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St Patricks 0-6 Desford

Thursday 9th April 2009

Leicester & District League Premier Division

The Emerald Centre, Leicester

In the race for the District League title it is a case of "as you were" as both contenders, Houghton Rangers and Desford both won at the weekend - Houghton 4-1 @ Burbage Old Boys and Desford 5-0 v Birstall RBL. Houghton still lead Desford by one point but having played a game more. Today sees Desford play their game in hand at bottom of the table St Patricks who have only won 2 games all season and conceeding 94 goals in the process. The reverse fixture earlier on in the season saw Desford run out 18-0 winners.

St Patricks play at the Emerald Centre on Gipsy Lane on the north east side of Leicester on the edge of the Northfields estate. The ground was home to former Leicestershire Senior League side Hillcroft who played their last season there. As per normal with the District League no admission was charged or programme issued and the attendance I would guess reached about 10. The pitch do be fair was awful and made playing football of any kind very difficult.

Desford had most of the possession but failed to create many clear cut chances, the play became scrappy and this caused a bit of arguing amongst them. The closest the visitors came was at the end of the half when the number six headed a free kick against the bar. In summarising it was a poor first half and the worst 45 minutes that I have seen Desford play so far this season. It was all change in the second half as Desford took the lead on 48 minutes through Reece Morris who drilled a lot shot into the keepers right hand corner. The second came on 62 minutes when one of the substitutes finished well after a good move on the left hand side with Stewart Smith. Five minutes later and it was 3-0 after the afore mentioned Smith prodded the ball home from six yards from a Simon Goodman free kick. The fourth was added just two minutes later when an attempted cross from Smith sailed over the keeper's head into the net. Two further goals came in the last five minutes - the first was an own goal when a Rocky Greenwood cross was put into his own net by the keeper and the second was a solo effort from Reece Morris.

After this emphatic but expected win Desford find themselves back on top of the table but come Saturday afternoon Houghton should regain top spot with Desford not having a game due to their involvement in the final of the Leicestershire Junior Cup on Bank Holiday Monday.

Closing in on Houghton

Burbage Old Boys 0-2 Desford

Tuesday 31st March

Leicester & District League Premier Division

Britannia Road

A very late decision was made at 5pm to attend this 6pm kick-off. I was planning to visit Tividale in the West Midlands League but didn’t fancy or feel like going that far, and with a quick check on the FA’s Full Time website I noticed this fixture between former Leicestershire Senior League side Burbage Old Boys and Desford who are in a battle with Houghton Rangers for the District League title. Some might say Burbage is a glorified suburb of Hinckley but it is a separate town / village in its own right and has its own identity. I suppose the easiest way geographically of separating the towns is the railway line.

Burbage play their home games on Britannia Road and has a rural feel about it, not surprising as it is on the edge of the village with the M69 and A5 in view. The pitch was not railed nor roped though some of the posts which used to support the rails still surround the pitch side.

At the start of play Desford occupied second place four points behind Houghton but had two games in hand, while hosts Burbage sat in 13th place in the 14 team division. A comfortable away win then?

Both teams tried to play football on a hard and bumpy pitch with Desford (not surprisingly) creating the better chances, and they nearly took the lead on 15 minutes when Simon Goodman volleyed against the left upright. Ten minutes later and Goodman found the target with a lob over the home keeper. Further half chances were created by both sides but it was the visitors who got a vital second when Reece Morris hit a shot on the turn through a crowded penalty area with two minutes remaining in the half. The second period saw a scrappier encounter with both sides having an equal amount of possession but it was Desford who came closest when they struck the woodwork in the final quarter. Not the best performance from Desford but it was a case of job done and move onto the next game, which is a home game against mid-table Birstall RBL on Saturday while leaders Houghton travel to today’s hosts Burbage.

