ON THIS DAY: Seven Straight Wins – The Run That Changed Valley’s Season

Two years ago today, Mersey Valley completed a remarkable run of seven consecutive competitive victories, establishing a club record that still stands today. But the story of that unforgettable autumn in 2024 was about much more than winning football matches. It was about belief, resilience, togetherness and a season that would ultimately end in promotion.

The 2024/25 season hadn’t started the way anyone at Mersey Valley had hoped.

There was plenty of optimism heading into the new campaign, but the opening weeks proved frustrating. Results weren’t going our way, consistency was difficult to find and the team was still searching for the performances and results we knew it was capable of producing. It would have been easy for confidence to suffer. Football can be unforgiving when results aren’t coming, particularly when you know there is more quality in the dressing room than the league table suggests.

But sometimes a season needs a moment that changes everything. For Valley, that moment came in September.

The 3–3 draw that started it all

On 6 September 2024, Mersey Valley faced Chester Nomads in the First Round of the Cheshire Cup. Nomads were two levels higher and on a Friday night under lights they raced into a 3-0 lead but then something happened, the lads fought back, levelled up at 3-3 (Goldrick, Riley and Johnson) and forced a penalty shoot out. Despite losing the spot kick battle it gave new confidence to the team, a result that might not have appeared particularly significant at the time. It wasn’t a victory, it didn’t bring cup glory, and it certainly didn’t suggest that a remarkable winning sequence was about to begin.

But looking back, that night marked the start of something special. Valley would not lose another competitive match for almost two months. The draw against Chester Nomads became the first result in an eight-match unbeaten sequence, and what followed was a run of victories that would write a new chapter in the club’s history.

Seven games. Seven victories.

The first victory came against Moore United on 14 September, with Valley recording an impressive 5–2 win. Nial Goldrick with a brilliant hat-trick and Sam Deering with a brace.

A week later, Stretford Paddock were beaten 3–1 at their own home – an outstanding performance against one of the strongest teams in the division. Defenders Pete Greenwood and Ewan Roach scored from set pieces before Sam Deering completed the victory with a brilliant finish from the edge of the box.

Valley then produced one of their most emphatic performances of the campaign, defeating Sandbach Town 7–0 on 28 September. It was a superb team performance – Greenwood, Johnson (2) Adams, Goldrick, Downing and an own goal complete the biggest win of the season and moved Valley up to 3rd place. Three wins had quickly become a run of form that was impossible to ignore.

October began with a 4–2 victory over Maine Road Reserves, followed by a convincing 4–1 success against Newton Athletic.

The sixth consecutive victory came away at League One, Sandbach United Reserves, where Valley battled to a 2–1 win in the 1st Round of the League Cup – Deering with an outstanding performance and two goals.

Then, on 26 October 2024, Mersey Valley welcomed Halton Farnworth Hornets. Goals from Joel Riley, Owen Adams, Sam Deering and Dylan Fraine secured a 4–1 victory and completed an extraordinary sequence and took Mersey Valley to the top of the table where they would stay until January.

Seven consecutive competitive victories. A new Mersey Valley FC club record.

The record-breaking run

Seven wins. 29 goals scored. Just eight conceded.

Together with the earlier Chester Nomads draw, Valley had completed eight consecutive competitive matches without defeat. Both sequences established club records that remain unbeaten two years later.

More than just goals and victories

The statistics tell one story, but there was something equally important happening within the squad.

Confidence was growing with every performance. Players were beginning to understand one another better, the team was finding ways to win different types of matches, and the belief that had been tested during the opening weeks was returning. Some victories came through outstanding attacking football. Others required determination, discipline and the willingness to fight for every ball.

That ability to win in different ways would become particularly important as the season progressed. There were goals, memorable individual performances and moments of real quality, but the biggest achievement was collective. Everyone had a part to play.

Perhaps the most satisfying part of the story is what happened after the record-breaking run.

The seven victories weren’t simply an isolated period of good form. They helped transform the direction of Valley’s season. A campaign that had begun with frustration developed into one of genuine achievement, with the team continuing to compete, improve and build on the foundations established during those remarkable autumn weeks. By the end of 2024/25, Mersey Valley had achieved promotion.

That is what makes the seven-match winning sequence so important when looking back at the club’s history. It wasn’t just a record for the statistics books. It was a turning point in a season that ultimately delivered success.

Two years on, the names and results remain part of Mersey Valley’s story.  Records are there to be broken, and one day another Mersey Valley team may surpass seven consecutive victories.

But whatever happens in the future, the autumn of 2024 will always hold a special place in the club’s history. From a difficult start, to a 3–3 cup draw, to seven straight victories and ultimately promotion. It was a reminder that seasons aren’t defined by how they begin, but by how teams respond to the challenges in front of them.

And for Mersey Valley, that response was something special.