Newton Heath's first competitive match

Three pence was the price of admission to the North Road ground on 27.10.83 to witness Newton Heath LYR's first competitive match. Three pence to see the FA Cup holders? That seemed to be the deal as the visitors for the first round of the Lancashire Cup were Blackburn Olympic.
Olympic, however, fielded a reserve team.

The Athletic News 31.10.83

The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 29.10.83

Lancashire Football Association

Though the introduction of Association football into Lancashire about the same period as the establishment of the Cup, the first of an innumerable succession of trophies of a similar kind, was a mere coincidence and in no way connected, it is curious, considering the conspicuous part Lancashire clubs have played in the competition of late years, that their origin should have been coeval The paternity of the Association game in Lancashire may be claimed by Mr. J. C. Kay, an old Harrovian, who subsequently made himself a reputation in another branch of sport, as a lawn tennis player of no small ability, as well as manager of perhaps the best organized lawn tennis meeting in the kingdom" that which takes place annually on the ground of the Liverpool Cricket Club. Educated at Harrow, it was only natural that the primitive game in use in Lancashire should have been based very much on the eccentric admixture of different codes to which young Harrow had been used for generation after generation. The introduction of the Association game into Lancashire was, in fact, in a very great measure the work of an old Harrovian, as, some twenty years before, the initiation of the movement which practically led to the revival of football on a proper basis was to a considerable extent the work of a few keen athletes who had graduated at his School. To East Lancashire, in particular, belongs the credit of fostering the game in its infancy, as well as of assisting in the development which has resulted in making Lancashire one of the most powerful influences in Association football Bolton, I believe, was the first place which took at all kindly to the new sport, and, under Mr. Kay's watchful eye, the Harrow game, or perhaps as near a reproduction as could be devised to suit local requirements, for a time supplied all the wants of the lads who were undergoing their novitiate in football. Practice took place in the evenings, and, in fact, the game was of a very primitive kind, followed after the hard work of the day had been completed. It was not long, though, before an attempt was made to evolve something like system out of the rough efforts of these pioneers of Lancashire football. The first result of this organization, I have reason to believe, was the Bolton Wanderers club, which has outlived the many, and some of them excellent, changes through which football has gone during the last quarter of a century, and still remains a power in the land; in fact, one of the most influential combinations of the same kind in the north of England.

CW Alcock 

The Lancashire F.A. is said to have its origins in a meeting held at The Volunteer Inn, Bromley Cross, on Saturday 28th September, 1878. John Lewis (Blackburn Rovers), T. Hindle, (Darwen) and W.T. Dixon, (Turton F.C.) are cited as the prime movers. Arrangements were made for a representative meeting of clubs to be held.

Burnley Express, 05.10.78.

Here is some information regarding the clubs mentioned in the above article:

Club	Founded
Accrington	1876		Founder members of the Football League.
Church	1874		Church is a village 1 mile from Accrington.
Myrtle Grove	1870		Later known as Rossendale. Blackburn Standard - Saturday 27 July 1878- JH Bentley Hon Sec Myrtle Grove FC (Cloughfold) seeking fixtures within 20 miles.
Clough Fold		Cloughfold is a small hamlet in Rossendale.
Enfield			There is an Enfield Cricket Club in Accrington.
Haslingden Rangers			Haslingden is a town in Rossendale. Neither of the clubs still exist, and their histories are scant. A Haslingden club joined the Lancashire Combination in 1905. I don’t know the relationship between this and the earlier clubs.
Haslingden Grane The Blackburn Standard consistently uses Grane, not Grange.
Blackburn Rovers	1875		Founder members of the Football League.
Park Road (Blackburn)	1875		England/Ireland international Jack Reynolds turned out for Park Road.
Livesey United (Blackburn)			In 1878 a Livesey United Cup was contested in Blackburn.
St George’s (Blackburn)
St Mark’s (Blackburn)			Blackburn Olympic’s opponents in the 1878 Livesey United Cup final. Later known as Witton.
Christ Church (Blackburn)
Bolton Rovers
St George’s (Bolton)
Emmanuel FC (Bolton)
Bolton Wanderers	1874		Founder members of the Football League.
North End (Bolton)			Were playing Rugby in 1878
Great Lever (Bolton)	1877		One of many Bolton based clubs- a number of stars represented Great lever early in their careers, including John Goodall, James Trainer and Denny Hodgetts. Alf Jones was capped by England whilst playing for Great Lever (which the old IFFHS site listed as a London club!)
Turton	1871		The Oldest Football Club in Lancashire- they played a form of the Harrow game (founder J.C Kay was a Harrow Boy) before adopting Association in 1874. Declined with the advent of professionalism.
Eagley	1874
Astley Bridge	1879		Claim a foundation date of 1880?!
Westhoughton
Darwen Rangers
Darwen Grasshoppers			A homage to Preston Grasshoppers? (1869)
Lower Darwen

Notable absentees - we must assume, given Mr Hindle's presence that Darwen are omitted from the report in error. Preston North End - possibly the Blackburn centered nature of the set up didn't encourage them?
The development of Lancashire football, paricularly Darwen and Turton is covered beautifully in Underdogs: The Unlikely Story of Football's First FA Cup Heroes by Keith Dewhurst.

A Challenge Cup was introduced in 1879-1880 and the results of the competition were as follows:

First Round
20.09.79	Haslingden Association	2	1	Padiham
27.09.79	Darwen	7	0	Darwen Grasshoppers
27.09.79	Turton	9	1	North End (Bolton)
27.09.79	Emmanuel FC (Bolton)	0	6	Park Road (Blackburn)
04.10.79	Church	4	0	St Andrews (Blackburn)
04.10.79	Christ Church (Blackburn)	8	0	Bolton Hornets
04.10.79	Lynwood (Darwen)	5	4	Bolton Olympic
04.10.79	Great Lever (Bolton)	5	4	Clough Fold
11.10.79	Livesey United (Blackburn)	9	0	Halliwell Jubilee (Bolton)
11.10.79	Astley Bridge	6	0	Rising Sun (Bolton)
11.10.79	Cob Wall (Bolton)	0	3	Manchester Wanderers
11.10.79	Bolton Wanderers	5	2	All Saints (Bolton)
11.10.79	Lower Darwen	3	1	Darwen Rangers
18.10.79	Accrington	4	1	Halliwell (Bolton)
23.10. 79	Enfield	1	5	Blackburn Rovers (replay)
25.10.79	Edgeworth	6	1	Middleton
25.10.79	Eagley	5	2	Bolton Rovers
25.10.79	St Mark’s (Blackburn)	4	1	St Pauls (Bolton) (replay)
25.10.79	Lower Chapel (Darwen)	4	2	St George’s (Blackburn)
01.11.79	Darwen Foresters	wo		Haslingden Grane (did not show for replay)
Second Round
01.11.79	Lower Chapel	4	3	Lynwood (declared void)
20.12.79	Lynwood	1	3	Lower Chapel
08.11.79	Eagley	4	1	Edgeworth
22.11.79	St Mark’s	0	4	Accrington
25.11.79	Haslingden Association	1	12	Darwen (+3 disputed goals)
29.11.79	Lower Darwen	3	0	Livesey United
29.11.79	Blackburn Rovers	4	0	Bolton Wanderers (1 in some reports)
29.11.79	Great Lever	0	3	Turton
30.11.79	Manchester Wanderers	6	2	Church (+1 disputed goal)
06.12.79	Darwen Foresters	0	2	Park Road
06.12.79	Christ Church	1	2	Astley Bridge
Third Round
01.01.80	Accrington	4	0	Lower Darwen
10.01.80	Darwen	5	0	Astley Bridge
10.01.80	Blackburn Rovers	2	0	Turton (+1 disputed goal)
Turton protested that McIntyre and Campbell of Rovers were ‘not Lancashire men’ and therefore ineligible- The Lancs FA ordered a replay and according to a report in The Blackburn Standard (31.01.80) Rovers withdrew from the Cup. However, the Association reconsidered  and overturned the decision in a meeting on 14.02.80.
10.01.80	Manchester Wanderers	2	0	Park Road
17.01.80	Eagley	2	8	Lower Chapel
Fourth Round
07.2.80	Accrington	4	3	Lower Chapel
21.2.80	Darwen (+2 disputed goals)	11	1	Manchester Wanderers
	Blackburn Rovers	Bye
Semi-final
	Darwen	bye
06.03.80	Blackburn Rovers	3	1	Accrington (at Alexandra Meadows)

The final was played at Darwen's Barley Bank ground on 20.03.80. There were 9,000 in attendance and takings in excess of £160. The referee was Mr C.J Spencer, of Nottingham Forest assisted by Messrs. J.N Abraham ( Cheshire FA) and R.E Lythgoe (Birkenhead FA).

Darwen ran out 3-0 winners with goals from Bury, Gledhill and Marshall.

Darwen		Blackburn Rovers
Broughton	G	Howorth
Duxbury	B	Greenwood*
Suter	B	A Birtwistle
Fish	H	FW Hargeaves*
Moorhouse	H	Latham
*Marshall	F	Duckworth
*Rostron	F	Hanson
Gledhill	F	Brown*
Holden	F	Hindle
Bury	F	J Hargreaves*
R Kirkham	F	R Birtwistle

* England Internationals.

In good Victorian fashion the cup was presented 4 months later.

Liverpool Echo, 26.07.80