THE 1874 COLUMN – A different perspective, by Matt Waters

2019 has been a historic year for 1874 due to many reasons.

Whether it’s been winning the Macron Cup against league champions City of Liverpool in a packed crowd at Altrincham, or the fantastic work off the pitch from the whole fanbase in our move to Barnton, this year has been one to remember.

At the start of 2019, joint managers Wayne Goodison and Paul Bowyer brought into the side arguably one of our strongest players in Tony Aghayere.

After having him for a short period during pre-season, Tony was offered the opportunity to test his skills in a higher league but in the February of this year, Tony signed for 1874 and has not looked back since.

At a time where we had tried several goalkeepers to fill the void left by Greg Hall, Tony came into the side and has produced some outstanding performances week in week out, especially in the Macron Cup Final.

However, the moment of 2019 – and potentially the greatest came in the club’s history so far – was the Macron Cup Final against City of Liverpool where we beat the league champions 1-0 in front of a bumper crowd of 1,051.

After a tricky spell on the pitch where we didn’t meet the expectations set at the start of the season, 1874 fans and players alike rejoiced at a superb performance which gave us some silverware and a real feel-good factor heading into the off-season.

Off the pitch, we have been making huge steps for the future of our club as we completed our move to Townfield and started our strong relationship with Barnton FC.

For the first time in our history, we were to play our football back in Northwich.

After months of hard work and dedication from both Barnton FC and us, we are both reaping the benefits of the improved pitch, changing area and the new terrace area.

For us, we have seen our club shop move into the ground too, where Pam Hancock continues to do an excellent job selling merchandise on a match day.

We have seen some of our excellent volunteers step up contributing superbly to help things run smoothly on the matchday catering side.

One area that we are extremely proud of as a club is with our away kit. Designed by Phil Galloway, our shirt is something that we can all be proud of that depicts the heritage of our town alongside an ambitious design that caught the eyes of the national press.

Not only this, but to have our kit in a National Football Museum exhibition is something every single 1874 fan should be proud of.

In October of this year, we launched a mental health campaign to allow anyone suffering with mental health into our home games.

It’s this community spirit that really makes 1874 the club it is. Whether it’s charity work or our table-topping performances on the pitch, 2019 has been a year to remember.