Advantage Houghton

Desford 1-3 Houghton Rangers

Saturday 28th February 2009

Leicester & District League Premier Division

Sport in Desford

With having completed the Leicestershire Senior League I am now taking more of an interest in it's three feeder leagues, with the District League being one of them. The other two are the Leicester City League and North Leicestershire League. At present I am yet to attend a game in the latter two but I'm sure over the next year or two this will change.

This clash today saw a battle of the top 2 with the visitors from Houghton-on-the-Hill, a village 6 miles east of Leicester leading the hosts Desford by one point but having played a game more. Desford play at "Sport in Desford" on Peckleton Lane, a ground that I saw former Leicestershire Senior League side HM Desford Sports play Ravenstone a few years ago. Desford is very easy to get to from home taking only around 10 minutes to get there, the majority of which is down the A47 in the Hinckley direction.

The first half was an even affair in terms of possession and chances but it was the visitors who struck first on five minutes when a cross from Andy Almond was headed home by their number 8. It took a while for Desford to get into the game but they equalised on 34 minutes through a right footed volley from Rocky Greenwood, which came only a minute after a Paddy Smith header was well saved by the home keeper. Smith then again went close when a shot from the edge of the area hit the outside of the post. The second half was a different story with the visitors playing the better football and creating the better chances and deservedly took the lead on 67 minutes. Andy Almond was left unmarked in the penalty area and headed home a free kick past the keeper. Almond got his second with ten minutes remaining when he tapped home from a couple of yards out to put the game beyond doubt.

With the teams still to play each other at Houghton there could yet be another twist in the race for promotion to the Leicestershire Senior League.

website:

www.desfordfc.co.uk

The Big 300!!!!

GLENFIELD TOWN 1-2 DESFORD
Leicester & District League Premier DivisionSaturday 1st November
Glenfield Sports Ground

As the title sugests today was my 300th sporting venue that I have watched sport at and I suppose I could have gone somewhere a bit more glamorous than where I ended up, but hey ho! Anyhow a rare venture into the District League today saw me primarily take a look at league leaders Desford. Also I planned to stay local and as Glenfield is only a ten minute drive north on local roads an ideal opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Glenfield is one of the many towns that skirt larger towns and cities in this country and throughout the world that are glorified suburbs yet are outside the city’s boundaries. Some may argue that it is Glenfield and not Leicester that is the county town of Leicestershire due to the location of county hall.

The Glenfield Sports Ground is located on Gynsil Lane between the A50 Coalville and Beaumont Leys exits of the A46 Leicester Western Bypass. If exiting at the A50 head towards Leicester and at the first island (with County Hall ahead of you) take a left onto Gynsil Lane, and the sports ground is signposted after a 100 yards or so on the left hand side. The sports ground is host to three full size football pitches (one of which is completely railed off and is the one the home team use), a half size football pitch and cricket pitch. There is no hard standing or cover which is the norm for District League football. At the start of play Desford (as previously stated) led the premier division with six wins and a draw from their seven matches while the hosts had won four out of their opening six matches and occupied 4th place at the start of play.

Glenfield took the game to Desford from the start and created the first chance on 4 minutes but a far post effort was put tamely wide. Another good chance was created before they got even close when a direct free kick on 23 minutes was deflected onto the outside of the post. The second period of the half saw Desford come into the game more and was no surprise when they took the lead on 39 minutes. Stuart “Paddy” Smith was put through and with only the keeper to beat finished with ease. Only a decent final ball being both sides nemesis in an even first half. The second saw the visitors dominate possession and chances from the start with Smith heading against a post on 59 minutes and Simon Goodman forcing the home keeper into a good save on 65. Desford finally sealed all three points on 83 minutes when the afore mentioned Goodman placed a low shot past the keeper from 10 yards or so. Deep into injury time at the end of the game saw Glenfield get a consolation goal I felt they deserved for the effort they put in today when the ball was scrambled home from a couple of yards.

A fair scoreline and a reasonably enjoyable game in very cold conditions.