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Tuesday 27 August 2013

Bank Holiday Monday

Anstey Town 3-2 C.K. Dons
Monday 26th August 2013
Leicestershire Senior League Division 1
Terrace Road, Ellistown, Leicestershire

The Falcon Inn
A day out today spent with the wife (Angela) and dog (Millie), and not just for football. Firstly we headed up to Whatton House in the north of Leicestershire and had a look around the gardens. Admission was £3.50 each and payment was made at an honesty box at the entrance. Whatton House is located to the north of Long Whatton and we turned down Mill Lane (next to the church) in the village and followed the single track road to the house. After spending a pleasant hour walking around the gardens we then headed to the Falcon Inn in Long Whatton itself for some lunch before heading south for my football fix. 

21 photos of the house and gardens can be viewed in the slideshow below:


The drive to Ellistown took around twenty five minutes and we arrived with around fifteen minutes before the scheduled 3pm kick-off. No admission was charged or programme issued which is what I expected, though Anstey Town used to issue when previously in the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL). Both teams today are new members to the league, though Town were previously members between 1982 and 2009 before dropping down to the North Leicestershire for four seasons. Info on the Dons can be found on a previous blog post by clicking here. As you might have gathered by now Anstey Town do not play in Anstey itself but share the facilities at Ellistown. There is small section of cover between the two dugouts on the near side and an uncovered stand on the far side backing onto the second pitch.

The Dons had made an unbeaten start to life in the LSL winning two (2-0 v Anstey Nomads Reserves and 2-1 @ Hathern) and drawing one (1-1 v Asfordby Amateurs) of their opening three games, while Anstey had drawn one (1-1 v Hathern) and lost one (2-0 @ Barlestone St. Giles) of their opening two games. The first half was pretty poor though Anstey found themselves two nil up and the half time interval. The first came on seventeen minutes when Brown rounded Andrew Nicholson in the Dons goal and rolled the ball into an empty net. The second came just after the hour mark and was the result of a controversial awarding of a penalty by the referee. To be honest I had an excellent view of the incident and had no idea what he awarded it for, but anyhow Brown stepped up and sent Nicholson the wrong way. The second half was much more entertaining and the Dons will wonder how come the end they did not take at least a point from the game. They got a goal back on sixty three minutes when Steve Kirkham slotted the ball past the Town keeper. Anstey though quickly restored their two goal cushion as Brown completed his hat-trick just a minute later as he headed in a cross at the far post. The Dons were soon back within striking distance as a Tom Potts free kick on sixty seven minutes made it 3-2. The Dons always looked the more likely to score next and to be honest if it wasn't for the woodwork would have done. Firstly a Leighton Nicholson shot struck the base of the post, and finally in stoppage time Tom Potts and Steve Kirkham both headed against the bar within a matter of seconds of each other. This was their final chance of the afternoon and Anstey held on for their first victory of the season.

33 ground and match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:


Sunday 25 August 2013

Sunday League photos

I have attended two games of Sunday League football since the last post a week ago. Firstly on the 18th August to the village of Snarestone for a game in Division 3 of the Tamworth & District Sunday League, and secondly today (25th August) to Moira for a game in the Premier Division of the Burton & District Sunday League.

Snarestone Globe 8-3 Edingale Swifts
The Gunnery, Main Street, Snarestone, Leicestershire

30 photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:


Moira United 1-7 New Inn
Ashby Road, Moira, Leicestershire

45 photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:
 

Sunday 18 August 2013

re-completing the LSL

C.K. DONS 2-0 ANSTEY NOMADS RESERVES
Saturday 17th August 2013
Leicestershire Senior League Division 1
Grantham Road, Skillington, Lincolnshire


Over the summer the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL) has had a massive shake up in terms of numbers, with reserve sides of teams higher up the non-league pyramid being accepted on mass including the visitors today. Whether this is a good thing is another matter and one in which I personally can see both pros and cons. There were also three new first teams admitted, with these being Houghton Rangers (champions of the Leicester & District League), Anstey Town (champions of the North Leicestershire League) and the C.K. Dons who won the Grantham & District League (GDL) Division 1 last season. The Dons are based in the village of Croxton Kerrial but due to their ground in the village not being up to standard they had to look elsewhere for somewhere to play. The main reason for their home ground failing the LSL ground grading is that there is no shower in the referees room. One option was in the village of Waltham on the Wolds but newly formed Grantham Athletic will be playing their home games there in the Lincolnshire League. The solution that was found was to play a season at the village of Skillington, over the border in Lincolnshire which is around seven miles away from Croxton. Also at the time the plan is to keep the pitch warm over in Croxton, with the club forming a reserve side to play in the GDL. So we have the situation of this...a Leicestershire based club playing in the LSL, but having to play home games in Lincolnshire, while a Grantham based club playing in the Lincolnshire League playing home games in Leicestershire!!!!

