first games of 2014

After a four week break from watching football due to work, the weather and a case of c.b.a, this weekend saw me watch two games of football and taking photographs at one of them.

First up was a game on Friday night (10th January) in Peterborough:

Peterborough Sports 3-5 Peterborough Northern Star Reserves

Northamptonshire FA Junior Cup Quarter Final

@ Peterborough Sports & Leisure Club, Lincoln Road, Peterborough

Admission: £3 including programme

My interest in this game was primarily the ground. Peterborough Sports FC joined the United Counties League (UCL) from the Peterborough & District League last season, and their home venue at the start of the season was one of only two that I had not seen a game of football at in the UCL. The other ground was the Elgoods Fenland Arena, home of Wisbech Town FC and I visited them for a pre-season game at the end of July. 

After a few hours sleep after finishing work that morning I made the trip east to Peterborough and met friend and fellow Oadby Town (and Ipswich Town) supporter Owen Jones at the ground. The ground is easily missed with it being down a track between buildings, though it opens up with an ample sized car park to the left and the decent sized social club and ground entrance to the right. A pre-match pint of Deuchars IPA cost £2.70 was had before paying the £3 admission fee. A good ground turned up for this local derby and witnessed a cracking game of football. Four goals were equally shared in the first forty five minutes before yours truly went to collect his winning raffle prize, which was a bottle of white wine. The second forty five minutes was equally as entertaining as the first. Sports led 3-2 after the visiting keeper put the ball into his own net, but Northern Star reserves turned the tie around with three goals of their own.

An enjoyable evening out, and after dropping Owen off at his abode I was back home at 11pm.

I was being my usual indecisive self for my game on the Saturday (11th January) and add several options in mind. Then came a u-turn as a posting on twitter caught my attention - the Kegworth Imperial - Whitwick game was to be played away from their normal home venue in the village. After getting confirmation of the address my decision was made.

Kegworth Imperial 6-1 Whitwick

North Leicestershire League Premier Division

@ Moor Lane, Normanton on Soar, Nottinghamshire

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: not many

Normanton on Soar is a small village a few miles north of Loughborough, though literally just over the border in Nottinghamshire and took me around half an hour to get to from my home in Braunstone. The ground is home to the Imps' junior set up and is located on the northern edge of the village about a hundred yards from the A6006. There is a small car park, clubhouse and external toilets but as expected nothing pitch side.

Despite the pitch being very heavy it was perfectly playable and a pretty decent ninety minutes of football followed. Kegworth scored first when, after an accidental collision between one of their players and the Whitwick keeper, they played on and put the ball in the back of the net. I heard the referee say to one of the visiting players that no foul had been committed so let play go on. A minute later and Whitwick were awarded a penalty but the resulting kick was skewed wide. The visiting then had the better of things for the remainder of the first half. They were denied by a cracking save from the Kegworth keeper, but deservedly equalised before the end of the first forty five minutes. The second half was less than a minute old when Kegworth re-took the lead, and then proceeded to add a further four more goals to run out convincing if slightly flattering winners. 

50 photos of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

uninspiring venue

Castle Donington Town 2-3 Loughborough United
Saturday 31st August 2013
North Leicestershire League Division 1
Spittal Park, Spittal, Castle Donington, Leicestershire

My plans for my football fix on Saturday were limited to somewhere local, and preferably an early kick-off. With this in mind my attention turned to the fixtures in the North Leicestershire League and the Leicester & District League, but nothing really stood out for me. Probably not really surprising considering that I have watched football at 125 venues with Leicestershire & Rutland, but then on the Friday I noticed a change of venue for the above fixture. With confirmation from both teams via their twitter feeds that this was the case my decision was made. Castle Donington Town normally play their home games at Moira Dale on the east side of the village, but due to a clash with the local cricket club it was being played at Spittal Park. Spittal Park is a large multi-sport and multi-pitch recreation ground on the north side of the village. It is home to their numerous junior and ladies sides plus the local rugby club, who were also at home this afternoon.

I found the easiest way to get to Spittal Park was via the M1 and A50, and instead of going into the town turn right at the second traffic island after leaving the A50 and go round the top of the industrial estate. Spittal Park is signposted and you turn off Back Lane onto Spittal. The entrance to the sports ground is on the left hand side and the football club parking at the bottom. There is a large building that houses changing rooms, toilets and a clubhouse, though sadly the latter was not open so chance of refreshments. The game was played on the pitch on the east side of the venue and they roped it off on one side. The only furniture was a couple of benches though a grass bank behind one goal gave a decent vantage point in which to watch the game. As expected, with this being the 14th level of the English pyramid there was no admission charge or programme issued which is the norm for this level of football.

The game was one in which both teams showed plenty of endeavour, but there was very little quality and clear cut chances in the opening forty five minutes. The home side nearly scored in the opening twenty minutes when the bar was struck following a long ball over the top of the United defence. It was on twenty three minutes that CD made the breakthrough when a ball over to the left hand side of the penalty area was hit first time into the roof of the net. United had enough possession but rarely troubled the home keeper and the half ended 1-0. With around ten minutes gone in the second half the home side made it 2-0 and, following a poor back pass, the United keeper struck his clearance against an oncoming forward, who then had the simple task of rolling the ball into an empty net. This set back seemed to galvanise the visitors who then set about the task of trying to turn defeat into victory. With fifteen minutes to go they were awarded a penalty kick but it was well saved by the Donington keeper. Far from being downhearted they continued to pressure the home defence, and were rewarded with a goal with ten minutes remaining. Game on, and just three minutes later they made it 2-2. United were not finished and they completed a remarkable turn around scoring the winner with just two minutes left on the clock. Joy for the visitors, but the home side were left wondering how they ended up losing a game in which they were in total control.

Websites / Social media:

North Leicestershire League - official website - FA Full Time site

Castle Donington Town - official website - twitter

Loughborough United - twitter

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

Ferrari FC

FERRARI 2-4 WHITWICK UNITED

Saturday 17th December 2011

North Leicestershire League Cobbin Trophy 3rd Round

Towles Playing Field, Burton on the Wolds

The original plan was to head down to Cheltenham to catch up with a mate of mine Colin Buchanan and watch a game within an hour’s drive of his house, but Cheltenham Town were handed a plum FA Cup 3^rd Round tie @ Tottenham Hotspur on January 7^th and we have arranged to meet up then. Now it was a case of seeing if any fixtures caught my attention in either the Leicester & District League or North Leicestershire League. To be fair there were numerous ones that did and it was a case of deciding which one to go for.

My mum's other half Dave Todd agreed to come and watch this pre-Christmas cup tie a few miles east of Loughborough and, having picked him up from Thurmaston made the short drive to Burton. When arriving in the village we drove past the playing fields to make sure there were no problems, and with the players putting the nets up we made then headed to the Greyhound Inn in the centre of the village for pre-match liquid refreshment. This was a pub that neither of of us had ever been to before and we were impressed with it. It is part of the Everards chain and had several real ales on tap as well as the usual non-descript lagers. A pint of Sleigh Bell went down very well.

Ferrari FC were formed in 2007 and joined the North Leicestershire League (NLL) the same year. They are a Shepshed based club and originally played at Hind Leys School, but due to an increase in match fees moved out to Burton two seasons ago.  The club's record since joining the NLL is as follows:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	POS
2007/08	N LEIC-4	22	12	1	9	56	57	37	5TH
2008/09	N LEIC-4	22	13	4	5	68	53	43	3RD
2009/10	N LEIC-3	22	10	2	10	59	69	32	6TH
2010/11	N LEIC-3	20	7	1	12	49	59	22	8TH

The reason this fixture was chosen was due to two reasons. Firstly the 1.30pm kick-off, and secondly yours truly had seen games at Greenhill and Belton Villa in the previous two rounds of this competition and enjoyed them both. This fixture pitted division 3 Ferrari (who went into this game with a 100% league records) against division 1 Whitwick United who sit in a mid-table position. Despite it being the 3rd round the two teams had only played one match between them in the competition so far. Round 1 saw Ferrari have a walkover against Coalville Colliers and Whitwick had a bye. In round 2 Ferrari produced the upset of the round winning 3-2 @ premier division side Sileby Victoria while Whitwick had a walkover against Asfordby Village.

The game was one that saw the visitors have the better of the proceedings for the majority of the game and created more chances in 90 minutes of football than you will see in several other games combined. If they had had their shooting boots on or had a bit more composure they could have hit double figures. To be fair to the home side they stuck at it and took the lead on 25 minutes. A free kick was missed by the home defence and John Bowles  finished into the corner of the goal from twelve yards out. Two goals in the final couple of minutes of the half saw the game turn in the visitors favour. A break down the left saw a perfectly waited low cross to the far post which allowed Graham Hutchinson to beat the Ferrari keeper at his near post. In stoppage time at the end of the half Hutchinson crossed from the right and Jamie Holmes headed in at the far post. The second half was a similar affair to the first with the visitors looking the better side. Again though it was the home side that scored first and levelled up the proceedings. Matt Griffin with the finish following a well worked move and cross from the left. Whitwick only had to wait three minutes to restore their lead as Hutchinson got his second of the afternoon with a twenty five lob over the keeper. Chances kept coming and with seven minutes remaining of the ninety Hutchinson completed his hat-trick. The referee played about ten minutes of stoppage time due to a nasty injury. One of the Ferrari players was on the ground when an stray boot from Hutchinson caught him between his nose and left eye. From my point of view it appeared innocuous with the home players not making an issue of it. Even in stoppage time more chances were wasted by Whitwick.

To sum up - another enjoyable game in this competition that was played on a heavy pitch in dull and at times during the first half wet conditions.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 6

Entertainment rating: 8 out of 10

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

 

Plan B

BELTON VILLA 1-2 GENESIS

Saturday 5th November 2011

North Leicestershire League Cobbin Trophy 2nd Round

Recreation Ground, Church Street, Belton

Like the heading says this was Plan B today due to my first choice being postponed. I had originally planned to watch the Castle Donington - Butler Court tie in the same competition, but on arrival at Spittal Park (home of CDFC) I thought it strange that there were no nets up or players warming up. When I enquired I was told it was postponed due to some players being involved in a road traffic accident on route to the game. Hopefully nothing serious has happened and everyone is ok. I was aware of other ties in the competition, and on having a quick look at the road atlas found out that Belton Villa were the nearest to Castle Donington. Fortunately I arrived at Spittal Park early and this gave me enough time to get to Belton and I arrived at the recreation ground in Belton with a couple of minutes to kick-off. The recreation ground in Belton is like the name suggests a basic affair. The football club share it with the cricket club and it is located on the southern edge of the village on Church Street, with open countryside to the south and houses to the north.

If anyone is unaware the North Leicestershire League's (NLL) Cobbin Trophy is for 1st teams only and this tie pitched second division Belton against premier division Genesis. I am not sure when Belton were founded or when they joined the NLL as my records for the NLL only go back as far as 1997. The previous two seasons were spent in division 1 but having finished in 10th place in the 11 team division they were relegated to division 2. This season they currently find themselves in seventh place recording two wins from their seven league games played. Last time out they drew 1-1 at home to Markfield Reserves. Opponents Genesis currently sit top of the premier division with an unbeaten record - further details on them can be viewed in the previous post.

Belton itself is a small village located a few miles north west of Shepshed and is sandwiched between the A453, A512 and M1 motorway. 

On paper this game should have been a complete mismatch but on the day we had an intriguing and interesting cup tie. Genesis, as expected started the brightest and made the early inroads but were limited to long range efforts. As the half wore on the home side grew in confidence, got into the game more and at times more than matched their opponents in the middle of the park. The opening goal came with five minutes remaining of the half and what a goal it was. Jorge Jimenez who was always a threat throughout the game controlled the ball on his chest some 25 or 30 yards out and hit a swerving volley that flew into the top corner. A goal right out of the top drawer that would grace any level of football. Genesis started the second half in the ascendancy and on 55 minutes doubled their advantage. A corner was won on the left and despite calls for handball it was stabbed home from a few yards out. Belton did not let their heads drop and midway through the half got a goal that their effort deserved. I did not have a good view of it but it appeared their #9's shot took a deflection before it looped over Wiggins in the Genesis goal. This gave the visitors a kick up the backside and within two minutes they nearly made it 1-3, only for the Belton keeper pulling off an excellent save at his near post. Genesis continued to make the most of the running but with seven minutes remaining Belton were awarded a free kick. It split the Genesis defence but the shot was well saved by the advancing Wiggins. In the end Genesis closed the game out and advance to round 3.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 7

Match rating: 7 out of 10

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

Loughborough double - part 2

GENESIS 1-1 HOUGHTON RANGERS

(after extra time; Genesis won 9-8 on penalty kicks)
Saturday 29th October 2011
Leicestershire Intermediate Cup 2^nd Round

Lodge Farm, Oakley Drive, Loughborough

The drive from the University to Oakley Drive is less than a mile but with having some time to kill between the games I went and had some lunch before arriving at the venue about ten minutes before kick off. The venue is basic with three pitches and a wooden changing room block on site. Genesis use the back pitch with Loughborough United the front one. The third one which could be described as the "top" pitch with it being set above the other was not in use. Also at home today was Loughborough United Reserves Saturday Vase 2nd round match with Knighton EFC. There is nothing to distinguish each pitch from one another as none of them had dugouts or were railed or roped off. 

Despite watching a poor game in the last round of this competition, this did not deter me in any shape or form to stop me watching a game in the next round. The draw was finally released to the public just three weeks before the game itself – good planning and organisation from the County FA!!!! There are 16 ties in the second round with Genesis thrashing fellow North Leicestershire League side Markfield 8-2 in the 1^st round while District Leaguers Houghton received a bye. I did state in the report on the 1^st round tie between Asfordby and Glenfield that the competition was competed for by teams in only three divisions. Well I was almost right as there are two teams from other leagues – Ketton who play in division 1 of the Peterborough & District League and Witherley United who play in division 2 of the Coventry Alliance.

Houghton keeper Jimmy Greasley saving in the shoot out.

One thing that attracted me to this tie was that both sides are top of their respective leagues and are also unbeaten. Genesis have recorded seven wins from their eight league outings and last week beat Birstall Old Boys 5-1 @ Lodge Farm. Houghton meanwhile have five wins from their six league games and least week beat Mounsorrel Amateurs 3-2 at the Weir Lane ground.

Who are Genesis FC?

Taken from their official website and written by Jez Cromie:

“Genesis FC started in a pub in Loughborough by five guys who used to play football together in the Christian Union team at Uni. The five of us Si Brown, Adrian Holland, Stu Arnold, Steve Straker and myself Jez Crombie had stayed around in Loughborough to live and work. We were reminiscing at some of our glory days when someone suggested the idea of starting our own club. After much amusement the idea gained momentum and became a serious possibility. So in May 2002 we decided to go for it. We had a squad of five but that wasn’t going to stop us. Over the coming months many different mates joined us and we had a squad of 15 for our opening game in the North Leicestershire League Division 2.

The name Genesis was chosen as Si Brown was a huge Phil Collins fan, not really. We knew we wanted to set up a club that was a bit different to your average club. Some  of the guys were Christians and we wanted the club to reflect some of the Christian values in the way it was run and the way we played our football. So Genesis was chosen as it reflected our Christian influence and also because in the bible Genesis is known as the book of the Beginnings, and it was the beginning of Genesis F.C.”

Their playing since joining the NLL is as follows:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	POS
2002/03	N LEIC-2	18	10	2	6	64	38	32	4TH
2003/04	N LEIC-2	20	12	5	3	56	35	41	2ND
2004/05	N LEIC-1	18	10	2	6	59	37	32	3RD
2005/06	N LEIC-1	20	15	2	3	63	27	47	1ST
2006/07	N LEIC-P	22	5	3	14	39	61	18	10TH
2007/08	N LEIC-P	22	8	6	8	58	55	30	6TH
2008/09	N LEIC-P	18	6	4	8	43	44	22	7TH
2009/10	N LEIC-P	26	18	2	6	73	48	56	4TH
2010/11	N LEIC-P	26	16	4	6	80	41	52	2ND

On arriving at the venue the weather turned and the glorious sunshine from the morning game had turned into rain - thankfully it did abate during the game and also thankfully I managed to shelter from the rain under some trees. This was a game that could have gone either way - two inform teams producing an open, entertaining game or two inform teams cancelling each other out. Unfortunately it was the latter of the two that I witnessed. The first half was especially turgid with neither side seemingly up for it. Or it could have been the case that both sides were affraid to lose. The hosts only effort were a couple from long range that did not trouble Jimmy Greasley in the Houghton goal. 

The second half started as the first ended though as it wore on the game became more open. Genesis had three good chances midway through the second period in the space of five minutes, but two went wide and the other saved by Greasley. Houghton then stepped up a gear themselves but could not break the deadlock and the game went into extra time. Not something I was looking forward to following the previous ninety minutes!!! 

The first period of extra time was the most entertaining of the game. Genesis took the lead midway through it when their #6 was found unmarked in the penalty area and he side footed it past Greasley. The lead lasted just two minutes as Andy Almond headed home the equaliser following an excellent cross from the left. Almond should have give Houghton the lead on 114 minutes but somehow put the ball over from a couple of yards out when it was easier to score. The final fifteen minutes saw neither keeper tested and it invariably the game would be decided by kicks from the penalty spot. Both sides missed two from their first five kicks and on it went until it got round to the keepers having to take one. As always in penalty shoot outs there is a hero and a fall guy. Unfortunately for Houghton Greasley had his kick saved by the Genesis keeper and the game ended some two and three quarter hours after it had started!

Penalty shoot out sequence:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
GEN	O	O	X	X	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
HOU	O	X	X	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	X

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 9
Match rating: 2 out of 10

Websites / sources:

Official Genesis FC

North Leicestershire League


Thirty photos taken during the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Going Green

GREENHILL Y.C. 7-2 VICTORIA

Saturday 17th September 2011

North Leicestershire League Cobbin Trophy 1st Round

Greenhill Youth Centre, Coalville

As regular readers of this blog will have noted there was no report from last Saturday. This was because I was down in Paignton for the weekend attending my uncle Peter's wedding to his now wife Sarah and did not manage to attend a game in deepest Devon. It was not through lack of trying as the wedding was on the Friday but in the end I decided to keep the peace as it were and keep my wife Angela happy. We did have a very enjoyable day out with my dad (Paul), his partner (Julia) and my Nan using the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company which took us from Paignton to Kingswear on the train (30 mins), the foot ferry to Dartmouth, river boat to Totnes (1hr 15 mins) and finally bus back to Paignton (25 mins). This round robin trip cost £21 (adults) or £19 (concessions) and allowed us time to spend in both Dartmouth and Totnes.

To be honest I had no idea where to go today as Oadby Town were knocked out of the FA Cup by local rivals Quorn. There were several games in both the Leicester & District and North Leicestershire Leagues and it was a case of deciding where to go and whom to see. After my usual indecision a game in the North Leicestershire League's Cobbin Trophy took my fancy between division 1 side Greenhill YC and division 3 side Victoria. Following on from a 0-0 draw in my last game accusations of potential goal whoring to be deliberated!!!! For the record the Cobbin Trophy is a competition for 1st teams while reserve teams compete in the Bonser Trophy.

Greenhill Y.C. were formed in 2006 and joined division 4 of the North Leicestershire League (NLL). They finished bottom of the twelve team division winning just three league games. Things improved dramatically the following season as they secured promotion to division 3 by finishing in 2nd place, just two points behind winners ATI Garryson Reserves. A 10th place finish was recorded in the 2008/09 season before they won promotion for a second time in three years by winning the division 3 title. Last season was another successful season for the Coalville based club as they won the division two title on goal difference ahead of Sutton Bonington Academicals. They only lost one league game and that was to the Accies on Easter Saturday. This was a game that I attended and a thoroughly enjoyable one it was too - see link on right hand side of blog. The defeat left Greenhill needing to win their last game of the season @ home to Castle Donington and this was duly achieved with a thumping 8-0 victory. This season they have carried on where they left off last season by recording two victories in their opening two games - 6-1 @ Loughborough Athletic was followed by a 7-3 goal feast last week against Woodhouse Imperial. Opponents Victoria are based in Syston and like previously stated compete in division 3. They have only played one game so far this season and that was a 4-0 victory @ Loughborough Galaxy.

source: www.everards.co.uk

My mum's partner Dave agreed to come and watch the game with me and we arranged to meet at The Birch Tree pub which is adjacent to the Bardon Hill Quarry for a pre-match drink. The intention was also to have another drink afterwards but on arriving back at the pub found it had closed at 2pm.

The Greenhill Youth Community Centre is very easy to find being just off the main A511. If heading towards Coalville from the M1 go past the quarry and Bardon Hill Sports Club and turn right into Waterworks Road. This in turn leads onto Cropston Drive and the community centre is on the left hand side. There is nothing (as expected) in terms of pitch side facilities so was not disappointed. Also excepted as well was the fact that there was no admission charge or programme issued .

The scoreline was one that I felt flattered the hosts a tad as they hit the visitors for six in the opening forty five minutes. Victoria should have took the lead after only sixty seconds but the shot went agonisingly wide of the far post. Greenhill made their visitors pay in emphatic style by scoring three goals in a devastating six minute spell. The first came on three minutes when #9 put the ball past the advancing keeper from twenty yards out into an open goal, and just two minutes later in became 2-0. A long throw in appeared to go straight into the Victoria goal but with the referee allowing it it must have took a touch from a player from either side. The third goal came with just nine minutes on the clock as the #9 got his second of the game, having been played onside saw his first attempt saved by the Victoria keeper but made no mistake second time around. The home side did not have to wait long for goal number 4 as this came in the 14th minute and this was primarily caused by the visitors themselves. A mistake by the right back allowed the Greenhill #10 pull the ball back to allow his team mate to finish first time. To be fair to them Victoria did not let their heads drop and more than matched their hosts in terms of possession and territory. They created a few half chances but they were generally off target. Greenhill's fifth chance of the half resulted in their fifth goal around the half hour mark. This was probably the best move of the half as the ball was played down the right, this was played across goal and finished with aplomb. The sixth and final goal of the half was also the most comical as the ball was moved quickly down the left and the cross was turned in by a defender via the post.

The second half was despite there being fewer goals a lot more enteraining. Victoria came out with the attitude that despite being six goals down would make a game of it. This they duly did as they played some good football and created a few chances. Generally the final ball and finishing let them down. Against the run of play Greenhill scored a seventh around the hour mark when a defence splitting through ball was laid across the goal for a simple tap in. Five minutes later and Victoria got a consolation goal they richly deserved as a free kick was knocked down and the ball drilled into the far corner past the keeper. Several more chances came and went, this time from both sides as Greenhill nearly added to their tally on a couple of occasions before Victoria ended the scoring in the last minute. A corner was only half cleared and volleyed home by their captain.

Admission: none

Programme: none

Attendance: peaked at around 50

Match rating: 3 out of 5

Websites:

North Leicestershire League (official)

A slideshow of 43 photos taken at the game can be viewed below: