The Ashfield Curse

Ashland Rovers  0  Pinxton  7

Central Midlands League – Floodlit Cup

I’ve come to the conclusion that the A38 corridor from Junction 28 of the M1, through to Mansfield, is jinxed as far as football is concerned.

Sutton Town used to have a cracking ground in the centre of Sutton-in-Ashfield but that was sold to Asda and they moved to Lowmoor Road in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. A Sutton team playing in Kirkby wasn’t the best solution in terms of support so the club changed name to Ashfield United following the involvement of local MP, Roy Gregory. The name change took place in 1992, but by 1997 the club had folded.

A new Sutton Town appeared in 2002, but this time on the back of a club called North Notts FC changing their name. The club were in the Central Midlands League, and moved through to the top flight of the Northern Counties East League, but then dropped back down to the CMFL again, seemingly having folded and reformed. It appeared that this spell saw two versions of Sutton Town, Sutton Town 2002 that reached the NCEL, but the club that started in the CMFL in 2007, was known as Sutton Town AFC. All a bit strange!

They moved back upwards again with a championship and a promotion to the East Midlands Counties League.  They lasted one season at Step 6 and in 2014 folded due to issues over the lease of the ground. Both of these incarnations of Sutton Town, like their predecessors, didn’t play in Sutton-in-Ashfield, they played in Huthwaite at the Mansfield Hosiery Mills ground, which was once used by Huthwaite FC, who had a short lived spell themselves in the CMFL in the late eighties.

A Kirkby Town side appeared in the CMFL in 2008 having previously played Sunday football. They played at a now revamped Lowmoor Road ground in the town, but they folded mid-season in 2011, it was another chapter in the chequered history of Ashfield football.

Then of course there was Oakham United. A club playing at the old Hosiery Mills ground adjacent to King’s Mill Hospital on the border between Sutton and Mansfield, they became founder members of the Midland Counties League in 1975 before moving into the NCEL when the merger took place with the Yorkshire League.

They left the NCEL in 1986 to join the CMFL, and after being runners up in successive seasons in 1993-94 and 1994-95, they went on to win the league in 1995-96 with a fine side. But, that was it, promotion could not be obtained due to the ground inadequacies so the club folded and were never seen again.

I’ve not even mentioned Sutton Trinity who played at a senior level in the Midland Counties League, NCEL and CMFL between 1979 and 1987, but to be fair I know very little about them, including where they played, so that’s one to look up another day.

Kingsway Park

So, for a number of years now, Ashfield has not seen a club playing at Step 7 or above, not since 2014 anyway. But, that has now changed, playing at Kingsway Park in Kirkby-in-Ashfield are Ashland Rovers.

Rovers were promoted from the First Division of the NSL last season to the top flight, But they got a bit of a surprise as they were shuffled sideways to the CMFL, somewhat against their wishes.

I first went to Kingsway Park a few years ago now, February 2015 to be precise to see them play Radcliffe Olympic Reserves. The ground is located just off the main road in Kirkby, turning right just before the Wetherspoon’s, then down to the end of Hodgkinson Road. Kingsway Park is a modest sized park with a children’s play area, a communal building including a café and dressing rooms, and both a floodlit grass pitch and a further floodlit artificial pitch.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

Ashland play on the grass pitch, and the ground is effectively one sided as far as spectators are concerned. A new tarmacked area has replaced what used to be a grass bank, while a new perimeter fence has been erected. The pitch is protected by a tall cage that is usually seen where artificial pitches are concerned, and that was slightly unusual, but clearly not a bad idea when it comes to keeping the local youth off the playing surface.

While this was a cup tie, the clubs respective league positions in the South Division of the CMFL saw the hosts in a mid-table position while visiting Pinxton boasted a 100% record.

Pinxton took the lead in the second minute, and at that point it did look a touch ominous, but to be fair the goal glut didn’t materialise until the second period, amongst which Jay Cooper scored a brilliant individual hat-trick to crown an excellent performance.

Trees

Ashland battled hard, but this Pinxton side is very impressive and will take some stopping this season, so while a 7-0 defeat is heavy, Ashland won’t be the only side on the receiving end of a battering.

More importantly, Ashland Rovers are the current flyers of the football flag for Ashfield. Let’s hope they can survive where others before them have fallen.

New Tarmac