How far?

A bit of a random post but below is a list of the nearest grounds at varying levels of English football's pyramid that I have not yet visited...

Premier / Football League: 
Villa Park, Aston Villa FC - 42.4 miles

Step 1 - Football Conference (Blue Square) Premier:
Kenilworth Road, Luton Town FC - 67.8 miles

Step 2 - Conference North / South:
York Street, Boston United FC - 66.6 miles

Step 3 
Valley Stadium, Redditch United FC - 53.4 miles

Step 4
Jubilee Stadium, Evesham United FC - 58.8 miles

Step 5
Loughborough University Stadium, Loughborough University FC - 14.4 miles

Step 6
Addison Road, Easington Sports FC - 49.1 miles

Step 7 
NFU Sports Ground, Ashby Ivanhoe FC - 17.5 miles

A half season review

With only one Saturday left in the calender year I am going to spend some time reviewing the first half of the 2012/13 football season.

Since the beginning of July and upto & including Friday 28th December I have watched the following:

47 football games, 2 games of handball and 1 game of basketball.

The football season for me officially started on the 8th July with a game in the Leicester Sunday League's Summer Competition between EMR and AFC Sporting Charnwood. This was played on the 3G pitch at Guthlaxton College in Wigston which saw EMR run out 6-3 winners. 

Best game: Corby Town v Hayes & Yeading United (24/11) FA Trophy on 24th November.

A tough choice but a worthy winner. The game was played in dreadful conditions with the rain never letting up all through the ninety minutes. Hayes lead 2-0 at half time but Corby came back in the second half to turn this tie on its head, with the winner coming in the 90th minute, and made driving there and back worth the while

Worst game: Great Britain v South Korea (04/08) Men's Olympic Quarter Final

Another category with several options but in the end went for the above. A shocking game of football in which I was bored after twenty minutes. A real shame as it was played in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Best programme: (based on value for money) Oadby Town

I have picked up thirteen different club programmes this season, but despite being a supporter of the club, the Oadby Town are issuing is the best they have produced for a number of years.

Most friendliest club: Bridport

Another tough choice but well deserved. My wife and I visited them for a pre-season friendly back in July and found everyone at the club welcoming and friendly. This included the ladies that run the catering hut who kindly gave us a bowl of water for our dog.

Favourite ground (professional): Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

This was out of a choice of five with the others being  1) Ricoh Arena, Coventry; 2) Molineux, Wolverhampton; 3) Bootham Crescent, York and 4) Pride Park Stadium, Derby

As stated previously the Millennium Stadium was visited for the Olympic Games football tournament. Very impressed with it despite it being twelve years old. I also found the stewards very friendly and informative as well.

Favourite ground (non-league): Garden Walk, Royston Town

Visited during pre-season for a game against Histon and the ground was immaculate. I really liked how  the stands and perimeter fencing were made out of wood which gave the ground some character. Also they had worked hard during the close season and refurbished the clubhouse.

Highlight

A no brainer here but visiting London for the Olympic Games is something that I will never forget. Everything from the organisation of getting into the park, the transport to the games makers deserve ten out of ten. I know I got lucky in getting tickets for the handball tournament and had to pay the top price of £50 each for two tickets, but it was money well spent in my book. It also helped that the wife and I both enjoyed watching the sport. 

Plans for 2013

At sometime during the year I will hit the 500 mark for football venues visited - at the time of writing I am on 466. This will hopefully include visits to a few more Premier / Football League stadiums, with provisional plans being Cardiff City (26/01 v Leicester) and Barnet (23/03 v Cheltenham). I also would like to attend an ice hockey game for the first time and also take in a Leicester Riders basketball  game. 

County Cup

DYP UNITED 2-2 FC TUMAR

(after extra time; Tumar won 3-1 on penalty kicks)

Sunday 16th December 2012

Leicestershire Sunday Trophy 3rd Round

Braunstone Park [pitch 3], Cort Crescent, Leicester

A glorious but chilly Sunday morning saw yours truly have a wander down to Braunstone Park for a tie in the 3rd round of the Leicestershire Sunday Trophy. This match pitted DYP United of the Leicester Sunday League Division 2 against FC Tumar of the Alliance Football League Division 4.

The first half was a fairly even encounter, though I would say Tumar would be slightly ahead on points. Tumar dominated the second half and if not for the DYP keeper would have won this tie comfortably inside the ninety minutes. They opened the scoring around the hour mark when Andy Lewis pounced on a back pass and poked the ball past the oncoming keeper, but with their only shot on target in the second half, DYP equalised on seventy two minutes. The first period of extra time passed by with either side failing to take a grip on the proceedings, but the second period saw a goal apiece that came within two minutes of each other. Even at the death Tumar could have won it but a shot was cleared off the line. 

Into the penalty shoot out and DYP had their first three kicks saved by the Tumar keeper, while Tumar themselves converted two of theirs. DYP finally got off the mark with their fourth kick, but Tumar were also successful and booked their place in the quarter finals.

The draw for the next round is as follows:

Hinckley Knight v FC Charnwood

Spinney Rovers v FC Tumar

Kilby Town v Monsell WMC

Harborough Hotshots v Desford Athletic or Clarendon Park Rangers

51 photos of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

pre-Christmas cracker

BRINKLOW 4-3 MAHAL

Saturday 15th December 2012

Birmingham FA Saturday Vase 3rd Round

Barr Lane, Brinklow, Warwickshire

Shock horror...a proper report on the blog today!!!

