The mornings rain had stopped giving way to blue skies ,and billowing clouds with strong blustery winds that were made worse with the ground being on top of a hill.

The game I had come to see was an FA Vase First Round Qualifying game between Swallownest FC of the North East Counties league Division One and Vauxhall Motors FC from the North West Counties league Division One. An intriguing comparison between two similar level teams on opposite sides of the Pennines. A disappointing crowd of only 75 was in attendance.

Swallownest FC have only been going since 2006 when they started as Aston FC and in 2010 changed their name to Swallownest Miners Welfare a name previously used by a local team in the 1960,s. The club have come a long way in a short time and shortened their name in 2016. The ground is alongside the Swallownest Miners Sports and Social Club and is a credit to the local supporters with a friendly atmosphere, small covered areas, pitch side hard standing and a good refreshment kiosk. A very lush green pitch slopes slightly side to side and a few dotted sand patches are testament to the continual battle against some local rabbits.

Some history of Vauxhall Motors (Ellesmere Port) was posted last year when I attended one of their home games and they currently await what Brexit might do to the viability of the factory. By contrast in the distance of the Swallownest ground you can see the Advanced Manufacturing Centre on the Rotherham/Sheffield border that houses such names as Boeing, Rolls Royce and McLaren.

Swallownwest F.C, 0 Vauxhall Motors F.C. 2

Vauxhall were the quickest off the blocks and played some neat football but after a foul and fracas which brought home team trainers and subs onto the pitch Swallownest commanded the rest of the half. Oliver Grady should have done better when driving the ball wide from close range for Swallownest. Despite the advantage of the wind Vauxhall had not taken advantage and they must have been the happiest to go in all square at half time.

On a half time walk around the perimeter on this last day of meteorological summer I saw one House Martin in the sky and no Swallows. With autumn beckoning perhaps the flight south has already begun.

Swallownest again dominated the start of the second half and should have scored but  Michael Burkey replaced Karl Noon for Vauxhall and he went wide to the right and gave Aaron Statham at left back a torrid time with some neat footwork and direct runs.

One of these led to Statham bringing Noon down in the box on 76 minutes and Ben Holmes placed the ball along the ground to the left of Richard Watson,s dive to give Vauxhall the lead. Only minutes from the end Joe Brandon burst into the penalty area latching onto a long ball and was immediately brought down by Alfie Smith for penalty number 2. Holmes replayed his previous penalty, this time sending Watson the wrong way.

Vauxhall played out the game for their 2 nil win which was perhaps not to the liking of their manager, Mick McGraa, who had said at the start of the season that a run in the Vase competition can be a distraction from the main aim of promotion.

What a difference two weeks make, after the monsoon in Northampton to see an extra preliminary round of the F.A.Cup I found myself in Walthamstow for the next round on a glorious sunny day with the car registering 35 degrees as we drove away.

I had come to see Walthamstow F.C. of the Essex League take on Great Wakering Rovers of the one step higher Isthmian League North.

The ground is part of a bigger complex that has artificial pitches and is for use by the community  throughout Waltham Forest. That community spirit seems to be flourishing with deeds not words and youngsters from Ryan F.C. were in force to watch the team and come out onto the pitch with the players. The crowd was the most diverse I have seen at local football for a long time in sex, age and ethnicity.

Football has always been strong locally here and the famous old team of Walthamstow Avenue won the F.A. Amateur cup twice in their existence in 1952 and 1961 and Leyton FC in 1927 and 1928.

Walthamstow F.C. have a history which the program calls not straightforward and they claim to be the second oldest club in London.

• As Leyton Fc (1868-1894)
• As Matlock Swifts (1887-1895)
• As Leyton FC (1876-1904)
• As Leyton FC (Professional) (1904-1912)
• As Leyton FC (1919-1976)
• As Leyton-Wingate (1976-1992)
• As Pennant FC and Walthamstow Pennant FC (1965-1995)
• As Waltham Forest FC and Leyton Pennant FC (1995-2018)
• As Walthamstow FC 2018

Definitely not straightforward and more complicated than Handsworth FC I visited on Tuesday.

Great Wakering Rovers by contrast were formed in 1919 and still bear that name. Their football was mainly locally based but since the turn of the century they have flirted with a higher status in the Isthmian set up.

Walthamstow F.C. 2 Great Wakering Rovers F.C. 0

The pitch was yellowing, hard and the surface slightly uneven as the teams kicked off. Long balls were the order of play and neither side made any inroads.

Then on 13 minutes Walthamstow’s captain Vinny Murphy clashed strongly with the tall Wakering striker Brandon Diau. They faced up to each other and the resulting physicality gave the referee no option but to send them both off.

Probing by both sides threatened but didn’t result in clear chances or goals and the teams remained level at half time. The referee stopped the game around 35 minutes for a well deserved drinks break, a good decision by the officials.

The second half saw Walthamstow’s  Mc Cullock and Gebrai continue to threaten with direct runs but on 51 minutes Bennett was brought down in the box and Dwade James casually converted the penalty to the goalkeepers left. Within 2 minutes Walthamstow had another penalty when Samarai Gebrai was fouled on one of his runs. Dwade James casual run up did not suffice this time as he blasted the penalty over via the crossbar.

Rovers kept pressuring for an equaliser but their strength was further sapped with Henry Fisher being sent off for a foul on Danny McCullock.

Tiredness soon told and and a through ball to Jack Folan was neatly collected and curled in past the keeper.

A great afternoon that I hope will encourage some of the junior fans to return. Good luck Walthamstow in the next round.

No chips here just a small refreshment offering.

I went through this turnstile last season to see Worksop Town but this year it was to see Handsworth FC. Handsworth are buildings a new 3G pitch at their long term home at Oliver’s Mount in Sheffield and hope to move there as soon as possible. Their very impressive youth set up is already based there.

So how did they end up in Worksop 13 miles away.

• 1936   Works team of F Parramore & Sons, Sheffield, Parramore F.C.  established and existed until 2013.
• 1986 Handsworth Junior Sporting Club was formed.
• 1998 Handsworth Juniors took over running of Oliver’s Mount Sports Ground having expanded football sections for many ages.
• 2008 Paramore Sports F.C. played in Sheffield at the now demolished Don Valley Stadium.
• 2011 Parramore F.C. manager Peter Whitehead bought Worksop Towns disused ground of Sandy Lane Worksop. Worksop Town having their lease terminated by previous owners in 2008. Parramore moved the team from Sheffield to Worksop and became Worksop Parramore.
• 2013 Merger between Handsworth and Worksop Parramore taking up Worksop Parramore’s higher league placing as Handsworth Paramore F.C. and playing at Sandy Lane, Worksop.
• 2018 Women’s team join Sheffield and Hallamshire Women’s County League under the Handsworth banner.
• April 2019 Peter Whitehead who bought Sandy Lane resigns as Chairman of Handsworth Parramore F. C.
• 2019 renamed Handsworth F.C.

So what started in Sheffield will return to Sheffield after an interlude in Nottinghamshire. Quite a journey but I’m sure it won’t be the last as they continue rising up the non-league pyramid.

Barton Town F.C. are also an amalgamation of two clubs. Barton Town were formed in 1880 becoming a successful club in North Lincolnshire. However they hit bad times after 111 years and eventually merged with Barton Old Boys who were 33 years their juniors. So Burton Town Old Boys F.C. was formed in 1995 and they have enjoyed rising 2 steps in the pyramid system since then.

Handsworth F.C. 3 Barton Town 1

Tool station Northers Counties East League Premier Division.  Sandy Lane Worksop Tuesday 20th August 2019

The pitch was in excellent condition after the summer rest and dark clouds drifted by on a dry night.

The Handsworth under 17 side warmed up on the pitch with the seniors to get valuable experience ahead of their own season and the game was underway to a goal after only 3 minutes for Barton as Ben Townsend in goal for Handsworth lost all positional sense to allow Ben Hinchliffe to tap home. Barton remained on top but a beautiful hit ball landed at just the right height for Jamie Austin to head home at the near post to draw level.

It should have been 2-1 at half time but Ben Townsend made amends for his earlier error by saving a penalty diving to his left just before the referee blew for the interval.

Handsworth looked stronger in the second half and a direct run into the goal keepers area drew a foul and a penalty that Leon Howarth placed well to Harry Cartwrights right hand for them to take the lead.

Leon Howard made it 3-1 when he glided past three defenders before slotting the ball home from an acute angle inside the goalkeepers right hand.

Barton pressed hard to get back in the game but strong aerial control by the centre backs, two outstanding saves by Townsend and the bar kept them at bay.

The summer rain was by now back again to dampen Barton’s  homeward journey and the result means they have lost their first three league games that makes the season ahead look gloomy .

The chip league made a disappointing comeback with the chips warm and soft. This was despite them being fried in a fryer, the fact that they are then kept in a bowl covered with metal foil ready for serving had an effect. They gained only a lowly 50.

Like last season my first game was an F.A. Cup Extra Preliminary round match and this season the same but between Northampton O N Chenecks and Godmanchester Rovers. The FA Cup has been competed for since the 1871/72 season and in the first 14 finals an old boys team featured 8 times but not since. Could Old Northamptonians Chenecks  go all the way.

You would expect that the the summers day of the 11th August would not be a miserable grey day with heavy black clouds and torrential rain. The roads to the ground were far from coping with the heavy downpours but the beautiful green pitch was doing fine. The teams did not warm up but came strait out and immediately the referee called them together and we were underway.

The ON’s Association was established in 1919 in memory of the 94 members of staff, sixth former and leavers who had lost their lives in the First World War. Initially as a cricket club a football section was started in 1946 to allow former pupils of Northampton Grammar to play football. They started playing as Chenecks in local football and progressed to join the United Counties League in 1969. With the recent ground improvements they have progressed to the Premier Division and have developed a very good men’s and women’s youth team set up.

Godmanchester Rovers have been around since 1919 playing in local Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire football. But a speculative application to the Eastern Counties League in 2002 saw them step up and have since won promotion to the Premier League.

Neither team had won their opening games so an even game was anticipated.

Northampton ON Chenecks 2 Godmanchester 3

Godmanchester looked the better side in early play but it was Chenecks who went ahead on 8 minutes when a ball from the right flashed across the wet surface for Nathan Burrows to slot home.

The play evened out but Godmanchester equalised on 32 minutes with a move similar to Chenecks goal when a Chandler cross from the right was tapped in by James Hall.

The rain kept falling for all of the first half and the teams went in all square at half time although Godmanchester had a goal ruled offside. VAR would have helped here.

There was no respite at half time from the rain and a warming coffee under the umbrella kept spirits up. There were no chips here so this seasons chip league was postponed. Water had started to puddle in the goal mouth as play was restarted.

Godmanchester kept up their superiority and as the rain stopped they went ahead on 63 minutes when number 5 Ross Munro neatly struck a low free kick through the wall past the outstretched hand of the keeper to find the back of the net just inside the left hand post.

The away team were 3-1 up on 79 minutes when my man of the match Josh Dawking skilfully evaded defenders to slot the ball past the goalkeeper.

It seemed all over at this point and the crowd were distracted when the Air Ambulance landed next to the pitch and three paramedics ran off to a nearby emergency.

Despite Godmanchesters continued pressure Chenecks were able to make a late rally and saw Ben Diamond deliberately place his shot past the keepers right. A bit of extra pressure from the home side came to nothing and the referee blew to give Godmanchester a  home derby against St Neots Town in the next round. The referee, Joseph Larkin booked a player from each side for tackles that perhaps would not have been made in better conditions but his actions meant that both teams settled down and in the main it was a pleasure not to notice the referee.

The 90 people wadded off as the rain came down again but must have felt it was well worth getting wet for this entertaining match. The dream of an Old Boys team at Wembley was over but a new season ahead still beckons.

The Far Corner ‘A Mazy Dribble through North-East Football’ by Harry Pearson – published by Little Brown and Company 1994.

When on holiday you have the time to catch up on those books you have in store. This was another charity shop find and turned out to be an absorbing read.

Harry Pearson is a Middlesbrough supporter and  also a Football Supporter. The book is about Harry’s 1993/94 season and all of the matches he watched. It is not just about each match he attends but also detail on football clubs, leagues, players and fans in the North East.

The book has inspired me to visit some new teams as there are reviews of games including such teams as Billingham Synthonia, Seaham Red Star, Esh Winning Albion, Easington Colliery to name a few.

There is some good humour and colourful detail about players such as Hughie Gallagher and in depth comment on the history of the Northern League.

The humour and idiosyncrasies of football fans shines through, who else would try to find where the Charlton brothers were born and succeed. The holiday was made better by my suppressed laughter.