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Cleethorpes Town  2  Scunthorpe United XI  1

Lincolnshire Senior Cup

The fans of Cleethorpes Town were singing “Football’s Coming Home” long before this Summer when every man, woman and child seemed to be belting it out at every opportunity.

You see, Cleethorpes Town moved into their ‘home’ at the Linden Club and played their first game at the revamped facility last Saturday when Grimsby Town were the visitors. This isn’t strictly a new home for the Owls because they did ply their trade at the ground originally before being forced to move to the Bradley Community Stadium to satisfy ground grading requirements.

However, the plan was always to go back, and thanks to some sterling work, especially over the last twelve months, this relatively young club who are just twenty years old this season, are back at the place they call home.

Half Way Liners

Cleethorpes Town is a special tale. The old LSS Lucarlys side that was formed in 1998 by Tommy Watson, was re-named in 2008 and in their first season under the new guise, they had a pretty average mid-table finish in the Humber Premier League. The future didn’t look so special the following year when they resigned from the league mid-season, but they re-appeared again in the Lincolnshire League at the start of the 2010-11 season. A third placed finish, followed by a Championship saw them take promotion to the Northern Counties East League.

By now the club were sharing the Bradley Community Stadium with Grimsby Borough. The first season saw a fourth placed finish but the following season saw another Championship, and with it promotion to Step 5.

Playing great attacking football under Marcus Newell, they finished 4^th, 3^rd and then finally the Championship was won two years ago and with it came a promotion to the Northern Premier League. But, on top of that they also reached Wembley in the FA Vase Final, only to lose to a rampant South Shields outfit.

Behind The Goal

After a superb start last season, they tailed away and were severely hampered by a huge points deduction, but the big story was happening off the field.

It was time to go an take a look, and make a rare visit to Greater Grimsby. The ground is easily accessed from the end of the A180, and is located in a smart area of Cleethorpes on Clee Road. It sits next door to the King George V Stadium that was once used by Grimsby Borough, and the Linden Club site is in itself a large expanse.

I always thought it was called the Linden Homes Club, and working in the property industry I was well aware of housebuilder Linden Homes, so I assumed it was the social club associated with them. But, for some reason it’s now just known as the Linden Club, so why the ‘homes’ part of the name has been dropped I’m unsure, but the builder is now owned by Galliford Try, so whether that is the reason, I can’t say for certain.

Rural Cleggy

A decent sized car park welcomes you at the entrance, and to the left of this is a large expanse of grassed areas used for football and cricket. In front of you is the club itself which is accessed via the turnstiles. The club is large and it’s smart, and more importantly when they serve God’s finest at £2.90 a pint, you have to be happy with your surroundings.

You walk over what was an old bowling green and through a gap in the large hedge to reach pitch side. To the right is the wooden dressing room complex and then behind the East goal is a small seated stand of the now typical Atcost style design.

A similar stand adorns the North touchline while behind the West goal is a terrace of a similar design, which happens to be the home of the Clee Ultras. The South side is hard standing, and is where the dugouts are located. The ground is fully enclosed by a large wooden fence, and of course it’s floodlit. It has a bit of a rural feel to it, but it’s significantly closer to the heart of Cleethorpes than the Bradley was. This is a very good move for the Owls, and with what appeared to be a large number of friendly and helpful club officials on duty, it looks to be a club well set to make a move to the next level.

Clee Ultras

I would make them one of the favourites this season. They have a very good side and with the return of the prolific Brody Robertson, they’ve got plenty of goals in them. Yes, they will face stiff competition from the likes of Frickley, Marske and Pontefract, but they’ll be in the mix, of that I’m sure.

So how did the Lincolnshire Senior Cup tie with a Scunthorpe United XI pan out on a night that turned a bit chilly?

Adverts Aplenty

A very youthful United side took the lead in the first half after a good spell when Joe Busby finished well, but a physically stronger Owls side imposed themselves more as the game moved into the second period and it was goals from Robertson and Danny North that sealed the victory and a next round tie with Grimsby Town (again).

121 spectators paid through the gate compared to the 1800 that pitched up for the opening game. Clearly Belgium v France had an impact, but I think once the league matches commence, the Owls will be one of the best supported teams in the league.

It bodes very well for Cleethorpes Town, and while we now all know that football isn’t coming home, in a small part of North East Lincolnshire, it’s well and truly back where it belongs.

Dressing Rooms And Suchlike