Care In The Community?

Yesterday saw the first teams through to the quarter finals of the Goldline Trophy, although of the four going through only two were actually playing. First up, group 2 and in a bit of an upset Prestwich Heys, who have reached the last two finals and were the defending champions, were eliminated when the could only draw at home to Atherton Town. Atherton had been two goals up and although Prestwich did come back, they couldn't find a winner to extend their campaign. The point that Atherton picked up sees them through to the quarter finals, and also took Euxton Villa into the next round. Euxton go to Atherton on Thursday to decide who wins the group.

Yesterday's other Goldline game came in group 3 as Daisy Hill hosted Breightmet United. Breightmet won for the second time in three days, which was enough to take them into the quarter finals. The 3-1 win for the Manchester League side also meant that Atherton LR have qualified. Again the only thing left to determine is who wins the group, with Breightmet and LR meeting on Tuesday.

The West Lancashire League opened with every team in the Premier Division (and indeed in the First Division) scoring at least one goal. The top scorers were Blackpool Wren Rovers who go top of the nascent table after beating Southport side Fleetwood Hesketh by six goals to one. The other high scorers were Burnley United who had a fairly straightforward 5-2 win at First Division champions Poulton Town. Although Poulton found the step up tough, their fellow promotees Garstang had a much better start, as they defeated Eagley 2-1. In the match between last years second and fifth placed teams, Haslingden St Mary's took the three points with a 2-1 victory over Charnock Richard, whilst Dalton United, Euxton Villa and Fulwood Amateurs also won their opening games. The only draw was at Turton with Coppull United taking home one point.

Later this afternoon is the traditional (since the 1970s anyway) starter of the English season, the Community (nee Charity) Shield and sees Premiership champions Manchester United take on FA Cup winners Chelsea. To be honest I'm not sure that either side will be too bothered about winning the Shield, but I doubt that either side will be too keen to lose to their potential title rivals. For that reason I suspect it will be a fairly cagey affair, and would not be too surprised if the match went to a penalty shoot-out