Nevermind

Leicester Nirvana  2  Kirby Muxloe  0

United Counties League Premier Division

It was 'oh so close' last season for Leicester Nirvana.

The battle with AFC Kempston Rovers went right to the wire but ultimately it was the boys from Bedford who crossed the line in pole position, and they took their rightful place in Step 4.

2015-16 was the first season that the club formerly known as Thurnby Nirvana, took on the Leicester prefix. Maybe they saw the Premier League title coming for the Foxes and wanted to piggyback it? Or maybe they just decided it was time for a seamless structure given that the senior team plying their trade were once known as Thurnby Rangers, and only adopted 'Nirvana' after merging with a predominantly junior organisation known simply as Leicester Nirvana?

Anyway, it goes the full circle and the named link to Thurnby has gone, which for some is a shame because it was this club that managed to climb from the Leicestershire Senior League, into the East Midlands Counties League and finally the United Counties League where in the season prior to becoming Leicester Nirvana, they also finished runners up, this time to AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

I Spy A Kirby Muxloe Fan - Not Far From The Clubhouse

It's quite a story to be fair, but as often happens after a couple of near misses, the manager and the players decide that while they may not have achieved their goal collectively, as individuals they are deserving of a better stage. They pretty much pitched up at Gresley as a unit, so in a roundabout way, they got to Step 4 after all, leaving the club behind!

This left Nirvana in a bit of a hole, Scott Goodwin was appointed manager and they had to rebuild, which has resulted in a season of consolidation, but, this term the focus has been considerably more off the pitch than on it.

Playing previously at the Gleneagles Avenue home of Highfield Rangers, they had plans to develop a ground at the location of the junior sides in Hamilton Park. It kind of went under the radar though, certainly for me it did, and I like to think I pay attention to such happenings. Having been to Hamilton Park before to see the then reserves of Thurnby Nirvana play, all I could recall was an open expanse on which sat a couple of pitches, with a changing block located next to the car park.

So it came as something of a surprise earlier this season when Nirvana announced that they were delighted to be moving 'home', with a game under floodlights at the 'new' Hamilton Park stadium.

Where Meccano Meets Originality

They worked both quickly and quietly to create a facility that is fit for Step 5 football, and having kept an eye on the fixtures, Easter Monday looked the ideal choice for me to pay them a visit.

So what have they done?

They've erected a large green fence to enclose the ground, although it doesn't stop those not wanting to pay having a free view from two sides of the pitch. Hard standing and floodlights are in place while an Atcost stand has almost inevitably found it's way onto the half way line. Credit to them though, they are in the throws of erecting some additional cover next to the stand and by the looks of it, it will be in place for next season.

The clubhouse sat atop the bank behind the goal, with an elevated viewing area in front. It was neat and tidy and also purposeful. They've created a football ground out of a piece of land, and that's something many, many clubs wish they could do.

The crowd on the Bank Holiday was sparse, certainly not many more than 50, and despite it being a local derby, perhaps a third of the crowd were neutrals / hoppers. Kirby Muxloe had very few fans, in fact by all accounts they could only muster up eleven players, so if you had turned up you probably would have been on the bench!

The first half was shocking, I was just glad a couple of lads I knew had turned up to help alleviate the boredom. For a Step 5 game, it was dreadful stuff, but thankfully the second half improved somewhat with Nirvana getting a grip on the game. The first goal came from the penalty spot while the second was a really well taken individual effort.

A well known Kirby Muxloe fan vented his spleen on the TK Forum, describing his teams performance as 'an absolute abomination', it was hard to argue. They may stay up this season, but next year could be curtains.

But this was about Nirvana, they have a base of their own now, a clear identity, they just need to start to replicate the success of the previous two seasons, assuming of course that is on the radar. Don't expect Dave Grohl to turn up in a hurry though, he's moved on, he's a Foo Fighter these days, they don't do the United Counties League, can't for a minute think why not, Holbeach would be right up their street?

Nevermind, as Nirvana once said, probably when Kempston pipped them to the title............

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