Two year ago I put out a Tweet on Twitter, asking if any football teams in the North West would like to have their game filmed that weekend.
Little did I know that this would be the start of something very big!
I was expecting maybe 2 or 3 teams to respond, mainly because I was based in Lancaster and I'd never really ventured out of the local area before as I tended to stick to covering games in the North Lancs Football League.
I was surprised! In fact, more than that, I was shocked!
Within 24 hours I'd had about 30 match requests from teams from all over the North West.
I had requests from Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Blackpool, Blackburn, Burnley, Kendal and countless other places.
I wasn't sure how to choose which game to go and film, so I decided to run a series of polls on Twitter and let the people decide!
It was easier to pass the buck!
I ran the polls in a similar format to the Champions League, where games were split into groups of 4 and the game which got the most votes in each group progressed to the next round.
Over 10,000 people voted in total , and the eventual winner was the game between Stoneclough and Croston Sports Club.
However, things nearly turned out very differently!
Before receiving an avalanche of match requests from all over the region, the very first club to respond were Ullswater United.
They told me about the location of their home ground and the picturesque setting and I was all set to agree to film their game.
I was out on the road at the time, the plan was to contact them when I got home and travel up to Ullswater that coming Saturday.
When I eventually checked my phone, the Twitter notifications had gone crazy! Teams from all over were getting in touch, keen for me to film their games.
That's when I opted to carry out the polls, and unfortunately, Ullswater United missed out!
After a few weeks, I eventually stopped doing a weekly vote and decided which games I would film for myself.
I made a list of teams who had made numerous requests because my plan was to cover them all!
I knew it would take a long time, but I was determined to get there!
Ullswater United were on that list, and on Saturday I finally got around to filming them!
It was 2 years in the making, but it was well worth it, and their ground did not disappoint at all!
Ullswater United play their home games at King George's Playing Field, and I have to admit, it is the most scenic ground I have ever visited!
Even the drive to the game was a pleasant experience (that isn't always the case!), with Ullswater being in the heart of the Lake District.
As for the game itself, it turned out to be very one sided as Ullswater United saw of Ibis Reserves 10-1 in the Westmorland Football League Division 2. It's never nice to see a team lose so heavily at this level, but we've all been there at some point (well, most of us have!)
I run a Goal of the Year competition every year, and this game provided at least 2 contenders for the award this year!
You can watch the match highlights of the game below!
All in all, it was a good day, and it was certainly worth the wait!
One thing is for certain, wherever I film this weekend, the view and location won't even come close to Ullswater!
