The Great Escape, The fans eye view

Saturday 12th April 2025 will live long in the memory for us Prestwich Heys fans, we beat Irlam 2-1 at Adie Moran Park with a late penalty from Max Bardsley-Rowe meaning somehow, after everything that had gone on in the previous nine months we were going to stay in the North West Counties Premier League for another season.

As The final whistle goes the Sandgate Road End erupts, I grab the PA microphone out of my back pocket run round to the 'tunnel' bellowing 'the Heys are staying up!' admittedly with a tear in my eye but who cares?, it had been a long, long road for our passionate band of supporters and the article you about to read (please stick with it ha!) is our story,  one of the biggest rollercoaster rides this football club has ever seen, a story of being dead and buried in mid December, then securing safety with a game to go and everything that happened in between, so grab a beer or a brew, get comfy and read on.

2024 was a summer of upheaval and uncertainty, the previous regime of Lee O'Brien and James Hampson had departed, deciding to take a break from the game and former goalkeeper Russ Saunders and Matty Russell were appointed, Russ was a familiar face round the place and was his first step into management, but little was known of Matty Russell, although his CV of clubs played for was an impressive one.

Me Simon and Mike soaking up staying up in the stand at AMP after Irlam win

It all started on Tuesday 2 July with a trip to Aquinas College to play Stockport Georgians, its more like a training session, its an artificial pitch in a sports facility, no linesman just the referee and teams. Initially a few familiar faces including former striker Jack Coop who ironically went on to sign for relegated Squires Gate. It is mainly trialists though, we lose 3-1 although our goal was a terrific free kick by the returning Dylan Fitzgerald.

I bump into Russ in the Premier Inn car park round the corner and had a quick chat, he already looked really nervous after one pre season game, thought nothing of it at the time, it was only weeks after when we were struggling my memory flashed back to this moment and I couldn't get it out of my head.

Pre season was a mixed bag, a good win against Atherton Colls from the league above and fellow counties team Glossop North End were the highlights but as we took to the field for the opening game 27th July away at Cheadle Town only two players who finished the previous season under OB and James took to the field, Gabriel Mooney-Munoz and Dylan Fitzgerald. Yes a few others with previous spells at the club over the years the rest were relatively unknowns.

So, with little known of what to expect we travel to Cheadle in the sun its a lovely little ground and a great place for the opening day of the new campaign  although I do get my first shock of the season before a ball is even kicked getting charged £19 for three pints in a pub round the corner. It was a low point and in the 2024-25 that was really saying something!, everyone laughed at me in the pub at the ridiculous charge but the real reason they  were laughing was because I had made a mistake and it wasn't even my round.....it was Conrads!, doh!.

We lose 2-1 to a late goal after a great 20 minute spell in the second half, disappointing result but we are competitive, if a bit lightweight but we headed to the pub after the game with no real cause for concern as we thought, I mention to Conrad that four pubs lay on the high street and asked him which ones he wanted to do....'all of them!' he replied, yes football and our away days were well and truly back!.

AFC Liverpool at home followed on the Tuesday, we battle hard but lose 1-0 to another late goal deep in injury time, a scenario that would raise its ugly head several times over the course of the season.

The FA Cup pre qualifying round saw a familiar face with a trip to Stocksbridge Park Steels who we had took to a replay a couple of years back in the same competition, we are a goal down and down to nine men after the Reeves brothers decided to get themselves sent off but to the delight of us visiting fans we manage to equalize late on, but again concede last minute and its another case of battling hard, falling short and we bow out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle.

Our first point comes three league games into the season against a poor Colne side, its a dour struggle and early signs that we could be in for a tough season, same for Colne but more of them later.

Daylight though in the following game on the Wednesday night against newly promoted South Liverpool, Phil drives me James and Lloyd, we arrive early and go for a walk around the ground which has a cracking view of the River Mersey looking back across the water into Liverpool.

Wide man Luc Ferry is our star and puts us 2-0 up at half time and we play with a new look confidence, we add a third late on and fully deserve the 3-0 win, we leave the ground buzzing thinking we had turned the corner (or had we?) and I got to write a winning match report with the headline 'Ferry double on the Mersey as Heys sail past South Liverpool'....priceless!.

Coach and Horses after Irlam

Home defeats followed against Stockport Town and Abbey Hey where we are simply not at the races, little game plan and players struggling but it was our first round trip to Worsbrough Bridge Athletic in the FA Vase, rock bottom of the North East Counties Division One without a win and barely a goal all season where for many of us the lowest point of the season came.

The whole day was a strange tale, the game is being played on a Sunday,  we head to Worsbrough which is near Barnsley and find a pub across the road from the ground, the windows are boarded up, but sure enough the door is open and its quite nice inside. I get chatting to the landlord asking why all his windows are boarded up and he explains someone had a vendetta against him and kept smashing them up!, so rather than keep repairing them he just boarded them up but kept the pub open...problem solved, yes it really was that simple....bizzare!.

The man on the turnstile says, 'I know you've had a tough start but you'll be fine today as we are rubbish!', 'lets see' I replied and we turned in an absolute shocker, 2-0 down in thirty minutes, the home crowd rightly lapping it up and the large contingent of Heys fans just wanting the ground to swallow them up. Heys regular and former player Nick kindly drove us up and brought his wife Judith along for the very first time. I remember at 2-0 down she looked at him as if to say 'do you lot REALLY do this every week?!...as  bad as it was that was quite amusing. We rally in the second half a little but lose 3-2 to a team who wanted it so much more than we did , I stand by the exit as the final whistle and hear the home fans cheering like they had won the FA Vase after a huge scalp, but was it really?....we were sinking and it was on this day the 'relegation' word was first brandished about.

Matty Russell bless him finds me in the bar 30 minutes after the final whistle and asks me my 'thoughts' on the game, talk about bad timing, lets just say I didn't hold back.

Slight relief came at the end of August with a 1-0 win up at Squires Gate, I miss the game as I'm sunning myself on Holiday in Turkey, the lads text it was by no means a classic but three points on the board, I sit with a beer by the pool with a smile on my face thinking in four visits to Squires Gate I had never seen Heys win, maybe they were trying to tell me something eh?.

This was to be our last win in the league for some time, until 21 December to be precise, four painful months were about to begin as we rack up nine straight defeats in the Counties. 

A 3-1 defeat at home to  the Isle of Man a heavy 4-1 defeat at Padiham the week after increase the volume of alarm bells that were already ringing and the regular away day lads sit in the Hare and Hounds a stones through from Padiham's ground after the game, its quiet, very quiet, we change the subject from football and the game we just watched but deep down we all know we are in big trouble.

The defeats keep coming and we head to table topping Ramsbottom mid September fearing the worst. We battle hard and grab a late equaliser from wide man Erike Sousa making it 1-1 and rejoice at the thought of maybe turning a corner, but again the old story of conceding late from a corner continues the woe in a 2-1 defeat. We did have the consolation of 'Rammy' being a top away day, real ale fan Simon is rubbing his hands and takes us to a couple of bars he knows to drown our sorrows, at one point I was drinking chocolate stout!...as you do!.

Ramsbottom Away

A glimpse of improvement the following Tuesday as are 2-0 up at AMP by half time to high flying Chadderton which no one saw coming but you sensed the visitors were not done and hit us for five after the break before a late consolation made it 5-3.

I take the short walk home thinking something needed to change, the players were battling but they looked like a team of strangers that had just met and asked to paly football together, we head to Litherland on the Saturday where to be fair we never get anything, its no change this year we lose 2-1 and it could have been a lot more.

A win on penalties against Irlam in the Macron Cup after a credible 2-2 draw is a welcome distraction but the league defeats continue. 

Its Tuesday 8th October we travel to Charnock Richard, a happy hunting ground for us in recent years and tonight it continues as we grab a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw, a deserved point but any talk of a turnaround is not happening as we sink to a 3-0 defeat at home to St Helens four days later on the Saturday. The atmosphere in the clubhouse after the game is the worst I can remember, everyone had seen enough, we were now rooted to the bottom of the league and going nowhere fast and Chairman Jon Lyons took the decision soon after the game to relieve managers Russ Saunders and Matty Russell of their duties.

Its a sad day for the club, no one wants to see managers fail, the club made the decision to give a new management team a chance on the limited budget we have and it didn't pay off but it wasn't for the lack of hard work and graft and we thank them both for everything they put in, but a change of direction was essential because as it stood we were hurtling towards Division One.

Coach Nick Simister took charge the following week for our trip to fellow strugglers Pilkington, we start really well and its 0-0 just before the break when our top goal scorer Dylan Fitzgerald  goes down after a challenge screaming in agony, his foot pointing in the wrong direction. We look on in horror as the game is stopped he cant move so the game is abandoned, the ambulance takes an hour to come and take the poor lad to hospital, his season is over, our star man is out could things get any worse?....dear god, we hoped for a speedy recovery for Dylan.

The next week its officially announced former number two to Jon Lyons in his management days Ryan Hutchinson will be the new man at the helm with Chris Lowe as his assistant. Ryan knows the workings of the club, and we as fans can only hope he can turn it around, he still had plenty of time.

Ryan gives the existing squad in his first game at home to Padiham  a chance to shine and keep a place in the side but a 3-0 defeat was enough to see wholesale changes were needed and a dozen of the existing squad were to leave the club in the next couple of weeks, and set about using his resources to find players to keep us in this league.

Two of the new lads coming in were former players midfielder Alfie Belcher and winger Max Bardsley Rowe recruited from Atherton Colls. Both were welcomed back after having successful previous spells. They made an instant impact in a battling 2-2 draw at home to West Didsbury and Chorlton with Max scoring both the goals.

New players came in as fast as the old squad left and as a result November would be an adjusting period and we continued to struggle losing the next six league games with only a 1-0  win in the Macron cup against Division one side Cheadle Heath Nomads to give us distraction. It was a worrying time, performances had improved but results hadn't.

December arrives and so does our annual trip to the Isle of Man, in which six of us decide to make a weekend of it leaving on the Friday afternoon and back Sunday but we are nervous as storm Darragh is getting to grips with the UK and a flight over to the IOM is probably not the best idea!. We get to the airport early and meet for the traditional airport bar pint and sausage butty before heading to the gate.

It is whilst stood at the gate I get a message from Heys secretary and all round legend Steve Howard that the league had decided to scrap all fixtures for the weekend on safety grounds and the game was off. I break the news to everyone and we stare in disbelief, its to late to turn back, we are about to board the plane!, the hotel was booked and non refundable. So up the steps we went and boarded the plane knowing we were going on an away weekend trip where we would see no football whatsoever, I did not know whether to laugh or cry!, what could we do?, so we decided to make the most of it in the wild conditions.

After landing, checking in a few pints and a decent meal on the Friday we see why the game was called off as its shocking outside, we wake up Saturday thinking of getting a bus round the island, the storms are still beating Douglas and all public transport is cancelled so what could we do?, we hit the first pub at midday and did a mighty fine drinking tour of the capital. Phil finds us a belting Indian restaurant for Saturday night which was very welcome, we stumbled back into the centre for more drinks in a cheerful mood having had a great day, Heys didn't lose (they didn't play!) all was good with the world having spent it with the best people.

Sunday came, the weather has calmed down and we take a walk along the promenade, I look out to sea with Heys rock bottom of the league thinking its unlikely I will be back for the re arranged game and it could be the last time I visit here for a long time but we travel back to the airport for more beer knowing we had made the very best of a weekend for football with no football, still makes me chuckle now how it all unfolded.

IOM away first attempt!

We bow out of at the third round stage of the Macron Cup with a 5-0 defeat at home to league leaders Ramsbottom, but its all about league survival and we play Longridge Town on Saturday 21 December desperately needing a win. It was evenly poised at 1-1 Michael Burke pops up through a goalmouth scramble to give us a late winner to the joy and relief of the pre Christmas crowd. I have everyone laughing as I go to announce the goal on the tannoy, realise at this point I don't know who scored it and just shouted down the microphone, ' I have no idea who scored the goal, BUT WHO CARES?!'. Eighteen games since our last league win and it was well deserved and it felt like a weight had lifted for everyone at the club the vibe in the clubhouse was great as we enjoyed our pre festive drinks hoping this would be the start of a long recovery.

Clubhouse after Longridge win

After a narrow 1-0 defeat at Irlam on Boxing Day, it was time to head to Gigg Lane for the Bury game who had just started to get a run together and were top of the league. Pre match talk in the Weatherspoon's was all about keeping the score down but cheered on by over 250 fans making a right old racket in the away end Belcher puts us a goal up early on  to scenes of celebration I'll never forget, but Bury fight back for a 2-1 half time lead.

Conrad at Bury

At this point you simply could not tell who was at the top and who were rock bottom, Belcher smashes in a free kick for 2-2 with 20 minutes to go and its game on, but heartbreak minutes later when the referee awards the hosts a ridiculous penalty to go 3-2 up and we run out of gas in the last ten minutes going down 5-2. I walked out of the ground never having felt so proud of a 5-2 defeat and was proud of this team who gave everything they had and after match talk in the Trackside bar after the game was one of hope despite our fragile position.

Its a big Saturday the following week as we take on third bottom Squires Gate, if we lose this we go thirteen points adrift but no such worries as we cruise to a 3-0 win, the new players are starting to bed in and the fans are starting to believe again, new manager Ryan, Chris and the backroom team are giving us hope, we go on to win the next two home games against South Liverpool and Litherland, the gap is closing, its game on.

Next up at the start of February was Glossop North End away, a popular away day with fans because of all the pubs en route from the station and today is no different and with momentum building on the pitch its the same with the fans as a dozen of us take the train early and head to the excellent Friendship pub a short walk from the ground. More join us located in the pool room and by 2pm we have seventeen of us all in a confident mood for todays game.

This was also the birth place of the new song for our exciting new winger Takura Sambizi in which we adapted the Piranhas eighties tune 'Zambizi' to fit our new star player, a song that is now a firm favourite with the fans. Its so good to see new faces on away days, our fan base is growing even in this season of woe, its baffling but amazing and I walk to the ground with a warm glow inside me as well as a few pints.

The atmosphere continues in the ground as we all stand together and sing ourselves hoarse  but its all in vein as we lose 2-1 its a disappointing defeat after recent wins but a class moment at the end of the game came from fans favorite Gabriel Mooney-Munoz who had departed for Glossop a couple of months earlier  having given his all in a Heys shirt. Rather than joining his team mates celebrating at the end he came over to the Heys fans, shook everyone's hand and said he hoped we stayed up, pure class from a top lad.

Glossop Away

A big shock was to follow the following Tuesday as a late goal from James Badrock gives us a 2-1 win away at West Didsbury and Chorlton lifting us off the bottom of the league for the first time in months and meaning its now well and truly game on and we are here for the fight after this determined display against a team with one of the biggest budgets in the league.

West Dids/Chorlton away

Sadly though as a high as the West Dids game was we were to lose three and draw three of the next six games, the table is telling us it will be two from three going down as Squires Gate and Colne are also in poor form and struggling.

Sunday 16th March was the re arranged date for the Isle of Man game and Ade decides to fly from Liverpool on a day return trip and kindly offers to take a few of us in his people carrier and with flights only £40 return and my better half Alison being totally cool about it (legend), I decide to take one of the places. So off we went again landing 8am and were told only one pub would be open in Douglas at that time which was the Nags Head, I walk in first to see five drunk blokes at the bar (yes it is 8am!) one of whom shouts 'its members only' before bursting out laughing and said 'only joking!', it turns out the pub had been open all night, its a strange scene but a funny one. Several Guinness are consumed and left the pub a bit worse for wear heading to a nearby taxi rank thinking it must be about 2.30pm, look at my watch its actually 10.30 am as its an 11am kick off...oh dear!.

We are 2-1 up late on and the hosts are down to ten men when a melee breaks out we have two sent off and they equalise in the 97th minute, our small following are fuming at points tossed away but we avoid defeat in a 2-2 draw and head back to Douglas to cool off with more beer knowing its 50/50 whether we would stay up but at least now we were in the hunt to do it and next up was Colne away which was a must win game.

I don't remember ever being so nervous as I was pre match of Colne away and we had pre match drinks in the Duke of Lancaster knowing we had to win this one or we were in deep trouble again. We need not have worried as with over 40 fans roaring us on we cruise to a 3-1 lead at half time and never looked back. The whole game was a strange atmosphere with Colne fans already seeming to being resigned to the fact they were going down and were very hospitable after the game, a stark contrast to the previous season when they were very hostile towards us and this win lifts us out of the bottom two again all be it on goal difference.

Its all reversed again the following week as we concede another late winner to high flying Ramsbottom and Colne somehow win 3-1 at Litherland to put us back in the drop zone but we fight on.

A familiar scenario then the following week as we traveled to Barnoldswick Town, again needing to win and hoping Colne didn't and its not looking good as we are 2-0 down with twenty minutes to go and staring down a barrel, substitutions are made and Sambizi pulls it back to 2-2 then one of said subs Tom Woodward whacks in a last minute winner. Its pure scenes amongst the travelling Heys fans and I'm running up and down the perimeter like a madman while trying to do my twitter commentary at the same time!. The whistle blows and Colne lose 1-0 to Cheadle Town  meaning we have a plus thirteen goal difference and knowing if we beat Irlam next Saturday and Colne lose we would be safe.

We celebrated in the clubhouse after the game and carried on in Burnley at the Dubliner pub, if you think our clubhouse is small you want to see this place!.

The Dubliner Burnley after Barlick

It was all set up nicely the following Saturday as Colne had already played Friday night and lost 2-0 to AFC Liverpool meaning we knew what we had to do, win and with our huge plus goal difference we would be playing in the Counties Premier again next season.

I woke up the Saturday morning thinking it may be a good time to play Irlam as they had just missed out on the playoffs and were in a cup final the following Tuesday. As a result I had a really good feeling and chatting to others while doing my pre match tunes everyone had a positive vibe about the day. 

Its tense, so tense, on fifty minutes Lee Grimshaw sends the Sandgate Road end wild putting us 1-0 up but Irlam fire right back for 1-1 then its a right old slog until ten minutes to go when Sambizi is hacked down in the box for a penalty. Up steps Max Bardsley-Rowe and I remember a voice in the crowd shouting 'no pressure Maxey lad!',  yer right!, he steps up and smashes it home and I can barely speak as I announce the goal on the PA I just cant get the words out!. The final whistle goes to a roar that almost blew the roof off the Sandgate Road end and I shed a tear, we had been through every emotion through this season but we did it, dead and buried in December but Ryan Hutchinson and his team turned it around and we cheered the players off with me singing 'the Heys are staying up' down the microphone and Conrad waving the corner flags wildly in celebration. We had done it, by working hard and not giving up.

It took a while to sink in after the game, celebrations doubled with Mrs 'O's 90th birthday drinks in the clubhouse, players and fans together and the reality struck that we were indeed staying up.

Celebrations continued in Heys fans HQ the Coach and Horses where we turned a quiet night into a big party knowing we had done it with a game to go and could rock up at Longridge Town simply to party being three points clear and a plus thirteen goal difference.

It was a train to Preston and the 'Old Vic' pub across the road from the station was the first port of call with ten of us on a midday start before heading to the Alston pub round the corner from the ground where my dad is waiting join us as he lives not far away in Fleetwood so all is fine with the world. The game is a strange one we are well on top but Longridge keeper Kier Barry is in fine form blocking everything in sight and you just know how this one is going to pan out.

I visit hospitality at half time and get an amazing pulled pork barn, Longridge were great hosts but as the saves kept coming inevitably they went on to score and battle though we did we go down 1-0 and the last game is a bit of an anti climax, Colne win 2-1 against Abbey Hey and we stay up on goal difference.

Preston 'Old Vic' pre Longridge

This did not take the shine off a magnificent achievement though and we sang our hearts out in the clubhouse after the game with even young Bryson Appleton's mum getting her own song along with birthday boy chairman Jon Lyons too for everything he did to keep the club alive.

We head back to Preston to continue the celebrations and talk is what a magnificent job Ryan and the back room team had done in not only keeping us up but giving hope,  belief and passion back in Prestwich Heys.

Dad came to celebrate at Longridge

Assistant Chris Lowe texts me to say all the team are in the Railway and Naturalist in Prestwich so a few of us go to join them on the way back and celebrate into the night in what was a perfect way to end the season with players and fans together, job done, we will play in the North West Counties Premier League again and I cant wait to see what it brings now things are much more settled at our beloved club.

'WE ARE STAYIN UP!'