Lenton Laners

FC Pelican  2  Wollaton Reserves  1

Nottinghamshire Senior League – Division Two

You would be hard pushed to find anyone who is from the East Midlands who watches non-league football, who hasn’t seen a football match played at one of the grounds on Lenton Lane in Nottingham.

In fact, I seem to recall at one point an entire days Central Midlands League groundhop took place on the same road, with games being taken in at Greenwood Meadows, Dunkirk and Pelican, however, these days Lenton Lane isn’t quite so prolific in the fixture lists.

For those not familiar with Lenton Lane, it works a bit like this…..

Exiting the Nottingham Ring Road just before the Clifton Bridge, you spin round the roundabout as if you were heading for the giant Boots factory complex, only to then take a sharp left down a narrow track.

This is where a plethora of sporting facilities start to open up to you. The first ground on the right is the home of Pelican Colts (known as the Dave Eastwood Sports Ground), then right next to it is the former Greenwood Meadows ground, which is now used by Nottingham Outlaws Rugby League.

Moving round the bend and running parallel to the River Trent, you them stumble upon the Ron Steel Sports Ground which is the current home of Step 6 club Dunkirk, while next to it is the Brian Wakefield Sports Ground, which used to be the home of Pelican FC but as far as I am aware it’s used for cricket these days. Finally, right at the end is the huge Riverside Sports Complex and the David Ross Sports Ground which I seem to think are used by a number of junior and Sunday sides.

Last season I spotted that Nottingham Community off of the Notts Senior League had moved to the Dave Eastwood variant, a variant I had not yet contracted, I also then spotted that a team called Pelican used it on a Sunday morning for Notts Sunday League games. So I went one Sunday morning, and nothing was happening, but the score appeared later that day on Full Time?

I went again a few weeks later, a Sunday morning, plenty was happening this time, but it was all kids games, so I asked someone, and apparently Pelican’s Sunday side didn’t use the ground anymore! Bugger it, was my thoughts, I’ll hang on until next season and see how the land lies.

Turns out a new side called FC Pelican were using it, in the Notts Senior League, and having travelled back from Cornwall the following day and made the decision not to travel far, it was time to see if I could make it third time lucky. To be fair, the visitors Wollaton Reserves tweeted about the game so I was reasonably confident all would be ok, but when you’ve been bitten twice you can be forgiven for being a bit apprehensive.

As I drove through the gates all looked good, a pitch at the far end had nets up, the obligatory rope down one side to stop pitch invaders was in place, the corner flags had been inserted and a variety of musical beats were coming from car windows as players from both sides rocked up for action.

Description wise, the DESG is a large expanse, with what appears to be one adult sized pitch and numerous small sized pitches upon it. To the river end of the complex is a changing room block and indeed a tea bar that served drinks and hot food, which in itself was an added bonus. The pitch the game was played on is tight to the West side and also backs onto the South side where a road leads to a small golf complex, and as I said, we had a rope down one side and some dugouts for furniture.

The game itself was enough to keep you entertained on what was another warm afternoon for running round. The visitors opened the game looking the stronger side and it was a goal from Sammy-Joe Smith that gave them the lead but as the hosts grew into the encounter goals from Damilola Sodiq Sanusi and Moussa Sylla first saw them equalise and then well into the second half grab a winner that the visitors would argue on the balance of play was perhaps a bit harsh.

After the jaunts of Cornwall the previous week, is was nice to know that home was no more than half an hour away once back in the car (albeit via Argos as Mrs H needed me to collect an ironing board after apparently I broke the old one….). It was also nice to know that at the third time of asking I’d seem a game at the Dave Eastwood Sports Ground.

I won’t be holding my breath, there are still a few more pitches down Lenton Lane yet, I suspect it’s only a matter of time though before I’m back!