THE FIRST FESTIVAL

Tranmere Rovers Walking Football Club took part in their inaugural walking football festival at Stalybridge Celtic FC on a blustery Monday afternoon in April 2015. Two teams had been entered by us in the 6-a-side round robin tournament. We travelled to Stalybridge in our executive minibus kindly loaned to us by TRFC In The Community ie: Steve. Bruce had managed to sort us out with a kit for the occasion so we were all set. It was played on Stalybridge’s main pitch which was divided into 3 equal size pitches. The 360 age rule was supposed to be in force (ie: the total age of each team’s 6 players on the pitch must total 360 or higher). However due to some of the participating teams being shorthanded, this rule was not implemented. 

Both teams performed well considering one finished fourth and the other seventh. Taking into account the fact that the sides who finished in the top three were all using some under age players (less than 50), this was quite impressive. Highlights for the Rovers were Alan (Shilton) saving a penalty earning us a very credible draw against Stalybridge (who finished as runners-up) and Barry (Keegan) scoring the only goal conceded by Manchester City Strollers (the eventual winners). Suffice to say we learnt a lot from our first outing, but had a very enjoyable day. Many thanks to Mike Smith at Stalybridge for organizing the festival.