Retford 0
Hallam 3
Friendly
I think it was the point where I sat down with a pint in
hand at the Babworth Sports & Social Club, that I realised normal service
had resumed.
My words to Steve were to that effect, the terrible twosome
were back on the road again for another season, a season that will no doubt be
blighted by occupational hazards such as bad weather, re-arrangements, road closures and re-locations, but on the positive side, we should get some
football in, some new grounds, and probably the odd beer or two.
I guess as well when we walked into the Babworth Lane home
of Retford for the first midweek game of the new season, and were greeted with a politically incorrect personal
insult by a fellow blogger and local non-league enthusiast, it struck us that
we were back on a ten month long adventure, of personal insults and political
incorrectness!
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| Choo Choo |
Retford are a relatively new club, formed in 2015 and to be
fair, when they first appeared on the map, for all intents and purposes, many
of us assumed they were a pseudo reserve side to the aforementioned United.
However, over the course of time it became clear that wasn’t the case, and once
the move was announced, any possible remaining suggestions that they had a
connection, were removed.
For tonight’s friendly, we chose to partake in a pint in the
Club which sits on the opposite side of the flyover to the ground. Steve had
plenty of tales to tell about his recent trip to Sweden and a visit to see a
team called Grebo. I was not so exotic, Dodworth, Rugby and Welling do not
compare, but I suspect my beer was somewhat cheaper than he was paying in
Scandinavia!
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| No Choo Choo |
So what does Babworth Road look like? It sits alongside the
East Coast Mainline so trains are aplenty, while the main road into the centre
of Retford rises behind the goal. On the opposite side of the ground to the
railway is a huge educational building that I seem to think used to be called a
school back in the day.
Furniture wise, it’s a mixture of a fixed barrier and a
rope, while the dressing rooms located behind the top goal are nearing
completion having been built from scratch. No cover or seats, or indeed floodlights
but in time I suspect they will start to appear. An awful lot of hard work has
gone on to get the ground in shape, and all credit to the club for what they
have achieved.
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| Views Towards The Flyover |
They had a burger van, belonging to the Retford centre
forward, however it could only operate a limited number of appliances at a time
or it tripped out. Burgers were fine, but you couldn’t have chips, you could
have a cold drink, but the kettle wouldn’t work. I daren’t think what might
have happened if they’d needed to put the light on!
We did chat to a Retford official, he was very friendly and
informative, but not only that, with ten minutes to go he wandered around the
ground to find us with complimentary cups of tea. What a very nice gesture,
these things do leave a lasting impression.
As for the game, Hallam were always the better side, and
having taken a first half lead, they scored a further two goals in the second
period to record a comfortable victory. It was no slight on Retford though
because higher league Hallam will be one of the sides looking for promotion
this season.
For some reason the referee only appeared to play 40 minutes
each way, maybe due to the gloomy evening and the reducing light, but time flew
anyway, it always does when you are trading insults!
The Retford official invited us back for a game later in the
season, and I suspect we’ll take him up on that offer. Besides, there are not
many football grounds you can walk into and have your sexuality questioned in
such a public manner.
But to be fair, we wouldn’t have it any other way!
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| A Work In Progress |
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