Wednesday saw the home debut of North West Counties newest side Litherland REMYCA and the sense of occasion was not lost on the public, officials and players alike as Widnes played the part of visitors and ultimately – party poopers in a historic evening at Litherland Sports Park. In changeable conditions the game got underway in front of 140+ supporters and both sides seemed keen to make an early impression with Louis Austin catching the eye for the home side with consistent bursts of pace on the flanks. It was a good move forward from REMYCA which broke the deadlock as early as the eighth minute when a deflected shot fell to Mike Garside who’s reactionary chip from close range had the beating of Widnes shot-stopper Bob Cork. Widnes immediately pressed back and shortly after had an opportunity to level when Widnes’s Graham Molly was adjudged to have had his shirt pulled in the box and the referee gave a penalty. Widnes fluffed their opportunity when Litherlland’s Keeper Daniel Cameron saved well to his left to the dismay of the visitors dugout.

The game continued apace with a lot of the action in the middle of the park, the wind playing a part in the game as both sides tried Beckham-esque lobs from range but none came to fruition. The game became scrappy at times as a result and both sides may well have welcomed the opportunity to re-group at half time.
The second half was action packed compared to the first, Widnes Substitute James Thomas levelled the game on the 49th minute when running in on goal his eye spotted Cameron just a few inches too far off his line and he chipped a decent shot into the far corner. Ten minutes later Thomas put the visitors ahead when he burst through the midfield and was found with a superb pass and his powerful shot was only parried by Cameron into the net. The home support were noticeably frustrated at this point as REMYCA were playing decent football down the flanks but it was in sequential sorties through the park as both sides attacked. The night did not get any better for REMYCA as Jack Abraham was sent off for what most deemed a 50-50 challenge so there was just no luck at all for the home side.

It finished 1-2 to Widnes but apart from the result the evening was largely regarded as a success for the club, who’s start suggests that they know what they are doing and if the players can just get the rub of the green then it could be a successful season for the club.
After the game skipper Anthony Mee spoke about the club’s start for his programme column and said “The players are keen to start racking points up on the board and maybe it’s just down to us to get a bit more savvy about the way the game is played at this level. We need to be aware of where we are when the ball comes at us but I envisage that our fortunes will change sooner rather than later. We play Northwich Flixton Villa on Saturday, a club who like us will have aims of upper mid-table and perhaps more so we will be looking to take all of the points here, tonight has shown that we have the makings of a decent team and decent support so if we can get the Sports Park to be a fortress then we can achieve anything we want.”

Litherland REMYCA: Cameron, Flynn, Webb, Siadankey, Mee, Westhead, Garside, Abraham, Dunleavey, Austin, Kettley. Subs: Murphy, Carr, Campbell, Watkinson, Wright.
Widnes: Cork, Lomax, Carney, Lennon, Williams, Mitchell, Davies, Smith, Molly, Douglas, Kidgate. Subs: Skarretts, Tomas, Corner