Through rose tinted pints and overlooking concrete slabs, both Salford City and AFC Fylde are teams that break a traditional lower league mould. A new generation of North West residing clubs, it's through mushy peas, gravy heavy chips that Pie & Football takes an early twist.
This contest, a match up between two of the trailblazers of the National League North, was one of loggerheaded proportions. Salford City with their Class of '92 backing, matching up against AFC Fylde and their savvy investors. Both teams are being built from the ground up, embracing a grass-rooted game and providing blood flow around a local football flavoursome community. What's more, they both sit at the top of the National League North (6th tier of English football) on the hunt for promotion. So it was a huge shock when Salford City, who sit in second, started hitting the back of the net for fun.
With 1,485 spectators looking on, Salford found themselves rattling in five and royally set out their stall in detailing just how serious a challenger in this league (and higher) they are. A clean sheet too, the game ended 5-0 to Salford City and provided a raft of scenes we can all enjoy, captured by Photographer Ross Cooke.
Saturday beers leading the way to Sunday's hangover, this is a view accompanied a backdrop of future prosperity. The skeleton shell and foundations to a new stand are on show and pop in the distance through these photos and while fans scramble around the edges for a glimpse of what's to come, many are already on the inside providing serious party. No trouble, good spirits and a game to feel a part of. Strong, emotive stuff.
As mentioned, a twist lies in wait for this pied offering. A surprise instalment for a fixture that shows that while serving of pastries may be a pick for the people, there are more polystyerene playmakers out there. Namely in this instance: Chips, Mushy Peas and Gravy.
Pie Rating (We went for the chips)
Price: £2 ― 8/10
Size: Spuds rising high ― 8/10
Crispyness: A crispy coated chip with a fluffy core ― 7.5/10
Pastry: Who needs enemies when you've got chips ― NA/10
Filling: Forget the filling, this had mushy peas AND gravy ― 9/10
Score: 32.5/50
Photography by Ross Cooke for SoccerBible.
Thanks to Salford City and Umbro for welcoming us in.
