Anstey Nomads 3 Lutterworth Town 0
United Counties League – Premier Division
When I first embarked on the Leicestershire Senior League, I kind
of did the best first, and saved the worst until last!
One of the first grounds I went to, back in 2004, was the Cropston
Road home of Anstey Nomads, one of the more famous names in the league.
I can see from my records that it was in January 2004, and it was
a 2-2 draw with Hinckley based Downes Sports. My memories are a bit vague but
what I can remember is that it was a day when I was working on the Saturday,
but my active diary management skills meant I engineered an early finish!
I had to jump on the internet before I left the office to get a ground address (I’d left my handbooks and all that at home), and then having quickly looked at a map online, try and remember how to find the ground. I can remember driving up to the gate and paying my admission, and then parking up next to the clubhouse, the rest though, I can’t remember a thing!
Anstey Nomads have one of those names, a name that when you hear
it, you don’t forget it. I think I’d heard of them years before I even
considered paying them a visit, and with that came something of a curiosity.
They joined the Leicestershire Senior League just after the War and remained in it until 1956 at which point they left, before re-joining it again in 1973. From 1973 onwards they stayed in the competition right up until being crowned champions in 2009.
In 2009-10 they found themselves in the East Midlands Counties
League at Step 6, finishing an impressive runner-up in 2017-18, before being
shifted sideways to the United Counties League which by now had seen it’s
footprint moving further North.
A second placed finish in the clubs first season saw them promoted
to Step 5 for the first time, and least season, before it was aborted, the club
sat well placed in the top half of the table.
They’ve had some excitement in the FA Vase as well over the years. In 1978-79 they reached the Fourth Round, only to lose to Irthlingborough Diamonds. In fact, in the previous round they beat Halesowen Town 7-0, a side that was to go on to be a real force in the Vase.
Diss Town beat them in the Fourth Round again in 1991-92, while in
1995-96 they went one step further reaching the Fifth Round, beating the likes
of Shepshed Dynamo and North Ferriby United on the way, only to lose 6-0 at
Collier Row.
But, since that day in 2004, I’ve never been back, despite the
fact it’s very close to home, sat to the North of Leicester, only a matter of
ten minutes or so from the Coalville exit on the M1.
To be fair, I have tried to go back, notably last season, but waterlogging and then eventually them moving games to a nearby plastic pitch meant it simply didn’t happen, but now, with no excuses, and no lurgy in the vicinity, all was looking good!
Sometimes when you go back to places, it becomes apparent that
very little has changed since your last visit, no matter how long ago it was,
but that certainly wasn’t the case at the newly named Callingtons Community
Complex.
The work they have done is to be admired. Firstly, the pitch was simply superb, if there is a better pitch at this level of football anywhere in the Country, I’d like to see it. They’ve installed new hard standing all around the ground, while the pitch surround, again new, painted red and white was smart.
A stand has been installed opposite the clubhouse, while the
clubhouse itself is newly refurbished, with the dressing rooms and club offices
adjacent. It all looks very impressive, and you sense a real professionalism
about the club, and that is borne out in the ‘A Vision Of The Future’ booklet
that was readily available if you wanted a copy.
A complete overhaul of Cropston Road is planned, with a smart two
story facility built behind the goal, amongst other improvements, while the
club have also acquired the facilities at nearby Ratby Sports Club with a view
to transforming them into a state of the art training facility, as well as a
base for the junior sides.
This is a club on the up, but what were they like on the pitch?
The first half, while goalless, was a fast and entertaining affair, with both sides giving as good as they got, but the hosts made the breakthrough in the 63rd minute when Ben Tansley found the net.
The goal knocked the stuffing out of Lutterworth somewhat, and
further brace from Zane Hakeem in the 77th and 84th
minutes respectively sealed a very good victory and maintained Anstey’s 100%
start to the season with three wins from three.
So, can they gain promotion to Step 4 this season? Well, with the
champions and a runners up spot potentially being good enough for promotion,
then why not? Shepshed Dynamo were on the cusp last season before it ground to
a halt, while you would expect the likes of Rugby Town, Quorn and
Wellingborough Town to be in the mix as well.
Anstey Nomads are a club to keep an eye on, no doubt about that. A
lot has happened since that first visit in 2004!
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