Lady Ga Ga

Parkgate  2  Skegness Town  3

Northern Counties East League – League Cup

I remember it like it was yesterday, it was February 2013 and it had been less than a year since I’d set up home with Mrs H.

It was a Tuesday and the previous night she’d not been very well, and with no sign of her getting better I left her in bed to recover. Being the caring kind of future husband, I checked in throughout the day to see she was ok, and while we weren’t seeing much improvement, she wasn’t getting any worse either.

So by the time it got to around 6pm, I was happy that she would be able to survive home alone until at least 10.30pm when I got in from football…………………

I headed over to Parkgate to watch them play Retford United, and all was calm until half time, and just after I’d blagged my way into the hospitality area, it all kicked off.

The phone rang, it was Mrs H

“Where are you, you said you’d be home by now?”

I tried to explain that as it was only half time at football, and I was going to be a good couple hours before getting home, but it wasn’t landing. It then occurred to me that she was slightly delirious, and a little bit confused having not long woken up from a nap.

This placed me in a bit of a predicament, Mrs H was going a touch doolally, but the game was delicately poised, I had a decision to make……..

Moving forward over six years, I was conscious of the fact I’d not been to Parkgate for a good while, and having noticed they’d got a League Cup tie against high flying Skegness, I thought it time to pay them a visit.

Parkgate FC are located on the edges of Rotherham in the village of Rawmarsh, a village that once had a team called Rawmarsh Welfare playing in the Sixties and Seventies in the old Yorkshire League. I know this because my old mate Steve used to play for them, albeit he was known as Kevin until he reached the legal age for playing mens football at the time!

I first went to the ground back in the late nineties to see Belper Town win an FA Cup replay, from memory I seem to recall the late great Steve Adams scored that evening, but until that night in 2013, I never went again.

Anyhow, they have a lovely set up at the Roundwood Sports Ground. You drive down a potholed path with a golf course to your left and the car park in front of you. The first thing you see is the training ground of Rotherham United and the perfectly manicured pitches, but to the right is the two storey social club with the football ground just in front of it.

The football ground consists of a tea bar and a seated stand behind the goal (more on the stand, or should I say the seats, in a moment). Round to the right the viewing area rises up, and comprises of a short area of covered terracing, and then open terracing which runs beyond the half way line before tapering out as it reaches the corner of the pitch.

It’s flat standing behind the goal at the top end, while the sides that flanks onto the RUFC facilities is inaccessible for spectators but is naturally enclosed via some conifer trees.

The pitch is something else, it really is, if you can find a better surface within a fifty mile radius in non-league football I would love to see it, it’s simply magnificent.

Right, I chose to spend the game watching from the seats behind the goal, but these were not your typical tip-up seats. Try and visualise this for a moment, when you get to a seat you normally push it down, and it turns on a clockwise axis, so when you then stand up, it flips back in the opposite direction to an upright position. Not so at Parkgate, it goes the other way, in the sense that it rotates anti-clockwise, which is fine until you move to the edge of your seat or lean forward, at which point you start to slide off! I’m sorry Parkgate, that is my ONLY criticism of your superb facilities, luckily I was sober otherwise it could have ended in tragedy!

It was a very good game, I must say. Skegness played some lovely passing football and deservedly took the lead thanks to a close range header from Gary King ten minutes before half time. The game turned on it’s head completely though early in the second period when firstly Simon Harrison and then a minute later Lewis Whitaker made it 2-1 to the hosts.

Skeggy were rattled but they found their composure and grabbed an equaliser from Joshua Nicol in the 74^th minute, and just when we thought we were heading straight to a penalty shoot out, the visitors were awarded a penalty in the 86^th minute that King put away.

Skegness looked a very good footballing side, but Parkgate also played some good stuff and showed battling qualities. I really did enjoy the game.

So, the big question? That night in February 2013, did I leave at half time as requested, or did I stay to watch the second half? I’ll leave you to think about that one, and those that know me well don’t even have to blink to know what the answer might be………………..   

Any Given Sunday

Greendale Oak  5  Langold Old Boys  1

Worksop Sunday League – First Division

This Sunday League stuff is ok you know?

