Pages

Monday 24 August 2009

Shirley Town

SHIRLEY TOWN 3-5 ARCHDALE '73
Midland Combination Division 1
Tilehouse Lane
Saturday 22nd August 2009

After the usual night shift I made a point of depriving myself of sleep to make the most of the good weather by getting up at 1pm. I had originally planned to go and watch the Clifton – Basford United match in the Notts Senior League but having already been to two games in Nottinghamshire this season I fancied a change of direction as it were. The Midland Combination is a league I have a lot of time for so I had a quick check of the fixtures and plumped for this fixture between unbeaten Shirley Town and Archdale ’73. Shirley Town play on a small ground on Tilehouse Lane with the entrance opposite Whitlock’s End train station. The journey took around an hour from Leicester with the sat nav taking me off the M42 at junction 4 to get to the ground, and I arrived there at around 2.35pm. No admission was charged or programme issued with the attendance varying between 15 and 20 throughout the game. The clubhouse is home to (I believe) an independent cafĂ© which served an array of hot food which included chips and burgers. The ground is not floodlit and there is a small stand on the far side of the ground which I would guess seats maybe 20.

At the start of play newly promoted Shirley had won their opening three games scoring 16 goals in the process while their visitors from Worcester had obtained seven points from their opening four games, whom themselves had found the net eleven times. The first half was a half of two halves with the visitors dominating the early proceedings and they hit the post with only two minutes on the clock. Shirley looked disjointed and struggled to get into the game, which I later found out they had all of their first choice back four missing and therefore was understandable that they took time to understand each other. Archdale deservedly took the lead on 19 minutes through a header from a right hand cross after a corner was not cleared properly. A minute later it was 2-0 though I missed the goal due to making a note of the first goal! A further five minutes passed and it was 3-0 to Archdale when the ball was knocked home from a couple of yards from a corner. Just three minutes later and it was game on – Shirley were awarded a free kick and the ball was bundled in from six yards or so. This gave the home side some impetus and seemed to rattle the visitors who were in complete control at the time. Shirley deservedly got a second four minutes from time when with the best move of the match their number seven beat the keeper at his neat post when a powerful shot went in off the woodwork. The start of the second half was a bit disjointed with neither side taking control but it was the visitors who struck next through a penalty on 66 minutes. To give the home side credit they did not let their heads go down and scored a third on 70 minutes to make it 3-4 with a header from a left hand cross. Archdale killed the game off with a fifth three minutes from full time. With the traffic light on the M42 and M6 I was home by 5.40 and unfortunately had to be back in work for 10pm.

Overall an enjoyable afternoon out in the summer sunshine at a pleasant venue.

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Cotgrave Welfare

COTGRAVE WELFARE 1-1 WOLLATON
Tuesday 18th August 2009
The Woodview Ground
Notts Senior League Senior Division

With the weather being as it is, a lovely summers evening my preferred choice of game would be that of one that has little in the way of spectator facilities and also one that kicks off at 6.30pm. After trawling through various local league websites I eventually settled upon Cotgrave Welfare v Wollaton in the Notts Senior League (NSL). Cotgrave, rather obviously due to the name of the club is an ex-mining village, of which there is a plethora of in this part of the country. Other examples being Clipstone, Rainworth and Blidworth. I knew that Cotgrave had lights but presumed that they were not being used tonight hence the early kick-off stated on the NSL’s excellent website. Arriving at the ground with my dad with about ten minutes to kick-off we found the place locked up, but shortly after we were told that the league’s website was wrong and in fact kick-off was 7.30pm. To kill the hour we ended chatting over a pint in the Miners Welfare in which the ground is located behind. When time came for kick-off we were not charged any admission nor were any programme issued. To be honest it didn’t come as a surprise even though this was my first ever game in this league.

The game started with both sides up for this encounter and chances were created at either end with some pretty good football at times being played. It was the visitors from Wollaton who took the lead on twenty minutes when a through ball played in Bascombe who lobbed the ball coolly over the home keeper. This did not deter the home side and they came close themselves a few minutes later when a shot from the edge of the area went straight at the Wollaton keeper for a comfortable save. Cotgrave got a deserved equaliser on fifty four minutes when a free kick from the right hand side was fluffed by the keeper which allowed Bee to tap in from a yard or so out. No further goals followed and clear cut chances were at a premium and the game ended in a fair 1-1 draw.

Overall an enjoyable first taste of Notts Senior League football and I can say without doubt that I will be back for more this season, helped by the proximity to Leicester of a lot of the clubs.

Monday 10 August 2009

Oadby Town

Oadby Town 1-1 Studley
Saturday 8th August 2009
Midland Football Alliance
Greene King Park
Today sees me attend my first competitive game of the new season at my spiritual home in football terms as it were, Oadby Town FC at their newly sponsored ground “Greene King Park” for their Midland Football Alliance (MFA) encounter with Worcestershire side Studley. The two sides first ever meeting was in the 2001/02 season when they played out a nil-nil draw @ Studley on the 14th August.

The name change means that, since I first watched Oadby Town during the 1997/98 season their ground on Wigston Road is under its fourth sponsored name, and follows the park prefixes of Invicta, Events & Leisure and Topps. Oadby have undergone a transformation on the field with a host of players leaving and joining the club during the close season along with former Leicester City and Scotland defender Matt Elliott becoming joint manager alongside Mick Holmes. Holmes was in sole charge last season in what to be fair was one of the worst in the clubs history winning only nine of forty two league games and finished in 19th place in the 22 team MFA. Since the club joined senior football in 1951 they have lost less than nine league game only once, which came in the 1955/56 season when the club won eight league games but they only played 26 matches. Hopefully this season will see a much improved showing from Oadby in both and league and cup competitions. Very little has changed off the field in terms of ground improvements but the club are currently laying a couple of steps of terracing on the grass bank to the left of the clubhouse.

The journey to Oadby takes around twenty minutes from my home in the Braunstone area of Leicester and when arriving at the ground I am charged the concession rate of £3 and £1.50 for a full coloured glossy programme. The programme is 32 pages and has 13 pages of adverts, though there is very little reading material. Let’s hope as the season progresses this will improve. A value for money rating would in the region of six out of ten.



The first half was dominated by Oadby from the off, playing some good football and they created at least half a dozen good chances during this period but they all lacked the clinical finish. The closest they actually games was when Brian Quailey hit the bar on thirty five minutes. Studley themselves refused to allow Oadby to have things all their own way and they had a goal ruled out when Craig Poutney was correctly judged to be offside. Oadby did make the deserved breakthrough on fifty two minutes when Nick Pollard scored from three yards out when the ball rebounded nicely too him following a Quailey shot. Just three minutes later and it was 1-1 when the visitors were awarded a penalty for a handball offence. Steven Ruck stepped up and scored with ease. This seemed to rattle Oadby a bit and the game became scrappy with neither side taking control. Oadby had their best chance of the half when Quailey forced an excellent save from visiting keeper Steve Grogan with three minutes left, but Studley themselves nearly won the match with in stoppage time when home keeper Damion Quailey made two equally excellent saves.