CITY of Liverpool FC announced this week that they have re-signed striker Craig Cairns, a player who was integral to their 2018/19 title win, scoring 28 of the club’s 89 goals in that memorable campaign.

Purps boss Craig Robinson picked up the Premier Division Manager of the Year award that season, too, and the pair will be working together again as part of the club’s push for further honours.

“It was an easy decision to come back to the Purps and when I spoke to Robbo it was all done and dusted in five minutes,” said Cairns.

“I now can’t wait to get started and get back to the lads and the staff, and of course the supporters who were always great with me.”

Cairns originally signed for City of Liverpool FC from Runcorn Town ahead of the 2018/19 season, on the back of 90 goals in two seasons for the Cheshire club.

His signing coincided with those of Runcorn teammate Joe Holt, Jamie McDonald who returned from Warrington Town, and former Liverpool trainee Karl Clair.

Robinson replaced Simon Burnton as manager, and the Purps were soon topping the table as the season got underway. 

As the campaign progressed they were looking comfortable, with promotion on the horizon. Congleton Town challenged for a short period, but the real challenge eventually came from closer to home.

Their own temporary home, to be exact. While COLFC continue to work hard on a stadium to call their own, they have played all their home games so far at Bootle FC’s Vesty Road ground.

Towards the end of this 2018/19 season, Bootle put together a 20-game winning run which catapulted them into title contention and set up a crucial, potentially title-deciding meeting with the Purps on Easter Monday.

City of Liverpool fell to a 1-0 defeat, meaning that Bootle only needed to match COLFC’s result to claim the title on the final day of the season.

“I remember feeling pretty devastated after we lost to Bootle in what was supposedly the decider,” recalls Purps supporter Michael Meadows.

“All season we had looked like champions, setting down a marker from the word go with Craig Robinson taking over as manager. 

“The side that was assembled over the summer was very impressive, the fans were delighted to see a player of Craig Cairns’s calibre signing and he was a big difference across the season.

“We all left the Bootle defeat pretty devastated knowing we could have been promoted that day, and when it was them celebrating on the pitch and in the bar after the game, not us, it didn’t sit right. 

“I think many Purps made the trip to Irlam on the final day knowing the pressure was now off us, and maybe, just maybe, something might happen.”

Bootle meanwhile were back at Vesty Road where they faced Northwich Victoria, one of the title favourites at the start of the season.

Club record goalscorer Tom Peterson gave the Purps the perfect start, putting them 1-0 up at Irlam and sending the travelling fans wild. Still, all Bootle needed to do was match this to secure the title.

Then. A goal at Vesty Road … from Darryl Mason of Northwich Vics!

“I was actually doing the matchday Twitter updates so was already glued to my phone as it was, but I think like anyone I was refreshing Twitter for score updates all afternoon,” adds Meadows. 

“As time went on your heart just started racing thinking: ‘Oh my god, we might just do this!’ Especially when Vics went ahead.

“After the interval word came through that Bootle had equalised from the spot through their skipper Liam Loughlin, and that just put us all on edge for the rest of the match.

“The Twitter refreshes got more and more frantic but the songs and the cheers got progressively louder as the fans just wanted to keep the lads going and play their part.”

The away end erupted again when Cairns scored the Purps’ second, but another goal back at Vesty Road would still have been enough for Bootle to claim the title. 

There are no instant score updates at this level, so the matchday Twitter feeds of Bootle FC and Northwich Victoria were being refreshed repeatedly.

As COLFC defended a corner in front of their own supporters in the dying minutes of the game, players rushed into the stand to check the score on fans’ phones.

This continued after the final whistle as everyone involved with the club waited for confirmation of the Bootle score, or a dreaded goal update. No goals arrived, just the result: Northwich Victoria 1, Bootle 1.

“It was nuts when the score came through from Bootle’s game,” says Meadows.

“I think that was my best moment as a football supporter and, like everyone else, I just couldn’t contain my elation.

“Before I knew it I was on the pitch with the rest of the fans and had Franny Foy and Joe Holt jumping on me celebrating. 

“It was brilliant, not just for the players and the management who had worked so hard to achieve that, but to see how much effort goes in behind the scenes from the chairman, directors, volunteers and their families, it was brilliant to have that moment for us all to share together.

“We knew we owed Northwich a real debt of gratitude so a few of us actually messaged the Vics manager on Twitter and met him at the Macron Cup Final the week after to buy him and his assistant a pint!”

At the close of play the league table read: City of Liverpool: won 29, drawn 4. Bootle FC: won 28, drawn 5. It was the extra victory on the final day of the season that secured the title in dramatic fashion.

For a club that only began playing in 2016 to be experiencing such moments already was a sign of their ambition, as is the re-signing of Cairns.

“To have Craig back with us for the new season is great news and I’m sure it will give the fans a big lift in this tough period we are all going through,” Robinson said of the signing this week.

“Craig is a natural-born goalscorer with a hunger to be successful that matches the club’s. 

“He showed great desire to come back and it didn’t take long to get the deal over the line. I’m sure he’ll get a big welcome back when we can all return.”

After what will be seen as a season of acclimatisation to a new division in 2019/20, the club are now ready to push on, looking to write more memorable moments in the City of Liverpool FC history books.