After doing a cheeky little double the other week, taking in games in the Burton and Alfreton varieties, it was time to head a little bit further North and try the Worksop version.

Of course, the idea behind it was to pick up one of the grounds being used on a Saturday, without using a Saturday so to speak. Having been alerted of the fact that newcomers to the Central Midlands League, St Josephs Rockware of Worksop, were playing on the same pitch that Greendale Oak used and indeed seemingly were joint custodians of, it all made perfect sense.

St Josephs themselves were a Sunday side up until the start of the season, and having made the decision to move into Saturday football they needed a home, and that home was to be on the Sandy Lane ground that is also the home of Worksop Town Juniors. Prior to this season, it does look as though St Josephs played at a school. I suspect the sponsorship tie up with Rockware had something to do with it, as the ground is actually referred to as the Rockware Sports Ground.

Names, grounds and sponsorship aside, it was a new venue for me, despite the fact I’ve probably driven past it dozens of times as it sits just a few hundred yards further back up the road from Worksop Town’s ground, and upon arrival, via B &Q for some bulbs and batteries, I was pleasantly surprised.

Firstly, parking wasn’t easy despite there being a car park on site. Various junior games were also taking place on the Sunday morning so cars were strewn up and down Sandy Lane. Secondly, once down at pitch side, Steve and I were delighted to see that the bar was open….

When we say bar, it was 10.45am, and it was actually a tea bar, not a real bar, you would need to go down into Worksop to Wetherspoons for that, or simply get some cans and stand pitch side. We did think about it, but we’re both married and all of that, it wouldn’t have been well received…..

So, with a warm cup of coffee on a wet but muggy morning, we surveyed the scene. The adult pitch rang length ways just under the main road side, while in the centre of the arena was a protected cricket square. Beyond the cricket were a number of small sized pitches being used by the kids, while a number of portakabin style buildings sat at the side of the ground and were used as either storage or changing facilities.

A very new looking building, incomplete though, sits at the very top of the complex, adjacent to the edge of the nearby factory, and this looks like it may be a new cricket pavilion, but I couldn’t say for absolute certain what the intentions are with it.

What about the game though, between two sides who’ve started the season with two wins from two?

To be honest, Greendale Oak looked a very good side, and I’m not sure how many of them play on Saturday’s and at what level, but this was a class above what we saw the other week. The pitch was in superb condition and that clearly helped, but some of the football, and indeed the finishing was very good indeed.

After Langold had a player sent off, Greendale scored two first half goals to set them on their way, and then a further three came in the second period, one of which was akin to a Dennis Bergkamp turn and finish. Langold did pull a goal back, but to be fair, they were always second best to a very good outfit.

Chris O’Grady (not the ex Forest and Wednesday player) got one as did Nathan Sherwood, Leigh Warriner who was superb also netted one, while Daniel Wiltshire got a brace.

Is that Sunday League done for me now? Well the other week after the first two, I said one more, but now I’m looking at Barnsley next weekend, that could be quite special you know?    

 

R1R

Route One Rovers  2  Calverley United  1

Yorkshire Amateur League – Supreme Division

I wasn’t a happy bunny, along with a good number of the Calverley United contingent.

You see, clearly marked car park spaces are for parking cars in, the bits surrounding them that don’t have marked spaces, are not for parking cars. Problem is, whoever had come to watch a game at Dixons Allerton Academy which finished half an hour after the game we were at, didn’t seem to understand that concept.

Consequently a good number of us were sat in the car park for a good half an hour after today’s game finished, until those ever so considerate chaps decided to amble back to their cars and let us out.

More on that later, but lets focus on the positives of a trip to Route One Rovers, that wasn’t on the radar until a couple of weeks when I found out that they’d moved grounds.

R1R (as they will from hereon in be known), first popped up a few seasons back competing in the West Riding County Amateur League. I never saw them play because they were based at Esholt Sports Grounds, a venue I’d been to previously to watch Bradford FC in action. 

Just a few hundred yards away from the ground is the famous Woolpack Inn where Emmerdale Farm is filmed, I did have a pint, I didn’t see Amos or Mr Wilkes though, just annoying families with screeching kids. Oh I would have loved to have had access to a cattle prod, had Matt Skilbeck been around to lend me one……

R1R appeared back on the radar a couple of years ago when they applied for Step 6 status, and the word on the street was that they were looking to move to the West Riding County FA Ground in Woodlesford. I went to watch a cup final at Woodlesford to preempt it, and a very nice venue it is, but the move and the promotion simply didn’t materialise.

Anyroadup, as they say in Yorkshire, it transpired in early September that R1R had left Esholt and were now playing at a school in Bradford, and to be honest, my heart sank. I’ve been to lots of schools in Bradford to watch lots of games, but this was one I’d not been to, so, as the rules state, I had to pay them a visit.

Bradford as a City, no issues, Bradford for driving, bag of shite, simple as that. I once remarked to Steve prior to his visit to Campion that he’ll have a lovely journey, until he gets to the last three miles, and then it will be pure purgatory. He rang me when two miles away from the ground and just swore incessantly. It is that bad, especially on the West side, I hate it with a passion.

So, suitably motivated I made the journey to watch my old pals from Calverley for the third time in a month, I’ll be installed as Chairman at this rate! Anyway, it all went fine, and then once off the M606 it was it’s usual unpleasant self all the way up to the crossroads that takes you down towards Thornton. It’s a well trodden path as I’ve said, I do know it pretty well, and after initially approaching the huge campus from the wrong side I was soon in the car park and checking all was ok for the game.

It was, so I made my way back down to the main road and nipped into a pub for a pint. Certain parts of Bradford are not that easy to get a pint in, largely due to the huge Muslim populations. They don’t drink, so what’s the point of a pub? Exactly, what is the point? So you have to do your homework.

The pub I found was fine, and it kept me occupied until ten minutes before kick off, whereby I got back to the campus and found what I thought was a parking space that would see me make a quick getaway at the end.

R1R played on one of two grass pitches that are a decent walk from the car park. I have no idea who was playing on the pitch nearest the swimming pool but a decent crowd had gathered for that, for my game, it was a bit sparse on the touchline in terms of punters.

The grass was a bit on the long side, while both sides of the pitch had a ‘Respect’ tape down it. No dugouts or any furniture, just a pitch. I have no idea if refreshments could be had in the college buildings, it was too far to wander to check it out!

So, the game.

It wasn’t a bad game but the length of the grass did not help in terms of flowing football. Calverley took the lead in the first half, but R1R who had been a touch ineffective in the first period came out looking much more determined to get the points.

An equaliser came from what looked like an own goal, and then a neat turn and shot from just inside the box gave the hosts the lead, and ultimately the three points.

And then came the car park debacle, and when time and motivation permits, I will have a look to see what the game was on the other pitch that seemed to have pulled in such a crowd. But despite my annoyance and not getting home at my pre-planned time of 5.15pm, it could have been a very different story.

I was less than four miles from home, when the A38 just South of Alfreton came to a rapid stand still. I counted three fire engines, half a dozen ambulances, numerous police cars and a couple Doctors with blue lights on civilian vehicles weaving through the traffic to what was clearly a very serious incident.

After 45 minutes, we were turned round and sent back up the carriage way to the nearest junction, eventually arriving home just before 7pm.

And me, moaning about a car park, yet for someone, they may well have never got home.

There but for the grace of God go I.

Poey Is Innocent

Hemsworth Miners Welfare  5  Bottesford Town  2

Northern Counties East League – Premier Division

It appears Poey is most definitely innocent, and I know that for a fact, because the man himself told me!

Anyone who has either been to, or watched Hemsworth Miners Welfare will have seen two large flags hanging from an available vantage point, and on one of them is the line ‘Poey Is Innocent’, with ‘Fitzy Whites’ in the centre of the Cross of St George.

When you spot the flags, and you really can’t miss them, you do begin to wonder just exactly who Poey is, and what exactly he has been accused of, falsely it seems!

I spotted the flags at Staveley last week, and when I got back home I did some research, via a couple of bloggers of excellent repute who had commented on the matter. One suggested Poey had been arrested as part of the famous ‘Fitzwilliam Nine’ who rioted in July 1984 during the Miners Strike, while another suggested it was an incident at a Leeds United v Leicester City game.

