Derby Marshes

Derby Singh Brothers  2  Arnold Town  3

Central Midlands Alliance League – Premier Division South

Admission / Programme – No / No

Hackney Marshes, jumpers for goalposts, ten thousand pitches, a Bobby Moore on every one of them, taking longer to walk to the dressing rooms than the game itself, the list goes on and on.

Apparently every footballer from the 60’s through to the 90’s who ever came from anywhere close to London, played on Hackney Marshes, where every week scouts from every club in the South of England would be looking for, yes, the next Bobby Moore. 

I’ve never been to Hackney Marshes, in fact, if you gave me a map of London, I’m not actually sure I could pinpoint exactly where it is.

But what I do know though, is that Derby has it’s very own version of Hackney Marshes, called the Racecourse Ground. Situated on the very Northern edges of the city centre, with the main A61 running parallel to it, is a huge expanse, that was once, and you never would have thought it, a racecourse!

Saturday and Sunday mornings, the place would be awash with people playing, and watching football, from kids through to adults. Owned by Derby City Council, the plethora of pitches were available to hire, and over the years one or two Saturday sides have used it for a base, notably Roe Farm (who originated from nearby Chaddesden), when they had a spell in the Midlands Regional Alliance.

I’ve only ever seen one game on the Racecourse in my life, it was donkeys years ago and it was a pre-season friendly between Belper Town and Long Eaton United. From memory it was played on a pitch on the very Northern edges of the grounds, quite close to where Hampshire Road takes you from the A61 up into deepest Chad.

So what’s the history with the Racecourse Ground then?

Well, according to Wiki, it was the home of horse racing in Derby from 1848 to 1939. But it was more than just a racecourse, Derbyshire County Cricket Club set up home on the Southern tip of the ground in 1871, whereas Derby County Football Club called it home from 1884 (year of formation) to 1895. It also was the venue of an FA Cup Final Replay and an England International.

The racecourse (as a pony place) came to an end as WW2 started and at that point it was turned into a military facility. As the war drew to a close, it was decided that because horse racing attracted too many undesirables to the town, it wouldn’t re-open as a racecourse. At this point it was turned into the multitude of football pitches for which many remember it, but the old racecourse grandstand, and indeed the pub remained until their demolition in 2001.

However, following a huge revamp that cost in excess of £11 million, the Derby Racecourse Hub has been opened this year, and is run by Leisure United. Comprising of four artificial pitches, and a very impressive building that houses the dressing rooms, a café and meeting rooms, it’s certainly a huge boost to the City to have such an impressive, and indeed readily available, football facility.

So it’s Saturday morning, we’re on the third Saturday of May and the season is very much at the dying embers stage. I’m staying local, and my initial thoughts, subject to games being called off due to the new PC term of ‘Player Welfare’, but more commonly known as ‘Can’t Be @rsed’, was to watch something in the Central Midlands Alliance League.

I’m pondering over a few choices but Derby Singh Brothers v Arnold Town up at Rolls Royce was looking favourite, but then as I was perusing the Tweets of Arnold, I discovered that the game was indeed being played at the Racecourse, which has been rumoured recently to be where DSB are planning to play next season.

Within moments of seeing this and deciding it was going to be my choice of the afternoon, my mate Dave called and told me he had seen they very same Tweet and was making his way over from Staffordshire for the game.

It was a lovely sunny day, and, having skirted round the edges of the Pentagon Island and turned down towards the racecourse entrance, it was relieving to see that the car park at the facility was indeed huge, and spaces plentiful. Not one to knock my home City and all that, but street parking in the vicinity, while available, would not be the preferred choice!

Derbyshire were at home to Northamptonshire at the County Ground, but no one watches that, and those that do are probably not allowed to drive anymore, so any fears that the car park would be rammed were indeed unfounded!

It is truly a fabulous facility, and once Dave had arrived we had a wander through the ‘turnstiles’, which in effect is the electronic barrier, and made our way to Pitch 4, where both sides were preparing for the game. Singh Brothers chose not to take admission, but then again taking it wouldn’t have been that easy given the geography, however a headcount of 18 (about half from Arnold – and what a sad demise that has been) rocked up to watch seventh placed DSB take on a side who have struggled throughout the campaign.

The hosts took a first half lead but by half time a goal from Arnold saw parity on the park, the game at this stage had been an even affair with few chances. Arnold then took the lead through a second half penalty, only for DSB to equalise just after the hour mark. The three points did end up going to Nottinghamshire, when a late goal saw the final score 3-2 to the visitors.

So that was the Racecourse, a somewhat unexpected visit, but a welcome one all the same. If Derby Singh Brothers do decide to make it home, and intend to push to get to Step 6, as has been suggested, then they could potentially do something with it to make it work, but they would need the co-operation of the parties the run the centre.

As for Hackney Marshes, I won’t be going anywhere near them, not any time soon!