There are some great local derbies, Arsenal v Tottenham, Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United, Aston Villa v Birmingham, Real Betis v Seville and down in the Toolstation Northern Counties East League, Division 1, Retford United v Retford F.C. There is less than 2 miles between these two grounds and some issues, however not with the 1202 who turned out on a glorious sunny day registering 30 degrees in the car when parking and 32 when I left. I new it was going to be a big crowd when I gained the last space in the big car park, an hour before kick off, before the overflow and parking on the Leverton Road were used. I was also lucky to get the last programme for the second time this season but my luck again was lacking in the Raffle, if I had kept all the losing tickets I have bought I could cover a wall in the spare room.
The crowd was jovial and being two local teams a lot of families had turned up and a lot of hellos were shouted from the stand as people walked by. Retford United must have done well with drink sales on this hot sticky day. The blue sky was filtered by a haze and some dark clouds were building on the horizon, the forecasted thunderstorm luckily didn’t arrive.
I always like coming to this out of town ground which is easy to reach and park, with good facilities and friendly people. The pitch slopes slightly from end to end and the players were training in the heat 50 minutes before the start. This must have been the better option rather than melting in the dressing room.
Retford United were formed in 1987 and have played their football in as high as the Northern Premier League but disappointing seasons and restructuring saw them fall to the Central Midlands league. Now under new management they won the Central Midlands League North at a canter last season and are now in the Northern Counties East League Division One.
Retford Fc are even younger being formed in 2015 moving to their ground ‘The Rail’ in 2017. They were formed at a time when Retford United were going through a rough patch and were promoted from the Central Midlands League in 2019 to compete in the Northern Counties East League where they have established themselves.
Retford United F.C. v Retford F.C.
Saturday 9th September 2023; 15.00 pm kick off: Cannon Park, Leverton Road, Retford DN22 0DR
Toolstation Northern Counties East Division 1: Badgers v Choughs; 6th v 10th
Retford United, white shirts with black vertical stripes with chevrons and black shorts: Retford FC; all navy blue.
Retford FC won the toss and made the home team kick up the slope in the first half, not their normal tactic. This did not phase them as after only 2 minutes an in swinging corner from the left was not dealt with by the goalkeeper or defenders and the ball fell to Mark West to prod home. The game was a normal derby game with some shirt pulling, arm offs and hard tackles. The home sides advantage doubled when again another corner from the left was not cleared and the ball fell this time to Nicholas Guest who flicked the ball into the net, deja vu if ever I saw it.
Retford FC’s first shot was on 12 minutes when they scored, with Aaron Sennett-Neilson taking the ball across the goal some twenty yards out, turning his body to hit it across the goalkeeper and into the net to the astonishment of the home crowd who had been laughing at the ease in which they had opened the half.
The home sides two goal advantage was restored when with 16 minutes gone Mark West was put through to run on and slide the ball into the corner of the net. It was West again who made it four and his hat trick on 43 minutes scoring a similar goal and adding to his local legend status which was assured last season when he scored his 100th goal for the club. Not long after his scoring feat he was subbed off having received an earlier knock.
HT 4-1
Retford FC were more effective to start the second half with substitute number 19, Will Tomlinson, causing some problems. United were partially seeing out the game and keeper, Tom Crosby was booked for time wasting.
As the Choughs tired Brandon Kane ran on to a through ball to make it five on 64 minutes and seven minutes later Jacob Priestnall took advantage of some hesitant defending and a miss cue, burying the ball into the net. Retford United controlled the game from there on in and everyone was pleased when the referee blew the final whistle. For United fans it was bragging rights after this demolition and they can bask in their glory untill the reverse fixture on Boxing Day. Retford FC fans will be hoping for a Christmas present from their team to cheer them up.
Retford United F.C. 6 v Retford F.C. 1
The chips were rustic with the skins on being, hot, crispy, tasty with a little grease and a good textured centre. I was about to give them a top score of the season 71 but deducted 5 points from this when hidden at the bottom of the tray there were lots of small hard bits. A final score of 65.
| payonthegate chip league 2023/24 to date | |||||
| Football Club | Score | Comments | |||
| Basford | 70 | Freshly fried. | |||
| Wombwell Town | 67 | Fries, great golden colour | |||
| Retford United | 65 | Could have been higher | |||
| Kings Lynn | 64 | Good Portion | |||
| Alfreton Town | 60 | 25 minute wait! | |||
| Llangefni Town | 60 | A bit greasy | |||
| Shirebrook Town | 60 | Well down on previous seasons | |||
| Heacham | 0 | No Chips | |||
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