Cotgrave Welfare

COTGRAVE WELFARE 1-1 WOLLATON

Tuesday 18th August 2009

The Woodview Ground

Notts Senior League Senior Division

With the weather being as it is, a lovely summers evening my preferred choice of game would be that of one that has little in the way of spectator facilities and also one that kicks off at 6.30pm. After trawling through various local league websites I eventually settled upon Cotgrave Welfare v Wollaton in the Notts Senior League (NSL). Cotgrave, rather obviously due to the name of the club is an ex-mining village, of which there is a plethora of in this part of the country. Other examples being Clipstone, Rainworth and Blidworth. I knew that Cotgrave had lights but presumed that they were not being used tonight hence the early kick-off stated on the NSL’s excellent website. Arriving at the ground with my dad with about ten minutes to kick-off we found the place locked up, but shortly after we were told that the league’s website was wrong and in fact kick-off was 7.30pm. To kill the hour we ended chatting over a pint in the Miners Welfare in which the ground is located behind. When time came for kick-off we were not charged any admission nor were any programme issued. To be honest it didn’t come as a surprise even though this was my first ever game in this league.

The game started with both sides up for this encounter and chances were created at either end with some pretty good football at times being played. It was the visitors from Wollaton who took the lead on twenty minutes when a through ball played in Bascombe who lobbed the ball coolly over the home keeper. This did not deter the home side and they came close themselves a few minutes later when a shot from the edge of the area went straight at the Wollaton keeper for a comfortable save. Cotgrave got a deserved equaliser on fifty four minutes when a free kick from the right hand side was fluffed by the keeper which allowed Bee to tap in from a yard or so out. No further goals followed and clear cut chances were at a premium and the game ended in a fair 1-1 draw.

Overall an enjoyable first taste of Notts Senior League football and I can say without doubt that I will be back for more this season, helped by the proximity to Leicester of a lot of the clubs.

Oadby Town

Oadby Town 1-1 Studley

Saturday 8th August 2009

Midland Football Alliance

Greene King Park

Today sees me attend my first competitive game of the new season at my spiritual home in football terms as it were, Oadby Town FC at their newly sponsored ground “Greene King Park” for their Midland Football Alliance (MFA) encounter with Worcestershire side Studley. The two sides first ever meeting was in the 2001/02 season when they played out a nil-nil draw @ Studley on the 14th August.

The name change means that, since I first watched Oadby Town during the 1997/98 season their ground on Wigston Road is under its fourth sponsored name, and follows the park prefixes of Invicta, Events & Leisure and Topps. Oadby have undergone a transformation on the field with a host of players leaving and joining the club during the close season along with former Leicester City and Scotland defender Matt Elliott becoming joint manager alongside Mick Holmes. Holmes was in sole charge last season in what to be fair was one of the worst in the clubs history winning only nine of forty two league games and finished in 19th place in the 22 team MFA. Since the club joined senior football in 1951 they have lost less than nine league game only once, which came in the 1955/56 season when the club won eight league games but they only played 26 matches. Hopefully this season will see a much improved showing from Oadby in both and league and cup competitions. Very little has changed off the field in terms of ground improvements but the club are currently laying a couple of steps of terracing on the grass bank to the left of the clubhouse.

The journey to Oadby takes around twenty minutes from my home in the Braunstone area of Leicester and when arriving at the ground I am charged the concession rate of £3 and £1.50 for a full coloured glossy programme. The programme is 32 pages and has 13 pages of adverts, though there is very little reading material. Let’s hope as the season progresses this will improve. A value for money rating would in the region of six out of ten.

The first half was dominated by Oadby from the off, playing some good football and they created at least half a dozen good chances during this period but they all lacked the clinical finish. The closest they actually games was when Brian Quailey hit the bar on thirty five minutes. Studley themselves refused to allow Oadby to have things all their own way and they had a goal ruled out when Craig Poutney was correctly judged to be offside. Oadby did make the deserved breakthrough on fifty two minutes when Nick Pollard scored from three yards out when the ball rebounded nicely too him following a Quailey shot. Just three minutes later and it was 1-1 when the visitors were awarded a penalty for a handball offence. Steven Ruck stepped up and scored with ease. This seemed to rattle Oadby a bit and the game became scrappy with neither side taking control. Oadby had their best chance of the half when Quailey forced an excellent save from visiting keeper Steve Grogan with three minutes left, but Studley themselves nearly won the match with in stoppage time when home keeper Damion Quailey made two equally excellent saves.

About time...

MANSFIELD TOWN 0-0 LEICESTER CITY
Tuesday 21st July 2009
Field Mill
Pre-season friendly

My first game of the new season saw me head up to Mansfield Town F.C. for their pre-season friendly with Leicester City. With the weather being bloody awful it does make you question why sometimes, but after having a three month break from watching football I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms and itching to take in a game again. I have visited a lot of non-league clubs in the area but not actually Mansfield Town itself, so tonight was an ideal opportunity to visit a new club that is not that far from home and also see my home town club Leicester City in action. I met my dad at the Trowell services on the M1, from then we headed north to junction 28 and headed across the A38 towards Mansfield itself with the intention of finding somewhere to eat and hopefully the premises allowing us to leave one car there while we headed to the game. This was achieved when we pulled into the Watermill @ Sutton-in-Ashfield and after having some lunch we found the ground very easily and managed to park for free in the adjacent health club. Mansfield charged a £10 pay on the turnstile admission policy for the game and £2 for a programme which covers all four of their home pre-season games. The away fans situated behind the far goal which backs onto the retail park.

Leicester settled the better of the two teams and created a fair few chances with the home keeper dealing with the ones on target. Midfielder Max Gradel wasted at least two good opportunities when he blasted the ball high and wide after cutting inside on his left foot. The home side got into the game around the half hour mark but could not find the breakthrough. Six minutes into the second half Mansfield had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside and this was the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock. Overall a typical pre-season game I suppose and it was good the see Leicester in action at a ground that I have not been to before.

I can’t imagine I will go to man more pre-season games, though one is confirmed as I have tickets for Leicester’s home game with Spanish side Real Valladolid on Sunday 2nd August. As I have previously stated on numerous occasions my work plays a large impact on when and where I can watch football, and as most leagues have finalised their constitutions and started to release fixtures my list of clubs has changed a few times in the last couple of months.

At present it now looks something like this:

Melton Mowbray BS [Leicestershire Senior League] – hope to go to their first game on Saturday 15th August v Dunton & Broughton Rangers. This will complete the LSL in terms of 1st team clubs again. With Kingsway Rangers being promoted to the Premier Division of the Leicester & District League (L&D) I would like to take in at least half a dozen of their away games, examples being County Hall, Blaby United and Welby Lane United. As well as games in the L&D I intend to break my duck in the two other feeder leagues for the LSL, the North Leicestershire League (NLL) and Leicester City League (LCL). With the early fixtures released by NLL a possible is the Asfordby Village – Markfield fixture on Saturday 5th September. Before league fixtures commence in the LCL the clubs play in the Mick Booth Memorial Cup and I am thinking of taking in a game involving defending league champions South Wigston Wanderers. Away from football in my home county I would like to tick off a few more clubs in the following leagues: Central Midlands, Midland Combination and the United Counties.

Over the summer

Since the end of my last game of football at the end of April I have not been to and also had many chances to watch sport of any kind. On only two occasions in June has this occured, one greyhound racing meet and one game of rugby league.

The greyhound racing was at Sittingbourne on Saturday 6th June whilst on holiday at Allhallows-on-Sea in Kent and the game of rugby league saw me take in the Leicester Phoenix - Coventry Bears game the following Saturday. Leicester won this encounter with two late tries to win 34-30.

The pre-season friendlies for me will begin on Tuesday night with a short trip to Rothwell in Northamptonshire for their game against Conference side Rushden & Diamonds. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but the last two times I have seen Rothwell play they have conceded 13 goals and scored none. Other possible fixtures at present are...

Tuesday 14th July: Brixworth All Saints v Wellingborough Town
Tuesday 21st July: Shepshed Dynamo v Kirby Muxloe
Saturday 25th July: Desford v Ibstock United
Tuesday 28th July: Blaby & Whetstone Athletic v Friar Lane & Epworth
Sunday 2nd August: Leicester City v Real Valladolid

End of season report

As it turns out my last game of the season was the Castle Donington v Newmount game at the end of April - my earliest ever finish. It has not been a bad season in terms of watching football, not helped by my shifts at work. I never had any plans to watch any games in the Spartan South Midlands League but ended up taking in four games during the early part of the season. I'm not good at sticking to targets or predictions that I make as this season I only managed one - to complete the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL) in terms of 1st team clubs. This saw me watch home games for Ashby Ivanhoe, Evington and FC Dynamo. Over the coming years there will be less likely that I will watch any more games in the LSL. At present it seems that the only new club in the LSL next season will be Melton Mowbray BS. This is because I have started watching games in one of it's three feeder leagues - the Leicester & District League which is due to time and cost and I hope to watch all remaining clubs in the Premier Division next season, preferably involving Kingsway Rangers. Six games were watched this season, four in the Premier Division and two in Division 1 and all games involved either Desford or the afore mentioned Kingsway Rangers.

The list of new clubs watched is as follows:

Central Midlands League: Bulwell Town, Parkhouse, Thoresby Colliery Welfare

Conference: Histon

Hellenic League: Witney United

Leicester & District League: Broughton Astley, Burbage Old Boys, Desford*, Glenfield Town, Kingsway Rangers, St Patricks

Leicestershire Senior League: Ashby Ivanhoe, Evington*, FC Dynamo*

Midland Combination: Continental Star, Loughborough University*

Midland Regional Alliance: Castle Donington Town

Northern Counties East League: Shirebrook Town

Southern League: Bury Town

Spartan South Midlands League: Aylesbury Vale, Buckingham Athletic, Langford, New Bradwell St Peter

West Midands (Regional) League: Gornal Athletic, Wolverhampton Casuals

* - clubs playing at venues already seen games at

As I have already stated I am no good at making predictions but I always do and this is a list of 25 clubs that I hope to watch next season: (subject to changes during the close season)

Central Midlands League: Church Warsop, Kirkby Town, Nettleham, Pinxton

Leicester & District League: Belgrave, Blaby United, Cosby United, Houghton Rangers, Welby Lane United

Leicestershire Senior League: Melton Mowbray BS - if promoted

Midland Alliance: Tipton Town

Midland Combination: Castle Vale, Fairfield Villa, Meir KA

Southern League: Nuneaton Town, Romulus

Spartan South Midlands League: Ampthill Town, Winslow United

United Counties League: Olney Town, Rushden & Higham United, Sleaford Town

West Midlands (Regional) League: Bloxwich United, Goodrich, Shenstone Pathfinder, Tividale

No doubt this will change as the season progresses.

see you in August.

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/

On top

St Patricks 0-6 Desford

Thursday 9th April 2009

Leicester & District League Premier Division

The Emerald Centre, Leicester

In the race for the District League title it is a case of "as you were" as both contenders, Houghton Rangers and Desford both won at the weekend - Houghton 4-1 @ Burbage Old Boys and Desford 5-0 v Birstall RBL. Houghton still lead Desford by one point but having played a game more. Today sees Desford play their game in hand at bottom of the table St Patricks who have only won 2 games all season and conceeding 94 goals in the process. The reverse fixture earlier on in the season saw Desford run out 18-0 winners.

St Patricks play at the Emerald Centre on Gipsy Lane on the north east side of Leicester on the edge of the Northfields estate. The ground was home to former Leicestershire Senior League side Hillcroft who played their last season there. As per normal with the District League no admission was charged or programme issued and the attendance I would guess reached about 10. The pitch do be fair was awful and made playing football of any kind very difficult.

Desford had most of the possession but failed to create many clear cut chances, the play became scrappy and this caused a bit of arguing amongst them. The closest the visitors came was at the end of the half when the number six headed a free kick against the bar. In summarising it was a poor first half and the worst 45 minutes that I have seen Desford play so far this season. It was all change in the second half as Desford took the lead on 48 minutes through Reece Morris who drilled a lot shot into the keepers right hand corner. The second came on 62 minutes when one of the substitutes finished well after a good move on the left hand side with Stewart Smith. Five minutes later and it was 3-0 after the afore mentioned Smith prodded the ball home from six yards from a Simon Goodman free kick. The fourth was added just two minutes later when an attempted cross from Smith sailed over the keeper's head into the net. Two further goals came in the last five minutes - the first was an own goal when a Rocky Greenwood cross was put into his own net by the keeper and the second was a solo effort from Reece Morris.

After this emphatic but expected win Desford find themselves back on top of the table but come Saturday afternoon Houghton should regain top spot with Desford not having a game due to their involvement in the final of the Leicestershire Junior Cup on Bank Holiday Monday.