Invading The Isle Of Axholme

Crowle Colts  0  Winterton Rangers  3

Friendly

The Central Midlands League has this ability to surprise, and this season it’s certainly not let us down!

When the announcement was made that they were planning to increase their Division One to a North and South section, effectively creating a new league, it was clear as the invite was widely extended that a number of new clubs would potentially take the plunge and become members.

You could second guess a little bit of what might happen, with the Midlands Regional Alliance being a prime target for plundering (might sound a bit harsh – open to debate!), and that did indeed come to fruition with Rowsley 86, Wirksworth Ivanhoe, Chesterfield Town and Shirebrook Rangers all making the move.

Obviously a number of Reserve and Development teams also made the jump, and we did see a completely new name in the form of Nottingham FC who moved up from junior football. Bakewell Town was not a major shock as they have obviously seen the progress of Tideswell United and thought it might be worth a punt, whereas Sutton Rovers from the Doncaster Senior League while not predictable, did come as a huge a surprise.

The Complex

What I didn’t see coming, although maybe it was a bit of naivety on my part, was two sides from the Scunthorpe League coming across, in the shape of Crowle Colts and Epworth Town Colts. On first hearing this news, I did wonder why? If both sides had eyes on Step 7 then surely being Scunthorpe based the Humber Premier or the Lincolnshire League would be better moves?

It does help to look at a map though, because in fairness I had absolutely no idea where either Crowle or Epworth was. Turns out they are not far from each other, and also they sit on the junction of the M18 and the M180, so arguably they are as much Doncaster as they are Scunthorpe? Put another way, Thorne is probably ten minutes away.

So, it started to make a bit more sense as to why what was effectively a Step 8 Central Midlands League North division would appeal, with the longest journeys being to Alfreton, Nottingham and Hucknall, but also derbies against each other, plus Sutton, Bentley, Harworth, Retford etc.

Parched Grass - And Some Dugouts

Facebook became the resource of choice for Crowle, and it just so happened that I stumbled upon the fact they had a couple of friendlies lined up. The first was against Gainsborough Trinity Reserves and I managed to convince Steve to go on a reconnaissance mission to check it out, his response was positive so with Winterton Rangers due to send a team down on a Tuesday night, it was time to head to the Isle of Axholme!

The Isle of Axholme is an area of land that sits betwixt Doncaster, Gainsborough and Scunthorpe. It earned the title ‘Isle’ due to the fact that the towns and villages that sit within it were built on raised land within marshland. Three small towns developed on the Isle, Haxey, Epworth and indeed Crowle.

Nowadays the Rivers Trent, Don and Idle plus various drainage channels are what separate the Isle from mainland UK, but as of yet, it hasn’t tried to claim any form of independence, but give it time, it’ll only take an influx of Groundhoppers in August and September before we get calls for a referendum!

Anyway, according to Steve, the local pub of choice was the Red Lion, and he was right, following a very steady run up the M18 and a reasonable delay trying to get over the railway line as two trains passed, it was a very welcome sight in the centre of Crowle.

It's Lincolnshire - It's Flat, And Parched 

The ground itself has a decent sized car park but on the basis I only arrived five minutes before kick-off it was full so I had to park on the grass verge outside. Once inside the ground it’s a large open expanse with the pitch almost in the very centre of it, complete with a Respect rope barrier down one side and the pop up dugouts on the other.

The dressing rooms and various other rooms (but no bar!) sat at the road side of the slightly out-of-town site and are probably about a hundred yards from the pitch. It’s a large venue with great facilities for a club with junior set up that Crowle has, but to go any further in senior football would be a challenge.

As for the game, well a mixed Winterton side took the lead in less than fifteen seconds, which was probably the second fastest goal I’ve ever seen. I once saw Stocksbridge Park Steel take the lead against Belper Town after just ten seconds, but the remarkable fact was that Belper actually kicked off!

A second goal followed but then the game kind of petered out a little after that. Winterton played the neater passing football, but Crowle had plenty of energy and worked hard to win the ball back and get forward, but without really troubling the visitors goalkeeper.

Water, We Need Water

A third goal came late in the game as Crowle tired and Winterton’s bit of quality shone through with a fine angled finish, but in fairness to the hosts, they never gave up and on the display they gave, they’ll be absolutely fine in the CMFL.

So, as the CMFL spreads it wings in differing and eclectic directions once again, I think they’ve got a good asset in Crowle, and if they are typical of the Scunthorpe League then it is obviously a pretty decent competition.

But, as I always say, the future of the CMFL is out of their hands to a large degree, the FA will decide what they will ultimately become and what the footprint looks like. In the meantime, they provide a route for ambitious clubs, and if that route is the catalyst that sees them develop, then whoever may inherit them in the future, will owe the league a degree of thanks.