Anyway, I was walking around the ground on Tuesday night when I spotted a chap climbing down a ladder having hung the flags up on the netting that stops the balls from finding their way into back gardens. I decided to have a chat.

“So, who is Poey and what is he innocent of?” I said

“Well I’m Poey, and it was a game at Luton Town, I was in the Leeds end and got nicked for supposedly throwing stuff.” came the reply, followed by

“And I was innocent.”

So that was it, from the horses mouth so to speak, now we know, and Poey then went on to sell me a raffle ticket, which I missed out on winning by just one number!

I’ve only ever been to Hemsworth the once before, it was in early May 2007, they were playing at home to champions elect Bay Athletic in the West Riding County Amateur League, and I was well impressed with the set up they had.

It was only going to be a matter of time before they progressed to the Northern Counties East League and that happened at the end of the following season. They had seven seasons in the First Division before being crowned champions in 2015-16 and with it came promotion to the Premier Division.

Since being in the top flight they’ve finished ninth, sixth and fourth last season. With three clubs being promoted to the Northern Premier League at the end of the current campaign, I would wager that Hemsworth will be very much in the mix for one of those spots.

So, it’s over 11 years since my one and only visit, it was time to have a little wander back and see what’s changed.

First things first, Hemsworth don’t actually play in Hemsworth, they play in Fitzwilliam, the birthplace of Sir Geoffrey Boycott, him who doesn’t give a toss apparently! ‘Fitzy’ is a village that sits just off the main road that links Doncaster with Wakefield. For those who can only relate to locations by football grounds, think Frickley Athletic and keep going for a bit, or, if you are coming from the other direction, think Nostell Miners Welfare, it’s not far from where they play!

With no sat nav still, it was handwritten directions, but this time I managed to cock it up and ended up taking a detour via Upton, before eventually finding my way into the large car park that seems to have been hemmed in somewhat by new build houses since I last went. The football ground sits right behind the cricket ground, where I assume Sir Geoffrey played in his youth?

The clubhouse building is very smart indeed, on two tiers, and the cafeteria is located inside the building.  The dressing rooms also form part of the impressive structure.

The ground is fully enclosed with a seated stand on the far side, right next to what I initially thought was a smaller seated stand, but that, upon further inspection turned out to be the dugouts, and very impressive dugouts they are too!

It’s tidy, it’s smart, and it’s a friendly place.  It had changed a bit since my previous visit, in terms of the stand and the floodlights, but otherwise what was already a very good set up has only been enhanced, and yes, I suspect it’s fine for promotion as well.

Hemsworth didn’t play so well at Staveley last week so I was interested to see how they fared against the visitors from Scunthorpe, and to be fair to them I thought they played very well indeed,

Declan Parker gave the hosts the lead inside two minutes with a penalty, but Mason Ellender equalised with a header before the game was ten minutes old. Seon Ripley made it two for Hemsworth after eighteen minutes, while Parker got his second and the Hemsworth third on the half hour mark.

Jason Davies made it 4-1 on the stroke of half time with a thunderbolt of a shot, while just after the break Sidney Santos waltzed through the Bottesford defence to score a fifth. You felt at this stage the hosts might go onto to get more, but with a home game on Friday night against one of the early pacesetters in Thackley, they took the foot off the gas a bit and with the last kick of the game Robbie Leaning scored a second for the visitors.

A super night, a really good set up and a very good football team managed by Wayne Benn and Andy Hayward, two men who certainly know non-league football in West Yorkshire.

And that just left Poey to take down his flags, until the next game, when they’ll be re-erected.

I can feel a Billy Joel song coming on……..

Before Technology

Alwoodley  3  Calverley United  0

Yorkshire Amateur League – Supreme Division

It was like the good old days.

Following my little argument with a lorry on the M1 back on Bank Holiday Monday, the car has had to go in for repair, and as a result I’m now the proud custodian of a mighty fine Skoda Fabia. In white I might add…

Mighty fine apart from the fact it doesn’t have a sat-nav, so, I’ve had to resort to maps and directions to get to places I’m not overly familiar with, like the kitchen as Mrs H would no doubt say!

But it wasn’t so long ago that it was always like this. On a Friday night you would get the road atlas out, and the Non-League Directory, and then set about making some notes to refer to on the way.

It worked to be fair, but it wasn’t without it’s pitfalls. You had no idea about roadworks and delays until you were in them, and if you got a diversion you just had to keep a very close eye on the yellow signs! 

The worst problem was if you arrived somewhere to find a match was off, and then needed a Plan B. 

That happened to me once when I got to St Helens Town, the old Knowsley Road ground they shared with the rugby league club, only to find the game against Fleetwood Town had gone by the wayside. I had a copy of Football Traveller magazine with me and spotted that Ashton Town were at home, and thanks to a quick look at the map I noticed it wasn’t too far to Ashton in Makerfield.

With NLD wedged between my knees, off I went down the East Lancs Road, looking down at the directions from time to time, and with the game a couple of minutes old I pulled into the car park and watched them demolish Winsford United.

Not ideal, but again, it was a case of using the tools available to us at the time.

Nowadays had that happened, I would never have got to St Helens because Social Media would have told me of an issue with the game, and a quick flick of the sat nav and I could have been on my way somewhere else, stress free. Life is so much more simple these days.

So, I got in the car mid-morning on Saturday, and in my hand was a piece of paper, I referred to it a couple of times once I was on the A61 Harrogate Road, North of Leeds City Centre, but to be fair, finding the home of Alwoodley Football Club was not too onerous.

Alwoodley is a very nice part of Leeds, and the football club play at a Community Hall, which is just off a road named The Avenue. The pitch sits just below the centre and is railed on two sides, with dugouts on the hall side. Flanking the South side of the pitch is the rugby ground of Moortown RUFC, a very good facility for a club who play at a pretty good standard. They compete in North One East, which is effectively the sixth level of the Rugby Union pyramid structure, and involves trips to Kendal, Newcastle and Hartlepool.  Today they were at home to Malton & Norton, a club located between York and Pickering.

Thanks to them being at home, the bar was open, so I did indulge to be fair! Dry Roasted Peanut watch was also in action, and I can confirm that they were KP, so that’s a tick in the box Moortown!

With kick off approaching it was a short walk back to the football pitch where the home side, who’ve had a mixed start to the season, were taking on Calverley, who themselves after a good start, had slipped a little in recent weeks. Calverley of course featured as the home club in a recent blog, and what a good bunch they were.

The game turned out to be a comfortable home victory for a confident looking Alwoodley side, and it also turned out to be a very good day for Rob Oxley who scored all three goals for the hosts, the final of which came from the penalty spot.

So, three games into the Yorkshire Amateur League now, and now it turns out I’ve got another three to visit and not the two I originally thought. It seems Route One Rovers have moved to a 3G in Bradford that I’ve yet to acquaint myself with. That’s next weekend sorted….but it looks a bitch of a place to find without the sat nav!

As for Alwoodley, another enjoyable visit, to what seems to be a well run and forward thinking club, it’s perhaps just a bit of a shame they are having to compete with the rugby for support.

The Holy Blues

Gainsborough Trinity  1  Banbury United  0

FA Challenge Cup – First Qualifying Round Replay

There are some places that are too far away to be deemed as ‘local’, but at the same time, these very same places don’t actually take as long to get to as you might think.

The problem is though, because your mind is firmly focussed on the former as opposed to the latter part of that thought process, what actually happens is, you very rarely pay them a visit.

I would put places such as Northampton, Coventry, Wolverhampton and pretty much the whole of the West side of Lincolnshire into that equation. And on that basis, many of the football grounds in these places, at a senior level, have been visited on less than a handful of occasions over my many years of watching the game that is deemed to be so beautiful.

Gainsborough falls very much into that category. You see, I imagine Gainsborough as very much a medium sized Lincolnshire town, located largely in the middle of nowhere, with roads clogged with tractors and tankers leading to it. Because of that I’ve only ever been to the place three times in my life.

The first time I went was simply because I’d never been before, and that was a game against Matlock Town in 1995 that finished 2-2. Two years later I went again, this time to see Alfreton Town with some mates, and that finished 4-0. The third and final time came on Boxing Day in 2004, and that was to see a 1-1 draw with Worksop Town. Why the hell did I go to Gainsborough on Boxing Day? Simple, myself and my Dad were on the way to watch Hucknall v Alfreton when we got a call to say the game was off, so for some reason we chose to carry through to Lincolnshire. I ran over a pheasant on the way, I’ll always remember that!

So, it’s nearly 15 years since I’ve been to Gainsborough, and the reason I’ve not been since is very simple, in my mind it’s too far to travel for a midweek game. For some unusual reason I’d got it into my head that I wouldn’t get home until the early hours of Wednesday following a Tuesday night game!

It was time to take a step back and look at this properly, you see, the Northolme at Gainsborough is a stunning football ground and one well worth a visit. I’d not even considered it until I discovered my planned game at Dunston (that local club!) was off due to a FA Cup Replay, and needed a Plan B. I had a few options, but Gainsborough v Banbury stood out, so what did it entail?

So lets get this straight, at least once a fortnight I work in Doncaster, and getting home from the Donny M18 junction takes me 40 minutes. It takes half an hour from the same junction to get to Gainsborough, via Bawtry. So, being a mathematical genius with a GCSE and all that, I reckon that means it should take me an hour and ten minutes from home?

It takes me that long sometimes to get home from Carlton Town for God’s sake, just stop being a knob and get on with it Bob!

You know what, having left Sheffield with plenty of time to spare, I very quickly arrived in Gainsborough, with plenty of time to spare, I can confirm, this town is just over the Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire border, and not actually in Holland!

Let’s talk a little bit about this football club then.

A bit of history first though, when they were relegated from the Conference North to the Northern Premier League in 2018, it was the first relegation or promotion the club had been involved in for 144 years. Boring eh?

Prior to that, having been formed in 1873, they became founder members of the Midland League before joining the Football League in 1896. That period lasted until 1912 when they found themselves back where they started once again.

A one season spell in the Yorkshire League in 1960 was enough to convince them to move back to the Midland League, until 1968 when they were elected as founder members of the Northern Premier League.

That’s where they stayed until 2004 when they were then elected as founder members of the Conference North.

The club has had it’s moments of excitement though. Like in 2005 when they lost the Play Off Final to get into the Conference National to Nuneaton Borough, and in 2013 when they lost to Wrexham in the FA Trophy Semi Final.

They’ve also had some moments with the FA Cup, playing Hartlepool United, Shrewsbury Town, Brentford and Barnet in the competition proper during the noughties, while in 1997 they took neighbours Lincoln City to a replay.

Right now though, under the guidance of Liam King and his assistant Ross Hannah, the club sit firmly in the NPL, with ambitions of getting back to where they came from, which is the National North, not the Midland League, in case you were wondering.

I have no memory of the town itself, so it was nice to be able to drive through it having crossed the River Trent. Gainsborough is historically a port, and many of the buildings portray that history. The town centre looked smart and appears to have been modernised, but without taking away it’s history. Marshalls Yard being a superb example of this and well worth a visit.

The ground itself sits just North of the town centre on the right hand side of the main road that leads to Scunthorpe, and having found a parking space right outside, I decided to check out the nearest pub.

With the nearest pub checked out it was time to check out the nearest chip shop, and with that checked out it was time to try the social club….you get the picture?

So, just prior to kick off it was time to check out the aesthetic beauty that is the Northolme, and trust me, they don’t come much better than this.

You enter in the corner behind the goal, and to your immediate left is a large covered terrace that backs onto the main road, whereas to your right is a further covered terrace that runs the length of the pitch. Behind the opposite goal is another large uncovered terrace, while on the Northolme side of the ground is a relatively narrow but steep two tier seated stand, with the dressing rooms and offices behind, and a hospitality area to the side. It’s a thing of beauty, a thing of untouched and unspoiled beauty, and if anyone thinks moving to a modern out of town site is the way forward, they need their head examining!

Ground related thrills at £12 admission aside, what about the game?

Gainsborough were marginally the better side in the first period, posing more of a goalscoring threat than the visitors who had taken three hours to get to Lincolnshire. Banbury played a very nice pass and move game, but seemingly without much of the end product variety.

The only goal of the game came early in the second period thanks to a Kingsley James header, and to be fair the wonderfully nicknamed Holy Blues (it's to do with their beginnings, I won't bore you) could have made the game safe but Gavin Allot saw his penalty saved by Jack Harding, after initially being fouled.

As the game wore on with only one goal in it, Banbury pressed harder and thought they’d equalised when Jaanai Gordon found the net with some help from the Trinity goalkeeper, but his effort was ruled offside.

The visitors threw everything at it in the closing stages but despite having plenty of possession and shooting opportunities, they couldn’t muster anything to test Joe Green in the Trinity goal. The final whistle signalled a victory for the hosts in front of 321 spectators, and they now take on Rushall Olympic in the next round.

I spent the second half in the company of Gary Hayward and Mark Ward, the Hednesford Town management team, both of whom have sat in the hot seat at Belper Town in years previously. Hednesford play Banbury next week so this was a scouting mission, and it’s always interesting to hear a managers take on a future opposition and what they view to be their strengths and weaknesses.

So, in all a super night at a ground, that if I’m being totally honest, is not that far way at all. I must go again some time, but let’s not wait fifteen years next time eh?

Drig

Drighlington  0  Route One Rovers  0

Yorkshire Amateur League – Supreme Division

Having thoroughly enjoyed my evening up at Calverley, I was looking forward to another venture into the Yorkshire Amateur League.

With a couple of fixtures to choose from, I plumped for Drighlington, a large village almost equidistant between Leeds and Bradford, nestled right at the side of the M62.

Drig, as it is known locally, is more famed for it’s rugby league than it’s football. Drighlington ARLFC are members of the National Conference, playing in Division Three alongside the likes of Gateshead Storm, Hunslet Warriors and Dewsbury Celtic. This is, of course, oval ball heartland.

I’ll be honest, prior to the merger between the YAL and the West Riding County Amateur League, like lots of the new clubs I was about to become acquainted with, I’d never heard of Drig. In fact my only knowledge of the place was the fact that I used to see it on the Sat-Nav as I toddled along the M62 on a Saturday afternoon.

So, with a sense of the unexpected, I made what should have been a steady hours journey up the M1, only it became apparent via the matrix signs that the entrance onto the M62 was indeed closed. No bother thought I, the wise one of the road network, simply get off at Ardsley, cut through the village and re-join the M62 at the Dewsbury turn.

Good idea, in fact so much of a good idea, everyone was doing it, so the hour ended up being getting on for half an hour longer than it should have done. But such are the trials and tribulations of football travelling, and remember, I coped with Hyde Park Corner, Park Lane and Marble Arch the other week, so I’m not going to moan too much about a little delay to proceedings.

Arriving in Drig I spotted a couple of pubs that looked tempting, along with the rugby league clubhouse, which incidentally is at the other end of the village to the actual ground itself. However it was upon turning right down the drag that takes you past ‘The Moor’, the home of Drighlington AFC, that I stumbled upon the local cricket club by the junction at the top end.

With space in the car park, and signs promoting the junior section of the football club on the walls, it looked as good a place as any for a swift one, and just a short walk round the corner to watch the game, oh happy days.

The cricket was taking place, but I didn’t fancy the live stuff, I settled with the test match in the bar to while away the time before the action started round on the Moor. It seems the cricket and football work together and have a good relationship, but I would be interested to know, especially in a small village, where the rugby league fits into this? I suspect they may fly solo but I stand to be corrected.

So, the Moor, or Adwalton Moor to give it the proper name. It’s a big old expanse of grass that sits between two roads, with enough room for two football pitches, both of which are railed down each side. Drig play on the pitch nearest to the main road and in terms of viewing spots, a narrow piece of elevated banking runs between the railing and the road, and this seems to be the ‘popular side’ so to speak.

The players change behind the goal in a community building that also serves as a library, while between this and the pitch is small car park. The pitch itself was grassy but bobbly, and that was to have an impact on the game itself.

The season is young, and up until the game, Drig had won one, drawn one and lost two, while Route One Rovers, a side who applied for Step 6 a couple of seasons ago, had played three games and recorded a win, a draw and a loss. Looking at the table it looked as though it could be an even game, but time would tell.

It wasn’t a great game. It was very even and goal scoring chances were at a premium. I said to myself at half time that it had the makings of a 0-0, and I turned out to be right. Lots of endeavour on a tricky surface, but end product was lacking somewhat.

Saying that, another very enjoyable day out in the YAL, I’m really liking what I’m seeing, especially getting to visit new towns and villages in the West Riding. It’s Alwoodley next week if all goes to plan, North Leeds, looks a bit posh, and with the weather starting to get that bit chillier, it might be time for the flat cap and the Barbour jacket.

Anyone got a spare lurcher?

Alehouse (Part Two)

Sleetmoor United  6  Lockton  2

Alfreton Sunday League – Second Division

And so ‘Super Sunday – in association with Chieftain Lager’ moved onto it’s second game of the day.

A pit stop for lunch at Casa Hatt saw me set off the very short distance up the A38 to Sleetmoor Lane on the edges of Swanwick, to watch an Alfreton Sunday League game.

Now, I know the football pitches at Sleetmoor Lane quite well, because as a youngster I played Rowsley & District League football and one of the teams we played and got heavily beaten by on a regular basis was ADASC.

ADASC is an acronym, and if memory serves it stands for Alfreton & District Amateur Sports Club, and they had their base at the said Sleetmoor Lane. ADASC had a proud record of lads going on to do well in the game, examples include goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington who has had a lengthy professional career after starting out at Manchester United. There was Andy White who played for Mansfield Town and Crewe Alexandra, and from my age group they had Jamie Hillyer was an outstanding player who played in the reserves at Derby County before injury cut his career short, Andy Hayward who played locally at Ashfield United and Martin Drury who turned out for Eastwood Town.

We got battered regularly, Hillyer was always good for a double hat-trick, it was quite depressing really, because the RJN Juniors side I played for were rubbish, we only ever used to beat two sides, one of them being Baslow, and the other Clay Cross Rangers. ADASC used to fight with South Normanton Colts, Northwood and Hillstown from the honours, we were a million miles from that level.

Anyway, Sleetmoor Lane is now the home of Sleetmoor United, who’ve popped up on Saturday’s this season in the Midlands Regional Alliance, but they still have a Sunday side, called Sleetmoor United Cobras. This was intriguing me a little as I’ve not been up Sleetmoor lane since I was 15, and that was over 30 years ago.  Memories are a bit sketchy, so I was interested to see what the place looked like.

It’s very impressive. They have a large car park and a changing room block by the entrance, but out beyond that are a multitude of pitches, all different sizes, and all in seemingly top class condition. The pitch the game was taking place on looked to be the main pitch used by the senior teams, and that sat on top of a bank, and was flanked to the rear by dense trees.

The Alfreton Sunday League has changed a bit in recent years. It was always very much an Alfreton area league, but unusually for Sunday football it took place in the afternoon. In more recent seasons due to the demise of the Derby Sunday League, a number of Derby based clubs have joined the league, so the geographical spread is bigger than before. Maybe as well this was necessary to ensure they league could maintain two divisions. But it continues and it appears to thrive, so what was it like?

Better than the morning game by some distance. I got the feeling, certainly looking at Sleetmoor, that they were also the Saturday side and they’ve had a proper pre-season. Heanor based Lockton also looked like a proper side, but as the game wore on they were starting to blow from all orifices, and the final score of 6-2 came as no real shock.

Mitchell Hehir scored four for the hosts, while Macaulay Pass netted a brace. The Lockton goals came from Farren Packard and Tyler Wright.

I have to admit I was impressed, by the facilities and the football. This game was a bit more feisty and Lockton finished with ten men, but in fairness we didn’t see any major dissent or haranguing of the referee.

I’m going to be honest though, I won’t be taking up watching Sunday football regularly, firstly Mrs H would not be best pleased if I spent the entire weekend away from garage tidying and toilet cleaning duties, and secondly, I won’t always get this lucky.

Got one more lined up though in the middle of the month in the Worksop League, and reports suggest that’s one notch up from prison football, but I’ll not allow my judgement to be clouded.

Besides, I was at Mickleover Sports in midweek and they had a very famous former prison footballer on display…….