The thick, warming Bovril at Clay Cross FC one evening game to help see off the cold made me wonder where Bovril started to become an iconic football drink.
Bovril is a drink that is associated with football. Many cups and mugs of it have been drunk at matches, particularly on cold winter days on wet and windy terraces, and huddled up to food kiosks. Sometimes, it was brought in by the supporters, in ‘Thermos Flasks’ but usually dispensed by a willing helper often in a freezing hut or warm and welcoming club house. Surprisingly, this British beverage originated in Canada, where a Canadian based Scottish butcher named John Lawson Johnson developed his business after years of running a very successful butcher in Edinburgh, where his beef stock was very popular.
The products big chance came when Napoleon III ordered tinned beef for his army, but Johnston suggested a canned beef extract, and Johnston’s fluid beef was born. A return to London in 1886 saw him promote his product, which he now called Bovril. Scott and Shackleton took it to the Antarctic, and their use to stem the cold and fortify them was noted.
Johnston’s promotional and advertising skills were exceptional, and one advert showed Pope Leo XIII with a steaming mug of Bovril with the heading “Two infallible powers. The Pope and Bovril. ” Within a few years of launch, Bovril was being sold in over 3000 grocers, pubs, and chemists.
Reproduction advertising material from Bovril’s early days.
It is Scottish football that seems to claim Bovril as its own with an archived ‘Glasgow Evening Post’ from the Friday 23rd September 1892 edition showing an advert for a ‘Grand Football Match’ at Ibrox with a strap line of ‘Bovril Served Hot’. In the same week, the club linked Bovril with pies. Before the start of the ‘Great War’, one stand at Ibrox was known by fans as The Bovril Stand due to a large advert on it. The rest is history as it spread as the preferred drink of fans all over Britain.
Its popularity has waned in recent years with the rise of all types football food, coffee, and alcohol taking over the tradition of a pie and Bovril.
Bovril as a product now comes in stock cubes, jars, and granules, making it easy to make a cup. Even a vegan version, based on beets, was launched in 2020 in conjunction with Forest Green Rovers but this seems to have fallen by the wayside along with a Chicken based version where a group of devotees are trying to get the company to resurrect the product.
Bovril will, I’m sure, be with us for many more years.
Written by Mike Keegan, Published by Reach Sport 2021
I don’t usually read autobiographies or biographies but I picked this book up and found that it was not either of these, but a brilliantly written book by Mike Keegan, a long term fan of Oldham Athletic about the arrival of Joe Royale at the club on a lorry and the fairy tale journey of a team that was down and out financially and on the pitch, to slowly rise to the top division in England and appearances at Wembley.
It is not just a football book but a social commentary of the despair of northern towns/cities fighting against the industrial ravages of the 80s and 90s. The town had lost much of its faith in the football club too, but Joe Royale, his team and the overall management team ignite their passion in the club and lift the spirits of the town in general.
I had forgotten this story with other personal things taking over my world at the time. Joe Royale, who was an exceptional player, put his whole heart and soul into this journey despite lucrative offers to move elsewhere. If you want a warm feel-good book, this is it.
I have been to Oldham Athletic for a meal cooked by MasterChef winner Simon Wood but never to see a football match, this I will remedy in the new season.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a lift, whether a football fan or not.
N.B. On 1st June 2025, Oldham won the National League Playoff final at Wembley and will play in League 2 of the EFL in the new season.
Back in January 2019, I wrote about the passing of Hugh McIlvanney, one of the greatest sports writers of his time and an inspiration to me to read and write on football. The last few days have seen the passing of Brian Glanville, another colossus of writing on football. He was a prolific writer who didn’t hold back on his views and criticisms of players, officials, administrators, the game, and more. He had earned this rite and admiration of fellow soccer alumni through a career that included writing for Corriere Dello Sport, living in Italy, and most notably for the Sunday Times. A prolific writer of books, he also wrote the screenplay GOAL! the official film of the 1966 World Cup that won a BAFTA.
With McILvanney, he was at the pinnacle of his profession, and his passing perhaps represents the passing of the last greats of the written word on football. Now replaced by YouTube and Pod Casts, which I am sure he would have stood astride of those media if they would have been available in his era.
Another season of sheer joy watching all levels of football, seeing one of the best games I have ever seen, an abandoned game, promotions, pitch invasions, nostalgia, re-birth, disappointment and a little boredom and much more.
It all started at Fakenham, one holiday evening in July when the football was relaxed and the burger cooked on a barbeque outside was the highlight. 38 games later at my penultimate game I would be there to see Bradford City fans, players and officials joy in gaining promotion, 40 years after the fire at the ground that claimed the lives of 56 people.
On the way, I saw Hallam reel in Selsden’s huge points advantage but just failed to pip them in the quest for automatic promotion. They managed it via the playoffs.
A visit to St Albans, 70 years on, saw them win, although they still suffered relegation from the National League South. Ian Culverhouse, Paul Bastock, and the rest of the team have agreed to stay on for next season. They were hired too late for St Albans to avoid the drop, in the end, by only 1 point after at one time looking completely doomed at Christmas.
I always enjoy an evening of football at Matlock, but a poor showing in their FA Cup replay was only a portent to their relegation at the end of the season.
Wakefield failed again in the playoffs to get out of NCEL Division One, and I watched them play at home, this time at Fatherstone Rovers ground. Last year, it was at Wakefield Trinity’s. This nomadic romp may soon be over as they try to secure a permanent home at Brook Farm. In the Dearne Valley, there continues to be a resurgence, and it is Wombwell Town that has developed an impressive ground and gained promotion.
From visiting Premier grounds at Wolves and Villa to watching Sheffield Students in the 12th tier, I have been impressed at the quality of football. Talking of Students I again visited Loughborough Students, one of my favourite haunts, but this was soured by a £70 parking fine over a £1 parking fee. This was eventually squashed after the usual battle.
A stop off at Hackney Marshes to reminisce and nearby ‘The Old Spotted Dog’ to see the oldest ground in London was a happy event. Not so happy was the trip to North Leicester to see an abandoned game at Ansty Nomads, I still haven’t dried out.
European football was provided by TNS at Shrewsbury, and I later visited their true home ground near Oswestry. This is a very well run club that deserves its status as the best Welsh team. Competition in the Cymru leagues will be fierce in the coming season with a new structure looming and being based on this seasons placings.
I finally made it to Appleby Froddingham in Scunthorpe after a few re-routed journeys due to bad weather. The friendliness made up for the average facilities, and I am pleased to see that they have been reprieved relegation and remain allocated in the 10th tier. The facilities were not extensive at Keswick, but, ‘Oh’, what a scenic ground in the park, with the Lake District Hills as a backdrop.
Great to have seen a Bury victory as they make their slow but sure come back through the leagues. What marvellous support they have both home and away. A mention of support brings me back to St Albans, where despite relegation, they still hosted the 5th highest average attendance in the National League South.
County cups are often forgotten by clubs, yet on a cold evening I saw Ashbourne nearly upset Clay Cross, a team who won the United Counties Division One, in my view one of the hardest leagues to get out of anywhere in the country due to its competitiveness. The oldest derby in the world drew a crowd well over 1500 at Hallam to see them beat Sheffield Fc in ‘The Sheffield and Hallamshire County Cup’. The final of the cup where Worksop just beat Hallam was my final game of the season.
I have saved the highlights and lowlights to last. Visiting Gretna and watching some surprisingly skilful football and some skilful parking and a tasty scotch pie. A visit to Wembley to see Aston Villa not turn up and be humiliated by Crystal Palace and experience the worst football food of the season, the FA should do better. Biggleswade were down and out at half time at Coleshill in the cup, but turned it round, eventually winning 4,5, especially pleasing for their Chairman whom I went to school with. Another 4.5, this time on penalties after 4.4 after extra time, saw Gainsborough Trinity beating Hednesford after also looking to have no way back. This game was one of the most exciting I have ever seen in my long history of watching football.
For sheer emotion, the joy of the fans of Bradford City, when their 95th minute winner and promotion clincher went in, was my highlight of the season. To have been their and experience it was tingling.
2416 fans turned up at Hillsborough to see the final of the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Cup final and no one was disappointed. It was a cold evening, only 11 degrees, yet it was a pleasant walk to the ground from parking the car just outside the ground, something you couldn’t do when ‘Wednesday’ are at home.
Fans of both teams mingled in the bars and food kiosks before taking their seats. I was able to get one of the padded seats, so I sat back waiting for the players of Worksop Town FC and Hallam FC. Both have had successful years coming second in their respective leagues and both gaining promotion by way of the playoffs. Worksop Town will be leaving the Northern Premier League and returning to the National League North after an 18 year absence. Hallam FC will be leaving the Northern Counties East League, Premier Division, next season, and moving up to The Northern Premier League, East Division a level they have never before played at. Despite these moves there will still be two level between the clubs, Worksop at the 6th level of English Football and Hallam at the 8th level.
Both teams entered the arena to some vocal fans and a drum beat by the Hallam contingent. The grass surface looked like it was starting to be prepared for the close season with patches of sand all over the pitch. After the customary introduction to the supporters and each other the teams stood in the centre of the centre circle with everyone standing and observing a minutes silence on this 80th Anniversary of VE Day.
The Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA Senior Cup is the 5th oldest in the world and next year it will be 150 years old, having been first played for in 1876.
Worksop Town 2 Hallam 1
Friday 8th May 2025, 19.30 kick off. Hillsborough Stadium.
Tigers v The Countrymen
Worksop; grey shorts and shirts the front of which had a vertical black panel on one side, the goalkeeper had an orange top and black shorts.
Hallam; All royal blue strip with the goalkeeper in a pink top and black shorts.
Worksop looked in control from the start but Hallam were letting them come to them and counter attacking with some quick breaks down the wings particularly down the right. Hallam were also controlling the tempo of the game with slow goal kicks, throw ins and set pieces, this was something they continued with all match.
It was Worksop who took the lead when with 16 minutes gone, a cross from the left was beaten out by the Hallam keeper but only onto the head of Aleks Starcenco who directed it down and into the bottom right corner of the net. The game now ebbed and flowed and despite the difference in League levels Hallam held their own to only trail by the one goal at half time.
The floodlights were turned on at half time with it coming over gloomy, and Worksop should have made it two with only 4 minutes gone from the re-start when the ball was blasted over the bar from very close range. A few minutes later, Warhurst in the Hallam goal kept them in the game with a reflex point blank save.
The Worksop dominance continued with the Hallam break aways, and one of these lead to an equaliser when a cross in from the left found Rio Allan, unmarked, and he cleverly dinked it over the goalkeeper into the net. Que celebrations by the players just in front of their fans. Rio Allen had played some skilful football all night and deserved the goal.
This set up a nerve wracking 20 minutes for both fans with the pattern of play resuming as before. Both sides made numerous substitutions, and it seemed destined for penalties to decide the tie, when with a minute to go Worksop struck again, when after a higher tempo attack the ball was received by Aleks Starcenco on the right corner of the Hallam goal area and he blasted it into the top right hand corner of the net. Hallam could not come back in the final 4 minutes of added time but all of their team gave their all. Worksop will have known that they had been in a hard won game, just deserving to edge it on the night.
Football Food
Great to have chips again, they were a good portion, tasty, golden, firm to soft inside, and but for the fact that they were only warm they could have been the chips of the year, score 73.
It seemed lest than 2 months ago that I bought a ticket to see Bradford City’s last game of the season. Little did I know at the time that Bradford would be sitting 3rd in the League 2 table, and in the last automatic promotion place needing to do better than Walsall, playing at Crewe, to go up. I have seen Valley Parade set on the side of a hill overlooking the city many times as I passed through, with its huge stands, and I couldn’t understand why I have not been before. I approached the ground and found parking a problem with the large crowd like me getting there early. Driving past Grosvenor Road, a throng of fans were swaying and chanting their way to the stadium under a haze of orange smoke from flares. Eventually, I found a space and abandoned the car, half on the path, near the top of one of Bradfords many hills. A 23-minute walk initially downhill but then the steep ascent to the ground. People were swarming in, in a happy mood. Inside the ravenous hall entrance to the Morrisons stand, I was greeted by long queues for food and drink, so I made my way up numerous steps to the top where my seat was near the back. Wow, what a view of Bradford and hills beyond with spires and domes illustrating the multicultural life of the city.
Bradford is our ‘City of Culture’ for 2025, and in the ground, I was experiencing one of the events that shape some of our country’s culture. After a week of temperatures in the mid 20’s it had dropped today to 14 degrees, with grey overcast clouds giving way to some blue skies and sunshine. The pitch shone a bright green with the flat grass surface cut in stripes. All parts of the stadium have seated stands but those behind one goal and down one side are immense, part of the redevelopment that followed the disastrous fire in 1985 that cost the lives of 56 fans on that fateful day, being remembered today, close to the May 11th anniversary. The atmosphere was all consuming with a deafening noise and the brilliant orange and claret. The day was all about Bradford, but a group of Fleetwood fans made themselves known as they stood and chanted.
The teams entered the arena like gladiators and lined up for introduction. They then moved to the centre of the pitch to observe a minutes silence in remembrance when you could have heard a pin drop. Raucous applause, and the teams were ready for the contest.
Bradford City 1 Fleetwood Town 0
Saturday 3rd May 2025. 17.00 kick off English Football League Division 2 University Of Bradford Stadium, Valley Parade, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, BD8 7DY. 3rd v 14th. Bantams v The Cod Army or the Fishermen
After the first 15 minutes, the Bradford fans had quietened due to the tension, and just 8 minutes laterit was Fleetwood who had the first real chance of the game, which was blocked and cleared by defenders. Play was continually interrupted with injuries, and on 35 minutes, the teams took advantage with a drinks break.
Although Bradford retained most of the possession, neither side looked like they were going to break the deadlock as the teams left the field at hal time.
A cold wind blew up at the interval, hopefully not a portent of a cooling second half. Bradford continued to press forward, but their high balls were easily dealt with by Fleetwood’s big back four. Some wing play, particularly from the left and long throws from their right back, did cause the most angst for Fleetwood. Halfway through the half news came through from Crewe that Walsall had scored and the crowd groaned, knowing that only a win would see them up. A few ripples hope we’re extinguished when information of a Crew equaliser were unfounded. Could the introduction of substitutes galvanise the team to score.
It seemed unlikely, although the board saying 6 minutes of added time gave hope. Halfway through this, a shot hit the post, but the crowd continued to believe, and Bradley Halliday strode over from the right to deliver his last long throw. It reached the penalty area and was headed down for Antoni Sarkevic to get a foot to it. Somehow, it caught a slight deflection and ended up in the right-hand corner of the net.
Pandemonium broke out, and people from all around the stadium invaded the pitch. Most realised that time was not up and booed the interlopers. Stewards, police, officials and loudspeaker announcements finally cleared the pitch but an ill timed announcement of the goal scorer, with the words Bradford one Fleetwood nil only provoked another invasion as they only heard ‘Bradford won’. Another frantic effort again cleared the pitch for the referee to play one minute and blow the final whistle. Que pitch invasion and Bradford City were promoted in the Year of Culture. Just down the road Leeds too were celebrating their winning of the Championship. No one cared here. It was all about their local sister city that is starting a fight back after so many years in their shadow. I was out of the stand like a shot and sailed down the many stairs reflecting on an amazing finish to a game and a season. How lucky was I to be part of it.
Football food.
The queues were so long that I didn’t have anything. There were, however, no chips on the food menu anyway.
An early start to head south to watch a grandson’s under 6 game in Northampton and then on to Wembley.
A Wembley trip is an occasion as well as a football match, and for me to go with two grandsons made me reflect on my first visit. Then there were twin towers, and England lost 2.3 to Sweden in 1959. This was only England’s second loss to a team other than a Home Nation on the hallowed turf. Just six years after the thrashing by Hungary and only 7 years before England’s World Cup triumph. Bobby Moore’s statue, with reference to the rest of the team, stands proud outside the entrance.
There have been other changes, too, even since a visit to see Aston Villa lose in a Championship Playoff final in 2018. On my first visit, my father showed me the decaying buildings left over from the British Empire Exhibition of 1924/25, and I showed what was left to my son in 1994 when Villa beat Manchester United. None of that now , the area has been transformed into a modern high-rise city of its own with the tiered walkway that was Wembley Way replaced by a flat pathed area to complement the new living style.
The organisation was fantastic, with the turnstiles and security opened, all of the queuing fans were whisked into the stadium. Inside the concourse offers food and drink and toilets to befit a national stadium.
The vastness of the red seats hit you as you walk into your seating area brought smiles to the grandsons. The immaculate pitch gleamed a bright green despite the grey overhead cloud, and there was no wind or breeze in this bowl.
Strangely, the Villa fans, so vociferous at home and away, seemed subdued, but a ripple of applause broke out as Stan Collymore was spotted standing above a ‘Villa Cannock’ flag.
Crystal Palace 3 Aston Villa 0
Saturday 26th April 2025, FA Cup Semi-final, 17.15 kick off.
Eagles v Villians.
There was little intensity to the start of the game, and Villa looked as if they were playing walking football out from the back as Palace didn’t press them but crowded out the mid field and defence. Palace fans were in ascendancy when 31 minutes Pau Torres made a mistake to let Ismail Sarr cross the ball for Ebrechi Eze to hit a fierce shot into the roof of the net past Martinez’s right hand.
Villa tried to get into the game and, with much of the possession, didn’t create a worthwhile chance despite some hard work by John McGinn.
Villa briefly looked a little sharper at the start of the second half but conceded a penalty . Jean-Paul Mateta stepped forward and placed the ball to the diving Martinez’s left, but with it clipping the outside of the post and going wide Villa fans thought this could be a sign of a come back.
However, Villa players looked like they had tired legs and were often picked off by some strong defending in mid field by Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton. The Londoners doubled their lead on 58 minutes when Sarr dispossessed Tielemans and surged forward to power a drive along the ground into the left hand corner of the net. Villa made changes and could have reduced the lead but for their own player, Torres, blocking a powerful shot that looked destined to score.
With the minutes ticking away and the Villa fans drifting out, Sarr raced clear of the Villa defence and made it 3 nil, game well and truly over.
Although Villa had over 70 per cent of possession, it was Palace who outplayed them again this season, their defensive tack ticks and fast breaks, capitalising on Villa mistakes.
Palace had a game plan to disrupt Villa’s flow, they made the referee and Villa wait at the start as they held a long huddle, they made very long celebrations for each goal, Eze strutted back to the half way line after his goal celebrations at a crawl, Place came out in dribs and drabs to start the second half with a pause to wait for their 11th player and Henderson , who had a great game in goal should have been penalised by the referee for his time wasting. But despite this, you could not take it away from Crystal Palalce, who very much deserved to win and make Villa look second best.
Hopefully, the long season has not proved too much for Aston Villa and they can win the remainder of their games.
Football Food
The food at our magnificent football stadium was less than magnificent.
I was told I couldn’t just have chips to review for my annual chip league unless I had it as a meal deal with a burger. However, the chips were priced separately. Why not sell them separately then. The burger in what I think was supposed to be a Brioche Bun was awful. It was limp tasteless, just warm and made a McDonalds basic burger seem like a gourmet meal.
The chips were the worst I have had all season and sit bottom of my chip league, a score of 40 was generous. They were cold, dry limp, with no taste, and unfortunately, I left most of them under my seat for someone to clear up, sorry. I won’t ever buy anything inside this stadium again.
N.B. The heading to this post has been used before in my blog. However, it doesn’t reflect the enjoyment fun and smiles that Aston Villa have given me.
With warmer weather promised, I ventured North to Featherstone on a clear night, 2 degrees, made colder by a northerly wind. My destination was Featherstone Rovers Rugby League ground to see Wakefield AFC play. Yes, last season, I saw them play t home at Wakefield Trinity’s ground. The agreement to play there has ended, and they are now a season into a 2 year agreement with Featherstone.
The Programme however brought good news that the club is involved in a project at Brook Farm in Walton just in the southeast of Wakefield. Perhaps I will in the future see these nomads in a permanent home.
Arriving at the ground, there was a large parking area which could certainly do with a little more lighting.
I have watched Wakefield’s rise and saw they were again challenging for promotion. With three games in hand, and 5 points behind, they were closing in on local rivals Horbury Town hoping to gain outright promotion rather than the play offs where they lost in the final last year.
Featherstone Rovers’ ground holds roughly 10000, 271 had braved the elements and were housed in a section of the main stand. The stadium has good covered seating on three sides with open seating on the other. The flat grass pitch looked in very good condition with the grass slightly longer than usual.
Football Histories
The current Wakefield was only formed in 2019 by a group of local businessmen, but a controlling interest was bought out in 2021 by VO2 Capital. They have climbed through the Sheffield and Hallamshire County League and are now pushing for promotion from the Northern Counties East League Division 1.
Ilkley Town was formed in the 1960s but disbanded in the early 90s. Reformed in 1994 as Ilkley AFC they played locally and renamed that Club back to Ilkley Town after previously joining the West Yorkshire League. They were elected in 2021 to the North West Counties League and transferred to the Northern Counties East League for this season.
Wakefield AFC 1 Ilkley Town 2
Tuesday 18th March 2025. 19.45 kick off. 2nd v 4th Falcons v Baht’atters
The Millennium Stadium, Post Office Road, Featherstone, WF7 5EN
Wakefield; White shirts with blue shorts, Goalkeeper Blue top with black shorts.
