Near the top of a hill overlooking Stocksbridge I parked and crossed the road to the home of Stocksbridge Park Steels, Bracken Moor Sports and Social Club.

 

The tail end of storm Erik rushed me towards  the local stone club house and entry to the ground. Built into the side of the hill this picturesque ground is shared with the local cricket club with movable fencing the cricket side of the pitch to enable ground grading. The views from the stand and clubhouse are magnificent of the local moors.

The club claims to be the highest placed Non-League team in South Yorkshire but their poor form of late and the good form of rivals may bring that to an end this season.

Both teams were formed by mergers of other local clubs Pontefract in 1958 and Stockbridge in 1986 although other local football clubs had been in existence for a lot longer. Stockbridge as a community club have been successful in running many teams in Senior and Girls & Boys Junior football.

The large stand has great views with large wooden seats that are cast offs from an upgrade at Hillsborough. The pitch was flat but you could see from the sidelines that it was muddy after the recent heavy rain.

 

Stocksbridge Park Steels FC 0 Pontefract Collieries FC 5

 

Pontefract gained the first advantage by playing with the strong wind in the first half and their more competitive attitude meant they were well on top and it was no surprise that with only ten minutes gone Eli Hey nodded home the parried save of the goalkeeper after a free kick.   They were unlucky not to  score again on 17 minutes when they hit the post but only minutes later a cross from the left was met again by Eli Hey and it was two nil. Nicholas Guest had time to draw the goalkeeper to make it 0-3 at half time.

The clubhouse bars upstairs were plush , warm and busy. It seemed that most of the fans in the stand were from Pontefract but here were the Stocksbridge fans watching the match in the comfort of the bar with their pint. There was even a more luxurious lounge bar.

Pontefract in the second half were again first to the ball and more committed in their tackles and play, their fourth came after some good play on the right by number 17 and a pinpoint pass to Vaughn Radford to give him plenty of time to place the ball beyond the keeper. It was all over and a bit of a rout when on 88 minutes Eli Hey controlled the ball with a reverse pass into the path of number 2, Jack Greenhough, who was steaming through and slammed the ball home.

Once again, No Chips but four types of pie with Mushy peas, including a vegetarian option. The area where the food was served was spacious, clean, airy with a view of the pitch. The food was hot, tasty and served by a happy team. great atmosphere.

 

As I was travelling to see Parkgate FC v Campion AFC in the Toolstation Northern Counties League Division One I passed Rotherham United’s New York Stadium. Rotherham were playing Leeds United, top v bottom of the Championship and a South v West Yorkshire battle. Campion too were top of the table with Parkgate in 9th and again a South v West confrontation.

Having never been to this part of Rotherham I used Google Maps which is usually so reliable but this time it took me to a housing estate and told me twice I had arrived although all that faced me were houses with a glimpse of floodlights behind. Back to using ones own instincts I eventually found a lane to Roundwood  Sports Complex, Green Lane, Rawmarsh, which was next to Rotherham United’s training ground.

I joined the 85 others at this very tidy ground with a covered seated stand behind one goal and some covered standing area on one side. The pitch had a good grass surface and sloped away from the covered end with a very neat hedge down one side. A typical grey January day with clouds racing by threatened rain which came in the second half.

Parkgate was formed in 1969 from the Wire Department  of British Steel Corporation which is very visible from the ground but is now owned by Liberty Steel Group. The steel works could be heard during the game with clangs and bangs at regular intervals. They joined the Northern Counties East League in 1982 and were in the Premier division for 10 years until last years relegation. They have developed a strong youth set up which they hope will sustain them in the future.

Campion is a community club based in Manningham, Bradford, and play at the Manningham Mills Sports Club, opened in 2006, which they share with a local cricket club. They were formed in 1962 and started playing Saturday football in 1976, stopping all Sunday football in 1982. They stayed a local West Yorkshire team until recently joining the North East Counties.

Parkgate FC 2 Campion AFC 4

Parkgate started the game strongly attacking down hill and forcing corners but it was the away team that took the lead on 12 minutes when Leon Hules-Brooke was free on the left side of the box and whipped the ball into the net across the diving keeper. Within two minutes it was 2 nil with No 9 Marcus Day placing the ball just inside the near post after three attempted clearances by the Parkgate defence.

Parkgate now seemed to come alive and after near misses and clipping the post  Bruno Holden found some space in the penalty box and riffled home a shot to make it 2-1 and with half time approaching an expected close second half.  Immediately though at the other end Marcus Day ran through to restore Campion’s two goal lead and give them a 3-1 cushion at half time.

Both teams  looked for the next goal but it was Omar Habeeb a substitute for Campion who on 86 minutes put the game to bed with a low shot past Chris Butt. Parkgate did make it 4-2 in the dying minute when the left back Freddie Russell overlapped on the left for a well taken goal. With Leeds getting an 86th minute winner against Rotherham it was the two West Yorkshire teams that came out the winners and maintained their positions at the top of their leagues.

 

There were no chips at Parkgate so a sausage roll and a coffee for £2 had to suffice. The two friendly ladies manning the kiosk also went round the ground selling raffle tickets. Every little helps.

