Two's Company Wigan v Padiham Padiham v Wigan

Two games to go and it's third placed Padiham at home on Tuesday and then away on Saturday. Seems a bit odd to me but the Robins will be going all out to win both games following excellent results at Darwen and Eccleshall this week.

So firstly a few observations on these games

Darwen
Long walk from station
No draught beer
Fantastic pie and peas
Won 3-0
Very convincing performance
Including one from Paul Vermiglio - The Beast of Darwen in the 89th minute! It would be cruel to mention that it was going in any way when he hit it and it was amusing to see him (rightly) booked for taking his shirt off. A fine figure of a man... NOT
It was even more amusing to see him trying to get the shirt back on again afterwards. In fact the referee ordered him off the playing area to do so as it was putting off the crowd and players alike
Darwen's stand is pretty great n' all. It's seen better times but it was a proper old thing. All that was missing was the smell of pipe tobacco and you would have been transported back to 1965

Eccleshall
Bad accident on M6 on way there - when isn't there one?
Glorious sunny weather
Absolutely top old clubhouse. Their hospitailty was second to none
Lovely cold draught beer
Butties at half time, choice of either chilli or curry with rice afterwards
Won 2-1
Really good game
Daz Mullen without hairband
Might have helped him play better if he had kept it on. Either that or not had a chip butty as his pre-match meal
The Beast of Darwen back in the ressies
Interesting (????!?!?!) night in Bryn when we got back...

And so on to this week's games

Not much to say other than just enjoy them. We are fifth and will now finish there - more on this next week. We can however cock up Padiham's challenge. Whilst I have no gripe with Padiham it is imperative the team finish in good form. Wins in both games will mean 4 wins on the bounce which is what we must aim for

As for Padiham FC: Here's what I posted earlier this year from the Wiganpedia blurb

When the club was formed in 1878 it was among the first football clubs in Lancashire and was well supported, attracting an attendance of 9000 for a match against neighbours Burnley in 1884.[1] At this time Padiham's ground was on the banks of the River Calder, hence the nickname, The Caldersiders.

Padiham was one of the first clubs to support the legalisation of professional football. However, this backfired as they were unable to compete with clubs in larger towns such as Blackburn, and the club folded in 1916. The club lost their ground during World War I and lay dormant until after the end of the Second World War.

Then in 1949 the club was resurrected with the opening of the Arbories Memorial Sports Ground. A crowd of 1,777 turned up to see their opening fixture of the season in the Lancashire Combination Football League.

They became founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982 but left the league in 1990. They returned in 2001 after spending £300,000 on upgrading the Arbories Memorial Sports Ground and finished in the top four of the second division in 2003 and 2005.

So all told a pretty good old club. As for the town well it sits on the River Calder and is three miles from Burnley and sits in the shadows of Pendle Hill.

Padiham (H) League, th'athletics stadium Tues 28 April 2009 8.00pm - £3.50 to geet in.

After Saturday's game the Robins presentation do will be at Park Lane Club starting at 7.30pm. There will be an excellent comedian and food with tickets costing £5 each. Please bring as many as possible including wives/girlfriends (but not both) to help with the cost of everything. The bar will be open until late so there are no excuses!

If you need more info or want to purchase tickets please get in contact with any of the following.

John Neafcy 07988 817886
Taffy Roberts 07802 720794
Mickey Birch 07766 408200