FOOTBALL in front of fans returned at City of Liverpool FC this week when the Purps welcomed Market Drayton Town to Bootle. 

It’s a fairly tentative new world for non-league football, but it’s at least one in which fans up and down the country are able to attend matches again.

Though the guidelines around football’s return in front of spectators may initially lead to a few hesitant trips to the local non-league ground, it’s one supporters should make if they can do so safely — especially now that top-level football has confirmed its status as TV-oriented soap opera.

Any hesitancy around Tuesday’s return to football at the Berry Street Garage stadium was quickly banished when Tom Stevens got on the end of a Jack Hazlehurst free-kick to give the Purps the lead. Fans hadn’t long settled into their socially distant area of the ground before the net was already bulging.

Who won the free-kick? Who got the goal? There are no replays at this level, but luckily there is the Purps Matchday Twitter account to keep fans in the loop (striker Craig Cairns, returning to the club for a second spell, won the free-kick).

City of Liverpool started the game well. Their intense pressing early on, often led by pacy winger John McGrath and last season’s top scorer Elliott Nevitt, meant that Market Drayton had trouble playing out from the back and soon began to go long from goal-kicks. It seems Liverpool FC aren’t the only pressing side on Merseyside.

The pitch, at the home of Bootle FC, has been relaid and is ideal for swift possession football as opposed to the boggy scraps that can sometimes transpire at this level, even though those are entertaining in their own way.

The carpet-like qualities of the surface did no favours for Market Drayton goalkeeper Sam Agius when a back-pass sneaked by him and doubled COLFC’s lead. Agius had made an impressive double-save on the stroke of half time, but will mark this blunder at the beginning of the second half down to pre-season rustiness.

As reported in last weekend’s Morning Star, the opponents originally pencilled in for this fixture were the Everton academy side, who faced City of Liverpool last season in the Liverpool Senior Cup. But due to circumstances beyond both clubs’ control, the Premier League outfit had to pull out.

Market Drayton play at the equivalent level to COLFC but in a different region — the Northern Premier League Division One South East — and stepped in to help the Purps fulfil this important pre-season game. The visitors played their part in what was an entertaining tie for the home fans in attendance.

Their enjoyment was rounded off when a familiar name at this stage of the season, Trialist, powered home a shot from outside the area following a corner to make it 3-0 to the Purps.

A promising display on the pitch, and an exercise well carried out off it. The attendance for this particular game was limited to 200 spectators and all tickets were sold. It served as stage one of the FA’s measures to allow fans to return to football safely.

As per the guidelines, social-distancing measures were in place around the ground, with markers set out on the perimeter fencing. Households and support bubbles, which were allowed to arrive in groups as per FA guidelines, were permitted to assemble in bunches of up to five or six in the more spacious areas of the ground — as also advised by the club before the game.

With this game a success, COLFC will now be able to welcome up to 400 supporters for the next home game, a Northern Premier League Division One North West fixture against Marske on September 19.

Fans’ favourite teams may now only exist on TV screens and shady streams — but a new favourite team might be just around the corner.