Oh it felt good to be back! The last time we walked onto a football pitch in earnest saw us leave with a gleaming, shiny trophy - but that was history and now it was about getting ready to go for it all again. The lads had worked hard in the fitness sessions that have been draining on the legs, lungs and hearts of the boys - but now it was about putting that together in a real game and getting ourselves for what is to come...

It was good to see the lads getting together tonight and the air was buzzing with anticipation. The sun had come out to greet us all and it was a proper balmy summer's evening - and as they started to arrive, it was clear that there had been some new faces pulled into the ranks for this one. As always, Wayne and Brian are always looking for ways to improve and if things clicked into place here, there could be some real good competition for places across every area of the pitch. That's what these games are for - trying out new things, seeing new combinations and watching how some players work with others - so as the lads got themselves ready, so began the match-day preparations...

Tonight's visitors for this opener were to be Crompton FC - who finished as the Ron Bowker Cup runners-up having knocked both our Reserves and former A team out on their way to the Final - so we knew that these would come here and potentially cause us some problems. This was about that old cliché of 'getting minutes in the tank' though and as the lads came out of the tunnel, it was clear that there were four debuts being handed out. We were going with the 4-4-2 shape and it was Mitch there between sticks and in front of him, we had Nathan Bancroft at right-back and Ste on the left - with a new central-defensive partnership of Nathan Durrans and Max Taylor tasked with dealing with their strikers. Across the middle we had elected to start with Ben on the right and Logan on the left and skipper Alex Williams was partnered with new-signing Marcus Grundy in the engine-room. Charlie was up top and tonight was joined by another new member of the family Kyron Longworth (ask Wayne how to say that!) That meant that on bench - and guaranteed at least the second half - we had Liam Haycock, Rav, Marko, Yatesy and another new addition to the clan - that man that is Cam Morgado. We were all also really surprised to see the whippet that is Spencer Derbyshire adorning a kit so soon after such a major injury - and we think the most surprised was his missus! As the referee got both captains together, the crowd settled in with their beers in the sun and before we knew it, the whistle had blown and so had started the 2025-2026 season...

The opening exchanges saw us having most of the ball and playing it around calmly - moving to get it back - and we were looking good. However the first real chance of note fell to the visitors - somewhat against the run of play - when their striker took hold of ball from about 35 yards and swung his boot at it to take our Mitch by surprise. The ball went towards the near post at pace and although Mitch will say he had it covered, it was enough to panic the home faithful. That was until we all saw it go the wrong side of the post for Crompton and we had the goal-kick. Close...

But from then on in, a majority of the game was played in their defensive third as our lads seemed to up it a couple of gears and basically took the game away from them. With 10 minutes on the clock, a long ball out from the back was played with purpose as it saw Logan the wrong side of his man - and it dropped out of the sky, our Logan managed to get both feet off the floor about three feet in the air and play an outrageous flicked ball right into the path of Charlie. With the crowd urging him to finish off such a sublime pass, he smashed it shot towards the far-post - only to see it fly about a foot wide of the mark. That would have been some goal - but both went on to play a major part of what was to come.

It was two other lads that made the first goal though - and less than 90 seconds after Charlie's chance, we had taken the lead. A great tackle in the middle saw the ball laid into the path of Alex Williams and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ky making a good run through the channel. Inch--perfectly, our skipper fired in the ball to see our new-signing drag the ball away from his marker and fire it low and hard past their keeper and into the back of their net! 1-0 and as his new team-mates ran to celebrate with him, the smile on the gaffer's face was there all for to see...

Going in front seemed to raise our shoulders another couple of inches and on 16 minutes, we had doubled our lead. Wayne had demanded that our wingers did not turn back towards our goal tonight and that they ran at their full-back every time they got the ball - and at this point, that was exactly what they were doing. Logan already had his marker trying to get touch-tight to him - so our young man just kept rolling him and making him backtrack - and this time, he raced to the bye-line - brushing off three challenges on the way - before sliding a great ball back to Ste on the edge of the box. As expected, Mr Palin hammered his shot towards goal - only to see their No.1 make a worldie of a save with his finger-tips to knock it against the crossbar. Instinctively, there was our Charlie and this time he made no mistake as he rifled the rebound into the roof of their net. 2-0 and that was coming...

We were purring now and with the lads working hard on and off the ball, things were ticking along nicely - but we nearly gave them a way back into the game when Nathan Bancroft under-hit his backpass to Mitch and in an instant, their striker was onto it. He charged forward before firing it across the six-yard box to his winger at the far-post. From about 6 yards out, he let fly and as we all expected to see the net bulge, he hit it the wrong side of the post and the chance was gone. That shows how easily things can change in football...

Not to worry though - because on 23 minutes, we made it 3-0. Winning a throw over on the left, across came our rocket-launcher Ben and as he almost doubled his back up, in came a missile - and as Marcus went up to make sure his forehead connected with the ball, he managed to get it on target. Their keeper looked to have gathered it but Marcus will tell you the pace on the header made him fumble it - but whatever happened, the ball ended in the back of the Crompton net and we were now three goals to the good. That had to be given to Marcus - especially on his debut - and at 3-0, it was about continuing to push and press and not take our foot off the gas now...

Two minutes later it was four - and once again, it was Logan that made it. The ball was fed out to him wide on our left and as their full-back came to close him down, our man was off. He dribbled it around him with ease and set off on a mazy run that once again saw him hit the bye-line and this time, he picked out Ky with another great ball and he did the rest - dropping his shoulder before slamming the ball into the back of the net from about 14 yards out. A brace for the new man - and a brace of assists from our winger! 4-0...

The visitors were trying though and every now and then, they would burst forward at pace and some of the passing was good. One move saw them get close to breaking through but Max and Nathan Durrans were playing really well and coping with whatever they had to throw at us. One tackle saw the former come out with the ball and as he looked up, he picked out a glorious pass over the top into the run of Logan. He drove forward again and this time played Charlie in at exactly the right time. Our striker pulled the trigger - but down went their keeper to make another good save. We were playing well now...

However we had to wait until two minutes before interval to score again - and this time, some may say it was controversial. We had won a free-kick in the middle of their half and as it was clipped into the mixer, up went a sea of heads - only to see a hand come out and blatantly push our Nathan Durrans. Down he went - and the referee had no hesitation in blowing his whistle as his hand gestured towards the white spot of paint 12 yards from goal. Penalty! The Crompton lads were arguing the facts - but the referee had already awarded it - so the responsibility was given to Nathan for finishing off what he had started. Confidently, he placed the ball down, took a short run-up and BANG! - he slammed the ball past their No.1 and nearly ripped the net as it smashed against it! That was three new-signings on the score-sheet and we were not even at half-time yet...

Half-time: BREIGHTMET UNITED 5-0 Crompton FC

As the boys came in, so the subs went out to warm-up - as they were all coming on now. Wayne and Brian got them in a huddle and told them how impressed they had just been with that. Now it was about two things - keeping the ball and playing our football - and keeping a clean sheet. Those five changes were made - seeing Cam coming on for his debut in place of Nathan, Rav coming on for Logan - in a move that saw Ste push further forward - Liam came on for Alex, Marko for Marcus and Yatesy came on to replace Ben that saw Ky drop into right midfield. The drinks were drunk and the lads were back out there ready to go again...

That clean-sheet was gone within four minutes of the restart though - as a long-ball over the top seemed to catch their striker about two yards offside - but the referee waved play on and as he approached Mitch and struck his shot from about 12 yards out, it looked like our No.1 had jut about got to it but the ball seemed to bounce just in front of him and into the back of our net. 5-1 and not the start we would have wanted. Lucky this was only a friendly as we know at least one person that wouldn't be happy about that...

Less than five minutes later though and we restored our five-goal advantage - and what a stroke of ingenious it was from Charlie. Liam and Marko had worked the ball well through the middle and as it was shot towards goal, all the United bench heard was the whistle go - but they didn't know what for. Turns out the ball had hit the match official - so quite rightly, a drop-ball was awarded to us as we were in possession of the ball. The visitors felt aggrieved as the ball had left Charlie's control but the laws are the laws and the drop-ball was given. Down it came - and Charlie had spotted their keeper nowhere near where he should be - so from about 30 yards, last season's top scorer arrowed a shot right into the bottom corner of their net and as they stood there bemused, we came back for the re-start. 6-1 and quick-thinking Mr Schofield...

Things got a little messy for a bit then as on 55 minutes, we were down to 10 men - as Max was shown the card and sin-binned for 10 minutes for dissent. He had said 'offside ref' so whether the punishment fitted the crime is for you all to debate - but we now had to go at it a man down. Tweaks were made and on went the game. Another good tackle from Nathan Durrans saw him come out with the ball and looking up, he spotted Ste making a dart towards the box. With precision, he fed the ball over the top and Ste was on it like a car bonnet - controlling it expertly before firing it towards goal - only to see their keeper pull off yet another fine save. Great football though...

With Max just back on - and parity restored - we were again down to 10 men but this time for the rest of the game as Marko was given his marching orders on 67 minutes. He had won the ball fairly and as he came away with it, the Crompton player swiped his legs from under him. The referee had awarded us the free-kick - but Marko saw red quite literally. Both players' heads touched - but our midfielder was adjudged to have been the aggressor and that was enough for Mr Galbraith and out came that shiny red card. Down to 10 we went again then...

We were still causing them trouble whenever we got the ball down but with the positional changes and the lack of numbers, chances were few and far between now. Yatesy had a couple of half-chances but was smothered out by the Crompton defenders and Ky and Ste were still giving their full-backs plenty to think about. And on 72 minutes, we saw a moment we didn't think we'd see for months yet - and that was Wayne signal to the referee and request a substitution - that saw Charlie come off to a well-deserved round of applause and on sprinted our Spencer Derbyshire for his first run-out in over 9 months. He had trained well during pre-season but we were still dubious as to whether we'd see him in a shirt for a while yet - so this was another huge positive for all of the United fans and players alike...

And within seconds, he was in the thick of things as a great play was played inside the channel and in went Spencer with three defenders. With all of the United faithful looking on wincing, out came our Spence with the ball and they only just managed to get it out for a corner. Welcome back mate!

Time had come for Nathan Durrans who had played his first game in a while - and he had played superbly - so quite rightly, the United fans showed their appreciation as he left the field of play. That meant that Alex Williams was coming in at centre-half and not long after that the game had run it's course for Max as well and he too was rightfully praised as he came off. Two great debuts for both lads and that has given Chris and Keegie something to think about...

All of these changes and the swapping of positions did nothing for the game and although the result was already done, the gaffer still wanted his troops to drive forward until the final whistle. Yatesy was still charging around not giving their defenders a second to relax and we were still the team that looked the most likely to score again. Wayne then decided to bring Ste and Ky off - another lad who had made a big impression on his debut - and that meant that Ben and Logan were back on the pitch. There was only really one thing of note left for the game itself though - and that was the Crompton striker slamming a shot against Mitch's crossbar with a great effort from distance - but when the whistle went for the end of the game, it was job done and move on for the team in white and black...

The handshakes were done with respect and we wish today's visitors all the best for their upcoming campaign and a safe journey home. As for us, it's onto Buckley Wells on Saturday and a trip to Bury GSOB B. We know all about these and there are always close games between the two - so let's see what squad we have out there at the weekend and whether they can do even better than tonight...

Discussions went on late into the night in The Clubhouse as to who deserved the Man of the Match - with all of the new lads playing superbly and each and every one of them working hard - but it was given to Logan Warburton due to the fact that he made his marker dizzy every time he got the ball and constantly looked to attack. Ky ran him close - and the aim now is for all of them to be the Man of the Match for every game now...

As always, massive love to the United fans that came down tonight to cheer us on and we hope to see you all again over in Bury at the weekend. We packed the place out in that Cup Semi-Final back in April so let's do it again for a pre-season friendly...

Off to a good start then. But the challenges get bigger each game so we'll have to keep up the work-rate now as everything leads towards those first three points in a few weeks' time...

#OnceUnitedNeverDivided