When Two Become One

Calverley United  1  Toller  1

Yorkshire Amateur League – Supreme Division

My old mate Jamesie was on at me for ages about it.

In almost every conversation he was telling me how I had to go and watch some games in the West Riding County Amateur League.

I kind of paid him lip service, I was more interested in Step 6 and above, and if I was stooping any lower then it was going to be no further than the likes of the Central Midlands League or the Midlands Regional Alliance.

I wasn’t being funny, Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, looked like a long way for alehouse footballers and jumpers for goalposts, but how naïve of me.

I took a punt though, with nothing else on I set off on an April midweek night in 2007 to watch Storthes Hall beat Tyersal 4-0. Just over a week later I was at Ardsley Celtic on a Friday night, this time with Jamesie, and then the following day I was at a very impressive Hemsworth Miners Welfare. I ended the very same season on the 16^th May, watching Bay Athletic put five past a hapless Golcar United.

By the end of last season I’d seen 44 games in the WRCAL, over a period of twelve seasons, across initially three divisions I’d been to some great venues. Marsden, Salts, Campion, Steeton, and of course Honley which was my 1,000^th football ground visited. I loved it, great grounds, great old clubs and great people, with some not bad scenery to boot!

However, over recent seasons the WRCAL has been in terminal decline. It reduced to two divisions and then ultimately just one. Teams either folded or moved into other leagues, notably rival Step 7 competition the West Yorkshire League, whom the WRCAL had been rumoured to have been in talks with to form a merger. Personally, given what I’d been hearing, there was more chance of pigs flying.

By the end of last season, thanks to teams withdrawing, they finished the campaign with just twelve sides, and with some of them already declaring they were heading for pastures new, it was crunch time.

The West Riding County Amateur League is no more, it needed help and had little in the way of bargaining power. Ultimately, the teams that were left joined the strong and plentiful in terms of clubs, Yorkshire Amateur League, and with the obvious strengthening of the top flight with the clubs moving across, it was in a position to apply for, and obtain, Step 7 status, or the Supreme Division as it became known.

I had a dilemma, the YAL had many divisions, and no way was I going to try and crack them all, so instead I chose to focus on the top flight, and it turned out I needed five clubs. Alwoodly, Horsforth St Margarets, Wortley, Drighlington and Calverley United.

The YAL started quite late, but with a few options on the Wednesday night, I opted to head in the general direction of Pudsey to have a look at Calverley United who were  playing Bradford based Toller. Two sides who’ve had unbeaten starts to the campaign.

The journey to Leeds from my base in North Sheffield took less than half an hour, but, the bit from Elland Road, to Calverley was less comfortable. Calverley sits just beyond Pudsey, not too far from Farsley, and is a large village that upon arrival looks like the sort of area you would want to live in. 

The houses, while not mansions, were old style Victorian terraces, while the shops, restaurants and pubs looked very appealing. I found the ground at Victoria Park with ease, and having parked up, I had a wander across the field, where the football was at one end, with a cricket field next to it filling up the rest of the expanse. The players changed in the cricket pavilion, while the area itself, being very central, was busy with dog walkers and children playing.

I had time, so I headed over to the opposite side of the park to the New Inn. To my delight, not only did they serve Carling, they also sold KP Dry Roasted Nuts, as opposed to any inferior varieties. It was a nice pub, as you would expect, and the menu looked good, but as Mrs L had got food waiting for me at home, I chose not to partake.

I got back to the pitch in readiness for the kick off and a decent sprinkling of locals had turned up to watch a game on a pleasant evening in a nice setting. A Respect tape barrier surrounded the pitch, while on two sides we had trees to protect us from any wind and rain that may have threatened.

It turned out to be a very entertaining game, but the proverbial game of two halves. Toller looked excellent in the first period and were well on top, and after missing numerous chances they finally took the lead through Danny Hussain. At this stage it was hard to see how Calverley would come back.

But come back they did, in a second period that they were well in control of, and the deserved equaliser came after a spell of sustained pressure. They had chances to perhaps take the three points late on, but a draw was probably the right outcome in the end.

This was my first every YAL game, and I have to admit, I can think of no negatives. Nice set up, good football, good organisation and social media, and a great part of the Country to be visiting. I’ve got the four more grounds to go now, but, maybe it’s worth having a look at the next division down, you know, just in case….