2024, Another Great Year.

2024 was my seventh year of writing this blog and I thank everyone who has read it this year, making it the most popular year so far.
The year started at Garforth in North East Leeds where on a muddy pitch they were the better team and went on to win promotion later in the season. It was the first of 48 matches including some International Excursions.

There were three excursions outside of England, in theory, with games in Italy, Scotland and Wales (well almost).
The Italian game in Florence to see Fiorentina was a highlight, not because of the game or the weather, but because of the generosity of a local fan who guided me from the railway station to the ground and explained how I would get back. The unique Mussolini era architecture has cover for a very small minority of fans and the rest of us were drenched with a biblical type downpour. Luckily the food stall sold plastic ponchos, I wonder why!

The trip to Gretna was an experience in that I have not seen such avant garde parking. Cars were just abandoned everywhere, with no order but everyone seemed happy and negotiated leaving with no problems at all. The game was a great advert for the Lowland League and the Scotch pie was somehow tasty, I had never been impressed with one before.
On to Wales, but not Wales, as Cymru champion The New Saints played a European Conference League game at Shrewsbury Town’s stadium to meet UEFA standards. Although they lost 2 nil to a very competent Panathinaikos, their exploits at this stage of European football has raised the bar of Welsh football

The stand out game of the year was
Hednesford v Gainsborough Trinity in the F.A. Cup. Down and out, Gainsborough fought back to level at 3.3 at full-time and again came back to level at 4.4 after extra-time. Then the dreaded penalties that saw the away team go through 5.4. This will go down as one of the best games I have ever seen in nearly 70 years watching football.

Other highlights were seeing Loughborough Students gain promotion in a play off final when they overwhelmed Skegness 7 nil. A just reward, having previously been told by the F.A. that they wouldn’t be allowed promotion. A great decision by the F.A. to change their minds.

Another play off game saw, Shirebrook, a team near to me, stun Wakefield 4.0 to gain promotion but not in the completion they were playing in but in The United Counties League. This was due to another F.A. reorganisation. This one tidied up many clubs in the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, a good sensible move.
Good to see Chesterfield promoted and a great Chesterfield Sunday Cup final at Staveley where Brampton Rovers were winners 4.3 after extra time.
I saw Kiveton Miners Welfare’s last game at Stone Close and also one of Kiveton Park’s first. The ground already looks so much tidier. Just down the road I finally saw a game finished at S J R Worksop, but didn’t make it to Kirton Brickworks ground due to a switched venue because of a waterlogged pitch. Definitely one for the future.
I was bored at Mansfield in December but elated for the Chairman of Biggleswade Town, an old school friend, the month previous, when they came back to win 5.4 at Coleshill in the F.A. Trophy.
A second trip to see a Berwick Charities Cup match left me in awe, again, of this locally organised competition.

As the year ended Ashbourne, the underdogs, almost upset Clay Cross in the Derbyshire Senior Cup and should have reaped an award for their effort.
Finally another aborted visit to Appleby Frodingham’s ground saw me end up at Brigg and a last minute win at a ground soon to join the artificial pitch brigade.
As usual a fantastic year with 2025 beckoning. I wish everyone a Happy 2025.

Ten (9,8) man SJR Worksop suffer last kick defeat.

Last time I visited SJR Worksop the match was abandoned at half time when the referee refused to continue after being threatened by an official of the away team. So on a day of bright blue skies with some building cloud I tried to park where I had before but the gates were closed. Luckily the new ASDA next door had three hour parking. Having parked I walked to the signed gates to find no way in, but I could see in the far distant corner a new wooden hut. I was at this stage joined by the referee who had dashed from near Nottingham and was also trying to find his way in. We made it to the hut and he made it onto the pitch to start the game on time.

SJR is only 800 meters down the road from their senior local rivals Worksop Town F.C. who were also playing at home. It is on a large open site, the main grass pitch adjacent to the main road with other grass pitches leading on to changing rooms and hospitality areas. There are two small covered areas, one behind a goal and the other adjacent to the dug outs. The pitch was in very good condition and slightly sloped from one end to the other.

The best way to explain the history of the club is to show a board that is displayed by one of the corner flags.

There have been football teams in Hatfield, Doncaster, for over 100 years with Hatfield Main being formed back in 1913. That club was disbanded in 2012 after nearly 100 years, playing in various football leagues, Doncaster Leagues, Yorkshire League, Northern Counties East League, Central Midlands league and several Sunday Leagues. Hatfield Town F.C. are now the highest placed team competing from that area.

St Joseph’s Rockware of Worksop F.C. 1 Hatfield Town F.C. 2

Central Midlands Alliance, Premier Division North. Saturday 19th October 15.00 kick off. SJR Worksop, Rockware Glass Sports and Social Club, Sandy Lane, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 1TL. 10th v 7th

SJR: Blue and black vertical striped front to shirts, with all blue back. Black shorts. shirts black. Hatfield: Canary yellow shirts with navy blue shorts.

Hatfield kicking down hill in the first half started quickly and within 4 minutes they won a corner from the right that was delivered to the centre of the goal and headed down and in by Jack Bonser

Hatfield did not continue the pressure as the game became open. On 16 minutes a home team player delivered a huge long throw into the opposing penalty area which was not dealt with by the defenders and the ball fell to Cole Starkey who back heeled it into the net, just to the right of the despairing keeper’s hand.

The contest was disrupted after 30 minutes when a Worksop player was sent off for two yellow cards after it appeared that he continued to argue with the referee.

Despite being down to 10 men SJR competed well up until half time and there was little between the two sides.

To start the second half Hatfield began to take advantage of their extra man and gained the ascendancy. It looked like it was all over after 20 minutes into the re-start when a Worksop player was sin binned for 10 minutes for disagreeing with the referee and only a few minutes later another was also banished to the side lines. Unbelievably Hatfield wasted their 3 man advantage and SJR played some attacking football. They even created a great chance when a player was clean through one on one with the keeper only to put his shot just wide of the right hand post.

With their numbers restored to 10 Worksop looked to have held out but in added time Hatfield had five attempts from close range on goal, two were saved by the home goalkeeper, one hit the bar and on the fifth attempt the ball was rammed home with a strong shot along the ground.

There was little time to restart before the final whistle blew. SJR Worksop were disappointed that their great efforts were not even rewarded with a draw but they had created their own downfall with some indiscipline. Hatfield were very lucky to get the win despite all of the ace cards that they held during the match.

There were no chips but a cup of coffee and some Quavers were great.

Harborough checked by the Steelmen.

An early morning start to get to Brackley for an under 8’s Cup semi-final. Travelling on the M1 early on a Saturday morning is always easy so an early arrival gave me a chance to look at the pitch next to the 3g pitch the game was to be played on. This was next doors Brackley Town’s Ground which looked very tidy and inviting and I have marked it down for a future visit.

Unfortunately the team I had gone to watch lost 3.2 to Brackley but there was more football to follow. Not Brackley’s home game to Hereford but Harborough Town at home to Corby. This match was all ticket, there having been problems with the away supporters at Harborough in a previous encounter. There was good parking here next to the Rugby ground and the local Sports Centre. A noticeable police presence and each ticket was marked off against a list as you entered. This hadn’t deterred the 812 who were there, the highest home or away league attendance to watch Harborough all season.

There is only 11 miles, a 19 minute drive, between Market Harborough and Corby, which meant its local derby billing added to the fact that Harborough are top of the League and pushing for promotion. Harborough Town’s run in to the seasons end looks difficult in that they now have 6 away games left and only 3 home.

The pitch here is artificial with other similar training and junior pitches next door. It is flat with two small seated stands on one side as well as a small covered terraced area. The other three sides are open, fully tarmacked, with the clubhouse and changing rooms set back from one end.

It felt colder than the 10 degrees which was due to the cold wind whipping down the ground from end to end. The skies were mainly grey but a few blue patches peeped through every now and then. We stood at one end and felt the cool air as segregation of the fans precluded us from walking round and finding somewhere more comfortable.

Harborough Town came about in 2007 with the merger of Harborough Town Juniors Harborough Spencers and Harborough Minis. Starting in the Northants Combination within 3 years they had progressed to the United Counties league and won the Southern Division in 2022 progressing to the Northern Premier League. This meteoritic rise has been matched with the new 3G (Class 1 Pitch) in 2018 and other supporter facilities.

Corby Town were founded in 1948 and have developed well since moving from local Leagues through the United Counties, Midland League, Southern League and now Northern Premier League (Midland Division) through promotions, relegations and F.A. reorganisations. Floodlights were added to their Rockingham Triangle ground in 1958 when they stepped up to the Southern League and their current modern stadium was opened in 2011.

Harborough Town 1 Corby Town 1

Saturday 16th March 15.00 pm kick off The Bees v The Steelmen 1st v 10th

Harborough Town Community Football Ground, Northampton Road, Market Harborough, LE16 9HF, Known locally as the Beehive.

Northern Premier league midland Division.

Harborough Town; all yellow kit. Corby Town; all royal blue kit.

The first thing we noticed was the size of the home defence, they towered over everyone and as the game progressed it was noticeable that they were mobile too. But it was Corby who pressured the Harborough goal with quick balls to the wing and fast overlaps to deliver crosses that caused concern. Corby also seemed to be playing to a plan of being aggressive in all aspects of the game and early on were lucky not to have a player sent off when it appeared to most in the ground that the Harborough fullback had been elbowed in the face after one encounter.

Harborough Town’s keeper was in fine form and looked majestic in his goal, stopping numerous shots. The Bee’s looked jaded in their attacks which were mainly high balls to the front line that were easily picked off by the steelmen. At 0.0 at half time there was all still to play for, after a first half that was shaded by Corby.

Corby duly took the lead with 18 minutes of the second half gone when Jordon O’Brien sent a penalty kick to Elliot Taylor’s right with the keeper just failing to keep it out.

This goal stung the bees into a response and with the game opening up both sides could have scored in quick succession, Harborough having a goal disallowed and Elliot Taylor making a great left handed save to deny Toby Hillard’s shot when he was clean through.

It was Harborough however who managed to score an equaliser on 84 minutes when a powerful shot from Connor Kennedy was not cleared and a Corby defender ended up in the net with the ball. Despite shaving the crossbar Harborough could not get a winner and the points were shared.

A fair result on the balance of play with Corby being the most pleased of the two teams. Harborough remain top of the league with a two point cushion from the chasing pack.

I was pleased to have visited this ground and seen the Harborough set up which has developed significantly on and off the field in the past few years.

The Chips, well, a 10 minute wait didn’t help, which was the result of the large crowd. They looked great, were hot, golden, crispy on the outside, but were limp and mushy on the inside and didn’t taste great. a poor score of 56.

A Muddy start to 2024 at Garforth.

I started the New Year with a visit to a new venue for me, Garforth Town.

Garforth is 5 miles east of Leeds, within the Leeds conurbation. Its agricultural background was shattered like many villages/towns in this area by coal. With coal gone Garforth at the end of the M1 where it meets the A1M is now well placed for the industrial estates that spring up near these arterial roads. As you drive into the town from the motorway, the ground is immediately on your left within some modern housing. A sign on the main road says the car park is full and directs you to an overflow.

The overflow is an industrial estate on which is the Ginetta factory, the sports car company favoured by many as an initial route into motor racing. The estate unfortunately is hilly and having parked near the bottom the uphill walk was finally greeted by a long queue at the turnstile where Garforth’s largest crowd of the season 385 have turned up. Their opponents. Frickley Athletic is only a short drive away up the A1 and there are some of their fans in the queue.

Getting in with 2 minutes to spare I noticed the snack bar just to my left and bought some chips. This delayed me further and I missed the first 2 minutes.

The pitch sloped slightly from end to end, the surface was undulating and muddy in parts with patches of sand to help soak up the constant rain of the past week.

It was still overcast with some blue sky poking through the grey wispy cloud. The stillness of the day meant the cold air seemed to grip you.

Garforth Town were established in 1964 as The Miners Arms, playing Sunday League Football switching to Saturday Football in 1976. A move to the Yorkshire League in 1977 saw a name change to Garforth Miners an after progressing through the Divisions they were paced in the Northern Counties East Division one in its formation in 1982. Three years later they adopted their current name and moved to division 2 after another league re-organisation but immediately gained promotion back to Division 1. They achieved promotion to the Premier division in 1998 after some impressive seasons but were back ion Division 1 in 2003 after relegation. Their yoyo existence continued with promotion back to the highest division in 2006 and even higher the next season to the Northern Premier League Division 1 North. They were however back in the Northern Counties East League in 2013.

There is mention of Frickley Colliery Athletic Club as far back as 1908 but with the demise of the coal industry the Colliery name was dropped in the 1970’s. Evidence of the mining roots can be seen from the stand as it overlooks an old mining spoil tip that has been contoured and is now used as farm land with the hay bales in the fields which acted as seating for some people to overlook the ground and watch the game. Frickley ‘s best performance in the F.A.Cup was in 1985 when they reached the third round only to lose at home to local rivals Rotherham United. At that time they were playing their football in the highest level of Non League Football and were founder members of the Football Conference the following year. Since then they have slipped down some levels but are a well run and established club.

Garforth Town AFC 4 Frickley Athletic 2

Saturday 6th January 2024; 15.00 pm kick off. Miners v Blues. 7th v 10th

Bannister Prentice Community Stadium, Cedar Ridge, Garforth LS25 2PF

Garforth light blue shirts and shorts; Frickley green shirts and black shorts.

Garforth took the initiative from the start and deservedly took the lead on 11 minutes when Mathew Antcliff parried shot came back to him, he followed up to slot it home.

I took a seat high up in the stand and could see for miles. The stand was very impressive down the centre of one side but apart from a
small corrugated coverd structure one end all other areas were open to the elements.

Frickley countered after this set back and on 27 minutes were back on level terms when Garforth’s attempts at clearing a cross fell to Alhassane Keita who composed himself with his shot beating 4 defenders and the goalkeeper to level.
Only one minute later Garforth re-took the lead when Charlie Marshall received the ball on the edge of the goal area, turned superbly and slammed the ball into the bottom of the net to the right of the goalkeeper.

A bit of luck and skilful play enabled Frickley to level 6 minutes before half time when after some neat passing play Richard Collier shot which deflected off a defender looping over the goalkeeper to nestle in the goal. It stated at two all at half time.

With the light fading badly the home team did not put on their floodlights until 2 minutes into the second half. Electricity saving I presume. Despite the sapping conditions it was a very open game but Garforth regained the lead on50 minutes when Charlie Marshall collected an overhit ball on the left, ran to the by-line and Cleverley slotted the ball past defender for a 3-2 lead.

It continued a great battle when five minutes later Frickley hit the base of the post with a long shot. Charlie Marshall missed three chances in the next 10 minutes as the conditions worsened.

Frickley’s efforts became harder when just over three quarters through the game Alhassane Keita was sent off for kicking out after a strong challenge.

That man Charlie Marshall completed his hattrick with ten minutes left putting the game beyond the away teams reach with a tap in that was made by Sam Barker. Sam Barker seemed to be the player best suited to the conditions skipping over the mud all the game.

The game was a que for both sides to send on numerous substitutes to rest some weary legs.

A very competitive game in poor conditions but which entertained for the full 90 minutes.

Unfortunately the chips for me were warm, soggy and limp a score of 44. My scores are very subjective though as talking to family the next day I found that some liked chips that way!