GNG

GURU NANAK GURDWARA (GNG) 2-1 FC KIRKLAND
Saturday 22nd January 2011
Leicester & District League Premier Division
YMCA Sports Ground, Leicester

This is my second attempt at seeing GNG this season having originally tried in November when I turned up for their League Cup tie against Burbage Old Boys, only to find that the game had been switched to Burbage. In the end that day I went home and strolled down to Braunstone Park and took in the division 2 encounter between Aylestone Lounge and Kingsway Celtic. To be honest the only reason I am watching them today is that on the Thursday evening before the game I noticed that, for some reason the game is kicking off at 1pm. This also (if I so wished) made it possible to take in a 3pm kick-off as well with St. Andrews, Aylestone Park and Oadby Town all within striking distance.

The records I have for GNG only go back to 1997 when they were members of the Leicester City League (LCL) and competed in the premier division. They won the LCL title in the 2000/01 season winning ten of their fourteen league games, before transferring to division one of the Leicester & District League (LDL) in the summer of 2002. Two seasons were spent in division one before a third place finish in 2004 secured promotion to the LDL's top flight. Just two years were spent in the premier division before they were relegated back to division 1 on 2006. A further four years were spent in division 1, the last securing the division 1 title ahead of (now defunct) runners-up Topps United. This season GNG have made an impressive start to life in the premier division and find themselves at the start of place in second place. They are only three points behind leaders Birstall RBL having played two games less. This season saw the club move from their previous home, the County Scouts HQ in Blaby to the YMCA Sports Ground in Leicester. This ground was home to former LDL and Leicestershire Senior League side Leicester YMCA. The pitch is part of a large sports ground which houses numerous football pitches. The main one is fully railed off and has a stand and dugouts on the far side. There are also floodlights though whether they actually work is another matter.

Opponents Kirkland FC are currently based in Syston which is a small town six miles north of Leicester, and currently play their home games on Memorial Park along with fellow LDL side Midland Syston St. Peters. Like their hosts they were also promoted to the premier division in the summer after finishing the season in third place. This season they sit in mid-table with ten points from seven games played. 

The game started some twelve minutes late which put paid to my plans of going to another game, though to be honest I would have given it a miss anyhow due to spending two hours in a cold biting wind. It was a fairly even first half with very few clear cut chances with neither keeper being tested of note. GNG played some nice football which was not unlike Young Warriors last week but at times it had no substance. Kirkland matched them with a more workman like performance and created a couple of half chances themselves. As the half wore on GNG looked more of a threat in front of goal with Gurjeet Shergill going close with a curling shot. The second half was of a similar pattern and vein and it was around the hour mark when the hosts took the lead. Shergill was fouled in the box and then stepped up and converted the resulting spot kick. The decision to award the penalty from my vantage point seemed on the harsh side but the only opinion that counts is the referees. Ten minutes later and Kirkland were level with a penalty of their own which was converted by Richard Ekins. With the game in the balance going into the last ten minutes Shergill slotted the ball underneath the keeper, this despite the attention of two Kirkland defenders for what turned out to be the winning goal.

To sum up: not a bad game played on a heavy pitch in blustery conditions.

Further photos taken during the game can be found here: GNGFC

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: peaked at 10

Match rating: 2 1/2 out of 5

Clements

CLEMENTS '83 4-2 YOUNG WARRIORS

Saturday 15th January 2011

Midland Combination Division 2

Sedgemere Sports & Social Club

Clements '83 Football Club were formed in 1983 by two brothers Keith and Barry Dutton and have literally been a family run club ever since. They first played Saturday football in 2008 when they were accepted into division 3 of the Midland Combination and achieved a seventh place finish in the thirteen team division. Last season they finished in the runners-up position and with it promotion to the second division. As things stand they have not had the best first half of the season as they find themselves in the bottom four. The club only moved to their current home in the summer, which is in the Yardley area of Birmingham after their previous landlords at the Mackadown Sports & Social Club in Kitts Green wanted too much rent. This appears to be a case of "biting your nose off to spite your face" as (I believe) no club now utilises the facilities at the Mackadown. The Sedgemere Sports & Social Club is a smart venue which is houses a fully railed off full sizes football pitch with hard standing on a couple of sides and a Goals soccer centre. For those unaware Goals centres are a series of small artificial pitches that are inside a cage. 

It took around an hour to make the journey westwards with Gary picking me up around 12.15pm, and this included a detour to Nuneaton railway station to pick up Pete and Alan who had travelled down from Liverpool.  

It was an entertaining game played on a heavy pitch after the rain that we have had in the past week in the Midlands. Young Warriors played the better football but often lacked an end product, while the home side were a little bit more physical which certainly during the first half appeared to unsettle the visitors. Before the opening goal came around the half hour mark both sides had chances. Clements saw several shots cleared off the line in a goalmouth scramble and at the other end the home keeper produced a smart save to keep the score goalless. When it did come it was for the hosts as Danny Charlton got on the end of a through ball and, having held off a challenge slotted the ball past the Warriors keeper. Seven minutes later and they doubled their advantage when the ball came to Andy Sutherland on the edge of the penalty area who hit a first time shot into the net. Numerous chances came and went with Clements' Dean Sherrington heading wide from a free kick and then having a shot well saved in the last five minutes of the first half. The second half was pretty much dominated by the visitors and they deservedly pulled a goal back on 56 minutes. A long ball up field was latched onto by Melusi Mazwi who kept his composure and rounded the keeper to score into an empty net. Warriors kept up the pressure and with around eight minutes remaining a quick free kick caught out the Clements defence and Stewart Mparutsa finished from eight yards out. With the visitors from Coventry appearing more likely to take all three points the game entered injury time at the end of the match. Clements caught the Warriors on the counter attack and snatched the victory when Danny Charlton got his second of the game as he slotted the ball into the corner of the net after evading the challenge of a couple of defenders. There was still time for another goal when Rob Morgan converted a penalty a few minutes later, this resulted in the referee blowing his whistle for full time.

Further photos taken during the 1st half can be found here: CFC

Admission: none

Programme: 50p

Badge: £2

Tea / Coffee: £1

Match rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Welford Vics

WELFORD VICTORIA 7-3 (aet) NETHERTON UNITED

Saturday 8th January 2011

Northamptonshire Junior Cup Quarter Final

Newlands Road

A local game is the requirement today with an early kick-off the better a bonus. Welford have been on my radar all season, having been impressed with them when I saw them record a 2-0 victory @ Ringstead Rangers at the end of last season. Welford is a small village on the Northamptonshire – Leicestershire border, which according to the 2001 census had a population of 1,016 people. The history of the village can be traced back to the 11th century when it was recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as Wellesford. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was an important coaching stop with it being of equal distance between Leicester and Northampton. The main A14 dual carriageway which connects the midlands with eastern England is a 1 ½ miles to the south. The village still retains two public houses, post office, hairdressers, primary school and garage. The journey from my home takes around half an hour to complete the 23 miles, going down the M1 to junction 20 (Lutterworth), then across the A4304 towards Market Harborough. Halfway between the two towns is Husbands Bosworth and you turn right at the crossroads in the village onto the A5199 which then in turn takes you to Welford itself.

The football club compete in the Northants Combination (NC) and last season won promotion to the premier division as champions of division one. They were formed in 1898 and played in the Market Harborough League until joining the NC in 1966 and have remained there to this day. The majority of their time in the NC has been spent in either divisions one or two. The division two title has been won twice in 1975/76 and twenty years later in 1995/96. This season they have played eight league games, winning five of them and currently sit in 4th place in the 13 team division. Opponents Netherton United play in the premier division of the Peterborough & District League (PDL) and currently sit in 7th place. The premier divisions of both the NC and PDL sit at level seven of the non-league pyramid and are feeder leagues to the United Counties League.

The competition so far...

Welford Victoria

Round 1: v Spratton (H) Won 6-0

Round 2: v Harpole (H) Won 4-0

Round 3: v Whitefield Norpol (H) Drew 0-0, won 4-2 on penalty kicks

Netherton United

Round 1: v Corby Khalsa (A) Won 1-0

Round 2: v Stanion United (H) Drew 5-5, won 3-1 on penalty kicks

Round 3: v Thrapston Town (H) Won 3-0

The ground is located on the southern edge of the village on Newlands Road and is a village sports club affair. The football club share the facilities with the village cricket team and during the season the pitch is roped off on match days. There is no hard standing pitch side but a small section can be found in front of the clubroom. The only other permanent structures are dugouts which are located on the far touchline. We arrived in the village with around 45 minutes before kick-off so ventured into The Wharf Inn (which is just over the border in Leicestershire) for a pint and bite to eat. When arriving at the ground we were (unsurprisingly) not charged any admission nor was a programme produced, this being the norm for teams in the Northants Combination and Peterborough League.

The game...it started with visitors Netherton settling quicker, were more productive with the ball and took the game to their hosts. It was no surprise when they took the lead on 15 minutes though it was from my vantage point a touch fortunate. A free kick on the left caught out the Welford defence and keeper which subsequently floated into the top corner of the goal. This gave the hosts the kick up the backside they needed and got into the game a lot more. This was not to say they dominated but certainly gave as good as they got. Right at the end of the half the visitors hit Welford with a sucker punch when a cross from the right was inadvertently turned into his own net by a defender. The second half saw Welford come out in different shirts (light blue) instead of their normal maroon ones due to similarity of the red worn by Netherton. The first twenty minutes of the half saw a lot of huff and puff with clinical finishing being at a premium. Just as it seemed that the game would peeter out Welford beat the offside trap and their number 10 rounded the keeper and rolled the ball into an empty net. Netherton’s two goal cushion was restored just five minutes later when they themselves beat the offside trap with the ball being laid across the goal for a simple tap in from a couple of yards out. The turning point of the game came a few minutes later, when having won a free kick a Netherton player put his hands round a Welford player. A melee ensued with referee quite rightly giving the Netherton player a straight red card and booking one of the Welford team. The question now was could the visitors hang on for the last fifteen minutes and book their place in the semi-finals? With eight minutes remaining Welford made it 2-3 with a well taken goal from Matt Wootton. The remainder of the game saw the hosts camped in the visiting penalty area and created a number of chances, but just as it appeared that the tie would get away from them they equalised deep into stoppage time with a header from a couple of yards out, which gave us a further thirty minutes of football. Just two minutes into extra-time and Welford took the lead for the first time when Luke Cooper drilled home a shot on the angle. Welford continued to put pressure on the visiting defence but could not give themselves the breathing space needed to put the tie to bed. It was not until the 107th minute that they made the game safe through a Ryan Goodman back header. The final two goals (both from the number 10) came in the final few minutes, firstly from the penalty spot and then a simple tap inn from a few yards out following good work by Cooper.

To sum up: an intriguing and even cup tie for the most part in which the sending off changed the complex of the game. Once Welford took the lead early on in extra-time there was only going to be one winner. I know I am stating the obvious but the Netherton player who was sent off owes his teammates a massive apology for an act of stupidity that probably cost his team victory.

On a personal point of view my goal record shows no sign of slowing down with an average of 5.4 goals per game as we speak. The two games seen this calendar year have resulted in 21 goals!!!! A run of low scoring games is surely due sometime soon.

Further photos of the game can be found here: WVFC

Admission: free

Programme: none

Attendance: between 20 and 30

Coffee: 50p

Match rating: 4 out of 5

Rambler’s “On This Day” football:

2000: Knypersley Victoria v Oadby Town (0-4) Midland Football Alliance

2005: Friar Lane & Epworth v St. Andrews (3-1) Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

Happy New Year

KING’S LYNN TOWN 10-1 RAUNDS TOWN

Saturday 1st January 2011

United Counties League Premier Division

The Walks

Despite being a bank holiday weekend for a lot of people in this country, for me though it is a normal working weekend as like always I finished work on Friday morning and return on Sunday night. This gave me limited options for football as the majority of non-league games are playing on the Monday. I had arranged with Gary to pick me up from my dad’s house in the morning and gave him what I thought was the correct address, but while waiting for him the phone rang and he asked why I was not answering the door – it turned out that I had given him the wrong house number!!!! Blonde moment over and we made our way eastwards cross country on the A47 – a road that is hard going at times due to (despite being the main artery between Leicester and Peterborough) a lot of it being single carriageway and journeys take longer than they should. It takes around 1 hour 50 minutes to make the 75 mile trek between Leicester and King’s Lynn and despite stopping for refreshments on the outskirts of Peterborough we arrived with around 2 hours before kick-off.

Customs House (source: Wikipedia)

King’s Lynn Town were formed in the summer of 2010 after their predecessors King’s Lynn FC were wound up by the High Courts due to debts owed to HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenues & Customs). Subsequently the club had to accept a drop of two levels and were accepted into the premier division of the United Counties League (UCL). This so called “punishment” from the football authorities is in my opinion very lenient and should be a lot harsher. This is not a new or rare case with a good local example to Leicester of this being Nuneaton Borough / Town. You would think that the club would be grateful to the UCL for accepting them into their league but comments made were very disparaging and critical of them. Right from the outset when arriving there was an arrogance and unfriendliness about the club. Firstly we had to wait half an hour for the ticket office to open before being allowed through the turnstile and into the ground – this is level 9 of English football for Christ sake. Added to the fact was that we were charged £8 admission which is way over the top for this level. An example of this being Boston Town who play in the same division charge £5. The club also wanted a further £1 to sit in the stand – don’t think so! The programme, despite being a slimmed down effort was another £1 which was very poor. It was A4 in size and did not even contain a league table. Next up was a visit to the club shop, well more an area of the bar and was another poor effort, but all they had was primarily clothing and unsurprisingly nothing was purchased. I had a brief chat with the chairman who also owns the King’s Lynn Stars speedway team and got the impression from him that he was not really interested in the football side of things and had no idea what non-league football in this country was all about.

Ticket Office

Main Stand

The ground – well it is a cracker and one of the best that I have been to in a long while. A large main stand straddles the half way line on the near side with a covered terrace running along the along length of the far side. Behind both goals are uncovered standing areas. The game itself was one of the most boring and one sided I have seen in a while. It was obvious right from the kick-off that Lynn were a class above their Northamptonshire opponents and would win this hands down. It took them just twelve minutes for them to open the scoring when Kieran Docherty slotted home first time after being put through. Raunds best (and only) chance of the half came a minute later when a free kick was well saved by keeper Alex Street. Two more goals for the home side followed in quick succession, the first being a header from captain Jack Defty and secondly Robbie Harris getting the first of a three goal haul. His second and Lynn’s fourth came on 23 minutes when he converted a cross at the near post. Two more chances were put away before the end of the half – Jamie Thurbourne with a low strike from outside the box before Harris completed his hat-trick. The second saw Lynn take their foot off the gas but still added four more goals. Defty got a second header three minutes after the re-start while an own goal from Darren Halfyard made it 8-0 on 72 minutes. To be fair to the visitors they never gave up and were rewarded with a consolation goal on 74 minutes. Street’s miss kick presented Sam Dodson with a simple tap-in. The last five minutes saw Lynn hit double figures with a brace from substitute Chris Bacon. He still had time to complete his hat-trick but instead of keeping his composure had a rush of blood and blasted the ball over from twelve yards or so.

Overall it was a record equalling number of goals seen for myself in a game with (I believe) it only the third time this has happened. I have only once though seen a score line like this before and that came at the end of the 1998/99 season when Leicester City beat Oadby Town 10-1 in the Leicestershire “Westerby” Challenge Cup Final.

A final note goes to the club itself - humility and friendlieness goes a long way. Equally arrogance does not.

Further photos taken during the first half can be found here: KLTFC

Admission: £8

Programme: £1

Attendance: 721 (official)

Match rating: 2 / 5