Persistence

Bolehall Swifts   0   Hampton   1

Midland Football League – Division Two

I lost track of the number of times I tried to get to a game at Bolehall Swifts last season, or to put it another way, the number of times I tried to get to a specific game at Bolehall Swifts!

Selston in the League Cup, I actually got to within a mile of the ground one night and it was called off, but, to be fair I’d got a backup at Tamworth on standby. Thereafter, I pencilled it in countless times, but it constantly got called off for waterlogging. I reckon probably four, maybe five times it went by the wayside in the end.

Eventually, it got to a point whereby Bolehall actually scratched the tie, and Selston went through by default, however, the subsequent next round never got played anyway given the abrupt end to the campaign.

Why the persistence to get to Bolehall then?

I think it stems from the fact I’ve only ever been the once, back in 2004, and with it being relatively close, a re-visit felt long overdue. While my memories of lots of football matches over the years have become mere vague recollections, I do remember my visit to Rene Road quite well, with it’s large clubhouse, quirky stands, and the proximity of the local Co-Op which at the time was a shop you didn’t see many of on your travels.

As I say, I went right at the start of the 2004-05 season, it was a game against Shifnal Town in the top division of the Midland Combination, however they went down 4-0. I only really got serious about spreading my wings and travelling further distances to watch football the season previous, when a change in circumstances meant I had more flexibility in terms of my time, so I embarked on trying to ‘complete’ certain leagues. I started off with the local ones like the Northern Counties East League, the Central Midlands League, and then moved onto the Midland Football Alliance, the North West Counties League and of course the delightful Bogtrotters League (United Counties League).

After a season of immersing myself in that lot, I needed to spread further afield (or down as the case maybe) so the likes of the West Midlands Regional League and of course the Midland Combination slipped onto the radar. At the time the Mid Comb (as it was known) sat at Step 6. I had a look through the list of clubs and from a geography point of view I could pretty much place them all (I did have to look up where Continental Star came from), but Bolehall Swifts was my new Port Vale!

I digress, in my youth I thought I was the font of all knowledge when it came to Football League clubs, until one day I suddenly realised Port Vale was in Stoke on Trent. To be honest, prior to that lightbulb moment, if someone had asked me where Vale were from I wouldn’t have known, so I guess it was more of an oversight on my part, but even so, it was an epiphany of sorts!

So yes, Bolehall Swifts, of course I’d heard of them but I’d never considered where they were from, and then I found out it was Tamworth. All of these years, so close, yet so far away, why had I not known that?

So, what’s the story with the Swifts then?

They joined the Mid Comb (Third Division) in 1980, and by 1986 they’d risen all the way up to the Premier Division, where they remained until 1994 when they were invited to become founder members of the Midland Alliance.

The clubs time in the MFA was just a two season spell, before a return to the Mid Comb top flight which lasted until 2014, then the league merged with the MFA. The merger then saw them placed in the second tier of the newly named Midland Football League, albeit from a status point of view, nothing actually changed.

They remained in this division until 2018 when they were relegated to Division Two, and that right now is where they currently reside.

The other thing to consider is that in Tamworth, they’ve always been the second club (behind Tamworth FC), and for a period probably the third club if you take the now defunct Mile Oak Rovers into account. Nowadays, Tamworth are obviously the main player, but a new kid is also on the block in the shape of Coton Green, who play in the same league as Bolehall. From a rivalry perspective, I’m not sure what the relationships between the clubs are like, but geographically, Rene Road is not far at all from the Lamb Ground.

So what about Rene Road?

Located on the edges of a housing estate (Bolehall) on the East of the town centre, access is via a tight drive which leads to a large car park, within which sits the club house. The ground area is fenced off with a large metal green a yellow fence, and beyond this is a dressing room block which sits on the half way line.

The ground has two stands, both of which are quite individual structures. Opposite the dressing rooms is a brick built stand, set back from the pitch, but it’s almost compartmentalised as if it were part of a golf driving range in a previous life. In some ways it’s not unlike the stand behind the goal (the away end) at Tamworth.

Then behind the right hand goal is quite an imposing and unique structure, again in club colours, with corrugated steel cladding and several rows of seats, which almost acts as a focal point to the ground, with the clubs name along the fascia.

It’s a good ground, one that you can tell has hosted higher grade football, but, on a lovely night, how was the game?

Not that great to be honest. Plenty of endeavour but very little in the way of goalscoring opportunities. On balance the 75^th minute goal from close range by Hampton’s Jamie Smith that secured the points was just about a fair reflection based on how the game panned out, with Hampton probably edging it overall. Bolehall’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact Frazer Mullis got his marching orders in the second half for a second yellow card.

A crowd of 40 paid in, and with plenty of room around the ground social distancing wasn’t a problem, and we all got temperature checked on the way in as well.

Glad to have gone though, a cracking little set up, even if it took me a while to find out about it, and even longer to get to it again!

  

Pub Team Heaven

Plough & Harrow   7   Carlton Top Spot ‘A’   3

Nottinghamshire Sunday League – Division Three

As recently as three years ago, if someone had said to me that I’d be trotting off on a Sunday morning to watch football, I would have laughed, and in turn given them the loaded gun to shoot me with should I ever so much as entertain the prospect.

But then a few things changed.

The trouble with this groundhopping caper is that you have two choices, travel further afield, or drop lower standard wise, and in all honesty I kind of found myself doing both. But the reality was, each season as I was being tested by those who diagnose whether we sit on the spectrum or not, the list of those clubs and grounds that fell into the ‘lower’ bracket has got bigger and bigger.

It’s got bigger because over the years I’ve accumulated more leagues to add to my ‘must complete’ list, whereas the leagues themselves have often merged with others so have become suddenly much larger, and then add in the fact that nowadays clubs have a habit of moving grounds at the drop of a rental demand, it’s getting quite a task. This season, the list is sat in the mid-forties, and to be fair, just to get them all in on Saturday’s alone is a tall order, albeit one or two, but no more than a handful, could be got to in midweek.

Add to the fact that I do like to go off piste from time to time to places farther afield, and indeed places that are either abroad or initially off the radar, I do like to get to say March, and be in a position to be able to get a bit adventurous.

SDS (Socially Distanced Steve) got me onto it, bearing in mind that a few years ago he wouldn’t even entertain a pre-season game, let alone a Sunday game. He went to one or two and actually convinced me that in many cases the standard on a Sunday was actually as good as, if not better than the football you might see at the same venue on a Saturday, the difference being that the teams playing were quite often named after pubs!

I tried it, it wasn’t bad at all, in fact I found some of the games to be very good. And with so much uncertainty in the air right now, I thought it might be an idea to get the games in early at this stage of the current campaign while I can because something tells me we will grind to a halt at some point.

The Nottinghamshire Sunday League was always going to be a winner, especially with so many new venues in an expanded Notts Senior League, and having managed to marry up a few locations when the fixtures and venues were announced, I reckoned one or two Sunday mornings could be had on the wrong side of the M1.

Plan A was to go to Bulwell Hall Park for the game between Bulwell City and Premium, and in that specific case it was because the venue was also the home of PMG Academy. However, upon arriving, not long after SDS, and having wandered around what we found to be the football pitches it became clear that nothing was doing. Welcome to occupational hazard number one of Sunday football, from time to time you end up arriving and finding nothing!

It wasn’t a problem though because just three miles up the road in Hucknall, at the Nabbs Lane Recreation Ground, Plough & Harrow were playing Carlton Top Spot ‘A’, and before you could say ‘what time did you get in the this morning’, we were parking up as the players were just entering the field.

Nabbs Lane is also the home of United Greys Community in the NSL this season, and for those not familiar with the area, it is literally right next door to Hucknall Town’s home on Watnall Road, where a Sunday game was also taking place.

It is a recreation ground with a changing block on the road side, while behind one goal is a BMX track, and at the other end is a basketball court and kids play area. It’s quite a good place to watch football to be fair, and also, a decent sized crowd had turned up to watch it, probably largely mates of the players and such like, but all the same, far more than had been watching the game I saw in what is supposedly more senior football the day before.

What a fantastic game it was too. The early exchanges were end to end and both sides had plenty of chances, but it was the hosts who found their shooting boots and by half time they had raced into a 4-1 lead.

To be fair to Carlton Top Spot, they started the second half strongly and quickly reduced the deficit, but some excellent finishing by Plough & Harrow, most notably from five goal hero Daniel Taylor, saw then add three further goals while the visitors grabbed another brace to leave the final score 7-3.

Both sides tired in the latter stages, understandably with it being the first game of the season, and having had such a long lay-off, but overall a super mornings entertainment.

More of the same please, let’s see what the Worksop Sunday League has to offer next weekend, I could get very used to this!

Senior Service

Netherfield Seniors   1   AC United   2

Friendly

With just the one more friendly to go before the serious stuff begins, I opted to stay relatively close to home for the first Saturday in September, with a choice of two games on the other side of the M1.

As I’ve commented on more than once recently, the Notts Senior League has suddenly turned into a monster of a competition with five divisions under it’s wing, and from the point of view of options, I could have gone for a 3pm kick off at Phoenix Inham, or a 2pm kick off at Netherfield Seniors.

I opted for the earlier one, purely on the basis it was earlier, and it would mean Casa Hatt should be returned to at a more convenient hour. A cursory text to the club came back with an affirmative in terms of the game, so it was off to the Richard Herrod Leisure Centre in downtown Carlton, on the East side of Nottingham.

It’s not very often I venture to the East side of Nottingham, and after a 22 mile journey took well over an hour, I was reminded of just why I avoid the area! All was going well until the sat-nav took me a detour through Old Basford, and as a result I spent the best part of twenty minutes queueing to get onto Western Boulevard. Thereafter it was left turn, right turn, speed bumps, stop, start, so on and so forth!

I should have arrived at 1pm, I finally arrived just after half past, I felt almost as relieved as I did the time I went to Lowestoft Town and needed three changes of clothes on the journey.

The first thing that struck me as I got to within striking distance of the ground was the undulating nature of the landscape. I’ve never really considered Nottingham as a particular hilly area before, but crikey, nipping out for an evening stroll would involve hiking boots in Carlton!

The Richard Herrord Leisure Centre is run by Gedling Borough Council, and the first thing to strike you is the spacious nature of the car par as you turn off Foxhill Road. I guess though, establishments of this nature are not fully open as yet so it’s unlikely you are going to have to be fighting for spaces amongst the swimmers, gym bunnies and aerobics animals.

While the large leisure centre sits to the right of the car park, the sports pitches and indeed the single story building that houses Netherfield Boys & Girls Club sit to the left. To access the sports pitches you climb up a slope and there is the football field, sat on a plateau. Two sides of the pitch are flanked by grass banking, while to the top of the banking are what appear to be floodlit all weather football pitches. I’m not sure if they are connected to the leisure centre or not, but they were in use throughout the afternoon.

The area is also clearly a public space, with plenty of dog walking going on, some of whom (the owners, not the dogs) hung around to catch some of the action on the pitch.

The game itself pitched a Foundation Division side against a First Division side, so a two division gap in standard. I must admit to be being a tad confused about AC United, the name is a new one for the NSL, and quite why they’ve been parachuted into the second tier I’m not sure, unless of course they are an existing team who’ve re-branded. So much has happened in the NSL recently it’s hard to keep track.  

Having perched on top of the grass bank alongside the ground, with views across the wider Carlton vista, the sun was shining and all was good in the World, but to be brutally honest, despite the endeavour of both sides, the first half was a largely forgettable spectacle.

The second half was a much improved affair though, with the hosts taking the lead through a clear penalty. This seemed to irritate the visitors, who’s touchline contingent were getting somewhat prickly, and engaging in some sledging with the home goalkeeper.

The response was swift, an equaliser soon followed and then late in the game came the winner which was followed by wild celebrations akin to winning a World Cup Final in the last minute. I’d hate to think how AC would celebrate if they won a World Cup Final in the last minute!

So, the serious stuff comes next, the wonderful World of competitive football, but why do I have this horrible feeling it’s not going to be quite so straight forward?

In the meantime, as the old adage goes, take it one game at a time, don’t think too far ahead, enjoy it while you can, and most importantly of all, don’t forget to take your Notts Senior League Handbook out with you. Only I think I’m going to be needing it, almost as much as I’m going to need a facemask!

No Recollection

Rowsley 86   3  Buxton Reserves   1

Friendly

To be fair it was royally smashing it down as I was trundling merrily along the A50, en-route to my game of choice at Garswood United. Garswood United, for those who have no clue what I’m talking about, is a Cheshire League club located just off the East Lancs Road, and they’d got a friendly game against Ashton Town.

But then, I got a call from someone to tell me the game had been called off due to bad weather, and thankfully the same mate was sat by his PC at the time so he was able to find me an alternative.

I was in the Uttoxeter area at the time, so the list of possibilities extended to Carlton Town in the FA Cup, Clay Cross Town who had a friendly against Mickleover, or, Rowsley 86 who also had a friendly against Buxton Reserves.

I’d not been to Rowsley for years, so that was the one I plumped for, and as I re-set the sat nav, it was going to take me a nice scenic route up to Ashbourne via Mayfield, and then across via Longcliffe to the A6, just to the North of Rowsley itself.

According to my records I’ve only ever been the once to the School Lane ground, it was in August 1997 for a Midlands Regional Alliance fixture against Belper Town Reserves. The Nailers won 2-1, apparently, and unusually for me, I have absolutely no recollection of it whatsoever, I can’t recall the ground, the game, in fact, I had to ask my mate whereabouts in Rowsley the ground was actually located as I simply didn’t know! I’ve driven through Rowsley countless times over the years, living literally on the A6 down in Belper, but it was one of those ‘forgotten’ places for me as far as football was concerned.

But even then, as I drove along School Lane I was unsure of where the ground was, and just as I was about to turn round and re-trace my steps, convinced I’d missed it, I spotted some goalposts in the distance to my left, bingo!

A few cars were already in the car park when I arrived, and as we got to within an hour of kick off more cars were parking on the roadside, any initial concerns I had about the weather scuppering my plans were put to bed, it was game on, but it was going to be a wet one!

So, the Rowsley 86 story then.

They were members of the MRA since records began, well, when I say that, Full Time goes back as far as 2005-06 season, and they were in it then, and, I’m pretty sure they’ve been in it since at least the early Nineties, possibly even longer. The MRA started in the mid-Eighties after a merger between the East Midlands Regional League and the Central Alliance, I don’t recall them being around in the very early years, but put it this way, they were very long standing to say the least. I guess the giveaway is the clubs name, one would think the 86 means that was the year they were formed!

In recent seasons they’ve always been one of the stronger sides, winning the championship in 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017 and 2018. As other clubs moved up to the Central Midlands League, Rowsley seemed content to be where they were, but that changed after the final title win, and at the start of the 2018-19 season they found themselves in Division One South.

I don’t think anyone who had seen Rowsley play over the years had much doubt that they would be successful, and indeed in their inaugural season they finished runners-up to Sherwood Colliery Reserves, losing only three league games all season.

That meant promotion to Step 7 for the first time, and last time out, before the season went belly up, they were sat in third place, again only having lost three of their 17 league games. Moving through the leagues didn’t seem to faze the club one bit, but, is Step 7 their natural level?

I guess when you walk out onto the ground at School Lane, the answer to that question would be an unequivocal ‘yes’. That isn’t meant to be a criticism of them at all, because on the field they are a very capable side, but off the field, to get their base up to Step 6 standard would involve monumental costs, and probably given the location, would be hugely problematic in terms of gaining permission for things like floodlights and stands.

At the moment, School Lane is without doubt one of the most scenic and pleasurable places to watch football that you could find, but, apart from two dugouts and a small dressing room building some way from the pitch, it falls short in the sense that it doesn’t have any hard standing, cover, fixed barrier etc.

So, right now, they kind of are where they are, a very good club, a talented team, but at a level it’s hard to see them move forward from, unless of course something changes significantly.

The rain had pretty much stopped by kick off, but it wasn’t the clearest of nights, and that was to have an impact as the game wore on. The opponents were the Step 7 reserve side of Buxton, a team that were newly formed last season playing in the Cheshire League, while this time around they’ve moved South into the Staffordshire County Senior League.

The youthful visitors took the lead in the first half, but as Rowsley found their feet they gradually got back into the game they quickly turned a deficit into a lead, eventually taking the score line to 3-1, but at this stage it was getting dark. The referee continued to monitor the situation but with 75 minutes on the clock he decided to call it a day. I must say, a 6.30pm kick off in September is a tad ambitious, but then on a clear night we might have been ok, and, had it been a league game, he may well have seen it through to a close. I have seen games played in darker conditions, put it that way!

And that was it, back home much quicker than I thought, and certainly considerably earlier had the game been on at Garswood. Let’s just hope in a few years time I’m not once again bemoaning the fact I have no recollection whatsoever of a trip to Rowsley 86, and let’s also hope, their ambitions mean they don’t have to either move, or make significant changes that would negatively impact the wonderful charm of School Lane.

Christopher Columbus

Rainworth Seniors  1 Blidworth Welfare Red  1

Friendly

I’d got it all worked out, the first competitive game of the season, an FA Cup tie at Long Eaton United, all the usual gubbins, arrive early, limited attendance, one way system in the clubhouse, don’t touch anyone, wear gloves and a welding mask etc etc.

But then, as I was passing some idle time perusing Twitter, it came to my attention that a game was taking place at Joseph Whitaker School in Rainworth, where Rainworth Seniors were taking on Blidworth Welfare Reds in a pre-season kick each other about!

I’ve got a squillion or more new grounds in the Notts Senior League this season, and Rainworth Seniors was one of them, so, why not chalk one off and put the welding mask away for another a week at least?

It looked quite interesting as well, El Classico if you like, with both teams having been members of the Midland & Notts Alliance top flight last season, whereas this time around Blidworth have been placed in a higher division than Rainworth. Add in of course the proximity, and I suspect rivalry between the two villages, and you had all the makings.

I had absolutely no idea where the school was in Rainworth. In fact my only knowledge of Joseph Whitaker was the fact that our dearly departed old friend Paul Earnshaw was a hugely respected teacher at the establishment, and on our many journeys to football together he regaled us with funny stories about some of the antics that often went on. Most notably when he was marking a pupils history essay, and opening line was “Christopher Columbus was a bit of a twat!”.

Turns out it’s easy to find, rather than go left at the lights to Rainworth Miners Welfare, you go straight on, take the first right and the ground / school is just up Warsop Road. The trouble is though with these teams that play at schools, you can find the school easily enough, in fact you can often see the pitch, but getting to it is a different story altogether!

Once in the car park at the side of the school, as the crow flies it’s probably about 200 metres to the 4G floodlit playing surface in a cage, but the security fencing, gates and pathways make it feel a lot longer than that. But, having zig-zagged my way to the cage, the best viewing position was indeed at the top of a steep grass back which effectively allowed you to look down into the cage.

The sports facilities at Joseph Whitaker do indeed look very good. At the top of the bank is a grassed area with a football pitch on it, while below the cage are further pitches that look to be used for both football and rugby. It looks like the kind of facility that is heavily used outside of school hours, and it’s clearly a huge benefit to the local community.

Socially Distanced Steve joined me at the game, having too spotted the game on social media, and as the darkness drew in well in advance of the 8pm kick off, the views to the West of Rainworth were impressive with Harlow Wood in the distance. But, we hadn’t come to look at trees, we’d come to watch a football match.

I have to say it was very keenly contested but at times scrappy encounter. Blidworth took the lead in the first half, but Rainworth got an equaliser in the second period from the penalty spot. Both sides wanted to win the game and both ‘benches’ became more animated as the game moved towards it’s conclusion, but on a night when chances were at a premium, no more goals came our way.

And that was it really, a quick escape at the end and back through the front door twenty five minutes later, just as social media was filing up with reports, images and news of sell out crowds at various FA Cup ties across the country. With all due respect, I’m not expecting too many sell outs in the lower echelons of the Notts Senior League this season, I like things nice and simple, turn up, watch game, go home again.

Not like that Christopher Columbus fella……..

When Wakey Went To Fev

Wakefield AFC  1 Rossington Main  4

Friendly

“So, you’ve come to see the birth of something special then?”

I’d been asked by the chap supervising the entrance at Featherstone Rovers main entrance if I was with the home team or the away team, to which I replied I was with neither, hence the comment that came back in my direction.

It’s funny though, I’d been having a conversation during lockdown with an old mate and for some reason we got onto the subject of Rugby League. Now I’m no expert on the game at all, I’ve got a reasonable knowledge of clubs, I know a bit about where they all play and what leagues they are in, but that’s probably as far as it gets. Ask me about players, tactics, politics etc and I’m like Boris Johnson addressing a medical convention.

I’ve been a to a few games over the years, most recently a couple of years ago I took in games at Sheffield Eagles, Bradford Bulls and Swinton Lions, whereas in years gone by I’ve got to Castleford Tigers, Dewsbury Rams, Bramley Buffaloes and Batley Bulldogs. My first game, and still my favourite venue, was Featherstone Rovers, at their Post Office Road ground. It was June 2007 and I saw them beat Oldham Roughyeds 24-18 in a bruising encounter, played in front of a very partisan home crowd.

I told my mate that one day I would love to go back, that was the end of the conversation, and to be honest, the last thought I had about the subject.

But then, almost out of the blue, Wakefield AFC, who appeared in the Sheffield County Senior League last season with something of a fanfare, suddenly and unexpectedly announced that they were to be playing their matches at Post Office Road. It’s fair to say a little bit of wee came out at that moment!

Football in Wakefield then, lets have a bit of a look, before we go on to talk about Wakefield AFC and all things Post Office Road and ‘Fev’ Rovers.

Wakefield is famous for being one of, if not the biggest city in England not to have a senior football club. With a population of around 350,000, it’s got twice the number of residents as High Wycombe, and Wycombe Wanderers are of course now a Championship side. When I say senior football club, within the boundaries of the city they have no club currently competing above the eleventh tier of football, in other words for the non-leaguers out there, nothing above Step 7. Hall Green United of the West Yorkshire League, by my reckoning is the highest ranked club.

It hasn’t always been like that though.

Back in 1921 the Football League created a Third Division North, and as a result encouraged applications. Wakefield City from the Yorkshire League applied and got four votes, which was some way behind the 25 votes that Stalybridge Celtic got, which saw them elected. It wasn’t the worse performance of an applicant at the time,  South Liverpool got just one vote, Lancaster Town got three votes, while just ahead of them were Doncaster Rovers with six votes and Rotherham Town with 13 votes, Strangely, the club that came closest to getting in was Castleford Town with 18 votes.

After that, other than at grassroots level, forget it, until 2000 when highly successful village club Emley moved into the City and played at the Wakefield Trinity Rugby League ground, largely due to ground grading holding them back at the Welfare Ground, and, presumably to tap into a larger potential support base. They came within a whisker of getting to the Conference, being pipped by Stalybridge, drawing a huge crowd to Belle Vue when the two sides met in what was effectively a title decider. Within a couple of years (2002) the club was subsequently renamed Wakefield & Emley, then in 2004 they became Wakefield – Emley in an unusual, albeit slight change of name.

Two years later and it was all change again, the club moved to the College Grove ground of Wakefield Rugby Union club, changed colours to yellow and blue (from claret and blue) and dropped the Emley bit from the name.

By now the club were at Step 4 (having been initially at Step 2), and after a few years of struggle they folded in 2014.

The football experiment in ‘Wakey’ had failed, seemingly, and with it, almost took a well established club down for good measure, but thankfully Emley reformed and now play back in the village.

Five years later, and we had the launch of Wakefield AFC, headed up by former Sheffield Wednesday Goalkeeper and Manager Chris Turner, who in recent years had turned to the boardroom, most notably as Chief Executive at Chesterfield.

They got a place in the Sheffield County Senior League last season, playing games out of the Dorothy Hyman Stadium in Cudworth, but the stated intention was always to play in Wakefield, with no secret of the fact that the venue was going to be Belle Vue.

So, it came as something as a surprise when, in blaze of publicity, Post Office Road was unveiled, and with tickets then being put up for grabs for the opening game at the stadium against Rossington Main, I simply had to!

I have to say the clubs social media, the merchandising, in fact everything they’ve been putting out is slick, professional and extremely customer-centric. That bit you cannot fault, but, and this is the big but, can they make it work, and furthermore, can they make it work in Wakey?

Well until they actually put some roots down in Wakey it’s impossible to say, but in the meantime, I guess we’ve got to enjoy the ride. It won’t be easy because it doesn’t matter who you ask, Wakey is a rugby town, always has been, always will be, just like Castleford, Keighley, Dewsbury, Batley, all of those places on the M1 / M62 corridor. To change the tide from rugby to football in these places is deemed impossible, but, AFC are determined to make the impossible, possible.

So, Featherstone Rovers then?

This is a special one, it really is. The town of Featherstone is only small, with just over 14,000 inhabitants, which to put it into context, Dronfield is 50% bigger! Yet, it’s the home of a professional rugby club, which has won the League Championship in 1977 and the Challenge Cup on three occasions, most recently in 1983. They currently play in the second tier, but, in the last few seasons they’ve twice made the qualifiers to get into the Super League. Post Office Road holds 10,000 spectators, and last season the average gate was 2,300, bettered only by Leigh, Widnes and Bradford of the UK based clubs.

As you drive into Featherstone, which sits on the road between Ackworth and Pontefract, it reeks of the club, and rightly so, it’s something to be proud of, as is Post Office Road itself.

Just off the main Station Road, less than a five minute walk from the railway station, the stadium is accessed through a large car park. Today the entrance was via the main reception which then leads to a forecourt at the back of the main stand where food and drink was being served. The main stand is a large structure with wooden tip up seats, while to the left of it is a large building that houses the clubs other bars, function areas and corporate facilities. Opposite is another seated stand, while to the right is some open terracing with printed images along with back fence depicting the history of ‘Fev’.

Sat at the North end of the ground is another seated stand that’s been added since my last visit. The stand is actually from Scarborough’s old Seamer Road ground, while some more of the theatre of chips seating extends round to meet with the stand on the opposite side to the main stand.

It’s a cracking venue, and in a time when  RL clubs are moving to purpose built venues that are often shared with other sports, Post Office Road remains one of the iconic Northern venues, along with the likes of Craven Park at Hull, Wheldon Road at Castleford and of course, Belle Vue itself.

So what about the day and indeed the game?

The crowd was limited to 150, and all tickets were quickly snapped up. Spectators were only allowed in the main stand, but to be fair, social distancing was down to yourself to put in place, no seats were marked out of bounds for example like you see at some grounds. Quite a few of the traveling fraternity had turned up for the game, as I expected, and they were left alone to safely wander around taking photographs of the venue.

It was all quite relaxed, but because the crowd was limited, it always felt safe, to quote the current terminology.

Wakefield played some good stuff at times, but visiting Main were a bit too good on the day. The visitors took the lead in the seventh minute with a header, and then made it 2-0 after 24 minutes after a mix up at the back.

A third goal arrived just after half time, but then the hosts pulled a goal back when the Main goalkeeper contrived the throw the ball into his own net following a cross.

A fourth goal came for Rossington with fifteen minutes remaining when the goalkeeper could only parry a free kick, and it was to be the Step 6 side that reacted the quickest to put the ball in the net.

Wakefield have got some good players though, I would expect to see them in the mix to win the County Senior this season, and should they finish in a spot to get promotion, I would be astounded if they didn’t make the grade and move up.

But how far can it go, have I witnessed the birth of something special, along with 150 others? Look, for every club that sets out on this path and succeeds, many more fall by the wayside with the same ambitions. The club has to get into Wakefield at some point soon, it has to maintain it’s superb PR via social media and the like, which I’m sure it will, but, it has to be successful on the field if it wants to take a slice of the deep rooted rugby league support.

Football and rugby can live together and the two can survive and at times thrive, we only need to look at Wigan, Hull, Salford and Bradford for example, plus even the likes of Warrington and Widnes to a lesser degree. But at the same time it can be a massive ask for the two sports to work successfully together, and in towns that are entrenched in rugby, there is usually only one winner, just ask Leigh, and even St Helens about that.

You could also ask Wakefield, but maybe, just maybe, it will be a case of second time around. Perhaps the latest incarnation will strike a chord that it’s predecessor didn’t.

I hope so, because so far they look to be doing everything right.

A Walk To The Welfare

Holbrook Sports  2 Ashbourne  3

Friendly

I wasn’t planning on going to a game today, until I spotted on Twitter that Holbrook Sports had a home match.

I looked at the weather, looked down at my post holiday belly, and thought to myself….I could walk to the game, it would do me the World of good? 2.6 miles each way Google Maps told me, I could do that, no problem, and just think how great I would feel having achieved it?

Let’s put my lack of fitness to one side for a minute, and talk about Holbrook and it’s football.

I first went to a game at the Welfare Ground in Holbrook sometime in the late nineties, when Holbrook FC were plying their trade in the Central Midlands League. Previously, Holbrook FC used to be known as Holbrook Miners Welfare, and they became founder members of the aforementioned CML in 1983, moving up and down the divisions, alongside a couple of spells when they dropped out of the competition completely, to where I’m not entirely sure.

By 1996 the club had dropped the Miners Welfare name as links between the football club and the neighbouring drinking establishment in the car park diminished, continuing life as Holbrook FC. The clubs highlight being a CML Premier Division championship in 2000 and elevation to the Supreme Division.

But then in 2003 they went back to the old Miners Welfare name - maybe they needed somewhere to go for food and drink after the games? Then after some good finishes in the league table, notably a third and a fifth, they were elected as founder members of the new Step 6 East Midlands Counties League, finishing in a fantastic third place in each of their first two seasons.

Another highlight came in 2009-10  when they drew near neighbours Belper Town in the FA Cup, and after securing a a notable 1-1 draw at Belper, they won the replay 1-0 at their Shaw Lane ground, a match and occasion that wasn’t without controversy. Who would have thought a game at Holbrook would make the news section of the Derby Telegraph, but, the less said about that, the better…..

By the start of the 2010-11 season, the Miners Welfare link had gone again, and this time it was a new name, Holbrook Sports. Guess what, they drew Belper Town again in the FA Cup, this time proving that the previous years victory was no fluke, winning deservedly 3-1 at Christchurch Meadow.

Top half finishes continued to arrive, as did yet another FA Cup tie against Belper, but this time the higher ranked club gained revenge with a 6-1 win at Shaw Lane. While in the 2010-11 season they had their best FA Vase run in reaching the Fifth Round (last 16). Coalville Town eventually put them out on their way to reaching the Final of the competition, but not before the Brookies had seen off the likes of Lancing and St Helens Town on the way.

At the end of the 2017-18 season, the club took the decision to step down from the EMCL, taking voluntary relegation back to Step 7 and the CML once again, where they remain.

Despite being so close to home, my visits to Shaw Lane have been infrequent, in fact my last visit was the FA Cup tie against Belper in 2010. I did try on a few occasions last season but both the weather, and some storm damage to the ground curtailed that. I did turn up one night for a game early in the season only to find it had called off just before my arrival, so I ended up making a detour to Mickleover Sports.

Google Maps said it would take 53 minutes, but I was sure I could beat that, so setting off bang on 7pm, I gave myself a relatively ambitious 45 minutes to get from home to the ground. It was all going well until I spotted a public footpath that from memory, cut out a large part of the Kilbourne Road and Sandbed Lane climb. That was fine, until I got lost, found myself straying from the path, ultimately ending up in a field, and then having to climb over a gate, some way further down the hill than I was hoping to find myself at!

Anyway, that slight mishap aside, I was making good time, and with a bit of a sweat on, I was walking through the car park as the players were just getting ready to kick off, I quite literally walked into the ground as the referee blew his whistle to start the game.

Shaw Lane is a nice venue on a late August evening, with it’s rural back drop and enclosed nature, it’s a great place to watch football. Since my last visit it looks like they’ve built a tea bar behind the goal, otherwise it looked to have changed very little, with the small area of cover straddling the half way line. The one big change though is the fact that the Miners Welfare, which sits in the car park, is now closed, seemingly for good and awaiting development / demolition.

Ashbourne from the Staffordshire County Senior League got off to a flying start, taking the lead in the first minute following a defensive mistake, before then going on to score two excellent goals to lead 3-0 at half time. To be fair to Holbrook they did have plenty of possession and also plenty of chances but they simply couldn’t make any of them count. The half time team talk, which was held on the pitch, saw no punches pulled by the Holbrook management, things had to improve.

And improve they did, Holbrook pulled a goal back almost straight from the kick off, before scoring again and reducing the arrears to just one goal. Despite lots of pressure, an equaliser would not come for the hosts, in what was a much more purposeful second period.

Then it was the walk back home, I decided to play it safe and go the road way, and what a lovely walk it was too, with a distinct autumnal smell in the air as the evening started to cool. Up through Holbrook, down into Bargate and past the White Hart where punters were sat enjoying a socially distanced pint. Then it was downhill to Openwoodgate, glancing though the varied house windows where TV’s were being watched, drinks were being drunk, and sofa’s were being reclined on. A left turn was taken at the crossroads as the walk took me back into Belper and the slow decline down to Whitemoor, over the recreation ground and eventually back through the front door.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening, and reflecting on it, I’d take a walk to watch Holbrook again, but maybe not leave it another ten years next time though.