Ilkley; Pink shirts with purple shoulders, Goalkeeper all light orange.
Ilkley immediately went on the attack, being very successful down the right where Maxim Hague, with number 2 on his back, was quickly making it forward and releasing good crosses that were causing problems. Wakefield weathered the storm and their attacks were provided by long high balls and enormous long throws. The game was very competitive with a good level of skill. Ilkley looked the most promising with their mid-field duo getting the upper hand.
It was a quick run down the left on 21 minutes that provided a cross along the floor for Maxim Hague to pounce at the right post and place the ball high up into the net. Wakefield tried to respond. However, it was the away team who continued to look most likely to extend their lead. Both sides left the field at half time with Ilkley having been on top.
The second half continued in much the same way, and the evening was made worse for Wakefield when on 69 minutes, a misguided back pass was collected by Toby Marriot, who had just come on as a substitute. He had to move away from goal due to the advancing goalkeeper and, from a very difficult angle, squeezed the ball along the ground into the far corner of the net. Wakefield looked well defeated at this point but were back in the game with just over ten minutes left when Kelan Swales ran onto a speculative ball over the top of the Ilkley defence and he lobbed it over the advancing keeper.
Wakefield pushed forward to try and salvage something from the game but were thwarted by their own lack of chances and some deliberate time wasting by their opponents.
Wakefield still have a chance to win the league, although their progress was dented here, and Ilkley will be strong contenders in any play offs.
Football food
Unfortunately, there were no chips again, so a beef pie with gravy was a good substitute. Tasty, but could have been a little hotter.
A journey to the Wales, England border took me to the home of TNS (The New Saints).
I had watched them earlier in the season at Shrewsbury Town’s ground during their record-breaking exploits in European football. Now, at their home in curiously England, I was there to see them play Caernarfon in the JD Cymru Premier Championship Conference. TNS’s home is a modern facility on the outskirts of Oswestry.
“The Venue” is a complex, housing ten pin bowling. a gym, activity room, children’s play area, restaurant and bar, multi use conference and meeting rooms, and a floodlight all-weather artificial pitch available for hire throughout the week.
The floodlights can be seen from the approach road, and you arrive into a large, tarmacked car park. You walk through a glass doored entrance immediately into a large room with a food counter in one corner and a bar in the far corner. There is a large area to mingle and numerous seats and tables. One side is a glass wall with an entrance to the stadium.
You enter at the top of the large seated stand, which runs down one side and with the covered seated area behind one goal offer 1700 seats. There are no buildings on the other two sides, but there is planning permission to add a further 1300 seats.
Football Histories
The history of TNS goes back over 150 years when in 1860 Oswestry Town Fc were formed, but it was their merger with Llansantffraid that forged todays club. llansantffraid had been successful in climbing the Welsh Leagues to enter the Premier League and changed their name to Total Network Solutions in 1997 due to a worthwhile sponsorship deal. They first qualified for European football in 2000. The merger with Oswestry was completed in 2003, and the name of The New Saints was adopted in 2006 when the sponsors company was sold. They have stayed near or at the top of their league ever since. Although they have developed a very good ground with other sporting and leisure facilities it is not big enough for their European nights.
The first football team in Caernarfon was the Carnarvon Athletic Club, founded in 1876. The present Caernarfon Town Football Club dates from 61 years later in 1937. The club achieved success in Welsh leagues and Cup football and joined the Northern Premier league in 1981 where it stayed until they became members of the Welsh National League in 1995. Their highest place in the top tier of Welsh football has been 4th.
TNS 2 Caernarfon 0
Tuesday 11th March 19.45 kick off.
JD Cymru Premier Championship Conference.
1st v 5th. The “TNS” v The Canaries
TNS; White shirts with horizontal stripes on front and back, not joined with green shorts. Goalkeeper in all faded green. Caernarfon; Canary yellow tops green shorts, goalkeeper in all purple all purple’
The temperature had dropped to 3 degrees as the two teams walked out onto the pitch.
It soon became obvious that TNS were quick on the flanks but the balls delivered in were dealt with easily by the away defence and the fact that TNS didn’t appear to have a cutting edge to their forward play. TNS were also skillfully moving the ball about the field but matched by an equally skilful defence.
TNS’s attacking intent was thwarted on 28 minutes when Ben Hughes tipped the ball over his crossbar from a close range shot.