 

 

 

The wind was strong and swirling round on the tops at Penistone as I entered the Memorial Ground home of Penistone Church FC.

Having recently read ‘Thank God for Football’ I had pencilled in a game here to my schedule to visit a team that very obviously grew up out of a church team.  Penistone Church FC were a merger between Penistone Choirboys and Penistone Juniors in 1906. They played very much in local league football and didn’t reach the Northern Counties East League until 2013. They have been pushing up this league in recent seasons and are currently second to Yorkshire Amateurs.

Their opponents, Garforth Town AFC started in 1964, are another source of football teams, an ex pub team (Miners Arms). They originally started playing Sundays but switched to Saturdays and had to change their name to Garforth Miners in 1976 to be able to progress in the league system as pub named teams were not allowed. They were elected to the Northern Counties League in 1982 and another league re-organisation in 1985 saw them change to their current name. A few up and down years see them now placed comfortably in the Northern Counties Premier League.

Everyone in the 183 crowd had headed for the clubhouse to get out of the cold wind and use the friendly, warm and well presented facilities. A hot drink was welcomed along with the good chips and the amazing hot pork pie, a reason to visit here again especially at a price of only £3.50. The chips scored a 75 as they were hot, plentiful and  tasty. If anything they could have been cooked a little longer.

Penistone Church 3 Garforth Town 1

The pitch in good condition and was mainly flat with a slight slope away from the clubhouse. Pennistone chose to kick up the slope with the wind.

With the crowd hunkering down against the wind under the stand Penistone started the stronger of the teams. Their ground play was beating the conditions but it was Garforth who took the lead after 27 minutes. A punt towards the goal by Alex Lowe swirled high in the wind and sailed over the Penistone keeper.

Garforth’s lead only lasted 10 minutes when Sam Scrivens pounced onto a loose ball to jink into the box and hit a low shot into the corner of the net. Penistones goal tally was doubled within a few minutes when Jordan Coduri had two shots on goal with the second going across the keeper to give them a half time lead.

 The second half saw Garforth take control and they were awarded a penalty on 53 minutes with a Penistone player handling in the box. Chris Snaith in goal for Penistone was too good for the penalty and saved well to his right.

This seemed to change the game and Penistone finished stronger and it was no surprise that Scrivens scored his second on 80 minutes to give Penistone a win and put them only one point behind Yorkshire Amateurs at the top of the table.

On the journey to  Scotland for the New Year I stopped off at Brunton Park to see Carlisle United play Macclesfield Town.

Carlisle were on a winning streak, a 6 nil win in their last match and Macclesfield now under new Manager Sol Campbell had lifted themselves from the foot of League 2 in their last match. Sol Campbell’s arrival had put some fight in a doomed team through his winning mentality, managerial apprenticeship watching Arsen Wenger and experiece at all levels.

The program was original in that it opened out giving you a pleasing poster style keep sake.

Macclesfield are in fact the older of the two clubs having been formed in 1874 to Carlisles 1904 but they have only been a Football League team since gaining promotion back from the National League last season. They previously spent many years in the Cheshire League and Manchester League before being founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. They also won the first ever FA Trophy final at Wembley in the 1969/70 season where they defeated Telford United 2-0. Telford gained revenge 1-0 in the 1989/90 final. Macclesfield appeared again in the 1995/6 final  beating Northwich Victoria 2-1  but in 2017 they lost to Lincln City 3-2.

With promotion being granted to Non League teams Macclesfield won the Conference in the 1996/7 season and were given Foot ball League status. They immediately gained promotion to the now League One but we’re relegated the following year. They managed to hold on to their League status  until 2012 -when relegated back to the Conference.

Carlisle by contrast have been in the Football League since 1928 and played in the highest league in England in 1974/75 for one season. They did lose this Football League  status in 2004 but came back the following year.

Carlisle United 2 Macclesfield Town 1

A beautiful late December day greeted the teams onto a well prepared surface at Brunton Park.

Carlisle however were unprepared for the slick interpassing of the visitors and within two minutes Macclesfield were ahead after Scott Wilson collected a through pass and  ran past a leaden footed defence  to slot the ball  in the net. Macclesfield had the best of the first half with their fluent football as Carlisle seemed to be limited to passes along the back line and high balls to the forwards. No 9 Hallam Hope used these ball to the best advantage out on the left and on 44 minutes he cut in and received a return pass in the middle of the goal and blasted it home.

The home team went in luckily all square at half time.

Macclesfield kept up their neat football to start the second half  but Carlisle gained control as the game wore on and started to press for a winner. With the game seemingly over Danny Grainger crossed from the left and the skied ball by Jerry Yates was thought to be going over the bar  by the fans but it looped over O’hara into the net for a surprising victory. Carlisle kept up their promotion push and although Macclesfield lost they must have been pleased with their improving form.

Another ground with no chips. Seems the higher up the pyramid the less chance you get of chips. A Wright’s meat and potato pie instead. This was hot, deep filled and tasty at £2.90 but not the same.

 

 

A visit to beautiful Buxton is usually cold, even on a summers day there always seems to be a cool breeze. Nearby Flash is the highest village in England and at one time had the record for the coldest. Boxing day was a balmy 8.5 degrees even at the ‘Tarmac Silverlands Stadium’ which is the highest football ground in the English pyramid system at 1000ft above sea level.

The days fixture was the Peak District derby between Buxton FC and Matlock Town FC both respectively in mid table positions in the Evostik League (Northern Premier League) – Premier Division. Twenty miles apart and at opposite ends of the Peak Distict Mational Park they have maintained a healthy rivalry for some years.

Buxton like many clubs started as an off shoot of a local cricket club around 1877 and have played in local and Northern Leagues all of their history.  Similarly Matlock FC were formed in 1878 and again have played at the same level as Buxton. They came to national notice for their exploits in the 1974/75 FA Trophy when they reached the Wembley final and defeated Scarborough Town 4-0. This result was also noted for the fact that the team had three brothers playing in it.

Buxton have been playing their Football at Silverlands since 1884 and in recent years have seen a major transformation. The ground sponsored by Tarmac, a local quarry operator, has seen the concourse and standing areas surfaced to a high spec. There are communications masts within the ground, presumably a source of income, and a very good club house. But the most noticeable new addition is the 4G pitch which allows the club to hire it out to Junior teams and a partnership with Rochdale FC who run an Elite Development Centre for 15 & 16 year olds one evening a week. These developments are very wise to maintain an income stream to sustain the club. The Silverland ground is the tidiest most professional I have visited all season. My traditionalist view of keeping grass pitches has been changed by this ground.

Buxton FC 2 Matlock Town 2

The game started competitively and Matlock were on top for the first 20 minutes with long throw ins causing concern to the Buxton defence. A free kick to Buxton on the edge of the penalty  was curled in off the nearside post  by John Pritchard to give Buxton the lead and a few minutes later a miss kicked clearance, after Buxton pressure on the left, gave Bradley Grayson an easy tap in. Buxton’s goal superiority did not last long as Matlocks Marshall cut into the penalty area and neatly lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper on 41 minutes. With half time beckoning the Gladiators again swept forward and Yates shot the visitors level.

The second half saw end to end action with Matlock finishing the stronger. A score line of 5 all could have been the result with all the chances that were created. In the end the good crowd of 880 went home happy. The game certainly lived up to the Boxing Day football tradition first started in 1860 with a game between Hallam and Sheffield FC. It was also a timely end as the Buxton cold was beginning to be felt underfoot.

The chips were £2, golden brown, hot, firm and tasty and scored a high 78. The refreshment kiosk was efficiently manned by three people and were kept very busy throughout the match.

 

With Christmas only 3 days away a trip to Retford to see Retford United v Thorne Colliery FC in the Black Dragon Central Midlands Football League (North) Division was a welcome diversion.

Retford United play on the edge of town where there is ample parking.  I was greeted by two teenagers manning the gate, another selling score cards for the youth team, three teenage girls selling meat raffle tickets and another teenager looking after the food/drinks kiosk. Without such volunteers I’m sure the club would struggle, thank you. The facilities are good with a covered seating area one side and some cover behind the goals but the best was the club house which was large, comfortable, showing the days football scores and warm.

Retford United were formed in 1987 and have played their football in higher divisions but a dedicated team are trying hard to get them back to that level. Their opponents have been around since the 1920’s and spent most of their time playing in the Yorkshire League.

Retford United 3 Thorne Colliery FC 2

The almost flat pitch was very soft after days of rain yet very playable and the game was underway with both teams trying to play the ball out of defence rather than just hoof it up field. Leon Osborne was lively up front for Retford and it was no surprise when he cut in from the left and curled the ball into the top right corner for the first goal on 9 minutes.

A shot of his on 23 mins trickled up a defenders arm and it was adjudged to be hand ball and Leon Osborne obliged with the penalty sending the ball to the right and the goalkeeper to the left. The floodlights came on as celebration or because it was the shortest day of the year.

Retford should have been out of sight but a miss kick by the Retford goal keeper hit the Thorne number 11 and bounced into his net. Osborne’s display was rewarded with a hat trick just on half time when he swept home a good cross from the right.

Into the second half Osborne again had the ball in the net but was judged to be off side and soon after was subbed off.

Thorne did not give up and another terrible mistake by Retford’s goalkeeper, fumbling a corner from the left, gave them an easy tap in to make it 3-2. A rising full moon over the Retford club house must have been a good omen for them as they hung on for the win.

All in all a good afternoon but the chips were unfortunately just warm and a bit soggy, gaining a score of only 43. The price of £1 for each of the coffee and chips was amazing value.

A good time to publish the Chip League table so far this season.

Payonthegate 2018/19 Chip League
Teams			Points
FC Bolsover / Shirebrook			85
Boston United FC			73
Worksop Town FC			70
Staveley Miners welfare FC			67
West Aukland Town FC			65
Alfreton Town FC			63
Dronfield Town FC			56
Forest Green Rovers FC			56
AFC Mansfield			45
Aston Villa Football Club			0
Chesterfield Football Club			0