A short move along the A6 Trunk Road from Boxing Day’s  Matlock game you come to Bakewell.

Today I’m not visiting this Derbyshire market town for a much sought after Bakewell Pudding but to see Bakewell Town FC play Long Eaton United Community in the Central Midland Football league Macron Store Stoke Division One South.

A Bakewell Town FC have been in existence since 1883 but todays incarnation is from a merger of three local teams in the 1999/2000 season to play in the Hope Valley League and to step up to the Central Midlands League recently. Long Eaton United Community are the reserves side of Long Eaton United and field a very youthful development team.

The players get changed in the Cricket Pavillion and the home team put up the nets, corner flags and a one strand perimeter fence in the Recreation Park. A crowd of about 30 comes and goes during the game with the stalwarts using the park benches to watch in comfort.

The pitch was flat but a bit bumpy, wet through and heavy but the grey skies do not look like rain. The recreation ground was busy with people walking dogs and just strolling with the backdrop of the Derbyshire hills.

Bakewell 1 Long Eaton 3

Long Eaton are a very youthful side and their deliberate short interpassing game saw a dividend on 5 minutes when No.9 turned neatly and fired under the Goalkeeper for the lead. Bakewell didn’t give up and their more physical game exerted enough pressure to draw level through Aaron Maund whose run and shot from the left was deflected to loop over the Long Eaton keeper. Half time soon came round and was a reflection of how well the young referee had kept the game moving to the point of no added time being needed.

A quick ten minute half time break for this 2 o’clock kick off, no lights here, got us back in action and Bakewell started stronger. Long Eaton though were still very much in the game and on 62 minutes No.9 again netted, with his left foot this time, after his first attempt was blocked.

The Long Eaton keeper who made some good saved, particularly with his legs to beat advancing forwards, made a wander save from point blank range with 25 minutes left when a goal seemed certain. Just a minute later the Long Eaton No. 7 hit the crossbar with a free kick which should have been scrambled home by the attackers.

With just a few minutes left the No. 9 for Long Eaton scored his hat trick when a shot from the left was deflected in off the goalkeeper.

Long Eatons Nos. 7&9  and Bakewells No. 2 were the men of the match.

No refreshments here and no charge. Perhaps a bucket collection would have gained some money for the club and the players efforts who gave a competitive enjoyable game on a difficult surface.

It’s always a pleasure to get out on Boxing Day to get some fresh air and see a football match. A trip to Matlock to see the A6 derby was a reverse of last years visit to Buxton.

The Matlock ground is one of the most iconic and picturesque in the country, three sides for supporters and the fourth open to the next door cricket pitch. It is overlooked by Riber Castle atop of the hills overlooking the ground which are shrouded in swirling clouds and although only 3 o’clock its seems that night time has started early. The pitch is flat being on the river Derwent valley floor opposite a glorious local park that is bordered by the river. Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire and this battle is for bragging rights in the Peak District.

The pitch is in good condition considering recent weather and a crowd of 922, 42 more than last years fixture have turned up. Matlock started the season well and looked promotion candidates in the early fixtures but have lately been slipping down the league to be just below half way. Buxton by contrast have all season been in the relegation area and recent results have seen them start to climb to a safer position.

Matlock Town 2 Buxton 4

This Betvictor Northern Premier League game started with a bang and within 5 minutes Matlock were two nil ahead. The first goal after just 2 minutes came from a high speculative cross from Matlocks Luke Dean to the far post which was headed in by Luke Hinsley who was challenged by Grant Shenton in the Buxton goal who felt he had been fouled.  A few minutes later a through ball was met by Tomas Poole who neatly hit the ball with the outside of his right foot to the right of the diving Shenton.

Buxton did not collapse and started to take control with their completed pass rate much superior to Matlock’s and a definite stronger will to win and attack the ball.

To the confusion of the crowd on 26 minutes the referee walked off the pitch handing over to his senior assistant and a plea to the crowd for an assistant referee at this level was met by a spectator, Mark Tracey. Buxton continued their ascendancy and were rewarded on 38 minutes when Alex Byrne riffled home after Matlock failed to clear four shots on goal from Buxton.

Matlock were ahead at the break but the second half started as dramatically as the first with Buxton equalising after just 90 seconds of the restart. A long throw in from the right was missed by two Matlock defenders giving Liam Hardy an easy tap in goal.