Caernarfon did cause some panic in the home defence when Caernarfon long throws, some of the longest I have ever seen, put them under pressure.
The game continued with this pattern until the board showed 2 minutes of added time a cross from the right was deflected in by Ryan Sears, a Caernarfon defender for an own goal. TNS should have had more through their domination of push and run speedy runs and crosses.
The second half produced much of the same, even with the introduction of substitutes.
The last 10 minutes saw Caernarfon push more for an equaliser. Unfortunately, they were punished when a through ball was collected by Sion Bradley 30 yards out, and he sprinted forward on his own and curled it along the ground under the Caernarfon keeper. The referee soon whistled for full time to give TNS what looked like a comfortable result, although it was far from that.
The win for TNS practically ensured their 17th Cymru Premiership and forced a disappointing 2 hour journey home along the North Wales coastal road.
So, TNS as league champions will be able to compete in Europe again next season. It is somewhat strange that this team will represent Wales when they play in England. Recently, the four Welsh teams who play in the English Football League have been unsuccessful in their request to play in the Welsh Cup, and if they were to be winners qualify for Europe.
Next season more will be up for grabs due to league positions, which will be important when an expanded Premier League is planned for the following season.
The Welsh FA are also talking to Merthyr Town FC to encourage them to switch from the Southern League in England.
The chips were hot, a good quantity, skin on, crispy with soft centre but had some strong seasoning on. The seasoning was in my mind not good and unnecessary, reducing their score to 55.
On a bright sunny afternoon, with the temperature registering 17 degrees, I made my way to one of the most picturesque grounds in the country, Keswick FC. The sky was bright blue with a few white, thin clouds across the sky. Just over 30 others had turned up to watch, often swelled momentarily by passing walkers in the park.
The pitch in Fritz Park has the backdrop of Lake District hills on all four sides. Down one side is the river Derwent that flooded the park and much of the town in 2015, like Cockermouth, their opponents this afternoon. Cockermouth is only 14 miles away, and the game could be called the A66 derby.
The park was devastated, and a new club house has been built that is set up from the pitch and gives a good view from the veranda. The club house and changing room have been built to a good spec, and the facilities are complimented by a large nearby car park that does unfortunately get full very quickly with local park users and tourists.
Keswick FC 1 Cockermouth 5
Saturday 8th March 14.00 pm kick off. Cumberland County League, Premier Division 5th v 1st, The Cumbrians v The Cockers
Keswick; Red shirts with black shorts, goalkeeper in all luminous yellow.
Cockermouth; Yellow shirts with a series of black stripes vertically down the front with grey shorts, goalkeeper in Grey top with black sleeves and grey shorts.
Keswick began the match with only 2 substitutes to Suckermouths 6 and with a first game, 16 year old goalkeeper, between the sticks.
The game started evenly with each side having early chances. Cockermouth playing from right to left took the lead on 12 minutes when a ball was whipped out to the left, and a curling cross from their unmarked player was passed on to Robert Cox, who just had the keeper to beat.
The home side held their own against the league leaders, but disaster struck on 35 minutes when a ball crossed from the right was fumbled by the goalkeeper at left hand postand it was squeezed in from a difficult angle 2 by Luke Graham.
Cockermouth’s 2 nil lead at half time was a bit flattering and after the short interval Keswick were right back in the game. Within 5 minutes, they had reduced the deficit when a free kick from the right was met by Alfie West who stooped to head over the keeper into the centre of the net. The game swung back in favour of the visitors when the referee gave a penalty, which caused consternation with the Keswick players who felt their man had won the ball fairly. The home sides number 7 received two yellows for what appeared to be arguing. The referee then checked with his linesman, and after a long discussion the penalty stood. The keeper dived to his right of Luke Grahams spot kick but the ball went into the left side of the net to restore the away teams two goal advantage.
Now playing with 10 men, things only became harder when on 65 minutes, a corner from the left by Kyren Bertram was knocked into the goal by the keeper. Despite 10 men, being 1.4 down and substitutes refreshing their opponents, Keswick kept battling. A Fifth was added for Cockermouth at the death when a crossed ball from Lewis White deceived the home goalkeeper sailing over his head and into right hand corner of net.
Cockermouth stayed top of the division, and although Keswick let in five, they were not disgraced. The young keeper should not be disheartened by his performance, he will have better days for sure.
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