Alliance League double

No reports from two games I watched yesterday (Good Friday), but photos were taken at both games and they can be viewed in the two slideshows below:

Game 1

White Eagles 3-4 AFC Royal Oak

Alliance Football League Division 6

Victoria Park, Leicester

Game 2

KS Leicester Polska 1-5 MDH Knights

Alliance Football League EW Foster Cup Final

Leicestershire County FA Ground, Holmes Park, Whetstone

Steelers extinguish the Blaze

A different format regarding the blog report today as it was done for the American website Stadium Journey.

COVENTRY BLAZE 3-8 SHEFFIELD STEELERS

Saturday 16th March 2013

Elite League

Coventry SkyDome Arena

Croft Road

Coventry

CV1 3AZ

Tel: 02476 630693 (box office)

Capacity: 2,600 (2,100 seats)

Official website: Coventry Blaze

ABOUT

The SkyDome Arena was built in 1999 as part of the SkyDome multiplex. This also included an Odeon cinema, Wetherspoons pub (The Spon Gate) and Harvester restaurant.  The complex also includes a bar, Crosbys which is at the end of the ice rink. The rink itself is also used for public skating sessions, concerts and various other events.

The Blaze compete in the UK’s top hockey competition, the Elite League, and have been doing so since 2003. The team were originally from nearby Solihull and evolved from the Solihull Barons, which in turn became the Solihull Blaze. In 2000 the team moved to Coventry at the newly opened SkyDome arena to attract a new and larger fanbase. Since moving to Coventry the team have won the following honours:

British League champions: 2002/03

Elite League champions: 2004/05; 2006/07; 2007/08; 2009/10

Elite League play-off winners:  2004/05

Elite League Challenge Cup winners: 2004/05; 2006/07

Elite League British KO Cup winners: 2007/08

Elite League Charity Shield winners: 2008/09

At the time of writing the team sit in fourth place in the Elite League and have already qualified for the post-season play-offs.

FOOD & BEVERAGE (4* out of 5)

The standard fare that you generally see across the country at sports venues also applies here. The difference being is that you don’t feel like you are getting ripped off with the prices more affordable.

Inside the arena the choice is limited to hot dogs and burgers (starting from £3), pies and pasties (£2), sausage rolls (£1.20) and nachos (£2.70), snacks and chocolate bars also available from either the food kiosks or vending machines.  It should be said that this is ample enough in relation to the capacity of the venue.

If you have time before the game then the previously mentioned Harvester and Wetherspoon outlets serve standard pub / grill food.

Alcohol wise a pint of draught beer at Crosby’s bar will cost £3, which unlike the football stadiums in the UK you can drink while watching the action on the rink. Soft drinks are £1.80, Tea and coffee £1.50 and bottles of water cost £1.20. For anyone that likes a decent pint of beer the adjacent Spon Gate had a decent selection of ales on tap.

ATMOSPHERE (2*)

The SkyDome is a u-shaped arena with all the seats being elevated and standing at ground floor level. There was not a bad seat in the house and with only having a capacity of just over 2,000 you are not that far away from the action on the rink.

The rating probably wasn’t helped that it was an end of season game and that Coventry were not at the races for the most part during the game. For the first two periods it (the atmosphere) was subdued) and it only came to life during the third period when the Coventry team showed some fight on the rink. I am sure this would be higher if the game had some significant importance and (deliberate pun intended) the Blaze were on fire on the ice.

NEIGHBOURHOOD (3*)

Without meaning any disrespect to Coventry, it is a city that does not immediately spring to mind when thinking of somewhere to visit. It does though have some attractions for visitors which include the cathedral, Transport Museum and the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum. The city is also close and convenient for visiting the nearby towns of Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon.

With the city being one of the largest in the UK (population around 320,000) it is home to all the usual high street chain stores and plenty of restaurants catering for all tastes, requirements and budgets.

More information on Coventry and Warwickshire can be found by clicking on the following link: info

For sports fans the city has plenty of other options which include: football (Coventry City FC), rugby union (Coventry RFC), rugby league (Coventry Bears), speedway (Coventry Bees), American Football (Coventry Jets) and greyhound racing.