Buxton now dominated further and Matlock seemed to lose heart and direction as the half continued. Two goals from Diego De Girolamo on 55 and 88 minutes wrapped up a very comprehensive win for the visitors. His first taken cooly when a ball threaded to him behind the home defence was placed easily past the lonely Dan Wallis in goal and the second a gift from a bad pass by Bailey Gooda allowing him to dribble the ball into the net.

The Matlock Manager quoted from their official website summed it up perfectly although I did feel that Buxton’s more positive attitude had a major effect.

“All four goals were down to our errors, we’ve got to be better than that” said Matlock boss Steve Kittrick afterwards. “It was a comedy of errors, Buxton didn’t have to really work for their goals and it’s disappointing after doing so well in the last two or three games.”

Really good food here and I was not surprised by the queue. The chips were cooked in a large deep fryer and were piping hot, golden and crispy outside, good value for £2 and a magnificent score of 80.

Finally after three weeks of postponements and Christmas commitments, a game. Even then this was the third choice with Selby and Ollerton both called off.

Staveley too have had their postponement problems this being their first home game in 63 days. Volunteers had been in since 8.30 a.m. pumping out water and preparing the pitch for a successful pitch inspection.

From 8.30a.m. to 3.00 p.m. what a transformation after the magnificent work of the Staveley crew.

This is a community club that has a vision to develop further and they are planning an artificial pitch that will ease the pitch problems and generate some extra income. Not everyone can afford the 3G pitch and some Non-league clubs are hanging on in there almost as heritage venues like some churches and perhaps deserve some sort of financial support to keep the community spirit alive. With the wettest season I can remember many teams are struggling to get by with no gate money, bar or snack sales.

A crowd of 179 was in attendance, down on the average so far this season but the competition of Christmas shopping and two World Club Championship games on TV was formidable. The fact that people did not know whether the game was on until the pitch inspection did not help although this had been countered by Staveley only charging £4 for adults, £2 for concessions and free for children, a nice touch. With all the money in the game more should trickle down the pyramid, to start with a defibrillator at all clubs, sports and recreation grounds paid for by the Premier League Clubs is a must.

On the bar at Staveley’s ground.

But despite the weather the the bright, large friendly club house, male dominated, was buzzing with laughter and sales.

The game is Staveley Miners Welfare at home to Grimsby Borough in the Northern Counties East league Premier Division. Grimsby third in the table with game in hand of the top two and Staveley in fourth with even more games in hand.

Staveley M W 3 Grimsby Borough 1

The grey still skies did not look like any further rain was due but the pitch looked heavy and claggy.

The pitch caused the first real interest in the game when Dan Trott turned and hit an average shot from 20 yards. Myles Wright, in the centre of his goal dropped down to collect the ball which didn’t bounce but bobbled under his body and into the net. Everyone seemed stunned in the crowd and wandered what was next. Both teams from then on mastered the conditions and Staveley spent most of the half camped in their opponents half with Joe Pugh hitting the crossbar. With no luck Staveley went in one down but having put on a strong display.

Staveley started the second half dominating play again and they finally broke through on 55 minutes when Joe Pugh swept home a perfect cross from the left by Michael Burke.

After a series of long throw ins by Adam Lund one was headed on which Michael Burke prodded towards the goal which three Grimsby players franticly scrambled to keep out. The third followed on at 89 minutes when Matty Parkin curled a great cross in from the right for Patrick Lindley to head home with some force.

Grimsby now had their best spell of the game but much too late and Staveley move above them in the table. You just feel about Staveley as a team and club that they have a great future.

The chips were hot, tasty, and scored a very good 75.

Well I had travelled to County Durham to see Tow Law play Bedlington Terriers but was sceptical with all the recent postponements due to the incessant rain we have had. With two days of clear skies and some sunshine all seemed promising but an early inspection ruled the game off due to a frozen pitch. I did have a contingency in Penrith v Sunderland RCA and after a nervous wait until the 10.30 pitch inspection my fears were well founded with that game also postponed for the same reason.

Around about this part of the country though there is always an alternative and it was Darlington v AFC Telford United. Before heading to the match I popped into The Bowes Museum (Possibly the most underrated Museum/Gallery in Britain) at Barnard Castle, to see the Norman Cornish exhibition. Norman Cornish (born in Spennymoor 1919 and died in 2014) was a miner and artist and the way he captured the mining life through its people is amazing. Non of the nostalgic feathery look back at the good old days, his pictures show it as it was, the bent bedraggled look of the miners walking along the pit road tells it all, you can see the desperation and pain. The exhibition runs to the 23rd of February and on the previous day we visited the Mining Art Gallery part of the Auckland Project  in Bishop Auckland where some more of his paintings are on show to mark the centenary of his birth.

The restored Bishops palace is a new gem in this area and well worth a trip but there is more to come in the major regeneration of this part of town. The whole restoration of the area and heritage sites is being done to such a very high standard. I often find a football theme somewhere in the other things I am going to see and that was true of some of Norman’s paintings. Children playing football in the street was a common site and you can imagine the Charlton brothers being in the paintings.

I had forgotten the demise of Darlington FC and thought that I was going to the concrete monolith just on the A66 but when Google maps took me to the rugby ground at Blackwell Meadows I started arguing with the lady I call Betty. As usual she was right as she is nearly always, her major failing is some of the computerised american pronunciations of place and road names, it does give a fun distraction though to often lengthy journeys.

Darlington as a club was started in 1883 and have an amazing switchback history that could easily be made into an intriguing movie but I will only start in 2012 when despite strenuous efforts by fans to rescue the club the FA controversially demoted them from the Conference to the Northern League a drop of four levels.

The fans were made of strong stuff and left the 27000 stadium to ground share with nearby Bishop Auckland and won promotion in their first, third and fourth seasons to get back to where they are now in the National League North. The supporters raised funds and grants to get back to Darlington on Boxing Day 2016 to play at Blackwell Meadows which is rented from Darlington Rugby Club. A further promotion would have followed if the ground had been to the correct standards which it is now after raising the money to build a magnificent seated stand and a shed end for standing supporters. The club has even  set up a new academy in September 2018, and joined the National League Under 19 alliance. To progress to the next level the club needs to balance its fundraising for further on and off pitch development.

AFC Telford has its own story, originally known as Wellington Parish Church Institute in 1872 and as Wellington Town from 1879 it changed its name again in 1969 to Telford United to reflect the growth of the New Town to incorporate Wellington. In 2004 financial problems forced the liquidation of the old club and the new one was placed into the Northern premier League Division One. A lesser demotion than Darlington.

With the Appleby Frodingham match postponed due to the heavy rain I decided as I was in Scunthorpe to go and watch Scunthorpe United at home to Port Vale in League Two. It is over 30 years since I last saw Scunthorpe play at home and that was just before they moved to their new stadium at Glanford Park. This stadium is now outdated with views obscured by stanchions and when built was easily accessed at the end of the M181 (a spur off the M180) but now blocked in by a Retail Park. To my surprise the club have gained planning permission in July to comprehensively rebuild the ground one stand at a time from the 9000 capacity to 11000 all seater. As well as the ground transformation 160 starter homes are to be built and business space to rent in all of the new stands will be made available. Scunthorpes already good parking facilities will be improved and I hope the council work with the club to create a better traffic plan for the area.

With only four and a half weeks left till Christmas and the rain just easing most cars were heading to the established Saturday afternoon sport of hunt the bargain at the Retail Park. You needed to fight through this throng of cars headed to the shops to get near the ground which was visible just beyond the shops bright lights.

There were more people going to the shops than the nearly 3400 who made their way into Glanford Park. The crowd seemed disappointingly low to me but perhaps there is a light on the horizon. If more people want to shop online then they will be looking for a new/old experience for Saturday afternoons. Perhaps here the clubs below the Championship can take a leaf out of the Premier League Women’s teams in offering discounted tickets to fill stadiums that increases merchandise, food, drinks, raffle tickets and future ticket sales that generates the same or more income and creates the atmosphere that encourages better play and a warm community spirit.

With the rain having finished about an hour before kick off it left grey heavy skies with a damp atmosphere but no wind. What a wet, rubbish Autumn this has been and we have a week yet to get to Meteorological Winter. The pitch however looked in good condition, very flat with great grass cover and there was good noise despite the ground being just over a third full.

Both teams have never been higher than the second tier of the Football League system despite both being over 120 years old. They find themselves playing now in the fourth tier.

Scunthorpe United 2 Port Vale 1

Port Vale only one off the promotion places were favourites against Scunthorpe who were just hovering above the relegation zone, but Scunthorpe had not lost at home in all  previous eight competitions.

Scunthorpe looked the better team from the off and both Alex Gilliead and Abo Eisa looked dangerous on both flanks. Eisa looked to have scored on 25 mins when cutting in from the left his fierce low drive was touched onto the post  by Scott Brown in goal for the visitors and out for a corner.

Eisa was again involved when he was fouled just in his own half but the referee played the advantage which fell to Port Vale after only two passes and as the home side froze Port Vale strung some passes together and Jake Taylor took his chance well to give them the lead. The crowd and home players were silenced as they looked to the referee to call the play back for the foul but he pointed to the centre circle.

Scunthorpe were not phased by this and kept up the pressure and a run and an accurate pass on 37 minutes by McGahey from the right found Kevin Van Veen (a Harry Kane look alike in all respects) who effortlessly planted the ball in the back of the net. All level at half time Scunthorpe now seemed to have the momentum.

Only 7 minutes into the second half Van Veens pin point corner caused mayhem on the goal line and Brown could only knock the ball down for Ngosi Ntlhe to tap in for his first goal for Scunthorpe.

Scunthorpe could well have added to their score and when Abo Eisa was subbed off late in the game he was awarded the man of the match. Despite the impressive fluent forward play my man of the match was Rory McArdle who was tireless all over the pitch.

As I left the ground a melee of all players broke out at the Port Vale end and I later found out that  the referee had red carded both David Worrall of Port vale and Mathew Lund of Scunthorpe.

Disappointingly there were no chips at Scunthorpe but the cheese pie was so tasty. It was also amazingly hot and foolishly I burnt the roof of my mouth.

It was a change and enjoyable to watch this level of football but I will hopefully make another attempt to visit Appleby Frodingham by the end of the season.

Football Classified – An Anthology of Soccer  –  Edited by Michael Parkinson & Willis Hall

Published by William Luscombe Publisher Limited 1973

This easy to read 50p bargain from a Charity Shop is only 187 pages long and is interspersed with the odd cartoon.

The short stories and articles are a bit dated but some are relevant today and show where the game has come from. It also reminds you that ‘Football Books’ did not start with ‘Fever Pitch’ in 1992.

My favourites were two articles by Derek Dougan the loved Northern Ireland player and Manager and the idolised Wolves player. In a few pages he weaves a great story of how he became established in Northern Irish Football and the interesting religious mixtures. The other is about how to choose a football club as a youngster with a view that tradition of a club my hold you back.

Another article by Tony Pawson talks about Managers, partly about Danny Blanchflower’s   relationship with them. He wanted to be captain but have the authority on the field and change tactics as he seemed fit for the way a game was heading and be involved in team selection. This would not sit well in todays game but perhaps should be reviewed especially in view of the success he had at Tottenham.

There are chapters by many well known writers, J.B. Priestly, ian Wooldridge, Brian Glanville, Willis Hall and many more. The book satisfied my curiosity for the game.

It’s rained for days and there is major local flooding.

With the River Derwents banks burst in Derby and the A52 and A61 shut it looks like an ‘Emergency’ to me, but it’s great that the game is on. The sky is grey and overcast, the wind is getting up and at only 3 degrees it’s feeling cold.

The pitch is flat but the grass cover looks a bit yellow considering the rain of the last 6 weeks and the touchlines in places are just boggy. With the road conditions, the weather and Derby away to local rivals Nottingham Forest on the Television as the early kick off it was not surprising that fans stayed away and there was only a disappointing attendance of 162.

There has been a team called Witton Albion based in the Cheshire town of Northwich since 1887 but no real match records before 1890. They played in Cheshire Leagues until promotion to the Northern Premier League in 1979. The sale of their old central town site to Sainsburys and the move to a new stadium at Wincham Park, 1989  sparked a resurgence in the club and promotion to the then ‘Football Conference’. This did not prove a happy time as they struggled for a few seasons in the bottom half of the league and eventually found themselves in the Northern Premier League Division South in 2008. They have since yo yoed in the league, up and down and sideways but find themselves now firmly embedded in the Northern Premier League.

 Mickleover Sports F.C. was founded in 1948 as Mickleover Old Boys and played for 44 years in the Derby & District Senior League. In 1982 the Sports Club decided on a more ambitious regime joining the Central Midland League and planning the move to Station Road which they achieved in 1992.Their rise through the Central Midlands League, Northern Counties East and eventually to the Northern Premier league for the 2010/11 season has been spectacular. But in 2011/12 they suffered their first ever relegation only to bounce back by 2015. They have maintained this level for a few years and built an impressive youth policy.

Mickleover Sports FC 1 Witton Albion 4

A what appeared to be a punt upfield by James Short in the fourth minute hit a Mickleover defender’s back and cannoned into the net for an early Witton goal.

Witton continued to dominate with Danny McKenna continually causing havoc down the right through the mud. Mickleover should have been on level terms though when on 36 minutes some slipping and sliding by the away defence left Lee Hughes with a great chance that he ballooned over the bar off a Witton defender.

Four minutes later Witton went further ahead when Billy Smart (No 8) headed in at the far post following a freekick.

Incredibly straight from the kick off Will Jones immediately intercepted the ball and from just in the Mickleover half lobbed goalkeeper Nathan Brown for an amazing goal and a three nil lead at half time.

The rain was now heavier, continual and making conditions worse as the teams came out for the second half.  Within 3 minutes Mickleover had a slim lifeline when Mason Warren converted a penalty. Witton continued their. Domination though and Danny McKenna  capped a fine performance on 85 minutes when he drove home a gifted opportunity following a corner.

Witton were deserved winners with their mid back three of  Wardle, Ansel and Goulding dominating the game.

No Chips here today and the food cabin is away from the bar exposed to the elements. To get a better experience a nearer location for the food and hot drinks to the bar for shelter and warmth would be better.

Clay Cross Town had reached the Buildbase FA Vase Second Round and had planned and hoped for a record crowd, instead the torrential rain of the last few weeks caused the game to be postponed and it was subsequently played on Bonfire Night. With the many other family attractions  going on and the fact that the game had only been sanctioned as on just over 3 hours earlier the crowd of 188 was a great achievement for this small but hungry for success club.

Their rise in the competition has been a credit to them and they were the last remaining Step 7 club in the competition.

Reproduced from the match day Program.

Their opponents Sherwood Colliery FC based in Mansfield were one step higher and being only 12 miles away a local Derby. Clay Cross are currently top of the Central Midlands Football League – South Division and are unbeaten as are the second team Sherwood Colliery FC Reserves.

Recent information that is being further investigated suggests that there has been a football team in Clay Cross since 1881 with the current clubs inspiration taken from the team of 1909. It existed on in local football in different guises until in 2012 a new ‘Town’ club was reinvigorated. Disappointment in missing out in recent years on promotion has doubled everyone’s efforts to make this season one to remember.

Similarly Sherwood Colliery were reformed in 2008 in Mansfield Woodhouse and by 2012 they were successfully elected to the Central Midlands League. they too have had some ups and downs but are currently top of the East Midlands League – Premier Division.

Sherwood Colliery FC were put in the spotlight by the BBC website article, 21st August 2019 which although previewing their up an coming first round proper tie with Loughborough Dynamo made much of their Chairmans involvement . As a local lad Gareth Bull has put much of his energy, passion, and some of his lottery winnings into  the club.

The rain had only stopped two hours earlier as the teams took to the field Mid to a fanfare of rockets. Not for them though just local revellers on this cold bonfire night.

The pitch slopes slightly from one goal to the other and is a bit undulating with good grass cover. It all looked very wet but there was no standing water.

Clay Cross Town FC 3 Sherwood Colliery FC 1

Clay Cross chose to play with the slope and took charge of the midfield with No.10 putting in some good creative work. Both sides could have scored in the first 20 minutes but for good saves by the goalkeepers. The deadlock was broken when on 25 minutes when a well worked corner saw the Clay Cross No 8 Josh Scully hit a cross goal ball that evaded everyone but the Sherwood player on the far post who steered it into his own goal. Josh Scully ran to the crowd to claim the goal.

Within 5 minutes Sherwood hit back when from a freekick on the left, the ball fell to Sam Dockwray who made no mistake in drilling home. Level at half time it seemed anyone’s game.

What was impressive was the way that both teams played out of defence rather than the long ball. Despite some chances it looked as if the game was heading for extra time until with 2 minutes left after a bad clearance and some great work from the right the resulting cross found Josh Parfitt unmarked to simply nod in for Clay Cross to lead.

Clay Cross seemed happy to try to play out time but in added time again a strong run from the right, following two corners, found Sam Dockwray to smack the ball home for a 3-1 win to Clay Cross. The whistle blew just after to jubilation from the home team and crowd and a next round game against either South Normanton or Rothwell Corinthians both step 5 teams and two levels above Clay Cross.

The Chips were the best of the season so far, golden, hot, thick, tasty and plenty of them. A high score of 76 for these.