Persistence

Bolehall Swifts   0   Hampton   1

Midland Football League – Division Two

I lost track of the number of times I tried to get to a game at Bolehall Swifts last season, or to put it another way, the number of times I tried to get to a specific game at Bolehall Swifts!

Selston in the League Cup, I actually got to within a mile of the ground one night and it was called off, but, to be fair I’d got a backup at Tamworth on standby. Thereafter, I pencilled it in countless times, but it constantly got called off for waterlogging. I reckon probably four, maybe five times it went by the wayside in the end.

Eventually, it got to a point whereby Bolehall actually scratched the tie, and Selston went through by default, however, the subsequent next round never got played anyway given the abrupt end to the campaign.

Why the persistence to get to Bolehall then?

I think it stems from the fact I’ve only ever been the once, back in 2004, and with it being relatively close, a re-visit felt long overdue. While my memories of lots of football matches over the years have become mere vague recollections, I do remember my visit to Rene Road quite well, with it’s large clubhouse, quirky stands, and the proximity of the local Co-Op which at the time was a shop you didn’t see many of on your travels.

As I say, I went right at the start of the 2004-05 season, it was a game against Shifnal Town in the top division of the Midland Combination, however they went down 4-0. I only really got serious about spreading my wings and travelling further distances to watch football the season previous, when a change in circumstances meant I had more flexibility in terms of my time, so I embarked on trying to ‘complete’ certain leagues. I started off with the local ones like the Northern Counties East League, the Central Midlands League, and then moved onto the Midland Football Alliance, the North West Counties League and of course the delightful Bogtrotters League (United Counties League).

After a season of immersing myself in that lot, I needed to spread further afield (or down as the case maybe) so the likes of the West Midlands Regional League and of course the Midland Combination slipped onto the radar. At the time the Mid Comb (as it was known) sat at Step 6. I had a look through the list of clubs and from a geography point of view I could pretty much place them all (I did have to look up where Continental Star came from), but Bolehall Swifts was my new Port Vale!

I digress, in my youth I thought I was the font of all knowledge when it came to Football League clubs, until one day I suddenly realised Port Vale was in Stoke on Trent. To be honest, prior to that lightbulb moment, if someone had asked me where Vale were from I wouldn’t have known, so I guess it was more of an oversight on my part, but even so, it was an epiphany of sorts!

So yes, Bolehall Swifts, of course I’d heard of them but I’d never considered where they were from, and then I found out it was Tamworth. All of these years, so close, yet so far away, why had I not known that?

So, what’s the story with the Swifts then?

They joined the Mid Comb (Third Division) in 1980, and by 1986 they’d risen all the way up to the Premier Division, where they remained until 1994 when they were invited to become founder members of the Midland Alliance.

The clubs time in the MFA was just a two season spell, before a return to the Mid Comb top flight which lasted until 2014, then the league merged with the MFA. The merger then saw them placed in the second tier of the newly named Midland Football League, albeit from a status point of view, nothing actually changed.

They remained in this division until 2018 when they were relegated to Division Two, and that right now is where they currently reside.

The other thing to consider is that in Tamworth, they’ve always been the second club (behind Tamworth FC), and for a period probably the third club if you take the now defunct Mile Oak Rovers into account. Nowadays, Tamworth are obviously the main player, but a new kid is also on the block in the shape of Coton Green, who play in the same league as Bolehall. From a rivalry perspective, I’m not sure what the relationships between the clubs are like, but geographically, Rene Road is not far at all from the Lamb Ground.

So what about Rene Road?

Located on the edges of a housing estate (Bolehall) on the East of the town centre, access is via a tight drive which leads to a large car park, within which sits the club house. The ground area is fenced off with a large metal green a yellow fence, and beyond this is a dressing room block which sits on the half way line.

The ground has two stands, both of which are quite individual structures. Opposite the dressing rooms is a brick built stand, set back from the pitch, but it’s almost compartmentalised as if it were part of a golf driving range in a previous life. In some ways it’s not unlike the stand behind the goal (the away end) at Tamworth.

Then behind the right hand goal is quite an imposing and unique structure, again in club colours, with corrugated steel cladding and several rows of seats, which almost acts as a focal point to the ground, with the clubs name along the fascia.

It’s a good ground, one that you can tell has hosted higher grade football, but, on a lovely night, how was the game?

Not that great to be honest. Plenty of endeavour but very little in the way of goalscoring opportunities. On balance the 75^th minute goal from close range by Hampton’s Jamie Smith that secured the points was just about a fair reflection based on how the game panned out, with Hampton probably edging it overall. Bolehall’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact Frazer Mullis got his marching orders in the second half for a second yellow card.

A crowd of 40 paid in, and with plenty of room around the ground social distancing wasn’t a problem, and we all got temperature checked on the way in as well.

Glad to have gone though, a cracking little set up, even if it took me a while to find out about it, and even longer to get to it again!