Originally when looking at possible fixtures today I intended to go and watch Ashby Ivanhoe v FC GNG in the Leicestershire Senior League. Ashby moved into a new ground in the summer and this would re-complete the league again, but Ashby have a rearranged county cup tie @ Ellistown so this will have to wait until 2013. With now at a loose end and no real restrictions I was then on the look out for another fixture. After trawling through various league websites a tie in the Birmingham Vase (BV) competition between two teams from different leagues caught my attention.

Brinklow is a village a civil parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire and is located on the Fosse Way, the Roman road that runs from Lincoln to Exeter. In 2001 it had a population of just over one thousand inhabitants.

Brinklow Football Club are members of the Coventry Alliance and compete in the premier division. This season they have nine out of ten league games and sit in second place, three points behind leaders Woodlands WMC but they have three games in hand. Their two ties in this seasons BV have resulted in away victories at Leamington Hibernian (5-0) and Barnt Green Spartak (2-0) respectively. Opponents Mahal play their home games at the Hadley Stadium in Smethwick and compete in division one of the West Midlands (Regional) League. They currently sit in fifth place having won nine of their fifteen league games. Their only tie in the BV saw them beat Midland Combination side Northfield Town 4-3 after extra time.

The drive down to Brinklow took me around thirty minutes, and with a bit of time on my side pulled into the local chippy and paid £3.50 for sausage, chips and a can of coke. The playing fields are set behind Broad Street which is the main road through the village. There is a small car park though, as expected no spectator facilities. 

The game though was a cracker with the Coventry Alliance side progressing to the quarter finals at the expense of their West Midlands (Regional) League opponents. The first ten minutes looked like the home side would steamroller Mahal, but went behind just before the half hour mark. Two goals in the last five minutes of the half saw Brinklow go in at the internval 2-1 up. 

Two minutes into the second half and Mahal were awarded a penalty but the resulting kick was well saved by the Brinklow keeper. A few minutes later and the home side were themselves awarded a penalty - personally I didn't think it was one, but anyhow no mistake was made from the spot and it was 3-1. Five minutes later and after was appeared to be a case of "handbags" the referee sent off one player from each side. With my view impeded by the opposition on the sideline I had no idea what it was for. Going into the final twenty minutes and Brinklow made it 4-1 to all intents and purpose book their place in the next round. Mahal though never gave up and added a second with nine minutes remaining. Their third and final goal came too late with it being two minutes into stoppage time. 

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 32

websites etc:

Brinklow - official - twitter - facebook

Mahal - official

Coventry Alliance - mitoo

37 match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

update

Firstly let me appologise for their being no new updates to the blog for the past three weeks, and secondly the blog will not be going into hibernation for the remainder of the winter months. I just need to give myself a kick up the backside every now and then!!!

Since the last post I have seen three football games and one basketball match. Firstly the football - on November 24th when the country was being drenched and matches postponed on mass, unsurprisingly my scheduled game between Buckingham Town and Oadby Town was postponed around midday. 

Corby Town's game in the FA Trophy was on and I made my way across to "Little Scotland" and ticked off their new ground, Steel Park. The ground backs on their previous home and by the end of it was glad I made the effort. It was a cracking cup tie that saw Corby come from two down at half time to beat Hayes & Yeading United 3-2. The winner came in the 90th minute from Leon McKenzie. It cost £10 admission and a further £2 for a programme - this was overpriced in my opinion and only worth half the amount. Despite all the rain the pitch was in excellent condition and held up very well during the game, so credit to the club for that.

On the Sunday with the wife at work my plan was to watch a game in the Alliance Football League, but the only one I found on was on the artificial pitch at Rawlins Community College in Quorn. This saw CSKA Carnabys play Royale Barcabullona in the 3rd round of the Bill Walton Cup and pitted two teams that were three divisions apart. It wasn't a bad game that was played in a biting wind, from which there was no escape and the visitors ran out 4-1 winners.

Ten days ago I decided I didn't fancy freezing my bollocks off standing in the cold for two hours so walked down to Braunstone Leisure Centre. The reason was to watch some basketball between the Leicester Warriors and Leeds Carnegie in the English National League Division 1. I had never seen a game of basketball before but I really enjoyed it. The Warriors won the game 71-68 in overtime after the two teams had been locked together on 65 points each at the end of the 4th quarter. There was no admission charge and all I spent was £1.25 on a cup of coffee. 

Finally to last Saturday and a trip to St Neots and more specifically Eynesbury Rovers FC. On the morning of the game I felt dreadful, but dosed myself up with medication and firstly made my way to Oadby Town FC, as you see this was my first away day with the Poachers this season. I, along with fellow supporters went on a mini bus organised by the club and it took around one hour to reach the ground. Eynesbury Rovers play at the Alfred Hall Memorial Ground and a friendly welcome was received. It cost £4 admission and a further £1 for a programme. The game pitted two sides at the top end of the United Counties League Division 1 table, with both losing one game each all season. As expected an even first half followed and the teams went in at half time 0-0. At the start of the second half Oadby took the lead through Sam Benjamin, a goal that not only proved to be the winner but also  missed by a good percentage of the spectators including myself. Oadby then had some excllent chances to put the game to bed, but could find the crucial second goal. In the end they were thankful for some excellent defending and an excellent save from Denham Hinds to secure the three points. It was a decent turn out from the Oadby supporters who made up at least a 1/3 of the 94 in attendance.  

22 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Shoemakers v Addies

FC SHOEMAKERS 09 1-4 ADDIES
Sunday 18th November 2012
Leicester Sunday League Division 1
Braunstone Park [pitch 3], Cort Crescent, Leicester

With nothing going on a Sunday morning decided to walk down to Braunstone Park to watch one of the three games going on. 

