A Little Bit Of Luck

Leek Town 1-2 Warrington Town (Northern Premier League)

It’s been a while as I’ve been busy with county cricket recently but I’ve a few football games this week to get my teeth into and one of them is a long-awaited trip to Harrison Park in Leek, Staffordshire.

A market town on the southern edge of the Peak District I’m not entirely sure a lot goes off in Leek? My last visit here was December 2015 when I was a coach at Loughborough Dynamo, we lost 3-1 to a team containing local legendary striker Tim Grice who might even have scored a couple that day? Then managed by Lee Casswell, they had previously finished second to Mickleover Sports in the NPL Division One South, losing to Sutton Coldfield Town in the playoff final, they actually spent sixteen years at the level (bouncing between South, East and West of the NPL second tier) but gained promotion to step 3 in 2024 and have had two relatively solid, but unflattering seasons since, finishing eighth in the division under Josh Brehaut a decent return last season.

Warrington Town spent a couple of recent campaigns in the National League North before relegation in 2025 and last year finished fourteenth, but they have had a good start to proceedings sitting fifth in the table ahead of kick off, their Manager Paul Carden has been at the helm for two years, but between 2016 and 2021 he led the yellows to three successive third place finishes, all be it one of those campaigns curtailed by COVID. His second spell has seen relegation but there’s trust in the process and after wins over Guiseley, Hyde, Ilkeston and Whitby as well as a smart draw with Cleethorpes, they now look to pick up after a 4-0 thumping by Curzon Ashton was followed by a 2-2 share of the spoils with Emley on Saturday.

Eighteenth placed Leek’s only win so far has been a 4-1 second half rampage over Bamber Bridge, goalscoring hasn’t been a problem as they drew 4-4 with Avro a week ago before a 3-2 loss at Workington on Saturday, it seems to be at the other end causing the issues, in seven games so far they are yet to keep a clean sheet.

Just a 90-minute drive it’s local(ish) for me as I set off at 5pm and head through Derby town centre and past Ashbourne on the A52 and A523 where there are signs for Alton Towers. Rural middle England is peaceful and hilly down winding roads as my commute west is pleasant (whilst watching out for multiple speed cameras) through the fields of the north Staffordshire Moorlands.

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The Venue

I’m straight into Leek centre which looks surprisingly nice, before turning onto the busy Macclesfield Road where luckily there’s a parking space opposite the ground outside an old cotton mill which is these days used as a chemical plant.

The F. Ball Community Stadium (which it is known as for sponsorship reasons) backs on to the road and the stand wall behind the goal is plastered with placards of local businesses. I take a walk through the club car park and towards the turnstiles which are in the furthest corner of the stadium, entering with a scan of my pre-paid ticket a good 45 minutes ahead of kick off, it’s a real hemmed in football ground, both ends have low tinned roofs running the length, they might have seen better days but look gloriously nostalgic, to my right backed by trees high up on the hill, to my left the beautiful but industrial looking ex-cotton mill takes the skyline above the players warming up below.

I’m up in the seated stand which is a decent height for this level, standing room down at the bottom, it has a top tier that goes back a decent ten or more rows, and a press box which takes the eye, above it a board saying ‘WEMBLEY’ LEEK TOWN F.C 1989 – 90 in homage to the club reaching the FA Trophy final where they were beaten 3-0 by Barrow.

From up here perched up it’s a great view, the pitch these days of synthetic surface looks flat and wide, a couple of posts obstruct what’s in front but high up you can see the hills in the distance, the opposite side has the rooftops of semi-detached houses over a low roofed standing area where the dugouts are now in front of, last time I was here I think the seating for subs were a little closer, sat this near side next to the tunnel.

The Game

I’ve done some swatting and there’s a change each from the teams starting line-ups at the weekend, I’m keen to see young Leek goalkeeper Kornel Misciur who’s on loan from Liverpool whilst Josh Vela lines up for Warrington, he’s had numerous football league games for the likes of Bolton, Shrewsbury and Fleetwood Town.

Warrington are in yellow and their start is full of confidence as they box in purple wearing Leek to defensive duty, all of the early pressure is of the away side and they get their break on ten when Evan Gumbs punches a ball over the top from the right back berth for Jack Goodwin to run on to, he drives hard and low from a tight angle to squeeze home a deserved lead.

That lead lasts barely a minute though, with their first attack of the game Leek’s Hayden Campbell finds himself in the opposition box, he finds Jack Griffiths in space and the winger smashes home to break even again, back where we started, you can see how Leek manage to score so many goals as they open up Warrington all too easily.

I like their shape, as the hosts grow into the game, a 4-2-3-1 with big Alex Panter up front, Hayden Campbell in the number ten role has a nice touch, whilst out wide two buzzing quick wingers in Griffiths and Hurst.

Defensively though they look like they can be got at, not convinced by their full backs, their centre halves are both nice, perhaps too nice, Edwards and Hockenhull look like they could do with someone big and ugly beside them.

Which is something Warrington have in abundance. They have Gumbs and Scott Butler at the back, both are big and nasty looking, Butler in particular attacking the ball with a grunt every time he heads it. Bobby Bjork offers a further defensive cushion in midfield, Josh Vela provides experience, Ewan Bange up front is a big tall unit who likes the scrap, he’s hard to get the ball off and his hold up play is very good.

The Score

From a frantic start, there’s not much action in the first half other than a Leek goal ruled out correctly for offside, the second half however immediately brings the game back to life again as an early free kick pumped into the box somehow leads to Scott Goodwin being unmarked and he places home to put Warrington in front a second time.

Moments later the away side self-combust again, Reece Daly picked up a soft yellow in the first half and he’s left his foot in on the half way line, Referee having no option but to brandish another yellow, an early bath, 40 minutes or more now Warrington must hang on whilst a man light.

The advantage in numbers provides Leek hope, suddenly their tails are up and they play keep ball on the edge of their opponents penalty area, chances are created too, first Griffiths brilliantly stands up for Campbell who’s header from inside the six yard box is straight at the keeper, then the same player bobbles one wide from fifteen yards out, before blazing over on 78, ‘rubbish’ shouts a fella sat alone next to me, Campbell looks a good number ten, but tonight is certainly not his night.

Leek are picked off on the break as Misciur makes one brilliant save when one-on-one but it’s the home side largely in control, pumping balls into the box, headed away and blocked by the bodies of Gumbs and Butler on numerous occasions, Warrington do ride their luck though, Leek have the ball in the back of the net again but Campbell is adjudged to be offside when he heads back across goal for Buckley to bundle in, then Emmerson has a low shot cannon off the bottom of the post to safety, you feel the longer they go on, the more you fancy 'lucky' Warrington, which is also testament to the way they dig in and defend, it’s the sort of performance and victory that brings together a team, providing belief, at one point a late hopeless long ball goes straight through to the keeper and Evan Gumbs guides it back, “relaaaaax” is the confident shout.

The Stars

From minute 51 it was all about digging in and defending for Warrington and you know what, I think they have at least a couple of players in their team who really enjoy it, Gumbs and Butler will take centre stage for some heroic work but I liked what Bobby Bjork offered in midfield, I loved what big Ewan Bange provided up top, and out wide on the right, Jack Goodwin was a positive player with pace, a couple of goals for him too.

As for Leek, Liverpool loanee Kornel Misciur shown a couple of reasons why he’s so highly thought of, a couple of things to work on still, kicking always big, clean and crisp, not always staying on the pitch though.

Liam Edwards did well at the back but I feel Leek can be got at, defence is after all their Achilles heel, but going forward they offer various levels of threat, Jack Griffiths was my favourite player (of both sides) on the night, hard working and a real nuisance on the left wing, he’s inventive and persistent in the way he plays, similarly effective was Alex Hurst down the right, who put plenty of balls into the box especially during the latter stages of the second half.

Whilst Hayden Campbell didn’t have his best night, I did see plenty that I liked from him, a little which I didn’t so much, neat on the ball he takes up good spaces in and around the box, if he was a little more aggressive and took his chances more often, he perhaps wouldn’t have had as many clubs as he’s already had?

The Verdict

Leek is lovely, a nice looking town centre and a great football club with history, Harrison Park has been home since 1948 and I love it, a little like Buxton up the road but bigger and better, this feels like how non-league football in England should be played, in old warn tin roofed stadiums in the centre of rural market towns, grounds backed by memoirs of the nations industrial 19th century past with views out to farther pastures, a stadium which I hadn’t been to in ten or eleven years, which other than the playing surface, hasn’t changed a bit in that time.

This season, I think Leek will be ok, middle to lower end of the division, if they can sort out their defence, they’ll stop shipping goals, but they have more than enough in attack to cause opposition threat regardless.

As for Warrington, highly impressed, they have the sort of tools you need to get out of a division, big defenders who like defending, experienced midfielders who like midfielding, and a classic centre forward that oozes non league cult status in Ewan Bange.

Get yourself to Leek, and also go watch Warrington play, if you love this level of football, you won’t be disappointed.

The Teams

Leek Town: Kornel Misciur, Liam Buckley (Zak Emmerson 73), Josh Bickerton (Jack Stafford 52), Ben Hockenhull, Liam Edwards, Billy Reeves (Oliver Shenton 68), Jack Griffifths, Lucas Weir, Alex Panter, Hayden Campbell, Alex Hurst.

Warrington Town: Mateusz Hewelt, Luke Burke, Josh Doherty, Bobby Bjork, Evan Gumbs, Scott Butler, Jack Goodwin (Callum Edwards 88), Josh Vela, Ewan Bange (Ben Elliott 88), Reece Daly, Zayn Saddiq (Olatunde Bayode 86).

7:45pm Kick Off. Tuesday 1st September 2026, Harrison Park, Leek (att 481).