All Roads Lead Somewhere...

narrow win for North

2013-05-18T19:48:00.000+01:00

ALFORD TOWN 3-4 NORTH SOMERCOTES UNITED

Friday 17th May 2013

East Lincolnshire Combination Division 1

East Street, Alford, Lincolnshire

With the missus working an afternoon shift and then going out in the evening with friends, I decide to look around for any possible football fixtures, though this was more in hope than expectation. The East Lincolnshire Combination (ELC) is a league that I have only have seen one game in before, but I do know that there are fixtures right up until the end of May. If anyone reading this is unaware, no competitive football under the authority of the English FA is allowed to be played in June. Anyway back to tonight, after checking the ELC's football.mitoo site I noticed that Alford Town had a division one fixture against North Somercotes United. I checked to see if my mum's other half Dave fancied coming with me for the game and if he also would do a fair chunk of the driving, as I would probably not be getting home from work until 7.30 that morning. Also coming along would be my dog Millie and the plan was to head to the coast first, some seven miles from Alford to allow her to have a run on the beach. After which a case of finding a pub to have some lunch before the 7pm kick-off.

Alford itself is a small town in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire with a population of around 3,500 inhabitants. It lies some thirteen miles north west of Skegness and seven miles west of Mablethorpe, while it is a 2 hour 15 minute (83 mile) journey from Leicester.

The town is probably best known for its five sailed windmill, a tower mill that was built in 1937 by Sam Oxley. It operated until 1955, and after standing idle for two years was restored to full working order. It is now used to produce stone ground organic flour and cereal. The windmill is also open to visitors and current prices are £3 for an adult. More details about opening times and other pricing is available on the mill's website: http://www.alford-windmill.co.uk/default.html

More information on the town can be viewed at the town's website: http://www.alford.info/

After leaving home around 1pm it was a case of detouring to Thurmaston to pick up and Dave and we then made our way north east to the coast, taking in a route through Melton Mowbray, Grantham and Sleaford. As we had to go through Alford I pulled in to have a look at the windmill and take a few photographs of it while the light was good. My destination of choice to walk Millie was a place called Anderby Creek as I knew it would be quiet and there being no or few distractions to an inquisitive and curious dog. This turned out to be the case and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves, not surprisingly considering a biting northerly wind made the air temperature a lot colder than it actually was, and added to this is that the children are still at school. We then made our way to Chapel St. Leonards for some chips before heading back to Alford to find a pub. We pulled in to the George Inn next to the church in the town, and after checking that they allowed dogs into the bar settled down for an hour.

I had my suspicions that the game would kick off early so we left the George around 6.30pm and this proved to be the case, with it starting 6.50pm instead of the scheduled 7pm. The rain which was forecast in this part of the country was, according to the forecasts not due to arrive till after dark, but as luck would have it, it started as we were leaving the pub. After trying to take photographs for the first half hour I gave up and put the camera back in the car. Fortunately there is a small amount of cover at the ground in the form of an overhang in front of the clubhouse and changing rooms, and we spent the second half watching the game from here drying out.

With one game remaining North Somercotes went into this with a one in three chance of becoming East Lincolnshire Combination champions. They needed to win this evening and hope that results elsewhere involving the other two title challengers Bluestone and A&G Auto Repairs on the 18th go their way. Alford had nothing but pride to play for with them already relegated to division two, recording only six points from nineteen league games.

The game itself was one of the better and more entertaining ones that I have seen this season at level, and the visitors recorded the victory by the narrowest of margins.

North took the lead inside the opening five minutes, only for Alford to equalise almost immediately with a sweetly struck shot from the edge of the penalty area. The visitors then took control in terms of scoring as they led 3-1, before a penalty for Alford made it a one goal game at the break. Probably around the mid-point of the second half and Alford deservedly equalised with the best goal of the game. Alford broke down the right and when the ball came across it was stroked home first time from the edge of the area, with just enough bend to beat the diving keeper. The game did become a bit scrappy with the visitors, who were clearly rattled resulting in long punts forward, and the home side relying on quick balls out of defence. The winner came with four minutes remaining when the North #12 was unmarked at the far post and headed home a cross from the right.

At the end it was hard not to feel disappointed for Alford who deserved something from the game.

note: Bluestone and A&G Auto Repairs both won their games on the 18th May 6-2 @ Donington and Louth Town 'A' respectively, meaning that Bluestone are the East Lincolnshire Combination champions for 2012/13.

27 photos taken at the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Coventry Alliance - part 2

2013-05-12T14:15:00.002+01:00

Brooklands / Jaguar 1-4 Stockton
Saturday 11th May 2013
Coventry Alliance Premier Division
Jaguar Sports & Social Club, off Browns Lane, Allesley, Coventry

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 10 (head count)

For my second Coventry Alliance (CA) game in the space of a few days I decided to head towards Coventry itself, and more specifically the village of Allesley which is north west of the city centre. Again like my game on Thursday there was no mention of this fixture on the CA's football.mitoo page, but was again listed on Stockton FC's website who happened to be the opposition this afternoon.

Brooklands / Jaguar Football Club play their home games at the Jaguar Sports & Social Club which is off Browns Lane, adjacent to a large new housing development. The sports & social club is home to a swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis courts and the football pitch, the latter of which is at the back of the building with access to the right. There are no pitch side facilities as it were, while the land is also a public right of way.

The game wasn't too bad with it being played in a mixture of glorious sunshine and heavy showers. The first half was fairly even, but I always felt that Stockton had the potential to be the better side. This was duly confirmed around the half hour mark when Carl Laws drilled the ball across the Brooklands keeper into the bottom corner of the goal. The second half started earlier than I expected and I missed Kyle Walker's equaliser on forty seven minutes. As the half worn on Stockton had enough chances to re-take the lead and put this game to bed. Their second goal of the afternoon came from one of their substitutes on 76 minutes but I missed it due to trying to take cover from the rain under some trees. From what I can gather it was a sweetly struck shot from twenty yards out. With the game coming into the last five minutes Stockton made sure of the points with a third goal. This came from their no. 9 whose shot from the edge of the area deceived the home keeper. To rub salt into the wounds Stockton added another goal in stoppage time which again came from their no. 9.

47 photos of the venue and the game can be viewed in the following slideshow: Brooklands / Jaguar FC

Coventry Alliance - part 1

2013-05-11T10:49:00.000+01:00

If anyone still looks at this blog hoping for proper match reports then I can only appologise, as due to my increasing interest in photography I am spending less time actually watching the game(s) taking place and more time being behind the lens.

With a night off from work on Thursday I took advantage of this and headed to Nuneaton for a game in the top division of the Coventry Alliance. The Coventry Alliance (CA) sits outside the National League System and does not have any formal promotion and relegation agreement with the Midland Combination (MC). That said often teams from the CA will beat teams from the MC in Birmingham FA County Cup and numerous charity cup competitions. I have seen very little football in this league over the years, in fact prior to Thursday I had only seen two games in which the home team were / are members of the CA. The first one was a few years ago when I saw the now defunct Witherley United lose 3-1 @ home to Woodlands WMC, and secondly was this season when Brinklow defeated Mahal of the West Midlands (Regional) League 4-3 in the Birmingham FA Junior Cup. In the games so far I have found the standard to be of a pretty decent level, with less emphasis put on the quality of the grounds. In the top division there are also three officials at the games, something that is very rarely seen at what is nominally step 9 or the 13th level of English football. There is one thing that is a major bugbear of mine about the league, and that is getting up to date fixtures and ground details for the member clubs. The CA does finally have a page on the football.mitoo site but often scheduled fixtures are not shown. For example there are no fixtures for May 11th being listed, but on Stockton FC's website there are sixteen listed across all six divisions. It was also like this for Thursday as well with the fixture I attended not showing on the football.mitoo site, but was listed on the afore mentioned website of Stockton FC.

On to the football...

Like I said at the top of the last paragraph I headed to Nuneaton on Thursday 9th May for the following game...

Ambleside Sports 0-1 Folly Lane

@ Ambleside Sports Club, Ambleside Way, Nuneaton

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 6

Ambleside Way is located in an affluent part of northern Nuneaton off the Higham Lane, and the sports club is set back behind houses. Unlike other venues I have been to like this, the entrance is easy to spot. A drive way takes you to the car park and social club, with the cricket the football pitch located in front of the social club itself. The Ambleside Sports Club is a registered charity (no. 512783) and has numerous clubs and organisations affiliated to it. These include Ambleside Bowls Club, Prostate Cancer Support Organisation (Central England), Ambleside Sports FC, Ambleside Cricket Club and Nuneaton Hockey Club. A full list can be found the sports club's website.

The game for the most part was played in miserable conditions weather wise with the only shelter being from a few trees nearest the entrance. Despite this it wasn't a bad game with the only goal coming midway through the first half. Shortly afterwards the Folly Lane #2 was shown a straight red card for throwing a punch at one of the home players during a coming together of most of the players (see last photo on slideshow). Ambleside did not take advantage of the extra man, and in fact it was the visitors who should have added to their lead on more than one occasion during the second half. They were nearly made to pay for this in the final minutes as after a good cross from the right, one of the Ambleside substitutes blazed the ball over from six yards out with the goal at his mercy.

24 photos taken during the first half can be viewed in the slideshow below:

2013 Donington Historic Festival

2013-05-05T11:20:00.000+01:00

On the morning of Friday 3rd May I headed up to Donington Park to watch some qualifying sessions at the 2013 Historic Festival. There were six categories of cars during the morning session and slideshows of them can be viewed below:

1) E-types

2) HTCC for 1966-85 Touring Cars

3) Pre-1963 GT's

4) Historic F2

5) Pre-1940 Grand Prix Cars

6) Pre-1966 under two litre touring cars

Completing the UCL

2013-05-05T10:24:00.001+01:00

OLNEY TOWN 3-2 OADBY TOWN
Saturday 4th May 2013
United Counties League Division 1
East Street, Olney, Buckinghamshire

As the title of the post says, visiting Olney Town Football Club's East Street ground will mean that I have seen a game of football at every one of the current 39 grounds in the United Counties League (UCL).

The full list in chronological order is as follows:

1) 24/08/97 The Dovecote
Shepshed Dynamo v Wisbech Town (2-2) Southern League Midland Division

2) 17/01/98 Wigston Road
Oadby Town v Tooting & Mitcham United (2-2 aet) FA Vase 4th Round

3) 07/02/98 Lincoln Road
Mirrlees Blackstone v Desborough Town (1-1) United Counties League Premier Division

4) 18/04/98 Waterworks Field
Desborough Town v Long Buckby (1-3) United Counties League Premier Division

5) 23/01/99 Farley Way
Quorn v Oadby Town (1-4) Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

6) 16/02/99 Abbey Lawn
Bourne Town v Spalding United (0-5) United Counties League Premier Division

7) 23/03/99 Kingsthorpe Mill
Northampton Spencer v Ford Sports Daventry (1-1) United Counties League Premier Division

8) 05/04/99 Compton Park
Cogenhoe United v Wellingborough Town (2-0) United Counties League Premier Division

9) 05/04/99 Kiln Park
Raunds Town v Baldock Town (1-1) Southern League Southern Division

10) 29/09/99 Bird's Close
Bugbrooke St. Michaels 1-2 Ford Sports Daventry (1-2) United Counties League Premier Division

11) 27/12/99 Sergeant's Lawn
Rothwell Corinthians v Cottingham (0-6) United Counties League Division 1

12) 24/04/00 Fernie Fields
Northampton Vanaid v Wellingborough Whitworths (2-2) United Counties League Division 1

13) 01/05/00 The Hillgrounds
Kempston Rovers v Bourne Town (3-0) United Counties League Premier Division

14) 14/10/00 Sir Halley Stewart Field
Spalding United v Wisbech Town (1-1) Southern League Eastern Division

15) 19/05/01 Dickens Road
Harrowby United v Northampton O.N. Chenecks (3-4) United Counties League Division 1

16) 17/09/02 Recreation Ground
Stewarts & Lloyds Corby v Holbeach United (2-0) United Counties League Premier Division

17) 23/07/03 Station Road
Long Buckby v Cottingham (1-3) Pre-season Friendly

18) 20/12/03 Leading Drove
Yaxley v Raunds Town (6-3) United Counties League Premier Division

19) 08/05/04 Outgang Road
Deeping Rangers v Northampton Spencer (2-5) United Counties League Premier Division

20) 26/03/05 London Road
Wellingborough Whitworths v Irchester United (1-0) United Counties League Division 1

21) 24/09/05 Carters Park
Holbeach United v Newport Pagnell Town (Aban) United Counties League Premier Division

22) 08/10/05 Billing Road Sports Ground
Northampton O.N. Chenecks v Irchester United (2-1) United Counties League Division 1

23) 08/10/05 Jubilee Park
Huntingdon Town v Rothwell Corinthians (3-1) United Counties League Division 1

24) 24/12/05 Alfred Street
Irchester United v Blisworth (0-0) United Counties League Division 1

25) 26/12/05 The Hollow
Potton United v Stotfold (1-0) United Counties League Premier Division

26) 17/04/06 Chestnut Avenue
Peterborough Northern Star v Sleaford Town (1-2) United Counties League Division 1

27) 07/10/06 Weston Park
Wootton Blue Cross v Stotfold (5-0) United Counties League Premier Division

28) 04/11/06 Chancery Lane
Thrapston Town v Daventry Town (2-2) United Counties League Division 1

29) 27/03/07 The Dog & Duck Ground
Wellingborough Town 2004 v St. Neots Town (1-0) United Counties League Premier Division

30) 21/04/07 Latimer Park
Burton Park Wanderers v Olney Town (1-1) United Counties League Division 1

31) 05/05/07 Hayden Road
Rushden Rangers v Moulton (4-3) Northants Combination Premier Division

32) 10/11/07 Willen Road
Newport Pagnell Town v Yaxley (2-0) United Counties League Premier Division

33) 15/03/08 Westwood Road
St. Ives Town v Stotfold (0-1) United Counties League Premier Division

34) 15/09/09 Eslaforde Park
Sleaford Town v Matlock Town (1-2) FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round Replay

35) 23/10/10 Tattershall Road
Boston Town v St. Neots Town (0-5) United Counties League Premier Division

36) 12/02/11 Bowden's Park
Harborough Town v Bourne Town (2-1) United Counties League Division 1

37) 08/12/12 Alfred Hall Memorial Ground
Eynesbury Rovers v Oadby Town (0-1) United Counties League Division 1

38) 06/04/13 The Irish Centre
Buckingham Town v Oadby Town (0-3) United Counties League Division 1

About Olney Town FC
The club were formed in 1903 and until they joined the United Counties League (UCL) in 1964, they fluctuated between the North Bucks League and the South East Northants League (which became known as the Rushden & District League). Since joining the UCL the club have spent the majority of their time in division 1, with their ground preventing them from making progress.

The ground is located on East Street to the north of the town centre and is, in a nutshell a recreation ground. The club have floodlights installed and there is a small stand and a clubhouse on site, but the pitch itself is only roped off.

The town itself
I found the town to be very pleasant place and one in which would have liked to have spent more time looking round. It has a population of around 6,000 inhabitants and is in north-east Buckinghamshire, close to the borders with Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

More information on the town can be viewed on the wikipedia page: Olney

I went down to Olney with my dad who picked me up around noon and we headed south on the M1 to junction 14. From there it was a short drive north along the A509 to Olney itself. After managing to find a parking space very close to the market place, we went into the Bull Inn for some lunch and a pint. Before heading to the ground we had a brief look around the town, particularly the area around the church.

The game
It was one in which Oadby started off like a team in third place and were on the offensive right from the start. After creating a few chances, Jake Duffy opened the scoring after putting the ball past the oncoming keeper. A minute or two later and it became two nil through Levi Ramsey. The second half was a different story altogether as Oadby played like a team in the bottom three - in fact it was the worst forty five minutes that I have seen them play this season. With mid-table Olney only having pride to play for, they turned this game on its head and deservedly came away with all three points.

Admission: by donation - gave £3.50
Programme: £1.50 - vastly overpriced
Attendance: 63 (head count)

With new teams reportedly joining the UCL for next season it looks like my completing of the league will be shortlived.

37 ground and match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

18 photos taken of the town itself can be viewed in the following slideshow:

Friday 26th & Saturday 27th April 2013

2013-04-29T07:29:00.001+01:00

Two games again at the weekend, with one on Friday evening and one on Saturday afternoon. In the slideshows below are ground and match photos from both games plus a few of the two villages in which the games took place.

Friday 26th April 2013
Duke of Rutland Reserves 3-6 Cross Keys
Hinckley Sunday League Division 1
Weavers Springs, Astley Road, Earl Shilton, Leicestershire

Saturday 27th April 2013
AFC Emley 1-2 Hemsworth Miners Welfare
Northern Counties East League Division 1
The Welfare Ground, off Upper Lane, Emley, West Yorkshire

Local bragging rights

2013-04-21T17:24:00.003+01:00

LONG WHATTON 3-2 HATHERN THREE CROWNS

Sunday 21st April 2013

Charnwood Sunday League Division 1

Long Whatton Cricket Ground, Main Street, Long Whatton, Leicestershire

No report, but 35 photos of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

While in Long Whatton I also took a few photos of the village itself, and they can be viewed below:

Not sport related photos...

2013-04-20T20:15:00.000+01:00

The three slideshows of photos are of ones that for the most part have been taken over the past few weeks in Leicestershire.

CK v CK

2013-04-15T09:46:00.001+01:00

CROXTON A.F.C. 2-2 C.K. DONS
(4-2 on penalty kicks)
Saturday 13th April 2013
Grantham & District League Junior Cup Final
Harrowby United FC, Dickens Road, Grantham

My final game of the weekend sees me make the drive across country to Grantham for a re-visit to Harrowby United Football Club. They are hosting the final of this year's Grantham & District League Junior Cup Final between two Croxton Kerrial sides, Croxton AFC and CK Dons.

I attended the final of the same competition two years ago which also involved the Dons, but they were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline against Heckington Millers. This year I was invited to attend by the Dons secretary Jeremy Hill and would be rude not to accept. Also like two years ago my first game of the day involved Greenhill being the away side, but hopefully this time the Dons will be victors.

About the teams
Croxton A.F.C.

Croxton AFC were borne from a youth team in Wilsford and have been a long standing side in Croxton Kerrial for several years. They have gone through many years, good and bad, and have seen many players come and go, but some still remain from the "old days" of youth football". An evolving side and a new era is in development though, with a new logo and a new motto - Ad Finem (To The End), and this cup final comes in the second year of a plan to ensure Croxton AFC remains a team firmly involved and supportive of Saturday football in the Grantham area.

C.K. Dons

Based in Croxton Kerrial, the CK Dons were extablished in 2009 and have played their football in the Grantham & District League Division One (GDL) since their inception.

After two seasons of mid table finishes and a final appearance in the HITS Junior Cup the Dons decided to withdraw from competition for the 2011/2012 season to improve the structure of the club.

This season has seen a marked improvement, having represented the Grantham & District League well in the Leicestershire Saturday Trophy, narrowly being defeated in the quarter finals by Leicester & District League side Oadby Boys Club '93. The Dons are currently still in 4 cup competitions with promotion to the GDL Premier Division already secured.

Off the pitch the club has worked well to improve commercial aspects. ITA Taxis have joined our current sponsors Mandev and we look forward to representing them both in future competitions.

Route to the final
With only seven teams competing in this seasons competition, there have been only five matches leading up to today's final...

Round 1
AFC Skillington 0-4 CK Dons
Bottesford Reserves 5-1 Caythorpe
Rippingale & Folkingham 2-4 AFC Three Gables

Semi Finals
Bottesford Reserves 0-3 Croxton AFC
CK Dons 2-1 AFC Three Gables

The game
It was played for the most part in driving rain, that was as times almost horizontal, and a scrappy game ensued. No real clear cut chances for either side but it was the Dons that looked the most dangerous when going forward. After forty five minutes it was no real surprise that the score remained goalless.

The second half was a different matter altogether with the Dons scoring early on. In the space of a few minutes after their goal they should have put the game out of sight for their opponents, but a headed clearance off the line and a cracking save kept Croxton in the game. An equaliser came in spectacular fashion, when either a free kick or corner was not cleared it was volleyed home from the edge of the area via the underside of the bar. A superb strike worthy of any game. The game became scrappy again, and it wasn't until the last ten minutes that the Dons caused the Croxton defence problems. No real surprises then when they re-took the lead with around two minutes remaining, but like before they could not hold onto their advantage and see the game out. Within about sixty seconds Croxton equalised for a second time, and again with another world class strike. This time it was a sweetly struck shot from thirty odd yards from goal that flew past the CK keeper into the top corner of net. Very rarely do you see one goal of that caliber, let alone two.

With no extra time being played the game went straight to a penalty shoot out, and it was Croxton who held their nerve to win by four goals to two. On the drive home I did feel sorry for the Dons, but they still have other fish to fry this season, starting with a Culverthorpe Cup semi-final @ Bottesford this Saturday (20th April).

60 photos of Harrowby United FC and of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

For good measure I preceded this with a visit to East Leake Athletic FC in the North Leicestershire League Premier Division. Photos from their game against Greenhill Y.C. can also be viewed below:

2013 Arthur Moore Cup Final

2013-04-14T09:02:00.002+01:00

THURMASTON W.M.P. 2009 0-2 ADVANCE COURIERS

Friday 12th April 2013

Alliance Football League Arthur Moore Cup Final

Leicestershire County FA Ground, Holmes Park, Dog & Gun Lane, Whetstone

A second visit to Holmes Park in the space of two weeks is start of another busy weekend football wise, with this being the first of three games, of which two are cup finals.

The Alliance Football League runs four cup competitions along side the eight division league competition. This one, the Arthur Moore Cup is competed for by Premier Division and Division One sides only. The format of the competition is a four group round-robin stage, of which the top two in each group qualify for the quarter finals. From then on it is played on a straight knock-out basis. Thurmaston WMP 2009 were placed in Group B along side Wigston Car Breakers, NRI, Leicester Foxes Old Boys and Niffy Rangers, while Advance Couriers were in Group D with Sparta Moshdock, Glenfield Town Sunday, GT and Frolesworth United.

Group B

	TEAM	PL	WON	DRW	LST	FOR	AGA	PTS
1	Wigston Car Breakers	4	3	0	1	19	8	8
2	Thurmaston W.M.P. 2009	4	3	0	1	20	12	8 (-1)
3	N.R.I.	4	2	0	2	15	12	6
4	Leicester Foxes Old Boys	4	1	0	3	15	18	3
5	Niffy Rangers	4	1	0	3	7	26	3

Group D

	TEAM	PL	WON	DRW	LST	FOR	AGA	PTS
1	Advance Couriers	3	2	0	1	11	10	6
2	Sparta Moshdock	3	2	0	1	7	7	6
3	Glenfield Town, Sunday	3	1	0	2	7	9	3
4	G.T.	3	1	0	2	8	7	2 (1)
	Frolesworth United	Removed from competition. Record expunged.

Quarter Finals
Advance Couriers 9-0 Oscars
FC Azzurri 1-2 Thurmaston W.M.P. 2009

Semi Finals
Thurmaston W.M.P. 2009 3-2 Sparta Moshdock
Advance Couriers 2-1 Wigston Car Breakers

About the teams

Thurmaston WMP 2009 (taken from the programme)
Formally known as Syston RBL from the Leicester Sunday League (LSL), the club changed name in 2009 to the current title due to new sponsorship. In the first season under the new name they were finalists in the LSL Premier Cup competition, before transferring to the Alliance Football League for the start of the next season. At the start of this season the club merged with LSL side Syston Midland Railway under the Thurmaston WMP and formed a reserve side as a result.

Advance Couriers (taken from the Alliance League website)
The club were formed in 1984, but since 2001 have been the most successful club in the Alliance Football League. They have been crowned Premier Division champions seven times, victors in the Billy Walton Cup winners six times, the Arthur Moore Cup final eight times plus last but not least three times winners of the Leicestershire FA Sunday Premier Cup.

The game in brief

It was a tight, close game in which Advance settled quicker and they had an effort cleared off the line. Thurmaston though got into their stride and wingers Luke Winfield and Jamie Sharmon causing problems for the Advance back line, while at the other end Thurmaston captain Ash Harris was a rock at the back, giving the Advance forwards no change all evening. It was Jamie Sharmon who came close to opening the scoring when a pass split the Advance defence, only for Sharmon's shot past the keeper to strike the base of the post. The opening goal of the game came not long before the end of the half, when following a quick break down the right, a simple finish ensued. Harsh on Thurmaston.

The second half was a more even affair but Thurmaston still caused their higher ranked opponents problems with a header from a corner hiting the crossbar, while at the other end I believe Advance had a goal ruled out for offside. The killer second goal came in the latter stages when Stuart Spencer headed home a corner.

Advance showed why they have won so many trophies in the past ten years, while Thurmaston showed that despite being a division lower can compete with the best in the Alliance League. Man of the Match was righly awarded to Luke Winfield.

Match photos
38 match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

End of season fixtures...

2013-04-07T14:42:00.000+01:00

With the 2012/13 football season now heading into its latter stages, below are the fixtures that I have planned between now and the middle of May...

12th April
Thurmaston WMP 2009 v Advance Couriers
(Alliance Football League Arthur Moore Cup Final @ Holmes Park)

13th April
East Leake Athletic v Greenhill YC
(North Leicestershire League Premier Division)

Croxton AFC v CK Dons
(Grantham League Junior Cup Final @ Harrowby United FC)

20th April
Weedon v Grange Park Rangers
(Northants Combination Division 3)

27th April
Oadby Town v Thrapston Town
(United Counties League Division 1)

4th May
Olney Town v Oadby Town
(United Counties League Division 1)

11th May
Kettering Orchard Park v Medbourne
(Northants Combination Division 1)

18th May
Peterborough ICA Sports v Pinchbeck United
(Peterborough League Premier Division)

19th May
Oakthorpe Athletic v Hilton Old Talbot
(Burton & District Sunday League Division 2)

22nd May
Moira United v Edge Hill
(Burton & District Sunday League Premier Division)

Buck-T

2013-04-07T11:51:00.000+01:00

BUCKINGHAM TOWN 0-3 OADBY TOWN

Saturday 6th April 2013

United Counties League Division 1

The Irish Centre, Manor Fields, Bletchley, Milton Keynes

After a very busy Easter weekend in which in the space of four days, I watched seven games of football, a game of basketball plus viewing the new Danny Boyle film, Trance a sense of normality beckons today. Only one game of football and a choice of one in my eyes. This was one of three away days with Oadby Town that I had pencilled in before I the fixtures were released. It was originally due to be played back in November but had to be postponed due to heavy rain, and in the end that day I saw Corby Town beat Hayes & Yeading United in a thrilling FA Trophy tie.

The club

The following information is taken from the Wikipedia page:

The club were established in 1883 and initially played in local leagues. They won the Aylesbury & District League in 1902–03 and 1936–37 and the North Bucks League in 1924–25, 1928–29, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1948–49 and 1949–50. They were founder members of the Hellenic League in 1953, but left after only four seasons. They then joined the South Midlands League, in which they played until joining the United Counties League in 1974. They were Premier Division champions and Knockout Cup winners in 1983–84, and the following season they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first (and to date only) time in their history, losing 2–0 at home to Orient. In 1985–86 they won the Premier Division again and were promoted to the Midland Division of the Southern League. They won the Southern Division in 1990–91, but were not promoted as their ground failed to meet the standards required. They remained members of the Southern League until finishing bottom of the Southern Division in 1996–97 season, when they were relegated back to the Premier Division of the UCL. They were relegated to Division One at the end of the 2006–07 season.

They were evicted from their traditional Ford Meadow home at the end of the 2010/11 season and played at the Winslow Centre, Winslow in 2011/12. This season they are again playing “home” games away from Buckingham, with the Irish Centre in Bletchley their current base.

The ground

The Irish Centre is part of the larger Manor Fields sports complex that is also home to Bletchley Rugby Club and Bletchley Town Cricket Club. The football pitch is completely seperate from the rest of the complex and is a bit of a ramshackle affair. On the near side there is remnants of a large stand, while opposite there is a seated stand and the dugouts.

The day itself

It started by picking up fellow Oadby Town supporters Owen Jones and Teri-Leigh White near to Braunstone Police Station around 11.30am, before heading south on the M1 to Milton Keynes. Lunch and some liquid refreshment was had at one of the four JD Wetherspoon outlets in the city, which was simply called Wetherspoons. Two halves were had, firstly Brewer's Passion by the Caledonian Brewery and secondly Tasmanian Wolf from the Wolf Brewery in Norfolk before making the short walk to the nearby Secklow Hundred for another drink. It must be said that Brewer's Passion is one of the nicest beers I have had in a very long time - very drinkable on a nice sunny day.

From which we made the ten minute drive to the ground , arriving with about twenty minutes before kick-off. I was met at the ground by friend and Belper based groundhopper Neil Laughlin, who I had seen back in November 2009 for a Leicestershire Senior League game @ Melton Mowbray FC.

The game

It was a tale of two halves with Oadby dominating the proceedings in the opening forty five minutes and in truth be told should have been more than two goals up. New signing Levi Porter had a chance in the opening couple of minutes, but his header from an Ollie Brown-Hill cross was tame and the Buckingham keeper was able to make the save. The opening goal came from penalty spot which Jon Stevenson converted after Che Adams was brought down in the area. It was only a matter of time before Oadby increased their lead, and this came from Porter who slide the ball under the keeper. The second half was a completely different story with the home side belying their lowly position in the league table and looked like a side challenging for promotion. They caused Oadby all sorts of problems and created some excellent chances. The killer third goal came against the run of play late on in the game and was scored by Stevenson.

Overall

An enjoyable day out in Buckinghamshire for what was only my seventh game in the county ever, and my first for around four and a half years. After the game my travelling companions and I had a drink in the nearby Chequers Inn in Fenny Stratford before heading north back to Leicester.

58 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Easter Monday treble

2013-04-02T14:51:00.000+01:00

With the help of some staggered kick-offs I managed to get to three games yesterday (April 1st), two of which was new ticks and one re-visit. Photos for all three games can be found in the relevant slideshows below:

Game 1
(1pm) Wollaton 1-2 Burton Joyce
Notts Senior League Senior Division
Wollaton Sports Association, Nottingham

Game 2
(3pm) Greenwood Meadows 3-1 Radford
East Midlands Counties League
Lenton Lane, Nottingham

Game 3
(6pm) Pastures 4-0 Derby Singh Brothers
Midlands Regional Alliance Division 1
Mickleover Country Park, Mickleover, Derby

more photos

2013-04-01T07:21:00.000+01:00

Following on from the two games on Good Friday, two more games were watched - one on Easter Saturday (30th March) and one on Easter Sunday (31st March) itself. No reports for both games but, if I do say so myself some quality photographs were took. Since I got my new lens for my camera I have been so impressed by the quality of the photographs that I have taken. The saying that you get what you pay for certainly applies in this case.

Saturday 30th March 2013
Ashby Ivanhoe 4-1 Saffron Dynamo
Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division
NFU Sports Ground, Lower Packington Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch

a report on the game can be found on the Ashby Ivanhoe website here.

53 ground and match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Sunday 31st March 2013
N.R.I. 3-3 Enderby Town 2012
Alliance Football League Division 1
Uplands Park, Uplands Road, Oadby, Leicestershire

61 match photos can be viewed below:

Alliance League double

2013-03-30T06:25:00.000Z

No reports from two games I watched yesterday (Good Friday), but photos were taken at both games and they can be viewed in the two slideshows below:

Game 1

White Eagles 3-4 AFC Royal Oak

Alliance Football League Division 6

Victoria Park, Leicester

Game 2

KS Leicester Polska 1-5 MDH Knights

Alliance Football League EW Foster Cup Final

Leicestershire County FA Ground, Holmes Park, Whetstone

Steelers extinguish the Blaze

2013-03-17T14:40:00.000Z

A different format regarding the blog report today as it was done for the American website Stadium Journey.

COVENTRY BLAZE 3-8 SHEFFIELD STEELERS

Saturday 16th March 2013

Elite League

Coventry SkyDome Arena

Croft Road

Coventry

CV1 3AZ

Tel: 02476 630693 (box office)

Capacity: 2,600 (2,100 seats)

Official website: Coventry Blaze

ABOUT

The SkyDome Arena was built in 1999 as part of the SkyDome multiplex. This also included an Odeon cinema, Wetherspoons pub (The Spon Gate) and Harvester restaurant. The complex also includes a bar, Crosbys which is at the end of the ice rink. The rink itself is also used for public skating sessions, concerts and various other events.

The Blaze compete in the UK’s top hockey competition, the Elite League, and have been doing so since 2003. The team were originally from nearby Solihull and evolved from the Solihull Barons, which in turn became the Solihull Blaze. In 2000 the team moved to Coventry at the newly opened SkyDome arena to attract a new and larger fanbase. Since moving to Coventry the team have won the following honours:

British League champions: 2002/03

Elite League champions: 2004/05; 2006/07; 2007/08; 2009/10

Elite League play-off winners: 2004/05

Elite League Challenge Cup winners: 2004/05; 2006/07

Elite League British KO Cup winners: 2007/08

Elite League Charity Shield winners: 2008/09

At the time of writing the team sit in fourth place in the Elite League and have already qualified for the post-season play-offs.

FOOD & BEVERAGE (4* out of 5)

The standard fare that you generally see across the country at sports venues also applies here. The difference being is that you don’t feel like you are getting ripped off with the prices more affordable.

Inside the arena the choice is limited to hot dogs and burgers (starting from £3), pies and pasties (£2), sausage rolls (£1.20) and nachos (£2.70), snacks and chocolate bars also available from either the food kiosks or vending machines. It should be said that this is ample enough in relation to the capacity of the venue.

If you have time before the game then the previously mentioned Harvester and Wetherspoon outlets serve standard pub / grill food.

Alcohol wise a pint of draught beer at Crosby’s bar will cost £3, which unlike the football stadiums in the UK you can drink while watching the action on the rink. Soft drinks are £1.80, Tea and coffee £1.50 and bottles of water cost £1.20. For anyone that likes a decent pint of beer the adjacent Spon Gate had a decent selection of ales on tap.

ATMOSPHERE (2*)

The SkyDome is a u-shaped arena with all the seats being elevated and standing at ground floor level. There was not a bad seat in the house and with only having a capacity of just over 2,000 you are not that far away from the action on the rink.

The rating probably wasn’t helped that it was an end of season game and that Coventry were not at the races for the most part during the game. For the first two periods it (the atmosphere) was subdued) and it only came to life during the third period when the Coventry team showed some fight on the rink. I am sure this would be higher if the game had some significant importance and (deliberate pun intended) the Blaze were on fire on the ice.

NEIGHBOURHOOD (3*)

Without meaning any disrespect to Coventry, it is a city that does not immediately spring to mind when thinking of somewhere to visit. It does though have some attractions for visitors which include the cathedral, Transport Museum and the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum. The city is also close and convenient for visiting the nearby towns of Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon.

With the city being one of the largest in the UK (population around 320,000) it is home to all the usual high street chain stores and plenty of restaurants catering for all tastes, requirements and budgets.

More information on Coventry and Warwickshire can be found by clicking on the following link: info

For sports fans the city has plenty of other options which include: football (Coventry City FC), rugby union (Coventry RFC), rugby league (Coventry Bears), speedway (Coventry Bees), American Football (Coventry Jets) and greyhound racing.

FANS (3*)

Firstly the Coventry supporters know their hockey, and like all sports fans cheer and criticise their team accordingly. Also during the game I attended the officials got some stick as well. Whereas football / soccer has a generally male orientated supporter, there was more of a mix at the Blaze. I did notice a lot of Blaze replica jerseys were being worn buy the supporters, along with the odd NHL jersey from teams such as the Boston Bruins.

Opposition supporters had their own section behind the goal on the right hand side, though despite being segregated there was no barriers and security in place and there was no hostility being the two sets of supporters before, during and after the game.

ACCESS (4*)

The Arena is located in the centre of Coventry and is easily accessible whether by using public transport or by driving. The railway station is located 0.6 miles away to the south and according to Google maps should take twelve minutes to walk. For those who are coming by car take junction 7 of the inner ring road and there are a couple of car parks (one of Moat Street and a multi-storey on Croft Road) which are adjacent to the Arena. The multi-storey one is operated by RCP and has 800 spaces which costs 60p (US 90c) per hour.

Coming from Leicester which is some twenty five miles to the north east of Coventry we had no problems getting to and leaving from the arena.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (4*)

Adult tickets cost £16 (US$24) + a 10% fee if booking in advance, with concession and family deals also available. An example being a family ticket of two adults and two children (under-16) is £41 (US$61). I am unsure what to think if the pricing represents value for money or not, but Coventry does seem to be the norm regarding adult ticket prices, with Nottingham charging the same, Cardiff £17 and Sheffield £15. For the level below this in the English Premier League I paid £12.50 at the Swindon Wildcats.

match day magazine cover

EXTRAS (3*)

Firstly the club issue a monthly match day magazine which is onsale at rink side for £3, though in my opinion is overpriced. Secondly the Blaze have official merchandise for sale inside Crosbys which include caps (£10), jerseys and pucks (£3.50). This runs alongside an online store at their official website.

The club also give the supporters a chance to win various prizes in a couple of ways. Firstly in the form of raffle tickets (cash and a players jersey), and secondly the chance to win match tickets and another cash prize, this time by throwing a rubber duck onto the ice which will hopefully land inside one of three small inflatable kids pools.

FINAL THOUGHTS

With being new to the sport I am enjoying it, though with not having a team or rink where I live I suppose I will never be a passionate one club supporter. With that in mind I will hopefully watch a few more games next season, whether it be again at Coventry or other nearby rinks at Nottingham or Peterborough.

THE GAME ITSELF

Sheffield took control right from the start and were four nil up at the end of the first period, with the goals coming from Ashley Tait (1:27); Jonathan Phillips (2:01); Jeff Legue (7:14) and Danny Meyers (16:50). This was despite having four players in the sin bin during this time, and the home side unable to take advantage of the power plays.

The second half was more sedate in terms of game action with only one goal. James Jorgensen scoring on 16:27 to give Sheffield a 5-0 lead.

The third period was the most entertaining of the three with finally, Coventry showing some fight and passion and scoring three times through Josh Bruce (3:05); James Griffin (8:23) and Derek Campbell (10:53). Unfortunately they also conceded three as the visitors comfortably ran out 8-3 victors. The Sheffield goals in the third period came from Steven Goertzen (3:49); Jeff Legue (13:52) and Jonathan Phillips (18:36). With 16:37 on the clock the Blaze fans got a bit excited when Derek Campbell lost it and was sin binned for two offences of roughing-minor which was for throwing punches. A couple of minutes later and Benn Olson was also binned for two offences of roughing-minor and the Blaze played out the final stages with only four men on the ice.

All the match stats can be found on the Elite League website by clicking here.

18 photos of the arena taken inside and out and be viewed in the slideshow below:

Uttoxeter photos

2013-03-05T20:11:00.000Z

While in Uttoxeter itself on Saturday (2nd March) I took nine photos in the town centre. They can be viewed in the very brief slideshow below:

Four in the sun for Town

2013-03-03T10:05:00.001Z

UTTOXETER TOWN 4-1 CHESTERTON AFC

Saturday 2nd March 2013

Staffordshire County Senior League Division 1

Oldfields Sports Club, Springfield Road, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

Leading up to the weekend I was having a case of football burnout with having watched over sixty games this season so far, and god forbid even contemplating even not watching a game today. But after getting home from work Friday morning I was mulling things over in my head, and for some reason the name Uttoxeter Town came into my mind - no idea why or how but it did. I remember earlier on in the season reading about the club on the Non-League Matter forum and the reports were vary favourable, so thought I would venture into new territory football wise and hopefully re-energise myself for the final three months of the football season.

Uttoxeter is a market town and civil parish in the district of East Staffordshire with a population of around twelve and a half thousand. It is located some twenty miles west of Derby, fourteen miles south east of Stoke-on-Trent and twenty miles north of Lichfield.

The following history on the town is taken from the wikipedia page:

Uttoxeter's name has had 79 spellings since it was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Wotocheshede": it probably came from Anglo-SaxonWuttuceshǣddre = "Wuttuc's homestead on the heath". Some historians point to pre-Roman settlement here and Bronze Age axes have been discovered in the town (now in display in the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent). It is possible that Uttoxeter had some form of Roman activity due to its strategic position on the River Dove and closeness to the large garrison forts at Rocester between 69 and 400 AD, and recently discovered fort at Stramshall, though little collaborating archaeology has been found.

Uttoxeter also saw the last major royalist surrender of the English Civil War, on 25 August 1648, when James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamiltonsurrendered to Parliamentarian General John Lambert.

Perhaps the most famous event to have occurred in Uttoxeter is the penance of Samuel Johnson. Johnson's father ran a bookstall on Uttoxeter market, and young Samuel once refused to help out on the stall. When Johnson was older, he stood in the rain (without a hat) as a penance for his failure to assist his father. This event is commemorated with the Johnson Memorial, which stands in the Market Place, in the town centre and there is also an area of town called Johnson Road, which commemorates him.

Mary Howitt, the Quaker writer of the poem "The Spider and the Fly", lived in Uttoxeter for a long period of her life. The town influenced some of her poems and novels, as well as fuelling her love of natural history, which also featured in her books. Howitt Crescent, a residential road in the town, was named after her. Recently, three of her poems were displayed in the town's bus shelters by the Uttoxeter Arts Festival Committee (now defunct).

Bunting’s brewery occupied a large area of the centre of the town since the Victorian era. It stopped producing beer in the 1930s after being bought by Bass Brewery of Burton upon Trent. The last remains of the brewery were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Maltings shopping precinct and car park. The brewery clock was recently re-furbished and installed on the town hall.

In 1945, Joseph Cyril Bamford founded J C Bamford Excavators Limited in Uttoxeter, now known as JCB. The firm, based in the nearby village of Rocester, is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. The firm's first vehicle was a tipping trailer made from war-surplus materials, which J. C. Bamford built in a rented lock-up garage in Uttoxeter. The Bamford family had previously started Bamfords, later Bamford International Farm Machinery which was a large employer in the town from the end of the 19th century through to the early 1980s when it gradually went into decline before closing in 1986.

Uttoxeter celebrated its 700 year anniversary of the awarding of a Market charter (1308) in 2008, which underpins the market provision on Saturdays and Wednesdays in particular, and other festival markets. The 1308 charter followed a more general Royal Charter granted to the town's burgesses in 1252. The originals reside at the National Archives in Kew and the Deferrers Museum in Leicester.

The football club currently ply their trade in the division 1 of the Staffordshire County Senior League, having transferred over from the Burton & District Sunday League in the summer of 2012, a league in which they were crowned champions for the past two seasons. In both seasons they beat Edge Hill to the title, firstly in 2010/11 by three points and then last season by two points. This season they have taken to their new surroundings like a duck to water, currently sitting top of the division one table five points ahead of MMU. Impressive also is the fact that they remain unbeaten in their league campaign recording fifteen victories from sixteen matches, adding to this is a current winning streak of eleven in league fixtures. The latter of which came last Saturday (23rd February) when Congleton Athletic were beaten by the odd goal in seven.

The club play their home games at the Oldfields Sports Club which is located on the western side of the town. They share the facilities with both the cricket and rugby clubs.

Uttoxeter is very straight forward to get to from Leicester, firstly heading up the M1 motorway to junction 23a and then across on the A50 to the town itself. According to Google maps it should take around an hour to make the fifty mile journey. Come Friday evening and I decided to see how much it would cost on the train, and it came out at £14 return going via Derby which is cheaper than going by car. O.k. it meant leaving out earlier to get a bus into Leicester and adding the cost of the bus fare would make it about the same price, but sometimes it is nice to leave the car at home.

I arrived on time in Uttoxeter around 1.15pm and the station is on the edge of the town adjacent to the racecourse. It didn't take long to walk into the centre itself, and having took one or two photos went into the JD Weatherspoon Outlet, The Old Swan for a pint before heading to the football ground. For real ale drinkers there was four or five on tap, with a couple being guest ales. I don't recall the one I had but it was a decent dark beer all the same. Afterwards it took around ten minutes to walk to Oldfields, the entrance is through some gates with the pitches straight ahead and an impressive pavilion to the right. No admission was charged but a twelve page programme was available for £1.

The game wasn't too bad an affair for what is the twelfth level of the English football pyramid. Leaders Uttoxeter wasted no time in putting their stamp on proceedings when Tommy Smith was fouled in the penalty area by Jon Wood after only a couple of minutes. With calls from the sidelines for a red card, the referee showed the offender a yellow one. Anyhow Uttoxeter couldn't take advantage as the resultant spot kick was put wide. The visitors took some heart from this let off and made life difficult for their high flying hosts. On the balance of play during the next half hour Uttoxeter were just ahead on points, but you felt that once they got the first goal they would run out comfortable winners. Going into the latter stages of the half and the breakthrough was made with Tommy Smith coolly slotting the ball past Craig Wilson in the Chesterton goal on thirty eight minutes.

In the opening twenty minutes of the second half Uttoxeter turned the screw and put the game to bed as a contest, scoring three goals in the space of just eleven minutes. Firstly after a shot was cleared off the line, the ball fell kindly to Gary Beardsley who's shot over Wilson went in off the underside of the bar on fifty three minutes. Three minutes later and Smith got his second off the afternoon with a scrambled effort at the far post. Smith completed his hat trick on sixty four minutes with a header when unmarked in the penalty area. To be fair to the visitors their pride kept them going and they deservedly got a consolation goal on seventy six minutes. Andrew Smith slotting the ball past Alex Langridge at the far post from a few yards out. In the final fifteen minutes neither keeper was rarely troubled with most of the efforts being off target.

Overall an enjoyable afternoon out in East Staffordshire at a club that seem to be on the up, and a decent turn out from the locals to watch them.

Admission: Free

Programme: £1

Attendance: counted around 80 pitchside, but more stayed at the pavilion

54 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

sunday league photos

2013-02-17T16:09:00.001Z

OAKFIELD OLD BOYS 1-0 FAIRFIELD ATHLETIC

Sunday 17th February 2013

Alliance Football League Division 3

Oakfield Park, Hospital Lane, Blaby, Leicestershire

42 match photos from a top v bottom clash can be viewed in the slideshow below:

useless fact:

Oakfield Park is venue #113 that I have seen football @ in Leicestershire & Rutland.

Rangers on the rampage against Rovers

2013-02-17T09:57:00.003Z

MORETON RANGERS 5-1 ABBEYMEAD ROVERS

Saturday 16th February 2013

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division 2

London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

With the weather turning for the better at the back end of this week it is a case of getting back to normal hopefully. What I mean by this is that for what seems like an age, it has been a case of hoping to see what games survive the weather, whether it being because of rain or snow. Last week I had hoped to watch four games of football and an ice hockey match, but in the end only one football game was attended alongside the ice hockey. If you follow me on twitter (@allroads1) or have read my twitter feed on this blog you will know that the game last week was between Wootton Bassett Town and Cricklade Town. It ended 1-1 in a Hellenic League Division 1 West encounter and not a bad game at all considering it was played on a very heavy pitch. Following on from this it was a short drive to the western side of Swindon to the Link Centre. This was where we saw the Swindon Wildcats entertain the Peterborough Phantoms in an English Premier League encounter, and after an even first period the Wildcats ran out 6-2 winners. Back to this week and the weather put paid to plans I had on Wednesday night when it caused the postponement of Welwyn Garden City and Sun Postal Sports.

As usual I was being very indecisive on where to go today with my only restriction being that I had to be back in Leicester for around 6pm. This is because I will be watching the Leicester Riders take on the Manchester Giants in the British Basketball League (BBL). There was no particular reason for choosing my game today and considering the level they play at, would be the furthest I have travelled for a level 13 (step 9) game of football.

Moreton-in-Marsh (pop' 3,198 in 2001) is a town in north Gloucestershire on the northern perifery of the Cotswolds and is one that I have travelled through plenty of times. The Cotswolds is one of my favourite parts of the UK with it being a range of hills stretching in a north-east / south-west direction in middle England. There are some unspoilt towns and villages in which Moreton is one of them. Others include Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. This part of the country is very easy to get to from Leicester, heading in a south westerly direction for around fifty miles. The town is also situated on the Fosse Way - an old roman road that linked Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) to Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) via Bath (Aquae Sulis), Cirencester (Corinium) and Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum). The town does have its own railway station and is on the Cotswold Line that connects Hereford with Oxford, going via Great Malvern, Worcester Foregate Street and Evesham.

map of the Cotswold Line (source: Wikipedia)

The football club were formed in 1997 as an under-8 side, but but it wasn't until seven years later in 2004 than an open age section was started. The club were accepted into division 2 of the Cheltenham League and in their debut season finished in 6th place, with a runners-up spot in the 2006/07 season secured promotion to division 1. Three season were spent in the top division of the Cheltenham League, the last of which saw them crowned league champions and with it promotion to the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League (GNSL). Their first season in their new surroundings saw them finish in a respectable 4th place , accumulating forty-eight points from twenty-six league games. In a very competitive division this year Moreton currently sit in 4th place with thirty-two points from fifteen league games. Opponents today Abbeymead Rovers currently have the same points total from the same number of games played, but are below Moreton in the table due to a goal difference of two.

The drive down was effortless and easy and I arrived in the town at around 2.30pm. The ground is located on the eastern side of the town on the London Road, and to find the ground if coming from the north or south simply turn take the Oxford (A44) turning in the town centre and the ground is on the right hand side. A small track leads to the car park and ground entrance, though no admission was charged. Having not been to any other ground in this league I cannot make any comparisons, but surely it must be one of, if not the best. It is fully railed, has dugouts which are on the far side, floodlights and a new changing room block and stand.

The game which on paper should have been a close encounter turned out to be very one sided. Two goals in the opening quarter of an hour (10 and 14 minutes) put Moreton in control, and when a third was added on twenty-six minutes it was pretty much game over. Abbeymead got a goal back on thirty-three minutes to make it 3-1 at the interval. The opening period of the second half saw the visitors have their best spell of the game, though despite their possession they seldom troubled the Moreton keeper. Two goals in the final twenty minutes (71 and 85 minutes) put the final nails in the coffin.

Overall an enjoyable afternoon out, helped by the weather and the town of Moreton itself which was very busy with visitors - just a shame a few more of them were not aware of the presence of the local football club.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: peaked at 24

48 ground and match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Another late change of plan

2013-02-03T09:52:00.000Z

WHITTLESEY UNITED 1-2 COATES ATHLETIC
Saturday 2nd February 2013
Peterborough & District League Premier Division
Manor Field, Station Road, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire

Apologies but there is no report today due to a late change of plan. I was all set to re-complete the Leicestershire Senior League with a visit to Ashby Ivanhoe's new ground for their game against Cottesmore Amateurs, but around 11.45am I saw that the game had been postponed. Bloody annoying as I had already done the background work for a report and also that I had arranged to meet my dad at the ground. With not wanting to mess around checking numerous league websites for fixtures I looked on the Peterborough League website to see what was on, and noticed that both Whittlesey sides Blue Star and United were at home with 2pm kick-offs. A phone call to the Blue Star secretary confirmed their game was on, but on arrival I decided to watch United instead against Coates Athletic.

There are two grounds at the Manor Leisure Centre in the town, though both use the same car park. United have their own clubhouse and changing rooms and their ground (Manor Field) is too the left, while there are two pitches which are part of the leisure centre itself. These are used by Blue Star and Coates Athletic. The Manor is very easy to find with it being both close to the station and town centre and is signposted from the A605 that runs east to west through the town.

In a nutshell Coates upset the form book with a deserved 2-1 victory over their higher placed hosts. A cracking free kick early on put them one up, but this was cancelled out ten minutes later with a curling shot past the United keeper. Coates should have ahead at the interval but a shot cracked against the corner of the upright and another effort was cleared off the line with the keeper beaten. The winner came from the penalty spot shortly after the half time interval, but the awarding off it appeared to be harsh from my perspective.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: around 30ish
Tea: 50p
Coffee: 60p

41 photos taken of the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Huddersfield Town

2013-01-27T07:12:00.000Z

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1-1 LEICESTER CITY
Saturday 26th January 2013
FA Cup 4th Round
John Smith's Stadium, Stadium Way, Huddersfield

match ticket

programme cover

Admission: £10

Programme: £2

Attendance: 11,945 (4,000 away)

Original plans for today was as is normally the case a visit to a non-league club, with plan A being that of Oakham United in the Peterborough & District League. About ten days ago I was looking at the weather forecast and for the week leading up day time temperatures would seldom get above freezing. With this in mind I asked my mum and her partner if they fancied going to watch Leicester City play their fourth round FA Cup tie @ Huddersfield Town, helped by fact that the two clubs had agreed to reduce ticket prices. With not being a season ticket holder or member of Leicester City I would have to wait to see if any of their allocation would be available on general sale, and I believe there was around 1,000 left. Come 9am and both myself and my wife (who decided to come along) had rang the club using the land line and a mobile and were in a que - I got through first after about ten minutes and managed to purchase four (three adults and one senior) tickets and a price of £36 which included a £1 booking fee. I personally have visited the stadium before but it was for rugby league and not football when I saw the Huddersfield Giants take on the Sheffield Eagles in April 1997.

The plan was to leave earlier in order to have some lunch in the town and have a walk round before heading to the stadium. We (my wife Angela and I) were picked up at 9.30am by my mum and her partner Dave and made the ninety-five mile journey north with no problems. The traffic on the M1 motorway was light with it only being busy when he got into Huddersfield itself. The John Smith's Stadium is well signposted and we parked up in a pay & display car park on St. Andrews Road. From there we walked into the town centre and made our way to one of the two JD Weatherspoon outlets, The Cherry Tree for some lunch and liquid refreshment - two pints of Arctic Fox went down very well. Heading back in the direction we came I popped into the other 'Spoons outlet The Lord Wilson for a quick half while the others were looking around House of Fraser. From there we made our way to the stadium and got to the ground around 2.15pm.

The town

Huddersfield is a large market town with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants, located in, and being the principal town of the Metropolitan Borough of Kirkless in West Yorkshire. It is located some twenty five miles east of Manchester and twenty miles south west of Leeds while the M62 motorway passes a few miles to the north of the town. The town has direct rail services to a lot of the "major" northern cities including Leeds and Manchester but not to the nations capital London.

Huddersfield is not a tourist town though does have some excellent examples of Victorian architecture, but is more well known for sport - the birth place of Rugby League, the birthplace of prime minister Harold Wilson and its role in the Industrial Revolution.

The railway station is a Grade 1 listed building and was describe by John Betjeman as `The most splendid station facade in England, second only to St. Pancras in London.'

During the Industrial Revolution Huddersfield was a centre of civil unrest. This was during a period when Europe was experiencing frequent wars and trade had slumped and crops failed. Local weavers faced losing their livelihood due to the introduction of machinery in the factories. Luddites began destroying mills and machinery in response. One of the most notorious attacks was on Cartwright - a Huddersfield mill owner who had a reputation for cruelty.

The club

The club were formed in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League in time for the 1908/09 season, finishing in 16th place in the 18 team division. The following season they transferred to the Midland League finishing in 5th place come the season end. Just two years after being formed they were elected to division 2 of the Football League. In 1922 the club secured its first major honour by winning the FA Cup. Between 1923 and 1926 they were crowned Football League champions, becoming the first English team to win three successive league titles. A feat that has been matched (but not bettered) by only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

The Stadium

The stadium was designed by H.O.K. Sport and built (by Alfred McAlpine) and opened in 1994 at an estimated cost of £40m. While construction was taking place it was known as the Kirklees Stadium, while from 1994 to 2004 it name the McAlpine Stadium. It was under this name that I saw a rugby league game here in 1997 when the Huddersfield Giants took on the Sheffield Eagles. From 2004-2012 it became known as the Galpharm Stadium, and after brewery Heineken took out a five year sponsorship deal last August it became known as the John Smith's Stadium.

The capacity of the stadium is 24,499 and is an all seater affair. It is located to the north west of the town centre, approximately one mile from the railway station.

Previously the club played their home games at Leeds Road which was their home since 1908, and they recorded a club record attendance of 67,037 for an FA Cup 6th Round tie v Arsenal on the 27th February 1932.

Away fans are housed in the John Smith's (South) Stand which was full today and is the one you come to first. Views in the stadium are excellent though despite it being all seater it was "standing room only" with the club or stewards making no attempt to make the visiting supporters sit down. Personally I don't have a problem with this helped by being over 6' tall, but with my wife being only 5' 2"" she did have trouble seeing the action at times. If clubs are going to allow supporters to stand then surely it would be safer to have specific standing areas in stadiums than allow them to stand in seated areas. I know when this gets mentioned the old rhetoric of Hillsborough gets brought up, but in my opinion it wasn't the terraces that caused this tragic event, but the fact that supporters were in pens and could not get themselves to safety.

Leicester came into the game as favourites with them putting together a winning run that has put them in the second automatic promotion spot in the Football League Championship, while Huddersfield find themselves in 19th place and sacked manager Simon Grayson a few days ago.

After seeing Leicester play very well against Middlesbrough just over a week ago it was a different story today. They were very disjointed, lacked any sort of cohesion and the first half was up there with the dross that I have witnessed this season. The second half did improve with Huddersfield looking the more likely to score. With the atmosphere already being electric in the away section, it went up a notch on the hour mark when Jamie Vardy and Martyn Waghorn were replaced by David Nugent and Chris Wood. Wood almost made an immediate impact but his curling shot was turned round the post by Huddersfield keeper Alex Smithies. Town took the lead on seventy minutes when Lee Novak beat Kasper Schmeichel from the penalty spot, this following a Lloyd Dyer foul on Jack Hunt. Leicester drew level with nine minutes left when Wood turned in a Richie de Laet cross. To be fair Huddersfield should have had the game sown up but James Vaughan poked the ball wide from six yards out and Peter Clarke had a header cleared off the line.

A more detailed report can be found on the BBC website by clicking here - HTFC

As expected it was very busy getting out of the car park and Huddersfield itself, and following a stop for a coffee at the Tibshelf services on the M1 we were back home at around 8pm.

10 ground photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Houghton into the semi-finals

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HOUGHTON RANGERS 4-0 MEDBOURNE

Saturday 12th January 2013

Leicestershire Intermediate Cup Quarter Final

Weir Lane, Houghton on the Hill, Leicestershire

After last weekend watching two games, which firstly saw Oadby Town put five past AFC Rushden & Diamonds in the United Counties League and Oscars overcome FC Hoskins 4-2 in the Alliance Football League Bill Walton Cup, it is county cup action for me today. Of the eight teams left in the Leicestershire Intermediate Cup Houghton Rangers' ground on Weir Lane was the only one that I had not previously visited, and as luck would have it they got drawn at home to Medbourne of the Northants Combination.

I don't know when the original Houghton Rangers Football Club was formed, but I do know that they joined the Leicestershire Senior League (LSL) Division 2 in 1976 and spent twenty one years in the league before finishing bottom in 1997, with all but two years (1991-93) being spent in the lower division. Relegation to the Leicester & District League (L&D) occurred in at the end of the 1996/97 season, but the club only last one season before folding. The current club bearing the same name was formed in 2005 and they have spent all their existence in the L&D, with their playing record as follows...

2005/06	Div 2	24	9	7	8	49	43	34	7^TH
2006/07	Div 2	22	13	5	4	68	35	44	3^RD
2007/08	Div 1	20	13	3	4	62	28	42	2^ND
2008/09	Prem	26	18	4	4	82	30	58	2^ND
2009/10	Prem	24	10	6	8	41	33	36	5^TH
2010/11	Prem	20	13	3	4	49	26	42	3^RD
2011/12	Prem	22	15	3	4	74	28	48	3^RD

This season Houghton have made an impressive start to the league campaign with only one defeat in nine matches, while in the Intermediate Cup they have progressed through three rounds to get to the quarter finals:

Round 1: Huncote (H) won 3-1

Round 2: Anstey Town (H) won 2-0

Round 3: Greenhill YC (A) won 3-1

Opponents Medbourne, as previously stated ply their trade in the Northants Combination and currently sit in mid-table of division 1. With the Leicestershire FA not publishing the results of the third round I have been unable to find out who they played, but what I do know is that they had a bye in round 1 and a walkover in round 2 following the withdrawal of Butler Court.

Houghton on the Hill is a commuter village six miles east of Leicester and has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. The village was the birthplace of the famed landscape artist John Glover who was born in 1767 and died in 1849 in Launceston, Tasmania.

In December 2007 the Houghton made the national headlines when it was dubbed "the village of the scammed" when a large number of fraudulent credit card charges in the Far East were linked to the JET filling station. In August 2008 Sri Lankan born Abdul Samad Mohamed Raik was jailed for two years and eight months, after he admitted to the charge of obtaining property by deception. A total of £175,000 was stolen in the scam which affected almost every house in the village.

Weir Lane is located on the eastern edge of the village and is off Main Street opposite the Co-op, with the football pitches and changing rooms / club room at the end of Weir Lane itself. The main pitch is railed off on the majority of the four sides, though there are no dugouts but some hard standing in front of the club room.

I took my camera with me but was not hopeful I would get any decent photos I could put online, this was due to my camera equipment and the poor light. I did look up at the sky at times wishing that the sun would break through the clouds but alas this was not granted!!!!

I recognised the referee Imran Khan who I had seen officiate a game on Braunstone Park at the back end of last year and had a chat with him before the game. Going onto the game itself and it wasn't bad considering the pitch was very heavy - hardly surprising really!!! Medbourne got out of the blocks quicker and put pressure on the Houghton back line but without testing keeper Jimmy Greasley. As the half worn on the home side got into the game more and more with brothers Harry and Andy Almond causing problems. With the first half coming to a close Andy Almond found space in the penalty area and beat confidently beat the Medbourne keeper to give the lower ranked side the lead. Six minutes into the second half and Almond brother Andy had made 2-0. The game then had a scrappy period from the Houghton point of view with Medbourne looking to get back into the game, but were hit on the counter attack and Barber made it 3-0 on 73 minutes. With just a couple of minutes remaining and Barber turned in a low cross from the right to make it 4-0 and Houghton join three Leicestershire Senior League sides (Allexton & New Parks, Friar Lane & Epworth and Melton Mowbray) in the semi-finals.

In the few days before the game I had been communicating with Houghton via their twitter feed (@HoughtonRangers) and a warm welcome was had, even giving me a free coffee and half time.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: around 30

30 photos of the ground and game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Please vote...

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from the six pictures below:

From a shortlist of six please vote for your favourite action shot that I have taken during the 2012/13 season so far at the following games...

1) top right; 2) top left; 3) middle left; 4) middle right; 5) bottom left; 6) bottom right

Programme Covers - part 3

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The third and final part...

1) Dronfield Town (Central Midlands League)

Price: £1
No. of pages: 16, of which 2 are adverts

2) Corby Town (FA Trophy)

Price: £2
No. of pages: 32, of which 9 are adverts

3) Eynesbury Rovers (United Counties League)

Price: £1
No. of pages: 32, of which 15 are adverts

4) Derby County (Football League)

Price: £3
No. of pages: 76, of which 16 are adverts

5) Cammell Laird (Northern Premier League)

Price: £2
No. of pages: 24, of which 5 1/2 are adverts