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Park United made it three wins and a draw from their first four games to lead division 2 after beating Lostock Hall 2-1 thanks to goals from Charlie Helsby and Eddie Mortan. They share top spot with Penwortham Town who won 4-2 at Walton-le Dale Wanderers and who have played two games more. South Ribble DC’s excellent start to the season continued with a 2-0 away win at Bamber Bridge Town, second placed Fishwick Rangers lost ground after they were beaten 3-1 by Leyland.

Sir Tom Finney lead division 1 with a 100% record after putting Whittle Wanderers to the sword at the Arena and Fulwood Park Rangers lost their 100% start to the season when they lost 5-1 at home to Warton. Bamber Bridge United head the premier division after beating AFC Ingol 2-1 in an excellent game at UCLan Arena. They took the lead through Ollie Evans but Mitch Newsham levelled matters before the interval and this closely contested match was decided by a second goal from Ollie Evans.

Ribbleton went 2-0 up at home to newly promoted Earnshaw Bridge but they eventually lost 4-2 to goals from William Banks, Mark Carlton, Kurtis Robinson and one from substitute Robert Sands. Ribbleton Manager Terry Clayton and his assistants are doing a first class job with their young team, the majority of whom are teenagers. Hunters & Ingol Rangers had a comfortable win at Theatre Boys and Ashton on Ribble drew 2-2 at home to Tanterton & Springfields.

The LFA Sunday Trophy First Round match between Acregate Lane LC and Farnworth Royal Vets, which was abandoned on 8 September due to misconduct by Farnworth Royal, has been decided in Acregate Lane’s favour as they were the innocent party. Acregate Lane LC will now play Blackburn Eagles at Ribbleton Park on Sunday 22 September.

Round up and photos by Eamonn McNamara with additional photos by Steven Taylor.

Nineteen of our clubs feature in the draw for the second round of this year’s LFA Sunday Trophy and the ties are scheduled to be played on Sunday 22 September 2019.

By and large the draw has been kind to us with just two all Lancashire Sunday League ties. Hunters & Ingol Rangers will face fellow premier division side Earnshaw Bridge at the UCLan Sports Arena and there is an all division 2 clash between Walton-le-Dale Wanderers and Worden Rangers.

LFA Sunday Trophy - Round 2

Acregate Lane LC or Farnworth Royal Vets	v	Blackburn Eagles
AFC Ingol	v	Clifton Rangers
AFC Lane Ends	v	South Ribble DC
Bamber Bridge United	v	FC Rangers
Fleetwood Cons	v	Ashton Villa
Fylde Rangers	v	Fulwood Park Rangers
Hunters & Ingol Rangers	v	Earnshaw Bridge
Lostock Hall	v	Newton Arms
Ma Kellys Showboat	v	Midgery Court
Rochdale Sacred Heart	v	Theatre Boys
Rufford Park Rangers or Lord Raglan	v	Standish Sabres
Sir Tom Finney	v	Cleveleys Town
Springfield (Wigan)	v	Warton
Tanterton & Springfields	v	Orrell Athletic
Tarleton Corinthians	v	Prestley
Walton-le-Dale Wanderers	v	Worden Rangers
Wilbraham North End	v	Anchorsholme

Eamonn McNamara.

Walton Athletic beat Whittle Wanderers 7-5 in a thrilling division 1 game played at on an excellent pitch at London Road. The scores were level 4-4 at half time thanks to a four goal exhibition by Walton’s Josh Martin and some opportunistic scoring by the Whittle forwards.

The new system for recording results (courtesy of the FA) meant that many of the results were not to hand, however in the LFA Sunday Trophy Warton beat Dog Inn 9-0, Gregson Lane Wanderers lost 4-0 at Mill Hill, Southport & Ainsdale Amateurs (who won the Trophy in 2016) were beaten 7-2 at home by AFC New Street, Theatre Boys beat Freckleton 8-1, Bamber Bridge United won 7-1 at Walton-le-Dale United and Wilbraham North End (formerly Ribble FC) had a comfortable 8-0 win against Tottington United Vets at Mill Lane.

The Youth section saw Garstang win 3-1 at Fleetwood Town, North Lancs and AFC Blackpool drew 2-2, Winstanley Warriors won 2-1 at Clitheroe, Chipping won 4-3 at Penwortham St Teresas, Park United beat Lostock St Gerards 3-1, New Longton Rovers won 2-1 at Pennington and Lostock Hall SC drew 6-6 with Wyre Villa.

Round up and photos by Eamonn McNamara.

Bamber Bridge United, the club which nearly folded at the end of last season now find themselves leading the premier division after four wins and a draw in their first five games plus a goal difference of 13. New manager Louis Bonage has done a fantastic job although he will want to deflect praise to his players who are clearly doing the business on the park. Today’s 6-1 win at Ashton on Ribble came via four goals from Oliver Evans and a brace from Harry Fisher.

Hunters & Ingol Rangers beat new boys Earnshaw Bridge 5-1 to make it two wins out of two, AFC Ingol’s good start continues with a most impressive 6-0 home win against Southport & Ainsdale Amateurs, Acregate Lane LC also bagged six in their 6-1 home win against Tanterton & Springfields and Theatre Boys beat Ribbleton 6-4.

Photos and round up by Eamonn McNamara.

Preston Referees Society’s first meeting of the season will be held at The Guild Lounge, Preston North End FC, Lowthorpe Road on Monday 2nd September 2019 commencing at 7.30pm. All referees are urged to attend this meeting and support the Society.

Society member Mark Doherty will deliver a presentation on his role as an FA Level 2 Tutor. Mark is also an FA Observer, and former Level 3 contributory referee. He is currently refereeing on the West Lancashire League and the Lancashire Sunday League.

There will also be a quiz on the Laws of the Game and a raffle.

Anyone interested in taking up refereeing, especially ex-players can attend, and they will be made most welcome.

Eamonn McNamara.

Sunday 1st September sees the opening group fixtures in our much expanded youth divisions, as well as the preliminary rounds of the Syndicate Trust Youth Cup.

This follows a far reaching consultation with over 60 youth teams across Lancashire where they were asked how their football should be delivered. Coaches, secretaries, managers, club development officers, and Chairmen took part in the transition survey process, which looked to address why players leave the game in such huge numbers at this age group.

Whilst lifestyle and social choices were a significant factor, the quality and quantity of football offered was also key to these players remaining in the game. Over 90% of respondents cited player progression and development, in conjunction with enjoyment, respect and fair play as their main motivations, compared to just 8% who wanted to win a trophy.

Most surprising was that a vast majority were prepared to travel to achieve football of comparable ability with 80% in favour of a short seeding phase, ahead of the main competitive season.

Clubs will compete in small 5 team groups and play games in September and early October, along with the LFA Cup competitions. The results data will then be used to assist the league to align the teams for the remainder of the season.

We wish all 35 of our youth teams the very best in the coming season.

Eamonn McNamara.

Physical Training: The Society provides physical training for its members at UCLan Sports Arena Training every Monday evening between 6.30-7.30pm except on Society Monthly Meeting nights when it will be brought forward to 6.00-7.00pm.

For further details about the physical training sessions please contact Paul Marsden here.

Lancashire Sunday Football League is always happy to accept new referees to its list of officials. If you have any enquiries about refereeing on the League or would like to be added to the list of officials, please contact the League's Referee Manager Mark Moore here.

Mid Lancashire Football League operates on Saturday afternoons for Open Age clubs and they are also happy to accept new referees to its list of officials. If you have any enquiries about refereeing on the League or would like to be added to the list of officials, please contact the League's Referee Secretary Tony Hawkes here.