For anyone that has not seen the now defunct FC Braunstone Victoria or one of the Leicester & District League sides that use the pitches on a Saturday, there are four railed off pitches adjacent to Cort Crescent going north to south. 

This was a decent game played in glorious sunshine, with the visitors deserving their victory. They created and missed numerous chances in the 1st half but went in at the break one up through a penalty. 

Addies added three more, helped by some dodgy defending before two penalty kicks for Shoemakers. The first one saw the Addies keeper bring down a home player in the box and was lucky to receive only a yellow card. He then made a flying save to rub salt into the wound. A minute later and Shoemakers were awarded another penalty and this time the kick ended in the back of the net. 

50 match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Fox Hunting

LEICESTER FOXES OLD BOYS 2-5 ENDERBY TOWN 2012

Sunday 11th November 2012

Alliance Football League Division 1

St. Oswalds Road, New Parks, Leicester

There were no plans to go to a game on Sunday but with the wife being ill and not wanting to go out, I took advantage and went to another Sunday League game. Unsure as where to go I put on twitter for recommendations and Enderby Town were the first to reply, and as they were playing their game only a couple of miles from home decision made.

The ground on St. Oswalds Road is just off the ring road and is a two pitch affair. It is one that I had been meaning to visit for a couple of years with it also home to North Leicestershire League side Anstey Crown. The one nearest the road is fully railed but there is no hard standing or dugouts, while their is nothing pitch side at the second one. 

The game saw two good teams play out a good game of football which was played in the right spirit of the game. The home side struck early on with a Matt Shuter goal on three minutes. Enderby gradually got into the game and drew level on twenty five minutes. George Young beat the offside trap, rounded the keeper and rolled the ball into an empty net. By the end of the first half the visitors had scored another goal, this time from Sam Young on 37 minutes and went in at the break 2-1 up. Around the hour mark the Foxes were awarded a disputed penalty which was duly dispatched by Jamie Aston to make it 2-2. Both teams went looking for the three points and the final twenty five minutes was end-to-end, though it was Enderby who were the more clinical. Further goals from Sam Young (69 and 87 minutes) and George Young (76 minutes) gave them the victory. During this time the home side struck the bar and post in the space of about a minute, while the home keeper made a superb save from a free kick that was heading into the top corner. To be honest it is probably the best save I have seen all season.

Overall another enjoyable morning watching Sunday League football and credit to both teams. 33 photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

 

Drony

DRONFIELD TOWN 3-1 PHOENIX SPORTS & SOCIAL

Saturday 10th November 2012

Central Midlands League Division - North

Stonelow Playing Fields, Shireoaks Road, Dronfield, Derbyshire

After a few can't be arsed efforts regarding the blog over the past few weeks I have made a conscious effort to do a proper report for today's game.

With no time restrictions in place my choice of game is based upon which direction to head to, and after heading south-west to Coventry last Saturday it is time to head 'up north' again on the M1. My first port of call to find a possible fixture is the Central Midlands League (CML), and one fixture stood - Dronfield Town v Phoenix and decision made. A rarity in the case that plans were not changed due to my indecision!!! The CML is a league that I have ventured into a lot over the years which is helped by the location of a lot of the clubs, and also the amount of clubs that have competed in the league over the years.

Since my visit to Long Eaton United for an FA Vase tie in 1998, Dronfield Town will be the 54th CML club that I have seen play a home fixture over the years. I am not going to bore people into listing them all but three were visited last season, Pinxton, Clifton (now Clifton All Whites) and Belper United. After today there are five different clubs and six different grounds that I have still yet to visit in the CML, of which hopefully two more will be visited after Christmas.

The town of Dronfield is located in north east Derbyshire, with the town comprising the settlements of Dronfield, Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It is situated in the valley of the River Drone, lying between Sheffield and Chesterfield and has a population of over 21,000 inhabitants.

According to Google maps it should take me 1 hour 15 minutes to make the 58 mile journey north, and this was pretty much how it turned out with the traffic being light all the way there. The route took me up the M1 to junction 29 before heading east on the A617 towards Chesterfield.  When in Chesterfield I took the A61 north in the Sheffield direction, before turning onto the B6057 into Dronfield itself. Local roads took me the car park, the entrance of which is on Shireoaks Road in front of Coal Aston Cricket Club. The pitch is set below the cricket pitch and the entrance is down some steps. The club use the cricket pavilion before the game and at half time to serve refreshments and food, and a cup of coffee was only 60p. There is a small stand on the near side of the ground, with the dugouts being opposite. There are no floodlights at present but the club do have planning permission for them, conditions apply though regarding the useage of them. They have managed to purchase a second hand set from one of the nearby universities and are currently in storage at a local firm before the club get them erected.

Dronfield Town are one of a number of football clubs that compete in the town, the main one is that of Sheffield FC who are the oldest football club in the world. They play their home games at the BT Local Business Stadium which is located on the Sheffield Road (B6057) at the northern edge of the town. Two other bearing the Dronfield name are AFC Dronfield Woodhouse and Dronfield Woodhouse FC who compete in the top division of the Hope Valley Amateur League.

At the start of play Dronfield are fourth in the league table with only one defeat in their twelve league games, some eight points behind leaders AFC Mansfield with two games in hand. Phoenix who are based in Brinsworth, South Yorkshire have twenty points from their thirteen games.

The game served up was average fare for the CML - I have seen a lot worse (FC 05 v Easington United in February 2010) but also seen better. Dronfield game plan of getting the ball down and playing football was in contrast to the harrowing and hassling approach from the visitors. Very few clear cut chances were created but on nineteen minutes the home side took the lead. A shot from about twelve yards from right midfielder Dan Wood crept inside the far upright past a flat footed keeper. No further goals in the first half and it was 1-0 at the break.

The second half was only nine minutes old when Dronfield doubled their advantage, which following a mix up in the Phoenix defence allowed a simple tap in for John Doran. Around the midway point of the half Dronfield rightly felt aggrieved at having a perfectly good goal disallowed, as the assistant on the near side put his flag up for a player who was offside but made no attempt to play the ball, but did not allow play on for a player coming from an onside position. After this stroke of good fortune Phoenix went and got a goal back just two minutes later to make it an interesting last twenty minutes. Dronfield stepped up a gear and made it 3-1 with nine minutes left. Following some good work and a cross down the left Cal Mawby was unmarked inside the penalty area and applied a simple finish.

Admission: £3

Programme: £1

Attendance: 36 (head count)

I'm glad I made the effort to pay Dronfield a visit as around mid morning I had my CBA hat on and was deliberating on whether to stay local for a game. Dronfield are a very friendly club and was made to feel welcome by the small band of volunteers that help keep clubs like this afloat. 

For any readers on this who are on twitter Dronfield Town can be followed @DronfieldTownFC

43 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

A Coventry double

Saturday 3rd November 2012

COVENTRIANS UNDER-21'S 3-5 HINCKLEY UNITED UNDER-21'S

Midand Combination Challenge Bowl

The Black Pad, Black Pad, Coventry

ALVIS SPORTING CLUB 0-2 CADBURY ATHLETIC

Midland Combination Challenge Cup 2nd Round

Alvis Sports & Social Club, Green Lane, Coventry

-------------------

Finally two days after the event I am getting my arse in gear to write a few words about the weekends football. It started off with a 10.30am kick-off on the north side of Coventry at The Black Pad, home of Coventrians RFC for an under-21's game in the Midland Combination Challenge Bowl between Coventrians and Hinckley United. 

There are three pitches, one rugby and two football on the site with the clubhouse and changing rooms in front of the rugby pitch, nearest to the car park. The game was played on the pitch furthest away from the club house and was not in the best condition. It (the game) turned out to be an enjoyable one with Hinckley deserving their victory, and on the balance of play should have won by a greater margin. The home side struck in the opening couple of minutes and the goal would come under the "calamity" bracket, before Hinckley dominated the rest of the first half and went in at half time 3-1 up. At the start of the second half Coventrians got a goal back to make it 2-3 and then had their best spell of the game. After the hour mark Hinckley started to take control of the proceedings and were 5-2 up before a goal in the dying seconds for the home side made it 3-5.

Adm / prog: none

Att: 24 (head count)

Coffee: 60p

It was then onto the other side of Coventry for another game in the Midland Combination, this time a  second round tie in the Challenge Cup competition between the top two in division one, Alvis Sporting Club and Cadbury Athletic.

The Alvis Sports & Social Club is one the southern side of Coventry and is home to not only the football team, but houses cricket tennis and bowls as well. A drive way takes you past the cricket pitch to a car park, and adjacent to the football pitch is the well appointed club house which looked like it had recently been refurbished. There was no hot food available as there is no kitchen, but the club had some cheese or ham batches available along with the usual bar snacks. The football pitch is fulley enclosed by metal fencing with the pitch being railed off on three sides. The two dugouts are on different sides of the pitch, while a small covered stand is on the far side. I got talking to the former match secretary who informed me that the club have plans in place for floodlights and another stand, though this one would contain seats. 

The game itself was not as enjoyable as the one earlier on in the day, mainly due to the fact that the two teams cancelled each other out for the most part. Clear cut chances were few and far between but on the balance of the play I would say the visitors deserved their victory. A goal in each half from |Ellard (38 mins) and Parker (87 mins) was enough to put the Birmingham based side into round three.

Admission: £3

Programme: none

Att: 31 (head count)

Overall an enjoyable double in Coventry and I was home by 4pm. A slideshow of thirty ground and match photos from Alvis can be viewed below:

9 for Enderby

FRIAR LANE 2-9 ENDERBY TOWN 2012
Sunday 28th October 2012
Alliance Football League Bill Walton Cup 2nd Round
Western Park [pitch 6], Hinckley Road, Leicester

This morning I made the short journey to Western Park, a large public park in the (shock horror) western suburbs of Leicester. There are seven football pitches on the park, with this one being on pitch 6. It is set in the north east of the park, away from the other pitches and surrounded by trees and has a secluded feel about it.

On paper this was a mismatch with their being six divisions between the two teams, and in the end that is how it turned out. Enderby though were sluggish in the first half and struggled to break down the home team. Friar Lane were happy to put men behind the ball and hope to hit the higher ranked visitors on the counter attack.

I am not going into too much detail about the goals, but if I can remember give a brief description of them:

6 mins; 0-1 Stein Worthington - a shot from the edge of the penalty area
28 mins; 0-2 Sam Miller - a header from a free kick
37 mins; 0-3 George Young - a first time shot from 12 yards
42 mins; 1-3 Lewis Grainger - reacted first after a save from the keeper
49 mins; 1-4 Nick Owen - a side foot shot from a couple of yards out
52 mins; 1-5 Tom Marsh - lofted into top corner
54 mins; 1-6 George Young - powerful shot from edge of the penalty area
56 mins; 1-7 Tom Marsh - reacted first and finished from three yards out
61 mins; 2-7 Mike Gist - first time shot after a save from the keeper
77 mins; 2-8 George Young - curling shot into top corner from outside penalty area
80 mins; 2-9 Sam Miller - lofted volley into top corner from twenty yards out - superb goal and best of the eleven.

45 match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Oadby v Harrowby

OADBY TOWN 1-2 HARROWBY UNITED
Saturday 27th October 2012
United Counties League Division 1
Wigston Road, Oadby, Leicestershire

No report but a fair result with the visitors from Grantham ending Oadby's unbeaten start in the United Counties League since they transferred from the East Midlands Counties League.

22 photos taken during the first half can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Newcy Town

NEWCASTLE TOWN 3-1 GRESLEY
Saturday 20th October 2012
Northern Premier League Division 1 South
The Aspire Stadium, Buckmaster Avenue, Newcastle-under-Lyme

With Oadby Town not having a game today I am joined today by good friend and also their secretary Kevin Zupp, and we are heading west into Staffordshire, which for myself is the first time in two years for a game of football. The destination of choice is Newcastle Town Football Club, and was until Evesham United moved into their new ground the nearest step 4 ground I had not previously visited.

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in the potteries area of North Staffordshire, though should be noted that has or had no involvement with the pottery industry. In 2001 the town had a population of 73,944.

The Newcastle part of the name refers to a 'new castle' that was built in the 12th century, while the Lyme section could refer to the Lyme Brook or the extensive Forest of Lyme that covered the area with lime tress in the medieval period.

An apology now to the regular readers who were / are expecting a match report from the game. There is not going to be one as after uploading the ground and match photos I simply couldn't be bothered.

The match details are as follows:

Admission: £6
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 157 (official)
Badge: £3
Coffee: £1

Goal scorers / times:

Newcastle: Christian Millar (15); Thomas France (44); Neville Thompson (67)
Gresley: Jordan Gough (69)

If anyone is reading a report on the game, Gresley FC have one on their website: http://www.gresleyfc.com/first-team/report/6479

32 photos of the ground and game are in a slideshow below:


Next fixtures:

Saturday 27th October: Oadby Town v Harrowby United (United Counties League Division 1)
Sunday 28th October: Friar Lane v Enderby Town 2012 (Alliance Football League Bill Walton Cup 2nd Round - 10.30am ko @ Western Park [pitch 6], Leicester)

attenborough

ATTENBOROUGH 3-2 COTGRAVE
Saturday 13th October 2012
Nottinghamshire Senior League Senior Division
University of Nottingham Sports Ground, University Boulevard, Nottingham

For the first time in two months I will be in the company of my dad at a football game, and with dad stating he would prefer a game in Nottinghamshire I looked around for possible fixtures. With having visited every ground in the county that plays in the first ten levels of English football my choice would come from either the Central Midlands League (CML) or Nottinghamshire Senior League (NSL). In regards to the CML it would be between Harworth Colliery Institute, Linby Colliery and Sherwood Colliery, but unfortunately the first two were away and Sherwood without a fixture. The NSL fixture list for today through up plenty of options, helped by the fact that I have not visited many of the grounds in the league yet. Of the eight teams at home in the top division, seven would at new venues to visit. One fixture stood out due to the venue that the respective fixture would be played at.

Attenborough Football Club have been playing home games at the University of Nottingham Sports Ground since the start of last season due to flood defence work in the village, and with the work completed or very close to the club are moving back to their ground in Attenborough itself in early 2013. The venue is one that I believe does not have any other Saturday side playing here, and it is also only a forty five minute drive from Leicester.

This season both teams have not had the best of starts and sit in the bottom half of the Senior Division table. Attenborough are the higher of the two and are in 9th place with nine points from five league outings. Last Saturday they recorded a 3-1 victory over CML side Thoresby Colliery Welfare in the 1st round of the Nottinghamshire Senior Cup. Cotgrave meanwhile have only six points from nine league games and at the start of play are in 13th place. In their last match they were spanked 6-2 @ Burton Joyce in a league fixture.

The Admiral Sir John Borlese Warren

I was picked up just after midday and we made our way up the M1, and with traffic light we stopped  off in Stapleford for a pre-match bite to eat and pint. We found a free car park on the Derby and went into the local JD Weatherspoon outlet, The Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren.

The University of Nottingham Sports Ground is located on the A6005 University Boulevard, just inside the Nottingham city boundary if coming from the M1, while the entrance you need to take is the 1st on the right about 50 yards after the island. It is a large complex and was very busy today with numerous football games plus rugby, netball and lacrosse matches going on. The pitch that Attenborough use is in front of the cricket pavilion and was roped off, this despite there being a railed off pitch with dugouts not in use close by.

the pavilion at the sports ground

The game was not bad with and the early exchanges were fairly even. Attenborough took the lead just after the quarter hour mark through Chris Myton, though even though it only happened around six and a half hours ago I can't actually remember how the goal was scored!!! Anyway four minutes later and it became 2-0. Paul Ireson received the ball on the left hand side of the penalty area, cut inside and beat the Cotgrave keeper at his near post with a low shot. Cotgrave did not let their heads drop and got a goal back ten minutes before the half time interval. A free kick was parried by the Attenborough keeper and Kyle Waddell was quickest to react and finished off the rebound.

