Bottesford’s rise blunted by Tadcaster.

It was a true Autumn night as I drove along the M1, M18, M180, and M181, very dark and pouring with rain. I was on my way to Bottesford that is just south of Scunthorpe. As I drove down suburban roads water was pooling where falling leaves were blocking the drains. I turned into a housing estate and after a few turns I drove into a good tarmacked car park. After decking myself out in rainwear I hurried through the down poor to the ground.

Straight away there was a kiosk, so a welcome coffee and a portion of chips were taken to a seated stand undercover. The stand stood next to a covered standing area. The other three sides are all flat hard standing around the all weather pitch and the ground was surrounded by a high fence and wall. The pitch was also marked out for junior football. The players emerged from a changing room in the corner. The temperature at 9 degrees was made more miserable by the pouring rain.

It was a evening game to enable Bottesford catch up on league games having fallen behind due to cup success.

Bottesford Town were started in 1974 and have steadily progressed through various leagues reaching the Northern Counties East Division One in 2006 and gained promotion to the Premier Division 10 years later, where they have stayed.

Tadcaster Albion AFC was named in 1923 but they are believed to have been started in 1892 under the name John Smith’s F.C. They played in local York Leagues and later in the Yorkshire League which when it was reorganised in 1983 as the Northern Counties East League they became founder members.

Bottesford Town F.C. 2 Tadcaster Albion AFC 2

Tuesday 20th October 2026 19.45 pm kick off

Bottesford Town FC, Birch Park, Ontario Road, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2TQ

Northern Counties East League, Premier Division

The Poachers v The Brewers 2nd v 18th

Bottesford Town; All royal blue strip with a yellow diagonal stripe across the front and back of the shirts, goalkeeper in all green.

Tadcaster Albion; Yellow shirts with black collard and side stripe, black shorts, goalkeeper in all pink.

Despite the constant rain both sides set off at a blistering pace with Tadcaster mastering the conditions better through keeping the ball on the ground and quick play down the wings. They were rewarded on 20 minutes when Oliver Green received the ball on the edge of the goal area. ran forward without being challenged by the three Baottesford defenders and coolly hit the ball into the net to the right of the goalkeeper. The constant rain seemed to almost end on the scoring of the goal although it did continue to lightly drizzle.

The home team pushed to equalise but were still being harassed by Albion. After their best inter passing move of the match the ball fell to Owen Vincent on the left and he scored by hitting the ball from a difficult angle into the far corner. Half time came soon after, with all to play for.

With 8 minutes gone of the second half, a shout for a penalty for Tadcaster was too vociferous by Oli Norman who was sin binned. This gave the home team the advantage which they took advantage of when Henry Moore rose at the back post to head home a well delivered corner from the right,

Tadcaster would not lie down and a corner from the left was headed out, headed back in, headed out and then Ryan Gothard headed it back into the net on 69 minutes. Only 4 minutes later after a Bottesford break away, Stead in goal for the Brewers managed to tip a hard shot onto his bar and over.

Both teams fought hard to get a winner but a draw was a fair result although it must have been better received by Tadcaster than Bottesford who were hoping to close the gap with Dearne and District at the top of the league.

The portion of chips was large but although the chips were hot they were not totally cooked scoring only 44,

N.B.

One thing I have noticed more and more is that lines people, assistant referees, rarely make decisions for themselves apart from offsides. They seem to look at the referee to point which way a throw in is to be given before they raise their flag. They also don’t appear to flag if they see a foul anymore.

Brodsworth Main FC are moving forward.

After the majesty of the F.A. Cup last week, I moved down to the bread and butter of the 11th tier of English football with a trip to Brodsworth.

Well, not exactly Brodsworth, which is to the West of the A1 but Adwick, which is to the East of the A1, north of Doncaster.

I initially pulled into Adwick Leisure Complex which turned out not where I needed to be. The complex provides swimming, a gym, Bowling, Sports Hall, Skate Park, Childrens Play Area, Football and more.

So I drove up the road and found a driveway through a gateway, to be met but a derelict Brodsworth Miners Welfare Hall, past which I drove and parked by the entrance to the football pitch and cricket ground.

The derelict Brodsworth Miners Welfare Hall is over 100 years old and has been saved by a community campaign to keep the building, one of the last links to the mining industry and its community in the area. It is hoped to transform it into a centre for all types of support and events.

The football ground too looks to have been supported by the welfare in the past. It has in the middle of one side one of those imposing seated stands that are found all around the coal areas, now fitted with bench seats, where other seats used to be. Behind one goal is a covered standing area with the rest of the ground perimeter flat hard standing. One thing that hits you is the very modern floodlights, one of which also acts as a mobile aerial tower. The lights were fitted by Abacus who have supported this league for some time. In one corner are player and official changing rooms and a separate small clubhouse that has a small bar serving food and drinks and a an area for meetings and social events.

There has been a Brodsworth Main FC since 1910, using slightly different names at times. They originally played in local leagues until 1921 when they joined the Yorkshire League where they remained for over 50 years, with some disruptions. As Brodsworth Miners Welfare they again played locally until 1988 when they joined the Northern Counties East League where apart from one brief Premier league promotion they struggled until resigning in 2011. During this period (2006) their name changed again, this time to Brodsworth Welfare AFC. They played in local leagues and the Central Midlands League until 2020 when the club was dissolved. However a merger with Hatfield Main saw the club rise again as Brodsworth Main FC to play in the Doncaster League in 2022 and back into the Central Midland League last season.

I have written about Glapwells’ history before and we await a hopeful announcement about a new permanent home ground.

The teams came out to blue skies but the northerly wind reduced the temperature down to below 10 degrees. The home team decided to play down the small end to end slope with the wind behind them. The pitch was an undulating grass surface.

Brodsworth Main FC 4 V Glapwell FC 0

Saturday 10th October 2026, Kick off 15.00

Central Midland League, Premier Division North

Brodsworth Main, Welfare Road, Woodlands, Doncaster, DN6 7PP

The Broddy v The Glappy, 11th v 15th, Attendance 25

Brodsworth, Faded light blue shirts with navy blue shorts, goalkeeper in all grey.

Glapwell, black and white vertical striped shirts with black shorts, goalkeeper in all pink.

Brodsworth imposed themselves on their opposition from the off, but Glapwell resisted strongly and did manage to mount some attacks. However on 23 minutes Brodsworth went ahead when a corner from the left was headed on to the back post where Callum Stockton nodded the ball into the net. Only 9 minutes later Callum Stockton took the ball down from a long through ball, beat two defenders and clinically placed the ball to the right of the goalkeeper.

Before half time Brodsworth hit the bar from a corner with the help of the wind and they were much the happier team to leave the field.

The pattern of play continued the same in the second half. and with 15 minutes played Brodsworth’s claim for a penalty was waived away by the referee. However the ball came out to just beyond the left edge of the penalty area where Clayton Cherowbrier drilled it just inside Glapwells left post to make it three nil.

Brodsworth continued to push on and with the game fading away Callum Stockton gained his hat-trick when just inside the away teams penalty area he swivelled with the ball and thumped it into the goal.

Brodsworth were very happy with their win and moved to mid table. Glapwell had competed well but on the day had no way of stopping their opponents.

I bought a portion of chips in the club house which were a good portion and very tasty but because they were only luke warm I didn’t finish them and meant I only scored them a 40.

The Brodsworth Main club had produced a program and you could see that they are working hard to develop their club at all levels from junior to senior women and mens teams both on and off the pitch . I hope to revisit Brodsworth in the future to see their progress.

Cat and Mouse, joy, redemption, validation, ecstasy, elation/despair, it must be the F.A. Cup,

The draw for the FA Cup threw up a must see match for me, Harborough Town v St Albans City.

Harborough Town, based not far from where I lived for six years and St Albans City where I lived for my first thirty years and whose results I check on first on match days.

On a beautiful sunny Saturday I cruised down the M1 and along the A4304 to get to the match an hour early to ensue parking, a seat in the stand and to meet my son and his two sons who had travelled from Northampton after early morning football matches in Warwick and Heyford. The large carpark at this ground was already full, partly from the rugby match taking place at the adjacent pitch, part of this multi sport complex just over the Northamptonshire border in Leicestershire , south of the town of Market Harborough. Market Harborough, a pretty market town that has seen a major expansion in recent years with major housing developments and an upgraded commuter train line to London. With the football car park full I turned into the leisure centre car park where there was the occasional space being vacated by gym and other sport users.

Harborough Town, have sailed up the Non League ranks which I have written about before, and now play in the National League North. Their all weather pitch, large club house, with an array of solar panels is very much in the modern era whereas their opponents from St Albans have been in existence for over 100 years and their picturesque ground within Clarence Park is an iconic venue. That’s not to say that St Albans are not a progressive club, but they were relegated two seasons ago from The National League South, and after a slow start to this season in the Isthmian League, Premier division North, they were unbeaten in eight matches.

We managed to get seats for all of us and enjoyed the sun before the start. The temperature had risen to 21 degrees with a blue hazy sky dotted with the odd small fluffy clouds.

Harborough Town 3 St Albans City 2

Saturday 5th October 2026, 15.00 pm kick off The F A Cup 3rd round qualifying.

The Beehive, Harborough Town Community Football Ground, Northampton Road, Market Harborough, LE16 9HF

The Bees v City/The Saints Attendance 1092

Harborough Town 17th in the National League North v St Albans City 9th in the Isthmian League, Premier North Division; (one level lower than the hosts).

Harborough Town; All Yellow strip, goalkeeper in all dark grey.

St Albans ; White shirts, black shorts and pink socks, goalkeeper in all fluorescent pink.

The first half was a very cat and mouse affair with Harborough having the lions share of the ball but St albans not looking too troubled by the attacks. As often is the case, out of the blue with the half time whistle expected Mickey Faulkner, picked up the ball midway through the home teams half, drew a defender and cooly curled a right foot shot just inside the right hand post for the away team to take the lead. The Town goalkeeper had no chance with his own defender blocking his view of the shot.

The teams restated the second half and the majority of the play was all towards the City goal although they did have some promising attacks. They couldn’t hold out though with Dempsey Arlott-John equalising with 6 minutes remaining.

St Albans now had 4 good attempts to score but Elliott Taylor in goal for the Bees made two outstanding saves.

With a draw looking likely and a replay beckoning the official indicated 8 added minutes and Arlott – John looked to have stolen it when he headed it into the right hand side of the net after city had headed it clear after two previous attempts.

The excitement wasn’t over and with the 8 minutes up St Albans equalised when a corner from the left wasn’t dealt with by the home defence with Inih Effiong pouncing to smash the ball over the line. Surely now it would be a replay at Clarence Park but with 11 minutes added that man Arlott-John made it a hat trick when unmarked fro 30 plus yards out he hit the winner to the left of Sam Donkin to secure what had seemed to be an unlikely win.

There was no time for City to respond and the bees were buzzing but although st Albans were crestfallen they had matched their higher level opponents and come so close.

Harborough were rewarded with a home draw to Spennymoor in the next round and St Albans will take a good momentum into their important league game at home to Carshalton next Saturday.

I only had a few chips, please excuse the picture, but they were hot, golden, crisp, fluffy inside tasty and not greasy a good score of 67.

Great Programme.

Goodbye to Millmoor.

Five years ago on the 31st August I wrote a blog ‘There are two football grounds in Rotherham’ and finished up saying nothing will change anytime soon. Well five years later it has.
Then Rotherham’s old Millmoor stadium still stood across the road to the New York stadium where the Millers had finally made a permanent home after a few nomadic years.

In 2008 after periodic financial crises administrators confirmed that they and prospective buyers could not maintain the agreements they had with the owners of their Millmoor Stadium. The ground was owned by the Booth family who it was reported wanted in the region of £200 000 pounds a year for a fully maintained, by the club, lease and perks, mainly tickets.
Everything changed near the end of 2025 with the death of Ken Booth, the owner of CF Booth.
The C F Booth companies fell into administration in January and March this year with local recycling, waste and demolition competitor Ron Hull Jnr stepping in.
Having heard that the old stadium was being demolished I popped along to see for myself.

