite a lack of fans turning up, the atmosphere was enjoyable. Inside the clubhouse, which has a full bar, the waning minutes of the England women’s team’s match versus Haiti from the Women’s World Cup played out on TV.

We headed outside to take up our spot standing by the edge of the pitch. The Skuna has three covered areas to watch the match from. Only one of them has seating. We opted to stand to watch the match with a view of the 18-yard box.

Fans are right up next to the pitch and can even talk with the players. On our first visit to the Skuna in 2021, the Atherton Collieries left-back gave Finlay a fistbump before taking a throw-in. He was made up after the experience. For the next few months, Finlay’s dream wasn’t to play for Liverpool but for Atherton instead.

You can hear every “fuck”, “shit”, and “goddamnit” screamed on the pitch. While sitting in a Premier League or Football League ground, you are far away from the players and referee, but you can hear nearly everything the players say at the Skuna. This doesn’t make it unique compared to other non-league grounds. But there are plenty of non-league grounds that are larger and plenty more that are smaller.

I had contemplated joining the Atherton 1916 Club. It is like a season ticket but a bit different. Members pay £20 a month over the course of 12 months (£240) for admission into all home league and friendly matches. In addition, members receive a free pie at each home fixture and four free beer tokens. The idea is to provide the club with a steady income to help the squad compete at its highest-ever level. While I’d love to join, my biggest issue is how often I would be able to attend matches.

The opening half was entertaining, with Colls starting well. Bolton B took some time to get established, but once they did, they took advantage of Colls on the break. Bolton’s team was made up of young players, with many likely coming from their academy. Several caught the eye immediately, including the starting left-back, central midfielder, and centre-back. Unfortunately, players did not have their names on the backs of their jerseys, making it difficult to know who the players were — if you didn’t already.

Atherton Collieries had three trialists in the starting XI. Their names were missing from the starting teamsheet, with “trialist” being written in place of a name. None of Colls’ trialists caught the eye. Although the tall central midfielder wearing the No 4 impressed most of the trio.

The No 9 and No 11 were unable to stay on side and were regularly called for being ahead of the play. Playing in the seventh tier of football, it must be incredibly difficult to sign high-quality strikers and wingers. Why? Because those positions are the most sought-after by clubs around the world. If a forward scores goals at any level, a club from a higher tier will snap them up as quickly as possible.

Halftime came and Bolton led 3-0. With 15 minutes to kill, we headed into the club shop. In the modest room in one of the outbuildings built around the perimeter of the ground, Colls had several items for sale. I was surprised by the number of gimmicks on offer, including shirts, mugs, pint glasses, scarves, and more. A scarf and coffee mug set me back £16 and was well worth it. I’ve been drinking tea out of the mug ever since.

The second half started well for Colls. A Bolton own goal made the score 3-1, but a goalkeeping error and a brilliant finish from a Bolton forward made the score 4-1. Colls didn’t go away and a header from a set-piece made the score 4-2. With Colls getting a foothold in the final third, Bolton put together the best passing move of the match, leading to their nippy left winger getting in on goal and curling a shot into the goal with his right foot.

The fixture ended 5-2, with Collieries unable to get any more goals. Although frustrating for Colls, it was just a preseason match. Staying in the Northern Premier League Premier Division will be the club’s main objective. Anything else will be icing on the cake.

After the match finished, we went around to the area of the pitch where the players walk off to the changing rooms. Finlay wanted to get as close as possible to see the players walk off the pitch. The excitement of a child to see footballers up close showed on his face. We stood and watched the remaining players do their cool down on the pitch before exiting the stadium, discussing the next time we’d be able to see Colls play.