Hotbed

Wirksworth Ivanhoe  1  Sherwood Colliery Reserves  3

Central Midlands League – Division One South

It’s got to the stage of the season now whereby I’m trying to find games that have something on them.

Firstly because it means that it might be an entertaining spectacle as a result, but also, it significantly increases the likelihood of teams actually turning up to play!

I was going to go to Wirksworth a couple of midweeks ago, to watch Town, but that got called off due to a lack of visiting players. To be fair, I wasn’t initially planning on going tonight, I was heading to watch a vital game in the Sheffield County Senior League between Houghton Main and Sheffield Bankers, but that turned out to be so pivotal that it got moved to the following Saturday at short notice!

So, a quick look at the fixtures and of course the tables, showed that visiting Sherwood Colliery Reserves needed to win this game to clinch the title, anything other than that and it was in the hands of Wirksworth’s neighbours (and mates it turns out) Rowsley 86.

Despite living mightily close to Wirksworth, it’s not a town I’m overly familiar with. Footballing wise I went to Town once in the late Nineties to watch Belper Town Reserves, while I had an amble to Ivanhoe about seven years ago when they were a Midlands Regional Alliance side. Otherwise, my knowledge of the place is limited to the fact it was where my Grandad bought his new cars from years and years ago.

Both Wirksworth sides are relatively new to the CMFL. Town joined two seasons ago when they expanded the league to effectively add a Step 8 division, while Ivanhoe made the move at the start of the current season. Both currently sit in mad-table places in a league that comprises of an almost equal 50/50 split between reserve sides and first teams.

Arriving in the town a short while before kick off I made my way to a boozer, which was fine, barring a couple of lads who had clearly been in place most of the day. No problems with them, although to be fair one of them in my own mind soon earned the nickname ‘Thrush’……..

Ivanhoe play on Derby Road to the South of the town, sharing a complex with the local cricket club. The cricket side have an excellent clubhouse and scoreboard building, while the football club look to be the poor relations with a small changing room block that looks like it’s been in place for longer than most of the players have been born!

A fence separates the cricket from the football, and other than that, there are some temporary dugouts and a rope down the edge of the pitch. Sherwood had bought a few with them (on a bus) while the Rowsley support probably made up about a third of the overall attendance.

Features wise, a nice bank sits behind the goal giving excellent views of the pitch, and on a wet / cold day, you could watch the game from the comfort of your car at the top. I didn’t do this, but others did on a night that was a bit on the chilly side.

The game was very good in all fairness. Sherwood had the edge in terms of possession but Wirksworth battled like they had something a stake (a bung from Rowsley!), and got tackles in and bodies in the way of everything that was thrown at them. The game had just over ten minutes remaining when the visitors finally made the breakthrough courtesy of Gareth Curtis who managed to get the ball past my old pal Shane Torr who was in goal for Ivanhoe. Nerves looked to be settled, but as is often the case, the hosts went up the other end, won a free kick and before you know it, it was 1-1 and the Rowsley fans were celebrating!

With 89 minutes on the clock, Ewan Robson snatched a second for Colliery and the hopes of Rowsley were shattered once more. With Wirksworth throwing men forward it was almost inevitable that a third would come in the 95^th minute for Sherwood from Triston Burrell.

It had been a cracking final fifteen minutes and to be fair, on balance of play and possession, it was probably the right outcome, and well done Sherwood on your championship. Ivanhoe, as Shane said to me during the game, are finding their feet in a new league and they have been somewhat inconsistent. Next year, with the experience behind them, who knows?

Ivanhoe play Town shortly, the 9th of May in fact. I can't make it but I suspect a few will pop down to watch it. Wirksworth, it appears, is a footballing hotbed, except until now they haven't told anyone!