ON a sunny Saturday evening last August, Matthew Beadle was sat in a car travelling home from a football match.

“We’ve made the right decision to come here,” he said, turning to teammate Paul Connor.

Both had made their debut for 1874 Northwich in a 3-0 win at AFC Blackpool, with Beadle scoring twice.

By the end of the season, that tally had risen to 27 in all competitions.

Among them is one picked by the club’s supporters as their favourite; a stunning drive from distance at Runcorn Town.

As if to vindicate what Beadle said on that journey back down the M6, those same fans voted for Connor as their player of the season.

“When I think about it, that first goal [at Blackpool] is among my favourites,” he told the Guardian this week.

“It was nice to win the award, and that was probably my best.

“My pick was Matty Ward’s at Silsden; though he was shafted by their goalkeeper looking like he’d made a mess of it!”

He confesses to feeling a flicker of frustration that his maiden campaign at Barton Stadium is over.

Only three players hit the net more often in the North West Counties League Premier Division, even though the striker watched from the sidelines for three months after suffering a knee injury.

However his return coincided with Ian Street’s men, promoted from the second tier last term, securing third place in the table.

That does not stop Beadle from promising to hit the ground running next season, when he is determined supporters will see the best of him.

“There’s more to come from me, particularly if I can stay fit,” he said.

“In some ways, we finished our matches at a bad time as I was starting to gather momentum.

“But it’s been a long year for everybody, and we’re glad of a rest.

“I don’t plan to sit still for too long though, and will probably be desperate to start playing again in a couple of weeks.”

Beadle joined 1874 from league rivals Maine Road last summer along with Connor, a wide midfielder.

Neil Chappell, another who he played alongside in Greater Manchester, followed later via Glossop North End.

Having familiar faces around explains in part why the front man settled quickly.

“It’s a good group, I could tell that straightaway,” he said.

“That made it easier for the new lads like me to integrate.

“The three of us had played at this level the year before, so we knew what to expect on that score.

“1874 came up into the unknown, but we were flying in that first couple of months.”

An accident in training before Christmas led to Beadle hurting his knee, keeping him out of action during an inconsistent run of results at the turn of the year.

He had scored a winning goal against Glossop North End, his 20th of the campaign, in the final week of November.

1874 then lost five successive matches.

Unable to help his teammates, Beadle felt worse.

“It’s hard when you’re sat watching and can do nothing,” he said.

“That was a testing time, particularly as I don’t remember being out that long previously.

“When I did come back, I was raring to go.”

It’s a mood he plans to start next term with, especially as most observers – not to mention the club’s fans – will expect 1874 to mount a challenge for promotion.

They finished six points adrift of runners-up Runcorn Linnets, and a further 10 from champions Glossop.

Beadle said: “I don’t think we were too far away from those two.

“We can improve, and will need to, but we showed in the games against them that we’re capable.

“Finding consistency is where we want to get better.

“We’ve dropped points in games we shouldn’t, and at silly times.

“But we don’t need to start from scratch.

“The biggest question the gaffer has asked us is whether we can grind out a 1-0 win when the opposition is tough to break down. I think we’ve learned to do that.

“We’re happy to have finished third; Glossop were the best team, and have set a standard we’ll need to reach if we want to copy what they’ve done.”

The 26-year-old shares the clubs happiness, even if his path there has been unconventional.

He scored eight times for Maine Road last season after moving from Bristol to Manchester, changing his job in recruitment so he could move in with his girlfriend.

In an unfamiliar place where he knew nobody, he used a map to work out which clubs were closest to his new home.

“I phoned them and asked if they needed any players,” he said.

“It started from there. I had a conversation with Ian Street at the end of the season, and here I am.”

Following a spell in Bristol Rovers’ Academy after leaving school, he played in the Southern League for the likes of Taunton, Yate, Bridgwater and Almondsbury before dropping down to county league level.

Playing in front of 300-plus crowds at Barton Stadium has been an environment he’s thrived in.

Beadle said: “I’ve loved my first season here; the fans are great, and the club is professionally run – it’s easily the best I’ve been at outside of the full-time game.

“The way I look at it is the fans are our 12th man.

“Hearing them definitely gives us that bit extra when we’re out on the pitch.

“They own the club, and that obviously means a lot to them. It doesn’t mean they love their team more than other supporters, but they haven’t expected more of us as players than is reasonable.

“They’re realistic; to finish third in the league in your first season at a higher level – and to have had a good run in the FA Vase – is great.

“They recognise that.”