Rightful Place

North Kilworth  4  Desford Development  2

Leicestershire Senior League – Division Two

For over ten years North Kilworth Football Club had been plying their trade in the Leicester & District League, having previously been relegated from the Leicestershire Senior League, a completion that they had been a part of since 1987.

They finally made it back this season, to a newly expanded LSL which now boasts three divisions. They finished runners-up to Cosby United, who have since gone belly up, and finished two places above Magna 73 who have also joined the LSL this season.

Cute!

This is where it gets a bit strange though, because higher placed North Kilworth have gone into the newly formed Second Division, while Magna go in one higher into the First Division. I asked the question while at Magna in the week and it appears it’s got something to do with the size of the dressing rooms at North Kilworth, but that is Magna’s version, not Kilworth’s so I stand to be corrected.

But back they are, and delighted to be part of it they very much proclaim to be, and in fairness, with the ground they have on South Kilworth Road, it’s a travesty that they haven’t been playing regularly at a level their facilities would warrant, but more on the ground shortly.

Clubhouse Etc

North Kilworth is a village just  a few miles from the M1, and to be precise it sits between Lutterworth and Market Harborough, not too far from the Northamptonshire border. This is the very Southern tip of the LSL, and driving through the village it’s clear that it’s a well sought after place to live.

The ground is situated on the West side of the village and upon turning into the car park it becomes apparent that the football club forms part of the North Kilworth Sports Club, and dominating the location is a large clubhouse and dressing room complex. The clubhouse area was smart and looked to be doing a steady trade, and I suspected not all of its inhabitants had come to watch a football match as this does seem to serve the wider community.

Floodlights

In front of the clubhouse running width ways is the man football pitch which is fully railed off, complete with a small seated stand on the halfway line, and floodlights! I’m not sure whether the floodlights are operational, but clearly they are a legacy of the days when they played in the top flight of the LSL and it was then mandatory.

It was a very smart ground, with a further full sized pitch adjacent that the reserves had played a friendly game on earlier in the day. The only slightly negative aspect was the pitch, which like many is suffering from the Summer weather, but to be fair the grass did look pretty long in places, notably in the top goal area.

Top End

The game pitched North Kilworth against the development side of Desford, or reserves if you want to use the more traditional name. The hosts got off to a strong start, taking the lead through Daniel Laywood who did look suspiciously offside, but then after dominating the play it was the home side who scored twice again in the final fifteen minutes of the first period through Jack Corry.

Desford regained their shape and pulled a goal back through Madison Murrell, but it was that man Corry who struck with Kilworth’s fourth and his hat-trick. Desford missed a penalty before substitute Jack Spence did finally reduce the arrears in the closing minutes.

A deserved victory for a confident North Kilworth side, but Desford could be pleased with elements of their play. It’s a difficult division to call with so many new teams, the bulk of which are second strings, but you would expect the likes of Kilworth and also Thringstone Miners Welfare to be in the mix given their recent successes and pedigree.

Let’s just hope for North Kilworth’s sake that the dressing room, quite literally, doesn’t hold them back in terms of progression!

Step 9 - As Good As It Gets