Category: Uncategorized

Basford sneak into the next round.

On a beautiful Autumnal Saturday I travelled to Bugbrooke to watch two grandsons win at football, 11-4 (under 7’s) and 13-1 (under 9’s). It was a lovely blue sky day with a few cotton wool clouds drifting across the many pitches that surround the main stadium. The pitches were buzzing with different aged teams playing and training. To credit the club the main clubhouse was open for toilet facilities and and refreshments which some parents were using.

After the game I headed north up the M1 to Basford just north of Nottingham to see Basford United play Hanley Town in the F.A. Trophy. I had been to this ground before to watch their under 18’s play in the F.A. Youth Cup but never seen the senior team.

I arrived at a large carpark that had plenty of space, the ease to park was reflected by the poor attendance of only 132, despite Nottingham Forest playing away on the next day. The ground has an all weather pitch and two small covered seated stands, one at an end and one on the same side as the clubhouse. The other side has some covered standing area and it is open at the remaining end. The weather had not changed from the morning and the 16 degrees felt pleasant.

Basford started life in 1900 as The Old Pear Tree Inn playing in local Notts football Leagues until they resigned in the 2005/06 season only to restart the following year. They changed course in 2010 joining the East Midland Counties League and in 2012 were promoted to the Northern Counties East league which they rose through only to be transferred to the Midland League in 2014. They immediately won that being promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One South and in 2018 were promoted as champions to the Premier Division. 2022 saw them transferred to the Southern League Premier Central Division and a year later back to the Northern Leagues’ Premier Division. So after a long period of Notts football they have changed leagues continually due to promotions and league re-organisations making great upward progress.

There was an original Hanley Town FC formed in 1882 but it lasted only until 1912. The current Hanley Town FC came into existence in the Mid Sixties as a Sunday League team and soon decided to try their luck playing Saturdays. They progressed in local leagues being promoted to the Staffordshire County League and by 1976 joined the Mid Cheshire league but by 1994 after some poor seasons they went down to Junior football. They were soon back and promotions and league mergers meant they were asked to join the North West Counties League Division One, a goal that they had coveted for some time. They won that Division in 2016 and after their good performances in the reduced covid seasons, in then the Midland league, they were placed in the re-organised Northern Premier League Division One West where they play today. Quite a journey in a short time.

Basford United 2 Hanley Town 2

Basford 4 Hanley 1 Penalties.

FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round, Saturday 5th October 2024, 15.00 pm kick off.

Mill Street Playing Field, Greenwich Avenue, Basford, Nottingham, NG6 0LD

9th in the Northern Premier League (Premier Division) v 20th in Northern Premier League (West Division).

Basford; Yellow and black vertical striped shirts with yellow shorts that have a black wavy bottom edge on their back: Hanley; all royal blue strip.

You would not have thought that Hanley were a league below Basford and in the relegation zone as the game unfolded. They took an early lead within 4 minute when a pin point cross from the right was headed into the centre of the goal by Tom Pope.

The home side responded with some fast forward running and were rewarded on 13 minutes when a concerted attack meant the ball dropped to Rev James who hit the ball with his outstep into the right hand corner of the net. Just 6 minutes later and another through ball was foiled by the Hanley keeper’s legs only to rebound to Basford who after some inter-passing, scored, when Tyrell Waite tapped in a Joe Uveges cut back.

Basford continued their forward advances but Hanley were never out of the game and drew level on 36 minutes when Pope netted from the penalty spot after being brough down when in on goal. No more goals were added before half time and as they left the field I thought Hanley had the better of the 45 minutes with more dangerous attacking.

A wind seemed to get up across the pitch to start the second half but despite this and Basford’s domination of play neither side was able to break the deadlock. So it went to the dreaded penalties and after good saves by Basford’s keeper and pinpoint accuracy from their penalty takers they went through 4.1.

Basford were through to the next round but Hanley must have been cheered by their performance which should bode well for a rise up their league.

Basford have a separate food cabin in one corner of the ground and the one girl coped well with the queue and the cooking of fresh food. Although I had more than chips I tried some on their own first which were freshly cooked, hot, crispy but had a background greasy taste. Overall a score of 62.

Tigers get their claws out late into the Linetts.

With a fascinating cup tie on my doorstep, at the highest placed non-league team nearest to me, it was a quick hop to Worksop. Worksop Town were playing King’s Lynn in the F.A. Cup, who play in one League above them.

The sun was shining as white clouds scuttled across the sky. A cool breeze kept the temperature down to 13 degrees, so I made my way to the covered seated stand that runs down one side of the ground.

Worksop are having a good season, second in the Northern Premier League just behind the seasons favourites, Macclesfield. King’s Lynn are lying 9th, in The National League North, a much better showing than last season. The last time these two teams met was in 2013 when Worksop won 1.3.

I have written previously about the history of both of these clubs and extensively about Worksop Town’s stadium, which has been developed to a high standard for their level of football over the past few years.

Worksop Town 1 King’s Lynn 1

Saturday 28th September 2024.  15.00 kick off

F.A. Cup.   Qualifying Round

Worksop Town; All grey strip with one black half to the front of the shirt.   King”s Lynn; line green/yellow shirts with black shorts.

Tigers V Linnets

The cup tie started at a furious pace with both sides looking to take an early advantage. Worksop managed to take control with more and more attacks which unfortunately for them led to nothing. They were helped by King’s Lynn getting used to the artificial pitch and the substitution of one of their back line, Kyle Callan-

Mc Fadden, after only 10 minutes with what looked like a nasty knee injury.

Having weathered the first 20 minute onslaught, the away team started to gain in stature and took the lead with 27 minutes gone.

Having worked the ball across the field from the left, Finlay Barnes put a measured ball into the path of Josh Hamani who whipped it across the goal, along the ground, into the left hand corner of the net.    Having taken the lead, King’s Lynn dominated for the next 10 minutes.  Worksop regained the initiative before half-time, but their pressure created no chances. Despite Worksop’s good showing, the away team deserved the half-time lead.

Moving out of the covered stand in the second half meant I immediately felt the cold from the increasing wind and darkening skies. Worksop continued their endeavours, though it was King’s Lynn who should have added to their score.

Three times, they were through one on one with the Worksop goal keeper, Tommy Taylor, twice standing his ground to save and once leaping, cat like, to his right, to push the ball away for a corner.

The game should have been out of site for the visitors with 10 minutes left but they let Worksop come on to them in the final minutes. With 7 minutes of added time signalled, it was all one-way and with virtually the last kick of the game Worksop were awarded a freekick on the edge of the goal keepers area. The ball went straight into the wall of players and it was the cool head of Luke Hall who latched onto it with a side volley which glanced off the top left corner of the cross bar into the net to force a replay on the 1st October.

Worksop were pleased that their tenacity paid off but King’s Lynn will have rued their chances.

The crowd of 759 was to me disappointing, yet it was jubilant at the end drawing at such a late stage. King’s Lynn complained after that some of their fans had been abused by home fans and players and questioned why their was no fan segregation. They have restricted travelling Worksop fans to ticket only for the replay. I nipped out quickly at the end so saw none of the problem.

The chips were very hot, some crispy but some were limp. There was little taste but it was not greasy and left no after taste. It was a very good portion for £3. Not as good as my last visit for a score of 60.

Champagne Football

Champagne Football; written by Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan.  Published by Penguin Random House UK 2020.

At a coffee morning I looked through the book stall but couldn’t find anything. I was asked what I was looking for and answered a book on football. A little while later when munching a sausage sandwich the lady running the stall brought me ‘Champagne Football’. I was not sure about the book but smiled and said thank you.Little did I know that I would become engrossed in the inner workings of the Football Association of Ireland and its charismatic John Delaney.

Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan present a brilliant investigation into John Delaney’s 15 year unchallenged control of the Association. Whether those around him had a strong loyalty to him, a naievity, a lack of compliance knowledge, or felt unable to confront is a mystery. It shows from the book that there were many instances when the FAI paid for high salaries and personal excess.

There are those who would say John Delaney did a good job as his largesse benefitted some clubs in Ireland. But what was clear was that the FAI at the end of his tenure had gone backwards in FIFA rankings and had a financial mess to clear up and a group of ex players and officials alienated from the cause.

The writing style presents a good read and slowly unfolds as things unravel and reach an end.

A book I wasn’t sure about reading turned out to be riveting.

NON-LEAGUE Club Directory 2024/25

My copy of the Non- League Club Directory has arrived, which will give me hours of looking at clubs I’ve visited and, more importantly, ones to visit in the future.

This was to be the last one edited by father and son combination Mike and Tony Williams, hence the picture of the first one on the cover. At number 47, this has been a tremendous achievement and help for the Non-League game.

I have a copy of all 47, some originally collected by my father. The good news, though, is that James Wright, who has stepped down after 24 years of collating the results and tables section of the Non-League Paper has agreed to take on the responsibility to edit the Directory. This he did before  and with Mike William’s acting as publisher, they can make it to 50.

Beyond 50, who knows, a digital version may beckon, or a much needed comprehensive real-time  results and tables site.

Good luck.

The Season Realy Starts Here.

Although many will wait a few more weeks for the Premiership to start to pronounce the season open, the real start is with the Extra Qualifying round of the F.A. Cup.

So I made my way to Bradford to watch Albion Sports play Trafford F.C. The M1 and M62 were quiet for a Friday night, but this is the holiday season. The Horsfall Community Stadium is 4 km southwest of Bradford City Centre and a venue I have visited before to see Bradford Park Avenue play. This year aswell well as sharing the ground with West Bowling Amateur Rugby League club, Albion Sports will also be playing their home games there. The Stadium was opened in 1931 as a running track and in 1996 the whole complex was upgraded to a synthetic running track and the centre was prepared for Bradford Park Avenue to play football.

Today it has a large 1800 seat stand on one side, what looks like a cricket pavilion on the other, a small covered terrace behind one goal and a group of buildings in the entrance corner that serves as a club house, meeting rooms a shop and administration. The downside to the ground, with its 3G pitch is that you are along way from the action. Bradford Park Avenue still have 31 years left of the lease on the ground which they have passed on to the Community.

Albion Sports have for some time been looking for land to build a permanent home and with little success so far have opted to be at the Community Stadium.

This is the 50th anniversary year for Albion Sports who started off playing Sunday League football. Steady progress led them to be winners of The Asian Cup and Bradford Senior Cup and League in 2000. That same season and 2005 they went all the way to the final of The FA Sunday Cup but were runners up on both occasions. In 2007 Albion moved to playing on Saturdays where they were successful in local leagues and were elected to the Northern Counties East League in 2011 which they won 3 years later and gained promotion to the Premier Division where they play today. An impressive rise in their short History.

Trafford FC’s history is even shorter, being only 34 years since their formation. They soon rose through the Mid Cheshire League to gain entry to the North West Counties League in Division 2 and two years later were promoted to the next level. Further success saw them rise to the Northern Premier league in 1998 where they stayed for 5 seasons before being relegated back to The North West Counties League. A few seasons later they won promotion back as champions to the Champions Northern Premier League where they rose up into the Premier Division in 2013. Only 2 seasons later they were back in Division one after a poor season saw them relegated.

They are still playing in the Northern Premier league which has seen reorganisations that see them in Division One West. Certainly an exciting roller coaster 34 year run.

So with the game due to start and Trafford favourites to progress being from one level higher I settled down to watch the game on a dry but breezy evening that seemed cooler than the 23.5 degrees the car said when parking the car in the large car park. I was then lucky to meet Ian, a professional grounds man from the North West of England who with his friend who kept me entertained with their whit and knowledge of the Non-League game all match. Thank you.

Albion Sports FC 1 Trafford FC 2

Friday 2nd August 2024, F.A .Cup Extra Preliminary Round, Kick off 20.00 pm.

Horsfall Community Stadium, Cemetery Road, Low Moor, Bradford, BD6 2NG

Albion Sports; Yellow Shirts, Blue Shorts: Trafford; White Shirts Black shorts.

Both teams started competitively and there was an early booking for an Albion player. Soon after the floodlights were turned on as it became overcast and with 15 minutes gone a short outburst of drizzle greeted us. Trafford had the most chances of the game and finally went ahead on 41 minutes Matty Lusakueno took a through ball to the left of the goal and coolly drew the keeper and slid it underneath him into the net. Just two minutes later the away team made it two when the home defence were dispossessed and Matty Morgan received a through ball which he dispatched into the corner of the net. Albion were now on the ropes and were lucky not to go further behind before the break as they seemed to be reeling.

What happened in the Albion dressing room at the interval? Three substitutes and a positive attitude saw them create more and more chances as they pushed forward. They hit the underside of the cross bar , the ball bouncing down but not into the net, a shot just dipped over the bar and Sam Booth made 6 outstanding saves all keeping Albion from scoring. On 88 minutes Albion were rewarded for their pressure when a ball hit the arm of a Trafford defender and the referee pointed to the spot. The penalty was converted by Sunaili Cisse and it was game on until the finish. Despite there having been little stoppage time during the half the referee played on for numerous minutes as Albion battled forward and looked like creating an upset. It was not to be and Trafford had to thank their goalkeeper, man of the match Sam Booth, for their passage into the next round.

Albion though must take heart for the season ahead after their part in an intriguing game.

Finally, the chips, which at this venue under Bradford Park Avenue had won my chip league one season. These were served in a different location to before, were hot, good texture to the centre but had little taste apart from a greasy after taste that lingered the whole game. A score of only 55 to start the 2024/25 season.

You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa Part 3.

As soon as the final whistle had blown at Loughborough I was in the car to drive across to Villa Park for an 8.00 pm kick off.

A very relaxed 10 minute walk from the car park we use to the ground amongst happy Villa fans. They should have been happy, they were guaranteed a minimum 5th place finish and were the only English side in a European Semi-Final.

Many of the fans gathered underneath the part of the Holte End that struts out over the road to welcome the Villa team bus. The acoustics amplified the songs and enhanced the flares as the coach passed and emptied the hero’s into the ground.

The packed ground was rocking to Villa songs and chants as a cold wind whipped through the opening to where we were standing high up in the Holte End. It’s a great atmosphere at Villa for any game but the glare of the lights seem to turn it up a notch.

Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 2

English Premier League, Saturday 27th April 2024, 20.00 pm kick off.

Villa v The Blues, 4th V 9th. Villa; Claret shirts with light blue sleeves and white shorts. Chelsea; All royal Blue kit.

Villa were off to a great start when they took the lead after just 4 minutes when a John McGinn’s miss hit shot deflected off Marc Cucurella into the net. The crowd went mad but became more subdued as they realised that their team was under par for this game. Chelsea’s Nicholas Jackson had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside and he hit the foot of the post with a well placed header.

With the home side riding their luck they went two ahead just on half time when the ever improving Morgan Rogers took the ball to the left of the goal and slotted a class goal between a defenders legs and the keepers outstretched right hand.

It all looked fine but when the ‘World’s number one goal keeper’ doesn’t come out in the second half because of an injury you feel a bit tense. Chelsea put further pressure on Aston Villa from the start of the second half and when the Villa midfield gave away a simple ball Noni Madueke made no mistake putting the ball in the corner of the net. It was all Chelsea and the Villa fans tried to calm their nerves with a repertoire of old songs not used for some time, but Chelsea kept on the pressure.

With 80 minutes gone Connor Gallagher engineered himself some space on the edge of the keepers area and curled the ball into the top corner. The Chelsea fans were now delirious and both sides created chances as the game opened up some more. Ollie Watkins blasted a cut back over the bar almost into the top tier and during added time Disasi headed home for Chelsea. The Villa fans were distraught but also angry that a push in the back of Diego Carlos in the build up had been ignored. Cue the inevitable VAR and the goal was disallowed for the push which drew protests from the ay team. Once play had continued Villa nearly stole it in the final moment when from a corner Carlos headed the ball onto the roof of the net.

At the final whistle the Chelsea team surrounded the referee but the pushing and shoving that ensued was soon broken up. Villa were lucky to gain the one point on a night when they looked second best. Perhaps their astonishing efforts this season are catching up with them, they need to hang on in there and recover their style for the few remaining games and perhaps an amazing end to the season.

There were chips! which were hot, golden, crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle but had a slight seasoning on them which reduced their score to 60.

What a great day, having been lucky enough to see 11 goals and two very intriguing games, I drove home with a smile.

If you would have read the previous blogs regarding Aston Villa you will remember that I haven’t seen them win for some time hence the caption. This time I didn’t wear my vintage beanie hat or any other Villa item and they managed a draw, perhaps I will see a win next time.

Loughborough Students make amends for last season.

If your looking to create a fuel economy record then driving on the M1 between junction 36 and 24 is the place to be. Most of this journey is restricted to 50 mph for the creation of necessary safety measures and other repairs and on the rest watch out for pot holes.

Journeying on a large section of this I made my way to Loughborough University to see Loughborough Students play Skegness in the playoff final of the United Counties Premier North Division.

This is, as I have said before, one of my favourite venues. You drive into the immaculate campus through the security gates and head to The Loughborough University Stadium. Pre-booked parking on the very leafy car park  at £1 was easy and it was a short walk to the ground. Unfortunately the grey skies were emitting a light drizzle so when the lady on the gate gave me a blue band to upgrade to the covered stand for nothing I was even happier.

This new facility has three sides of hard uncovered standing and a majestic seated stand on one side that houses the changing rooms underneath, with a glass fronted high spec hospitality area and bar above the seating. No chips here so a coffee and KitKat were enough.

The grass pitch is immaculate despite our recent weather but a cold wind kept the temperature down to 7 degrees, crazy with May just around the corner. There was no printed programme but one accessed by a QR code in the ground, for such an important match I thought a printed version should have been on offer.

There are records of a team called Loughborough Technical Institute as far back as 1919 and a year later they became a College of Technology and a University in 1966. They have won University Trophy’s on many occasions in their history. In recent years they have re-entered the non-league football world in the Midlands. Initially in the Midland Combination in 2007 and then the Midland Alliance and as founder members of the Midland Football League in 2014. With recent seasons being curtailed and with the team being highly placed the restructure of the leagues has seen them placed in the United Counties Premier Division North. At the start of this new era they changed their name from Loughborough University to Loughborough Students a name they now use across all of their team sports for both Men and Women.

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 re-organisation.

Loughborough Students FC 7 Skegness Town AFC 0

United Counties League North Play Off finals, Saturday 27th April 2024, 15.00 pm kick off

Loughborough Students; All Purple Kit Skegness; White Shirts, Red Shorts.

I had watched Skegness at Collingham (Against Newark and Sherwood) and at Quorn (Against Ashby Ivanhoe) this season and on both occasions they impressed, looking strong and quick so I expected a fierce contest.

Within 8 minutes and the wind getting stronger the Skegness centre back took out the Student’s player on the right wing but the referee played advantage and the ball was crossed in from the right for Edwards to hit the back of the net in the centre of the goal. A great start for the home team but they didn’t slack off and continued to play some clean, skilful and fast football that lead to a second goal 4 minutes later when Edwards was this time the provider as his pass found Spiteri who from distance hit the ball hard along the ground gaining a deflection on its way to the left hand corner of the goal.

With no time to get your breath Loughborough added a third and fourth after 14 and 15 minutes. First O’Toole, clipped it into the left hand of the goal after great inter-passing and then Watts made a quick pass out of defence for the ball to be passed to Wicks who chipped it into the net.

Skegness were stunned but managed their first shot on goal after 22 minutes and started to gain some traction in the game. Considering the onslaught they had experienced heads did not drop and they tried to play football. Their efforts were to be further deflated when on 45 + 1 minutes Bangura, who had shown some skilful play but also has given the ball away showed his true class when from outside of the box and to the right he let go of a rocket to the Skegness keepers left hand to make it 5 nil.

How do you come back from a five goal deficit when the opposition are showing great movement on and off the ball, brilliant cross field passes, never kick and rush but measured football and general speed and skill, the answer is you don’t but Skegness did not give up, it just wasn’t their day.

The students made it six when Wicks cut a ball back along the ground where Morales amongst the melee tapped it in.

With the 646 fans readying to leave on 90+2 minutes Loughborough made it 7 when the recent substitute, Thew, chipped the goalkeeper from 35 yards, wow, what a game.

I was so pleased that Loughborough Students won because last season I felt they were robbed of promotion partly due to the indecision of the FA in deciding that they could be promoted. That battle was finally won, which I believe leads to a greater diversity within the game at this level and hopefully this will encourage other University sides to follow suit. It also means that this is another route for players to get into higher level football instead of what can be a treadmill of some Academies. You also gain a qualification that can be used in the future.

Good luck to Skegness next year, I hope that if they are in a play off final next year I will be there cheering them on.

And on to The Villa.

Stamford despatch Hitchin in the Daniels Den.

A trip to see another under 8’s game featuring my grandson meant I stopped off the A1 at Stamford on my way home to see them play Hitchin. Stamford is a historic market town and maintains many of its beautiful old limestone buildings. It is one of the few towns in Britain where the centre still has a vibrant centre.

Stamford AFC moved to their current ground, Borderville Sports Centre in 2014 just North of the Town and just in Lincolnshire on the border with Rutland. As you finish passing the retail park and housing you hit the countryside and the football ground. At the front of the Sports Centre is a very large car park and you walk past the main Centre building to the football ground. It is a very modern ground linked to the sports centre, with a covered 250 seated stand in the middle of one side and a tiered covered standing area behind one of the goals, the rest of the perimeter area is flat hard standing. The flat pitch was grass that had fared well in our very wet winter considering this was the last home game of the season. Behind one of the goals is a 3G artificial pitch that is used for training, junior teams, hiring out and there are also some more grass pitches.

Although there were some blue patches in the sky there were also grey and white clouds that along with a breeze meant that is felt colder than it looked at 10 degrees.

Football has been played in Stamford since 1870 but the current team seems to have gained full recognition in 1894 when it merged with Rutland Ironworks taking their name but using the name Stamford Town from 1896. They played locally on and off until in 1909 when they joined the Northamptonshire League that in 1933 became the United Counties League. They played most of their football in the UCL apart from a few short moves away until 1998 when they joined the Southern League and due to League reorganisation made it to the Premier Division in 2003 but were relegated the next year and promoted the year after that. Since then they have been moved between the Southern and Northern Premier Leagues depending on the geographic make up of those leagues and various ups and downs, the last of which was last year when they were promoted as champions of the Northern Premier League Midland Division 1 and moved to the Southern League. Stamford have a proud history in the FA Vase, before moving to their higher pyramid status. They won the cup in 1980 and were runners up in 1975 and 1984.

Hitchin were started in 1865 and were initially very successful eventually turning professional. By 1911 however they ceased playing due to a fire and financial problems. Hitchin town were restarted in 1928 joining the Spartan League, they progressed to the Athenian League in 1939 and on to the Isthmian League in 1963. They competed in different divisions of the Isthmian League for 41 years until in 2004 when they joined the Southern League where they are today. They have progressed well in both the old Amateur Cup and the FA Cup despite various off field problems. This North Hertfordshire club has been a stalwart of this level of football for nearly 100 years.

Stamford AFC 2 Hitchin Town 0

Saturday 20th April 2024 15.00 pm kick off. 7th v 18th Southern League Premier Central Division

Stamford AFC, Ryhall Road. Stamford PE9 1US.

The Daniels v The Canaries ( The Daniels after Daniel Lambert, England’s heaviest man at the time, who is buried in Stamford.)

Stamford, all red kit; Hitchin, all purple.

The first 15 minutes produced no clear chances yet Hitchin looked more interested and direct. Stamford then came more into the game and started to create some chances. With just 4 minutes to go until half time a ball was chipped in to the penalty area on the left hand corner where a defender was adjudged to have fouled the attacker and the referee gave a soft penalty. Will Glennon sent the goalkeeper the wrong way as he planted the penalty into the left hand corner of the net. The rest of the half was enhanced by a pair of red kites acrobatically soaring above one corner of the ground.

By the second half the chilling wind had increased and was blowing down the ground towards the covered terrace where I had moved to. After growing pressure on 65 minutes Stamford attacked down their right and Duffy battled for the ball, ran forward to the by-line and crossed for Harry Vince to run on to and place the ball into the right hand corner of the net.

Although Hitchin never gave up they did not look like scoring and Stamford saw out a competent performance that puts them in with a play off chance and drops Hitchin into a relegation spot with just one game left of the season.

The crowd of 611 was Stamford’s second highest of the season and the majority would have been happy with the result. The whole set up at Stamford is first class but as yet lacks the atmosphere that was associated with their old ground built up over many seasons and dramatic cup runs. Only time will deliver this.

The chips were a disappointing, warm to cold, limp, chewy, tasteless and although a good quantity were expensive for £3. I only ate 30% of them and the rest went in the bin, hence a score of only 40. The Daniels Larder kiosk was well staffed and quick and the bar facilities were excellent.

Yorkshire Main beat Harworth Colliery in miners duel.

Having spent a few weeks in higher echelons, Northampton Town’s Ground (FA Sunday Cup semi final), Chesterfield, Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday I returned to lower league football. Just off the A1 to the West of Doncaster is Edlington where my destination, Yorkshire Main are based. I drove into the large car park to see the Central Midlands Alliance League Division North game between Yorkshire Main and Harwoth Colliery Institute.

To get to the ground you need to walk past Yorkshire Main Sports and Social Club and some grass football pitches to find the ground in the left hand corner of the park.

The ground is picturesque in that it is bounded by hedges and trees. It has a grass pitch that is undulating and has a good grass cover considering the winter water, but the spring daisies and dandelions are pointing through. There were some white concrete posts topped with red paint linked with rope that outlined the pitch.

The grey sky was giving way to lighter skies as a breeze blew from end to end. Surprisingly the temperature of 12 degrees  felt warmer.
There was a small covered stand with wooden seating, floodlights and a  pile of blocks presumably for future development.

Yorkshire Main, trace their origins to 1925 as a team called Edlington Rangers. The club was reformed as Yorkshire Main in 1960 and after time in local Doncaster leagues and The Sheffield and Hallamshire County League they joined the North East Counties League in 1983. In 1991 they were back in the Sheffield and Hallamshire County League where they played for seven seasons before joining the Central Midlands League. The club dropped down to local Doncaster football again in 2013 but with a renewed push both on and off the field they were elected to the Central Midlands League again in 2022.

Harworth were started in 1931, playing in local leagues and then the Yorkshire League. After a few years in the Sheffield and Hallamshire County League they joined the North East Counties League in 1982 at its inception where they stayed for four years. The Central Midlands League then became their new home where they are today.

Yorkshire Main 6 Harworth Colliery 0

Saturday 13th April 2024, Central Midlands Alliance Division North.

Edlington Lane, New Edlington, Doncaster DN12 1DA

5th v 9th Kick Off 15.00 pm

Yorkshire Main all red shirts and shorts;  Haworth navy blue shirts and shorts with yellow panel on front.


Yorkshire kicked off with the wind behind them and within 2 minutes Bradley McFadden won a 50/50 ball on the left of the goal area, turned and hit the ball low to the left hand of a despairing goalkeeper to take the lead.

The football was direct but skilful and there was little between either side. but with 34 minutes gone the home sides Daniel Boulton took the ball to the right of the penalty area and riffled it across the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.

With minutes to go before half time Main hit the crossbar with a header and Harworth had a disputed goal ruled out for offside. The half ended with Yorkshire Main leading 2 nil but all still seemed to play for.

No sooner than the second half had started when the home sides Tristian Taylor floated a great corner for George Cooper Smith to nod home.

It now looked all over for Harworth as although they kept pressing there was little end result.

Number 4 was added on 77 minutes when a brilliant through ball by Bradley McFadden gave Marvin Hockmann the chance to run through, beating the offside, and tap the ball into the goal.

Two minutes later the impressive Daniel Boulton received the ball 35 yards out and despite the bumpy pitch ran on past defenders to eventually flick the ball past the goalkeeper.

The rout continued and with 5 minutes remaining a missed cross by the away defence was latched onto by Jamie Whitehouse who swung his his leg, connected with the ball and it was 6.0.

Although it was 6 nil it was a fascinating game which I’m sure the crowd of 78 enjoyed. That is apart from a group of Harworth supporters.

The tea bar was welcoming with chairs, a television to watch the Grand National and pictures of old campaigns on the wall.

The chips were only £1.50, a good quantity. warm to hot, soft and a bit limp, tasty but not greasy gaining a score of 58.