Linby Colliery Welfare Reserves 1 Bakewell
Town 4
Central Midlands League – Presidents Cup
I’ll be brutally honest, I had absolutely no intention of
going to Linby tonight.
Plan A was Wirksworth Town v Sutton Rovers, but deep down I
should have known what was going to happen, and that was the Division One North
league leaders from Doncaster would not be able to raise a side for a 6.45pm
kick off in the back of beyond.
The Presidents Cup has been formulated to fill
in the fixture gaps caused by reduced league numbers and the unusually good
weather, but, once it stretches beyond Saturday’s and over County boundaries,
it is prone to problems. So, when the game was announced as off, I had to come up with
something.
I’ve not been to Linby for a while, and knowing that they’ve
moved the pitch at the Church Lane ground, I thought I’d go and have a gander
at what they are up to. Plus, I’d never seen visiting Bakewell Town play
before, and after hearing good reports about them, it kind of made my mind up
for me.
There wasn’t much happening at Church Lane and hour before
kick off, so I decided to go to the pub up the road for a wee beverage. I do
like the Horse & Groom, for an eating pub it’s great to have a quiet pint
in, but it is a bit on the expensive side, Linby is the posh side of Hucknall!
So what’s the story with Linby Colliery Welfare then?
There was a team playing in in Linby (Linby Colliery) just after the War, the Football Club History Database tells us that as the clubs FA Cup
records are listed. Standing out are games against the wonderfully named
Parliament Street Methodists and Players Athletic, but the highlight came in
the 1950-51 season when victories over the aforementioned Methodists,
Shirebrook, Retford, Boston United, Spalding United and Nuneaton Borough set up
a First Round tie against Football League outfit Gillingham.
The game resulted in a 4-1 defeat and a record crowd, photos
of which are on display in the clubhouse at Church Lane.
In latter years the club plied their trade in the old
Midland League First Division in the Seventies, before a long spell in the
Notts Senior League. The Central Midlands League was joined in 2012, where they
have remained in the Southern Division ever since, albeit never at any stage really threatening for major honours.
Linby sits to the North East side of Hucknall, on the road to
Papplewick and Calverton, it’s a small village, and it’s residents are known as
Linbolians! In fairness though, it’s a very nice place, albeit at rush hour it
does get pretty busy as it’s on the route to the main A60.
I first went to the ground over ten years ago to watch a
Notts Senior League game against the enigma that was the Caribbean Cavaliers,
but I’ve only been back once since and that was a couple of years ago to watch
an end of season game against near neighbours Hucknall Rolls Leisure.
With tales abounding of the pitch move, I was indeed curious
as to what other changes have taken place. To be fair, the only visible changes
of note are that other than moving to pitch fifty yards or so nearer the
changing rooms, are that the cover has been moved to the opposite side along
with the dugouts, while a new barrier has been erected around the pitch.
Always a friendly club, I do like the way they do things at
Linby, they have a strong community ethic, with the reserve team (and I assume
the firsts as well) made up of local lads. A modest crowd had turned up on a
wet and windy evening, and in fairness to the young team, they put up a good
show having lots of possession, but Bakewell’s experience and nous saw them
through in the end.
Tom Forder gave the visitors the lead in the 20th
minute when he rounded the goalkeeper to score, before new Dad, Ben Rach, scored
from the penalty spot just before half time.
James Hill added a third in the 65th minute
before Travis Shooter pulled a goal back for the hosts. The fourth goal for
Bakewell came in the 82nd minute when a Rob Littlewood header found
the net.
It’s a short trip home from Linby, and after seeing a very
entertaining game at a super football club, I was kind of glad Sutton Rovers
decided against a 120 mile round trip for a midweek game……
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