One happy outcome of the demolition is that the Hull family have returned the Derek Dalton clock, which oversaw the Railway End in memory of the super fan. It had stayed at Millmoor as a memorial but is now at the New York Stadium awaiting repairs and a decision as to where it will be displayed.
Let’s hope that the clearance of the old ground and the return of the clock will boost Rotherham’s fortunes which have not been too hot in recent seasons.

Worksop Town into the 3rd Round of the FA Cup

At the equinox, when days become shorter than the nights it was 19 degrees at 19.00 pm with mainly clear skies, after a brilliant bright blue sky day, I found an intriguing FA cup second round qualifying replay between Worksop Town and Telford United. The teams drew 2.2 at Telford on Saturday and I saw these two teams play in the league in August when Worksop just squeezed a 2.1 win.There was also the incentive in that the winner had been drawn at home to FC United of Manchester in the next round.

I have written about the facilities at this ground a few times before and the history of both clubs so I will get straight onto the game.

Worksop Town FC 5 AFC Telford United 2 (after extra time).

Tuesday 22nd September 2026, kick off 19.45 pm. FA Cup second round qualifying replay.

14th v 18th in the National League North. Tigers v Bucks,

Worksop Town; yellow shirts with black diagonal stripes and black shorts, goalkeeper in all blue.
AFC Telford; all white shirts and shorts. goalkeeper in all green.

This game started at a tremendous pace and competitiveness with neither side dominating the other. It took a defensive mistake on 24 minutes by Tefords left side of defence that allowed the home team forward to pounce and send a good pass into Ryan Biggars who made no mistake when beating Telfords keeper.

Half time came up in a flash and although Worksop walked off ahead they didn’t look secure with their lead.

Mid way through the second half it looked like Worksop had finally stamped their authority on a very hard fought game when on 67 Ryan Viggars doubled the home teams lead when a cross was again poorly defended by the away defence.

Telford though had other ideas and didn’t give up, and reduced the deficit with 15 minutes remaining when some good play on the left resulted in a defence splitting pass for Remi Walker to score. The crowd and the home team were now tentatively waiting for the end of the game but on 83 minutes Worksop’s’ left back was outpaced and the cross was swept in by Rio Owen.

Having used their substitutes earlier in the game Telford were now looking fitter and stronger as the game ended all square,bringing up 30 minutes of extra time.

Telford continued their pressure but were temporarily slowed when an injury to Kian Ryley ended with his head bandaged and looking poorly. Into three minutes of stoppage time of the first half of extra time a cross from a free kick was met by Josh Wilde at the far post to restore the Tigers lead.

Ryley didn’t reappear for the second half of the extra period and having used their only three named subs already, Telford had to play with ten men.

Worksop took advantage with two great goals, first Aleks Starcenko hammered a ball into the top right hand corner after it came out to him on the edge of the box following a melee in the Telford goal area, and a fifth came with 4 minutes left when Lewis Whitham stroked a wow shot from at least 25 yards, again into the top right hand corner of the net.

Worksop ended up deserved winners but Telfords lack of substitutes, owing to injuries, and running a small squad didn’t help their cause. The tigers will be at home on October 3rd in the next round. My man of the match was SamEssien who was everywhere, what stamina.

I don’t usually comment on a poor display by a referee but there were some unusual decisions in this game with some obvious infringements being allowed to go on without confrontation.

No chips for me, only a coffee and a kit kat.

When I was driving home I noticed it was still registering 19 degrees at gone 22.00 hrs. in mid September, we are certainly having some unusual weather. It was also pleased to have seen a very competitive match with some great skills from both sets of players, the FA Cup is still a fantastic competition.

Kirton Brickworks didn’t disappoint.

I finally made it to watch a football match in Kirton Brickworks, which I have tried to do on two previous occasions. One match was moved to a local park and another totally postponed due to the brickworks pitch being unplayable due to drainage issues. After the very dry summer I thought that if I was to see a game there then catching an early season game was the best idea.

Prescott Cables, Swindon Supermarine, Preston North End, Penistone Church, Sheffield Wednesday, give you a clue about the club and Kirton Brickworks is no different.

Forterra Kirton Brickworks is just outside Ollerton in Nottinghamshire. The works were bought in 2025 by the international company that make bricks all over the country. The football team. Kirton Brickworks FC were formed in 1965 associated with the brickworks.

The club originally played in the Nottingham leagues until joining the Central Midlands Alliance in 2023.

The pitch is in front of the works but entry is by driving further down the lane to a large car park and not via the main gate. Walking past huge stacks of bricks a picturesque pitch is revealed within the brickworks. The grass was a lush green with the pitch sloping slightly from end to end. Trees make up two sides, the brickworks entry road another and one side a line of blue brick trucks. I paid to watch in what seemed like an all purpose company meeting room, canteen, etc. The player changing rooms were also in this building. What struck me, and was no surprise were two immaculate pitchside dugouts made of bricks.

There is no cover here and only pitchside standing, but I found a park bench, dedicated I believed to a former player. There were about 20 friends and family watching the game in the warm sunshine that was only occasionally interupted by some passing clouds.

Kirton’s opponents were Appleby Frodingham Saints FC the development squad for the main team from Scunthorpe who I have writteabout before.

Kirton Brickworks FC 5 Appleby Frodingham Saints FC 1

Saturday 19th September 2026. 16.00 pm kick off.

Central Midlands Alliance League Division One

Kirton Brickworks, red shirts with two small black stripes on front and back, black shorts.Goalkeeper in white top with green sleeves and black shorts.
Appley Frodingham, orange shirt with black shorts, goalkeeper in all light blue.

Kirton Brickworks kicked off with the advantage of the slope in first half and after just
5 minutes a long ball through to no.7 alowed him to run on draw the keeper and make it one nil to the home team.

After 25 minutes Appleby had forced their way back into the game. But some sloppy passing and lack of stature proved hard for them to dominate.
However, some good quick play and passing allowed no 9 to have time to pass the ball to the right for the winger to cut in and place the ball across the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.

With Appleby now showing some good football they went behind against the run of play with 35 minutes gone.

When half time came with the home team leading 2.1, it seemed anyone’s game.

The referee having kicked the game off early, organised a quick tun round.

The second half was more fiercely contested with a few niggles creeping in.
Half way through the second period a beautiful piercing ball to Kirton’s no.7 allowed him to casually beat the goalkeeper for 3.1

A Brickworks player left the field after an argument with the referee but this did not stop them finishing strongly. They increased their lead after 41 minutes when quick movement from the back and two passes in the box allowed a player to line up ball and place it past the stranded goalkeeper. With the game almost over it was 5 goals when from a free kick the ball was rolled along ground to right and was whipped into the box, again along the ground, to be slid over the goal line.

Kirton Brickworks ran out worthy winners although Appleby Frodingham pressed them for most of the game. Appleby’s youthfulness showed but you could see that some will have a good career in senpior football. I was particularly impressed by the away teams goalkeeper despite letting in 5.

Goal scorers – Kirton Brickworks; Archie Ward 4, Harry Stevenson 1. Appleby Frodingham; Declan Southern 1.

No chips but at £3 entrance fee including a cup of tea it was a bargain.

Accrington Stanley, definitely a friendly club if not the Number 1.

Last year during Heritage Week I was lucky enough to go on a tour of Hallam FC so this year being away and seeing a chance to go round Accrington Stanley I jumped at it.

I couldn’t have been so lucky. About 20 of us assembled in the club shop and were welcomed by Robert Houseman . From then on the passion, enthusiasm, the wanting the club to succeeded, just oozed out of him.

Accrington we’re one of the founder members of the football league but dropped out early on due to the cost of travel etc. They have had an interesting history which has been written about in some detail.

My interest on the day was the ground. we were told that Accrington Stanley are the smallest club in the EFL system with home crowds hovering around 2000 passionate fans. Sitting midway between Blackburn and Burnley, two clubs who have reached the heights of English football they have always struggled to have a huge fan base. Because of their name, their footballing exploits and a famous milk advert they have always had a warm place at the heart of english football.

There have been different guises of football in Accrington with the current name due to a merger with Stanley Villa. Their most controversial period was in the 1960’s when due to financial problems they had to resign from the league, but only a few day after they were given enough money to carry on, but the Football League would not let them back, the Chairman of the football league at the time was Bob Lord, the chairman of Burnley.

Seemingly the end they re-emerged in 1968 and fought their way through the non league system to get back into the Football League where they rose to League 1 but have now dropped back to league 2.

More recently they have been owned by Andy Holt and it is one of his brands ‘Wham’ that adorn the front of the shirts and the stadium.

We entered the ground at the home end where a time-line on the walls show the history of the club and this is a feature all around the ground where pictures of ex players, managers, teams and past games are evident.

Immediately standing on the covered terracing behind the goal you are hit by the beautiful playing surface, they win accolades for that, and the view in the distance of the Lancashire countryside hills. Behind the goal is a fixed drum where the ultras stand. Down both sides is covered seating and at the far end the open away standing end although often teams also are given extra space on one side because their supporter base could be larger.

There are food and drink kiosks built into the stands with one offering being the local butter pie. on a trip to the nearby Clitheroe market I spied an apple pie but in the same shape you would get a traditional steak pie at a football match, it would be interesting to see how many of those would be sold as an alternative on match day!

We visited the changing rooms and an upstairs lounge often used by the players and guests on match days unless a sponsor had booked it. Next was the amazing Coley’s bar, a venue for Accrington fans, special events but also away supporters who are welcomed to join the home fans to this well specked, spacious area.

Open from 10 am before Saturday !5.00 pm matches it is an example as to how everyone should be treated. This would be an eye opener to some of the clubs where I have experienced almost cattle like facilities for away supporters. The visit moved on through the Chairman’s lounge and a quick peek into another function room which was to be used for a funeral party that afternoon.

At the end of the visit we viewed a recent mural painted on the end of the Crown Pub and were offered a free ticket to Saturdays’ home fixture which unfortunately I couldn’t take up.

The ‘Wham’ stadium is amazing for such a small club. It is so clean, tidy, organised, and just shouts out to you Accrington Stanley, I would be proud to be a fan every week. I will be back to see a game as soon as possible, in fact every football fan should diary a trip.

Kivo rally too late.

With very little time to spare I managed to get to Kiveton Park to see a football match. This must now be the nearest ground to my house now that Glapwell are playing in Sutton in Ashfield.

I have been to Kiveton Park a few times and it is always a great venue to watch a game at because of the large covered seated stand. This is surprising because they play in the 11th tier of English football. Like others in the region their roots of being supported by a miners welfare organisation speaks of past glories like others.

But there is still great enthusiasm in these parts as they move forward, with the following statement posted on their website this summer.

“From matchdays to community events, this clubhouse is at the heart of everything we do — and now it’s time to give it the upgrade it deserves.”

Kiveton Park Football Club and Kiveton Park Cricket Club are coming together to transform our shared clubhouse into a space everyone can be proud of.”

I didn’t get chance to pop in but will do in the future. A crowd of above 40 appeared from nowhere, but I expect from the clubhouse at the end of the large carpark which was full, partly with the players and supporters of the cricket match in play on the adjacent pitch.

The club run many football teams, with the youngsters playing at an all weather facility in nearby Wales, but the senior men’s pitch is a thick vibrant green grass. The fencing and railings looked as if they had been repaired too.

Kiveton Park 2 Oughtibridge War Memorial FC 3

Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League

Saturday 12th September 2026. 14.00 pm kick off.

Kiveton Park Miners Welfare, End of Stone Close, Rotherham, S26 6SQ

1st v 10th, Attendance 40 plus, mainly friends and family of the players.

Kiveton, Light blue and black vertical striped shirts with light blue shorts , goalkeeper in a black top with a yellow stripe on the shoulders and darker blue shorts.
Oughtibridge, Red shirts with black sleeves and two black lines at front and back of the shirts and black shorts. Goalkeeper in all light blue.

Kiveton took advantage of the slope from end to end in the first half, which kicked off with grey skies, a temperature of 14 degrees but quite windy.

Neither team imposed themselves on the other at the start, the difference being that Kiveton looked like a team of individuals whereas Oughtibridge were playing more like a team

But it was a piece of individuality that gave the away team the lead when Lucy’s Metzgar Edwards recieved the ball on the right side of the edge of the goal area and placed it in far left hand top corner. The remaining 11 minutes were uneventful giving time to trainspotting passing ‘Northern’ trains journeying between Sheffield and Worksop.

Kiveton wished they had taken advantage of the first half slope because 12 minutes into the second half a long ball from an Oughtibridge freekick allowed Joshua Bark to evade all of the defence and tap in a goal by the far post.
Only 7 minutes later when another Oughtibridge freekick to the centre of goal area, was hooked into the net. but it was given off side.
The away teams dominence was further advanced when with
27 minutes of the second half gone a break away fed theit striker who ron in from the right to see his shot saved. It was unfortunate that the goalkeeper couldn’t keep the ball in his outstretched hand and Edwards was on hand to tap the ball in for a 3 goal lead.
Kiveton Parks attack looked toothless with individuals trying to beat beat everyone.

After 34 minutes Kiveton finally amalgamated team work with individuality when a player out on left played an accurate along the ground cross for Ismael Lammy to swing his left foot and guide the ball into the top left hand corner of the net. A few minutes later and they made it two after some passing around the area the ball fell to Connor Banton to score.

Although Kiveton tried hard to get the equaliser they didn’t create another clear chance and Outibridge held on for a deserved win.

No chips or other refreshment at the ground but there will have been somewhat the clubhouse at the far end of the car park.

They’re singing on the southside of the bridge.

Another drive up the M18, but this time down the M180 to get to Barrow upon Humber to see the replay of Saturdays drawn FA Cup game.

It was a beautiful clear night but the temperature at 14 degrees hadn’t changed all day. The ground is north of the centre near the Humber estuary with a railway line, housing and an industrial estate nearby. They are also next door to a cricket pitch. The large car park was full, but parking was easy, on the road by the industrial estate.

This was the first time that Barton Town had played at their home since February due to pitch works to remedy a long standing water problem. You could still see some lines on the flat grass pitch where the work had been completed. The ground is not as well developed as their opponents but has two small covered areas behind one goal, open on the other, with a seated stand in the middle of one side. The other side housed the turnstiles, clubhouse, snack bar and changing rooms with hard standing along the pitch.

The players entered the pitch to different weather conditions to their draw on Saturday, then it was a bright sunny day, now with the sun disappearing there was gloom, a temperature of 11 and a biting westerly wind made to feel cooler coming off the water.

Barton Town 2 North Ferriby 0

Tuesday 8th September. 19.45 kick off.

FA Cup First qualifying round replay

The Swans v The Villagers

Northern Counties East League Premier Division v Northern Premier League East Division

Attendance 547 (considering there were Champions League games on TV and Hull were playing in the League Cup I thought this a good turnout).

Barton Town; all sky blue shirts and shorts, goalkeeper in all washed out green.
North Ferriby; white shirts with dirty green sleeves. Dirty green shorts. Goalkeeper in all purple.

In the first 15 minutes North Ferriby looked up for it, pushing forward much quicker compared to the previous game. It was Barton Town though that came closest to taking the lead when they hit the right hand post with 19 minutes gone. This prompted them to take control with quick attacking from accurate through balls. Good goalkeeping and missed chances kept Barton at bay until 36 minutes when a long range shot by 11 was parried by the goalkeeper into the path of the following up Thomas Waudby, who cooly scored.

Barton Town were now well on top, by far the better team with good skill, passing and quick transitions into attack that caused all sorts of problems.

The Villagers had more of the ball and greater endeavour in the second half and looked like they really wanted to stay in the cup, but they had no cutting edge.

The away team kept attacking down the wings but just didn’t have the fire power to trouble the home teams goalkeeper or defence.

Still trying to press forward, while playing out from back, a lose ball meant Danny Earl was able to run on goal from 30 yards, and through on his own calmly put ball to the right of the goalkeeper to double the lead. With that goal in added time it was the killer punch for Barton and a passport to a home game in the next round.

The crowd cheerily left the ground, leaving a group of younger fans behind the goal to sing of their success.

The chips, (skin on fries) were very hot golden, crispy, tasty and fluffy inside Along with being a good portion they were good value at £4.50 with a coffee, a score of 60.

The club had also arranged for two other food sales points in the ground who were doing well with pizzas, pork sandwiches and burgers.

Also well done to barton Town to have published a programme at such short notice. Take note others.

The bridge is the only thing dividing them.

North Ferriby was the destination for me to catch an intriguing FA cup derby between them and their close rivals from just over the Humber bridge, Barton Town. There is not just the Humber, between them but one level in the English pyramid system, North Ferriby playing in the Northern Premier League, East Division and Barton Town in the Northern Counties East League, Premier Division.

I had intended to approach the ground across the bridge but a serious accidents on the M1 North meant a detour amongst other strugglers, so it ended up being quicker dashing down the M62. North Ferriby is just west of Hull, a leafy suburb by the sea.

The large car park was full because of the cricket match taking place in the adjoining park. Along with many others I parked in a very pretty tree lined street and was surprised to see that the crowd was declared at only 558.

Once through the turnstile I was greeted with a lush green football pitch that sloped slightly from side to side It was one of the best playing surfaces I have seen for some time.

The facilities were also great, everything was clean, tidy and looked loved. The two ends are open with flat standing. One side is taken up with the turnstiles, shop, food kiosk, clubhouse and changing rooms which have standing in front of them. The other side is mainly covered seating apart from a small area of covered standing at each end. There is also an extra drinks hut in one corner.

The weather was friendly too, 24 degrees with a bright blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds although in the distance there were some large grey ones.

Beyond the ground you could just see the Humber bridge and a new housing estate, all with solar panels that was creeping up on the stadium.

A previous North Ferriby United FC crashed and burned in 2019 after having risen from village football in 1934 to the National League. Along the way winning the FA Vase in 1997 and the FA Trophy against Wrexham in 2015. A reformed club were placed in the Northern Counties East League which after two promotions meant that they were back to their current level.

Barton Town can trace football history back to 1880. It was in 1995 though that the club merged with Barton Old Boys to ensure their local future.They initially had success in the Lincolnshire League, switching to the Humber Premier League and then immediately to the Central Midlands League. Quick promotion and winning the top division enabled the club to move up to the Northern Counties East League and the top division in 2011 where they sit now.

The kick off had been brought forward so that any traffic would be away before Hull City’s premier league game scheduled for 17.30 against Aston Villa.

North Ferriby 0 Barton Town FC 0

Saturday 5th September 2026, 14.00 pm kick off.
F.A. Cup first qualifying round.
North Ferriby 10th Northern Premier League East Division v
Barton Town 4th in Northern Counties East League Premier Division

The Villagers v The Swans

Battle of the Humber said the programme
North Ferriby; white shirts with some green edging and green shorts, goalkeeper in all gold.
Barton Town; grey shirts, dark blue shorts, goalkeeper in all pink with some black edging.

Both teams cancelled each other out for the first quarter of an hour, however the away team’s speedy breaks, often down the right drew two fine saves by the home keeper within 20 minutes.

Although North Ferriby had the most possession Barton were the bigger threat. Barton were also pressing higher up the field causing Ferribys midfield no chance to work any magic.

The same pattern just kept continuing and nil nil at half time was a fair score.

I had expected the home team to change their approach in the second half and perhaps impose themselves on their opponents considering they play at a higher level.

However it was Barton who although facing a stronger performance from The Villagers forced more great saves from the home keeper. On one occasion he made one close range save to recover to tip the ball over the bar from a header.

It was no surprise at the end that Johnathan Dash was given the man of the match award and the teams will have to replay on Tuesday. The game will be the first at Bartons home ground since February where they have been working to improve drainage.

It was still only the bridge that was between the two teams after the nil nil score.

There were chips, that were thick golden but soggy, only warm due to having been cooked batch ready. Unfortunately bland and chewy, a score of 45, if only they had been freshly cooked.

The freshly baked cookie choc chip, with something gooey in the middle was outstanding. I would come back for another one of them.

Continuing the great presentation at the club was the programme which at 40 pages long was full of stats, information and staff notes. This is how to present and help fund your club.