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:

 

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:

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: