AFC Liverpool win the 2026 Macron Cup!
Tue 5th May 2026 | Macron Cup | By Jay Cooper
It’s a moment of history for NWCFL Premier Division side AFC Liverpool, who won the Macron Cup for the first time since the formation of the club in 2008 when they knocked off fellow Prem side West Didsbury & Chorlton 3-1 on bank holiday Monday.
The final, which took place at the home of NWCFL founder club Accrington Stanley, the Wham Stadium, closed out the 2025/26 NWCFL season on the pitch. This past Saturday saw the play-off finals from all three divisions take place – congratulations to Padiham, Droylsden and Stockport Georgians, in that regard.
Much like Thursday’s Edward Case Cup Final, the first half of the game was nothing to write home about. It was cagey, and both teams did a fine job of cancelling one another out.
Whatever was said in the AFC Liverpool dressing room at half time clearly had an impact, as it took less than three minutes of the second half for them to break the deadlock.
Elliot Taylor, who has scored for fun this season, found himself in possession on the edge of the box with his back to goal, and turned to fire a wonderful low drive into Dougie Blight’s bottom left corner.
That opening goal ignited the game a bit, and a second strike followed just over quarter of an hour later. Again, it was for AFC Liverpool, and again it was Taylor who found the net after a two-on-one counterattack allowed Joel Skillen to put it on a plate for the number nine to finish into an empty goal.
West Didsbury & Chorlton were by no means out of the match by this stage, and finally had something go their way in the 65th minute, when a bit of a goal-mouth scramble in the AFC Liverpool box saw the ball drop to the feet of Benjamin Elliott. He smashed in from close range to give West a lifeline in this final.
Five minutes later and with renewed hope, West came very close to levelling the game when a rebound shot from inside of the penalty area forced a tremendous reaction save out of Ben Barnes.
Just over ten minutes later, his opposite number, Blight, made a fantastic one-on-one save of his own on the edge of his penalty area to deny Taylor a hat-trick of counterattack goals.
Going into the closing stages, AFC Liverpool were on the hunt for a goal that would seal the game in their favour, and they found it in the 85th minute. Winger Caleb Taylor ran onto a smart ball in behind the West back line on the right flank, burst into the area and hammered a finish into the near corner beyond Blight to all but confirm his side as Macron Cup champions.
Following the game, victorious AFC Liverpool manager Phil Stafford said of the match itself, “it was a really good game of football – I thought West Didsbury & Chorlton were the better side in the first half. They won the first and second balls and dictated the half. I had a word with the lads at half time, identified a few things, and we were probably good value for money in the second half, getting the win.
“We went man for man with their midfield three (in the second half). Their midfield three were on top in the first half – I thought their number six (Sean Moscrop) was outstanding, and they were dictating the play. So, we went man to man, and we knew we could hurt them on the counter. And I think all three of our goals came on the counter. We knew they were playing a high line, and we exposed it.”
With regards to star striker Elliot Taylor scoring another two in this final, Phil said, “he’s different gravy. He’s scored 46 goals this season in all competitions for a side that has finished 11th in the league. Scoring 46 goals in 52 appearances is frightening.”
Speaking on his side’s season as a whole, Phil said, “I’m tired! It’s been a lot of games, but this is a top, top league to be in, and to take any silverware is a testament to any side who can do it, and we’re lucky enough this season that it was us. So, I’m delighted, and now we’re looking forward to a break before we start it all over again in four or five weeks.”
Defeated West Didsbury & Chorlton manager Steve Yarwood also shared his thoughts on the game. “First of all, congratulations to AFC Liverpool. The game went how I thought it would. Both teams were evenly matched, and it just came down to who made the mistakes, and who got punished. We made three errors, and they punished us.
With well over 1,000 fans backing West at the Wham Stadium on Monday, Steve had plenty of praise for the support. “They’re amazing. They’ve followed us all season, and it’s a shame that we’ve fell short too many times for them; in the league, in the Vase, and again today. I can only apologise to them, but we’ll be back next season.”
This season, West finished comfortably in the top half of the table, made the Macron Cup final and made the most progress of any team in the NWCFL, alongside Droylsden, in the Isuzu FA Vase. Despite all that, Steve said, “I’m disappointed. We had goals at the start of the season and we didn’t fulfil them. So now we’ve got to go back and try again next season. We’re already planning for next season with the league finishing two weeks ago, and now we’re going to have a well-earned break and then get back at it.”
So that’s it – the 2025/26 NWCFL season has finished on the pitch, and what a way to see it out.
Congratulations to everyone involved at AFC Liverpool!
AFC Liverpool win the 2026 Macron Cup!
Tue 5th May 2026 | Macron Cup
By Jay Cooper
It’s a moment of history for NWCFL Premier Division side AFC Liverpool, who won the Macron Cup for the first time since the formation of the club in 2008 when they knocked off fellow Prem side West Didsbury & Chorlton 3-1 on bank holiday Monday.
The final, which took place at the home of NWCFL founder club Accrington Stanley, the Wham Stadium, closed out the 2025/26 NWCFL season on the pitch. This past Saturday saw the play-off finals from all three divisions take place – congratulations to Padiham, Droylsden and Stockport Georgians, in that regard.
Much like Thursday’s Edward Case Cup Final, the first half of the game was nothing to write home about. It was cagey, and both teams did a fine job of cancelling one another out.
Whatever was said in the AFC Liverpool dressing room at half time clearly had an impact, as it took less than three minutes of the second half for them to break the deadlock.
Elliot Taylor, who has scored for fun this season, found himself in possession on the edge of the box with his back to goal, and turned to fire a wonderful low drive into Dougie Blight’s bottom left corner.
That opening goal ignited the game a bit, and a second strike followed just over quarter of an hour later. Again, it was for AFC Liverpool, and again it was Taylor who found the net after a two-on-one counterattack allowed Joel Skillen to put it on a plate for the number nine to finish into an empty goal.
West Didsbury & Chorlton were by no means out of the match by this stage, and finally had something go their way in the 65th minute, when a bit of a goal-mouth scramble in the AFC Liverpool box saw the ball drop to the feet of Benjamin Elliott. He smashed in from close range to give West a lifeline in this final.
Five minutes later and with renewed hope, West came very close to levelling the game when a rebound shot from inside of the penalty area forced a tremendous reaction save out of Ben Barnes.
Just over ten minutes later, his opposite number, Blight, made a fantastic one-on-one save of his own on the edge of his penalty area to deny Taylor a hat-trick of counterattack goals.
Going into the closing stages, AFC Liverpool were on the hunt for a goal that would seal the game in their favour, and they found it in the 85th minute. Winger Caleb Taylor ran onto a smart ball in behind the West back line on the right flank, burst into the area and hammered a finish into the near corner beyond Blight to all but confirm his side as Macron Cup champions.
Following the game, victorious AFC Liverpool manager Phil Stafford said of the match itself, “it was a really good game of football – I thought West Didsbury & Chorlton were the better side in the first half. They won the first and second balls and dictated the half. I had a word with the lads at half time, identified a few things, and we were probably good value for money in the second half, getting the win.
“We went man for man with their midfield three (in the second half). Their midfield three were on top in the first half – I thought their number six (Sean Moscrop) was outstanding, and they were dictating the play. So, we went man to man, and we knew we could hurt them on the counter. And I think all three of our goals came on the counter. We knew they were playing a high line, and we exposed it.”
With regards to star striker Elliot Taylor scoring another two in this final, Phil said, “he’s different gravy. He’s scored 46 goals this season in all competitions for a side that has finished 11th in the league. Scoring 46 goals in 52 appearances is frightening.”
Speaking on his side’s season as a whole, Phil said, “I’m tired! It’s been a lot of games, but this is a top, top league to be in, and to take any silverware is a testament to any side who can do it, and we’re lucky enough this season that it was us. So, I’m delighted, and now we’re looking forward to a break before we start it all over again in four or five weeks.”
Defeated West Didsbury & Chorlton manager Steve Yarwood also shared his thoughts on the game. “First of all, congratulations to AFC Liverpool. The game went how I thought it would. Both teams were evenly matched, and it just came down to who made the mistakes, and who got punished. We made three errors, and they punished us.
With well over 1,000 fans backing West at the Wham Stadium on Monday, Steve had plenty of praise for the support. “They’re amazing. They’ve followed us all season, and it’s a shame that we’ve fell short too many times for them; in the league, in the Vase, and again today. I can only apologise to them, but we’ll be back next season.”
This season, West finished comfortably in the top half of the table, made the Macron Cup final and made the most progress of any team in the NWCFL, alongside Droylsden, in the Isuzu FA Vase. Despite all that, Steve said, “I’m disappointed. We had goals at the start of the season and we didn’t fulfil them. So now we’ve got to go back and try again next season. We’re already planning for next season with the league finishing two weeks ago, and now we’re going to have a well-earned break and then get back at it.”
So that’s it – the 2025/26 NWCFL season has finished on the pitch, and what a way to see it out.
Congratulations to everyone involved at AFC Liverpool!
