It’s always a pleasure to go to Causeway Lane in Matlock and when I saw that there was an intriguing F.A. Cup replay, I was there.

Matlock Town who had started the season poorly being 22nd and bottom of the Northern Premier League, Premier Division, with 2 points, and Manager less, having recently parted company with Nicky Laws, were playing Spalding United who were 21st, with 3 points, in the Southern League Premier Division Central, after both teams played out a goal less draw on Saturday. Both teams have an interesting F.A. Cup pedigree with Spalding having beaten Boston United 14.0 in 1964 and Matlock getting to the Third Round in the 1976/77 season, but those days are long ago for both teams.

Matlock’s ground is one of the most iconic in the country, next to where the town centre shops end and overlooked by the green and wooded Derbyshire hills. You can see the 19th century Riber Castle on the hill top behind one goal, which is now exclusive dwellings, and behind the other goal are some just finished flats, apartments, some of which have tremendous views of each game. Behind one side is Hall Leys Park and the river Derwent, backed by stunning green hills.

The pitch was lush green of well manicured grass. Down one side of the ground is a large seated covered stand, the other side has lower height seating and standing. Behind the apartment end goal is a covered standing area and behind the other goal an open cricket pitch. This felt like a real autumn evening with the floodlights on at the start to beat the setting sun, with dark clouds forming in what had been blue skies. With there being no wind the 15 degrees felt warm, but a jacket was needed.

There was no program, due to the short time available since the first match, but a team sheet was available in the club shop for 20p, although the lady was encouraging people to pay more to help club funds, well done. One point to note were the toilets which were the best I have been in anywhere for ages. Bright lights, spotlessly clean and with faux marble floors and walls.

I have written about the history of these two teams previously so down to the match.

Matlock Town 0 Spalding United 0

Matlock Town 0 Spalding United 1 After Extra Time

F.A. Cup 1st Qualifying Round Replay. Tuesday 3rd September 19.45 pm kick off

Gladiators v Tulips.

Matlock; Royal Blue shirts, white shorts; Spalding , all red strip with black band on chest for sponsors name:

From the start there was no tippy tappy football but full blooded go for it down the wings with crosses into the centre. The home team looked the most promising from the start but Spalding came into it after that and had the best chances although a Matlock player headed just over on 24 minutes. Two minutes later the referee waved away a Matlock shout for a penalty.

Continual long recovery times by ‘fouled’ Spalding players led to all players wandering off the pitch on 34 minutes for a break.

With half time approaching Spalding’s goalkeeper, Josh Ezewele, made two fine saves to deny a goal and leave it at 0.0.

The second half became more frantic and both goalkeepers earned men of the match nominations with point blank saves. Spalding looked to be hanging on at the end of the game and with no one scoring the teams lined up for extra time.

Spalding’s changes made a difference and created spaces that hadn’t been there in the tight preceding 90 minutes. With 5 minutes gone Tyler Winters ran through on his own and Rogan Ravenhill diving at his feet could only upend him to concede a penalty. Tyler Winters stepped forward and hit the penalty to the left but Rogan Ravenhill, my man of the match, saved the shot but his parry was knocked into the net by Tyler Winter who was following up, for Spalding to take the lead after over 185 minutes of play between the two sides.

At ten o’clock the bells of a local churched tolled, it looked like they they were for Matlock when a few minutes later Tyler Winter hit a long shot which curled past the defence but hit the post and rebounded out.

In the second half of extra time Matlock pressed hard but didn’t create a clear chance. Spalding saw out the game and the 423 fans certainly had their moneys worth but the wrong result for the majority. Spalding were the happier as the game ended but on the nights performance Matlock have the basis to put up a fight to get off the bottom of the league and have players that a newly appointed manager can work with.

The chips were hot and tasty, golden, large, tasty, a big portion and were not oily. A good score of 70.

I drove to South Nottingham  along Remembance Way past the now closed Ratcliffe-On-Soar Power Station. The power station, a coal fired one, was the last to be used in England as a back up should other power sources not be available. It was also known as a cloud machine and is still an iconic feature in the landscape. When the eight chimneys are demolished, it will be a must watch experience.

What I was really there for was to visit Clifton all Whites F.C. and watch them play Deeping Rangers in the first qualifying round of the  F.A. Vase.

Clifton is an area directly South of Nottingham and the ground is on the edge off this large housing area.

Clifton All Whites started as Thistledown Rovers in 1963 and dominated local youth football.

The teams success in football and in developing talent to go on to play in the football leagues prompted Senior clubs to try to get them to affiliate to them. The club stuck to their independence and in 1973 joined the Midland League where they stayed for only 5 years

It wasn’t until the 1990’s that they rejoined Senior football in the local Nottingham League and in 2010 gained entry to the Central Midlands League Southern Division where success in 2015 didn’t lead to promotion because of ground grading issues. After strenuous efforts to improve the ground Clifton won promotion to the East Midlands Counties League from the Notts Alliance and were allocated to the United Counties in 2021.

They maintain a strong Junior presence and this year celebrate 25 years since starting a women’s team.

Deeping Rangers started life two years after Clifton All Whites and like them played Sunday football. Two years later they switched to Saturday’s in the local Peterborough Leagues. Winning the Premier Division they were promoted in 1999 to the United Counties League being further elevated to the UCL Premier Division in 2001. Although winning the League once in the intervening years they were not able to take up promotion though they are ready now.

The large car park greets you as you turn into the ground and one of their junior sides were training on an adjacent pitch. The 16 degrees and dark threatening skies meant a rain jacket was needed and I felt the chill as I walked to a brick built clubhouse outside the ground. The clubhouse was first class and was busy for food drink, programs and toilet facilities.

The pitch looked very flat but the recent dry spell and a short cut meant it looked yellow. There was a covered seated stand on one side with the rest open with a concrete path all round.

Clifton All Whites 1 Deeping Rangers 1

Deeping Rangers go through on penalties

F.A. Vase First Qualifying Round; Saturday 24th August 2024; kick Off 15.00 pm

Clifton All Whites, United Counties League 1 (10th in league) Deeping Rangers, United Counties Premier North (19th in league). All Whites v Rangers.

Clifton All Whites: All white strip; Deeping Rangers: Claret Shirts with light blue shoulders and light blue shorts.

The game immediately had a competitive edge and in the first 25 minutes Clifton had more endeavour but Deeping looked stronger. Deeping came more and more into the game and with a little over 5 minutes left before half time the ball was chested down to Paulius Falcao who didn’t hesitate to slam it in the back of the net.

Deeping’s lead looked to have been doubled after 10 minutes from the re-start when a long throw was taken down and hooked in. Celebrations were short lived as no one had seen the linesman’s flag for offside.

Clifton seemed to find some renewed energy and three chances went over the cross bar before they scored on 80 minutes when they hit the post with a shot that rebounded onto the Deeping defender, Luke Hunnings, and into the net.

The game became more intense and with the end of the game nearing the Deeping Manager, Johnny Alflatt was sent off for something he said following a penalty shout. Throughout the game there had been a lot of swearing which the referee should have cautioned someone earlier on to cut it out. It was now anyone’s to win with the home side showing the more endeavour, but the game ended 1.1 and the dreaded penalty shoot out.

With Deeping’s keeper making two saves to his right and Clifton only scoring once the away side went through 1.4.

Good luck to Deeping in the next round. Disapointing that the attendance was only 36.

The chips were great, cooked individually, hot, golden, crispy outside, good texture inside, tasty and no greasy after taste A score of 67.

A well designed and presentable program with good facts on the game and season so far.

Needing a local match I drove to Dronfield to see Sheffield F.C. play Clitheroe in an F.A.Cup replay after the two teams drew 2.2 on Saturday.

I have written before about Sheffield playing in Derbyshire and their history so no need to say it again.

The car park has been reduced since my last visit and the ground feels tired compared with other local teams like, Handsworth, Staveley, and Worksop. So although a win was needed the bigger battle is about to be played at a Sheffield planning meeting when the club will hear whether their plans for their new stadium at Meadowhead will be approved. There are at least 130 objections mainly around the traffic generated, especially around the nearby roundabout. The roundabout is manic at times being part of the southern ring road, meeting the Dronfield by pass from Chesterfield and serving a large area of chimney pots. It has been made worse by the opening of the very popular St James retail park. The retail park causes queues to get in and does not have enough parking spaces considering its popularity.  A rethink of this problem is needed. Good luck to Sheffield F.C.

1877 saw the first Clitheroe football team and after many changes Clitheroe FC made their entrance in the Lancashire Combination in 1925. It wasn’t until 1982 that they progressed to the newly formed North West Counties League and successive seasons saw them rise to the top division. A decade later they had a purple patch reaching the FA Vase final in 1996 only to lose to Brigg Town. Moving forward they won promotion in 2004 to the Unibond league, the Northern Premier League, where they are today.

It was a breezy evening, a much colder feel than the 20 degrees registered on the car. Although the sky was blue there were some fast moving menacing clouds scuttling across. The dark clouds meant the floodlights were switched on from the start.

I sat  in the only covered seated stand behind one goal to shelter from the wind and the torrential rain after 20 minutes of the game, which lasted for about 10 minutes. Others were under a covered standing area that runs down half of one side. The rest of the ground is open but sheltered by large trees at one end. A crowd of 243 was disappointing considering local rivals Hallam had 700 on Sunday for an FA Cup match but hopefully if their move back into Sheffield succeeds they have a chance to build a local community fan base to rival their world wide one in the same way Hallam have.

There was no program but a team sheet for the game was available.

Sheffield FC 3 Clitheroe 2

Emirates Preliminary Round Replay 19th August 2024.   19.45 kick off.

The Home of Football Stadium,  Sheffield Rd, Dronfield, Derbyshire, S18 2G

Northern Premier Division 1 East v Northern Premier Division 1 West
Sheffield, shirts with red and black quartered fronts, red backs and black sleeves. Black shorts.
Clitheroe, Royal Blue and white vertical striped fronts with blue sleeves and Royal Blue shorts.

The game started competitively at speed and on 7 minutes a corner from the right was headed down by Louis Potts which the defence failed to clear and Louis Potts quickly reacted by slipping it into the bottom right hand corner to give Clitheroe the lead.

2 minutes later Sheffield eqalised when Ted Cribley met a free kick from the right with his head and planted the ball down into the goal to level. The all action continued when 3 minutes later Sheffield took the lead with another header, this time by Connor Cutts meeting the ball from a corner.

Sheffield now challenged for the ball harder and quicker but Clitheroe finished the half much stronger.

After a first minute point blank save by the Clitheroe goal keeper, Solomon Honor, they took control. With 12 minutes gone Connor High took the ball down on the left of the goal keepers area and curled it at hip high past the right hand of Sheffield’s keeper.

It was now anyone’s game but Sheffield seemed to gain a second wind and a minute after Solomon Honor had made another point blank save a Sheffield player was bundled over in the goalkeepers area and Luke Managhan competently despatched the ball past Solomon Honor’s left hand from the spot.

The last 15 minutes could have gone either way with the best chance being tipped over the cross bar by Miles Wright in the Sheffield goal.

Sheffield were pleased at the end to go through after a tough game, where they will play Pontefract Colliery at home in the next round. Perhaps their bigger match will be in the planning Meeting.

The Chips were hot, tasty, crispy outside, golden, and a good inside texture, getting a score of 67. They were also not greasy and left no aftertaste.

After the heady heights of Molineux I headed along the M18 to Thorne to see two new teams to the Northern Counties East League Division One this season, Club Thorne Colliery v Appleby Frodingham.

Thorne’s ground is to the north of the town through a housing estate

To get to park the car I drove past young aspiring children playing a competitive game. Unfortunately I also passed the burnt remains of the Pavilion and changing rooms damaged by a fire in mid May when a bench close by was set alight which spread to the building.

Grey overcast skies with a light breeze meant the 23 degrees felt just warm.

On entering the ground there is a large covered seated stand in the centre of one side of the ground along with portacabins which houser the bar, the food serving hatch and other admin areas. The rest of the ground is open apart from these buildings and is lined with trees of varying types. The grass pitch was a verdant green with good cover and looked quite flat. With the skies being overcast the floodlights were switched on from the start.

Football has been played in Thorne for over 100 years and their exploits in the 1927 F.A. Cup brought them to the fore. The Club joined the Yorkshire League in 1932 and yoyoed between divisions until they were part of the creation of the Northern Counties East League in 1982. They stayed only 5 years in the league before being relegated to the Doncaster League. Having won the top division they switched to the Central Midlands League and then unusually to the Humber Premier League for the 2023/24 season which they won and gained promotion to the Northern Counties east League.

Appleby Frodingham were formed as a works team for Appleby Frodingham Steel Company in the 1940’s and started life in the Lincolnshire League where they stayed until 1978 when they joined the Midland League. When that league morphed into the Northern Counties East league 4 years later they were founder members of the Premier Division. Problems followed and after folding in 1986 they reformed playing in local leagues as they made their way back to the Lincolnshire League in 1990 and switched again in 2002 to the Central Midland League and by 2008 were back in the Northern Counties East League. They find themselves back in that league for this season after a relegation and time spent again in the Central Midlands League and Lincolnshire County League.

Club Thorne Colliery 3 Appleby Frodingham 1

Tuesday 13th August 2024.  Northern Counties East League Division 1.  18.45 kick off.     12th v 18th Attendance 170

Club Thorne Colliery F.C. The Chesterfield Poultry Stadium, Grange Road, Moorlands, Doncaster DN8 4NA

Club Thorne; Blue and Black vertical striped shirts with black shorts: Appleby Frodingham; White Shirts with coloured artwork on the front and red shorts:

The first 10 minutes was a bit like kids football, with everyone chasing the ball. After which the home team were well on top with Appleby Frodingham’s keeper making a great full length save to his left. Thorne now took control but Appleby Frodingham’s dogged defence was keeping them out. With half time approaching an Appleby Frodingham corner was defended and at the third attempt at clearing the ball found its way to Lewis walker, who outpaced the defenders to cut it back across the goal for Salmon Czubik to tap home for the lead. Armthorpe deserved their lead at half time on the number of chances alone.

The second half started with clear blue skies to greet the teams with the away team making one substitution. Appleby were playing with more intent but on 11 minutes they stopped to appeal for a foul which was not awarded giving the attacker time to flight a great cross onto the head of Lewis Walker who placed it into the top left hand corner with the goalkeeper stranded.

Appleby Frodingham did not give up and with 10 minutes left a three way inter-passing play gave Kurtis Gollings the chance to slam the ball into the bottom left hand corner. This though didn’t feel like a consolation goal as they pressed forward continually.  With time running out they were denied a penalty as their forward looked to be brought down by Thorne’s goalkeeper. This was a more bitter pill to swallow with the resulting clearance finding Henry Parr who sprinted clear, kept his head and footing to draw the defenceless goalkeeper to hit the ball into the net for a 3.1 win.

Thorne we’re happy but Appleby Frodingham felt almost robbed of the draw. Both though will have taken heart of their performances at this early stage of the season.

Unfortunately there were no chips so I plumped for a hot dog, luckily it was only £1 wasted as the best thing about it was the red sauce. I should have chosen the pie and peas.

The hot dog may have been poor but the program was one of the best I have seen at this level, particularly the images, thank you.

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I forsook a visit to a Non-League club to go to Molineux to see Wolverhampton Wanderers play a Pre-Season friendly against Rayo Vallecano.

I had always wanted to go to Molineux and the opportunity of a £9 ticket was appealing. I remembered Wolves from early years being talked about by my relatives due to their games against top European Clubs which paved the way for todays European competitions. Sadly Wolves do not feature in any of the current games but their establishment in the Premier League may give them the spring board to reach that level.

In a previous post I reviewed the book ‘Working Class Hero’s‘ all about Rayo Vallecano and their working class roots and their stand against Fascism and Racism even during the Franco years, perhaps apt after the scenes in some English towns and city’s of recent times.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, commonly referred to as Wolves started life as St Luke’s F.C. in 1877 changing to their current name just 2 years later. Their most successful period was in the 1950’s but overall they have won England’s top league on 3 occasions, been to F.A. Cup Finals 8 time and won the League Cup twice. A proud history that looked in jeopardy in the 1980’s when they slumped to the 4th tier of English football but they are now well and truly back.

Rayo Vallecano considered the third team of Madrid behind Real and Athletico, but don’t say that to their proud supporters from their Vallecas base. They were formed in 1924 and play at their compact 14708 capacity stadium. They have spent 22 seasons in La Liga (Spain’s top league) although last season they took the last relegation spot and will now play in the Second Division.

Wolves pre-season has gone well to date and Rayo Vallecano’s has improved with a recent win over Bournemouth.

It was a beautiful sunny day (23 degrees) with fluffy white clouds, as I walked to the stadium amongst a happy crowd of all ages. I passed the ‘Leaping Wolf’ ‘ pub which looked lively with many wearing the new seasons shirts.

It was a little muggy but the drizzle I drove through on the A38 was long gone. The stadium looked inviting, as I approached the Stan Cullis Stand, which you are able to walk round with ease. Inside it is magnificent with four individual stands that in my mind keep its history rather than the wrap round same design of many clubs.

I was in the recently introduce safe standing area which has a seat but railings to hold onto if you wish that act as a barrier against any crowd rush, should that happen.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Rayo Vallecano 1

Saturday 10th August 2024 Pre-season Friendly 15.00 pm kick off

Molineux Stadium, Waterloo Rd, Wolverhampton WV1 4QR

Wolves; Old Gold Shirts with Black shorts. Rayo Vallecano; White Shirts except for a red diagonal stripe on the front and two on the back with white shorts.

The game had an edgy start as both teams made mistakes but Rayo looked more interested and it was no surprise when their diminutive but lively Isi Palazon took the ball on the edge of the box, found space to shoot and with a slight deflection the ball ended in the right hand corner of the net. Wolves huffed and puffed but seemed to stay in a low gear the whole half.

Rayo continued to look very solid in the second half with their three centre backs looking as if they could play in the Premier League each week. The home team finally looked like they were going to score in the final minutes, Hee Chan Hwang headed down into the goalkeepers arms when he should have scored. There were numerous changes in the second half and Rayo must have been the most pleased with their workout. Perhaps it was the fact that neither team wanted injury’s only a week away from the start of the season which meant their was little competitiveness in the match.

A great day out though, sunny weather, great stadium, great paying surface, happy family crowd and an achievement in seeing the stadium and Rayo Vallecano.

On the day a program was being given out free, a folded poster of the seasons fixtures, the latest Wolves news and a bit about the opponents. A nice touch.

Unfortunately, no chips so I just had to try the pie. The chicken Balti pie was hot in heat and spice with a dry crust round the edge, should have had something else.