Stabbo

Stapleford Town  1  Sandiacre Town  0

Nottinghamshire Senior League – Premier Division

Admission / Programme – No / Online

For those not familiar with the local pronunciations of East Midlands towns, it could be a bit tricky when listening to locals, trying to fathom out exactly where they are talking about.

I mean, for example, if you were nipping over to see the Ofton v Ilson game, then you would of course be going to watch Alfreton against Ilkeston. Then of course if you were planning a day out in Bowza, then of course you would be taking in the delights of Bolsover. Furthermore, going to watch the 'osses at Utcheter, you would probably be having a day out at Uttoxeter Races.

I heard a new one a couple of years ago, Stabbo. It seems if you are from the Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border town of Stapleford, then you are from Stabbo. As far as I am aware, it is nothing at all to do with the violent pastimes of the locals, not at all, in fact it’s like all of the others, a local pronunciation / nickname of the town in which they live.

The reason I heard it was because Stapleford Town Football Club had found themselves on the map and were making progress up the leagues. Now I first got wind of the club in 2013 when they became members of the Midlands Regional Alliance, going to watch them play against Willington Sports and duly winning the game 10-2. The original club in the town was Stapleford Villa (formed in 2002), and it was they who the current club evolved from, when Villa went into decline. For the record, Town were formed in 2012, with a clear vision to be a community club for all.

They moved on at quite a pace after that, transferring into the NSL and working their way to the top flight, indeed winning the championship in 2018-19 and finishing runners up last season to Southwell City. This season, they are in with an excellent chance of landing the championship for a second time, with the visitors this evening Sandiacre Town also in with a chance, but the one they need to overcome, with their games in hand, is Keyworth United. 

When I first went to ‘Stabbo’, they played at the Hickings Lane Recreation Ground, a short walk from the centre of the town, on a roped off pitch directly in front of the dressing room block. But nowadays they play on the opposite side of the recreation ground in a corner that’s flanked by housing and commerce. They have developed a railed off pitch and installed dugouts, but to gain promotion to Step 6, significant work would be needed to be done, something the club is acutely aware of. With eyes on Step 6, they did have a spell playing at the home of Borrowash Victoria, but they have since gone back to their home town, and are working with Broxtowe Borough Council on a way forward, with plans in place for a significant transformation at Hickings Lane.

The game did catch my eye for a couple of reasons, one being that I’d not been since they moved across to the other side of the complex, but more importantly, it was a local derby that had something on it. The two had met in late March at Sandiacre, and Stabbo had come away with a 3-1 win, this time around, Stapleford knew that a win was a must to keep the pressure on Keyworth. As I type this, Stabbo now need ten points from five games, my money is on them. In fairness though Sandiacre have applied for Step 6 themselves and again, I would be confident given the fact they will finish in a promotion place and have the facilities, they will be in the United Counties League next season.

A very good crowd of 177 (someone counted them) turned up for an early evening kick off on a pleasant night, and they were treated to a tight game. Chances were few and far between but the game was decided in the first half when Kieran Diver’s header from a corner struck the underside of the bar and was adjudged to have bounced down behind the line. 

The pitch itself wasn’t overly conducive to quality football, but the game was always engaging, and with their only being one goal in it, you felt the balance of power could shift at any stage. To be fair though, as the second half wore on, you felt Sandiacre ran out of ideas and in the end the result wasn’t ever in any real dispute.

So, at the final whistle it was a scramble to get out of the tightly packed car park, away through Trowell and over the border back into Ilkeston and then eventually home to Belper in pretty quick time.

Stabbo, don’t let the name put you off, they are a very god club and the folks involved were nothing but friendly. Keep an eye on them over the next few years, if they can get the ground sorted via the relevant local authorities, it may well be that the journey continues at a pace. 

15,000 people live in Stapleford, the potential is there, but they need help to realise it…

**Postscript - Stabbo won the league on Saturday 6th May with a 9-0 victory over Ravenshead