Betty Turpin

Mayfield  4  Teversal  1

Central Midlands Alliance – Premier Division South

Admission / Programme – No / £2

Ashbourne is very much Mrs H’s former stomping ground.

Back in her post University days she landed a job running the Ex-Servicemens Club on the Market Place in the town, and as a result she became something of a pillar of the community, and in turn a font of all knowledge when it came to all things Ashbourne related.

Yes, Mrs H knows her way around Ashbourne, the bars, the clubs and clearly some of the local characters, some of whom I’m sure she’s had run in’s with in her publican days. So, when I go to a game in the vicinity, it often alerts her interest, she likes to know what’s going on you see!

Ashbourne and football aren’t two things that you would immediately put together, apart from of course the Shrovetide shenanigan that takes place under the national gaze, which as far as I can see is a legalised fight while under the serious influence courtesy of the town’s pubs!

Hang on, you may be thinking, what about the Ashbourne Summer League, Derbyshire Summer League as it’s now known? Well, yes, you’ve got that, but we’ll park that for a future blog because that’s worthy of it’s own piece, however, in terms of the normal Saturday stuff, it’s been somewhat spartan.

Ashbourne FC played on the Recreation Ground for many years, in the Staffordshire County Senior League, but they chose to move in with Rocester, with progression in mind. There was talk of a new sporting facility in Ashbourne that would have allowed the club to progress but to be honest, even though the place is just down the road from where we live, I have no idea where it was planned to be located.

But then, a couple of years back, a club called Mayfield joined the Central Midlands League. I’d heard of Mayfield, only because they did indeed have a side in the Summer League themselves, but it turned out that this variant was indeed going to be rocking up to play on the Recreation Ground.

I’ve been to the Recreation Ground before, for an Ashbourne FC game one midweek at the end of a season. It’s only a short walk from the town centre, so I popped in for a pint, giving Mrs H’s former establishment a swerve, only I wasn’t sure how fondly she was remembered!

But, I found out earlier this season from my old mate Pete that they’d built a sparkling new pavilion at the Recreation Ground, complete with bar and an outdoor seating area that overlooked the pitch. It was a Tuesday night in May, a 6.30pm kick off, the sun was out, and you know what, I decided I was having some of it!

Mayfield have made their way into the Premier Division South of what is now the Central Midlands Alliance League, competing against sides such as Arnold Town, Pinxton, South Normanton Athletic, and indeed the visitors for the game on the night, Teversal. Ok, they are struggling this season and probably need a few wins to keep them safe, but to have got to the level they have is a credit to them, Levels wise, they are now on a par with Ashbourne FC.

The ground is easy to find, coming in from Belper you turn right at the lights, follow the road round and then the car park to the Recreation Ground is on your right hand side. The pavilion is smack bang in front of you, and then down the grass bank below is the pitch, running width ways to the pavilion, with a small stand located on the Western touchline. It’s a public park so anyone can wander in and out, so no admission can be taken but the club makes up for it by selling programmes at the bar.

It's a busy place, a running club were doing their bit on the adjacent pitch, while the cricket nets behind the stand were in usage as well, Ashbourne Rec does feel like a real hive of sporting activity.

Visiting Teversal have fallen on some hard time of late and it was the kind of fixture Mayfield would have perhaps targeted to gain three points from in the battle to avoid the drop. To be fair to the hosts they took the game to the visitors and in the end they were deserving of the victory. 

A James Moore hat-trick and a further effort from William Harrison were the Mayfield goalscorers, with the Tevie Boys getting the consolation through Connor Bower

The game itself attracted a good number of the travelling fraternity, in fact I spent the second half talking to Martyn from Winterton who was bemoaning the financial dominance of the North Eastern clubs in the Northern Premier League Eastern Division this season. I understood completely, Belper Town have been on the wrong end of that dominance, but I don’t see it coming to an end any time soon.

But that was Ashbourne Rec, that was Mayfield FC, and as far as Mrs H is concerned, all is good in the town, since her departure everything appears to be ship shape. What her legacy is, well that’s a different matter altogether!