FANS (3*)

Firstly the Coventry supporters know their hockey, and like all sports fans cheer and criticise their team accordingly. Also during the game I attended the officials got some stick as well. Whereas football / soccer has a generally male orientated supporter, there was more of a mix at the Blaze. I did notice a lot of Blaze replica jerseys were being worn buy the supporters, along with the odd NHL jersey from teams such as the Boston Bruins.

Opposition supporters had their own section behind the goal on the right hand side, though despite being segregated there was no barriers and security in place and there was no hostility being the two sets of supporters before, during and after the game.

ACCESS (4*)

The Arena is located in the centre of Coventry and is easily accessible whether by using public transport or by driving. The railway station is located 0.6 miles away to the south and according to Google maps should take twelve minutes to walk. For those who are coming by car take junction 7 of the inner ring road and there are a couple of car parks (one of Moat Street and a multi-storey on Croft Road) which are adjacent to the Arena. The multi-storey one is operated by RCP and has 800 spaces which costs 60p (US 90c) per hour.

Coming from Leicester which is some twenty five miles to the north east of Coventry we had no problems getting to and leaving from the arena.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (4*)

Adult tickets cost £16 (US$24) + a 10% fee if booking in advance, with concession and family deals also available. An example being a family ticket of two adults and two children (under-16) is £41 (US$61). I am unsure what to think if the pricing represents value for money or not, but Coventry does seem to be the norm regarding adult ticket prices, with Nottingham charging the same, Cardiff £17 and Sheffield £15. For the level below this in the English Premier League I paid £12.50 at the Swindon Wildcats.

match day magazine cover

EXTRAS (3*)

Firstly the club issue a monthly match day magazine which is onsale at rink side for £3, though in my opinion is overpriced. Secondly the Blaze have official merchandise for sale inside Crosbys which include caps (£10), jerseys and pucks (£3.50). This runs alongside an online store at their official website.

The club also give the supporters a chance to win various prizes in a couple of ways. Firstly in the form of raffle tickets (cash and a players jersey), and secondly the chance to win match tickets and another cash prize, this time by throwing a rubber duck onto the ice which will hopefully land inside one of three small inflatable kids pools.

  

FINAL THOUGHTS

With being new to the sport I am enjoying it, though with not having a team or rink where I live I suppose I will never be a passionate one club supporter. With that in mind I will hopefully watch a few more games next season, whether it be again at Coventry or other nearby rinks at Nottingham or Peterborough.

THE GAME ITSELF

Sheffield took control right from the start and were four nil up at the end of the first period, with the goals coming from Ashley Tait (1:27); Jonathan Phillips (2:01); Jeff Legue (7:14) and Danny Meyers (16:50). This was despite having four players in the sin bin during this time, and the home side unable to take advantage of the power plays.

The second half was more sedate in terms of game action with only one goal. James Jorgensen scoring on 16:27 to give Sheffield a 5-0 lead.

The third period was the most entertaining of the three with finally, Coventry showing some fight and passion and scoring three times through Josh Bruce (3:05); James Griffin (8:23) and Derek Campbell (10:53). Unfortunately they also conceded three as the visitors comfortably ran out 8-3 victors. The Sheffield goals in the third period came from Steven Goertzen (3:49); Jeff Legue (13:52) and Jonathan Phillips (18:36). With 16:37 on the clock the Blaze fans got a bit excited when Derek Campbell lost it and was sin binned for two offences of roughing-minor which was for throwing punches.  A couple of minutes later and Benn Olson was also binned for two offences of roughing-minor and the Blaze played out the final stages with only four men on the ice.

All the match stats can be found on the Elite League website by clicking here.

18 photos of the arena taken inside and out and be viewed in the slideshow below:

Uttoxeter photos

While in Uttoxeter itself on Saturday (2nd March) I took nine photos in the town centre. They can be viewed in the very brief slideshow below:

Four in the sun for Town

UTTOXETER TOWN 4-1 CHESTERTON AFC

Saturday 2nd March 2013

Staffordshire County Senior League Division 1

Oldfields Sports Club, Springfield Road, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

Leading up to the weekend I was having a case of football burnout with having watched over sixty games this season so far, and god forbid even contemplating even not watching a game today. But after getting home from work Friday morning I was mulling things over in my head, and for some reason the name Uttoxeter Town came into my mind - no idea why or how but it did. I remember earlier on in the season reading about the club on the Non-League Matter forum and the reports were vary favourable, so thought I would venture into new territory football wise and hopefully re-energise myself for the final three months of the football season.

Uttoxeter is a market town and civil parish in the district of East Staffordshire with a population of around twelve and a half thousand. It is located some twenty miles west of Derby, fourteen miles south east of Stoke-on-Trent and twenty miles north of Lichfield. 

The following history on the town is taken from the wikipedia page:

Uttoxeter's name has had 79 spellings since it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Wotocheshede": it probably came from Anglo-SaxonWuttuceshǣddre = "Wuttuc's homestead on the heath". Some historians point to pre-Roman settlement here and Bronze Age axes have been discovered in the town (now in display in the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent). It is possible that Uttoxeter had some form of Roman activity due to its strategic position on the River Dove and closeness to the large garrison forts at Rocester between 69 and 400 AD, and recently discovered fort at Stramshall, though little collaborating archaeology has been found.

Uttoxeter also saw the last major royalist surrender of the English Civil War, on 25 August 1648, when James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamiltonsurrendered to Parliamentarian General John Lambert.

Perhaps the most famous event to have occurred in Uttoxeter is the penance of Samuel Johnson. Johnson's father ran a bookstall on Uttoxeter market, and young Samuel once refused to help out on the stall. When Johnson was older, he stood in the rain (without a hat) as a penance for his failure to assist his father. This event is commemorated with the Johnson Memorial, which stands in the Market Place, in the town centre and there is also an area of town called Johnson Road, which commemorates him.

Mary Howitt, the Quaker writer of the poem "The Spider and the Fly", lived in Uttoxeter for a long period of her life. The town influenced some of her poems and novels, as well as fuelling her love of natural history, which also featured in her books. Howitt Crescent, a residential road in the town, was named after her. Recently, three of her poems were displayed in the town's bus shelters by the Uttoxeter Arts Festival Committee (now defunct).

Bunting’s brewery occupied a large area of the centre of the town since the Victorian era. It stopped producing beer in the 1930s after being bought by Bass Brewery of Burton upon Trent. The last remains of the brewery were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Maltings shopping precinct and car park. The brewery clock was recently re-furbished and installed on the town hall.

In 1945, Joseph Cyril Bamford founded J C Bamford Excavators Limited in Uttoxeter, now known as JCB. The firm, based in the nearby village of Rocester, is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. The firm's first vehicle was a tipping trailer made from war-surplus materials, which J. C. Bamford built in a rented lock-up garage in Uttoxeter. The Bamford family had previously started Bamfords, later Bamford International Farm Machinery which was a large employer in the town from the end of the 19th century through to the early 1980s when it gradually went into decline before closing in 1986.

Uttoxeter celebrated its 700 year anniversary of the awarding of a Market charter (1308) in 2008, which underpins the market provision on Saturdays and Wednesdays in particular, and other festival markets. The 1308 charter followed a more general Royal Charter granted to the town's burgesses in 1252. The originals reside at the National Archives in Kew and the Deferrers Museum in Leicester.

The football club currently ply their trade in the division 1 of the Staffordshire County Senior League, having transferred over from the Burton & District Sunday League in the summer of 2012, a league in which they were crowned champions for the past two seasons. In both seasons they beat Edge Hill to the title, firstly in 2010/11 by three points and then last season by two points. This season they have taken to their new surroundings like a duck to water, currently sitting top of the division one table five points ahead of MMU. Impressive also is the fact that they remain unbeaten in their league campaign recording fifteen victories from sixteen matches, adding to this is a current winning streak of eleven in league fixtures. The latter of which came last Saturday (23rd February) when Congleton Athletic were beaten by the odd goal in seven. 

The club play their home games at the Oldfields Sports Club which is located on the western side of the town. They share the facilities with both the cricket and rugby clubs.

Uttoxeter is very straight forward to get to from Leicester, firstly heading up the M1 motorway to junction 23a and then across on the A50 to the town itself. According to Google maps it should take around an hour to make the fifty mile journey. Come Friday evening and I decided to see how much it would cost on the train, and it came out at £14 return going via Derby which is cheaper than going by car. O.k. it meant leaving out earlier to get a bus into Leicester and adding the cost of the bus fare would make it about the same price, but sometimes it is nice to leave the car at home.

I arrived on time in Uttoxeter around 1.15pm and the station is on the edge of the town adjacent to the racecourse. It didn't take long to walk into the centre itself, and having took one or two photos went into the JD Weatherspoon Outlet, The Old Swan for a pint before heading to the football ground. For real ale drinkers there was four or five on tap, with a couple being guest ales. I don't recall the one I had but it was a decent dark beer all the same. Afterwards it took around ten minutes to walk to Oldfields, the entrance is through some gates with the pitches straight ahead and an impressive pavilion to the right. No admission was charged but a twelve page programme was available for £1.

The game wasn't too bad an affair for what is the twelfth level of the English football pyramid. Leaders Uttoxeter wasted no time in putting their stamp on proceedings when Tommy Smith was fouled in the penalty area by Jon Wood after only a couple of minutes. With calls from the sidelines for a red card, the referee showed the offender a yellow one. Anyhow Uttoxeter couldn't take advantage as the resultant spot kick was put wide. The visitors took some heart from this let off and made life difficult for their high flying hosts. On the balance of play during the next half hour Uttoxeter were just ahead on points, but you felt that once they got the first goal they would run out comfortable winners. Going into the latter stages of the half and the breakthrough was made with Tommy Smith coolly slotting the ball past Craig Wilson in the Chesterton goal on thirty eight minutes.

In the opening twenty minutes of the second half Uttoxeter turned the screw and put the game to bed as a contest, scoring three goals in the space of just eleven minutes. Firstly after a shot was cleared off the line, the ball fell kindly to Gary Beardsley who's shot over Wilson went in off the underside of the bar on fifty three minutes. Three minutes later and Smith got his second off the afternoon with a scrambled effort at the far post. Smith completed his hat trick on sixty four minutes with a header when unmarked in the penalty area. To be fair to the visitors their pride kept them going and they deservedly got a consolation goal on seventy six minutes. Andrew Smith slotting the ball past Alex Langridge at the far post from a few yards out. In the final fifteen minutes neither keeper was rarely troubled with most of the efforts being off target.

Overall an enjoyable afternoon out in East Staffordshire at a club that seem to be on the up, and a decent turn out from the locals to watch them. 

Admission: Free

Programme: £1

Attendance: counted around 80 pitchside, but more stayed at the pavilion

54 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

sunday league photos

OAKFIELD OLD BOYS 1-0 FAIRFIELD ATHLETIC

Sunday 17th February 2013

Alliance Football League Division 3

Oakfield Park, Hospital Lane, Blaby, Leicestershire

42 match photos from a top v bottom clash can be viewed in the slideshow below:

useless fact: 

Oakfield Park is venue #113 that I have seen football @ in Leicestershire & Rutland.

Rangers on the rampage against Rovers

MORETON RANGERS 5-1 ABBEYMEAD ROVERS

Saturday 16th February 2013

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division 2

London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

With the weather turning for the better at the back end of this week it is a case of getting back to normal hopefully. What I mean by this is that for what seems like an age, it has been a case of hoping to see what games survive the weather, whether it being because of rain or snow. Last week I had hoped to watch four games of football and an ice hockey match, but in the end only one football game was attended alongside the ice hockey. If you follow me on twitter (@allroads1) or have read my twitter feed on this blog you will know that the game last week was between Wootton Bassett Town and Cricklade Town. It ended 1-1 in a Hellenic League Division 1 West encounter and not a bad game at all considering it was played on a very heavy pitch. Following on from this it was a short drive to the western side of Swindon to the Link Centre. This was where we saw the Swindon Wildcats entertain the Peterborough Phantoms in an English Premier League encounter, and after an even first period the Wildcats ran out 6-2 winners. Back to this week and the weather put paid to plans I had on Wednesday night when it caused the postponement of Welwyn Garden City and Sun Postal Sports.

As usual I was being very indecisive on where to go today with my only restriction being that I had to be back in Leicester for around 6pm. This is because I will be watching the Leicester Riders take on the Manchester Giants in the British Basketball League (BBL). There was no particular reason for choosing my game today and considering the level they play at, would be the furthest I have travelled for a level 13 (step 9) game of football. 

Moreton-in-Marsh (pop' 3,198 in 2001) is a town in north Gloucestershire on the northern perifery of the Cotswolds and is one that I have travelled through plenty of times. The Cotswolds is one of my favourite parts of the UK with it being a range of hills stretching in a north-east / south-west direction in middle England. There are some unspoilt towns and villages in which Moreton is one of them. Others include Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. This part of the country is very easy to get to from Leicester, heading in a south westerly direction for around fifty miles. The town is also situated on the Fosse Way - an old roman road that linked Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) to Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) via Bath (Aquae Sulis), Cirencester (Corinium) and Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum). The town does have its own railway station and is on the Cotswold Line that connects Hereford with Oxford, going via Great Malvern, Worcester Foregate Street and Evesham.

map of the Cotswold Line (source: Wikipedia)

The football club were formed in 1997 as an under-8 side, but but it wasn't until seven years later in 2004 than an open age section was started. The club were accepted into division 2 of the Cheltenham League and in their debut season finished in 6th place, with a runners-up spot in the 2006/07 season secured promotion to division 1. Three season were spent in the top division of the Cheltenham League, the last of which saw them crowned league champions and with it promotion to the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League (GNSL). Their first season in their new surroundings saw them finish in a respectable 4th place , accumulating forty-eight points from twenty-six league games. In a very competitive division this year Moreton currently sit in 4th place with thirty-two points from fifteen league games. Opponents today Abbeymead Rovers currently have the same points total from the same number of games played, but are below Moreton in the table due to a goal difference of two.

The drive down was effortless and easy and I arrived in the town at around 2.30pm. The ground is located on the eastern side of the town on the London Road, and to find the ground if coming from the north or south simply turn take the Oxford (A44) turning in the town centre and the ground is on the right hand side. A small track leads to the car park and ground entrance, though no admission was charged. Having not been to any other ground in this league I cannot make any comparisons, but surely it must be one of, if not the best. It is fully railed, has dugouts which are on the far side, floodlights and a new changing room block and stand. 

The game which on paper should have been a close encounter turned out to be very one sided. Two goals in the opening quarter of an hour (10 and 14 minutes) put Moreton in control, and when a third was added on twenty-six minutes it was pretty much game over. Abbeymead got a goal back on thirty-three minutes to make it 3-1 at the interval. The opening period of the second half saw the visitors have their best spell of the game, though despite their possession they seldom troubled the Moreton keeper. Two goals in the final twenty minutes (71 and 85 minutes) put the final nails in the coffin.

Overall an enjoyable afternoon out, helped by the weather and the town of Moreton itself which was very busy with visitors - just a shame a few more of them were not aware of the presence of the local football club.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: peaked at 24

48 ground and match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Another late change of plan

WHITTLESEY UNITED 1-2 COATES ATHLETIC
Saturday 2nd February 2013
Peterborough & District League Premier Division
Manor Field, Station Road, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire

Apologies but there is no report today due to a late change of plan. I was all set to re-complete the Leicestershire Senior League with a visit to Ashby Ivanhoe's new ground for their game against Cottesmore Amateurs, but around 11.45am I saw that the game had been postponed. Bloody annoying as I had already done the background work for a report and also that I had arranged to meet my dad at the ground. With not wanting to mess around checking numerous league websites for fixtures I looked on the Peterborough League website to see what was on, and noticed that both Whittlesey sides Blue Star and United were at home with 2pm kick-offs. A phone call to the Blue Star secretary confirmed their game was on, but on arrival I decided to watch United instead against Coates Athletic.

There are two grounds at the Manor Leisure Centre in the town, though both use the same car park. United have their own clubhouse and changing rooms and their ground (Manor Field) is too the left, while there are two pitches which are part of the leisure centre itself. These are used by Blue Star and Coates Athletic. The Manor is very easy to find with it being both close to the station and town centre and is signposted from the A605 that runs east to west through the town.

In a nutshell Coates upset the form book with a deserved 2-1 victory over their higher placed hosts. A cracking free kick early on put them one up, but this was cancelled out ten minutes later with a curling shot past the United keeper. Coates should have ahead at the interval but a shot cracked against the corner of the upright and another effort was cleared off the line with the keeper beaten. The winner came from the penalty spot shortly after the half time interval, but the awarding off it  appeared to be harsh from my perspective.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: around 30ish
Tea: 50p
Coffee: 60p

41 photos taken of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below: