Development

Pegasus U21  1  Collingham U23  4

Nottinghamshire Senior League – Development Division

Admission / Programme - No / No

Moving swiftly back to reality after the previous weekends escapades in the Isle of Man, it was very much a short hop situation, a double on the Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border at two venues less than a mile and a half apart.

If someone said to me at the start of the season I would be getting to two new grounds, less than fifteen miles away, within walking distance of each other, on the same day, I would have suggested they’d clearly not done their homework because that wouldn’t be possible…..

Wrong, it was very possible, and it came courtesy of the Nottinghamshire Senior League, a league that this season has dropped a fair few new venues on us, which to be fair is great from a geographical perspective, I mean, had it been the West Yorkshire League then I might have been paying more regular visits to Kilburn Petrol Station than I currently do, but the NSL, well, it’s backyard stuff isn’t it?

So, the plan evolved, and first on the agenda was Pegasus FC, a club based in Stapleford who had a side last season that competed in the Development Division of the NSL, but this season have opted to move into Division Three with a senior team. I don’t bother with the Development Division, largely because it’s youth teams playing on a Saturday morning, but once a side moves into the senior section and starts to play on a Saturday afternoon, then I get interested. That said, if a Saturday afternoon venue is being used in a morning, then yeah, bring it on, Wetherspoons breakfast beforehand and all that!

Pegasus have maintained a side in the Saturday morning section, and having done a bit of research I ascertained that they did have a home they called their own where all of the sides in the Pegasus set up play at. Pasture Road Recreation Ground is exactly that, a recreation ground containing three pitches of varying sizes, but with a changing room block next to the car park at the bottom end that is very much the property of Pegasus. They also have a tea / snack bar within the block and with several games being played over the course of the weekend, it’s a busy old place.

Pasture Road is the main route from the centre of Stapleford that leads out to Ilkeston, and so happened to lead directly to game number two which was to be on the very edge of Ilkeston on the very same road, but more on that ‘social experiment’ a little later. However, with a game against Collingham U23 advertised on Full Time as a 10.30am kick off, the day was set, and arriving just after 10am I decided to make some enquiries as to what pitch I would be watching the game on.

Turns out the kick off was scheduled for 11.30am, which wasn’t a problem, in fact it meant less waiting around for the second game, but what it did mean was I had a fair bit of time to kill. Knowing I needed to find a cash point I decided to head back into Stapleford to park up and have a look around.

I’ve never set foot in the town centre area of Stapleford before, and equally, I didn’t know they had a Wetherspoons either, and no, I didn’t partake. Mrs H had kindly prepared some sustenance for me and as I was in the wagon, a 10.30am pint was not really on the radar, this wasn’t the Isle of Man you know!

So with time suitably killed, it was back to Pasture Road, a short game of wacky races took place to find a car parking spot, and I sat listening to the radio waiting for things to happen. To describe the venue, the car park and the dressing rooms are accessed via a small housing estate that you enter into via Pasture Road, and then immediately in front of you are a couple of small sized pitches, while the full sized pitch sits away in the far corner nearest to the main road, with housing on two sides, trees to the rear, and one side open to the rest of the recreation ground.

It was a pleasant venue, and on what was a nice day weather wise, the players eventually made their way to the pitch when the preceding kids game had finished, and we could settle down for the main event, Pegasus U21 v Collingham U23.

It was the opening game of the season for both clubs, and to be fair to both sides they put on a decent spectacle, but in the end the Collingham lads, who were that bit older, had the edge throughout, largely due to being that bit more physical than the more youthful Pegasus side.

Two goals from Thomas Davies, and solitary efforts from Noah Martin and Isaac Sills saw Collingham home, while the consolation effort for Pegasus came from substitute Derek Foley.

It had been enjoyable, and a modest crowd, mostly parents, rocked up to watch it. But at the final whistle, I had to make my move, car parking at the next venue was very definitely going to be at a premium, because something was rumbling just over the border in Ilkeston, and it wasn’t the sound of the stampedes because the pubs had just opened…..