Easter Monday Part 2 (Game 533)

Kiveton Park 2-1 Calverton Miners Welfare

Monday 24th March 2008

Central Midlands League Premier Division

Hard Lane

The second part of a Central Midlands League double bill saw me head south towards home and stop off at Kiveton Park for a 3pm kick-off. Due to having time to kill I stopped off at Woodhall services on the M1 and then made the further 15 minute journey to Kiveton Park. The football ground on Hard Lane is on the edge of the village and has off road parking for a handful of cars. Admission was £2 with a further £1 for a programme and this was payable in the catering hut.

There are three pitches on the Hard Lane complex with the main one with stand being the middle of the three. It does, unfortunately have an air of despair around the place through the efforts of the local chavs. In the programme the club stated that they would like to enclose the ground properly to keep out the afore mentioned locals, then build new dressing rooms and install floodlights. The club also do not have a clubhouse on site so no alcohol is available.



Going into the game saw Kiveton occupy 4th place and Calverton heading the division with Ollerton and Kinsley sitting between them. I did not have to wait long for the opening goal with Rob Jones with the home side the lead after 6 minutes from an overhead kick following a corner. Both sides tried to play football and keep the ball down on an excellent pitch. The game started off in bright sunshine but after 10 minutes or so we were joined by the snow which laster for he remainder of the half. Calverton nearly equalised on 20 minutes when their no. 10 saw his shot roll past the wrong side of the post. The visitors did though equalise on 28 minutes when Craig Boulton scored with a header following a cross from the right hand side. This was just two minutes after they should have been awarded a penatly - why they weren't was a mystery to all in the ground and even the home keeper who had commited the offence! Further chances occured for both teams but the half ended 1-1.



The second half carried on as the first ended with both teams not wanting to settle for a point and went for the win. Chances were created by both teams and it was looking likely that a draw would be the end result. Alas this theory proved to be incorrect as the home snatched the winner five minutes from time through Chris Nelson, who scrambled the ball home following a goalmouth scramble.


Final score: 2-1 (attendance: 45 - head count)


Seventy Five minutes after the final whistle I was back home in Leicester after the drive down the M1 to Leicester. I was thinking of watching Loughborough University in an evening kick-off but would have had too much time to kill, anyway they can wait till the end of this season or next season. I like to do a few local clubs each season so holding them back as it were will not nessesarily be a bad thing.

Easter Monday Part 1 (Game 532)

Bentley Colliery 2-0 Hatfield Main

Monday 24th March 2008

Central Midlands League Supreme Division

Bentley Welfare Ground

The first part of an Easter Monday double bill in the Central Midlands League saw a trip up the M1 / M18 and A1(M) to the Bentley area of Doncaster for an 11am kick-off. The journey north took around 90 minutes with the ever so common aide of a sat-nav and I arrived with 10 minutes to kick-off. The ground is on Avenue Road and is opposite the cricket ground. There is no off-street parking and the club do not have a clubhouse on site and portakabin's house the changing rooms, toilets and catering facilities. There is a covered stand on the Avenue Road side of the ground while the rest of the ground remains open. Admission was £3 and a further £1 for a programme - these were sold out but I managed to aquire one from a fellow groundhopper which was much appreciated.

At the start of play these teams were next to each other in mid-table so a close game was predicted, well my me anyway! Hatfield settled quicker and had the better of the early exhanges, but the hosts gradually got into the game and looked the better side. The opening goal came on 35 minutes through Luke Atkinson who scored from a far post header from a cross on the left hand side. No further goals were added during the half which was scrappy, though both teams tried to get forward at every opportunity. Bentley increased their lead on 52 minutes when they scored from another header, this time from Josh Lumsden who bravely headed in from a corner. Both sides created chances with the home side having the better ones and also played the better football. To be fair to Hatfield they had several of their own but I don't recall any that were on target.

2-0 was a fair result in cold and at times snowy conditions. I did a head count during the game and counted 35 people in attendant. Next up is a drive down to Kiveton Park for a 3pm kick-off. See next post...

Game 531

Leicester City 0-2 Hull City

Football League Championship
Saturday 22nd March 2008

Walkers Stadium

My first visit to the Walkers Stadium for a few seasons was due to a promotional offer in the Leicester Mercury newspaper where they were offering tickets for £8 and a further £3 for a programme. I went along to the game with my wife, mother and her partner. The weather was like the rest of the country - cold, windy, sunshine and the occasional snow shower - it was warmer last month in February which is normally one of, if not the coldest month of the year. To save on the hassle of parking around the stadium we caught the bus (Arriva no. 302) which dropped us off right outside for £3 return and took about 10 - 15 minutes to get there.

This season has seen contrasting fortunes for the teams - Leicester struggling at the bottom end of the table, though boosted by an excellent 4-1 win at promotion chasing West Bromwich Albion last weekend, while Hull currently occupy one of the four play-off spots. Now to the game itself...

Very little was offered by Leicester during the whole ninety minutes and didn't record a shot on target during the whole game. Possession was probably an even split but the visitors had the better chances with home keeper Paul Henderson making two or three good saves and a goalline clearance keeping the Foxes on an even keel. Just as it looked as the first half would end goalless Hull took the lead on 45 minutes through Dean Marney. The second half saw a similar pattern to the first with both teams having their fair share of possession but Hull looking the most likely to increase their lead. Midway through the half Fraizer Campbell was brought down inside the penalty area by keeper Henderson, but the keeper made amends by saving Marney's spot kick. Hull did though add a second on 74 minutes when substitute Caleb Folan beat the offside trap and slotted the ball past Henderson.

To sum up...Let's not beat about the bush - Leicester were awful today and are in serious danger of relegation and if they play like this then they deserve to go down. Not something I want to see being Leicester born and bred but the table never lies. Hull meanwhile are looking good for a play-off place at least and if they continue with their form then automatic promotion is not out of the question in this ever-so tight division.

Club websites:

Leicester City - http://www.lcfc.co.uk/

Hull City - http://www.hullcityafc.premiumtv.co.uk/

Game 530

St. Ives Town 0-1 Stotfold

United Counties League Premier Division

Saturday 15th March 2008

Westwood Road

Another day where I couldn't decide who to go and watch. I narrowed it down to a short list of eight which included Welshpool, Sleaford and Hitchin but in the end I opted this UCL clash. The United Counties League is one of three that I am close to completing with only five clubs now left to visit - Boston, Eynesbury, Olney, Rushden & Higham and Sleaford. St. Ives is about 1hour 25 from Leicester down the M1 to junction 19 and across on the A14 and I relied on the trusty sat nav to get me to Westwood Road. I arrived at the ground around 30 minutes before kick off and was charged £5 for admission and programme This gave me time to get some food (£1.50 for a burger and 50p for a large cup of coffee), read the programme which looks impressive but did not contain much reading material and consists mostly of adverts - credit to the club though for achieving this and take a couple of photographs.




You enter the ground on one side which contains the serving hatch and clubhouse. There is a lean to projecting from the clubhouse to provide some covered standing (and is where the majority of fans congregated), and a seated stand on the opposite side of the pitch. This had more people using it in the second half due to the inclement weather that appeared after half and hour into the match. Doing a head count during the second half I would say there was around 75 - 80 people in attendant.



At the start of play Stotfold were leading the Premier Division and had scored 97 goals in the process while St. Ives occupied ninth place. The visitors nearly got of to the perfect start when I think, their number 9 forced the home keeper to make a save after only 20 or 30 seconds. The game then took a turn for the worse on the 12th minute when two players (one from each side) were sent off. I did not see the initial incident but what I then saw was the Stotfold number 7 swing a punch at the St. Ives number 3 who had his back to him, the St. Ives player then turned round and shoved the afore mentioned number 7. The Stotfold player was shall we say the least insensed by this decision and then proceeded to throw his shirt of the pitch and had to be calmed down and taken to the changing rooms. When he returned some of the home fans were giving him some verbals as he stood behind his team's dugout but instead of ignoring them he replied a couple of times, much to the annoyance of his manager who then got one of his non-playing staff to take him to a different part of the ground. Lucikly the game settled down and did not degenerate into all out war. Both sides created chances during the half with both keepers and poor finishing helping keep the score goalless.

The second half carried on from the first with both teams creating chances and failing to put them away. St. Ives had the clearer opportunities while Stotfold created more of them. This was always going to be a game where one goal was going to be enough - just a matter of which team was going to get it. About half way through the second half it occured to me that the last nil-nil I saw involved Stotfold on Easter Monday 2006!!! Maybe my jinx would strike again. Thankfully this was proved incorrect as the visitors scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot on 79 minutes through their number 10 after the no. 6 was brought down. Being a neutral and having an excellent view of the incident I thought the referee got this correct. St Ives pushed hard for an equaliser they deserved on the day but it was not to be. That's football.

Game 529

Birstall R.B.L. 0-3 Barlestone St. Giles

Leicester & District League Premier Division

Saturday 8th March 2008

School Lane Playing Fields

The reason for this fixture is that I wanted to have a look at Barlestone St. Giles who are currently sitting top of the division unbeaten, and will more than likley be playing in the Leicestershire Senior League next season. Birstall meanwhile at the start of play occupy 12th place in the 14 team division. Facilities in the District League vary from club to club - some have their own grounds with clubhouses (e.g. Barlestone) while others like today's hosts Birstall R.B.L. play on a roped off pitch on community playing fields. School Lane is easy to find whether coming from the south (Leicester) or the north (Loughborough & A46) and the pitch that the home side use is the first one next to School Lane itself if turning from the A6 Loughborough Road. Parking is either on the road or a car park which is at the far end of the playing fields. As expected there was no admission charged or programme issued and depending on when a head count was taken there were between 10 and 20 people watching the game.

The first half started evenly with the home side giving as good as they got against the league leaders in blustery conditions. Barlestone though created the better chances and it wasn't until 15 minutes that the first shot on target was registered. It was around this time that the visitors settled down and started to play some football and scored the opening goal after 20 minutes when the number 9 tapped in from a few yards out following a cross from the right hand side. Barlestone doubled their lead on 35 minutes when the number 9 got his second when he stabbed the ball home from about 8 yards out. Birstall continued to try hard but did not force the visiting keeper to make a save of note during the first half, while Barlestone came close on several further occasions with the home keeper making a couple of good saves.

Half time: 0-2

The second half saw Barlestone hit the ground running as they made it 3-0 in the 47th minute when the number 9 completed his hat-trick from a shot on the turn from about 12 yards. The expected rout never materialised as both sides struggled in the conditions and Birstall refusing to be "the lambs in a slaughter". To be fair to them they kept going and had chances of their own and came close on a couple of occasions and a goal would have been just rewards for their efforts. The visitors should have had a fourth when the captain had the miss of the season as he managed to put the ball wide from a couple of yards out when it seemed easier to score.

Final score: 0-3

Overall, not the best game but the conditions played a part in this. Also without doing the home side any injustice I felt it was a below par performance from Barlestone St. Giles who remain unbeaten and top of the Leicester & District League. Next up is another outing to Birstall to take on bottom side Woodgate & Newfoundpool W.M.C. who play on Meadow Lane.