Attenborough started the second half with purpose and it was no surprise when they increased their lead on 56 minutes. After a good move and cross on the right Myton got his second of the afternoon with a header at the far post. From this the home side seemed to take the foot off the gas and seemed intent to turn three points into one or none. Fortunately for them Cotgrave were unable to take advantage of this, though they did get a goal back with twenty minutes remaining. A cross from the left was turned in at the far post by Mark Holvey. 

Overall a pleasant afternoon and the forecast rain failed to materialise while we were watching the game. 

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 30
Free tea and coffee at half time

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

Thurmaston have the keys at Scotlands

CROSS KEYS NEWBOLD 1-5 THURMASTON W.M.P. 2009
Leicestershire Sunday Intermediate Cup 1st Round
Sunday 7th October 2012
Scotlands Playing Fields, Forest Road, Coalville

For the first time since early July yesterday there was a Saturday without football. Not because of anything untoward, but that I was attending the East Midlands Food Festival in Melton Mowbray with the wife. This was a date that had been put in the diary for some time as we went to the event last year.

All was not lost as I still managed to get to a game this morning, helped with the wife working this morning as well. 

The majority of first round county cup matches under the jurisdiction of the Leicestershire & Rutland  Football Association are being played this weekend, though the county FA must be one of the worst run in this regard. The reason being is that despite knowing which clubs are to be entered in which competition they still gave the clubs less than two weeks notice. This causing problems not only for the clubs but for the fixture secretaries of the leagues themselves. Surely it is not too much to ask for the draws for the opening couple of rounds to be done before the respective leagues issue fixtures, like the Football Association do on a national scale with the FA Cup, Trophy, Vase, Youth Cup etc. I know one of the reasons given for the delay will be that of pitch shares, but if this happens then make one team play one week and the other the next. It is not difficult. Severely clutching at straws here but if anyone at the Leicestershire FA is reading this then I will be more than happy to get involved with next years draws. 

The Sunday Intermediate Cup is one of five competitions organised by the county FA for open age Sunday footballers. The others being Premier, Shield, Trophy and Vase. The draw for round 1 is as follows:

Cross Keys Newbold (H) v Thurmaston WMP 2009 (A)

FC Union (H) v Birstall Stamford Reserves (C)

Market Bosworth 2000 (H) v Duke of Rutland Reserves (H)

Kirby Muxloe Rangers (A) v Westfield Wanderers (L)

Tin Hat (H) v Leicester Echos (L)

Enderby & District Social (H) v Sileby Athletic (C)

FC Hoskins (A) v Thurlaston Magpies [Sunday] (H)

Key: A - Alliance Football League; C - Charnwood Sunday League; L - Leicester Sunday League; H - Hinckley & District Sunday League


Before a ball had been kicked this morning Westfield Wanderers went through to round 2 following Kirby Muxloe Rangers folding a couple of days ago.

The Scotlands Playing Fields are literally just that - playing fields. Entrance is via drive on Forest Road on the south side of Coalville. If coming from Leicester go past the Bardon Quarry and Bardon Sports Club, and when at the 1st island take the first exit into Coalville. Forest Road is the first turning on the left, with the entrance to the playing fields on the left hand side before you cross the railway line. 

Thurmaston started this game as favourites, having a 100% record in all competitions so far this season. This includes four league games and a match in the Arthur Moore Cup. Cross Keys meanwhile sit third in division one of the Charnwood Sunday League.

The home side came out of the blocks quicker and looked the better side early on, but with ten minutes on the clock found themselves a goal down. After good work down the inside right channel, the ball fell to Ant Morris who poked the ball home from a yard out. A couple of minutes later and it should have been all square, only for a Keys shot to strike the bottom of the left hand upright. This was the closest the home side came in the first half, and by the end of it were three down. Jamie Sharman (24 minutes) and a superbly struck free kick from Connor Packwood on 34 minutes giving Thurmaston a comfortable lead.

It should be said that players from both sides struggled with the autumn sun and clash of kits, with Cross Keys playing in red and Thurmaston in orange.

The second half was pretty much a non-event with Cross Keys unable to break the visitors  defence down, while Thurmaston did not have to get out of second gear to secure the victory and a place in round 2. Luke Winfield made it 0-4 on 54 minutes with a shot across the Cross Keys keeper. The hosts got a deserved consolation goal with fifteen minutes left on the clock, only for Packwood to get his second of the game on 89 minutes to round off the scoring.

37 photos taken at the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

goals goals and more goals

ENDERBY TOWN 2012 12-4 MAGNA '73 RANGERS
Sunday 30th September 2012
Alliance Football League Arthur Moore Cup Group A
Wimpey Park, Coleridge Drive, Enderby, Leicestershire

My first Sunday League game for a few weeks and I was not expecting what I saw. I chose this game for two reasons. Firstly, by chance I met Enderby Town's manager Wayne Woolley at a pre-season game at Royston Town who was watching his son Jake play for Histon. I said that I would come down to watch Enderby play a home game and kept my word. Secondly I thought this would be an interesting game between a division 1 side and an premier division team.

Enderby Town 2012 FC

Wimpey Park is as the photos show is a public park. There is no parking on site and the entrance is via a footpath on Coleridge Drive, with the players changing at the Enderby & District Social Club. 

What we got was a display of attacking football from both sides that had to be seen to be believed, with my highest number of goals seen in a game being smashed to pieces. From the Enderby Town twitter feed (@enderbytown) the goals were shared between just three players - Sam Young hit a double hat-trick with George Young and Sam Miller getting hat-tricks of their own. Magna were not eight goals worse off with the home keeper making three top draw saves, but to put it simply Enderby were ruthless in front of goal. 

Taking away the amount of goals scored it was a really enjoyable game of football. Both sides played the game in the right way and credit goes out to them. It is doubtful I will ever see a game like this again. Period. 

The goals came as follows:

3: 0-1 - an own goal
4: 1-1
18: 2-1
24: 3-1
27: 3-2
34: 4-2
44: 5-2
Half time
47: 6-2
52: 6-3 - a penalty
65: 7-3
73: 8-3
76: 9-3
80: 10-3
88: 11-3
89: 12-3
90+ 2: 12-4 - an unstoppable free kick into the bottom corner.

60 photos of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Plan D

MOORGREEN 1-1 ASHLAND ROVERS
Saturday 29th September 2012
Notts Senior League Division 2
Birnam Park, A610, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire

After my trip to York last week I was always going to stay relatively local today, but over the past week or so changed my mind several times. Plan A was a double involving Nuneaton Town Under-18's followed by Moreton Rangers, while Plan B was to head south east into Northamptonshire for a Junior Cup tie @ Stanwick Rovers. Then on Friday evening I changed plans again and decided to head to Corby Locos in the same competition for a tie against Northampton Harlequins, but around lunchtime Rob Hornby put a post on Facebook stating he was going to be at the above game. This swung my decision as firstly I knew where the ground was, and secondly Rob is always good for a tale or two if the game is crap!!!

This was the first season for Moorgreen as an open age side, with the club more associated with junior or youth football. They were accepted into division two of the Notts Senior League (NSL) and before today had picked up four points from their four league games. The victory came last week @ West Bridgford Reserves. Opponents Ashland Rovers who this season are based at The Summit Centre in Kirkby-in-Ashfield joined the NSL in the summer after switching from the Notts Amateur Alliance. They are unbeaten so far picking up eight points from four league matches. Last week they recorded a 3-1 victory over Selston Reserves. 

The ground is very easy to find with it being located just off the A610 dual carriageway, heading north west from junction 26 of the M1 motorway. After passing IKEA on the right hand side take the next exit which is signposted sewage works, with the entrance to the ground on the right hand side. 

The changing rooms are immediately in front of you with the pitch being set further back. The pitch is railed off on three sides and there are dugouts and a stand also. During the game the club had a tea bar in operation, with hot drinks costing 50p. Also on the site is a model racing club next to the changing rooms and a shooting club to the left of the pitch.

Rob was already there when I arrived, in fact he was there when I phoned him at 1pm having stopped off here on his way home from a two week holiday in Cornwall. He had arranged with the club to take a team photo in their new kit, and kindly allowed me to do the same. 

Moorgreen FC

The game was played in bright sunshine for the most part, but there was also a biting wind that made conditions tricky at times for these amateur players. It was not the best game I have seen and generally a scrappy affair. Ashland settled quicker and looked the better side and came as no surprise when they took the lead on seventeen minutes. A corner was only half cleared and Mark Canon hit a sweet half volley from twenty five yards that flew past the Moorgreen keeper. There was plenty of effort from both sides but chances were at a premium. The equaliser came with eleven minutes remaining as Matthew Clowes chipped the ball over the oncoming Ashland keeper. In the final few minutes Mark Canon was sent off for violent conduct. A decision that bemused not only Rob and myself but also Mark himself. We saw a push from Mark on a Moorgreen player and thought yellow card here, but were not expecting a red.

Overall a very pleasant afternoon at a very friendly club. Rob did inform me that the ground was used by Priory (Eastwood) FC before they folded in the mid-90's, and that Moorgreen have been awarded a grant to make improvements.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 18

Rob's account on the game can be found on his blog "Around the Grounds" http://aroundthegrounds2012-13.blogspot.co.uk/

A slideshow of photos of the ground and game can be viewed below:

1st class city, 3rd class football

YORK CITY 0-0 CHELTENHAM TOWN
Saturday 22nd September 2012
Football League 2
Bootham Crescent, York

Before the season began and the fixtures released this was one away fixture for Cheltenham Town that was the number one priority. Why you may ask do you want to visit York City FC for a Cheltenham game, when you could visit it any time? The answer is simply that, (regular readers will be able to answer this) I have a good friend who supports Cheltenham and this gives us an excuse to meet up. Also York are planning to leave their home on Bootham Crescent to a new venture adjacent to the Monks Cross Retail Park. Details of which can be found here: new stadium

Getting to York itself involved a 117 mile drive each way or getting the train. With the fuel costs as it is and the fact I would be going on my own the costs were very similar, but in the end I opted for the latter and booked the tickets six weeks ago. It cost £43 return going first class - with it being only £9 dearer this would be money well spent as I would be on the train for around 2 hours 20 minutes. Also  my journey each way would be direct which is very rare, as nearly all of the journeys to York from Leicester involve changing trains in either Derby and / or Sheffield.

York is a walled city and has a population of 202,400 inhabitants. It is one of England's most historic cities and has plenty of attractions that show off its heritage. It was founded by the Romans in 71AD under the name of Eboracum, and became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and of the Kingdoms of Northumbria and Jorvik. In the Middle Ages York became a major wool trading centre.

York Minster

York Tap

The city has excellent transport links whether it be via road or rail. The A64 links York to both the A1(M) and M1 motorways which are around 10 miles (16 km) away, while it has been a major railway centre since the first line arrived in 1839. The nearest airport, Leeds / Bradford is thirty one miles away.

To go into detail the city's tourist attractions here would take too much time, but instead I there are some links to five of them:

York Minster - the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe.

York Castle Museum

York City Walls

Jorvik Viking Centre

National Railway Museum

Further information on the city can be found on the visit York website.

The club were first founded in 1908 as an amateur side and joined the Northern League (NL). Two seasons were spent in the NL, finishing in 11th and 12th place respectively, before they joined the Yorkshire Combination. In 1912 they turned professional and joined the Midland League (ML). Only three seasons were spent in the ML due to the start of the First World War and the club subsequently folded in 1917.

The club reformed in 1922 joining the Midland League in the process. A highest place finish of 6th place was achieved in their seven seasons before they were elected to the Football League (FL). Most of their time in the FL was spent in the lower divisions, though they did spend two years in division two in the mid-1970's. In 2004 the club were relegated to the Football Conference, the top tier of the non-league game. Their stay out of the FL lasted eight years as in 2012 they were promoted back to the FL via the play-offs.

The form book suggests this will be a close game with only two points seperating the two teams in the League 2 table. York are without a win in three and suffered a 3-1 reverse @ Burton Albion in midweek. Cheltenham come into the game on the back of a 2-1 victory at home to Oxford United on Tuesday night, but prior to this had picked up just one point from their three previous league games. Cheltenham are also unbeaten in their three league away games so far.

On this information my prediction is an away win by a score of 2-1. The bookies make York favourites to come out on top, and as at 10pm on Friday night bet365.com have it as follows:

York to win: 11/8; draw: 23/10; Cheltenham to win: 19/10.

Well if goes to show what I know about football!!!!

The ground is located in the northern part of the city and is surrounded by housing. It was opened in 1932 and currently has a capacity of 7,872, though a record attendance of 28,123 was recorded in 1938 for an FA Cup tie against Huddersfield Town. It is easy to see why they would like to relocated to a new stadium as their revenue streams are very much limited to match days only, and they would be also restricted as to any development of the current site.

the match day programme

Before I write about the day itself and the game a useless fact for you - this will be the eight time I have seen Cheltenham play away from the home. The first four (Notts County, Northampton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester) all resulted in defeats and not a goal to show for it. The fifth, at Burton Albion looked liked going the same way at half time as they were two down. An amazing turn around that saw the game end 5-6. Next up was a trip to Spurs for an FA Cup tie which was a 3-0 loss, and finally back in February I saw Cheltenham dismantle Dagenham & Redbridge 5-0

The day started early as, firstly with a five minute walk to catch the Arriva 51 service into Leicester at 7am. This would get me into the city in plenty of time to get to station for the 0750 East Midlands Trains service that would take me direct to York. In fact I would be catching the only direct train between Leicester and York and vise-versa today, as the train would be sitting at York station until the departure back at 1755.

Arrival in York was at the scheduled time of 1015 and Colin met me some fifteen minutes later. The first port of call was one of the two JD Weatherspoon outlets, The Punchbowl for some breakfast. We then had a walk round the city for a couple of hours taking in the sights before visiting the second of the afore mentioned chain of pubs, The Postern Gate for some liquid refreshment. York obviously gets a lot of tourists but it was even busier today as there was a food and drink festival on in the city. It was then a case of heading in the general direction of the ground, diverting here and there to have a look at more of the city. We arrived at the ground with around an hour to kick-off. The away fans are housed on an open terrace and part of the Popular Stand to the left. This is all seated and runs the whole length of the pitch. Opposite is the main stand which is the largest of the stands at the ground, but only runs for about 2/3 of the pitch length. Opposite the away terrace is the David Longhurst Stand which is fully covered , and like the other two covered stands has a number of supporting pillars restricting the sightlines somewhat.

We decided to eat at the ground which in my opinion was not a wise decision. I paid £3.30 for a hot dog and regretted it. It was one of those that you heat up in boiling water and was tastleless - for the price you should expect and get something more edible. My advice is to eat in one of the many food outlets in the city centre before arriving at the ground.

The game was not the best advert for professional football. Cheltenham resulted in a hoof it up to the big man up front approach and got very little success from it. When they did the ball down and pass it around they looked a decent side, but alas this was not often. York played the better football with Michael Coulson looking dangerous on the right hand side of midfield. Defences though were on top of clear cut chances were at a premium. York were the better side in the second half causing the visiting defence problems, but everything was dealt with. The closest Cheltenham came to making the breakthough was with around fifteen minutes left. Substitute Kaid Mohamed's shot hit the underside of the bar and bounced onto the line before being cleared. No need for the goalline technology debate on this one!!!

A hard fought point for both sides with the visitors no doubt being the more happier. If either side is to make a push for promotion come the end of the season they will have to play better than this.

A walk of around fifteen to twenty minutes back to the station followed. I had some time on my side, while Colin was catching a train to Harrogate to spend the evening with family before heading back to Cheltenham on the Sunday morning. With this time to kill I made my way to the York Tap - a real ale house that is inside the station. It has over thirty beers on offer and it was difficult to choose. In the end I went for the Bernard Dark at 5.1% and very nice it was too. Just a shame I did not have any more time to try some more of the beers on offer. A must visit for any beer lovers.

There were delays of around fifteen minutes caused by signalling problems in the Sheffield area, but this did not impede me in getting my bus back to Braunstone, and I was home just before 9pm.

A long but enjoyable day out in a fabulous city - just a shame that the football served did not match up.

Admission: £16

Programme: £3 - 52 pages A5 size. Very good effort - 4/5

Attendance: 3,477 (196 away)

A slideshow of twelve photos of the ground can be viewed below:

More photos of York itself can be viewed in another slideshow: