Nearly

Dunston  1  South Shields  1 (5-6 Pens)

Northern Premier League – League Cup

I’ve never seen Dunston play before, in any of their four guises, be it plain Dunston, or Dunston UTS, or back further than that, Dunston Federation, and of course the best of the lot, Dunston Federation Brewery.

I nearly did though.

It was back in the early Nineties, when they were called Federation Brewery, they drew Belper Town in the FA Vase. I’d gone to watch Derby County play someone or other, only to find it had been called off due to a frozen pitch, and for some reason I decided to head back to Belper to watch the game. Funnily enough, that game had also been called off. It got played the following week, ended in a 1-1 draw and Belper lost the replay 2-0.

On the subject of nearly, I’ve nearly been to Dunston around half a dozen times already this season, but not actually managed to do it. The plan was to venture up midweek after work, but in the early part of the season home games kept getting called off due to Cup replays and the like. Then of course the weather set in, and the pitch at Dunston has not been the best, however, all looked good when they had an FA Trophy replay against Gainsborough Trinity.

Not so, Mrs H’s Mother was unwell so I had to stay close to home (I went to Gresley instead), Dunston could wait a little longer. I was going to go to the South Shields League Cup tie earlier in January and was just about to set off when that too was postponed due to waterlogging.

So, with planets finally aligned, a good spell of weather and no domestic challenges of note, the time had come, the jaunt up the A1 and the completion of the Northern Premier League for another season (until next time when the latest Northern League influx takes place!).

The ground at Dunston is dead easy to get to, albeit a good way from Derbyshire! You get on the A1 and stay on it, passing the likes of Durham, Chester Le Street, the Angel of the North, and then finally exiting just before the Metro Centre. The ground is less than half a mile from the motorway on the main road.

I arrived just after 7pm, to find the car park already full and the street opposite the ground already well populated with cars. In the end I found a space that was a couple of minutes walk from the turnstiles, on a blustery but fine night on Tyneside.

So, the history lesson.

The club were formed in 1975, but they really started to take off in 1987 when under the sponsorship of the Federation Brewery, they joined the Wearside League. This proved to be successful, and having won the league twice in four seasons, they made the leap to the Northern League.

After two seasons they made it into the top flight, where they remained until last season. They won it twice in the mid-Noughties, but that was a time when links between the Northern League and the wider Pyramid were not what they are now, so promotion was not expected, nor taken.

The FA Vase proved to be a highlight for the club, with many good runs over the years, but the 2011-12 season proved to be the crowning glory. A semi-final victory over Staveley Miners Welfare lead to an appearance at Wembley against fellow Northern Leaguers West Auckland Town. A 2-0 victory saw them lift the trophy and add their name to a long list of winners from the North East.

Last season was a huge success, they won the league, suffering just three defeats, while they reached the final qualifying round of the FA Cup, only to lose at home to neighbours Gateshead in front of a record crowd.

Promotion came with it, they were at Step 4 for the first time, but it did come at a slight cost as the club had to drop the sponsors name (UTS) from their title, so that is why they are now just plain Dunston FC.

The game against neighbouring South Shields was sure to be a good test for the hosts, Shields of course are riding high at the top of the Premier Division and look a very good bet to make it into the National League. They are very well supported so it came as no surprise to see a very large number of travelling fans in the crowd of 345.

The ground is very nice. You enter from behind the goal at the car park end, and to your left is an area of covered terracing sat behind the dugouts, whereas to the right is a similar sized seated stand. At the opposite end of the ground are the clubhouse and the changing rooms, complete with adjacent tea bar and club shop. Despite being a very urban location, the fact that the ground is tree lined in the large part does give it a rural feel. The pitch by the way looked fine and played very well, so fingers crossed with a spell of good weather they can catch up some fixtures.

I have to say as well, as is often the case in the North East, the club was incredibly friendly, from the gateman, to the club shop, to the tea bar and to the social club. All really great people with a smile on their faces. I don’t think I’ve been to a club yet in that part of the World where the welcome is any different.

The first half proved to be a tight affair, but it was the hosts who broke the deadlock when Mark Fitzpatrick netted ten minutes into the second period from close range. Shields, who to be fair did field a side with some changes, put Dunston under pressure in the second period but you felt the hosts were organised and resolute and would hold on. However, as the game was well into added time, Sefton Gonzales rose to power home a header to send the game to penalties.

The game went straight to penalties, and after the first five apiece it was 4-4. We went to sudden death and it was the Mariners who went through 6-5 after Myles Boney saved Callum Elliott’s effort. Probably a little harsh on Dunston to be fair, but all credit to them on the performance.

The roads behaved on the way back and I was putting the key in the door at Casa Hatt at around 12.15am. No longer are Dunston the nearly club as far as I’m concerned, despite the fact they very nearly put one over on their illustrious neighbours!

In all seriousness though, they are worth a visit, you won’t be disappointed.