Match Information:
- Lower Breck 2-0 Padiham
- When: Saturday 3rd May 2025
- Kick-off: 3pm
- Where: Anfield Sports & Community Centre, Lower Breck Road, Liverpool, Merseyside L6 0AG
- Competition: North West Counties League Premier Division Play-Off Final
- Attendance: 646
On reflection, this was one of my most memorable groundhopping adventures throughout the past 2024/25 season.
I have to say that Play-Offs at every level of our wonderful football Pyramid provide the very best way to clinch promotion… and the worst way to lose out! Therefore great for football betting enthusiasts.
In the North West Counties League regular season, Lower Breck were truly unlucky not to gain automatic promotion accumulating 106 points only to finish second to Bury on 109.
With those appetising ingredients swirling around in my head, I set off on a 400 mile round trip utilising the M1, M6 and M62 motorways.
It is always nostalgic for me to drive up to Merseyside since it brings to mind the day I completed visits to all 92 League grounds at Liverpool versus Leicester City on 31st January 1981 when I was still at school.
Ground Description
Located behind the imposing Anfield Sports & Community Centre building and just a few hundred yards from Liverpool FC’s world famous stadium which can be glimpsed in the distance.
Indeed, Lower Breck’s large car park is continually used by Reds’ fans attending Premier League matches.
I must admit though I am often fairly sceptical about going to watch teams who play on an artificial 3G surface within a high cage due to the fact these invariably seem soulless venues.
But it was certainly not the case at Lower Breck because numerous homely features are in place including several colourful club flags on display.
Two sturdy sections of covered standing – one called ‘The Marie Rooney Stand’ – are located alongside the pitch while a 100-seater grandstand lies beyond the top goal.
Programme Details
Evocatively entitled ‘UP THE BRECK…The Play Off Final 2024/25’. It was on sale at the main entrance gate for £2.50p.
I really loved the striking front cover depicting assorted colours of the other NWCL Premier Division clubs in Subbuteo player fashion.
Inside, the contents incorporated manager’s notes, Lower Breck history & honours, NWCL table, player photos, fixtures & results, Padiham details, Non-League Paper column, player statistics, a guest article by prolific Non-League writer Trevor Knell, club merchandise details, a word search and the respective squad line-ups.
Expertly designed and printed by Matchday Programmes, this was undoubtedly the finest issue I picked up anywhere on my extensive 2024/25 groundhopping travels.
The People
All the hard-working volunteers I met at Lower Breck were extremely friendly. Their club secretary Jim Davies greeted me on arrival with a warm handshake and answered my multiple football related questions. In addition, I spent considerable time chatting to Breck’s photographer Paul Moran. He royally entertained me courtesy of some fascinating stories about his legendary father Ronnie Moran’s excellent career at Liverpool both as a player and on the coaching staff. Interestingly, Paul splits his football time following Breck and holding a Liverpool season ticket.
The Match
Visiting side Padiham had motored down 51 miles from the Burnley area accompanied by noisy support plus a man dressed as a giant stork to signify their club nickname.
Amid sunny but breezy weather conditions, first half exchanges were edgy and offered little to choose between the two sides.
Tension filled the air meaning anyone enjoying expert sports betting knowledge would have been undecided on the outcome at this point.
However in the 58th minute, a clear penalty award to Lower Breck led to Padiham skipper Daniel Morton’s straight red card for preventing a goalscoring opportunity by upending Tom Croughan in the box.
Jesse Dowling duly converted the spot kick in emphatic style. Then nine minutes into added time at the very end, Elliott Hughes dramatically fired home the second goal to spark massive supporter celebrations and noisy repeated chants of “The Breck are going up…”.
They had sealed promotion to the Northern Premier League at Step 4 of the national Non-League Pyramid for the first time in their history. Magnificent progress by a club formed as recently as 2010 in the Tuebrook area of Liverpool.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
