Sileby Town FC

SILEBY TOWN 0-1 BLABY & WHETSTONE ATHLETIC RESERVES

Saturday 10th October 2015

Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

Sileby Sports Club, Southfield Avenue, Sileby, Leicestershire

As is often the case now days my choice of football game is dictated by my work shift patterns, and after having nearly three weeks off it was a case of back to normal. With not getting home from work around 6.30am I managed to get a few hours sleep before rising around midday. I also needed to be back early as I had a family function on in Leicester city centre to celebrate my sister-in-law's fiftieth birthday. With nothing really standing out I decided it was a good as time as ever to visit Sileby Town FC's new ground. Also it would mean that I have again watched a game of football at every venue currently in use in the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL). My first would have been during the 1997/98 season when I saw then members Oadby Town play an FA Vase tie against Tooting & Mitcham United, while of the current members it would have been Highfield Rangers v Kirby Muxloe in August 1998. 

Sileby Town left their previous home in the Summer to move into their new ground in time for the start of the 2015/16 season. It is located off Seagrave Road on the northern edge of the town / village and is next to a new housing estate that is being built. A fully tarmaced car park is in front of a building that houses the changing rooms, toilets and clubhouse. The clubhouse is of a decent size and there is a fully working kitchen and licensed bar. At present the pitch the pretty much fully railed on all four sides with dugouts located on the far side. There is no hard standing around the pitch or floodlights in place, though having spoken to a friendly club official he informed me that club are about to start the planning application for lights. 

Sileby are currently the longest serving member club of the LSL having joined in 1953 and have been in continuous membership ever since. They (Sileby) are defending champions and at the start of play were unbeaten from their opening eight league games, sitting six points behind leaders Birstall United. Their visitors this afternoon had recorded three wins from their opening six games and were in the lower half of the league table. 

A decent crowd showed up and they witnessed a tight game between two evenly matched teams. Sileby should have scored inside the opening minutes, but gradually Blaby began to cause their hosts problems. The game as is the case in this country no matter what the level was played at a fair pace, and was going back and forth. Neither side though were capable of really testing the opposing goal keeper and it was no surprise that they went in at half time all square. The only goal of the afternoon came in the opening couple of minutes of the restart when Ryan Shilton headed home a corner from six yards out. Both sides had their chances, though like the first half few were clear cut and generally both keepers had relatively quiet afternoons on that front. As the game wore on Sileby had more of the possession as they went in search of an equaliser, with Blaby utilising the pace of their left midfielder to hit Sileby on the counter attack.

Overall not a bad game, though with the ground in its current state I am glad I visited it when it was a mild afternoon. With the LSL now complete again my next target locally is to finish the top divisions of the Leicester & District League and North Leicestershire League respectively. 

Admission: Free

Programme: do not issue

Attendance: around 100

57 photos of the ground and game can be viewed on my zenfolio photo site @ http://rambler77.zenfolio.com/p342896078

Bank Holiday Monday

Anstey Town 3-2 C.K. Dons
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:

re-completing the LSL

C.K. DONS 2-0 ANSTEY NOMADS RESERVES
Saturday 17th August 2013
Leicestershire Senior League Division 1
Grantham Road, Skillington, Lincolnshire

Over the summer the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL) has had a massive shake up in terms of numbers, with reserve sides of teams higher up the non-league pyramid being accepted on mass including the visitors today. Whether this is a good thing is another matter and one in which I personally can see both pros and cons. There were also three new first teams admitted, with these being Houghton Rangers (champions of the Leicester & District League), Anstey Town (champions of the North Leicestershire League) and the C.K. Dons who won the Grantham & District League (GDL) Division 1 last season. The Dons are based in the village of Croxton Kerrial but due to their ground in the village not being up to standard they had to look elsewhere for somewhere to play. The main reason for their home ground failing the LSL ground grading is that there is no shower in the referees room. One option was in the village of Waltham on the Wolds but newly formed Grantham Athletic will be playing their home games there in the Lincolnshire League. The solution that was found was to play a season at the village of Skillington, over the border in Lincolnshire which is around seven miles away from Croxton. Also at the time the plan is to keep the pitch warm over in Croxton, with the club forming a reserve side to play in the GDL. So we have the situation of this...a Leicestershire based club playing in the LSL, but having to play home games in Lincolnshire, while a Grantham based club playing in the Lincolnshire League playing home games in Leicestershire!!!!

The C.K. Dons were formed in 2009 and were subsequently accepted into division 1 of the GDL. They finished in a creditable sixth place in the fourteen team division in their debut season. The following season an eighth place was recorded and the club also reached the final of the GDL's Junior Cup. It was at this time that I became aware of the club, and after exchanging e-mails with secretary Jez Hill I went up to Ancaster to watch the final against Heckington Millers, but the Dons were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline. The club then took a year out to regroup and then came back a year later stronger and better. They not only won the GDL Division 1 title winning nine out of the ten league games, but reached three cup finals. First up was the Junior Cup which yours truly there to watch and take photos. This was played at Harrowby United's ground in Grantham against fellow Croxton Kerrial side Croxton AFC, but despite leading twice they lost on penalty kicks. The next final was the Benevolent Cup and a 3-2 victory was recorded against AFC Three Gables. And finally the Memorial Cup, but Premier Division champions White Swan Barrowby were too strong and ran out three nil winners. 

The village of Skillington is located within the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, six miles south of Grantham and three miles from the border with Leicestershire. The parish church of St. James is a grade 1 listed building and is built of limestone. Skillington also performs well in the small village category of the National Village in Bloom contest, becoming the first consecutive winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005. There are two pubs in the village, The Blue Horse Inn and  the Cross Swords Inn but unfortunately both were shut. The latter closed at 2pm so unfortunately no chance of a pre-match pint. 

The route to Skillington from my home in the west side of Leicester was via Melton Mowbray and Buckminster and took me around an hour to make the 34 mile journey. With nothing going on in the village I made my way to the ground which is at the village hall on the Grantham Road. Only the changing rooms were open and there were no toilet or catering facilities for spectators. The pitch is also home to the local cricket club and for this game the Dons roped off the pitch on all four sides and have built wooden dugouts to meet the LSL's grading criteria.

The match...it was played in dry and blustery conditions throughout and was hard fought and competitive. Both teams were fairly evenly matched during the game and clear cut chances were at a premium. It was the home side that came close to breaking the deadlock when a sweetly struck shot from Paul Chappell was touched onto the post from the visiting keeper. The second half started a few minutes early and I missed the Dons taking the lead. Apparently it was a screamer from midfielder Tom Potts. A few minutes later and the Dons were two up. They were awarded a free kick just inside the Nomads half near the left touchline, and Chris Morris's kick was headed home at the far post from Chappell. Again like the first half clear cut chances were few and far between, though the Dons should have been further ahead but Chappell shot straight at the keeper when through on goal. Late on in the game and Potts nearly got his second with what would have been an early contender for goal of the season. He hit an unstoppable shot from forty odd yards out that smacked the cross bar with the keeper motionless. 

Overall a good start for the Dons, and I feel they can use their location to their advantage as not many teams will like coming over to Skillington, especially in the middle of winter. I don't think they have enough to win the division, with my tip being Houghton Rangers, but should they keep the crux of the side together then a top six finish will not be beyond them.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 9, but plenty of sheep in neighbouring fields.

39 photos from the game taking during the first half can be viewed in the slideshow below:
  

Treble Paston

LUTTERWORTH TOWN 4-0 SHEPSHED DYNAMO RESERVES
Saturday 7th April 2012
Leicestershire Senior League Division 1
Coventry Road Recreation Ground

With the season coming to a close, and despite Oadby Town having a top of the table clash with Borrowash Victoria I thought it bout time I paid a visit to Lutterworth Towns' home for this season, the Coventry Road Recreation Ground. You might be wondering why I am in a rush to visit what in effect is a public park? Well Town were only going to play at this venue this season, and from what I have been told will be returning to their original home on Dunley Way next season. This also following a recent visit to Sileby Saints means I will have seen football at all the venues in the lower division of the Leicestershire Senior League. That means that come next season I will still have at least one venue to pay a visit to. The only definite is Aylestone Park FC's Linwood Playing Fields ground on Saffron Lane in Leicester. I have heard that Ashby Ivanhoe are moving to a new ground ready for the start of next season, and then it is a case of waiting to see who gets promoted from the two feeder leagues: the North Leicestershire League and the Leicester & District League.

Market Street

Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish within the Harborough District of Leicestershire. It has a population around the 8,500 mark. It lies some 15 miles south of Leicester, 7 miles north of Rugby and 13 miles west of Market Harborough. The town does have excellent access to the road network with it being adjacent to junction 20 of the M1. The A5, M6 and A14 are also only a few miles away as well. The nearest railway station to Lutterworth is Rugby. 

The name Lutterworth possibly comes from the Old Norse  "Lutter's Vordig", meaning Luthers Farm. The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In 1214 the town was granted its Market Charter by King John, and it still holds a market today.

The town is also associated with Frank Whittle who invented the jet engine. He developed some of the worlds first jet engines at the British Thomson-Houston works in Lutterworth and Rugby during the late 1930's and 1940's. The engine for the UK's first jet aeroplane, the Gloster E.28/39 was produced in Lutterworth. A statue of the plane stands in the middle of a roundabout just south of the town centre as a memorial.

Sir Frank Whittle

The Whittle Memorial, Lutterworth

The football club have been in existence for over 100 years and have been members of the Leicestershire Senior League since 1955. Only two clubs, Sileby Town and Earl Shilton Albion have members for longer and they both joined the LSL in 1953. Town have had very few honours in the LSL having won the division 2 title once in 1981 and ten years later became league champions for the one and only time. Last season they finished bottom of the division one table. This season they have again struggled, and at the time of writing with three games remaining sit in 14th place in the league table. Only Asfordby Amateurs are below them. Town's last game was two weeks ago when they recorded a 2-1 home victory against the afore mentioned Amateurs. Opponents Shepshed Dynamo Reserves also find themselves at the wrong end of the table and are currently just one point and one place above their hosts this afternoon, though they have played two games less.

Martin Paston scoring the opening goal

The Coventry Road Recreation Ground is a basic affair as Town rope off the pitch and set up portable dugouts. After today's game they have two home games left before their affore mentioned apparent move back to Dunley Way.

To be fair to both teams my expectations for this game were low, but in the end it was an enjoyable game of football that I witnessed. Two goals in each half gave the hosts a comfortable victory, but despite having no substitutes Shepshed made a game of it, especially in the second half. 

The game was only six minutes old when following a mistake from the visiting keeper Martin Paston slid the ball home for opening goal. Twenty minutes later and it became 2-0. A mistake in the Shepshed defence saw Paston unmarked some twenty yards out from goal and he chipped the ball over the keeper. With no further goals the half ended 2-0. Following the restart Shepshed took the game to Lutterworth and had the majority of the possession and territory. With around 3/4 of the game gone and Town had a three goal cushion. Danny Toone took advantage of a weak punch from the keeper and his shot on the turn found the far corner of the goal. The fourth and final goal of the afternoon came with around fifteen minutes remaining and was a well worked effort. Town hit Shepshed on the counter attack, and after a superb cross field diagonal ball, Paston was found unmarked in the penalty area and finished with a first time effort to complete his hat-trick.

Admission: none

Programme: none 

Attendance: 10

A slideshow of some photos taken of the game can be viewed below:

Saints v Swifts

SILEBY SAINTS 3-0 LUTTERWORTH TOWN

Saturday 3rd March 2012

Leicestershire Senior League Division 1

Platts Lane Sports Ground, Cossington

The choice of game for the Rambler today is a local one and more specifically a visit to one of the three remaining grounds left to re-complete the Leicestershire Senior League. The other two (Linwood Playing Fields and Coventry Road Recreation Ground) are new venues of Aylestone Park and Lutterworth Town respectively. 

It had been arranged to meet up with my Dad for this game - with this being the first time since January 14th. As we both live in different parts of Leicester it was agreed to meet up at the Gate Hangs Well pub on the north side of Syston - a mere five minute drive to the nearby village of Cossington. We arrived at the sports ground with around ten minutes to the kick off and it is a tidy affair. It is home not only to football but rugby and cricket as well. The football pitch is on the left hand side and it has wooden fencing around three sides of the pitch, with the other being roped off. Along the near side are some permanent dugouts and finally there is a modern looking changing room block in the left hand corner of the ground which served hot and cold drinks, filled soft cobs and snacks.

I don't know when Sileby were formed but were competing in division one of the North Leicestershire League (NLL) in 1997. The next four seasons were spent in division 1 before the Saints suffered relegation to division 2. Promotion back to division 1 came in the 2003/04 season when they were crowned division 2 champions, recording forty eight points from their twenty league games. The following season they achieved back-to-back promotions as they won the division 1 title, losing only one league game in the process. Their first season in the premier division saw them finish in the runners-up position, and just one year laters were crowned NLL champions. Last season they won the NLL again and with it achieved promotion to the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL). The LSL has been to their liking as they are on course for another promotion, with them sitting in second place behind Caterpillar (who have a 100% record) and ten points ahead of third placed Melton Mowbray. Opponents Lutterworth Town meanwhile sit at the wrong end of the table with only Asfordby Amateurs below them.

The game, especially during the first half did not go according to the script for the home side as the visitors belied their lowly position and made a game of it. In fact it was hard to tell which side was which on the basis of play and the first half ended goalless. The second half saw Sileby run out comfortable winners, helped by two goal keeping errors. The first came a minute into the second half when a free kick from Jake Rimington should have been saved easily but found its way into the net. The second goal of the afternoon came a few minutes after the hour mark when a good cross from the right was turned in at the far post by Lee Dawson. The Lutterworth team did not let their heads drop but their play in the final third of the pitch let them down all to often. The killer third goal for the Saints came with eight minutes remaining when a tame cross from the right was missed by the keeper and the clearance by a defender struck Dawson in the midriff. This resulted in the ball ending the back of the net for a somewhat comical goal. Lutterworth's best two chances came in the final five minutes - the first was a well struck shot that clattered the woodwork and the second was a tame effort in which the home keeper saved.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 10

A slideshow of photos taken during the game can be viewed below:

Cat

CATERPILLAR 1-2 SHEPSHED DYNAMO

Saturday 17th July 2010

Pre-season friendly

Caterpillar Sports & Social Club

I don’t do many pre-season friendlies at present, though the chance to get out of the house on a Saturday afternoon for the first time in a while tempted me. This fixture was originally scheduled to be played at Shepshed, but a check on their website stated that the game had been switched to Caterpillar’s ground in Desford. This was not a new ground for me having seen a Leicestershire Intermediate Cup tie there in January of this year, but as Desford is only a ten minute drive from home I was not bothered. The game took place on the second pitch which is adjacent to the main one but is not railed or roped off. I know some ground hoppers would have classed this as a new “tick” as it were but not me.

Caterpillar won the North Leicestershire League last season and with it promotion to division 1 of the Leicestershire Senior League. Shepshed reformed their reserve side in the summer and have also been accepted into the Senior League. Two other sides will join them in the league – Belgrave (champions of the Leicester & District League) and Newhall United who have transferred from the Midland Combination.

The game was not bad considering it to be both clubs first outing of the season, with Shepshed settling quicker and forced a couple of corners in succession but nothing came of them. Cat gradually got into the game and the majority of the play was in the middle of the park with clear cut chances few and far between. With around five minutes left in the half Cat nearly took the lead when a free kick which was heading for the top corner was tipped over by the Dynamo keeper. Two minutes later and it was 1-0 when a shot on the turn from one of the home centre forwards looped over the keeper. Shepshed again were quicker out of the blocks following the half time interval and drew level just four minutes in from the penalty spot. A second penalty mid way through the half for Dynamo gave them the decisive goal. The home side’s best chance of the half came later on when a low cross from the right saw the centre forward fail to make contact which surely would have brought the game level again. The last five minutes or so saw Shepshed create a few chances but alas none were converted and the game ended 1-2.

The attendance was around the 50 mark with the majority from Shepshed. There was one prat who had to bring a vuvuzela along but thankfully did not have enough lung power to get a proper sound of it. I did suggest to the Shepshed manager that it needs to be shoved up his arse!!!

Pork Pie town

MELTON MOWBRAY 3-0 BARLESTONE ST GILES

Saturday 14th November 2009

Leicestershire Senior League Division 1

All England Sports Ground

My plan today despite the weather is to make the 30 minute journey to Melton Mowbray and in particular to the All England Sports Ground on Saxby Road, home of Melton Mowbray Football Club. There are two obvious things that spring to mind when the town of Melton Mowbray is mentioned – Pork Pies and Stilton cheese, neither food stuff I am particularly fond of!!! According to the towns official web site About Page the population is just over the 25,000 mark and is located some 15 miles north east of Leicester and about the same distance south west of Grantham.

It is about a 20 mile drive to the ground for Melton’s game against Barlestone St Giles. Melton Mowbray were promoted to the LSL in the summer as North Leicestershire League champions and they also seem to have changed their name from Melton Mowbray Building Society. To add to the confusion there was a Melton Mowbray FC playing in division 1 of the Leicester & District League (LDL) last season, for which there is no record of this season. Another possibility is that the two clubs could have merged. At the moment I don’t know. If we go on that it was just a name change then Melton spent eight years in the North Leicestershire League after leaving the now defunct Melton & Rutland District League. The Melton Mowbray FC that was in the LDL last season spent five years in the league with the highlight being division 2 winners in the 2006/07 season. To add to the mix there is another team that play in Melton – Welby Lane United who use the now defunct Melton Town’s old ground on Egerton Park in the town centre.

At the start of play Melton were in mid-table winning a third of their nine games played and obtaining twelve points in the process. Their last outing last week saw them record a 3-1 victory at Ravenstone. Barlestone meanwhile are in third place with 20 points from their nine games, though last week saw them crash out of the league cup to FC Dynamo 6-1.

The All England Sports Ground is a basic affair and the football club share the ground with Melton Mowbray Cricket Club. The pitch is railed off on three sides with permanent dugouts on the far touchline. The ground isn’t the easiest to find and is located between houses just after Richard Close.

This was my third visit to Melton this season with the other two visits resulting in cricket being played so it was a case of third time lucky. The game was a comfortable victory for the home side with the opening goal coming on 26 minutes when a shot from outside the area went into the top corner and was helped on its way with the wind and a deflection. The second came two minutes into the second half when the ball was lobbed over the keeper from some 25 yards or so. The third goal which killed the game as a contest came on the hour mark when the ball was slotted home from six yards or so following a through ball. To liven things up a mass brawl erupted midway through the half which was caused by a stamp by a Melton player. Punches were thrown; one in particular knocked the home number 3 off his feet. Amazingly only two yellow cards were shown – one for each side.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 15 (headcount)

Where are the home fans?

Evington 1-2 Sileby Town

Leicestershire Senior League Division 1

Saturday 31st January

Dorset Avenue

The original plan this afternoon was (if being up in time) was to attend the Queniborough - Kingsway Rangers fixture in division 1 of the Leicester & District League, but on having a check on the internet I noticed this fixture and instantly changed plans. Also with it being a shorter journey and a 3pm kick-off gave me more time to sort myself out before leaving home.

Despite visiting every current ground in the Leicestershire Senior League I still needed to watch today's hosts Evington to complete it in terms of clubs, exluding the reserves of Friar Lane & Epworth. Evington groundshare at Premier Division club Aylestone Park Old Boys - a venue that I last visited in the autumn of 1998 when Oadby Town recorded a 6-0 victory. This is Evington's 1st season in the LSL having being crowned Leicester City League champions last season, they follow the last two champions FC Braunstone Victoria (now folded) and FC Khalsa into the LSL. Last season (I believe) they played on Victoria Park which is a large open space on the south east side of Leicester city centre heading in the Oadby direction from the railway station. Sileby Town meanwhile are one of (if not the) longest current serving side in the LSL having joined the 1953.

At the start of play Sileby were currently seven points clear at the top losing only two leagues so far this season, both to Friar Lane & Epworth Reserves, while Evington have found the going tough and had recorded only two wins and find themselves in the bottom three.

This was a game that Sileby should have won comfortably ended up being a lot closer than it should have, and were thankful for a last minute winner, scored direct from a corner by substitute Worthington. It was the hosts that should have scored first when the ball found it's was to the edge of the penalty area from a corner, only for the ball to sail high over the bar. Sileby gradually took control of the game and looked dangerous when they got the ball down in windy conditions. Unfortunately for the visiting supporters they must have misplaced their shooting boots as it wasn't until the 44 minute that they opened the scoring. It was through a misunderstanding between the home keeper and one or two of his defenders that allowed Nick Harvey to roll the ball into an empty net.

The second half saw the visitors come out of the blocks quicker but after being awarded a dubious free kick on the edge of the area, Evington's captain and left back hit an unstoppable shot into the left hand side of the goal. This gave them some confidence but it was Sileby that always looked more likely to score, and on more than one occasion should have, but all their chances went wide. I can only recall the home keeper making one save in the whole of the second half. Then in stoppage time at the end of the game they scored the afore mentioned dramatic winner.

Final score: 1-2
Attendance: 15 (14 from Sileby and me)

Ivan-ho-ho-hoe

Ashby Ivanhoe 9-0 Asfordby Amateurs
Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

Saturday 23rd August 2008

Hood Park

A decision was made Friday afternoon that I would get up early for the second Saturday in succession to go and watch a game of football. The choice was an easy one this time as Ashby are a club I have been meaning to visit for a while, in fact I went their last season only for it to be when FC Braunstone Victoria did one of their two no-shows.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch is a small market town in north-west Leicestershire (population 12,758 - Wikipedia) between Coalville and Burton-upon-Trent. It's most well known landmark is it's ruined castle. Ashby Ivanhoe the team play on Hood Park which is on the edge of the town centre, the centrance to which is next door to Ivanhoe College. The club were promoted to Division 1 of the Leicestershire Senior League from the North Leicestershire League in 2005. In their first season they finished a creditable 3rd place, 7th place followed the next season while last season saw them finish runners-up to today's opponents Asfordby Amateurs. Asfordby joined the Leicestershire Senior League in 1991 and have spent most of their time in the lower division, only a three year stint in the mid-nineties has been in the Premier Division. The close season saw contrasting fortunes for both teams with Ashby progressing off the field with the installation of floodlights, things down at Asfordby have not gone so well with the resignation of their manager and (I believe) all of last season's squad not re-signing. They actually resigned from the LSL twice but have been persuaded to carry on.

Ashby started their campaign last week at Thurmaston Town with a 4-3 victory, and this was followed up with a League Cup tie against the same opponents. The result: 12-2. Asfordby were at home last weekend to one of the favourites, Blaby & Whetstone Athletic and were hammered 9-0. A trip to Ravenstone followed in midweek in the League Cup and they came away with a
2-0 defeat. There was technally no admission as the club play on a public park but charge £2.50 for a programme. The club do have plans to enclose the ground and progress from the Leicestershire Senior League - watch this space as it were.

Now to the game itself...

The first goal came on 17 minutes when Richard Hanslow made it 1-0 when he lobbed the ball over the visiting keeper, this was after the home sided created three excellent chances in the first fifteen minutes. Ten minutes later and it was 2-0 when Phil Gibson tapped the ball in from six yards after a 20 yard shot crashed against the bar. Phil Gibson got his second on 39 minutes to make it 3-0 when he turned in a low drilled free kick from the left hand side. Either side of the goals Ashby had chances come and go with a combination of poor finishing and good defending / goalkeeping keeping the score down.

Half Time: 3-0

The second half was barely two minutes old when Richard Hanslow got his second of the game to make it 4-0 when he turned between three Asfordby defenders and placed the ball into the corner of the goal. The fifth came fifteen minutes later when Hanslow completed his hat-trick after being put through on the right hand side, he drilled an angled shot into the far corner of the goal. It became 6-0 on 70 minutes when Hanslow scored again, this time from a ball played over the top of the defence and he finished with aplom. Phil Gibson completed his hat-trick on 79 minutes when he turned the ball home after a scramble in the penalty area to make it 7-0. The scoring was still not finished as on 82 minutes Hanslow got his fith of the game, turning the full back inside out before placing the ball into the far corner. Cue comments from bench "you're being greedy". The best of the goals was the last as James Fisher hit a screamer from fully 25 - 30 yards after a corner was not cleared properly. The second half also saw Ashby create many more chances than the ones they scored and on another day it could have been well into double figures.

Final score: 9-0


websites:
Ashby Ivanhoe: http://www.ashbyivanhoefc.com/
Asfordby Amateurs: http://www.asfordbyamateurs.co.uk/

Game 513

F.C. KHALSA 3-3 F.C. BRAUNSTONE VICTORIA

Judgemeadow Community College, Leicester

Leicestershire Senior League Division 1

Saturday 8th September 2007

The previous two winners of the Leicester City League meet for the first time this season at Judgemeadow Community College in the Evington area of the city. This game was brought forward to a 2pm kick-off which I did not know about and turned up just after Braunstone scored their second goal from Stu Wheeler on the 40 minute mark. This was followed up within a couple of minutes for another goal for Braunstone from right midfielder Kyle Robinson.

Half Time: 0-3

The second half was completely the other way with Khalsa dominating the game completely and scored three goals of their own, two of which were from former Oadby Town midfielder Sean Philips who I have been told is on £100 per week - stupid money at this level. It does make you wonder where the money is coming from as Khalsa do not take a gate, issue programmes or have any refreshements available for visiting spectators. Even if they did take a gate they would not get much as I counted only about 25 people standing round the pitch.

Final Score: 3-3 (Attendance: 25 - counted)

Game 512

F.C. BRAUNSTONE VICTORIA 0-3 LUTTERWORTH ATHLETIC

Braunstone Park, Leicester

Saturday 1st September 2007

Leicestershire Senior League Division 1

My first viewing of my local Senior League side F.C. Braunstone Victoria this season for their 3rd league match of the season against Lutterworth Athletic. Braunstone Vics play on the Cort Crescent side of Braunstone Park in Leicester and is next to the road. No admission is charged nor programme issued though if they did I would be surprised if many or any of the locals would come and watch. Depending on when a head count was taken it varied between 50 and 60 people watching at some point during the game.

Braunstone are currently in their second season in the Senior League and Lutterworth their third. The two games last season both ended in draws with a 4-4 scoreline in this fixture last season played in gale like conditions. Prior to this game Braunstone had won one and lost one while Lutterworth had started the season with a 100% record.

The game was an even affair throughout with the finishing being the difference. Lutterworth took their chances, Braunstone didn't. End of story. The first half hour was an even affair with both teams having similar amounts of possession and the visitors took the lead on 32 minutes when "a player" scored with a header from maybe six yards out. The remainder of the first half saw Braunstone play some of their best football but couldn't find a way to equalise and probably didn't want the half time whistle to blow.

Half Time: 0-1

The second half started with the home side looking like they were still on their interval and Lutterworth created a few chances and looked a yard quicker at times. They duly scored their second goal on the hour mark from a tap in which came from a left wing cross. Braunstone woke up again midway through the second half and played the better of the fooball for the remiander of the game with Darren Jepson having three chances, two of which were long range efforts saved by the visiting keeper. The first of these three chances should have put the Vics back in the game but his effort was brilliantly blocked by a Lutterworth defender. The third goal came right at the death when a mistake by the home keeper allowed Lutterworth to score a third and make the scoreline somewhat flattering.

Final Score: 0-3

Game 506

Kirby Muxloe 3-1 Blaby & Whetstone Athletic

Tuesday 22nd May 2007

Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

Ratby Lane

No admission was charged or programme issued for this rearranged end of season game. Kirby needed to win to finish the season in 2nd place ahead of Barrow Town.

The first half was a pretty even affair with the game being played at a very quick pace - typical of football at this level, saw Kirby take the lead after 35 minutes through a penalty for handball and was followed up by a second goal a few minutes later. The second half was Blaby explode into action when they were awarded a penalty of their own within 30 seconds of the re-start when the home left back was sent off for pulling back the Blaby right midfielder, from which they scored to bring it back to 2-1. Blaby then took charge for the next 15 minutes or so but despite having a couple of excellent chances could not draw level. Kirby then got back control of the game and scored a third with 15 minutes left when the Blaby captain gifted the ball to the home striker on the edge of the 18 yard box who slotted the ball past the visiting keeper.

Overall an enjoyable and competitve game to end the season.

Attendance: 100 (approx)

Ratby

RATBY SPORTS 1 v 1 IBSTOCK UNITED

12th May 2007

Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

Desford Lane

A revisit sees me at Desford Lane as I have a family function in the neighbouring village of Groby. A £2.50 admission was charged though no programme was issued. The Ratby Sports club contains several football pitches and a cricket pitch which is located in the centre of the village. Ratby itself is approx. 4 miles west of Leicester close to the M1 motorway. The facilities at the ground are basic with a small stand and floodlights with an unfinished clubhouse and changing rooms to boot.

The game itself was pretty uneventful with Ratby taking a first half lead from a penalty kick in which the referee was the only one to spot the offence. On the balance of play Ratby deserved their lead as their out fought and battled their opponents. Ibstock began the second half with more purpose after a bollocking at half time and despite not many chances being created (by either team) they equalised late on. A fair result to end the season for these two teams.