Friday night football

MELBOURNE DYNAMO RESERVES 4-0 MACKWORTH ST. FRANCIS RESERVES

Friday 17th August 2012

Midlands Regional Alliance Division 2

Melbourne Recreation Ground, Cockshut Lane

Why would I attend a reserve team fixture you may ask? Surely a case of scrapping the bottom of the barrel football wise?

Well there was only one reason - Dynamo's reserve team play at a different location to that of their first team, which is Grange Park in the neighbouring village of Ticknall. 

The Melbourne Recreation Ground is located on the western side of the village and is home to three sports - cricket, football and rugby. The pitch used last night was in the right hand corner of the sports ground. 

The game was fairly entertaining considering the level, which if the Premiership is one the Midlands Regional Alliance Division 2 is fourteen. The scoreline flattered the hosts as Mackworth were the better side for the most part but could not convert any of the numerous chances that came their way. 

The goals for Melbourne came on 17 (a deflected shot that sailed over the Mackworth keeper into the top corner); 31 (a powerful headed from a well delivered free kick); 37 (a back heel from a few yards out) and 49 (a shot into the top right hand corner from close range).

Admission: none

Attendance: around 8 - but people came and went during the game

Some photos taken during the first half can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Rolls Royce

DERBY ROLLS ROYCE LEISURE 2-7 ALLENTON UNITED

Saturday 13th August 2011

Midlands Regional Alliance Premier Division

Rolls Royce Sports Ground, Moor Lane

Last week I a saw last seasons Midlands Regional Alliance (MRA) runners-up in action and today sees me take a look at the defending champions Allenton United. They have won the MRA for the past two years, firstly finishing three points ahead of Melbourne Dynamo in the 2009/10 season and a massive fifteen points ahead of Willington last season. Today sees them take on Derby Rolls Royce Leisure (DRRL) for a very local derby. The two teams play at different locations within the Rolls Royce complex - DRRL play on Moor Lane while the entrance to the complex Allenton play on is through "gate 1" which is on Victory Road, just to the south of the junction with Moor Lane. Nearby is the Moorways Stadium in which several teams in the MRA use the outside pitches, though I am not aware of anyone using the main stadium itself - if there is then despite it being an athletics stadium I will be interested in visiting.

A map showing the location and close proximity of the two pitches is below: (blue - DRRL; red - Allenton)

View Rolls Royce in a larger map

Rolls Royce - the company

The name of Rolls Royce is one that is well known the world over and its logo is one of the most recognizable of any company. A brief overview below of the Rolls Royce group is taken from the official website:

"Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy and nuclear.

Civil Aerospace

The civil aerospace business powers over 30 types of commercial aircraft and has a strong position in all sectors of the market: widebody, narrowbody and corporate and regional aircraft. Over 13,000 engines are currently in service with 650 airlines, freight operators and lessors and 4,000 corporate operators. A Rolls-Royce powered aircraft takes off or lands every 2.5 seconds.

Civil Aerospace business

Defence Aerospace

Rolls-Royce is the world’s second largest provider of defence aero-engine products and services, with 18,000 engines in service for 160 customers in 103 countries. Our engines power aircraft in all sectors: transport, combat, reconnaissance, training, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Defence Aerospace business

Marine

Rolls-Royce has a world-leading range of capabilities in the marine market, encompassing the design, supply and support of power and propulsion systems. We are leaders in the integration of technologically complex, mission critical systems for offshore oil and gas, merchant and naval vessels.

Rolls-Royce has more than 2,500 marine customers and has equipment installed on over 30,000 vessels worldwide, including those of 70 navies.

Marine business

Energy

The energy business supplies gas turbines, compressors and diesel power units to customers around the world. The business is a world leader in the supply of power for onshore and offshore oil and gas applications. Our developing civil nuclear capability has further strengthened our position in the power generation market.

Energy business"

On the 29th June 2011 the company won a $1bn order from Singapore Airlines. For details on this click on the link below:
http://www.rolls-royce.com/civil/news/2011/110629_singapore_airlines.jsp

The club


The records I have for the club only go back to 1983 and between then and now are incomplete. In 1983 they were known as Rolls Royce (Derby) and joined the Central Midlands League (CML), transferring from the East Midlands Regional League. They won the Premier 1 division title in their debut season in the CML and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1988 a change of name to Derby Rolls Royce occurred and they remained in the CML until 1997 when they joined the Midlands Regional Alliance (MRA). I don't have any tables for the MRA until 2005 so have no idea how they fared, but during the early part of the opening decade of the 21st century another name occurred, this time to their present title of Derby Rolls Royce Leisure. In 2005/06 and 2006/07 they finished in the runners-up position, firstly five points adrift of champions Ashover and secondly seven points behind Rowsley '86. Last season they finished in 9th place in the sixteen team division. This season both teams have played two games so far. DRRL have won one (2-0 v Holbrook St. Michaels) and lost one (2-1 @ Swanwick Pentrich Road), while Allenton recorded a 4-0 at home to Cromford last Saturday and a drew 0-0   in midweek at home to newly promoted Derby Royals). 

Following a cagey opening ten minutes from both sides Allenton turned up a gear or two and hit the hosts hard in a devastating spell. Four goals were scored in the space of just seventeen minutes, but in reality they could and should have scored at least a couple more before the end of the half. The opener came on eleven minutes when a long ball was knocked down and their #9 side footed the ball first time past the Rolls keeper. The Rolls heads went down and just two minutes later the #7 was allowed too much time on the ball. He hit a speculative shot that went into the bottom right hand corner past the keeper. The third of the afternoon came on twenty five minutes when the #7 got his second of the game. He was played onside and slotted the ball past the advancing keeper. Three minutes later and it became 0-4 and game over. Following good work on the byline by the #10, he then laid the ball back for the #8 who had the simplest of finishes from a few yards out. Rolls best spell of the half came in the last ten minutes and were duly rewarded with a goal. Their #7 held off the challenge of a defender and finished well from a narrow angle.


HT: 1-4


The second half was just five minutes old when Allenton scored their fifth (and best) of the afternoon. The #15 found himself unmarked on the right hand corner of the penalty area and, taking a touch to control the ball curled it into the top corner - simply class. With the game won Allenton appeared to take their foot off the gas and were content to let Rolls have the majority of possession for the rest of the game. They added a sixth just after the hour mark when a cross was headed home from a couple of yards out from the #2. Rolls got another consolation goal back on 67 minutes to make it 2-6 when a free kick was fumbled by the Allenton keeper which was bundled home from a yard or two out. The final goal of the afternoon came in in the 89th minute. The number #7 completed his hat-trick when he hit a lot shot past the Rolls keeper from the edge of the penalty area. The keeper straight away admitted he was at fault and apologised to his team mates.


Overall an enjoyable game and at times Allenton were superb going forward. How they will fare if teams get at them more and put more pressure on them is another matter. One thing is for sure is that they will be there or thereabouts in pursuit of a third consecutive MRA title.

Admission: none

Programme: none

Attendance: around 30

Match rating: 3 1/2 out of 5


Websites:
Rolls Royce
Midlands Regional Alliance (fa full time)


A selection of photos taken can be viewed below:

Willington

WILLINGTON 3-2 ROWSLEY '86

Saturday 6th August 2011

Midlands Regional Alliance Premier Division

Twyford Road Playing Fields

This weekend is to be my first competitive fixture of the 2011/12 season and the game today was on an original shortlist of three possible fixtures. The other two were both in the Wolverhampton area, but about ten days ago my wife Angela was put in for an extra shift at work. Due to us going out for a meal this evening I was instructed to pick her up at 5.30pm. This left me with only one fixture in which I could get back in time with it being only a 40 minute drive back to Leicester from Willington.

Willington is a small village in South Derbyshire and has a population of around 2,700. It is situated on the River Trent and is located between Derby (7 1/2 miles to the north east) and Burton-upon-Trent (5 miles to the south west). 

The following history on the village is taken from it's wikipedia page:

"The meaning of the name Willington is the Old English tun (homestead or farm) among the willows.In the Domesday Book, the village was calledWilletune or Willentune, and the land belonged to Ralph Fitzhubert and was an agricultural village on the floodlands of the Trent. The village is recorded as Wilintun in c. 1150 and as Wyliton in 1230.

In the 17th century, Willington became the highest navigable port on the Trent^{[citation needed]}. It first began to grow from a population of 477^{[citation needed]}with the construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777 the same year Bass beer in Burton was started, at which time it became a small inland port and a village with four public houses: The Railway (which was later demolished), The Rising Sun, The Green Man and The Green Dragon, all selling locally brewed beers from Burton upon Trent for the many Irish canal navvies.

The railway arrived in 1838, the station being known as 'Repton and Willington' and brought the scholars to nearby Repton School. Although the main-line station was closed in 1964, a new station was re-opened in the 1990s as part of the (incomplete) Ivanhoe Line project to link Leicester & Burton-on-Trent and runs mainline trains to Derby, Birmingham and beyond. The village's population increased to 708 by 1940^{[citation needed]}. Trentside Cottage, Bargate Lane is the oldest cottage in the village^{[citation needed]}. A two century old Cedar of Lebanon lies on the site of the now-demolished 'Potlocks Farm', on Twyford Road in the village.

The bridge over the Trent was opened on August 7 1839, being the only one between Swarkestone and Burton.

In 1995, the train station was re-opened at a cost of £565,000 funded by money from the EU."

Club badge (source: club website)

I don’t have a lot of information on the club as the earliest records I can find only go back to 2007. This is when they joined division one of the Midlands Regional Alliance (MRA). Their debut season in the league resulted in the division one title and promotion to the premier division. Their first two seasons in the premier division resulted in 7^th place finishes while last season they finished in the runners-up position, though some fifteen points behind champions Allenton United. The two teams played this same fixture at the same stage last season with Willington recording a 2-1 victory. Rowsley got their own back in October when they recorded a 6-0 victory in the reverse fixture.

Note: On speaking to someone @ the club I was told they transferred from the Burton & District Sunday League.

The journey up to Willington was both traffic and hassle free with it taking around forty minutes. Like stated at the top of the report the ground is on Twyford Road which is the main A5132 that runs though the village. There are no spectator facilities and parking is at a premium as it also doubles up as a recycling centre. Like a few others I parked on the other side of the road, while the main Birmingham – Derby railway line runs behind the ground.

Beforehand I expected this to be a close game and this proved to be the case. Willington looked the better side in the opening forty five minutes and created a few half chances before they deservedly took the lead around the half hour mark. Robbie Cox was played onside and slotted the ball past the advancing Rowsley keeper into the bottom left hand corner. I can’t recall either keeper being tested in the half with the crossing from the visitors being particularly wasteful. The second half saw a more assertive display from the visitors and they equalised just four minutes in. A corner was headed home at the back post from (I believe) Andrew Rhodes. Rowsley continued to have the better of things and should have taken the lead only for two of their players to get in each other’s way with the goal at their mercy. Following their best spell of the half Willington retook the lead with the goal of the game with around fifteen minutes remaining. Substitute Matt Belmore hit an unstoppable shot from twenty yards that flew into the top right hand corner. The lead only lasted five minutes as Willington were undone from another set piece as a free kick on the left was headed home at the near post. Just as the game nearing its conclusion Willington were awarded a penalty, and following some protests Joe Brock stepped up and sent the Rowsley keeper the wrong way. With three minutes of injury time player a Willington player went down injured and the game was held up and hopefully the injury was not serious. With having to get back to Leicester asap I could not hang around indefinitely to see the games conclusion, and I am not 100% certain the game ended in a 3-2 victory for Willington even now as I am finishing my report @ 7.30am on Sunday morning.

For the record I got back to pick up the wife with five minutes to spare.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 13 (head count)

Match rating: 3 out of 5

Websites:

Willington FC

Midlands Regional Alliance (full time)

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

Allenton

ALLENTON UNITED 4-0 CASTLE DONINGTON TOWN

Midlands Regional Alliance Premier Division

Saturday 13th February 2010

Rolls Royce [Merrill Way], Derby

My trawl through the grass roots clubs of the East Midlands continued this afternoon with a visit to Derby based club Allenton United for their game against Leicestershire side Castle Donington Town in a premier division clash in the Midlands Regional Alliance. Allenton play on one of the myriad of pitches that surround the Rolls Royce complex on the southern edge of the city. The site in which they play on is accessed through Gate 1 which is on Merrill Way, just before the junction with Moor Lane if coming from the Chellaston area. There is two football and two rugby football pitches on the site, with Allenton using the pitch nearest the changing rooms. Both rugby pitches were also in use today. There were no catering facilities for spectators on the site, while the pitch in use was roped off.

The game was not one that will not live long in the memory. Allenton were clearly the better side and had I felt a touch off arrogance at times, this confirming each team’s respective position in the league table – Allenton in 4th and CD in mid-table. The home side did most of the pressing and scored the opening goal on just nine minutes when their number nine rounded the visiting keeper and put the ball back across goal for it to be headed home. The remainder of the half was pretty uneventful until Allenton were awarded a penalty on 37 minutes but was blasted over the bar. A few minutes before half time and a case of handbags broke out only for the referee to send off one player from each side, when I felt a booking each should have been sufficient. Allenton doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when the number 9 slotted the ball past the keeper from ten yards out. The final two goals came in the last ten minutes, firstly from the penalty spot on 81 minutes scored by the home keeper and the final one with just three minutes remaining. One note to make is that both goalkeepers made two or three good saves each in the second half, while Castle Donington struck the woodwork late on in the game.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: don’t know as I didn’t do a head count
Google maps driving time / distance: 43 minutes – 31.6 miles

Dynamo the 4th

MELBOURNE DYNAMO 4-0 CHELLASTON

Saturday 7th November

Midlands Regional Alliance Premier Division

Grange Park Recreation Ground

Another dry Saturday afternoon and another game planned without lights and (before setting off) more than likely no cover. The game in question is a local derby in the Midlands Regional Alliance Premier Division between Melbourne Dynamo and Chellaston. Melbourne don’t actually play in the village itself but in the neighbouring one of Ticknall at the Grange Park Recreation Ground. According to Google maps it should take around 45 minutes to make the 23 mile journey from my home in Leicester going via Coalville and Ashby.

The Midlands Regional Alliance is a Derbyshire League in all but name and the premier division sits at level 9 of the non-league pyramid. I suppose it can be classed as an unofficial feeder league to the Central Midlands League. I have only ever seen one game in this league or division when I took in Castle Donington Town’s fixture with Newmount in April of this year. At the start of play Melbourne sit in fourth place having won ten of their opening twelve games, scoring fifteen goals without reply in their last two league games, while Chellaston occupy eleventh place in the eighteen team division. Their last league game saw them share ten goals with Newmount.

The ground is the typical village recreation ground affair with facilities shared with the local cricket club. The cricket pavilion was open and did a brisk trade at half time selling tea and coffee for 50p. The pitch was roped off on the cricket side with the village church providing the backdrop to the setting on a chilly November afternoon.

Now to the game itself...

A game that the referee struggled to control in the early stages due to some industrial tackles and fouls that would not have looked out of place in the 60’s and 70’s. Two Chellaston players were sent off within three minutes of each other, the first for two bookable offences on 15 minutes and the latter a straight red on 17 minutes, both correct decisions in my opinion. It did leave you wondering whether there would be enough players on the pitch for the game to continue at some point. The home side made their numerical advantage pay three minutes after the second sending off. A few further chances were created in the next ten minutes by the home side but it was the visitors who finished the half the stronger. The second half was a poor affair, though despite it being calmer an undercurrent was still there. Midway through the second period Chellaston were lucky not to have a third player sent off, when standing over a Melbourne player it appeared a punch was about to be thrown, so much so in the fact that the home player went to protect himself. This was right in front of the referee so how so action was taken is beyond belief. Again it was Chellaston that was most likely to score despite their disadvantage but Melbourne finally killed off the game with two goals in quick succession on 86 and 87 minutes. A forth was added from the penalty spot right on the 90th minute to give an unfair gloss on the game.

Attendance: 57 (second half head count)

Before going into details on the clubs and the game a brief explanation of the heading. It simply refers to the fact that Melbourne are the fourth club I have seen with Dynamo in their title, following Shepshed, Loughborough and F.C. Dynamo.

Monday night mauling

Castle Donington Town 1-6 Newmount
Monday 20th April 2009
Midlands Regional Alliance Premier Division
Moira Dale Recreation Ground

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 25 (approx)

Football is not something that you associate with the north-west Leicestershire town of Castle Donington but of the Donington Park motor racing circuit and East Midlands Airport.
www.donington-park.co.uk
www.eastmidlandsairport.com

It was decided to take in a first ever fixture in the Midlands Regional Alliance (MRA) due to wanting to meet up with my dad who works at Rolls Royce in nearby Derby, and thus we duly met at the Donington Park services just of junction 23a of the M1. Lunch was had in the Tudor Hotel in Castle Donington itself – no alcohol as I was driving, and we arrived the the recreation ground on Moira Dale with around 15 minutes to kick-off. There is limited off-road parking which was made doubly difficult as the reserve team had a fixture on the second pitch at the same time. No admission was charged or programme issued to the ground which is also home to the town’s cricket club, the main on the left hand side was only roped off on one side nearest to the cricket square. Refreshments were on offer with £1.80 getting us a tea and coffee in proper mugs and two chocolate bars.

With having watched six games in the comparable Leicester & District League (LDL) this season I was interested in the standard of football on offer as both leagues sit at the same level of the non-league pyramid. The MRA is I suppose an unofficial feeder league to the Central Midlands League while the LDL is one of three feeder leagues to the Leicestershire Senior League. At the start of play Castle Donington Town (founded in 1885) sat in mid-table while visitors Newmount, who I later found out are from Derby and play their homes at Mackworth College are in a relegation battle at the bottom of the table. On this basis you would expect a home win – wrong. Play was cagey at the start and it took a while for the game to get going and it was the visitors who went closest on 16 minutes when the woodwork was struck. Newmount struck the first blow when the opened the scoring on 26 minutes with a low drilled shot into the keepers left hand corner. As expected this woke the home side up but 8 minutes later found themselves 2 down when the number 10 prodded the ball home after an excellent cross from the left hand side. Just two minutes later and it was 3-0 when the number 10 found himself one on one with the keeper and finished with aplomb. The hosts got themselves back into game just a minute later through an own goal – game on now. Wrong again. Despite having probably more possession and creating the same number of chances it was the visitors who took theirs, scoring three more goals in the second half on 63, 68 and 88 minutes to wrap up a convincing victory.

Overall I was very impressed with the standard of football on offer and was good as anything I have seen in the LDL this season and will definately making future visits to clibs in this league in future seasons. The club compete in the Leicestershire Junior Cup and this season reached the semi-finals. Their results are as follows:

Round 1: Belgrave (H) Won 7-5
Round 2: Barrow Town Reserves (A) Won 9-2
Round 3: Birstall United Reserves (H) Won 2-1
Semi Finals: Kirby Muxloe Reserves (N) Lost on penalty kicks
http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/castledoningtontownfc/

The town does have another Saturday side in the form of Castle Donington F.C. who are currently in the first season as a senior team, plying their trade in the North Leicestershire League. The club play their home games on Spittal Park Playing Fields in the town.
http://www.castledoningtonfc.co.uk/