The Etwall Adventure

Sherwin  1  Sleetmoor United  4

Midlands Regional Alliance – First Division  

I wasn’t really in the mood for heading any great distance, so when a chance look at the Midlands Regional Alliance fixtures showed that Sherwin’s game at Sleetmoor United had been reversed to the plastic at Etwall Leisure Centre, my mind was made up.

I’d only spotted a week or so earlier that Sherwin had indeed moved onto the plastic, which would be the fourth different venue I’ve seen them play at, the others being Chellaston Park, Darley Park and Alvaston Park. I did a double check with Dan Bishop from the MRA and he confirmed that the move was in place for at least the remainder of the season.

Now then, Etwall is a village South West of Derby, very close to Mickleover, and despite being the place where my Dad was schooled and my niece is now also schooled (John Port), I’d never set foot in the place, ever, so this was going to be something of an adventure. As far as adventures go, granted, it’s hardly a trip up the Khyber Pass, but when excitement in your life is finding a pub that sells KP Dry Roasted Peanuts, you start to get my drift?

My old pal Dave phoned up just as I was leaving Belper, and by the time our conversation about mad Irishmen running football clubs in the general area of Leamington had finished, I was pulling into the car park of the said Leisure Centre.

There was of course time for a swift pint at one of the two pubs on the main road in the village, that sit opposite John Port School, and my choice was the Spread Eagle, which didn’t sell KP Nuts, the bastards! Otherwise, it was a fine establishment which was full of cheery Derby County fans taking their sedatives prior to travelling to Pride Park to watch the dirge being served up by the Dutch comedian that claims to be a football manager.

It was while sat in the said pub that my mind wandered, in the direction of the infamous and indeed ill-fated Evans Halshaw Floodlit Cup. A midweek competition that Belper Town, amongst various others, played in for a number of years during the late Eighties and early Nineties. I think the train of thought came about due to the proximity of the A50 and indeed Rocester who were a regular opponent in the prestigious competition, but anyway, it resulted in me plotting some research into it’s history.

So in a future blog you can read about all the un-played games, that usually involved Leek Town who got invited into it year after year despite seemingly having no intention of ever playing in it!

Digression aside, what about Etwall Leisure Centre, the new home of Sherwin Football Club? Well. It’s a 3G caged pitch with a viewing area down one side, although to be fair you could stand pretty much wherever you liked to watch the game. The changing rooms were behind one of the goals inside the centre itself, which sits adjacent to the school buildings.  

Visiting Sleetmoor United have had a decent season, their first in Saturday football, having won five and drawn one of their games so far. Sherwin on the other hand have had an indifferent season, having won two and drawn one of their ten games.

The game followed the formbook. Sleetmoor scored twice in each half, with Michael Chapman netting a hat-trick and Connor Mogford getting the other goal. Sherwin’s reply came from Sulayman Cham in the second half, but they never looked likely to pose the visitors too many problems.

I must give a shout out to the Secretary’s / Manager’s of both clubs though. Stewart Worthington of Sherwin and Roger Kerry of Sleetmoor were both quick to confirm the game being on in the morning, and indeed it was good to have a chat to Roger before the game about the progress Sleetmoor are making, and their future plans.

Of course, it would also be remiss of me not to give Dan Bishop of the MRA another mention, so there you are Dan, you’ve got another mention! In all seriousness, he does some sterling work for the league, despite little in the way of help from the authorities.

So, home for just after 4pm, while the Spread Eagle locals were still suffering at Pride Park, could be worse though, they could have been travelling to an Evans Halshaw Floodlit Cup game, that was only going to be postponed anyway, at Leek!