I finally made it to Ashby Ivanhoe.

After the morning game in Baslow I headed south to Ashby de la Zouch via Loughborough to watch my second game of Non-League-Day. I have tried to see a game at Ashby Ivanhoe at least three times before but have always been thwarted by the weather and the resulting postponement.

It was still cold in Ashby made worse by the biting wind. The ground is out of town and id bordered by the A42 a major cross midlands road route. There was a large car park and it was filling and in the ground 242 fans had turned up, Ashby’s second largest gate of the season. This was their third game of the week as they catch up on their backlog of fixtures and try to move away from the relegation places which at the moment they are just avoiding.

The pitch was of grass, mainly flat, with a slight side to side slope, and with some areas being worn and heavily sanded. Walking through the entrance you soon notice that everything is compact at one end of the ground. There is a clubhouse with an outside awning for extra seating and a food shack that faces it. In front of these is a seated stand right behind the goal where we sat and found it an unusual view being so close to the goalkeeper. Next to this stand is a covered standing area. One end and side is open, the side onto some training and junior pitches. The other side has the two dugouts and another compact covered seated stand that looked as if it was for officials only.

Ashby Ivanhoe were formed in 1948 playing initially in local leagues and moved up to the East Midlands Counties League in 2018 and a year later to the Midland League. League reorganisations and on field performances moved them further up the league ladder in 2023.

There was an original Newark FC in 1886 but by the second world war they had disbanded . Briefly resurrected in the 1970’s it’s current form dates to 1991. Since joining the Nottinghamshire Alliance in 1997 they have progressed through the Central Midlands League and up to the Premier Division, North, of the United Counties League. It is a community owned club and now plays in very modern community facilities.

Ashby Ivanhoe FC 1 Newark Town FC 3

Saturday 28th March 2026, United Counties Football League League, Premier Division North.

Ashby Ivanhoe FC, Lower Packington Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 1TS

16th v 4th, The Knights v The Blue Army

Ashby Ivanhoe, Light and dark blue vertical striped shirts with two white stripes in the middle of the front with a red stripe in between and dark blue shorts. Goalkeeper in black shorts with a green and black vertical striped top.

Newark; Pink shirts with black shorts, the goalkeeper in all orange.

The first 30 minutes of the game had no pattern and neither side dominated and the crowd seemed more interested in chatting to each other.

It came alive though on 33 minutes when William Robson was set up by a pass along the ground ground pass from the left. He gave the home side the lead with his left foot stroking the ball across the goalkeeper into the right hand corner of the net.

Both teams came alive with Ashby looking comfortable. However right on half-time, from out of a group of players on the edge of the box Tristan Drummond smashed the ball into top left hand corner of the net for the equaliser.

Ivanhoe came out in the second half with renewed vigour but after 16 minutes they fell behind,for the first time, when Harry Allcock, against run of play, on the edge of the box, and his back to goal, turned, swivelled his left foot and put the ball to the left of the keeper.

Only seven minutes later a corner from the left was headed on to centre of the goal where Harry Allcock, again, unopposed, headed the ball home, to the right.

Ashby now looked a beaten team as Newark controlled the game to the end, which felt like it was never coming, with the referee adding on many minutes that didn’t appear to have been needed.

Ashby should survive this season but their end of season glut of games does not help their cause. Newark by contrast will have been happy to increase their play off chances. Talking of end of season, it’s always amazing that once we reach the New Year, a few postponements, and the season is almost over. Where has it gone.

The chips were a large portion, hot, crispy, perhaps too crispy, a bit greasy gaining a good score of 63. Mine were quite thin but later others were walking by with much fatter chips, must have been a different bag. You can see that I forgot to take a picture of the chips before I ate them!

The many seasons in Baslow.

I returned to Baslow, to this time see a football match at this picturesque football ground.

On the same day that the clocks went forward one hour in the UK to welcome British Summer time, it was a cold start and my car temperature gauge told me it was getting colder as I approached this edge of the Peak District village. The temperature was 5 degrees but this didn’t seem to worry the lambs running about on the hill field opposite. It didn’t warm up during the game either and although summer beckoned, we had sleet, rain, a cold wind and some sunshine in the time I was there. Although the biting strong wind was not appreciated, at least it meant that the black, dark grey and white clouds scuttled by, occasionally giving some blue sky, sun and some welcome warmth.

I had come to see a table top clash between Hammer and Pincers and Thurgoland Welfare in the Sheffield and District Fair Play League.

This League is for teams who play within a 12 mile radius of Ponds Forge in Sheffield and normal kick off time is 10.30 am on a Saturday Morning. The Hammers and Pincers is a pub in the West of Sheffield and Thurgoland Welfare is situated in Thurgoland north of the city on the road to Penistone.

Hammer and Pincers 1 Thurgoland Welfare 2

Sheffield and District Fair Play League, Baslow Sports Field, Church Lane, Baslow, Bakewell, DE45 1SP.

