Sheffield Wednesday Owls keep Norwich Canaries in their cage.

A trip on the Sheffield tram from the ‘Park and Ride’ at Nunnery Square to Hillsborough Park station left me with an early evening walk through the Park.

The park was looking very tidy and smart after a major refurbishment that was needed after the Tramlines Concert of last summer that ‘trashed’ it because of the wet weather. In some areas the newly sown grass still needs a little while to recover and other areas have standing water after our decidedly wet winter. The occasional spots of rain were disappearing but the strong breeze from the tail end of Storm Kathleen felt cold. The car may have said 10 degrees when I parked it but the wind chill made it feel a lot colder than that. The Hillsborough Stadium soon loomed out of the failing light, made darker by the overcast sky.

The stadium now has a capacity of 34835 and still has that big arena feel but with a faded glory feel. I sat well up in the Kop end to the left of the goal not far in front of their famous band with the drum and trumpet. It looked not to have been updated greatly since I last visited to watch Villa some many years ago. The view of the pitch was partially obscured by a stanchion of which there were two at this end and more at the far end. The pitch looked in good condition apart from wear in the corners and goalmouths, not surprising with the 23 league home games plus cup games played by Championship teams. The 28156 crowd were in good voice as the band and the tannoy system played ‘Hi ho Sheffield Wednesday’ just before kick off.

Sheffield Wednesday 2 Norwich City 2

Sheffield Wednesday FC , Hillsborough DStadiu,m, Sheffield, S6 1 SW

Tuesday 9th April 2024, 19.45 Kick Off, Sky Bet Championship

23rd v 6th , The Owls v The Canaries

Sheffield Wednesday; Blue and white vertical striped shirts with Royal Blue Shorts

Norwich City FC; Yellow shirts with some thin horizontal green stripes, Green Shorts.

Norwich started playing a high line and competed hard for the ball. This immediately put pressure on Sheffield Wednesday’s tippy-tappy football out of defence, they found it hard to clear and the lost balls put the home side continually in defence. It was no surprise that on 11 minutes Norwich went ahead when a poor clearance was pounced on, pushed out to the left, swung back to the far post where Josh Sargent swung his leg horizontally to place the ball in the goal for the lead. Only five minutes later Beadle in goal for Wednesday made another short clearance that was lost and Borja Saintz ran through to double Norwich’s score.

The home crowds early support led to boos when Sheffield Wednesday again tried short clearances which were intercepted. The crowds anger seeped through to their team and the long ball was adopted which did have the effect that they were no longer under constant attack although not creating any clear chances. Norwich did have other attempts on goal and should have been further ahead by the break having squandered their chances. The fans booed Wednesday off at half time and I reflected on the slow, static performance of the home back four trying to play a system that didn’t suit them.

Wednesday came out for the second half having made four changes including their number 5 Diaby, who had struggled with what looked like an injury in the first 45 minutes. They now continued to clear balls as far forward as possible and the fans responded with renewed hope. Norwich though were still playing well and Beadle saved well with his outstretched leg as Jack Stacey bore down on the near post after 10 minutes.

The home side started to get a momentum with much more energy and enthusiasm, putting pressure on Norwich with some immense long throws from both sides of the pitch. They should have recovered one goal with 18 minutes left but Dawson made a point blank save. Sheffield’s attacks forced a series of corners and one produced a goal when Will Vaulk’s corner on the right was headed into the net by Michael Ihiekwe in a very crowded penalty area. The home support noise levels went up a notch and Wednesday piled forward and from a corner on 85 minutes, 7 minutes after their goal, time from the left, was hit long past the far post where Michael Smith levelled the score with an unopposed header.

The home support backed their team for the last 5 minutes and 6 of added time but a winner was not to be had. Norwich will have rued their missed chances in the first half and Wednesday should reflect that their trying to play short balls out of defence should be put on ice till the end of the season. They still need points to squeeze their way out of the relegation zone which they have inhabited all season. Norwich will be annoyed that they lost ground in their promotion hopes when at one time in the game it was there for the taking.

In the end a great game and atmosphere and a long walk from the ground to Shalesmoor tram stop before I was able to get on a packed tram back to the centre. The walk in reality did me good.

It was good to see chips on the menu even though a whirring card machine made me feel I was most probably paying for food and drink for the whole Kop. The chips were very very hot even down to the bottom of the tub and had very little grease. Some were crispy and others limp but there was a strange spicy taste to them that meant I only scored them 58.

You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa Part 2

On Wednesday I was treated to see Aston Villa play Manchester City at the Ethiad. The last game I had seen Villa play was in their 2023 home defeat to Stevenage when I posted ‘You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa’ after I saw them dumped out of the FA Cup by the League 2 side.

So much has changed under the fantastic Unai Emery, a place in European football and fourth place in the league behind Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City.

On my last visit to the Etihad I watched a limp Villa go down badly, without much fight, in what unfolded as their relegation year.

The Etihad is an amazing stadium with further development on going as they add further seating behind one goal. This will complete the refashioning of the stadium which will then have a capacity of 61968, certainly worthy of World Club Champions. Its not just the ground that catches the breath but also the other pitches and facilities that have been built to ensure their continued success. The club shop was busy with a lot of foreign voices looking at and buying merchandise, emphasising that this has become a true football tourist destination.

There are those that would say that it is just a franchise model copied from the USA with vast amounts of foreign money invested to give their owners the best publicity for themselves. There are also rumours that the Premier league are looking at circa 150 breaches of their rules, of which a verdict has taken a long time coming as against punishments metered out against Everton and Nottingham Forest for breaking the Profitability and Sustainability Rules. These rules are hampering competition from up and coming clubs who may have the resource to buy outstanding players and make competition more equal but can not because they will breach the profitability rules and be deducted points.

Against all of this Manchester City have truly helped English club football achieve the highest status in Europe for players and managers alike. Others have followed or are readying to join the party.

Back to the evening, having not pre booked parking we found ourselves both parked in what we felt appeared to be dodgy ‘secure parking’ which however turned out fine, We walked to the ground, very early, and walked around the stadium killing time to be let in 2 hours before the game. Meat pie, coffee, a look at the program and a lot of catching up meant the time whizzed by and we sat in our seats high up in the Villa section. The seats were the trial standing ones, which you could almost call cages, and as expected the Villa fans stood the whole game.

Villa’s season has been exceptional but long term and niggling injuries have played their part too. Only 40 minutes before the start we heard that Martinez will not be in goal due to a sickness. This added to recent injuries to Ollie Watkins, Pau Torres (on the bench being brought back into the team), John Mc Ginn suspended, and long term Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia, Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash and Jacob Ramsey who keeps coming back and then breaking down again all of whom are side-lined. So it was with some trepidation that we viewed the game but like all fans there was hope and the Villa away fans were in good humour and voice as they greeted their heroes and goaded a rather quiet Manchester support.

Manchester City 4 Aston Villa 1

Wednesday 3rd April 2024 English Premier League, Kick off 20.15 pm

Etihad Stadium, Ashton New Road, Manchester M11 3FF

3rd v 4th, Manchester City nickname, City (Amongst others): Aston Villa nickname, Villa.

City: Sky blue shirts and white shorts. Villa: Claret shirts with light blue sleeves with claret shorts with light blue side slash.

Villa immediately set up to defend and make quick stylish breaks on the counter with City moving forward with methodical play and releasing the wide wingers of Doku on the right and Grealish on the left. It was Doku who was causing the greatest havoc and some neat play to get him past the defenders enabled him to pinpoint a ball to Rodri on the near post to ram home. City continued this style but to the Villa fans delight Grealish, who was booed or given a rendition of ‘Villa till I die’ every time he touched the ball was forced inside on his right foot every time and looked lost and ineffective.

Villas counter attacking set up bore fruit on 20 minutes when Morgan Rogers put Jhon Duran in on goal to put the ball past Stefan Ortega, in goal for City, with a sweeping fierce shot.

Continuing nerves at City attack after attack brought us to 45 minutes and still level but there were still 4 minutes of added time to see out. A disputed free kick just off centre of the goal keepers area was converted by Phil Foden with a free kick to the right of Olsen. If the Villa wall would have stood strong the ball would have hit Zaniolo and not meant the home side had the advantage at half time.

The second half saw Douglas Luiz test Ortega but an equaliser wasn’t coming and Villa conceded two more goals in the 62nd and 69th minute to two thunderbolts from Phil Foden, a top class act on the night, above many class acts.

For Villa Olsen deputising for Martinez, arguably the best keeper in the world at the moment, did well and could not have been faulted for any of the goals.

Villa fans kept singing even on the stair wells as they left the ground and drifted of with the surge of other supporters down the Ashton New Road.

Man City kept up their challenge on the top 3 and Villa stayed in fourth and need to revive tired legs for their home game with Brentford at the weekend. This may have been another of those dealing with disappointment moments, but somehow it didn’t because you just knew that everyone gave everything they could on the night.

No Chips, again, so it was another steak pie , compared to Mondays at Chesterfield it was drier and had less chunky meat, but in reality it was welcome even though 75 P dearer. the coffee though was 25 P cheaper but was very weak.

Great night out, up the Villa.

After the Lord Mayors Show

For my Easter football I travelled locally to watch Chesterfield, at the pinnacle of Non-League Football (As National League Champions), play at home to relegation challenged Kidderminster.

I parked at the far end of Stand Park and took a leisurely walk to the ground in light drizzle with a grey sky overhead. I had heard on the radio driving in that nearby Mansfield’s game at home to Accrington Stanley had just been postponed after a morning deluge. Too late to stop the Accrington team whose manager along with their hosts wanted to play but the referee had deemed it unplayable and dangerous.

Chesterfield’s Stadium is one of the best new grounds which although showing its concrete construction on the outside has four separate all seater stands that give a more iconic feel. With a capacity of 10600 and a strong fan base these facilities and the town deserve to have re-joined the Football League family. The success of the facilities have been rewarded in the past with England Under 19 matches. The old Saltergate, now a housing complex, is remembered fondly for past highlights and atmosphere. but was not fit for the modern world.

After a coffee and watching the end of the early kick off on the monitors I was surprised to find that the sun was out and the sky was bright blue with some fluffy white clouds.

The very flat grass pitch was sanded in the goalmouths and a few other areas.

Chesterfield formed in 1866 claim to be the 4th oldest league club still in existence. A chequered history of league status and liquidation led to their reincarnation when they re-joined the football league in 1921. They have been up and down the leagues in their history but reached a low point in 2018 being relegated to the National League. Off the field problems were resolved by a take over in 2020 by a Community Trust who with great local support have steered the club to a new era of major ownership by local Paul and Ashley Kirk.

Kidderminster were founded in 1886 playing in the newly formed Birmingham and District League. Always a strong midlands non-league team they won the FA Trophy in 1987 and made it to the Football League for 5 seasons in 2000. They dropped down to the National league North but came back to the Premier Division in 2023.

Chesterfield FC 1 Kidderminster Harriers 3

Monday 1st April National League; 15.00 pm kick off.

SMH Group Stadium, 1866 Sheffield Road, Chesterfield, S41 8NZ

1st v 22nd Spireites v The Reds

Chesterfield: Royal Blue shirts and white shorts, Kidderminster: Red shirts with white front, red shorts.

The Kidderminster team and the officials provided a guard of honour to welcome the newly crowned national League Champions onto the pitch.

The 338 Kidderminster fans were in good voice to start the game and apart from one great save by the Kidderminster keeper it was no surprise when they took the lead as early as 7 minutes. The ball fell to Ashley Hemmings who hit it first time across the home defence and goalkeeper to see it nestle into the far corner of the net.

Kidderminster took control of the game, first to the ball, strong in the tackle, harrying all over the pitch they were a team determined to stay ahead. With 30 minutes gone it all went wrong for them when a cross in from the right was met by Matt Preston who instead of clearing the ball he sliced his kick which went over his head and into the roof of the net for Chesterfield’s equaliser.

Chesterfield now had a period of domination, but apart from forcing a brilliant save down to his right by Dibble, who managed to palm out the deflected shot, they lacked any clear cut chances.

Kidderminster came out in the second half with a new intensity with Zak Brown slotting the ball between Chesterfield keeper’s legs after the rebound from Boot’s initial save with only 3 minutes gone. Kidderminster’s forceful play reaped further rewards when on 56 minutes a ball was cleared only to Matt Preston just outside the goal area and he drilled it along the ground into the net via the righthand post. Redemption for Preston’s previous own goal and a lead not to be given up.

After Banks came on for Chesterfield with 30 minutes left he did manage to distribute the ball more effectively and into more attacking positions but Kidderminster’s resolve was not tested. They went away with the three points but did not get out of the drop zone. With other teams having played less games around them they need to win all of their three remaining matches to have a chance of survival. If the team and the supporters have any say they might just do it.

As for Chesterfield I can only surmise at their poor showing. Having been crowned champions so early they have little to play for, they have celebrated too hard, they have seen the retained list or they feel they are already on the beach.

The crowd of 8337 turned up looking towards next year, I hope the enthusiasm does not wane with some late indifferent shows.

Unfortunately no chips at Chesterfield but I did try the steak and ale pie which was deep, filled with large chunks of meat and thick gravy, as well as being tasty.

Ashby Ivanhoe keep their season alive.

The British weather has not been good to sports clubs this winter. Many have suffered from flooded or just sodden pitches which have been unplayable for months. This has led some having to have to play their home fixtures away from home or at other venues. It has been financially disastrous for some losing much needed income at a time of high inflation, particularly fuel costs and at a time when they were just recovering from the ravages of Covid.

One club to be hit hard is Ashby Ivanhoe F.C. who are having to play their games at nearby Quorn F.C. Speaking to a few of their fans they said that they had not played a home game since mid November. Ashby managed to buy their ground in 2021 and are making plans to develop the stadium. Quorn’s ground is 15 miles (28 minutes drive) from Ashby’s and is an all weather pitch and the future of the game at this level. I have been here before and the facilities are impressive. Apart from the pitch, which is snooker table flat, there is a very large car park, a well appointed and spacious club house that has just been upgraded, a large seated covered stand and good hard standing all around.

The ground is reached either from the village or from the nearby A6, nestled in a housing estate apart from one side that is open to the countryside. The ground is sheltered by fir trees at either end but these are dwarfed by a ‘Mobile’ mast near the club house. Despite Ashby playing at Quorn they had produced a very impressive program for the game.

It was a grey afternoon with the temperature saying 11 degrees which it certainly wasn’t if you were in the wind. Luckily as we sat down to watch the game the sun came out and you could feel some early spring warmth. I had watched Skegness play late last year and they had impressed me so I expected a competitive game as Ashby were only three positions below them in the league.

Ashby Ivanhoe F.C. started a year later than Skegness Town F.C. in 1948 playing for many years in the Leicester senior Leagues until 2014, when they were promoted to the East Midlands Counties League. Two years later they entered the F.A. Cup for the first time. Further progress was made in 2019 with elevation to the Midland Premier League Division 1 in 2019 and up to the United Counties Premier Northern Division for this season.

Skegness Town AFC were formed in 1947 after the demise of Skegness United and Skegness Blue Rovers. After playing local football they joined the Midland Counties League in 1958 where they played until being founder members of the Northern Counties East League in 1982 where they stayed for just one season. A move back to Lincolnshire football saw them dominate the Lincolnshire League for many seasons and returned to The NCE League again for a short while in 2018 before being moved to the United Counties in 2021 due to the F.A. re-organisation.

Ashby Ivanhoe F.C. 2 Skegness Town AFC 2

Saturday 9th March 2024; Kick off 15.00 pm; 8th v 5th; The Knights v The Lilywhites

Ashby Ivanhoe F.C. – Lower Packington Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, LE65 1TS, played at Farley Way, Quorn, Loughborough, LE12 8RB

Ashby; Royal blue shirts and shorts, shirts have a red stripe on the shoulder. Skegness; Yellow and green vertical striped shirts with green shorts.

The game started at a quick pace with both teams making chances, but it was the home team who scored first when Samuel Grouse was put through on the right corner of the penalty area where he took one stride and hammered the ball along the ground into the corner of the net. Ashby were playing with ten men due to their number 5 being sin binned and Skegness took advantage on 19 minutes, attacking down the right a cross was met by a fierce shot which was parried by the keeper only for McCauley Parker to chip the ball back over the goalkeeper into the left hand side of the goal.

This all action competitive game kept delivering and with 30 minutes gone Skegness hit the bar twice and saw a header go inches over the bar in an attack. They were not to be denied though when 6 minutes later they took the lead when Luke Rayner-Mistry riffled the ball into the net after the headed clearance fell to him. Skegness left the field at half time leading 2.1, having just shaved the first half.

The game resumed with Ashby pressing hard and with 7 minutes gone, Chris Aycott, who was back on the pitch, having been sin binned in the first half, collected the ball in his own half, headed down the left wing and managed to cut the ball back across the goal, along the ground, for Will Groocock to tap in.

Back down the other end Skegness were awarded a soft penalty on 65 minutes but the kick to the left of the goalkeeper was saved. The game now seemed to relax as the teams batteries must surely have been running out.

A final score of 2.2 was fitting for the endeavour and commitment of the two teams and for the 200 fans who enjoyed the contest. Well done also to Quorn who allowed their near neighbours to complete their fixtures. I still have a visit to Ashby to come in the future.

The Chips were hot, golden, crispy on the outside, soft centre, tasty with only a slight greasy after taste. They scored a worthy 66.

“Penny on the ball”.

I have for many years wondered what ‘Penny on the Ball’ was.
In the mid 1950’s, at the first football matches I watched at St Albans City, you went through the gate and were confronted by a table where they were selling programmes and “Penny on the Ball” tickets.
I asked my Dad what it was and he told me that it was to enter a draw for the match football.
Recently I saw on Ebay some tickets for a “Penny on the ball” competition.
I bought the tickets for £1.25 and on reading them saw that the Colchester United competition was a closed one. This made me revisit what I had been told and realise that it was just a draw to raise money for the club.

I had always had my doubts as to what I had been told especially as we also had to buy the latest evening newspaper on the way home for the half time results. Strange as we had already seen them at the ground. I realised later that it was the latest racing results that he wanted to see.
Today there are still the club raffles and draws etc. to raise much needed funds.

If anyone can throw anymore light on “Penny on the ball” I would love to hear from you.

Going to the Match (The passion for football)

Going to the Match (The passion for football). Written by Duncan Hamilton.

Published in 2018 by Hodder and Staughton

I noticed this book on the shelves leaving a local library. It took me a while getting into the book and I nearly gave up but persistence was rewarded with an insight into the authors football journey. Duncan Hamilton explains where the game came from, where it sits today and where it is going. Each chapter explores a different topic through football matches and experiences.

The book covers a wide spectrum of information and ideas of how fans act and relate to clubs, themselves, the money in the game, the governance and more.

The writing about past players, managers and games not only related to the game but the Social History of life.

The book also gave me some ideas of future clubs and venues I would like to visit and facts and observations I may use myself.

The sub title (The Passion for Football) certainly seeps through the book.

2023/24 Interim Chip League

payonthegate chip league 2023/24

Football Club	Score	Comments
Tamworth	74	Hot, Hot,Hot
Goole	70	Fresh
Basford	70	Freshly fried.
Dinnington	69	Pretty Good
Wombwell Town	67	Fries, great golden colour
Retford United	65	Could have been hotter
Staveley Miners Welly	64	Bit Greasy
Kings Lynn	64	Good Portion
Beverley	61	Burnt after taste
Shirebrook Town	60	Well down on previous seasons
Alfreton Town	60	25 minute wait!
Llangefni Town	60	A bit greasy
Bridlington	59	Greasy and soggy
Hamworthy	53	Some were hard
Wakefield	48	Warm to cold
Garforth	44	Soggy and limp
Heacham	0
Retford Fc	0
Newark Town	0
Newark & Sherwood	0
Dearne & District	0
Handsworth	0
Scunthorpe Utd	0
Mansfield Town	0
CD Nacional Madeira	0
Oughtibridge WMSC	0

With just over half the season gone I thought it was a good time to issue an interim Chip League. After 26 matches Tamworth hold the lead with an impressive 74 points for their tasty and very hot chips, 38 % of clubs had no chips at all.

I look forward to the run in to the end of the season to see if Tamworth get knocked of their perch.

2023 fizzles out.

After some exciting journeys and games I ended the year on a damp Saturday drifting down the A1 to Collingham. I made the journey to see Newark and Sherwood United FC play Skegness Town FC in the United Counties Premier Division North. N&S are ground sharing with Collingham this year. Collingham is a village to the East of Newark and East of the A1 where the football ground is in the village behind the COOP and surrounded by houses and a school.

It was a grey overcast day with the car telling me it was 10 degrees but my body saying it was a lot colder than that with a biting wind cutting right through me.

As you enter the ground through a proper turnstile down the left hand side is a combined club house and changing rooms with executive viewing and other rooms above. The clubhouse was busy but only sold drinks, limited food being served from half time at a shed that doubles for a club shop. Beyond the clubhouse down the rest of the side is a covered seated stand. 181 brave souls were there, none of which seemed to be supporting the visitors who had made the 56 mile journey.There is a perimeter walk way around the other two sides and none behind 1 of the goals.

Chairman, Steff Wright in the programme notes dreamed of the future “We have been working hard with our partners on our longer term aims to create an ambitious community stadium which will inspire a generation of boys and girls from the town and district to dream big and work hard to achieve those dreams”.

Newark and Sherwood United set out in 1901 as A. J. Simpson an Co and at sometime prior to 1935 were renamed Worthington Simpson. From 1949 onwards they played in the Notts Alliance League and were a strong team in the league and local cups. Another name change to IDP Newark in 1998, they changed again to Newark Flowserve in 2001 and 3 years later joined the Central Midlands League. They were promoted to the East Midlands Counties League in 2018, changed their name again, this time to Newark in 2020 and were transferred to the United Counties Premier Division North in 20221 within the F.A.’s Non League reorganisation.

Their last name change came in May 2022 to Newark and Sherwood Unite FC and a groundshare with Collingham FC arranged having lost their ground to re-development.

Newark and Sherwood United FC 1 Skegness Town FC 3

Saturday 30th December 2023 15.00 pm Kick Off.

Collingham FC ground, Station Road, Collingham, Newark, NG23 7RA

Highwaymen v Lilywhites 16th v 5th

Newark and Sherwood, Travis Perkins green shirts, navy blue shorts; Skegness, White shirts, Red shorts.

Skegness started like greyhounds after the hare on this very grey day that needed the floodlights on from the start. They went ahead after just 7 minutes when a great cross from the left along the ground was met by Declan Johnson to tap in.

As the sky became darker and darker it boded ill for the home team when Declan Johnson, again, ran past Newark’s high line from near the halfway line and drew the goalkeeper to narrow his angle on the goal mouth to be able to just roll the ball in for a second.

After not looking at all like scoring the home side pegged one backl on 34 minutes when after some neat inter-passing on the right Kian Sketchey fought of a challenge to score. After their goal Newark knocked Skegness out of their rhythm even though the away side were much stronger.

Gary King made it 3 .1 for the Lilywhites just before half time when his shot was deflected past the goalkeeper.

There were no goals added in the second half as Skegness kept pressing and if it hadn’t been for Arun Mitchel Jones in the home sides goal making some quite outstanding saves it would have been many more for Skegness. The wind was getting stronger and colder as the game went on and I was pleased when the referee blew for full time.

Not the best game to end an exciting year but it will be interesting to see where theses two clubs go in the future.

Unfortunately no chips just two coffees which was most probably good, keeping the calories count down at this festive time.

Staveley set up a Happy Christmas.

Being Christmas I decided to stay local and went to Staveley Miners Welfare to see them play Selby.

What you get at Staveley is a warm feeling in the clubhouse that had a few decorations but most of all community.

The clubhouse is large, bright (painted in blue and white club colours), warm, 5 large TV screens, good bar, large food counter but most of all friendly. There were tables taken by Selby fans, a couple with tins of sweets on and a lot of noise that was the chatter of people catching up and anticipating the game.

This is a club that has taken league demotion in recent years to get the club rooted firmly in the community with many teams and a facility that they are proud of. The ground is spotless and tidy like your house when you are expecting visitors. They have also revealed plans for class rooms on the site for pupils to study at an Academy and announced that they have reduced their debt in two years from £240 000 to £160 000, everything is moving forward.

The program had a Christmas theme and an updated team sheet was available in the clubhouse.

Staveley Miners Welfare F.C’s. current incarnation was formed in 1962 as a Sunday team, known as the Nags Head playing in Barrow Hill and started playing on Saturdays in 1989. There have been previous clubs playing at the ground since 1919. They have since risen to their current step 5 level and despite difficult times in 2007 a new Chairman in Terry Damms has with his team made it into a successful community club with feeder teams of all ages.

Selby Town have also been in existence since 1919 although a team of the same name and nickname has been dissolved nearly 10 years before. They were once in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division but have spent most of their time at their current level.

It was a dry, bright, windy day at 10 degrees making the synthetic pitch shine out and ready for action.

Staveley Miners Welfare v Selby Town

Saturday 24th December 2023, Inkersall Road, Staveley Chesterfield Derbyshire S43 3JL

15.00 pm kick off; Trojans v Robins; 11th v 15th; Northern Counties East League Division 1

Staveley, Royal Blue and white vertical striped shirts with royal blue shorts: Selby, All white strip with red short sleeves to the shirts.

The game started with each team getting used to the windy conditions when controlling the ball. Staveley were gaining the upper hand and went ahead after 18 minutes when a free kick was defended, the ball going back to the freekick taker who lobbed it back in the goal where Kian Tansley rose to glance head the ball over Alfie Burnett, Selby’s keeper, to nestle in the far corner of the net.

Selby reacted with more attacking but were again beaten by a freekick on 31 minutes when Kian Tansley bent the ball round the left of a small wall into a gaping opening. At two nil Selby must have been thinking that half time could not come soon enough, however their plight was worsened when just on half time Kyle Fish was dismissed for a reckless tackle on Jack Deakin’s shin whose cry could be heard everywhere in the ground. The resulting mele led to two Staveley players being booked although the referee could have booked even more of both teams players.

The second half gave no respite for Selby who went 3 nil down on 58 minutes when from a corner Dustyn Grierson was unmarked to send a bullet header into a bulging net. Just after half time Daniel Davison for Selby was sin binned for arguing with the referee, playing against 9 men Staveley used up all of their substitutes to rest player for the Boxing Day fixture.

Back to 10 players Selby did have a last hoorah and forced two good saves in the last five minutes by Zac Walker in the Staveley goal.

A very competent win for Staveley and a game for Selby to forget.

An amazing sunset at Staveley, 40 years ago the sky would have been this colour from the Chemical works and heavy industry.

Chips are always on the menu at Staveley and at £2.50 they were a good quantity, hot, great texture but unfortunately greasy, that didn’t stop me eating them though, a score of 64. At half time in the Christmas spirit I had a mince pie with my coffee from a cake stall that had been set up just inside the club house entrance, it was delicious.

‘Grass Roots’ football is thriving.

The title to this blog is a bit of a dichotomy, the grass roots refer to the organisation of a football club that has a strong growing web of teams of all ages, abilities, sexes, and not to the pitch itself. In Dinnington the pitch is a modern artificial surface that allows all weather and all day play. It also has multi lined out pitches with 14 mobile goal mouths of all sizes. The senior team is benefitting from the money and effort that has been put in, with perhaps their stars of the future developing in the many junior teams.

I was last here on Christmas Eve last year and returned to see the finished ground with the new covered seated stand. With the stand finished and all of the other improvements I believe that Dinnington Town now meet the grading requirements to enable them to go up to another level.

You enter the ground via the Dinnington Resource Centre which was opened in 2000, a new building on the site of the old Colliery Institute. This is a self financing centre at the heart of the community which offers, function and meeting rooms, a FIFA approved 3G football pitch, a library (Rotherham Borough Municipal Council), a community cafe , home to Dinnington Pre-School group and a Post Office. There can’t be many football clubs that have such an association with a Post Office.

It was an amazing sunny day with clear azure blue skies, no wind but a cold 3 degrees. Parking right outside for a quick get away, was a bonus. I bought a coffee and took a seat in the new stand which looked like it could seat 100, overall the crowd looked to be getting on for that figure.

I have written before on Dinnington Towns’ history which goes back to 1908, with the current club reformed in 2019. They are looking to move up to their highest ever level.

The opposition Elite AFC were only started in 2020 as a Junior Academy with teams of all ages, last year entering the Central Midlands League gaining promotion to the Premier Division.

Dinnington Town FC v Elite AFC

Saturday 25th November 2023 Kick off 15.00.

Central Midlands League Premier Division North.

3rd v 7th Dinnington, bright yellow shirts black shorts; Elite, white shirts blue shorts.

The young Elite team were under pressure from the start but did cause some problems with quick counter attacks. Dinnington though did take the lead on 21 minutes when a player burst into the box to see his shot parried by the Elite keeper only for Ben Bertram to tap it in. Only 5 minutes later the Dinnington Manager was sent off for not agreeing with the referee over a potential penalty appeal and he walked off and sat next to me in the stand.

The day was so bright that the floodlights were not switched on until 33 minutes and a short while later a ball swung in from the right was met by Justin Circuit who headed it straight into the net. The goal was a que for some noisy boisterous fans to let off a flare. Dinnington played out the rest of the half and went in at halftime in command.

Elite had not given up and after some close play Jacob Tupling scored for them shooting from the edge of the goal area into the roof of the net. The home side restored their two goal lead on the hour when Ben Bertram scored.

With 71 minutes gone Elite, who had kept pushing, scored their second when Tommy Pallett ran through to hit the ball across the goalkeeper, hitting the post and rebounding into the net. The game was now any bodies except that a ‘worldy’ from 30 yards out on the right by Josh Baxter ended up in the top left hand corner for a 4.2 lead. Elite didn’t give up but Dinnington eased their way to the win and retained their third spot in the League.

Great to see the development of Dinnington’s facilities and their team responding to investment. Elite too showed that with some more experience they could well challenge for the title in the future.

I had a coffee to start the game and at half time queued up while some fresh chips were cooked. They were really good, crisp, golden, tasty, no after taste of oil and therefore a great score of 69.