Of all the settlements in the north of England, both large and small, that still indulge in the practice of human sacrifice, the village of Kirk Deighton is perhaps the least renowned. It might be said that 'Kirk' has not come a very long way since being cited in the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 when a local midwife made the devil appear in the form of a black dog with fiery eyes and was subsequently burned in a wicker cage at the top of the high street. Harking back to this inglorious past, 'Deighton' still performs a ritual human offering on the last weekend of November of every tenth year. A villager, or an interloper if one can be enticed, is placed inside the statue of a giant wicker figure and set ablaze, while the locals sing words from a Middle English folk song; 'the winter is a-coming o the pagans are getting fat' against the backdrop of a low setting sun.
With the next burning only a year away, the players of Kirk Deighton Rangers had their eyes on a few potential sacrifices among their over-ripe Menston rivals, who had spent the week feasting on their recent success at Ripon. But there is no arrogance to this team, and an excellent Machell opening goal ensured the home side were away quickly. Their opponents had quality going forward and surprised Rangers with an equaliser. Surprise soon turned to shock when they took the lead with a second smart finish. Macauley was brought on and soon imposed himself on the game, forcing the keeper into making an outstanding save before finishing well to level the scores. Miller settled nerves further when finding the net through a host of players and Menston went into the break with the scores at 3-2. With a couple more goals from Macauley in the second half, Rangers appeared to be impregnable but Deighton conjured a goal from nothing and suddenly the home team were looking ragged. With a few players struggling to see the game out, it was left to the likes of Bates and Boughan to corral the team through sheer force of presence and personality, while Machell remained a formidable influence.
Overall a slightly uneven performance, given the high standards of this team, against resilient opponents. But a team of this quality will always be difficult to suppress. As the flames form high above the pyre in Kirk Deighton next November, they might want to throw in the pennant of Menston Rovers after falling to their fifth defeat against them in 12 months.