Proper Job

Holsworthy  0  Bude Town  0

South West Peninsula League – Premier West

Admission / Programme - £6 / £1

It was from the East Division to the West Division for the final game of the day, and I have to say, of the six games we got to over the weekend, this, in terms of an overall experience was the best of the lot.

Holsworthy had done a proper job, turning the local derby against fierce rivals Bude Town into a real community event, so much so a crowd of over 900 rocked up to watch it, and other than a goal, the evening had pretty much everything, but more on that later.

We are talking a proper old club when we are talking about Holsworthy AFC. They were formed in 1891 and played in the North Devon League until 1953 when they moved to the Plymouth & District League. 

In 1971 they moved to the prestigious South Western League, where they spent an unbroken thirty years before making a sideways move to the Devon County League in 2003, winning it at the first attempt.

When the South West Peninsula League was formed in 2007, the club became founder members, starting out in the Premier Division before being relegated to Division One West in 2010. Always on the border between the East and the West Division’s, they moved to the East in 2019, but were then moved back West again at the end of last season.

They did trouble the FA Vase briefly in the late Seventies and early Eighties, but they didn’t win it! 

So, after a brief moment of parking confusion in the middle of the North Devon town, we eventually got dropped off just outside the turnstiles, and were met with quite a noise as we entered, only it seems the club had the idea of organising a DJ for the event, and if they wanted to upset the neighbours, they were doing a right good job of it, the volume was loud!

The ground is a lovely old fashioned town centre ground, with a good sized clubhouse and dressing room building behind the goal, along with a temporary bar, and a very impressive outdoor catering facility that produced excellent burgers! An old school style stand sits along one half of the touchline, while it’s hard standing apart from the areas that were out of bounds, namely part of the dugout side of the ground. Viewing wise, given the size of the crowd, spots at pitch side were at a premium.

The atmosphere by kick off was electric, the away fans were in good voice, a smoke bomb landed on the pitch just before the game got underway, and the pitch itself looked fine, thanks to some excellent work, which included the use of heaters and a gazebo on one are that was of concern. The DJ (Disco InKernow) had whipped the place up to a frenzy, this was Step 6 football, but not as we know it!

The game might have ended 0-0 but it was a proper old fashioned battle. The referee had his work cut out as tackles flew in and no holds were barred. You sensed, as much as there was respect between the two clubs, on the field, they both desperately wanted to stick it up each other!

Ok, so it finished 0-0, but, a great game of football to watch that kept you continually engaged with proceedings, and in the end, probably from a points perspective, the right outcome, although of the two clubs, Bude would probably be the most frustrated at not getting the three points. Prior to the game Holsworthy had been on a run of six successive defeats, while Bude had been unbeaten in the last three.

Holsworthy though, just wow, and if ever a club deserved a game to be on, and to have a successful evening, it was them. They did a fabulous job in terms of the arrangements and in terms of doing what’s important on occasions like this, catering for the crowd, and making sure they had every opportunity to spend some money!

Spend a few quid we did, the bar did a roaring trade, the catering facilities likewise, and as the blue smoke from the visitors pyro’s wafted across the pitch as we left the ground, we left feeling like we’d been treated, like we’d been well looked after, like we were part of something that for Holsworthy Football Club was something quite special.

They did not disappoint, take a bow guys, the night was yours!