For my first game of 2022 I visited Heanor to see them play Selsdon in the United Counties League Premier Division North, part of the Non League restructure which meant the United Counties taking on a larger role extending further into the Midlands.

Heanor is in the centre of Derbyshire and is close to the Nottinghamshire border and grew up around the silk and lace industry which was synonimous in the area. They were at home to Selston another village but only 7 miles away in Nottinghamshire. A good local derby on this bank holiday which reflected in the good crowd of 237.

Heanor Town have been established since 1883 and in their early years reached the first round of the F.A. Cup four times losing to Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Bury. 60 years later they reached the same rounds again this time losing to the professionals of Carlisle and Bradford Park Avenue. They have won many local cups and changed Leagues through promotions and relegations but have also been caught up in the mergers and start ups of Leagues and reorganisation. Hopefully they can now put down roots in the United Counties.

Selston in contrast only started Saturday football in 1986 having been initially formed as a Sunday League team in 1968. They disbanded the senior team for three years in the early 21st century and now sit at their highest level of competition.

It was great to see bright blue skies after December was the greatest December since 1956 and with Covid felt very grey. There were some whisky clouds but these were scurrying across with the sky.

The ground is noticeable from a distance by the floodlights but also two mobile phone masts at diagonal ends. The turnstile was next to a large well appointed clubhouse with a large extra marquee extension to the rear with the New Years Eve Party still being advertised, although it was a sell out. Hopefully the team have recovered.

The pitch slopes end to end from the changing room end and from left to right. The grass looked to be under pressure with some muddy patches in the goal mouths. Next to the pitch is a large grass training area and pitches for youth football.

Heanor Town F.C. 0 Selston F.C. 0

The Lions v The Parishioners – Monday 3rd January 2022 – United Counties League Premier Division North.

Heanor kicked downhill in the first half and just edged the first 30 minutes getting behind the Selsdon defence on a few occasions. The play seemed to be stuck in the middle of the field in the heavy conditions and the referee blew for constant fouls often due to the poor ground.

Heanor did have players put through on 33 and 40 minutes but Tom Hilton missed to the left and Jamie Sleigh to the right.

Half time came and the crowd were grumbling that it can’t get any worse, they’ve had too much Christmas Pudding and they still have hangovers. The wind had increased and had a colder edge to it.

The second half found Selston gaining the upper hand and had what looked like a good call for a penalty turned down when Sean Gregory was upended on 36 minutes and 4 minutes later hit the bar.

Heanor did still pose a threat but Selstons George Wilkinson and Perry Marriot-Lane seemed to get any parts of their bodies in the way of any attack. My man of the match was Selstons number Ben Moore who was influential in the limb sapping midfield.

No goals but it was great to be out and see a very competitive match, hopefully the first of many this year. I intend to see more United Counties games as the year progresses.

The chips were just what were needed, they were very hot, golden, twice cooked and tasty. A good score of 78 but I would suggest a small portion is enough..

I decided this year to quench my thirst for Boxing Day football by visiting Hallam F.C in S10 Sheffield. The Sandygate Road ground has been well chronicled as the oldest football ground in the World. One I have visited and written about before. It is still recognised as then place where the first ever Inter Club game between Hallam and Sheffield F.C took place on a Boxing Day 161 years ago. The purist will say that Boxing Day is the 26th of December but today the 28th is the Boxing Day Public Holiday because this year the 26th fell on a Sunday.

I did not go to bathe in history but to see what is bubbling up in this corner of the city. There have been five crowds over 500 in all competitions in this 10th level of English football so far this season and today there are 1128 to see Hallam play Brigg Town in a second play third in the North East Counties League Division One. With only 3 sides of the stadium available for fans it felt full.

The game was on thanks to a 10.30 pitch inspection and you could see in one corner why the game had been in doubt after the rain of the preceding 48 hours. The clouds were still swirling in on this edge of the Pennines some 800 feet above sea level and the strengthening wind was giving a colder feel although it had been dry for the last 5 hours. The pitch which heavily slopes from one end to another looked very sodden in the lower half of the ground but the goal areas looked well playable.

I have written about Hallam before but Brigg Town are a new team to me and in the special 24 page program for this Christmas game there was a good history of both teams. Brigg have a long history like Hallam being formed in 1864 and like most teams of the era played local football in Lincolnshire. They like Hallam were founder members of the NCEL in 1982 where for 20 years they stayed until 2004 when they were promoted to the Northern Premier League where they stayed until 2014 and off field problems helped to see them slide through the NCEL to the Lincolnshire League but regained their NCEL status in 2019. New owners in 2017 have seen a dramatic change at the club, its facilities and community involvement, you could say that Brigg Town are definitely on the up back to their previous level. Brigg’s history also boasts two F.A, Vase wins in 1996 and 2003.

Hallam FC 3 v Brigg Town CIC 2

The Countrymen v The Zebras

Northern Counties East Division One: Tuesday 28th December 3.00 pm Kick Off

Hallam kicked downhill in the first half and took advantage of placing through ball that hel up in the conditions for players to run on to. They also employed long throws into Briggs penalty area from both sides of the pitch. Hallam took the lead on 19 minutes when one of the through balls was met by Iren Wilson who steadied the ball, burst forward and hit the ball into the top left corner of the net across the goalkeeper. Brigg responded and Myles wright in goal for Hallam made too good low down saves to keep them out. Hallam though were still creating chances and from a corner Iren Wilson popped up to against the bar. The thrilling first half ended with Hallam leading one nil.

Brigg threw everything at the game from the restart and after just 2 minutes from the restart a reckless tackle in the area gave Brigg the opportunity to level from the penalty spot. This was despatched by Scott Phillips and Brigg continued to push forward which gave Iren Wilson another chance to produce a carbon copy of his first half goal which he did in some style.

Hallam’s defence held firm despite a constant battering and in the gloom at the Brigg goal end Hallam went further ahead when Craig Mitchell squeezes home a third for the home side in a goalmouth scramble with 7 minutes left. Johnathan Oglesby however made the large home crowd nervous 4 minutes later when he scored with a superb long shot.

Hallam ran out 3-2 winners and have gone top of the League with North Ferriby losing at home. The S10 stirrings continue and if the rest of the season carries on like this 1128 may be beaten. It was great to be there and enjoy the atmosphere to lift the Covid gloom.

I did not buy any chips as the queue was very long and I decided to be careful with the ultra Omicron striking many people I know.

I finally visited Turf Moor to see Burnley play after a 60 year wait. Back in 1961 Burnley were the Liverpool or Man City of the day and were playing in the European Cup having won the League the previous season. They had received a bye in the first round, beaten Reims in the next and now faced Hamburg in the quarter finals having won 3.1 at home the second leg was on TV in the afternoon. Getting home from school in time for the match I unfortunately saw them lose 1.4 and and were elimimated on agregate. The tears just rolled down my face, the first of many football disappointments that you learn to endure that is all part of the football experience.

So my son and I travelled north to Burnley on a dull day and it felt colder as we walked to the ground with the first spots of rain falling on us as we went through the turnstile. Inside a coffee and a Hollands meat and potato pie was welcomed (no chips here) as we chatted about the game and our last visit to a Premier League ground which had been to Everton nearly two years since, where today’s opponents Crystal Palace had been the visitors then. We hoped that the dull draw we saw then would not be repeated and noted Palace’s better results this term under new manager Patrick Vieira. We made our way to our seats 30 minutes before the game but decided to return to the concourse as the rain was now in full force and where we were to sit, although under cover, was getting soaked. We left it till near the start and found that everyone in the area of our allocated seats stood. This was a blessing as the seats were wet through. The supporters in this area of the ground were a noisy bunch which added to a good atmosphere. Although the supporters around us shouted, sang, chanted and chided the referee and third official, for what I have to say were some bemuseing decisions, it was all good hearted with very little swearing.

Burnley have a proud history having been formed in 1882 and have won the top English League twice and the FA Cup once. Their last top League win was just over 60 years ago and after a period in the doldrums have recently been constant members of the Premier League under no nonsense manager Sean Dyche.

This is an old ground that has been developed with individual stands on each side that has a good atmosphere and is adequate for their supporter base. The pitch was beautiful but the constant rain made the pitch slippery and the light wind blew the rain onto the first rows of supporters.

Burnley 3 Crystal Palace 3

Saturday 20th November 2021. 3.00pm kick off.

Crystal Palace have thrown off their dull play mantel dominating the play from the start to the delight of their large contingent of travelling fans who were matched and bettered by the Turf Moor locals.

The rejuvinated Christian Benteke latched onto a ball in the box in the box, turned, and hit an unstoppable left foot shot that seemed to take a deflection that ended up in the corner of the net having grazed the left hand post on 8 minutes. Palace kept up the pressure but unexpectedly from a corner on the left a static defence let Ben Mee rise above everyone to head home the equaliser at 19 minutes. Only 8 minutes later the same disconnect in the away teams defence allowed Chris Wood to head home when some confusion after a free-kick left Wood to score with a perfectly placed header past the leaping goalkeeper.

Benteke should have done better and drew Palace level when he had an open goal but headed wide.

Although ahead, Burnley couldn’t stem the away teams dominance and it was no surprise they were level when Benteke easily scored after receiving a great measured pass from the impressive Conor Gallagher. The move had been started by the Palace goalkeeper and passed through the field with no Burnley player getting anywhere near the ball.

It was now anyone’s game but it was Palace who went in ahead at half time when Guehi’s shot was deflected in after some frantic play following a corner.

Expecting another all action half the play calmed down with Burnley getting on top and back in the game when James Tarkowski’s run and high cross was met by Maxwell Cornet who hit a goal of the season by volleying the cross into the top left hand corner. Turf Moor erupted and Burnley stayed in charge and players and fans were incensed by some strange decisions from the officials.

Wilfried Zaha had a shot tipped onto the bar by Nick Pope but Burnley should have taken all three points at the death when substitute Hydra should have scored when put through with only the keeper to beat. Vincente Guaita bravely saved and the breathtaking game came to an end. Both Managers will have felt that they should have taken all three points.

I have had Holland’s pies before and would say that they are one of my favourites but this meat and potato pie was a disapointing mush.