A tale of two football grounds.

An early start on Saturday morning to take in a football match that kicked off at 10.30. I had driven to the picturesque village of Baslow, on the edge of the Peak District and next to Chatsworth House p⁰ark boundary.

I was there to see a game in the Sheffield and District Fair Play League, a league I had recently noticed. There were plenty of cars in the car park but after a chat with the groundsman I was told that the game had been moved to a 3G pitch at Fir Park in Sheffield, kick off 8.30 because the Baslow pitch was being used for an over 45’s cup semi-final kick off at 13.30 pm. I had come to see the league leaders Hammers and Pincers play. Hammers and Pincers is a pub, one of a major chain of pubs, in the south west of Sheffield, not too far from Baslow. There were no up to date internet content from either of the two teams to say about the change and the F.A. official website for the league was still showing that the game was in Baslow at 10.30. I have found this frustration regarding F.A. local football websites before, and with all of the income that they have, feel that they could put more money into this service to support grass roots football and its fan base to keep everything up to date.

The groundsman was very helpful and explained that the pitch was used by six teams of which the three senior teams contribute a few thousand pounds each season to help provide for its upkeep. The ground itself is idyllic, just off the road next to The Cavendish Hotel, named ‘Hotel of the Year’ by the Times and Sunday Times in their best places to stay in the UK guide 2025. It is within Baslow Sports Field, which from what I could see had football pitches, floodlit tennis courts, a bowling green and a cricket square with many trees on site. The football pitch is beautifully flat and looked ready for the afternoons game. I now had the dilemma of what to do ? Luckily next to the football pitch/cricket pitch are the changing rooms and a cafe. So after a coffee and a piece of flapjack I decided to return home, regroup, and head off to Derby to visit Graham Street Prims FC, table toppers of the Central Midlands League, Premier Division South.

I miss calculated here also, in that Derby County were at home, and traffic was nose to tail until I neared Borrowash where the ground was located.

The contrast was immediate, driving past the turning because there was no signage for the club, eventually after going past a derelict old social club, I parked in the vast poorly surfaced car park, I was confused. There was a concrete fenced area with floodlights to my right and a wooden fenced area with floodlights to my left. In between was muddy grass where kitted players were warming up, and a rugby match in play in the distance. Heading for the rugby match I noticed that the wooden fencing on the left had fallen down and there were some people in the far corner. That turned out to be the entrance and I paid my entrance fee although I think I could have just gone and sat down.

The whole ground seemed to have an air of neglect, the fencing problems, no signage, the perimeter railing looked not to have been painted for some time, a small area in a portacabin for a coffee and Kitkat, some covered standing area in the centre of one side of the ground and a small seated area to one side, behind one goal. The locals however were friendly and chatty. If Graham Street Prims win their league this season it will need a great deal of effort to achieve the ground standards to progress higher. It was a cool but pleasant 9 degrees looking over the flat well preserved grass pitch.

The Prims were originally formed in 1904 but have during their history had times when they have not played. A 1953 reformation led to success in local Derby and East Midlands leagues. The current club dates from 1995 restarted after a 4 year lull. The ownership of the old Asterdale Club, now up for sale again, and local planning rules, leave the future of the football club open to conjecture.

Their opponents were Stapenhill Reserves in the League Cup third round. Stapenhill FC have been in existence since 1947 and ten years later joined senior football ranks in the Leicestershire leagues before competing in Midlands based leagues, with the first team currently playing in the Midland League. They play at Maple Grove, Stapenhill, Burton on Trent. The reserve team are currently second in the Central Midland League Division 2 South and have been surprise achievers to reach the third round of the Buckinghams Cup.Buckinghams are a regional insurance brokers and have been long term sponsors of local Non-League football.

Graham Street Prims 5 Stapenhill Reserves 2

Saturday 7th March 2026 15.00 pm Kick Off. Buckingham Insurance Challenge Cup Third Round.

The Fred Harding Ground, The Asterdale, Borrowash Road, Spondon, Derby DE21 7PH

Graham Street Prims 1st inThe Central Midlands League Premier Division South v Stapenhill Reserves 2nd in the CML Division 1 South. Prims v Swans. Attendance 21

GMP; Red and white vertical striped shirts with black shorts, goalkeeper in all grey.

Stapenhill; Royal blue shirts with white diagonal flashes with royal blue shorts, goalkeeper in green top and grey shorts.

The home team went on the attack from the start and after only 5 minutes took the lead when the away keeper saved one shot only for it to reach Marcus Thomas who swung his left foot and put it into the corner of the net. Stapenhill now steadied after their nervy start and posed threats to equalise, but they fell further behind when from out of the blue Blaise Duruaka, hit a 20 yard shot into the top left hand corner of the goal. The away keeper was kept busy and made a great save with his legs when a Prims striker was clean through. As the half neared its conclusion Stapenhill clawed themselves back into the game when Will Baker chipped the goalkeeper from the front edge of the goal area. Stapenhill were back in it as they left the field at half time but the home team must have rued their missed chances.

The Stapenhill goal just before half time had given them heart against their higher league rivals and the game swung from end to end. However the contest was over when 27 minutes into the second half Blaise Duruaka, again, scored by outpacing the defence and the advancing goalkeeper, to walk the ball in. Two minutes later Tristan Elson swept the ball over the goal line after four chance, one of which had hit the post. A player from each side was sent off on 80 minutes for offences I did not see.With five minutes left Alex Seale made it five when unmarked ⁰ he rifled the ball home. Stapenhill not to be out done managed a second consolation goal when Musa Jeng scored on 88 minutes.