With the new season approaching Town announced on the 22nd of May 2023, The George Melling Tournament, The pre-season tournament was to honour former Longridge Town captain George Melling and raise money for The Motor Neurone Disease Association. Longridge hosted as Garstang, Euxton Villa and Fulwood Amateurs made the trip over to the Recycling Lives Ground to compete for the Tournament.

The first game kicked off on Saturday 25th June at 1pm between Garstang and Euxton Villa. Garstang enjoyed the majority of possession throughout the game and took the lead 4 minutes before half time when Braithwaite stabbed home Murphy's free kick which had rebounded off the post. The Stang grabbed another just after half time when Joe Noblet incredibly lobbed the Villa goalkeeper from just inside his own half. Player-manager Zach Clark nodded through the 'keepers legs for a third but the flag went up on the far side to disallow for offside. This didn't deter Garstang though as they rounded off the victory when Trialist tapped into an empty net after the Euxton Villa 'keeper had unfortunately collided with his own defender in an attempt to catch the forward ball. The whilst blew 15 minutes later to confirm a 3-0 win for Garstang.

Then came Longridge's first game as we took on a very tidy Fulwood Amateurs side in which Jack Anderton captained the team for the first time. The Ammies deservedly took the lead on 28 minutes as Ryan Dodd lifted a first time close range effort into the roof of the net after a cross field ball was reached by McGovern and pulled back across the face of goal into the number 9's path, leaving Riyhas powerless. Town responded by making four substitutions at the break, bringing on the likes of Dean Ing and Ryan Schofield with Harry Wignall and Owen Imadiyi also taking to the field. The newly brought on Ing started brightly and was harshly denied a penalty shout after being shoved over in the box after making his way onto a long ball from midfield just seconds into the second half. New man Luke Smith was also hard done by after his curling effort from just outside the area crashed against the bar. Town were let off with 20 minutes to play after Riyhas palmed away a strong penalty from McDonald to The Ridge a lifeline. Longridge continued to push and their pressure finally played off just minutes from time after Cameron Gourley connected with a great delivery from Luke Smith to head past the Fulwood 'keeper, pulling Town level in the 89th minute. It took a penalty shootout to separate to two sides but after two misses in the shootout from Fulwood the victory fell to Longridge after Ryan Schofield's spot kick picked out the top left corner to seal Town's place in the final.

With the final now decided the third place play-off game was the next to be played with a 1pm kick off on Sunday where Fulwood Amateurs faced off against Euxton Villa in a very closely contested game. Fulwood once again enjoyed the majority of the game, creating numerous chances and even a couple of one-on-ones opportunities. They would've felt hard done by when a mishap at the back between the goalkeeper and a defender allowed a trialist to place a shot into the bottom corner for Villa, just out of reach of the defender on the line. The 89th minute confirmed Euxton Villa's 3rd place finish in the tournament with a last placed finish for Fulwood looking very harsh given their performances but if nothing else they could leave the tournament with their heads held high.

All that was left now was the final. Just before kick off both sides came together in a minutes applause that was brilliantly observed by everyone in attendance. The visitors got the game underway for a quite lifeless first 15 minutes. The first effort of the game came from Longridge attacker Theo Ball who lifted a decent effort from 25 yards onto the roof the net. Garstang's first real opportunity fell to Michael Salisbury who headed an Andrew Murphy cross towards the far corner of the Town goal but the ball was well parried away by Riyhas. The game's unspectacular start continued until the 39th minute when player-manager Zach Clark placed a lovely half-volley from just outside the area into the top left corner to give the Stang the lead. It was same again for Longridge who made changes at half time bringing on both Harry Wignall and Leighton Hewitt who made his first appearance in Town colours. The young midfielder proved to be quite a handful when his cross reached the feet of his brother Aaron who slid a first time effort into the side netting. From this point it didn't take Garstang long to double their lead when a cross form the right was parried by Riyhas into the path of Andrew Murphy who wasted no time and smashed it into the back of the net. Town responded just minutes later when Dean Ing chested down a long ball from midfield and played it into the path of Jack Anderton who unleashed a perfectly placed first time effort past Kitchen in the Garstang goal to grab a consolation. Town crafted some half chances in the last 15 minutes or so including a scramble in the six-yard box but it ultimately wasn't enough as Garstang saw the game out to confirm their status as champions of The George Melling Tournament.

A great weekend of football that raised serious money for a very worthy cause in The Motor Neurone Disease Association which focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by motor neurone disease in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This tournament was dedicated to former Longridge Town captain George Melling who sadly passed away last year after a battle with MND. A big thank you to everyone who attended and helped us raise money and if you didn't attend but would like to help then please visit https://www.mndassociation.org/ to learn more about how you can help.