Prescot Cables 1–3 Witton Albion

Witton Albion began 2008–09 as a different club from the one that had finished runners-up in the Northern Premier League four months earlier. The manager and almost every regular player had gone, the budget had been cut, and nobody knew what the new side was capable of. Its second match, at Prescot Cables on Tuesday 19 August 2008, produced the first answer.

Background

Jim Vince had left in May after two seasons in which Witton twice came within a play-off of promotion, the second ending in the penalty shoot-out defeat by Buxton. His assistant, Nigel Deeley, was appointed manager on 28 May 2008 and had to assemble a team almost from nothing. Of the players who started at Prescot, only the captain, Brian Pritchard, had been a regular the season before.

The new side had opened with a 1–1 home draw against Frickley Athletic on the Saturday. Prescot was an awkward place to go: Witton had lost 1–0 there in March, a result the league's own newsletter had called one of the shocks of the season, and according to the headline on the club's report they had not won at the ground in their previous five visits.

The match

The club's report was a short one, giving little more than the facts of the scoring.

Steve Smith put Witton ahead after sixteen minutes. Tony Dunne was replaced by Daniel Schwarz before the half-hour, and five minutes before the interval Ben Thornley, the former Manchester United winger who had joined that summer, made it 2–0.

Liam Kennedy pulled a goal back for Prescot on the hour. Witton's two-goal lead was restored within five minutes by Kieran Lugsden, and the score stayed at 3–1. Daniel Skelton and Tejal-Ross Thaker came on late.

The attendance was 286.

The goalscorers

All three Witton scorers were new to the club. Ben Thornley, then 33, had come through the Manchester United youth system and played for Huddersfield Town and Aberdeen; he spent two seasons at Wincham Park, part of the time alongside his younger brother Rod, who had been in the previous season's squad. The full list of players the club registered that season is on the squads page.

Aftermath

Four days later Witton won again, 2–1 at North Ferriby United, and for a week the new side was unbeaten. The first defeat came on August bank holiday Monday at home to Hednesford Town.

The win at Prescot turned out to be one of only twelve in the league all season. Witton finished 20th and were relegated; Prescot Cables finished bottom, with five wins from 42 matches. The table is on the 2008–09 league table page and the results are in the fixtures and results archive.