Shakespeare Country

STRATFORD TOWN 1-3 ECCLESHALL
Saturday 15th September 2012
FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round
The DCS Stadium, Knights Lane, Tiddington, Warwickshire

Another Saturday and another case of having too much choice of where to go. Firstly it was a case of deciding which direction to head - north or south? I narrowed it down to head south west, firstly stopping off in Coventry for an under-18's match in the FA Premier Academy League between Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday @ the Alan Higgs Centre on Allard Way. Then more indecision - no sarcastic comments please!!! of where to go for the second game. My original choice was to stay in Coventry for a very rare venture into the Coventry Alliance for a game between Triumph Athletic and Highway Coundon Court, but on doing some further research I noticed that Stratford Town were at home in the FA Vase. Stratford moved to their current ground a couple of years ago and thought it was about time I paid a visit.

Stratford-upon-Avon, or Stratford for short is a market town and civil parish in Warwickshire. It lies on the River Avon and is located twenty-two miles south east of Birmingham and eight miles south west of Warwick. The estimated population is around 25,500.

The town is a popular tourist destination due to it being the birthplace of playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and receives around three million visitors a year from around the world. It grew up as a market town in medieval times with the original charters granted in 1196.

Stratford used to play on Masons Road in the town itself, a venue I visited back in August 1999 when Oadby Town played their first away fixture in the Midland Football Alliance. On a Tuesday evening the hosts recorded a 6-2 victory, though Oadby would have the last laugh come the season end as they finished the campaign as champions some ten points ahead of Stratford. Their present ground is currently called The DCS Stadium and is on the south-western edge of Tiddington. To avoid going through Stratford itself, I decided to turn off the A46 at the island with the M40 and head onto the A429. This took me to Wellesbourne, from which I turned right at the island with the airfield onto B4086 towards Tiddington. Knights Lane is a left hand turn in the middle of the village and you go past both the NFU Mutual Sports Ground and Alveston C of E Primary School before reaching  the ground entrance. 

The ground is only a few years old and is also home to Birmingham City Ladies FC who compete in the Women's Super League. All the buildings and facilities are on the north side of the ground - clubhouse (of which access is from outside the ground), club shop, catering hut, board room, changing rooms and stand. The stand is set back slightly from the pitch and gives and excellent view of the proceedings on the pitch, helped as it was designed and built to house the changing rooms underneath. The club displayed the team line-ups on a white board positioned next to the club shop, and the tannoy announcements were clear and concise. 

Stratford went into this game as firm favourites, firstly playing a level higher than their opponents from Staffordshire and also went into the game top of the Midland Alliance. An unbeaten start after eight games saw them six points ahead of Boldmere St. Michaels. The start Eccleshall have had is a complete opposite, gaining just point from their seven league games.

As the score suggests Eccleshall turned the form book on its head to record a deserved victory. Stratford struggled to get any rhythm going and looked devoid of any ideas. The visitors broke the deadlock on twenty-five minutes as Daniel Jones turned in a cross. Six minutes later and it became 0-2 as Jones got his second of the afternoon, lobbing the ball over the oncoming Brendan Hazlett. 

Half time came and it was time for some grub. I had been told the tea bar was top draw by fellow groundhopper Chris Bedford on Facebook, and with these high expectations in mind I was not disappointed. It cost me £4.20 for a tray of chips, hot dog and a coffee. The second half was spent sitting in the stand after taking photos from various points around the ground during the first period. 

The second half saw Stratford try to break a resolute Eccleshall defence down, but could not find a way through. You know it is not going to be your day when  a) your main striker misses a sitter and b) a certain own goal crashes against the bar. Chances came and went with Stuart Plant dealing with everything that came his way. With eleven minutes remaining it was game over as the visitors caught Stratford on the counter attack. Dale Roberts drilling the ball past Hazlett. When the home side finally got on the score sheet it was a case of "too little too late", as Anthony Robinson slid the ball through the legs off Stuart Plant with just four minutes remaining.

Admission: £6

Programme: £1

Attendance: 136

An enjoyable day out played in glorious sunshine. It was also good to meet up again with Stevenage based Bob Davies who was at this game with his wife. I hope they enjoy the rest of their holiday in this part of the country.

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

Oadby v Ampthill

OADBY TOWN 2-1 AMPTHILL TOWN
Saturday 21st January 2012
FA Vase 4th Round
Greene King Park

After what feels like a long time since I saw Oadby in action this is to be the first of two consecutive  Saturday home games for the Poachers. The last time I was down here for a games was on December 3rd when they hosted Tipton Town in the last round of this competition. A combination of the following has seen me miss all home games since - a postponement (10th Dec); midweek matches and two weeks ago I was down in London for the Spurs - Cheltenham FA Cup tie.

This tie pits two sides that compete at Step 6 of the non-league pyramid, with Ampthill playing their football in division 1 of the Spartan South Midlands League. Like Oadby they are having a good season as well and currently sit in second place in their division and have won their last four matches. Also like Oadby they have only lost two out of their twenty five league games played and currently sit in second place though are eleven points behind leaders London Colney. Oadby meanwhile are on a decent run of form themselves having only lost once in the last twelve matches in all competitions, which was against Barwell recently in the Leicestershire Challenge Cup.

On paper this should be a cracking cup tie between two in form sides. 

Both sides also have similar records in this seasons FA Vase so far with them both starting out at the second qualifying round and also they have had one tie that went to a replay. The record for both teams is as follows:

Oadby Town

2nd Qualifying: Huntingdon Town (H) Won 3-2

1st round: Lutterworth Athletic (A) Won 2-1

2nd round: St. Andrews (H) Won 1-0

3rd round: Tipton Town (H) Drew 1-1 aet

replay: Tipton Town (A) Won 2-1 

Ampthill Town

2nd Qualifying: Barkingside (A) Drew 1-1 aet

replay: Barkingside (H) Won 1-0

1st round: Basildon United (A) Won 4-0

2nd round: Haringey & Waltham Development (H) Won 3-2

3rd round: Lancing (A) Won 3-1

The club shop

Oadby progressed to the last 16 of the FA Vase with a victory that should have been more comfortable that it was. After a bout of sparing Oadby settled down and  took the lead on eleven minutes. A Matt Moore shot from twenty five yards out took a slight deflection on its way into the top corner.  The hosts doubled their advantage ten minutes later when Matt Piper converted a Steve Fenton cross to put some daylight between the two sides. A few minutes at it should have been three nil but Piper failed to connect with a cross from the right flank. Ampthill's ploy was to play long balls down the channels and these on the main were dealt with comfortably by Joe Latham and Declan Towers. The visitors best chance of the opening period came around the twenty six minute when a Jake Duffy cleared an effort off the line.   Oadby themselves had an effort cleared off the line and then Matt Moore was unable to beat Tom Kennard in the Ampthill goal. 


The second half saw Oadby take their foot off the gas and allowed the visitors  to come into the game more, though their efforts were on the whole easily dealt with by Oadby keeper Elliot Shilliam. Oadby had three notable chances to put their supporters at ease with both Moore and Jermaine Gordon being a whisker away from converting crosses from Piper, while a Latham header was tipped over by Kennard. With six minutes remaining Ampthill got a lifeline as Chris Lester scrambled the ball home via the post from a couple of yards out. A nervy finish for the home supporters but in the end Oadby deservedly progressed to the next round and as the final whistle blew a chorus of "we're all going to Wembley" rang out.


Admission: £5 / £3 concessions
Programme: £1
Attendance: 417


Other 4th Round Results
Whitley Bay 5-0 South Park
Tunbridge Wells 0-1 St. Ives Town
Willand Rovers 1-3 Staveley Miners Welfare
Shortwood United 1-0 Enfield 1893
Newcastle Benfield 1-2 Herne Bay
Bournemouth 2-1 Royston Town
Old Woodstock Town 0-2 Bethnal Green United
Newport Pagnell Town 2-3 Ashington
Norton United 1-2 Peterborough Northern Star
Wisbech Town 2-2 Dunston UTS (after extra time)
Bitton 1-3 West Auckland Town
Tividale 7-1 Binfield
Gresley 1-1 Three Bridges (after extra time)
Billingham Synthonia 0-0 Runcorn Town (after extra time)
Reading Town 2-3 Larkhall Athletic

Stalemate in the Vase

OADBY TOWN 1–1 (aet) TIPTON TOWN

Saturday 3^rd December 2011

FA Vase 3^rd Round

Greene King Park

Another home game for Oadby Town this afternoon, this time against former adversaries in the Midland Football Alliance Tipton Town in the 3^rd round (last 64) of the FA Vase.  This is the first time since the 2004/05 season that Oadby have reached this stage of the competition.  A controversial 1-0 defeat @ Stourbridge ended the hopes of glory then. This time around Oadby have moved quietly into the third round with three one goal victories. First up was Huntingdon Town who were dispatched 3-2 here @ GKP. This was followed up by a trip to Leicestershire Senior League outfit Lutterworth Athletic who were beaten 2-1 and last but not least, just two weeks ago local rivals St. Andrews arrived at GKP and a superb effort from Jon Stevenson was the difference between the two sides. Tipton Town started out in the 1^st round and have had two home ties so far. Fellow MFA side Highgate United were beaten by the odd goal in three and Bardon Hill were on the wrong end of a 5-1 score line in the previous round. With Bardon Hill exiting the competition Oadby are the last Leicestershire club standing. Both clubs had midweek matches to overcome with Oadby putting St. Andrews to the sword once again with a resounding 4-1 success in the 2^nd round of the Leicestershire Senior Cup. Tipton meanwhile were in MFA action and came away from Stratford Town with a 1-1 draw.

I finally got round to watching Oadby @ Tipton Town last season and despite taking the lead were on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing. How things have changed? Despite Oadby being relegated the side now is unrecognisable from the one last season and the feel good factor (both on and off the field) is now well and truly back at GKP. 

An intriguing cup tie that ebbed and flowed at times, with neither side able to exert any superiority in the 1st half. Oadby took the lead in the 45th minute when Jermaine Gordon scrambled the ball home from a yard out.

Oadby's lead did not last long as Tipton equalised within five minutes of the restart. Nathan Waite finishing off a good move down the right hand side. The games main talking point came with 12 minutes remaining as Oadby sub James Miller was shown a straight red card. Despite going down to ten men Oadby looked the better side for the remainder of the 90 and had three chances win in the dying moments. Matt Moore had a shot saved, Matt Piper's chip from a tight angle failed to find the target and a Steve Fenton shot that was heading for the top corner was superbly saved by the Tipton keeper in the 4th minute of stoppage time.

Extra time and Oadby played the better football but Gordon had a shot saved and Jon Stevenson volleyed over. Tipton had their chances but the majority of their efforts were off target and Elliot Shilliam was the quieter of the two keepers.

Attendance: 167

Match rating: 7 out of 10

Replay Wednesday night and the tie I'm sure will have a few more twists and turns.

One sour note was that there was some racist chanting by the few Tipton fans that came across, referring to Leicester as Paki Land.

Websites:

Oadby Town: official – facebook – forum

Tipton Town:: official

Hard fought derby in the Vase

OADBY TOWN 1-0 ST. ANDREWS
Saturday 19th November 2011
FA Vase 2nd Round
Greene King Park

After a five week break I am back at GKP for what on paper should be a cracking tie in the FA Vase. Both teams currently sit in the top six in the East Midlands Counties League (EMCL), and they played each other at the end of August with Oadby running out 3-1 winners.

Since I was last here Oadby have had mixed fortunes in three competitions - two wins (v Radford 1-0 and Radcliffe Olympic 5-1) and one defeat (v 2-0 @ Borrowash Victoria) in the EMCL, a 2-1 victory at Lutterworth Athletic in the last round of the Vase and finally a 3-2 defeat at home to Holbrook Sports in the ECML Cup 2nd Round. 

On a personal note before the draw was made I was hoping for an away tie at a ground that I had not previously visited. The options were limited to five due to visiting quite a number of grounds in the Midlands over the years. They five were Bloxwich United AFC, Brocton, Ellesmere Rangers, Norton United and Wisbech Town. Alas it was not to be and this is as good as tie as any. Hopefully with Leicester City not playing until tomorrow this tie might catch the attention of some of their fans looking for their Saturday football fix. Looking at the Vase draw at the start of play there is only one other Leicestershire side still involved in the competition, and they are Bardon Hill who have a tough away tie at Midland Alliance side Tipton Town. One other tie did catch my attention and that was Leverstock Green v Enfield 1893. Why you may ask? Well these two teams played in the 1st round of last years competition and Leverstock won a nine goal thriller with the winning goal coming in the last minute. It was a game that yours truly attended and was the best game I saw last season. Click on the Leverstock Green link on the right hand side of the page for more details.

Since I was last down here Oadby have set up their club shop which is located adjacent to the entrance on the clubhouse side of the ground. They currently have a small range of merchandise for sale which include badges (£3), mugs (£5) and key rings (£2.50) plus several boxes of old programmes. 

The game was like the heading says a hard fought victory for their hosts against their local rivals. Clear cut chances were at a premium but the visitors should have opened the scoring early on, but their #9 shot straight at Oadby keeper Elliot Shilliam's legs. Oadby then felt they should have had a penalty when Michael Reeve went down but the referee waved away their calls. The only goal of the game was came midway through the half and was to be honest the only real bright spark in the game. Jon Stevenson connected sweetly on the volley and it flew past Warren Butlin in the Andrews goal. Matt Piper nearly doubled Oadby's advantage but his free kick was saved by Butlin. At the other end the afore mentioned St. Andrews number 9 headed a corner wide. Just before half time the floodlights went out and the start of the second half was delayed ten minutes while the problem was rectified. Only five of the six sets came back to life but the referee was happy for the game to go on, despite a second of the pitch being in darkness. The second half was again similar to the first with few clear cut chances being created by either side. There were two that fell to Oadby that I can recall - the first from Matt Piper who turned his marker inside out, cut inside but his shot was saved at his near post by Butlin. The second came in stoppage time but having created space for himself in the penalty area Michael Reeve dragged his shot wide. 


Joy and relief at the final whistle and now all eyes will be on the draw for the 3rd round on Monday. These two sides will be sick of the sight of each other shortly as they were paired together in the 2nd round of the Leicestershire Senior Cup, which will be played @ Oadby on Tuesday 29th November with a 7.30pm kick-off.

Admission: Free for me 

Programme: £1

Attendance: 158 (official) - nearer 250

Match rating: 4 out of 10


A final note is that the game was attended by members of the Oadby Owls Under-9's who were mascots for the day. 

Hunting the Vase

OADBY TOWN 3-2 HUNTINGDON TOWN

Saturday 24th September 2011

FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round

Greene King Park

A briefer report than normal today as I am back at Greene King part for the second time this season to see Oadby Town. This is their first and hopefully not last game in this seasons FA Vase.  Opponents Huntingdon make the 49 mile trip across from Cambridgeshire for the first ever meeting between the two sides. This is a competition that holds fond memories for Oadby as they reached the semi-finals in 2003, having beaten holders Whitley Bay in the north-east in a tense 5th round tie before succumbing to eventual winners Brigg Town. To be honest their record since then has been pretty dire!!!! Let's hope today is the catalyst  for a long run in the competition.

Despite losing to Quorn in a replayed FA Cup tie they still remain unbeaten in the league with five wins from six games. In fact they remain the only unbeaten side in the East Midlands Counties League this season. Opponents Huntingdon compete in division 1 of the United Counties League which sits at the same level of the pyramid as the EMCL, and have four points from their three league games.

Pre-match prediction: I have generally been known to be incorrect at this but my head is saying Oadby should have too much firepower and win this either 2-0 or 3-1.

Oadby progressed to the first round proper of the FA Vase with a well fought and deserved victory in an entertaining game against their Cambridgeshire opponents. Both sides in the first half were evenly matched for the most post with chances missed at either end. For the hosts Jon Stevenson put the ball over when through on goal and hit a superb curling free kick that rattled the cross bar with the Huntingdon keeper well beaten, and skipper Joe Latham who was later to get on the score sheet had an effort cleared off the line. The opening goal of the game came on 39 minutes when Michael Reeves scored at the second attempt to give Oadby the lead. Just three minutes into the second half and it was all square as Oadby failed to clear, and the ball was headed home from a couple of yards out. Inside ten minutes and Oadby were back in front when Stevenson fed Reeves with a lovely through ball, who then rounded the keeper and finished with aplomb. Despite having a reasonable amount of possession Huntingdon failed to test the Oadby keeper. Oadby themselves always looked dangerous on the break with Stevenson in particular being denied by an excellent save. The crucial third goal for Oadby came with just six minutes remaining when Latham headed in a corner. With the game seemingly won Huntingdon got a second goal deep into injury time before the referee finally blew his whistle with some five extra minutes played.

The reward for the victory is a trip to Leicestershire Senior League side Lutterworth Athletic in the 1st round in four weeks time. Athletic themselves knocked out Anstey Nomads 3-1.

Admission: £5

Programme: £1

Attendance: ???

Match rating: 3 1/2 out of 5


My next visit to Oadby will be in two weeks time on October 8th for their EMCL encounter with Nottingham side Radford.


28 photos taken during the game can be viewed below:

Leverstock

LEVERSTOCK GREEN 5-4 ENFIELD 1893

Saturday 2nd October

FA Vase 1st Round

Pancake Lane

With a multitude ties in the FA Vase that appealed to us (Gary and myself), the difficult decision was choosing where to go!!! In the end we agree up Leverstock Green FC of the Spartan South Midlands League for their tie against Essex Senior League side Enfield 1893. The only reason I suggested this game was the fact that I liked the name of their ground of Pancake Lane. No other reason at all.

Leverstock Green is basically a suburb of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire and is located on the eastern edge of the town. The following information is taken from the Wikipedia page:

"Leverstock Green contains a village school (Leverstock Green Church of England Primary School), village cricket club, village football club (Leverstock Green FC), village hall, village shops, village pubs and Holy Trinity church. Despite its recent amalgamation with Hemel Hempstead, the old names remain in memory of historical times.

Leverstock Green is a "modern" parish, formed about 1849 from parts of the parishes of St Michael's (St Albans), Abbots Langley and Hemel Hempstead.

There is documentary and archaeological evidence that people lived and worked in the immediate area of Leverstock Green from the time of the Roman occupation onwards. Recent research indicates that settlement along Westwick Row may well date back even further to the Iron Age and perhaps the Bronze Age. It seems quite likely that this settlement was a "suburb" of the major Iron Age settlement at Pre Wood just outside St. Albans.

Leverstock Green was and is still affected by the 2005 Buncefield oil depot explosion (the largest explosion in peacetime Europe), causing damage to houses and other buildings, such as broken windows, fallen chimneys and in some cases more serious structural damage, temporarily displacing a number of families.

The village is a growing village, with a location close to an industrial estate from which many large companies operate. Easy access to the M1 and M25 motorways, Watford and St Albans make the village popular for commuters.

The village introduced a village patrol scheme in late August 2008 successfully reducing a rise in litter and graffiti in the area."

It took around 1 hour 20 minutes to make the drive south primarily down the M1 from Leicester. To get to the ground itself exit at Junction 8 of the M1 and take the A414 towards Hemel, at the second island turn left onto the A4147 (signposted Leverstock Green). Pancake Lane is the fifth turning on the left with the ground being on the left hand side after Lombardy Close. Admission to the ground was £5 with a further £1 for a primarily stats based programme. As you enter the ground the main stand is on the far side to the right, with clubhouse, toilets, catering facilities and changing rooms all along the near side with an overhang providing further cover.  

The football club itself was formed around 1895 and competed in the West Herts League and Herts County League before joining the South Midlands League in 1991. In the 1996/97 season they won the Senior Division title. In the summer the South Midlands League amalgamated with the Spartan League and they became founder members of the Spartan South Midlands League (SSM). Green have remained in this competition to this day and last season they finished in 10th place in the premier division. 

A more detailed history on the club can be found on the club's website by clicking here. 

The game...we it is difficult to decide where to start as it is one of the best games I have seen in a very long time. A brilliant cup tie that was a credit to both teams and a game that both sides deserved to win. For the home side though they could not have had a worse start as they conceded a penalty after only fifteen (yes 15) seconds. Sherwin Stanley stepped up and sent the Leverstock keeper Carl Tasker the wrong way to make it 0-1. Six minutes later and the home side drew level when captain Lee Bircham headed home a free kick. This is when things started to get a bit daft as just three minutes later Enfield re-took the lead through Paul Oshin who headed home a cross. A minute later and they nearly made it 1-3 as Neal Hughes had is shot cleared off the line. They did though make it 1-3 on seventeen minutes with Hughes scoring from close range. The home side did not let their heads drop and pulled one back just two minutes afterwards when Adam Hallisey smashed the ball home from a corner. Leverstock nearly equalised a minute later when John Hickman pulled off a cracking save from a header by Charlie Gorman. Adam Hallisey was fouled after picking up the rebound and the referee awarded another penalty. Bircham stepped up and, despite Hickman getting a hand to the ball could not prevent Leverstock Green drawing level on 21 minutes. The game then settled down for the remainder of the half with no further scoring, but both sides continued to play an attacking brand of football. The second half startedEnfield took the lead for a third time on 59 minutes when Oshin got his second of the game by scrambling home a free kick. They nearly restored their two goal cushion a couple of minutes later as Hughes' powerful drive was well saved by Tasker. The game then got a bit niggly with a string of silly fouls and the referee handing out a few yellow cards. Into the last ten minutes and Leverstock drew level for a third time when Steve Hatch headed home a corner. Just as extra-time was looming Leverstock scored with what turned out to be the winner with a minute remaining in the ninety, with Adam Hallisey the hero as he headed home a corner. After a nervous few minutes of stoppage time the referee blew his whistle to end a superb cup tie.

Not much more to add but a second consecutive game that we had seen nine goals following on from Shifnal Town's 7-2 victory @ Stafford Town on Tuesday evening, a first for both of us I'm sure. An enjoyable visit to a friendly club and good luck to both sides for the rest of the season.

Admission: £5

Programme: £1

Badge: £3

Coffee & Tea: 50p

Attendance: 98 (head count)

Match rating: 5*

Further photos of the game can be found here: LGFC