Monday 26th August 2013
Leicestershire Senior League Division 1
Terrace Road, Ellistown, Leicestershire
 |
| The Falcon Inn |
A day out today spent with the wife (Angela) and dog (Millie), and not just for football. Firstly we headed up to Whatton House in the north of Leicestershire and had a look around the gardens. Admission was £3.50 each and payment was made at an honesty box at the entrance. Whatton House is located to the north of Long Whatton and we turned down Mill Lane (next to the church) in the village and followed the single track road to the house. After spending a pleasant hour walking around the gardens we then headed to the Falcon Inn in Long Whatton itself for some lunch before heading south for my football fix.
21 photos of the house and gardens can be viewed in the slideshow below:
The drive to Ellistown took around twenty five minutes and we arrived with around fifteen minutes before the scheduled 3pm kick-off. No admission was charged or programme issued which is what I expected, though Anstey Town used to issue when previously in the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL). Both teams today are new members to the league, though Town were previously members between 1982 and 2009 before dropping down to the North Leicestershire for four seasons. Info on the Dons can be found on a previous blog post by clicking here. As you might have gathered by now Anstey Town do not play in Anstey itself but share the facilities at Ellistown. There is small section of cover between the two dugouts on the near side and an uncovered stand on the far side backing onto the second pitch.
The Dons had made an unbeaten start to life in the LSL winning two (2-0 v Anstey Nomads Reserves and 2-1 @ Hathern) and drawing one (1-1 v Asfordby Amateurs) of their opening three games, while Anstey had drawn one (1-1 v Hathern) and lost one (2-0 @ Barlestone St. Giles) of their opening two games. The first half was pretty poor though Anstey found themselves two nil up and the half time interval. The first came on seventeen minutes when Brown rounded Andrew Nicholson in the Dons goal and rolled the ball into an empty net. The second came just after the hour mark and was the result of a controversial awarding of a penalty by the referee. To be honest I had an excellent view of the incident and had no idea what he awarded it for, but anyhow Brown stepped up and sent Nicholson the wrong way. The second half was much more entertaining and the Dons will wonder how come the end they did not take at least a point from the game. They got a goal back on sixty three minutes when Steve Kirkham slotted the ball past the Town keeper. Anstey though quickly restored their two goal cushion as Brown completed his hat-trick just a minute later as he headed in a cross at the far post. The Dons were soon back within striking distance as a Tom Potts free kick on sixty seven minutes made it 3-2. The Dons always looked the more likely to score next and to be honest if it wasn't for the woodwork would have done. Firstly a Leighton Nicholson shot struck the base of the post, and finally in stoppage time Tom Potts and Steve Kirkham both headed against the bar within a matter of seconds of each other. This was their final chance of the afternoon and Anstey held on for their first victory of the season.
33 ground and match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:
