A PLAQUE commemorating a Bolton Wanderers player who scored the first ever league goal in world football has been created — but needs a home.

Wanderers have made the plaque to honour former player Kenny Davenport, who scored the historic goal in a match against Derby County 128 years ago.

It had originally been thought that the first ever goal came from an own goal by Aston Villa’s Gershom Cox, but three years ago sports writer Marc Metcalf and friend Robert Boyling revealed their research which proved that the Villa game had been delayed on the day.

This meant that Kenny Davenport, who registered the first of Wanderers goals in a 3-6 loss to the Rams at a pitch in Pikes Lane, was the first scorer in the world’s oldest league — the English Football league.

Mr Metcalf, a freelance sports journalist and author, has been campaigning for a permanent marker to the achievement to be created and placed in Pikes Lane, the scene of the famous goal.

Through Whites club chaplain Phil Mason, the Bolton Wanderers Community Trust has now created a plaque — but so far it does not have a home.

Mr Metcalfe and Wanderers fan Martin McMulkin have been asking people in the Pikes Lane area if anyone would be happy to have the plaque erected on their property — so far to no avail.

They have now enlisted the help of former Wanderers player and chairman of the Professional Footballers Association Gordon Taylor in their mission.

Mr Taylor will meet the team — along with Mavis Callaghan, who is a relative of Kenny Davenport, in Pikes Lane on September 8, the 128th anniversary of that famous goal.

Mr Metcalf hopes this event will encourage a local resident to agree to house the plaque.

He said: “It is about six years since I first approached Bolton Council with the news that a colleague of mine, Robert Boyling, and myself had managed to solve the mystery of who had scored the first ever League goal. Considering that Bolton had notched the first ever goal at Wembley in 1923 I thought it was great to discover that Wanderers also notched the first ever League goal, which is unarguably the most important ever scored as it was the advent of League football that revolutionised football and sport in general.

“Kenny Davenport is a local lad and his feat of scoring against Derby County on 8 September 1888 needs suitably recognising.

“Bolton Wanderers have paid for a beautiful plaque but despite our best efforts, which in the last few months has included leafleting the Pikes Lane area, we have found it difficult to find anyone who can give us permission for it to be erected.”

“On September 8 I am delighted that Gordon Taylor, a former Wanderers player and fan, Phil Mason from the club and Mavis Callaghan, a relative of Kenny Davenport, and Wanderers fan Martin McMulkin are going to come along to Pikes Lane to highlight the need for a spot to put the plaque up.”