Returning To Stone

Stone Old Alleynians Reserves  3  Cheadle Town  1

Staffordshire County Senior League - First Division

I've seen four games of football in Stone over the years, played on three different pitches, all at the same complex.

That's actually a bit of a lie, the complex itself isn't actually in Stone, it's in the village of Yarnfield which sits to the West of the town, just over the M6. I refer to it as a complex, I seem to think it's currently known as Yarnfield Football Centre, but when I went it was known as Springbank Park. The name Wellbeing Park has also been used more recently, so apologies to any sponsors who I've not suitably name checked.

The first visit was back in 2004 when I saw Stone Dominoes, then a North West Counties League side, play Kidsgrove Athletic in a pre-season friendly. I then had a somewhat bizarre plan with my old mate Jamesie off of Sheffield FC, when we worked out we could watch two games simultaneously on adjacent pitches at the venue, one of which was a Staffordshire County Senior League game between Barlaston and Eccleshall AFC, while the other was a West Midlands Regional League game between Stone Old Alleynians and Punjab United.

I seem to recall it went quite smoothly, not a goal was missed, oatcakes and Carling were readily available and when we posted a report of the events on a well known non-league football forum, it created a mixture of curiosity and disgust! On one hand we were a shameful double act who completely bought the idea of watching football into disrepute, while on the other hand we were quizzed as to the practicalities of the exercise, and in a couple of instances, members of the forum started to list dates when others could repeat our little feat!

All good fun, but then Stone Dominoes decided to build a self contained new ground on the back of the complex, which was visited one midweek evening for a game against Daisy Hill. Memories are a touch hazy, but what I do know is that football in Stone got a bit turbulent after that. Dominoes have dipped in and out of senior football, while Old Alleynians  have gone from the West Midlands League, to the North West Counties League, and now the Midland League. Issues have abounded with the facilities that I watched games on previously, Alleynians in recent seasons have ben playing at the old Meir KA ground, a dispute with the owners at Yarnfield I believe lead to that, whereas Dominoes from what I can see have vanished at a senior level. 

Anyway, Old Alleynians have a plan, and that is to develop their own facilities in Stone itself, at the Alleynes Sports Centre on the North East side of the town where the clubs junior sides are based. My mate Dave, who now lives in Stone after moving up from Surrey to take advantage of cheaper beer and cheaper house prices, told me all about it after reading about it in the local free magazine. It all sounded good, but then being me, I totally forgot about it until recently when I was perusing the fixtures in the Staffordshire County Senior League only to spot that both the reserves and the development sides of Alleynians had set up base at the Sports Centre.

An early midweek kick off on a Wednesday night for the Ressies ticked the boxes, and when the hosts Tweeted earlier in the day about an exciting occasion as football finally returned to Stone, it was with a sense of anticipation that I made the journey from the Hillsborough side of Sheffield. On a beautiful evening it took me via the Hope Valley, Buxton, Leek and then finally through Meir before arriving in the very pleasant market town. 

It was as I drove into Stone that I remembered many years ago I'd seen another sporting event in the town, a Natwest Trophy cricket game between Staffordshire and Derbyshire, my memories of that day are a little vague, but I can remember watching the late Aussie and Derbyshire Captain Dean Jones eating an ice cream on the edge of the outfield, while chatting to spectators. A bit of research about that game tells me it was on 25th June 1996 at Priory Road, Staffordshire were all out for 178 while Derbyshire rattled the total off in less than 27 overs, recording an eight wicket victory. 

Alleynes Leisure Centre is right on the edge of the town in a semi rural location, along Oulton Road, and is accessed up a driveway, with a good sized car park in front of you. A caged artificial pitch sits to the rear of the centre but looking at the condition and type of the surface it didn't really look fit for senior football, perhaps more for hockey? But, directly to the rear was a grass pitch which was marked out and ready for the game. A couple of  dugouts were in place, but nothing else was in situ so I would say that Alleynians have got a fair bit of work to do to get the facility ready for Step 5 football, but, they have the location and the space so good luck to them. I do wonder whether they will upgrade the artificial pitch, that would probably be the more straightforward and practical option, especially as floodlights are already in place. It is a lovely location though, with nice scenic views out towards the Staffordshire countryside.

The game was a decent one, played in warm conditions. Adam Harper gave the visitors the lead in the first half but two goals from Hasam Mahmood and one from Aaron Fahey turned the game around and gave the points to the hosts. Alleynians looked a good side and while it's early days, they'll be feeling confident of challenging at the top of the table. A decent crowd were also in attendance to witness the occasion, which was good to see.

It was quickly back to the A50 afterwards and in next to no time back over the county boundary and into Derbyshire. It was nice, after all this time, to finally watch a game of football in Stone, and, I will keep my promise to visit Dave and let hm take me on that pub tour of the town he keeps threatening me with!