Penistone Church
3 AFC Emley 0
Sheffield & Hallamshire FA Senior Cup – Fourth Round
Down to earth, honest, hard working, but, more importantly
as my mate Stu would say, they are “Reyt”
We had a spell in the late Nineties at Belper where a good
number of our players came from Barnsley, courtesy of the Assistant Manager at
the time being Mark Ogley who came from the town. One of those players was Mark
‘Willy’ Wilson, and anyone who has had the good fortune to come across Willy
during the course of their sheer existence will not forget him!
We had a fanzine at the time at Belper and one of the
features was “Mark Wilson’s Poetry Corner – The Barnsley Bard”. My own personal
favourite being “Tha Knows Tha Know”, closely followed by “I’m sorry, I’m from
Barnsley”. However, the seductive ballad “Choked Ferret Morning” takes some
beating in many critics eyes.
Penistone is apparently in the Metropolitan Borough of
Barnsley, and I don’t know about the residents of the town, but I’m not sure
I’m having that, and I’ll tell you why. You leave Sheffield to the North,
crossing the Stocksbridge bypass on the road to Huddersfield, and Penistone
pops up on the left hand side. Barnsley sits off to the East, and I just don’t associate
a journey up the A629 as a trip into Bird and Parkinson Country.
For me, it’s
betwixt Sheffield and Huddersfield, and Barnsley doesn’t come into it!
But, it’s not me who sets the boundaries, so if the powers
that be are happy for it to be classed as Barnsley, and the residents are happy
to be associated with those nicknamed ‘The Dingles’ by the unforgiving elements
of South Yorkshire, then so be it.
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| Tha Knows Tha Know |
So, to cut a very long and laborious story short, I made my
way into the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley on Wednesday night to watch
Penistone Church play local (Huddersfield) rivals AFC Emley in the County Cup.
Penistone is a lovely town, but it’s blighted by visiting
idiots who clearly have the surname ‘Stone’, and the childish activities of
them must really annoy and indeed bore the long suffering locals. You see, they
pose in front of road signs, or indeed the sign at the railway station,
covering up part of the name Penistone to reveal select letters. They don’t do
it in Maidstone or Wealdstone, so why do it in Penistone? The knobs…..
The football club is one I have tremendous respect for. I
first went to the impressive facilities back in 2007 to see them play a County
Senior League game against Edlington Working Mens Club. At the time I was taken
aback somewhat by what they had at the Church View Road ground, which sits up
the hill from the railway station.
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| I'm Sorry - I'm From Barnsley |
Floodlights, a stand, and an impressive clubhouse made me
think that progress up the pyramid was certainly feasible if they had the
inclination to do so. They did have the inclination and indeed almost joined
the Northern Counties East League in 2013, but it’s a bit of thorny subject.
Shaw Lane Aquaforce (yes, them!) were accepted ahead of Penistone, but it got
VERY contentious.
A statement appeared on Penistone’s website following an
appeal against Shaw Lane’s promotion, it appeared questions were raised about
Aquaforce’s arranging of a groundshare to gain promotion and the fact it wasn’t
of the required standard, but then moved into the territory of Shaw Lane’s lack
of popularity in local football circles and their alleged over inflated ego’s!
How to win friends and influence people and all that!!
Shaw Lane were subsequently joined by Penistone in the
constitution on an either / or basis, but the appeal was heard at the FA and
ultimately the side who entertained Mansfield Town in this seasons FA Cup got
the nod.
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| Choked Ferrets Aplenty |
Undeterred, Penistone did get the nod the following season,
and last season they were victorious in the First Division Play Off’s starting
the current campaign in the Premier Division at Step 5 for the first time.
Much of the clubs success is down to the shrewd management
of former Belper player Ian Richards, who in my opinion is one of the brightest
and most sought after young Manager’s in the area. A local man, he’s built a
very good side that plays excellent football, and not only that, he’s
fundamental to the foundations of a club that the community has really bought
into.
210 were present for the game, whereas almost 500 were at an
FA Cup tie against Whitby Town earlier in the season. In the league they get
between 150 and 200 which for the level and the division is a very good figure.
The ground hasn’t changed hugely, although it is now fully
enclosed and seats have been installed in the stand. What I like about it,
other than it being what I would describe as a ’proper’ non-league ground,
without the typical Meccano stands being craned in and green mesh fences
erected, is the fact the locals are first class.
You always get a warm and friendly welcome, from the moment
you enter the ground, move into the bar, queue for some food, or stand on the
terraces, it’s just a great place to be and one I never tire of visiting.
Penistone won the game 3-0, with three well taken first half
goals. They dominated the game and could have scored more but the quick fire
treble in the first 45 minutes did the job, so from then on it was a case of
controlling the play and seeing what opportunities presented themselves.
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| Reyt Proper |
Where can Penistone Church go? I certainly think they are
more than capable of holding their own in the Northern Premier League, but
getting out of the NCE is a real challenge. Two promotion spaces are up for
grabs this season when ordinarily it would only be one. Pontefract Collieries
and AFC Mansfield are the favourites, but with the likes of Pickering, Worksop,
Bridlington and Handsworth also having ambitions, to win promotion in future
seasons is going to be bloody well tough.
I sincerely hope they do it though, because they are a “Reyt
Good” football club, run and supported by some equally “Reyt Good” people.
Maybe being part of Barnsley isn’t such a bad thing after all…..
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| Get Tha Sen A Pint Lad |
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