Ejection

Buxton  2  South Shields  0

Northern Premier League – Premier Division

I’ve only ever been ejected from two football grounds.

One of those instances was a real schoolboy error (pardon the pun) at Wolverhampton Wanderers when I went through the junior entrance only for a Police search to find my car keys on me. I tried the plead the student line but it was to no avail, they put me in a holding cell at the back of the ground, took some photographs, completed some paperwork and then out I went. I was allowed back in, but this time at full price. Apparently, if ever found guilty of a football related offence again in the West Midlands I will receive a lengthy ban, so to be honest I’ve always been ultra-careful since, especially when going to places like Gornal Athletic and Cradley Town where the temptation to go bat-shit crazy can be overwhelming at times!

The other instance actually came after the final whistle, allow me to tell the story!

It was the end of the 1985-86 season and Belper Town had reached the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final, it was to be a two legged affair, and in that era the Senior Cup did actually matter, so we had a double decker bus to take us to the game. Myself and my Dad were collected at the Hurt Arms in Ambergate, and with many of the bus residents having had a good gargle back in Belper before setting off, it was a merry old journey up the Via Gellia.

We arrived in Buxton, and I went straight into the ground, but a good number went into Buxton, and it wasn’t long before reports were coming back of aggro in the town, so consequently the home officials and stewards were on their guard as us Belper louts needed to be watched closely.

I don’t remember an awful lot about the game, but I can remember a fair bit of taunting going back and forth in the big main stand as the two sets of fans goaded each other. At the final whistle, after a game that I seem to recall ended 2-2, the crowd dispersed, and with our battle wagon not due to depart until half an hour after the final whistle so the committee could make the most of the post match hospitality, a few of us decided to have a charge around the terraces.

It was at the point where I think we might have been in the process of considering what souvenirs to take home with us (parts of the ground), that we felt the long arm of the local stewards. Within seconds we were being frog marched to the exits and placed back on the Trent bus. Technically not an ejection I guess, more of a hastened departure, but all the same, it was my first instance of forced removal from a football ground.

It didn’t put me off, I’ve been to the Silverlands numerous times since. We actually played them again the following season in another Senior Cup Final, this time without the drama, while I can also remember going with Alfreton for a pre-season friendly after a hefty drinking session in the Hope Valley, that day, did not end well. I won’t elaborate, but sometimes in hindsight you are quite rightly ashamed of yourself!

I can remember being at another Derbyshire Senior Cup tie against Ilkeston Town, when the game was played in incessant rain. It finished all square at the final whistle, by which time the rain had abated. With extra-time due, the referee, Mr Shoebridge from Ripley, decided to abandon the game to everyone’s amazement. The pitch was perfectly playable so it made no sense. This caused a problem though, because the 90 minutes had been played the game was to be replayed at Ilkeston, but the weather took a turn for the worse and it was a real job to actually get the game played. Future rounds were significantly delayed as a result.

I’ll be honest though, as much as I love going to the Silverlands, I’ve always been super cautious due to the fact it suffers from the extremes of the weather. Snow can arrive when it’s sunny elsewhere, you can have a frozen pitch when it’s mild just down the round, and my mate Steve has on at least three occasions been sat in the bar when the game has been called off, albeit once due to a somewhat bizarre and controversial incident involving Buxton’s player being caught in horrendous traffic (Morrisons Car Park down the road it transpired!) prior to another Senior Cup tie against Alfreton.

But that’s all in the past now, because Buxton have installed an artificial pitch, so unless we have a pile of snow, it’s happy days. But, I had picked a game out as soon as the fixtures were announced, with my old favourites South Shields in town for a midweek game, it was straight into the planner and barring a freakish weather incident that would even surpass Buxton standards, I was going!

Why do I love the Silverlands? Because it’s a proper traditional football ground, that’s why. A cracking old stand with the dressing rooms and offices below dominates the vista, while behind the railway line end is a steep covered terrace where a great atmosphere can be created. Opposite the main stand is the popular side which is a full length covered terrace, while behind the other goal it’s just open. The clubhouse and tea bar are just as you enter the ground in the corner, and over the years the warmth of that clubhouse at half time has been a godsend!

What about the club?

A Cheshire County League side until 1973 when they were crowned Champions and won promotion to the Northern Premier League, they went on to become one of the mainstays of the premier non-league competition in the North, remembering that up until 1979, the winners of the NPL could apply for election to the Football League.

They never really threatened in the NPL but once the top sides moved into the newly formed Alliance Premier League in 1979, they did conjure up sixth and fourth placed finishes for a couple of seasons afterwards. They continued to tick along, without really threatening, until 1996-97 when a disastrous campaign saw them finish bottom and relegated. Financial problems hit the club and once again the following season they finished bottom of the First Division and were relegated to the Northern Counties East League.

Despite being without doubt the biggest club in the league, they didn’t find life easy in the NCEL. Twice they had to survive relegation scares and in the end it took eight seasons before they were crowned champions and were able to return to NPL football. In fact, it was once Nicky Law was appointed Manager that fortunes changed. He was the man who took them up, and then the following season they won the NPL1 at the first attempt, and finally, they were back where they belonged.

Since then they’ve flirted with the Play-Offs on a couple of occasions, but in all honesty, they’ve never really looked like going up, nor have they ever been in any danger of going down. Arguably, they are now at their natural level as a football club, but that said, the National League North is still something to aim for, they certainly have the facilities and the support in the town is strong, so why not?

The current campaign has started positively, prior to the match against South Shields they were just outside the top six, and if they could muster up a victory, a top four place with a quarter of the season gone was within grasp. Crowds have been good as well, the highest being over 700 while an average of just under 500 is very healthy for the level.

So what about the game? I had a feeling beforehand that South Shields would have too much for them, despite them not perhaps having had the start that would have hoped for and indeed expected. Bearing in mind this is the club that have stormed all before them in the previous three seasons, and in many pundits eyes, were the favourites again this time around. I was one of them, I felt that they would go through the league this season (having seen them last year) and would be taking up a place in National North for 2019-20.

Buxton had different ideas, they played a high tempo game and pressed the ball quickly. Shields had plenty of possession but more often than not the ball was going sideways or backwards such was Buxton’s tenacious attitude. Buxton took the lead in the seventh minute when the impressive Liam Hardy saw his shot from distance take a deflection and find its way into the back of the net.

Shields saw plenty of the ball for the rest of the first half, but could only real manufacture one decent chance that went begging.

I had a feeling that Shields would go up another gear in the second period and perhaps try to be a bit more direct, but it was quite the opposite. Buxton were the side they found another gear and started to see more of the ball, so it came as no surprise when in the 78^th minute Greg Young found space in the penalty area to turn and fire low into the net.

A well deserved victory for Buxton, and disappointment for the healthy following from the North East who seemed somewhat disgruntled at the final whistle. They aren’t used to losing games, and this was the fourth away defeat from six games on the road.

But tonight was about Buxton, and under the guidance of Paul Phillips and Steve Halford, you do wonder whether this might be the season when they could mount that elusive promotion push. They’ve beaten Shields and another favourite in the shape of Basford United, so why not?

With a guarantee of games due to the shiny new surface, I’ll be back again this season, and being that bit older and slightly more sensible, I promise you Buxton, I won’t be causing you any trouble!