The C.K. Dons were formed in 2009 and were subsequently accepted into division 1 of the GDL. They finished in a creditable sixth place in the fourteen team division in their debut season. The following season an eighth place was recorded and the club also reached the final of the GDL's Junior Cup. It was at this time that I became aware of the club, and after exchanging e-mails with secretary Jez Hill I went up to Ancaster to watch the final against Heckington Millers, but the Dons were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline. The club then took a year out to regroup and then came back a year later stronger and better. They not only won the GDL Division 1 title winning nine out of the ten league games, but reached three cup finals. First up was the Junior Cup which yours truly there to watch and take photos. This was played at Harrowby United's ground in Grantham against fellow Croxton Kerrial side Croxton AFC, but despite leading twice they lost on penalty kicks. The next final was the Benevolent Cup and a 3-2 victory was recorded against AFC Three Gables. And finally the Memorial Cup, but Premier Division champions White Swan Barrowby were too strong and ran out three nil winners. 

The village of Skillington is located within the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, six miles south of Grantham and three miles from the border with Leicestershire. The parish church of St. James is a grade 1 listed building and is built of limestone. Skillington also performs well in the small village category of the National Village in Bloom contest, becoming the first consecutive winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005. There are two pubs in the village, The Blue Horse Inn and  the Cross Swords Inn but unfortunately both were shut. The latter closed at 2pm so unfortunately no chance of a pre-match pint. 

The route to Skillington from my home in the west side of Leicester was via Melton Mowbray and Buckminster and took me around an hour to make the 34 mile journey. With nothing going on in the village I made my way to the ground which is at the village hall on the Grantham Road. Only the changing rooms were open and there were no toilet or catering facilities for spectators. The pitch is also home to the local cricket club and for this game the Dons roped off the pitch on all four sides and have built wooden dugouts to meet the LSL's grading criteria.

The match...it was played in dry and blustery conditions throughout and was hard fought and competitive. Both teams were fairly evenly matched during the game and clear cut chances were at a premium. It was the home side that came close to breaking the deadlock when a sweetly struck shot from Paul Chappell was touched onto the post from the visiting keeper. The second half started a few minutes early and I missed the Dons taking the lead. Apparently it was a screamer from midfielder Tom Potts. A few minutes later and the Dons were two up. They were awarded a free kick just inside the Nomads half near the left touchline, and Chris Morris's kick was headed home at the far post from Chappell. Again like the first half clear cut chances were few and far between, though the Dons should have been further ahead but Chappell shot straight at the keeper when through on goal. Late on in the game and Potts nearly got his second with what would have been an early contender for goal of the season. He hit an unstoppable shot from forty odd yards out that smacked the cross bar with the keeper motionless. 

Overall a good start for the Dons, and I feel they can use their location to their advantage as not many teams will like coming over to Skillington, especially in the middle of winter. I don't think they have enough to win the division, with my tip being Houghton Rangers, but should they keep the crux of the side together then a top six finish will not be beyond them.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 9, but plenty of sheep in neighbouring fields.

39 photos from the game taking during the first half can be viewed in the slideshow below:
  

Saturday 10 August 2013

Recent games

Since my last post two weeks ago I have attended three games of football, two of which I took photos at.

Saturday 3rd August 2013
Oadby Town 4-3 Harborough Town
Pre-season Friendly
Freeway Park, Wigston Road, Oadby, Leicestershire

60 photos can viewed in the slideshow below:


Saturday 10th August 2013
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College U-21's 3-1 AFC Worcester Olympic U-21's
Midland Combination Under-21 Division
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College, Hinckley Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire

Loughborough University 2-2 Alvechurch
Midland Football Alliance
Loughborough University Stadium, Holywell Sports Complex, Loughborough University, Leicestershire

70 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below: