Loughborough double - part 2

GENESIS 1-1 HOUGHTON RANGERS

(after extra time; Genesis won 9-8 on penalty kicks)
Saturday 29th October 2011
Leicestershire Intermediate Cup 2^nd Round

Lodge Farm, Oakley Drive, Loughborough

The drive from the University to Oakley Drive is less than a mile but with having some time to kill between the games I went and had some lunch before arriving at the venue about ten minutes before kick off. The venue is basic with three pitches and a wooden changing room block on site. Genesis use the back pitch with Loughborough United the front one. The third one which could be described as the "top" pitch with it being set above the other was not in use. Also at home today was Loughborough United Reserves Saturday Vase 2nd round match with Knighton EFC. There is nothing to distinguish each pitch from one another as none of them had dugouts or were railed or roped off. 

Despite watching a poor game in the last round of this competition, this did not deter me in any shape or form to stop me watching a game in the next round. The draw was finally released to the public just three weeks before the game itself – good planning and organisation from the County FA!!!! There are 16 ties in the second round with Genesis thrashing fellow North Leicestershire League side Markfield 8-2 in the 1^st round while District Leaguers Houghton received a bye. I did state in the report on the 1^st round tie between Asfordby and Glenfield that the competition was competed for by teams in only three divisions. Well I was almost right as there are two teams from other leagues – Ketton who play in division 1 of the Peterborough & District League and Witherley United who play in division 2 of the Coventry Alliance.

Houghton keeper Jimmy Greasley saving in the shoot out.

One thing that attracted me to this tie was that both sides are top of their respective leagues and are also unbeaten. Genesis have recorded seven wins from their eight league outings and last week beat Birstall Old Boys 5-1 @ Lodge Farm. Houghton meanwhile have five wins from their six league games and least week beat Mounsorrel Amateurs 3-2 at the Weir Lane ground.

Who are Genesis FC?

Taken from their official website and written by Jez Cromie:

“Genesis FC started in a pub in Loughborough by five guys who used to play football together in the Christian Union team at Uni. The five of us Si Brown, Adrian Holland, Stu Arnold, Steve Straker and myself Jez Crombie had stayed around in Loughborough to live and work. We were reminiscing at some of our glory days when someone suggested the idea of starting our own club. After much amusement the idea gained momentum and became a serious possibility. So in May 2002 we decided to go for it. We had a squad of five but that wasn’t going to stop us. Over the coming months many different mates joined us and we had a squad of 15 for our opening game in the North Leicestershire League Division 2.

The name Genesis was chosen as Si Brown was a huge Phil Collins fan, not really. We knew we wanted to set up a club that was a bit different to your average club. Some  of the guys were Christians and we wanted the club to reflect some of the Christian values in the way it was run and the way we played our football. So Genesis was chosen as it reflected our Christian influence and also because in the bible Genesis is known as the book of the Beginnings, and it was the beginning of Genesis F.C.”

Their playing since joining the NLL is as follows:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	POS
2002/03	N LEIC-2	18	10	2	6	64	38	32	4TH
2003/04	N LEIC-2	20	12	5	3	56	35	41	2ND
2004/05	N LEIC-1	18	10	2	6	59	37	32	3RD
2005/06	N LEIC-1	20	15	2	3	63	27	47	1ST
2006/07	N LEIC-P	22	5	3	14	39	61	18	10TH
2007/08	N LEIC-P	22	8	6	8	58	55	30	6TH
2008/09	N LEIC-P	18	6	4	8	43	44	22	7TH
2009/10	N LEIC-P	26	18	2	6	73	48	56	4TH
2010/11	N LEIC-P	26	16	4	6	80	41	52	2ND

On arriving at the venue the weather turned and the glorious sunshine from the morning game had turned into rain - thankfully it did abate during the game and also thankfully I managed to shelter from the rain under some trees. This was a game that could have gone either way - two inform teams producing an open, entertaining game or two inform teams cancelling each other out. Unfortunately it was the latter of the two that I witnessed. The first half was especially turgid with neither side seemingly up for it. Or it could have been the case that both sides were affraid to lose. The hosts only effort were a couple from long range that did not trouble Jimmy Greasley in the Houghton goal. 

The second half started as the first ended though as it wore on the game became more open. Genesis had three good chances midway through the second period in the space of five minutes, but two went wide and the other saved by Greasley. Houghton then stepped up a gear themselves but could not break the deadlock and the game went into extra time. Not something I was looking forward to following the previous ninety minutes!!! 

The first period of extra time was the most entertaining of the game. Genesis took the lead midway through it when their #6 was found unmarked in the penalty area and he side footed it past Greasley. The lead lasted just two minutes as Andy Almond headed home the equaliser following an excellent cross from the left. Almond should have give Houghton the lead on 114 minutes but somehow put the ball over from a couple of yards out when it was easier to score. The final fifteen minutes saw neither keeper tested and it invariably the game would be decided by kicks from the penalty spot. Both sides missed two from their first five kicks and on it went until it got round to the keepers having to take one. As always in penalty shoot outs there is a hero and a fall guy. Unfortunately for Houghton Greasley had his kick saved by the Genesis keeper and the game ended some two and three quarter hours after it had started!

Penalty shoot out sequence:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
GEN	O	O	X	X	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
HOU	O	X	X	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	X

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 9
Match rating: 2 out of 10

Websites / sources:

Official Genesis FC

North Leicestershire League


Thirty photos taken during the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Loughborough double - part 1

Today there was only going to be one game in Loughborough in the form of Genesis FC, but on having had a butchers at some of the under-21 fixtures in the Midland Combination an easy Loughborough double stood out. The Under-21’s section of the Midland Combination was set up this season and the majority of the kick-offs are on Saturday mornings. I had not yet prior today seen a game in the under-21 competition but had heard mixed reports about the quality of football on offer. Surely it could not be worse than the watching the opening forty-five minutes of the Birmingham City - Leicester City game on television recently!!!!

LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS 4–1 STAPENHILL

Saturday 29th October 2011
Midland Combination Under-21 section East / North Division

The Paddock, Loughborough University

With this game kicking off at 10.30am I left home at around 9.45 and took around half hour to get to Loughborough University. According to the information given on the Midland Combination ask for Cayley One changing rooms on arrival at the gatehouse. But on having a look at the campus map (http://maps.lboro.ac.uk/) on the University website and Google Maps it appears access to The Paddock can be gained from Spinney Hill Drive. This proved to be the case and there are a few parking spaces before the barrier that takes you onto the campus itself. There are no dugouts pitch side while the pitch was just roped off.

The University has 18 outdoor sports facilities on its campus in Loughborough, a number of which are or can be used for football. Along with The Paddock there is Brockington, Cayley One, four Holywell pitches and two artificial rubber crumb pitches.

The students have only played two games so far this season. A 1-0 loss at home to Loughborough Dynamo two weeks ago was followed up by a 2-1 win at Coventrians last Saturday. Opponents Stapenhill currently top the ten team table recording five wins from six outings so far.

League table (up to & including 22nd October):

		Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Stapenhill	6	5	0	1	16	13	15
2	Kettering Town	6	4	2	0	20	5	12
3	Rugby Town Juniors	8	4	1	3	26	21	13
4	Loughborough Dynamo	5	3	1	1	12	7	10
5	Bolehall Swifts	4	3	0	1	6	5	9
6	Woodbourne Sports	6	2	0	4	16	18	6
7	Loughborough Students	2	1	0	1	2	2	3
8	Coventrians	6	1	0	5	10	17	3
9	Austrey Rangers	6	1	0	5	10	21	3
10	Nuneaton Griff	3	0	0	3	3	12	0

The game was one of the better ones I have seen this season so far, with the Students playing some excellent football at times and ran out deserved winners against the league leaders. Stapenhill settled quicker but after the opening ten minutes there was only ever going to be one winner. The opening goal came on the quarter hour mark when Gabriel Ali crossed from the right and Will Poole finished at the far post.Ali was a constant threat and it was he who got the Students second goal. Just after the half hour he had the simplest of finishes from a couple of yards out. With five minutes left of the half Stapenhill halved the deficit against the run of play. Their #9 collected a cross field ball and having advanced to the goal finished well into the bottom corner. The second half primarily one way traffic, especially the opening fifteen minutes as the Students could have added a further four goals, but for a combination of good goalkeeping and a lack of composure in front of goal kept the score down. It was inevitable that a third goal would come and it was Will Poole that provided it - following a mix up between two Stapenhill defenders, the ball fell kindly to Poole who drilled a low shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. The final goal of the game came from right back Jamie Shield who headed the ball into an empty net following a save from the visiting keeper. 


To summarise - if this were a boxing match it would have been stopped long before the end as the scoreline flattered the visitors. I also feel that it will not be long before the Students dish out a proper hammering to a side. The game was played in the right way and spirit by both teams - not a yellow card in sight. A thoroughly enjoyable first game in the Under-21 section of the Midland Combination.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: peaked at 20
Match rating: 7 out of 10


Websites / sources:

Loughborough Students football

Loughborough University

Midland Combination

Some photos taken during the 1st half can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Mapping Leicestershire clubs - part 4

Part 4 of my mapping series covers the premier division of the North Leicestershire League. The information I have on the league only goes back to 1997.



View N Leics Prem - 11/12 in a larger map

	CLUB NAME	JOINED NLL
1	ANSTEY CROWN	2003
2	ANSTEY TOWN	2009 (prev. Leicestershire Senior League)
3	ASFORDBY VILLAGE	2005 (prev. Leicester & District League)
4	BIRSTALL OLD BOYS	1998
5	EAST LEAKE ATHLETIC	2004 (prev. Notts Alliance)
6	FALCONS	2007
7	GENESIS	2002
8	INGLES SHEPSHED AMATEURS	before 1997 before 1997
9	KEGWORTH IMPERIAL	2006
10	LOUGHBOROUGH TOWN	before 1997
11	MARKFIELD	before 1997
12	SILEBY VICTORIA	2007
13	WHITWICK	2002 (prev. Leicester City League)

* - Ingles and Shepshed Amateurs play at the same venue

Notes:

Anstey Crown - Anstey Town 'A' changed name in 2008.

Markfield - Markfield Red Lion changed name in 2001.

Whitwick - Whitwick Wanderers changed name in 2011.

All Whites not right!!!

CLIFTON 0-2 AFC HUCKNALL

Saturday 22nd October

Central Midlands League Division - South

Norman Archer Memorial Ground, Green Lane, Nottingham

A trip up to Nottinghamshire is the order of the day with Clifton being one that was on a shortlist of four – the other three being clubs in the Notts Senior League. There was another factor in my choice of game today and that was meeting up with Rob Hornby who was previously the Central Midlands League (CML) registrar. I owed Rob £16 for a copy of the new edition of the Non League Yearbook and we had previously arranged to meet up on this date about a month ago – it was just a case of where as I was waiting for Rob to confirm his plans. I had also roped in my dad to make the short drive north for this game against fellow Nottinghamshire side AFC Hucknall.

At the start of the season Clifton’s Norman Archer Memorial Ground was one of five in the newly reorganised South Division of the CML that I had not previously visited. The others being Pinxton (Welfare Ground), Belper United (Alton Manor), Bulwell Town (Bestwood Workshops) and Whatton United (Spa Lane). Pinxton were visited in pre-season and the latter two folded soon after the season started. So after today it just leaves Belper United and I’m sure I will pay them a visit at some point during the season, more than likely after Christmas. For the record (and not wanting to feel like the other division is being left out) there are four grounds in the North Division that I have not been to. They are Hutton Cranswick United (Rotsea Lane), Westella & Willerby (Bishop Burton College), Harworth Colliery Institute (Scrooby Road) and Dronfield Town (Stonelow Playing Fields).

About Clifton

Clifton is shall we say a piece of piss to get to from Leicester with it being a large estate on the south side of Nottingham. It is located alongside the main A453 which runs from Nottingham city centre to junction 24 of the M1. The estate was built in the 1950’s and was at one time the largest council estate in Europe. The term “Clifton” also refers to Clifton Village and Clifton Grove. Clifton Village is a small, picturesque residential area of approximately 200 homes set alongside the River Trent. The village green houses a dovecote, the OId School House and Village Hall. A number of older properties which include the Old Rectory and village church lie along Village Road which runs from the green to Clifton Hall. Clifton Hall is a Grade 1 Listed Building. The history of the hall goes back to the 11^th century but was remodelled in the late 18^th century in a Georgian style. It was owned by the Clifton family from the late 13^th century to the mid-20^th century. In 2008 the hall rose to tabloid prominence when it was reported that its millionaire owner and his family had left the house because they believed it was haunted. It was repossessed and is currently on the market for £2.75m.

The Nottingham trams system (NET – Nottingham Express Transit) has been given permission to build two new lines, one of which (line 2) will connect Clifton to the city centre. The following information is taken from a page on the Nottingham city council website: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/index.aspx?articleid=10436

“The 7.6 km route with 13 tram stops will link directly with NET Line One at Nottingham Railway Station on a new viaduct allowing people to transfer between trams, trains and other forms of transport. The route will run along Queens Walk through the Meadows, over the River Trent along Wilford Toll Bridge and mainly along the former Great Central railway line between Wilford and Compton Acres/Ruddington Lane. It will then run to the south of Silverdale and into Clifton along Farnborough Road and Southchurch Drive serving Clifton Centre, before terminating at a new Park and Ride site providing approximately 1,000 car parking spaces close to the A453 and junction 24 of the M1 motorway.

Through journeys onto NET Line One will be possible, allowing passengers to travel from Clifton to the Old Market Square, Royal Centre and beyond, for example, without the need to change trams.”

A map of the route can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=15768&p=0

About Clifton Football Club (taken from their official website: www.cliftonfc.co.uk)

“Clifton All Whites was founded in 1963, originally under the name of Thistledown Rovers.  The clubs founder members include Mr Dick Lambert and Mr Bill Norwell.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s Clifton All Whites dominated youth football in Nottinghamshire by attracting the best players from all over the county, now most players are local.  There is no doubt Clifton All Whites led the way in developing youth football in Nottingham.  In 1963 there were only four teams in the Young Elizabethan League, and as the exploits of the club developed, and publicised, more teams and clubs were founded, many with advice and help from Clifton All Whites. 

By 1966 plans were underway for Clifton All Whites to test their skills abroad in a tournament in Holland.  In those days tours were unheard of.  Success after success followed both home and abroad.  In the early days when football clubs only usually supplied shirts for their players a new standard was set as Clifton All Whites supplied a full ALL WHITES STRIP.  Another first was when the under 12’s played a top Scottish team before a crowd of over 20,000 before a Forest v Newcastle game, full time ending 15 minutes before kick off of the first division game.

Two quotes are remembered from that day.  Police Inspector “The easiest days policing this year, not one arrest”.  Scottish spectator “If Clifton play half as good as they look we are in for a hiding”.

Professional clubs clamored to persuade Clifton All Whites to become a nursery club, but still the club policy is not to become tied to any one club.  David Stainforth was the first player to make a career as a professional footballer, with Sheffield United.

Constantly Clifton All Whites performed well in FA Youth Cup games, beating many Professional teams.  It was no surprise that with an enthusiastic and hard working committee their own ground became a reality, quickly followed by a venture out of youth football to senior football at the highest level into the Midland League. 

Mick Walker, who went to Notts County was the first Club Manager and Coach, and what a brilliant find he was.  His professionalism and skills helped make the transition a successful one.

Whilst other clubs have come and gone Clifton All Whites are still thriving with teams from under 8’s to Seniors and in 1999 Clifton All Whites introduced the first girls team.  The success of the club over the years has been due to hard working committee plus the continued support of some great team managers and parents.”

The first team having previously been members of the Midland League, Notts Alliance and (founder members of) the Notts Senior League (NSL) joined the CML in the summer of 2011 along with three other NSL sides; Basford United, Bilborough Pelican and Nottinghamshire Police. The seven years spent in the NSL resulted in one second place finish (2005/06) and in 2010 won the league championship. This season Clifton currently sit in fourth place in the South Division table having won six of their ten league games played. Opponents AFC Hucknall sit in twelfth place recording three wins from their eleven games played.

AFC Hucknall or Hucknall Town? You decide!!!

The Norman Archer Memorial Ground is located on the eastern edge of Clifton on Green Lane, with the boundary of the neighbouring village of Ruddington and Rushcliffe parish being literally “the other side of the hedge”. If coming from Ruddington the entrance is on the right just before the island with Farnborough Road. We were welcomed on arrival and were charged £2 each admission which included the programme – which is a folded sheet of thick A4 paper into A5 size. An added bonus was that on production of the programme at the tea hut you got a free tea or coffee. On site there is a spacious clubhouse with the pitch having a stand straddling the half line on the far side, with the dugouts sitting in front of it. 

The game was played in glorious sunshine and on paper one would have expected a comfortable home win. In fact what we got was a fairly scrappy first half with few chances being created. The first notable opening came just after twenty minutes when Clifton’s Stuart Robinson took a quick free kick that found Danny Prance unmarked but he dragged his shot wide. Just before the half hour mark Michael Evans forced Hucknall keeper James Beddingham to save low at his near post. A minute later and it was the visitors turn to threaten but Scott Peach curled his shot wide of Scott Clay’s goal. A minute before half time and Hucknall took the lead – deservedly so as Austin Wallace flicked the ball following a cross from the left. The second half was more open and inside the opening minute the visitors should have been two up, but a header was a week effort that went into Clay’s hands. Clifton gradually took control and in the space of a couple of minutes hit the woodwork twice and had an effort cleared off the line. With around five minutes remaining Hucknall broke on the counter attack down the right. Wallace played the ball across and it found its way to Peach who cut inside and curled a lovely shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. The final chance of the afternoon came to hosts but having controlled the ball Will Heath blasted over.

Admission: £2 with programme

Attendance: between 35 and 40

Match rating: 3 out of 5    

Finally it was good to meet up with Rob and his wife Hazel again for the first time since the CML hop game at Phoenix at the end of March.

Photos taken of the ground & game during the first half can be viewed below: