Where are the home fans?

Evington 1-2 Sileby Town

Leicestershire Senior League Division 1

Saturday 31st January

Dorset Avenue

The original plan this afternoon was (if being up in time) was to attend the Queniborough - Kingsway Rangers fixture in division 1 of the Leicester & District League, but on having a check on the internet I noticed this fixture and instantly changed plans. Also with it being a shorter journey and a 3pm kick-off gave me more time to sort myself out before leaving home.

Despite visiting every current ground in the Leicestershire Senior League I still needed to watch today's hosts Evington to complete it in terms of clubs, exluding the reserves of Friar Lane & Epworth. Evington groundshare at Premier Division club Aylestone Park Old Boys - a venue that I last visited in the autumn of 1998 when Oadby Town recorded a 6-0 victory. This is Evington's 1st season in the LSL having being crowned Leicester City League champions last season, they follow the last two champions FC Braunstone Victoria (now folded) and FC Khalsa into the LSL. Last season (I believe) they played on Victoria Park which is a large open space on the south east side of Leicester city centre heading in the Oadby direction from the railway station. Sileby Town meanwhile are one of (if not the) longest current serving side in the LSL having joined the 1953.

At the start of play Sileby were currently seven points clear at the top losing only two leagues so far this season, both to Friar Lane & Epworth Reserves, while Evington have found the going tough and had recorded only two wins and find themselves in the bottom three.

This was a game that Sileby should have won comfortably ended up being a lot closer than it should have, and were thankful for a last minute winner, scored direct from a corner by substitute Worthington. It was the hosts that should have scored first when the ball found it's was to the edge of the penalty area from a corner, only for the ball to sail high over the bar. Sileby gradually took control of the game and looked dangerous when they got the ball down in windy conditions. Unfortunately for the visiting supporters they must have misplaced their shooting boots as it wasn't until the 44 minute that they opened the scoring. It was through a misunderstanding between the home keeper and one or two of his defenders that allowed Nick Harvey to roll the ball into an empty net.

The second half saw the visitors come out of the blocks quicker but after being awarded a dubious free kick on the edge of the area, Evington's captain and left back hit an unstoppable shot into the left hand side of the goal. This gave them some confidence but it was Sileby that always looked more likely to score, and on more than one occasion should have, but all their chances went wide. I can only recall the home keeper making one save in the whole of the second half. Then in stoppage time at the end of the game they scored the afore mentioned dramatic winner.

Final score: 1-2
Attendance: 15 (14 from Sileby and me)

Tipton Town v Oadby Town

Much to my annoyance I never actually got to this game despite it being the one fixture that I wanted to attend above all others this season. I had everything planned - no overtime and finish work at 6am, home by 6.15, bed by 6.30. So far so good. Then a major problem occured - could I settle and get some sleep? Could I bolloks!!!! By about 1pm which was the planned time to get out of bed I had had about 2 hours sleep and thought it would be unsafe for me to drive anywhere, let alone 60 odd miles to Tipton. So unfortunately I ended up going back to bed and getting up around 5.30pm.

Hopefully I will get to this fixture next season! If Oadby don't get relegated that is.

By the way the final score was Tipton Town 2-0 Oadby Town. I had predicted beforehand that it would be 4-0 to Tipton, which you can see that I have such high expectations for Oadby this season!!!!!!!!

If I can get some sleep then I will be attending games on the next three Saturday's. Anyway going to get tickets for the Leicester - Swindon game on the 14th February today or tomorrow - special offer at £10 each.

Going Local

Kingsway Rangers 2-0 Whitwick Wanderers

Leicestershire Shield Quarter Final

Saturday 17th January

Mossdale Meadows Sports Ground

Due to not being able to get much sleep after a typical night shift at Asda I decided to go to my first game since December 9th. A five minute drive from home saw me take in this 1pm kick-off between teams from division 1 of the Leicester & District League and the North Leicestershire League.

Where is Kingsway?

Kingsway is the name of a street in the Braunstone Town estate on the edge of Leicester, though actually outside the city boundaries and part of the Blaby District. Their ground, the
Mossdale Meadows Sports Ground is a large open sports ground with several football pitches and the pitch they played on is at the far side, furthest away from the car park. The club roped off the pitch on three sides and not surprisingly there is no hard standing or spectator facilities on offer.

About the teams

Kingsway are currently top of their respective division with a 100% record having recorded 13 wins out of 13, while their opponents Whitwick Wanderers, sit in third place having only lost one league game so far this season.

About the game

Kingsway went into this game as favourites but the first chance came in the opening minute when Whitwick missed an excellent chance - as it turned out it was probably their best chance of the whole game. Kingsway took time in getting going but should have been several goals to the good at half time but poor finishing and a wasted final ball being the causes. Whitwick to be fair gave the home side some problems with the commitment and forced the keeper to make a couple of saves. It wasn't until midway through the second half that Kingsway made the breakthrough with an angled shot from their number 9. This relaxed them and they added the crucial second just six minutes later from their number 10. Whitwick never gave up but failed to create any chances of note and it was the home side that should have put a gloss on the scoreline as they were guilty of missing a couple of excellent chances in the last 10 minutes.

Final score: 2-0

websites:

Kingsway Rangers - www.kingswayrangersfc.webeden.co.uk
Whitwick Wanderers - www.whitwickwanderersfc.co.uk