Boston Town

BOSTON TOWN 0-5 ST NEOTS TOWN

Saturday 23rd October 2010

United Counties League Premier Division

Tattershall Road

Today was one of those days where I could not make up mind in the context of what direction to head in and who to go and watch. I had been looking at the weather forecast from the start of the week but as each day went by, so the forecast for each particular part of the country I was looking at changed. Come Friday evening and I had to finalise a decision in order to let my dad know where we were going and at what time to meet up, whether it be at his house or mine with us both living on different sides of Leicester. The decision was made to head east and specifically Boston Town FC of the United Counties League.

The United Counties League (UCL) is a league that I am quite familiar with, having visited majority of the clubs and grounds in both divisions over the past ten or twelve years or so. I think there are now only five grounds I have not visited in the league and they are in no particular order Kings Lynn Town, St Neots Town, Eynesbury Rovers, Olney Town and Harborough Town. The league currently sits and steps 5 and 6 of the non-league pyramid and covers an area stretching from Sleaford in the north to Newport Pagnell in the south.

A brief history of the club in a time line format is outlined below, with some of the information taken from the clubs official website: BTFC

1964    Formed and joined the Lincolnshire League

1964/65 Lincolnshire League champions

1965    Joined the Central Alliance

1965/66 Central Alliance champions

        Lincolnshire Senior ‘B’ Cup winners

1966/67 Joined the Eastern Counties League

1968    Joined the Midland Counties League

1973/74 Lincolnshire Senior ‘A’ Cup winners

1974/75 Midland Counties League champions

1976/77 Midland Counties League Cup winners

1978/79 Midland Counties League champions

1979/80 Lincolnshire Senior ‘A’ Cup winners

1980/81 Midland Counties League champions (3rd time)

        Lincolnshire Senior ‘A’ Cup winners

1981/82 Lincolnshire Senior ‘A’ Cup winners

1982    Founder members of the Northern Counties East League

1987    Joined the Central Midlands League

1988/89 Central Midlands League champions

        Lincolnshire Senior ‘A’ Cup winners

1989/90 Lincolnshire Senior ‘A’ Cup winners

1991    Joined the United Counties League

1994    changed name to Boston Town

1994/95 United Counties League champions

2000/01 United Counties League champions

2003/04 United Counties League Cup winners

2006/07 United Counties League Cup winners

2008/09 Lincolnshire Senior Trophy winners

St Botolph's Church

Boston itself is a town and port located in eastern Lincolnshire with according to the 2001 census had a population of just over 35,000 inhabitants. It’s most recognisable landmark is the tower of St. Botolph’s Church which is more commonly known as the “Boston Stump”. The town is situated in a very rural part of the country with this part of Lincolnshire being very flat. The popular holiday resort of Skegness is 22 miles to the north east with Grimsby being some 48 miles to north along the A16. Grantham and Spalding are some 31 and 15 miles to the west and south respectively. Our journey from Leicester took us across the A47 before heading north on the A43 to Stamford. From Stamford we joined the A16 which took us into Boston itself going via Market Deeping and Spalding. The journey took was just over 66 miles and took around 1 hour 45 minutes. We arrived in Boston around 1.15pm and went into the town to have a bite to eat and have a look at “The Stump”. The Britannia Inn was chosen which is located between the church and the market square. A good choice indeed with a pint of Bateman’s Autumn Fall ale going down a treat with a ham, egg and chip lunch.

The ground is a mix of the old and the new. The turnstile, clubhouse, changing rooms and catering hut are all behind the near goal as you enter the ground. There is a covered stand that runs along the majority of the near side, a section of both seated and standing accommodation behind the far goal with further seating along the right hand touchline. There are also improvements going on along this side of the ground with some of it cordoned off from spectators.

Going into the game Boston find themselves in 7th place recording seven victories from their eleven league games. Meanwhile opponents St Neots sit top of the table with an unbeaten record from thirteen matches, and currently have a three point cushion from Kings Lynn Town though having played a game more. The game was over as a contest after the first forty five minutes with the visitors stunning their hosts with five goals. The opener came on seven minutes when a cross from Junior Konadu was headed home emphatically by Dan Jacob. Just nine minutes when by when the Saints added a second through an own goal. The confidence from a team sitting at the top of the table was all too apparent as they knocked the ball around with ease and you felt it was a matter of time before further goals were added. This came around the half hour mark when a cross from the right was spilled by the Boston keeper James Doughty only for the ball the fall at the feet of Konadu who had a simple finish from six yards out. Shane Tolley who had come close on several occasions beforehand got his deserved goal when he guided home a cross into the corner of the net. The scoring was complete just before the end of the half when a well worked move was finished off by former Aston Villa striker Stefan Moore. I did feel though despite their superiority the score was harsh on Boston as they always looked to get at the visitors but were not as clinical in the final third of the pitch. The second half was a more disjointed affair with Doughty in the end keeping the score down as he made three excellent saves, one of them being from a header by Tolley. The following is taken from the report from the Boston Town website:

“As the teeming rain of the first half subsided, the home fans contented themselves with having drawn the second half 0-0 as well as aiming a few barbs at St Neots' star striker Stefan Moore along the lines of "You're not worth £1,500 a week.”

Admission: £5

Programme: £1

Match rating: 2 ½ / 5

Stretton Eagles

STRETTON EAGLES 4-2 ARCHDALE ‘73

Saturday 16th October 2010

Midland Combination Division 1

Shobnall Leisure Centre

Would we see nine goals today? That is the question Gary and myself were asking before kick-off, as regular readers of All Roads Lead Somewhere will know we have seen this feat in the three previous games we have seen. In the end we achieved 2/3 of the “magic” number, more of which a bit later.

Stretton Eagles play in Burton-upon-Trent and their fixture today was chosen primarily due to the proximity of Burton to Leicester, and secondly we have both visited a number of grounds in the top two divisions of the Midland Combination over the years. An example being is that (more by accident than design) I myself have only one ground (Brocton FC’s Silkmore Lane) currently in use in the premier division to visit.

Stretton is a village on the northern outskirts of Burton in East Staffordshire and its name means Street Town due to it being on the Roman road of Rykilnd Street. The football club were formed in 2004 and were accepted into the top division of the Burton & District League. A 5th place finish was achieved in the 8 team division. The following season they finished runners-up to champions Barton United with only one point separating them and with it came promotion to division two of the Staffordshire County Senior League (SCL). They took to their surroundings like a duck on a pond and won the divisional title at the first attempt in some style. Only one game was lost in thirty league outings and they amassed 139 goals in the process. The 2007/08 season saw Stretton in division one and like the previous year they were divisional winners recording 62 points from 28 games played. Promotion to the premier division followed and they continued their rapid rise in achieving a 4th place finish. Last season saw the club crowned SCL champions and with what they hoped another promotion. An application to the premier division of the Midland Combination (MC) was made but the Shobnall Leisure Centre did not meet the ground grading requirements but were accepted into division one. This in effect is a sideways move with both the premier division of the SCL and division one of the MC at the same level of the non-league pyramid.



The Shobnall Leisure Centre is in Burton itself and is fairly easy to get to. If coming from the A38 (Derby) take the A5121 exit and go into Burton, going past the Pirelli Stadium (Burton Albion FC). At the island with the B5017 (Shobnall Road) turn right and the entrance to the leisure centre complex is on the right hand side. The village of Shobnall and the leisure centre is well signposted for good measure. The ground is a basic affair with the pitch being fully railed and two permanent dugouts on either side of the pitch. There is no hard standing, cover, floodlights or clubhouse pitch side, though at half time they were selling hot drinks next to the changing rooms. Admission to the game was £2 with a further £1 for a programme. The club were very welcoming and friendly and it is impressions like these that make watching the grass roots game all the more enjoyable.

"The Stretton Wags!!!" (Photo by Gary)



The game was not the most skilful I have seen this season but was enjoyable enough all the same with the home side recording a deserved victory, in fact the margin should have been a lot greater as they (and Archdale to a lesser extent) were guilty of missing a lot of chances with either the final ball or finishing itself letting them down. Stretton took the lead on seven minutes when a cross from the right was turned in from a few yards out. Ten minutes later and they doubled their lead when a through ball down the middle was hit first time into the corner of the net. It appeared to be a case of how many Stretton would score with the Archdale defence in disarray at times. A third for the home side came on 28 minutes when a quick free kick caught the visiting defence napping and the ball was slotted past the keeper for a simple but well worked goal. Six minutes from the end of the half the visitors got themselves back into the game when a cross was headed back across the Stretton keeper into the far corner. The second half saw Stretton dominate in terms of possession, territory and chances created but woeful crossing and finishing let them down. Around the hour mark Archdale hit them on the counter attack and brought it back to 3-2 when their number seven turned home a cross from the left hand side. Mid-way through the half and Stretton restored their two goal cushion when their number ten found himself unmarked in the box and hit a first time shot from twelve yards past the keeper into bottom corner. Both sides continued to look to add to the scoring but alas for us neutrals this came to nothing, and in the end Stretton ran out comfortable winners.

Further photos of the game can be found here: SEFC.

Admission: £2
Programme: £1
Attendance: 30 (head count)
Match rating: 3 / 5

Marlborough Rovers

MARLBOROUGH ROVERS 7–2 BELTON VILLA

Saturday 9th October 2010

North Leicestershire League Division 1

Moira Miners Welfare

Marlborough Rovers are an Ashby-de-la-Zouch based club and were formed in the mid 1970’s as a junior set up playing in youth football competitions within the surrounding area. I think this is the first season that they have had an open age side and compete in the North Leicestershire League (NLL). A couple of seasons ago at an Ashby Ivanhoe game one of their officials stated they were going to merge with Rovers to form Ashby Town but this appears to have come to nothing. Another very tenuous link that I’m going to state is that Ivanhoe had an ‘A’ team playing in the NLL playing games at the Westfield Recreation Ground in Ashby itself. They finished in 2nd place in the 2nd division in the 2008/09 season. Come the start of the 2009/10 season the team seem to have disappeared, but a new club based at the Westfield Rec appears in the form of Deportivo de la Zouch and they finished in 6th place in division 1. They either folded or joined up with Rovers to become the men’s first team which would then give the players of Rovers an obvious route into open age football. Again this none of the above is confirmed and it is my conclusion when trying to put two and two together.

Rovers have four grounds they use for their various teams with two being in Ashby itself and two in the nearby Moira. The team in the NLL are playing their home games this season at the Moira Miners Welfare ground in Moira, this though not to be confused with fellow NLL side Moira United's ground who play at a different location within the village. A link to a map of Rovers' four grounds can be found by clicking on this link: map

The following information is taken from the Wikipedia page on Moira itself:

“Moira is a former mining village in North West Leicestershire. It derives its name from the Irish earldom of Moira, one of the titles of the Hastings family whose castle was is nearby Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The former local colliery, Rawdon Colliery also bore a Hastings family name.

For centuries North West Leicestershire has been quarried and mined for coal, limestone, granite and brick clay, and its environmental damage was one of the reasons that it was chosen as the site for the National Forest, which is part of a government funded programme to create more woodland.

The 120 acres (49 ha) National Forest Millennium Discovery Centre, now called CONKERS is on the former Rawdon Colliery site, and its visitor centre features a novel borehole based heating and cooling system.

Moira is the location for a new youth hostel and a camping and caravanning site for the National Forest. The hostel, YHA National Forest is run by YHA and the campsite run by the Camping and Caravanning Club. They both opened in 2008.



Moira Furnace and the Ashby Canal (source: Wikipedia)



Another legacy of the area’s industrial heritage is the Moira Furnace, a restored 19th century blast furnace. A 2.5 kilometre (1.6 mile) section of the Ashby Canal adjacent to the furnace has also been restored and refilled, although it lacks a navigable link to the rest of the system due to the A42 having been built across its line. The furnace site also includes craft workshops and a small nature reserve.

Moira once had a station on the Midland Railway (later LMS) line from Leicester to Burton-upon-Trent. This closed in September 1964 when passenger services on the line ceased, but the line remains open as a freight route and has been the subject of numerous passenger reopening proposals over the years, so far without success.

Rawdon Colliery, unlike many British pits was not closed as a result of the governments programme in the mid-1980’s following the miner’s strike, but simply ran out of viable coal seams. The seams which extended six miles from the shaft, had been worked for some 150 years while some had been worked twice recovering lower grade coal.”

Marlborough have started the season impressively winning all five games played (three in the league and two in cup competitions) this season so far. The league games have seen them beat Woodhouse Imperial (3-0), Loughborough Athletic (4-0) and Loughborough Reserves (5-2).  Another little fact is that all their games have been played at home with a first away game coming next Saturday with a visit to Sutton Bonington. Opponents Belton Villa have played only two league games recording a win (4-2 @ Loughborough Athletic) and a defeat (5-2 @ home to Loughborough Reserves).

The Moira Miners Welfare ground is located on Bath Lane in the village and is a cracking little ground and one of (if not) the best in the North Leicestershire League. The pitch is fully railed off with permanent dugouts on the near side and a covered stand straddling the half way line on the far side. It is at present one of only four grounds in the NLL that I know of that has cover, with the others being Loughborough FC, Measham Imperal and Moira United. The best way to get to the ground is exit the A42 at junction 11 and take the A444 towards Burton. Stay on the A444 to Overseal and then turn left onto Moira Road (B5003), this turns into Bath Lane and the ground is on the right hand side.

The game...before anyone starts about the number of goals I will get this out of the way now. This was the third game in succession that Gary and myself have seen nine goals in. This was not planned and is a complete fluke and one off with this game being agreed upon several weeks ago before we had witnessed the other two. The first half was a scrappy affair though both sides did not resort to any long ball stuff at all. Both Marlborough and Belton had I would say an even amount of possession and chances and it was no real surprise when the visitors took the lead. It came on 27 minutes and can either be viewed as a piece of brilliance or a complete fluke. Their number 7 hit a lofted shot that went over the keepers head into the net. This woke the home side up a bit and got a deserved equaliser a minute into stoppage time at the end of the half. The second period saw Marlborough come out with all guns blazing, literally, as they kicked off and didn't allow Belton to touch the ball before they look the lead after 30 odd seconds from a close range tap in. Rovers created a couple more good chances before they were awarded a penalty on 53 minutes when a Belton defender handled the ball on the line. The penalty though was a terrible effort which was more akin to something you would see in the Gaelic form of the game. Marlborough did not have to wait long for their third goal with it coming on 56 minutes. A mistake by a Belton defender allowed the home no. 9 to be clean through and finished with aplomb. The hour mark saw the game over as a contest with the home side scoring their fourth goal of the afternoon when a ball in the box was controlled and volleyed into the net. The game then calmed down until the final ten minutes when four goals were scored. On 81 minutes Marlborough made it 5-1, only for Belton to reduce the deficit by making it 5-2 on 83 minutes. The home side then went straight up the other end to make it 6-2. The scoring was complete a minute from time when, following another mistake in the visiting defence the ball was squared across goal with the recipient rounding the keeper and walking the ball into an empty net.

To sum up...I will be very surprised if Marlborough do not win the division this season, if not then any side that finishes above them must be pretty good. They still remain unbeaten this season in all competitions with six victories in six outings. They are a decent footballing side and hopefully in a few years time will be playing their football in the Leicestershire Senior League.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 2 (no shitting either!)

Match rating: 3 1/2

More photos of the game can be found here: MRFC.

websites:

North Leicestershire League

Marlborough Rovers Football Club

Leverstock

LEVERSTOCK GREEN 5-4 ENFIELD 1893

Saturday 2nd October

FA Vase 1st Round

Pancake Lane

With a multitude ties in the FA Vase that appealed to us (Gary and myself), the difficult decision was choosing where to go!!! In the end we agree up Leverstock Green FC of the Spartan South Midlands League for their tie against Essex Senior League side Enfield 1893. The only reason I suggested this game was the fact that I liked the name of their ground of Pancake Lane. No other reason at all.

Leverstock Green is basically a suburb of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire and is located on the eastern edge of the town. The following information is taken from the Wikipedia page:

"Leverstock Green contains a village school (Leverstock Green Church of England Primary School), village cricket club, village football club (Leverstock Green FC), village hall, village shops, village pubs and Holy Trinity church. Despite its recent amalgamation with Hemel Hempstead, the old names remain in memory of historical times.

Leverstock Green is a "modern" parish, formed about 1849 from parts of the parishes of St Michael's (St Albans), Abbots Langley and Hemel Hempstead.

There is documentary and archaeological evidence that people lived and worked in the immediate area of Leverstock Green from the time of the Roman occupation onwards. Recent research indicates that settlement along Westwick Row may well date back even further to the Iron Age and perhaps the Bronze Age. It seems quite likely that this settlement was a "suburb" of the major Iron Age settlement at Pre Wood just outside St. Albans.

Leverstock Green was and is still affected by the 2005 Buncefield oil depot explosion (the largest explosion in peacetime Europe), causing damage to houses and other buildings, such as broken windows, fallen chimneys and in some cases more serious structural damage, temporarily displacing a number of families.

The village is a growing village, with a location close to an industrial estate from which many large companies operate. Easy access to the M1 and M25 motorways, Watford and St Albans make the village popular for commuters.

The village introduced a village patrol scheme in late August 2008 successfully reducing a rise in litter and graffiti in the area."

It took around 1 hour 20 minutes to make the drive south primarily down the M1 from Leicester. To get to the ground itself exit at Junction 8 of the M1 and take the A414 towards Hemel, at the second island turn left onto the A4147 (signposted Leverstock Green). Pancake Lane is the fifth turning on the left with the ground being on the left hand side after Lombardy Close. Admission to the ground was £5 with a further £1 for a primarily stats based programme. As you enter the ground the main stand is on the far side to the right, with clubhouse, toilets, catering facilities and changing rooms all along the near side with an overhang providing further cover.  

The football club itself was formed around 1895 and competed in the West Herts League and Herts County League before joining the South Midlands League in 1991. In the 1996/97 season they won the Senior Division title. In the summer the South Midlands League amalgamated with the Spartan League and they became founder members of the Spartan South Midlands League (SSM). Green have remained in this competition to this day and last season they finished in 10th place in the premier division. 

A more detailed history on the club can be found on the club's website by clicking here. 

The game...we it is difficult to decide where to start as it is one of the best games I have seen in a very long time. A brilliant cup tie that was a credit to both teams and a game that both sides deserved to win. For the home side though they could not have had a worse start as they conceded a penalty after only fifteen (yes 15) seconds. Sherwin Stanley stepped up and sent the Leverstock keeper Carl Tasker the wrong way to make it 0-1. Six minutes later and the home side drew level when captain Lee Bircham headed home a free kick. This is when things started to get a bit daft as just three minutes later Enfield re-took the lead through Paul Oshin who headed home a cross. A minute later and they nearly made it 1-3 as Neal Hughes had is shot cleared off the line. They did though make it 1-3 on seventeen minutes with Hughes scoring from close range. The home side did not let their heads drop and pulled one back just two minutes afterwards when Adam Hallisey smashed the ball home from a corner. Leverstock nearly equalised a minute later when John Hickman pulled off a cracking save from a header by Charlie Gorman. Adam Hallisey was fouled after picking up the rebound and the referee awarded another penalty. Bircham stepped up and, despite Hickman getting a hand to the ball could not prevent Leverstock Green drawing level on 21 minutes. The game then settled down for the remainder of the half with no further scoring, but both sides continued to play an attacking brand of football. The second half startedEnfield took the lead for a third time on 59 minutes when Oshin got his second of the game by scrambling home a free kick. They nearly restored their two goal cushion a couple of minutes later as Hughes' powerful drive was well saved by Tasker. The game then got a bit niggly with a string of silly fouls and the referee handing out a few yellow cards. Into the last ten minutes and Leverstock drew level for a third time when Steve Hatch headed home a corner. Just as extra-time was looming Leverstock scored with what turned out to be the winner with a minute remaining in the ninety, with Adam Hallisey the hero as he headed home a corner. After a nervous few minutes of stoppage time the referee blew his whistle to end a superb cup tie.

Not much more to add but a second consecutive game that we had seen nine goals following on from Shifnal Town's 7-2 victory @ Stafford Town on Tuesday evening, a first for both of us I'm sure. An enjoyable visit to a friendly club and good luck to both sides for the rest of the season.

Admission: £5

Programme: £1

Badge: £3

Coffee & Tea: 50p

Attendance: 98 (head count)

Match rating: 5*

Further photos of the game can be found here: LGFC