Saturday 28th March 2026, 10.30 am kick off. Ist V 3rd

Hammer and Pincers,Orange and black vertical striped shirts with black shorts. Goalkeeper in purple top with black shorts

Thurgoland Welfare, Blue shirts with red shoulders and sleeves and red shorts with goalkeeper in all black.

The Kick off was 3 mins late waiting for ref, and with the teams even in the first 20 minutes it was the hail, rain, sun and wind that were the feature.
It was noticeable that the teams had a wide variety of ages but were competitive and a much higher skill level than I had expected. The home team made more passes but either the away keeper thwarted them or they were shy to shoot near to goal.

After a corner to H&S on 37 minutes Thurgoland quickly broke away down field, leaving the home keeper exposed to parry a fierce shot diving to his left, only for another Thurgoland attacker to nip in and place the ball into the net.

Despite Hammer and Pincers having more of the ball in the first half they went in behind at the break.

Feeling very cold a Sausage Roll and coffee on offer as a special at £4.75 revived me for the second half. The cafe at the Sports Field is open for on most days and offers a great place to relax.

Into the second half, and the home team were again shading the posesion and hit the intersection of the cross bar and upright on 20 minutes. Seven minutes later they equalised when their number 12 who had played well all game, held the ball and slipped it through to the overlapping umber 3 who put it underneath the goalkeeper into the left hand corner of the net.

With the game ebbing and flowing and full time beckoning Thurland’s number 11, from 30 yards out, just hit the ball into the top right hand corner of the goal. He celebrated with joy, not surprising as it would have been a goal of the month on ‘Match of the Day’.

Hammer had no time to get an equaliser and the two teams will resume their rivalry in a few weeks at Thurgoland in the League and at Doncasters Keepmoat Stadium in the final of the cup.

Great venue, great cafe, great football and an amazing winner. Up until then my man of the match would have been Hammer and Pincers 17 year old goal keeper.

I’ll watch more of this level of football in the future.

Being Non-League Day and an early finish I moved on to another game.

The sun comes out for Northallerton Town FC

February the 28th is the meteriological last day of winter in the UK. It would be good if the weather reacted to such finite rules. Winter seemed to be leaving us, with a dry day, 10 degrees, but still grey and overcast with small patches of blue sky peeping through.

I found Northallerton Towns’ stadium on the South West edge of the town, part of a park and on the edge of housing. The club moved here in the mid 1970’s when the local council decided they needed their town centre location to extend the Town Hall. The car park was huge with the entrance at one corner of the ground. On entering I found it all very open with all of the facilities on one side, the entrance, covered standing, covered seating, changing rooms, food counter and clubhouse.It was a big club house. With two large TV’s, plenty of seating, a large bar and dance area.Both ends have some low terracing and the other side is flat.

This was Northallertons’ first game at home for five weeks due to postponements, and lack of playing time on the grass had left it in good condition.

A football team has been located in Northallerton since around 1895 playing under different Northallerton guises. They played in local Leagues until 1982 when they moved up to Division 2 of the Northern League. Since then they have been up and down the leagues, suffered financial problems but regained a place in Division One in 2019 where they have consolidated their position.

Penrith FC were founded in 1894, similar to Northallerton. Originally playing in the North Eastern League they became members of the Northern League Division 2 in 1947 where they stayed until 1982 joining the North West Counties League. A brief five years there saw them promoted to the Northern Premier League but by 1990 they were back in the NWCL returning again to the Northern League 7 years later.

In 2003 they won the Northern League Division Two and in 2007 they merged with another Penrith club and moved to a new ground in 2009. They have continued to play in the Northern Premier League.

Northallerton Town 2 Penrith AFC 2

Saturday 28th February 2026. Kick Off 15.00 pm.

Ainderby Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8HA

17th v 11th, The Ally v Bonnie Blues/Cumbrians
Attendance 120

Northallerton; White and black vertical striped shirts with all white backs and black shorts, goalkeeper in all dark green.
Penrith; All blue kit, with white flash on shoulders and arms, goalkeeper in all fluorescent yellow.

Penrith were first out of the blocks and took the game to the home team. They were rewarded after just 11 minutes when Connor Shields hooked the ball goal wards from a cross from the right. Northallerton’s goalie scooped it away but the referee awarded a goal deciding that the ball had crossed the line. The assistant referee didn’t give it but the home team didn’t contest his ruling.

After the goal Penrith still looked more menacing, spreading the ball wide with skilful play.

With half-time beckoning Northallerton drew level when Bailey Prudhoe received the ball just outside the centre of the goal area and he brilliantly curled it over the goalkeeper who was off his line.
Leaving the field at half-time Northallerton must have been the happier having weathered Penrith’s many attacks and levelled up just before the break.

Unfortunately at half-time the rain came and swept across the pitch from side to side.

Penrith had not been put off by the home teams equaliser and like the first half they took the lead after 11 minutes when Mathew Williamson took down the ball on run, shrugged off a defender and beat the advancing goalkeeper placing the ball along ground which ended up in the right hand corner of the net.

The game now opened up, going from end to end and the home keeper made a point blank save to his right after 24 minutes and 11 minutes later managed to keep out a rebound off his own defenders knees.

With just 3 minutes to go the rain stopped and the sun came out. A few minutes later Penrith had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside.

Then two minutes into added time a long ball was beautifully played over the away teams defence for Alistair Banks to run forward and hit it to the right of the goalkeeper to level. So the sun had come out for Northallerton and they managed to force a draw when a defeat looked more likely.

Penrith must have driven back over the A68 wishing they had made more of their chances.

The chips were a large portion,
golden, hot tasty, a bit floury, crisp outside, not greasy but a bit dry. They were very good and scored a 70.

Shirebrook move nearer safety.

Although the rain had stopped the game I had hoped to see at Brodsworth was called off late morning. Needing a quick solution to my problem I drove locally to Shirebrook. Shirebrooks’ season had not been going well and they had an intriguing fixture against the team just below them. What a change from recent weeks with clearer skies and the sun shining through at times. Pulling up to park at the ground I was faced with a full car park and lots of parking on the overflow grass area. I was not surprised that as previously the field directly in front of the stadium was being used by the local Whippet Society to train their dogs to race. The field is used for formal racing during the year. Three dogs were being readied to run the course as I walked to the football, although I think that they were greyhounds. Both the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales are moving towards banning greyhound racing. There are no registered greyhound tracks left in Wales or Scotland and below 20 in England, with two major venues closing in 2025.

As I walked into the ground I realised that the slope from end to end most probably meant that the drainage here had saved the match. The grass surface though was cut up in places and the goal mouths were heavily sanded, added to this players warming up were getting used to the ball bobbling on the uneven surface. The grey clouds building in the distance looked ominous and were moving in line with the strong breeze. Luckily the sun was occasionally peeping through and the temperature was up to 10 degrees.

Although this ground shows its age, it has two good seated stands on one side and covered standing down most of the other. with a snack bar and entrance taking up the rest of the side. The snack bar is open to those inside and outside the ground so that the earlier whippet/greyhound group could use it as well.

Both Shirebrook and Gedling, are from ex mining communities and now play their football in the United Counties Division One, a strong league in these parts.

There have been Shirebrook teams for over 100 years but the current club dates back to 1985 when it was formed as Shirebrook Colliery, changing its name to Town in 1991 when the colliery closed. It had played in the Northern Counties East Leagues for nearly 20 years but recently has found it hard to progress further with a limited amount of resources. It was placed in the United Counties League at the last F.A. reorganisation of local football.

Gedling Miners Welfare were started in 1919 playing in local football they changed their name to Mapperley St Judes in 1930 and took on their current name during the Second World War. Continuing after the war in senior local football they became ever present Amateur Cup entrants, setting ground attendance records in the 1950’s against Pegasus and Bishop Auckland. These heights were not maintained and by 1999 they were relegated down a Division bouncing back the following year. Gedling were accepted into the Central Midland League five years later and soon gained promotion to the Supreme Division. In 2008 they became founder members of the East Midlands Counties League where they stayed until its demise in the League restructuring and at that point were placed in the United Counties League Division One.

Shirebrook Town FC 1 Gedling Miners Welfare FC 0

Saturday 21st February 2026, United Counties League, Division 1, 15.00 pm kickoff

Shirebrook Town FC, Langwith Road, Shirebrook, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG20 8TF

19th v 20th, The Steel Men v Gedling/The Miners

Shirebrook; Red shirts, Black shorts, goalkeeper in all light grey.

Gedling; All light blue strip, goalkeeper in all pink

The first ten minutes of the game saw Gedling push the home team back, playing up hill, and their wide players looked to have the beating of the home defence. However Shirebrooks confidence changed when they hit the post following a corner on ten minutes.From then on Shirebrooks defence seemed to strengthen giving their forwards more support to attack Gedling. Both teams were finding it hard to control the ball on the uneven pitch but just before halftime Joe Godfrey made space for himself outside the right hand corner of the goal area and let go of a shot that zoomed across the goalkeeper ito the top left hand corner of the net, a great strike. Shirebrook maintained their lead until half time.

Immediately play was resumed the rain came back.

The second half saw the home defence get fully on top of the Gedling attack which made continual efforts to force a draw. This left Shirebrook to mount some good counter attacks and with 15 minutes left should have made it two when a beautiful ball from the right along the ground was tapped towards goal only to hit the post. A follow up shot just grazed the outside of the post again and ended up in the side netting. Gedling forced the play for the final 15 minutes but the home defence were not to be beaten.

The result meant that Shirebrook move further away from the relegation battle, but Gedling like a few others have a few games in hand on them. It looks like a nervy finish to the season for up to 10 teams in the league.

The chips were really tasty, crisp and didn’t taste greasy, unfortunately they were only warm as my serving was the last in the tray having been previously cooked in a fryer. The lack of temperature meant I only scored them a 64, it could have been higher.

Cobblers polish off Stevenage

Will it ever stop raining I thought as I journeyed south to watch one of my grandsons play under 8’s football. Yes it did, 10 minutes before I arrived at a school in Northampton with an all weather pitch. His side won 7.3 but all three matches I had identified to watch on the way home were postponed, due to the rain, after early pitch inspections.

Luckily the family have season tickets at Northampton and their game was on. I have been to Sixfields before but to see my son in the final of the Northamptonshire Sunday Cup and a semi-final of the FA Sunday Cup, but not to see Northampton Town.

Sixfields Stadium is built into a hill from the top of which you can get a good view of it. It has separate. covered stands on each side, 3 seated, and one standing. High up in the rafters of the stand I was in is a dummy owl to frighten off pigeons and the like.

Northampton Town were formed in 1897 and immediately their biggest rivals, the local rugby club objected to their name. A compromise was eventually reached when they added ‘Town’ to their name.A short stay in the local league was followed by time in the Southern League until they were elected to then Football League in 1920. Northampton Town have spent their life yo yoing up and down the 3rd and 4th leagues in England, apart from a purple patch in the mid sixties when they made it to the First division. By 1967 they were back in Division 3 (League1) to continue their ups and downs. An Administration in 1992 was followed from a move from the old County Ground, shared with the cricket club, to a new stadium at Sixfields.Despite good attendance at games they continue to struggle in the face of many financially richer clubs.

Stevenage Borough Football Club was only formed in 1976 after the demise of Stevenage Athletic, after some years in the Isthmian league they moved up to the Conference in 1994. Ground issues stopped them from progressing higher but after these were resolved and the club won the Conference in 2010 they made it to the English Football League Two. Promotion to League One was soon won but 3 years later in 2014 they were back in League Two. It took until being runners up in 2023 to regain the higher status where they sit today.

With the rain stopped, it had turned out sunny at 10 degrees but menacing clouds were still in the sky threatening yet more drenchings. Despite the weather the grass pitch remains in very good condition.

Northampton are having a poor season sitting second from bottom of League 1 whilst Stevenage, in mid table, still have the opportunity to press on and maybe make the play offs.

Northampton Town 3 Stevenage 1

Saturday 7th February 2026. 15.01 pm kick off.

English Football League Division 1

Sixfields Leisure, Northampton, NN5 5QJ

Northampton Town; Claret shirts with a white stripe down the sides, white shorts, goalkeeper in all green.

Stevenage Borough, All sky blue shirts and shorts with goalkeeper in all bright yellow.

23rd v 8th, Cobblers v The Boro

The game lacked any pattern or momentum in the early stages with the Stevenage defence towering over their opponents.

The deadlock was broken though when with 28 minutes gone, a teasing cross, from the left, was met by Michael Forbes who squeezed it over the away keeper into the far top corner of the net. The euphoria didn’t last long when a ball over the top of Cobblers defence was missed by a defender allowing Jamie Reid to run onto it and flash it past the keeper.

As half time beconned the home team were awarded a penalty when Cameron McGeehan, bearing down on goal, was clearly fouled and a penalty awarded. As the Stevenage players objected their number 19 scuffed up the penalty spot but was spotted by the linesman and the referee awarded him a yellow card.The penalty kick from Tom Eaves was aimed directly at the goalkeeper who parried it only for Eaves to run in and tap it into the net. Cobblers fans were delighted that their team went in ahead at half time.

Stevenage tried hard to stamp their authority on the new half and on 64 minutes the home keeper managed to force a shot onto the bpost and away. Stevenage again came close to equalising with ten minutes left but with numerous bodies in the Northampton goal mouth they twice managed to scoop the ball away off the goal line.

Northampton’s fans were in heaven and relieved on 89 minutes when they wrapped up the game with their third. Keeping the ball on the right side if the penalty area a sprint to the by line secured the ball to be accurately cut back onto the head of Sam Hoskins to score.

The third goal heralded the Cobblers first win of 2026 and moved them out of the relegation places although they have a though ask to remain in League One. Stevenage missed the opportunity to get closer to the play off places and on this showing will find a mid table finish the likely outcome for their season.

No chips here and I decided against any food. The program though was glossy, informative and full of pics.

It’s cold in Staveley for the fans and Coalville.

With the freezing weather most local games were postponed. I drove very locally to Staveley Miners Welfare to see an intriguing United Counties Division One game between Staveley Miners Welfare, 7th and Coalville, 4th. The artificial playing surface meant this one was definitely on.

This is a very well run club with top class facilities for this level of football, and even arriving an hour early the main car park was full. Luckilly they have added a tarmacked overflow area. Cash only at the gate was a surprise with many clubs now going cashless. This had also caught a supporter out who followed me in who had no cash. He was obviously a fan, with his dog wearing a blue and white striped jacket. He was allowed in to pay at the bar where there was a minimum £5 purchase level for card purchases.

Even so early, the bar/clubhouse was packed with people drinking, eating, keeping warm and watching the early Premiership game on the TV’s with Villa 3.1 up on Forest.

It was certainly cold with the temperature hovering just above freezing as the wind made the wind chill even colder.

This stadium is spotless with plenty of covered seating and standing, even a fully contained area for the disabled and elderly. It was however the warm clubhouse that everyone wanted to be in.

When the game started the fans were still spilling out of the warmth and it was only then that you could see how many people had been huddling there. From one side of the ground where the seated stand is it was hard to focus, with the bright sun, on the cold clear day, slowly disappearing below the horizon.

Staveley Miners Welfare FC 2 Coalville Town FC 0

Saturday 3rd January 2026. United Counties League Division One. 15.00 pm kickoff.

Attendance 523. 7th v 4th, Trojans v Ravens

Staveley; Blue and white vertical striped shirts to the front with an all blue back. Blue shorts. Goalkeeper in all light green.
Coalville; Grey and white vertical stripes to the front of the shirt with white backs and black shorts. The goalkeeper in all light yellow.

Coalville looked very lively down both wings, and Staveley were competing hard and launching long throws into the away team’s penalty area. From one of these on 20 minutes the ball was thrown in from the right and headed down for Will Wraith to run on to and ram it into the net.

The sun finally dropped below the horizon and with a third of the game gone the floodlights were turned on. Staveley were on top but when Coalville’s Semachimbo burst into the penalty area 5 minutes before halftime, he was bundled over and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Ronnie Morley stepped up to take the penalty which hit the underside of the cross bar and rebounded out. Staveley were happy to go in for the break ahead.

The second half started with the Ravens applying more pressure, and were certainly on top. However a reckless tackle right in front of the two dugouts by Ryan Singh Sabota with 62 minutes gone initiated a few pushes and shoves, and when they calmed down the referee showed him a red card.

The game now changed and was really open with the away team trying to draw level, but with their one man disadvantage they were being stretched in midfield and at the back. With less than 10 minutes to go a fast through ball fell to Joel Ward, who steadied it and ran on to slide it under the goalkeeper, diving to his right.

Coalville did not look like coming back from that and the game made its way to a fine Staveley victory. The players and the fans were pleased to hear the final whistle. Staveley elated, Coalville dejected and the fans happy to get out of the cold.

On such a cold day, luckily the chips were hot, tasty, not greasy, golden, crispy on the outside but a bit squidgy on the inside. A good score of 72. I did think that the warm clubhouse on such a cold day did have some effect on this score.

2025, the year of the long throw.

It’s been coming for a while but in 2025 every lower league team seemed to have a long throw expert who could launch missiles into the heart of the defence. It seemed a throw back to twenty years ago when Rory De Lap terrorised Premier League teams.

What was also strange that in a year of a long hot summer with drought warnings and hose pipe bans, I came up against torrential rain. It started at Wimborne on New Years Day when arriving at the game with 30 minutes to kick off I was told that the game had just been called of because the all weather pitch was flooded. Into the spring and I was at Anstey Nomads, near Leicester, where the continuous down poor forced the game to be abandoned. Early Autumn and I visited Ottley where it just poured and poured from the time I got out of my car to the time I was sat back in it. It ruined the match and my view of the club, I’ll have to go back. Rain was not finished with me and a visit to FC Grace Dieu on 25th November was again greeted by rain, which I sheltered from in the car until just before kick off and then a match that actually benefited from it as each team battled to an exciting draw partly due to the pitch being unplayable on my mind but OK for the officials.

I managed to visit both the Harrogate teams, Harrogate Town and Harrogate Railway with the former having been a recent stella climber through the Non-League ranks. Keeping on the railway theme a trip to Lincoln Moorlands Railway revealed a club with great facilities from the past that is hanging on in there. On the flip side to this Barnard Castle FC have built a ground, at Tens Field, from nothing, and look to eventually go higher.

A couple of usual visits to Hallam FC, which I joined as a member which they encourage, to help give themselves the income to continue their journey as the oldest football ground in the world. I also joined Clapton FC after a visit to ‘The Old Spotted Dog’, London’s oldest ground and hope to be able to visit it again, this time for a match.

Having made several attempts to watch a game at Appleby Frodingham I finally beat the weather and made it. I also made a pilgrimage to Clarence Park to see St Albans City where I first saw my first match 70 years earlier. Unfortunately they were not good and eventually were relegated from the National League South. Talk has resurfaced about a move to the edge of Chiswell Green near an M25 junction. Great for away fans but the City base is in the City and I wonder if they did a transport to home games survey they would find that a large proportion travel by foot. I will follow this with interest and some trepidation.

I was lucky to get a ticket to the FA Cup Semi-final between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace but Villa didn’t turn up to play one of their bogey teams, the result was predictable. However Villa continue to surprise and ended 2025 in the top 3 of the Premiership, what a manager UNai Eery is.

Sad new in the summer with the demise of the Non-League Club Directory, I miss it but have been gifted subscriptions for ‘Nutmeg’ – The Scottish Football Quarterly and ‘Welsh Football’ – The National Football Magazine of Wales. How refreshing both of thee are in that they cover the complete breadth of their game, rather than a few traditional teams (but now not the most successful clubs) that an English Football Magazine would showcase.

A return to see two games, including the final, at the Berwick Charities Cup competition, was a highlight and I was also lucky to take in Berwick Rangers at the same time. A further trip to Scotland allowed me to see an early round of the Scottish FA Cup at Clachnacuddin (Inverness) and Partick Thistle on my return. Having seen some very attractive and skilful lower league matches in Scotland in the last few years I am not surprised to see, that despite a normal negative view of their national team, Scotland have qualified for the World Cup this year.

A foray into Wales found me on a sunny evening at Llangollen where I watched a competitive local derby in amongst a friendly, happy, family atmosphere with a great countryside backdrop, shame they lost. The hills as a backdrop were rivalled at Keswick and Ilkley.

In the Autumn a weekend feast of FA Cup games played in towns on the river Trent resulted in the underdogs St Albans and Gainsborough both being beaten by EFL teams. An FA Sunday Cup game on the Trent did not lift the gloom either in that it was another miserable weather game. But the best game of the year was on a very sunny day in Bradford where Bradford City won in added time against Fleetwood to gain automatic promotion to EFL league one. The tears and joy of the fans was infectious and will stay with me for many a day.

It was the River Erewash derby between Stapleford and Sandiacre that saw out the year and a 4.2 victory for the home side didn’t reflect how close the game was.

Here’s looking forward to a great 2026.

Local Erewash Derby was 90 minutes of excitement.

The Christmas period always used to bring up local derbies in the higher leagues, that seems to have fallen by the wayside, but is still very present in the Non-League scene. I decided to go to see Stapleford play Sandiacre in what is locally known as the Ereeash Clasico. These two teams are based only a few miles apart but the Erewash River, the Erewash Canal and a railway line are in between them. I was charged a pound more than usual but this included a program which I thought was a great idea.

I tried to visit Stapleford Town before but found that they were not playing their games at home because their ground was being upgraded, so luckily found that Sandiacre were at home, so I went there instead.

The redeveloped facilities at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground are first class. Entering the turnstiles you see an immaculate all weather pitch and to the right is a two storie club house at one end of the pitch. The ground floor is made up of changing rooms. with the upstairs being a well furbished bar/lounge and other social rooms. The Notts Forest v Man City game It was possible to view the match from two picture windows.

It was a grey day, just a slight drizzle in the air, and it felt cold at 6 degrees as the wind blew from end to end.

The new artificial pitch had a small covered seated stand on one side almost adjacent a small covered standing area. The ‘Club house’, changing rooms one end, and open on the other side and end Parking , main road around 2 ends other playing pitches.

Stapleford have only been running for 12 years but have come a long way and now with their new facilities have 34 teams of all ages, abilities and sexes.

Sandiacre Town were inaugural members of the Central Midlands League in 1983 but ground grading saw them drop back. They were back in the Central Midlands League in 1992 after they merged with Lace Web United. They joined the United Counties League Division One in 2023.

Stapleford Town 4 Sandiacre Town 2

Saturday 27th Decenber 2025

United Counties League Division One.

3rd v 11th. Saxons v The Saints

Stapleford; Red and black vertical stripes to the fronto of the shirts with all red backs and black shorts, the goalkeeper in all pink.

Sandiacre; All pale blue shirts with some black edging and pale blue shorts, goalkeeper in all pale yellow.

The floodlights were on from the start on such a grey day.

Sandiacre were at transformed team from the one I saw over a year ago and after a hectic 15 minutes they took the lead when a throw in from the right was not cleared and was eventually noded down for Jamie John McKenzie Williamson to hook the ball into the top left hand corner of the net despite the home team keeper getting his fingertips to the ball.

This woke up Stapleford who had been second best up to that point and they drew level 7 minutes later when after clever dribbling near the left of the goal away goal the ball was delivered along the ground for Max Taylor to tap home in the middle of the goal.

Sandiacre wouldn’t give in and on the half hour the Stapleford defence had to block 3 goal bound shots.

With 36 minutes on the clock, and against the run of play the ball was whisked out to the right and a pin point cross was headed on for Max Taylor again, standing all alone to make it 2.1.
An outstanding save by the Stapleford goalkeeper with just 5 minutes to half time enabled them to go in with a one goal lead.

The second half was only one minute old when a long throw that was not cleared bounced in the goal area and David Ayodeji Olatomide performed a spectacular overhead kick that found the net.

Although the game was not over physical, by the 70th minute, 6 Stapleford players were in the referees book.

Sandiacre tried hard to get back into the game but with only 5 minutes left it was made harder when Stapleford’s Alan Vosrkresenskis headed the ball down towards goal and the unfortunate Sandiacre goalkeeper, who had well, let the ball slip out of his hands and drift into the net.

41 corner from right headed down gk let ball slip out of hands for 4.1.

That should have been it, but with just a few minutes left Sandiacre scored again when Wayde Hines followed on the meet a parried ball from the home keeper. Sandiacre picked the ball up and rushed to restart the game . It was all over though and Stapleford maintained their slot in the play off places but both teams could be proud of serving up a pulsating game that was appreciated by the 235 spectators.

No chips here, probably a good thing after overeating at Christmas.

Hallam Rarely Disappoints.

I journeyed into Sheffield and avoided the Christmas shoppers and Sheffield United fans, at home to Birmingham, to meet my daughter to visit Hallam.

She completed the ’92’, seeing a match at all Football League grounds in 2022 and has been on a few European ones as well. But she had never been to the FIFA recognised oldest football ground, Hallam FC.

This is a ground visited by people from all over the world and even on this grey day you recognise the history as you approach it. You first see the cricket pitch adjacent to the Football and the reason for Hallam FC’s existence, like many of the other first football clubs.

As well as visiting for the football, and my daughters experience, I was collecting my membership of the ‘1860 Members Club’ which I had joined earlier in the season. The £12 for a years membership helps to maintain this historic ground and club. https://hallamfc.co.uk/product/club-membership-2025-26/

We bought our food from the outside kiosk and then took it inside to the warm and comfortable clubhouse. Unfortunately there was no programme to study or a team sheet to view.

Hallam we’re playing North Ferriby FC who were only formed in 2019 after a previous club, North Ferriby United were wound up .

North Ferriby FC have come a long way in a short time and the game was quite poignant in that they last played against each other just before ‘[Covid Lockdown’ scrubbed out all Football. Both teams were then in the Northern Counties East League Division One and both gained promotion to the NCE League, Premier Division and then to the Northern Premier League East, where they both play today.

The Grey skies over hung the pitch that was also shrouded with some mist despite a cold breeze that made the temperature of 7 degrees feel colder. The pitch has a big slope, within FA rules, which does not always drain well, and the teams warming up were already cutting up the turf.

Hallam FC 2 North Ferriby FC 2

Saturday 20th December 2025, 15.00 pm kick off.

Hallam FC, Sandygate Road, S10 5SE

The Countrymen v The Villagers

13th v 9th

Hallam; all royal kit with some white edging. The Goalkeeper in all orange.
North Ferriby FC; White shirts with green shorts. The goalkeeper in all gold.

Hallam kicked off down hill and immediately you knew that the game wasn’t going to be dull. Both teams played at a quick pace and the pitch looked heavy fro the start. A no holds barred tackle by two opposing players popped the ball after 9 minutes.

Only two minutes later Hallam we’re Infront when a throw in from the right was headed on into the centre of the goal where Brandon Bradbury, making his 200th appearance for the Countrymen, hooked the ball into the opponents net with an overhead kick.

The Hallam team stopped/hesitated when their Central Defender seemed to have recieved a finger in the eye. The referee allowed play to continue and Lewis Dennison curled the ball, from outside the goal area, into the top right hand corner of the goal hitting the underside of the cross bar on the way in. Hallam’s protests were waved away and it stayed 1.1 on 16 minute.

The game was end to end entertainment but was disrupted around 32 minutes after a collision and injury to Hugo Warhurst in Hallam’s goal.

With the first 45 minutes up of the first halt a Hallam corner from right was headed on and on again to far post where it was Brandon Bradley again, nodded it past the away keeper for the lead at half time.

Hallams goalkeeper could not resume in the second half and their number 9 South substituted for him.

Within one minute of the restart the referee booked Hallam’s 5th player, this time for simulation after a tc#ackle in the opposing box. This didn’t endear the home fans with no North Ferriby players having been booked.
The second half had slowly turned into a rear guard action by Hallam who in theory with the slope should have had a slight advantage. Hallam did go forward and the North Ferriby keeper made a great save with 10 minutes left. At the other end, South in goal, was dealing competently with the Villagers attacks until with just 6 minutes to go a visitors throw in from the right was flicked into the centre and bundled in by Joshua Martin Thacker.

The last few minutes were a nervy time with either team trying not to make a mistake. The 2.2 draw was fair on the day with both teams showing a lot of fight and skill in poor conditions. Both of these teams look unlikely to be drawn into a relegation battle as they look to consolidate themselves at this level.

Considering the weather, and it being the last weekend for shopping before Christmas, the crowd of 622 was excellent.

The other bonus of the game was that there were chips, and these turned out to be hot, golden, tasty, crispy with firm but fluffy centres. Having not eaten any lunch a large portion was called for. A great score of 74.

Thank You Hallam.

Torrential Rain doesn’t dampen 6 goal thriller.

Having driven south through a curtain of mist, spray and rain to Northampton, to see my grandson lose 4.1, I returned North on the M1 to Junction 23. Just a few miles along the Ashby Road is a left turning to Grace Dieu Manor.

The former Grace Dieu Manor Schools buildings were sold in 2022 to FCV International Football Accademy. The accademy was founded in 2007 as the first Prvate Football Accademy in the UK. Initially located at Nene Park in Northamptonshire, moving to Corby and then Stamford and now a permanent home at Grace Dieu.

They offer full time courses from the age of mid teens to students who wish to combine their academic progress with that of football. Academic courses are supplemented by the nearby Loughborough College and University.

The facilities are impressive for the students along with the artificial pitch that was receiving loving attention when I arrived, rollers, mechanical squeegees and other devices were being used to clear some of the deluge. There was plenty of parking.

The FCV Grace Dieu Football Club that I saw were only formed in 2023.

Having finished second and gained promotion from the Nottinghamshire Senior League Division One they romped away to win the Premier Division in the 2024/25 season and gained a further promotion to the United Counties League, Division One for this season.

Clipstone were known as Clipstone Welfare until 2013, a name they had chosen in 1955,4 having previously been Clipstone Combine. They have been a successful local Nottinghamshire side and reached the Nothern Counties East League only to drop back to the East Midlands Counties Premier Division and now play in the United Counties League after recent league reorganisations.

Th rain continued on a miserable day with the temperature rising to 6 degrees. This ground has hard block paved standing on one side and behind one goal where there is also some covered standing. There was no seating although I overheard a conversation that was saying some was being fitted before the end of March to comply with League grading. A cafe/food bar and toilets was located at the top of an open embankment which would be a good vantage point on a dry day.

FCV Grace Dieu 3 Clipstone 3

Saturday 22nd November 2025, kick off 15.00 pm. United Counties League, Division One

FCV Academy, Grace Dieu, Manor Park, Thringstone, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 5UG

5th v 18th

FCV Grace Dieu Orange shirts and shorts, goalkeeper in all purple.

Clipstone, Red shirts black shorts, goalkeeper in luminous green.

Grace Dieu were out of the blocks and immediately forced Clipstone back with quick wide plays, particularly from the right.

Clipstone weathered the storm but did not look comfortable. With 16 minutes gone the home side gained a penalty as a burst into the box was cynically stopped by pulling the player down. The penalty though, was saved, but the ball was put over the line from the rebound. The referee, who was on hand, immediately disallowed the goal for a foul on the keeper.

The marauding right back for Grace Dieu, Nathan Linden, was rewarded with a goal, on 31 minutes, when he was put through and he slammed the ball across the goalkeeper just inside the post. Clipstone were continually being undone by the home teams pace and were lucky not to go further behind. seven of the bank of 14 floodlights were turned on after 35 minutes, but they didn’t lift the gloom for the watching spectators or the away teams defence. As the teams left the field at half time you had to wonder why the home team were not further ahead.

By the time the second half started water was beginning to pool on the pitch and Clipstone seemed to have new vigour in attacking their opponents more quickly moving the ball forward at pace. FCV Grace Dieu should have gone further ahead within 5 minutes of the restart but their number nine had beaten the defenders and goalkeeper to present an open goal, he hesitated and allowed two defenders to rush back and block his shot.

Out of the blue with 63 minutes on the clock Lewis Weaver robbed the home player of the ball and unleashed an unstoppable drive into the top left hand corner of the net. With the ball now being slowed by the surface water, and Clipstone’s more organised showing, they went ahead, when some nice close passing from within their own half unleashed Lewis Weaver again to score on the run with his left foot.

FCV rallied and equalised with 76 minutes gone when Jack James Harry ran through the centre, steadied the ball and volleyed it along the ground, 2.2. But within a minute Clipstone were ahead again when from outside the goalkeeping area Jack Thatcher lifted his left foot and fired the ball into the roof of the net.

Clipstone were now running after everything trying to preserve their lead until the end. When it looked like they had made it, Spencer James -Weir Daley smashed the ball into the net after receiving a long ball and jinking from side to side, evading the away defence. Clipstone had been undone by the added 4 minutes, and the referee blew the final whistle moments later. FCV must have felt the better of the two teams having gained a point, while Clipstone must have felt they had lost two. In reality, Clipstone had retrieved a point when looking back, at half time, they were second best.

There were chips here, but I have to say they were the worst I have had at any football match. After trying one I smothered them with tomato sauce, but that didn’t help. They were cold, limp, soggy and tasteless scoring a miserable 20 for my chip league.