All Roads Lead Somewhere...

Oadby v Ampthill

2012-01-21T20:38:00.001Z

OADBY TOWN 2-1 AMPTHILL TOWN
Saturday 21st January 2012
FA Vase 4th Round
Greene King Park

After what feels like a long time since I saw Oadby in action this is to be the first of two consecutive Saturday home games for the Poachers. The last time I was down here for a games was on December 3rd when they hosted Tipton Town in the last round of this competition. A combination of the following has seen me miss all home games since - a postponement (10th Dec); midweek matches and two weeks ago I was down in London for the Spurs - Cheltenham FA Cup tie.

This tie pits two sides that compete at Step 6 of the non-league pyramid, with Ampthill playing their football in division 1 of the Spartan South Midlands League. Like Oadby they are having a good season as well and currently sit in second place in their division and have won their last four matches. Also like Oadby they have only lost two out of their twenty five league games played and currently sit in second place though are eleven points behind leaders London Colney. Oadby meanwhile are on a decent run of form themselves having only lost once in the last twelve matches in all competitions, which was against Barwell recently in the Leicestershire Challenge Cup.

On paper this should be a cracking cup tie between two in form sides.

Both sides also have similar records in this seasons FA Vase so far with them both starting out at the second qualifying round and also they have had one tie that went to a replay. The record for both teams is as follows:

Oadby Town

2nd Qualifying: Huntingdon Town (H) Won 3-2

1st round: Lutterworth Athletic (A) Won 2-1

2nd round: St. Andrews (H) Won 1-0

3rd round: Tipton Town (H) Drew 1-1 aet

replay: Tipton Town (A) Won 2-1

Ampthill Town

2nd Qualifying: Barkingside (A) Drew 1-1 aet

replay: Barkingside (H) Won 1-0

1st round: Basildon United (A) Won 4-0

2nd round: Haringey & Waltham Development (H) Won 3-2

3rd round: Lancing (A) Won 3-1

The club shop

Oadby progressed to the last 16 of the FA Vase with a victory that should have been more comfortable that it was. After a bout of sparing Oadby settled down and took the lead on eleven minutes. A Matt Moore shot from twenty five yards out took a slight deflection on its way into the top corner. The hosts doubled their advantage ten minutes later when Matt Piper converted a Steve Fenton cross to put some daylight between the two sides. A few minutes at it should have been three nil but Piper failed to connect with a cross from the right flank. Ampthill's ploy was to play long balls down the channels and these on the main were dealt with comfortably by Joe Latham and Declan Towers. The visitors best chance of the opening period came around the twenty six minute when a Jake Duffy cleared an effort off the line. Oadby themselves had an effort cleared off the line and then Matt Moore was unable to beat Tom Kennard in the Ampthill goal.

The second half saw Oadby take their foot off the gas and allowed the visitors to come into the game more, though their efforts were on the whole easily dealt with by Oadby keeper Elliot Shilliam. Oadby had three notable chances to put their supporters at ease with both Moore and Jermaine Gordon being a whisker away from converting crosses from Piper, while a Latham header was tipped over by Kennard. With six minutes remaining Ampthill got a lifeline as Chris Lester scrambled the ball home via the post from a couple of yards out. A nervy finish for the home supporters but in the end Oadby deservedly progressed to the next round and as the final whistle blew a chorus of "we're all going to Wembley" rang out.

Admission: £5 / £3 concessions
Programme: £1
Attendance: 417

Other 4th Round Results
Whitley Bay 5-0 South Park
Tunbridge Wells 0-1 St. Ives Town
Willand Rovers 1-3 Staveley Miners Welfare
Shortwood United 1-0 Enfield 1893
Newcastle Benfield 1-2 Herne Bay
Bournemouth 2-1 Royston Town
Old Woodstock Town 0-2 Bethnal Green United
Newport Pagnell Town 2-3 Ashington
Norton United 1-2 Peterborough Northern Star
Wisbech Town 2-2 Dunston UTS (after extra time)
Bitton 1-3 West Auckland Town
Tividale 7-1 Binfield
Gresley 1-1 Three Bridges (after extra time)
Billingham Synthonia 0-0 Runcorn Town (after extra time)
Reading Town 2-3 Larkhall Athletic

Cleansing the Soul

2012-01-15T10:30:00.000Z

EYE SPORTS 4-0 OAKHAM UNITED
Saturday 14th January 2012
Peterborough & District League Premier Division
Lindisfarne Road, PE6 7XH

After last weeks trip to the land of Satan that is a "premier league" football ground, I need to cleanse my soul as it were and get back to watching the grass roots form of the game. The main stipulation for us today was that we wanted a 2pm kick-off and with dad living in the eastern suburbs of Leicester, we headed across eastwards for a very rare venture into the Peterborough & District League (PDL). I had only previously seen one game in the PDL and that was nearly two years ago when I saw Uppingham Town record a 2-0 victory over Leverington Sports.

With an overnight frost covering much of England doubt set in as to whether any particular game would still go ahead. Armed with about a dozen fixtures and club secretaries I set off about 11am. First port of call was to pick my dad and then make the one hour drive along the A47 to Eye. We pulled into a petrol station on the edge of the village and made several calls, all of which went unanswered - very helpful indeed!!! With the sun being high in the sky and the temperature about four or five degrees above freezing we were reasonably confident that the game would go ahead, added to this was that Eye's ground was south facing which allowed enough time for the sun to thaw out the frost. After a quick visit to the ground which confirmed that the game was going ahead we made our way to the Blue Boar, one of the two pubs in the village for some lunch.We both had the same - a ham, egg and chip lunch washed down with a pint of Elgood's Feelgood Festive which is a 3.7% seasonal ale.

The footprint of the PDL covers an area that goes from Rutland in the west to Wisbech in the each, with Spalding at its northerly perimeter and Alconbury to the south. It was founded in 1902 and Fletton United were the first champions. Currently there are six division and they all contain a mixture of 1st, reserve and 'a' teams.

Eye is a large village in the unitary authority area of Peterborough and has a population in the region of 4,000 inhabitants. Until 1963 Eye was part of Northamptonshire as the county diocese is focused upon Peterborough Cathedral. However Peterborough had its own county council since 1888 and in 1965 was merged with neighbouring Huntingdonshire. Under the Local Government Act 1972 Eye along with Peterborough and Huntingdonshire became part of Cambridgeshire.

I believe the club were founded in 2002 and joined the Peterborough & District League the same year. A full playing record is as follows:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	POS
2002/03	PETER-5	26	18	3	5	100	40	57	2ND
2003/04	PETER-4	24	17	2	5	83	32	53	3RD
2004/05	PETER-3	26	15	3	8	66	39	48	5TH
2005/06	PETER-2	26	3	0	23	30	124	9	14TH
2006/07	PETER-2	26	4	6	16	44	86	18	12TH
2007/08	PETER-2	24	20	1	3	87	32	61	2ND
2008/09	PETER-1	22	17	4	1	69	20	55	2ND
2009/10	PETER-1	22	16	4	2	83	28	52	1ST
2010/11	PETER-P	30	16	4	10	59	44	52	6TH

This season Eye currently sit in fifth place in the Premier Division, recording eight wins from their fourteen games played. They are currently on a five match unbeaten run recording a 6-2 victory against Uppingham Town a week ago. The last time they tasted defeat was in November when title favourites Pinchbeck United left Lindisfarne Road with a 1-0 victory. The reverse fixture against today's opponents was on the 26th November that saw Eye record a 2-0 victory.

Oakham United were only formed in the summer of 2011 when two local clubs Rutland Rangers (Peterborough League) and Oakham Imperial (Leicester & District League) merged. Oakham themselves come into this game on a decent run of form recording three successive victories.

The ground on Lindisfarne Road is on the southern edge of the village and the entrance is between two houses. It opens up and there is a small car park to the right and a breeze block building to the left which houses the changing rooms and club room. The pitch is railed off along the two sides and there are dug outs on the far side.

My thoughts before the game were that this could be an entertaining match between two in-form sides and this proved to be the case. Don't let the score at the top of the report mislead you as this was not was one sided as it suggests. It was an end to end game in which the visitors from Rutland more than matched their hosts at times. To put it another way - Eye took their chances and Oakham did not. The opening goal came with five minutes before the half time interval as Ryan Francis created some space for himself inside the Oakham penalty area and slotted the ball across the keeper into the far corner of the goal. Two goals in the space of five minutes around the hour mark put the outcome of the game to bed. The second goal of the afternoon came on fifty-eight minutes when Steve Shore finished with aplomb following excellent work down the left. The third and killer goal of the game came just five minutes later when Francis got his second of the afternoon. The ball fell kindly to him inside the Oakham penalty area and his first time shot found the back of the net. With around fifteen minutes remaining Francis completed his hat-trick in some style. Oakham were caught on the counter attack and from around thirty yards out Francis let fly with a shot that beat the Oakham keeper all ends up.

An enjoyable but chilly afternoon with some good football being played. When I will be back for another game in the PDL is another matter but it won't be due to the football on offer.

Admission: None

Programme: None

Attendance: mid 20's

Entertainment rating: 7 out of 10

websites / sources:

Eye - wikipedia page

Eye village website

Peterborough & District League - official website

Around fifty photos took of the ground and game can viewed in the slideshow below:

5,000 robins descend on North London

2012-01-08T07:02:00.000Z

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3–0 CHELTENHAM TOWN

Saturday 7^th January 2012

FA Cup 3^rd Round

White Hart Lane

Sometimes in football cup draws fall the way you like and prior to the draw for the 3^rd round of this seasons FA Cup I said to the wife that I hope Cheltenham get Chelsea, Manchester City or Spurs away. Well this prediction and wish came true and as regular readers of the blog know one of my closest friends is a season ticket holder @ Cheltenham. This made getting one of the 5,000 tickets that Spurs released for the visitors section straight forward as season ticket holders were allowed to purchase two tickets each. An added bonus was that Spurs reduced the admission price to a respectable £20, with the cheapest adult tickets at White Hart Lane this season for league games costing £31 for the lowest category games.

Useless fact alert: This will be the 26th FA Cup that I have seen, yet only the second in the competition proper. This came in the 2005/06 season when I saw Cheltenham host Newcastle United in the 4th round. The rest of the ties were in the qualifying rounds.

My original plan was to drive down to north London and then get the tube and bus to the stadium, but for some unknown reason decided to check how much I could get to the capital and back on the train. I was quoted £31 return but the stipulation was that I had to get a specific train there and back – the train tickets were duly purchased and I was booked on the 1057 from Leicester which got me into St. Pancras International @ 1220. With Colin also arriving in London on the train via Paddington we arranged to meet @ St. Pancras itself at 12.30pm and make our way to White Hart Lane from there. Firstly there was a tube ride to Seven Sisters which is only three stops away on the Victoria Line and then a mile and a half walk to the ground itself. According to the excellent Transport for London website it should cost £5.20 return using an Oyster card. This was fortunate as I have £7.20 left on my card from my last visit to London at the end of July.

The area between the tube station and the stadium along Tottenham High Road is a cosmopolitan and multi-cultural mix. The High Road consists of plenty of small businesses which range from fast food takeaways to computer repair specialists, as well as two branches of the biggest supermarket chains. Also for anyone wanting a pre-match drink there are numerous pubs in the vicinity, though a lot of them near the stadium are for home fans only.

The club

As is the case when I went down to fellow North London rivals Arsenal I will just give a list of the club’s first team honours and records for Spurs. A full detailed history including reserve and youth team honours can be found on their official website @ http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/index.html.

The club were formed in 1882 as Hotspur FC before changing their name to the current title two years later. Their first league competition competed in was the Southern Alliance for the 1892/93 season, before joining the Southern League three years later in 1896. I have no idea if they played in any league competition between 1893 and 1896. While in the Southern League before they were elected to the Football League in 1908 they also competed in the United League, London League and Western League.

Football League champions (2) 1950/51; 1960/61

Football League Division 2 winners (2) 1919/20; 1949/50

FA Cup winners (8) 1900/01; 1920/21; 1960/61; 1961/62; 1966/67; 1980/81; 1981/82; 1990/91

Football League Cup winners (4) 1970/71; 1972/73; 1998/99; 2007/08

European Cup-winners Cup winners (1) 1962/63

UEFA Cup winners (2) 1971/72; 1983/84

FA Charity Shield winners (4 + 3 shared) 1920/21; 1951/52; 1961/62; 1962/63; 1967/68 (shared); 1981/82 (shared); 1991/92 (shared)

Western League champions (1) 1903/04

London League champions (1) 1902/03

Record victory: 13-2 v Crewe Alexandra (H) 03-02-1960 (FA Cup)

Record defeat: 0-8 v 1. FC Koln (A) 22-07-1995 (UEFA Intertoto Cup)

Most appearances: 854 – Steve Perryman

Top goalscorer: 266 – Jimmy Greaves

Record attendance: 75,038 v Sunderland (05-03-1938)

Highest transfer fee paid: £16.75m for Luke Modric (Dinamo Zagreb) – June 2008

Highest transfer fee received: £30.75m for Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) – September 2008

The Stadium

Stating the obvious here but Spurs play their home games @ White Hart Lane in north London and currently has a capacity of 36,310. When the club were first formed they played their home games on Tottenham Marshes before moving to Northumberland Park in 1898. The move only lasted a year before they converted a disused nursery owned by brewery chain Charringtons at the present site. The first game on White Hart Lane saw Spurs beat Notts County 4-1 in front of approximately 5,000 spectators.

My impressions of the stadium were just ok. It did not give you the "wow factor" like their north London rivals Arsenal, though I do admit comparing the two is unfair. Also I felt it did not have an aura about it, like for example Anfield where you know you are somewhere special and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I am struggling to sum up anything else that could be constructive or descriptive to describe the place...maybe "an average medium sized football stadium".

One thing that I was not impressed with was how narrow the concourse was. There was only one entrance and exit for the away fans, which I presume was due to the larger than normal away contingent. This meant that it felt like an awful long time to get out of the stadium and back on to Tottenham High Road.

The food and drink inside and outside the ground consisted of the usual fare - pie, hot dog, burger, beer (Carlsberg only) etc etc. There were four meal deal options which varied in price between £5 and £7. We ate at one of the many food outlets outside the ground and paid £3 for a hot dog.

The game

This tie pits two teams doing well in their respective league campaigns although they sit three divisions apart. Spurs are third in the Premier League with only the Manchester clubs, United and City above them in the table. Their last game on Tuesday saw them beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 with the goal coming from Jermaine Defoe. Cheltenham are second in League 2, just one point behind leaders Crawley Town. They are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions, recording a 2-1 victory @ Port Vale in their last match on Monday. Their two FA Cup games so far have both been away from home and recorded victories @ Tranmere Rovers (1-0) and Luton Town (4-2).

What we had was in effect a Spurs 2nd XI that had a comfortable victory against their league two opponents. It should be said that the team that Spurs put out did consist of players that were / are full internationals. For example Jermaine Defoe, Aaron Lennon, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Niko Kranjcar.

To be honest I feel that the report on the BBC website is a fair reflection and without copying it word for word it can be viewed by clicking here: report

Admission: £20
Programme: £3.50
Badge: £3
Stadium postcard: £1
Attendance: 35,672

To sum up - well it is nice to visit the bigger stadiums in the country but I could not watch football in that environment every week. It is not because I did not enjoy the football on offer but because of the restrictions you have compared to watching the game at grass roots level.

This was only my fourth ever game of football I have seen in London and the second time this season. As it happens I am back in London and meeting up with Colin in six weeks time (February 18th) for Cheltenham's visit to Dagenham & Redbridge for a League 2 encounter.

Despite it taking longer than we (and most of the Cheltenham fans) would have liked getting out of the stadium I got back to St. Pancras without any problems for the 1825 train back to Leicester. Following a detour in Leicester to pick up some theatre tickets which are a 60th birthday present for my dad I arrived back home in Leicester at 8pm.

Other Websites / sources:

Tottenham Hotspur – Wikipedia – Wikipedia (history)

White Hart Lane Stadium – Wikipedia

I did take some photos of the ground both externally and internally and these can be viewed below:

Spratton

2011-12-29T19:38:00.000Z

SPRATTON 2-4 JAMES KING BLISWORTH
Saturday 31st December 2011
Northants Combination Division 1
Smith Street, NN6 8HW

After a two week break from watching football for Christmas I am in Northamptonshire for my final game of 2011. With Oadby Town not playing until Monday, good friend Kevin Zupp agreed to come with me and I picked him up from his house in Kibworth at lunch time for the forty minute drive south. The drive was very straightforward taking the A6 to Market Harborough before heading onto the A508 to Northampton. We turned off the A508 at Brixworth and headed westwards to Spratton itself, with Smith Street being on the northern edge of the village.

Spratton is a small village and civil parish in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire and according to the 2001 census had a population of 1,099 inhabitants. It is located on the A5199 (previously A50) that runs between Leicester (25 miles to the north) and Northampton (7 1/2 miles to the south).

If going by their club badge Spratton Football Club were formed in 1890. There is very little information on the club on the internet, and the only details that I have come across are on the archive section of the Northants Combination website. Their records go back as far as the 1953/54 season and Spratton finished in 5th position in the premier division. It is only from 1973 (apart from the 1990/91 season) that they have a full set of league tables. Apart from three seasons between 1988 and 1991 the club have spent the past thirty eight years in either the premier division or division. The club have been crowned premier division champions on two occassions in 1984/85 and 1986/87.

Last ten years in the Northants Combination:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	WON	DRW	LST	FOR	AGA	PTS	POS
2001/02	NHC-1	26	8	7	11	48	56	31	8TH
2002/03	NHC-1	26	7	9	10	42	45	30	8TH
2003/04	NHC-1	26	12	7	7	47	48	43	5TH
2004/05	NHC-1	28	11	6	11	46	46	39	7TH
2005/06	NHC-1	28	12	5	11	58	63	41	6TH
2006/07	NHC-1	28	7	7	14	46	63	28	13TH
2007/08	NHC-1	26	6	2	18	43	69	20	12TH
2008/09	NHC-1	24	7	1	16	37	75	22	12TH
2009/10	NHC-1	24	5	3	16	33	66	20*	12TH
2010/11	NHC-1	22	6	4	12	25	55	22	10TH

When arriving at the venue we found it to be typical for this level with no pitch side facilities but there is a social club on site which appeared to be well used by the local community. On one of the walls there was a few of old team photos with a couple catching my eye in particular. The first was from 1957 when they had silverware on show for winning both the Northants Combination Division 1 title and cup competitions. The second was from the 1929/30 season with the headline "Mid-Northamptonshire Village League winners". It is a shame that information like this is not preserved in either the print form or online.

On the day the game pitched bottom of the table Spratton against high flying James King Blisworth who lie second in the table. It was played in dry but very blustery conditions with the location being very exposed to the elements. It was one of the most competitive games that either of us had seen with no quarter given from either side. Spratton took the lead within a couple of minutes when a mistake in the visiting defence allowed Adam Lett to poke the ball past the keeper into an empty net. On the half hour mark and they made it 2-0 when Joe Savage took advantage of some indecision in the Blisworth goal and finished from a couple of yards out. Right at the end of the half Blisworth got a goal back from the penalty spot. Chris Cully was fouled, got up and put his side back into the game. The Spratton keeper was very close to turning it round the post but despite getting a hand to it could not turn it round the post. To be honest Spratton should have been three up as their #9 blasted the ball over from eight yards out in what was probably the best chance of the half for either side. After an excellent save from the Blisworth keeper in the opening ten minutes of the half, the visitors took control and scored three goals in the space of fifteen minutes which ultimately resulted in the victory. Firstly a corner was knocked back across goal to allow Steve Hearly draw the teams level just before the hour mark. Blisworth's third goal came on the seventy minute mark when following a corner a Jay Vieira (?) shot from the edge of the area took a couple of deflections before finding the net, and just two minutes later it became 2-4 when a back pass sold the Spratton keeper short which was read by the Blisworth #14 who rounded the stranded keeper and finished into an empty net. The visitors saw out the final fifteen minutes or so to give them a victory in their quest for promotion to the premier division.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: peaked at 23

Entertainment rating: 6 out of 10

A final note should go to the people behind the scenes at Spratton Football Club itself. They made us both feel welcome right from the start and even allowed me to charge up my camera battery for half an hour, as when we arrived I found it dead as a dodo. Fortunately I managed to get some shots off before it died once again. These can be found on the slideshow below:

Ferrari FC

2011-12-18T06:14:00.000Z

FERRARI 2-4 WHITWICK UNITED

Saturday 17th December 2011

North Leicestershire League Cobbin Trophy 3rd Round

Towles Playing Field, Burton on the Wolds

The original plan was to head down to Cheltenham to catch up with a mate of mine Colin Buchanan and watch a game within an hour’s drive of his house, but Cheltenham Town were handed a plum FA Cup 3^rd Round tie @ Tottenham Hotspur on January 7^th and we have arranged to meet up then. Now it was a case of seeing if any fixtures caught my attention in either the Leicester & District League or North Leicestershire League. To be fair there were numerous ones that did and it was a case of deciding which one to go for.

My mum's other half Dave Todd agreed to come and watch this pre-Christmas cup tie a few miles east of Loughborough and, having picked him up from Thurmaston made the short drive to Burton. When arriving in the village we drove past the playing fields to make sure there were no problems, and with the players putting the nets up we made then headed to the Greyhound Inn in the centre of the village for pre-match liquid refreshment. This was a pub that neither of of us had ever been to before and we were impressed with it. It is part of the Everards chain and had several real ales on tap as well as the usual non-descript lagers. A pint of Sleigh Bell went down very well.

Ferrari FC were formed in 2007 and joined the North Leicestershire League (NLL) the same year. They are a Shepshed based club and originally played at Hind Leys School, but due to an increase in match fees moved out to Burton two seasons ago. The club's record since joining the NLL is as follows:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	POS
2007/08	N LEIC-4	22	12	1	9	56	57	37	5TH
2008/09	N LEIC-4	22	13	4	5	68	53	43	3RD
2009/10	N LEIC-3	22	10	2	10	59	69	32	6TH
2010/11	N LEIC-3	20	7	1	12	49	59	22	8TH

The reason this fixture was chosen was due to two reasons. Firstly the 1.30pm kick-off, and secondly yours truly had seen games at Greenhill and Belton Villa in the previous two rounds of this competition and enjoyed them both. This fixture pitted division 3 Ferrari (who went into this game with a 100% league records) against division 1 Whitwick United who sit in a mid-table position. Despite it being the 3rd round the two teams had only played one match between them in the competition so far. Round 1 saw Ferrari have a walkover against Coalville Colliers and Whitwick had a bye. In round 2 Ferrari produced the upset of the round winning 3-2 @ premier division side Sileby Victoria while Whitwick had a walkover against Asfordby Village.

The game was one that saw the visitors have the better of the proceedings for the majority of the game and created more chances in 90 minutes of football than you will see in several other games combined. If they had had their shooting boots on or had a bit more composure they could have hit double figures. To be fair to the home side they stuck at it and took the lead on 25 minutes. A free kick was missed by the home defence and John Bowles finished into the corner of the goal from twelve yards out. Two goals in the final couple of minutes of the half saw the game turn in the visitors favour. A break down the left saw a perfectly waited low cross to the far post which allowed Graham Hutchinson to beat the Ferrari keeper at his near post. In stoppage time at the end of the half Hutchinson crossed from the right and Jamie Holmes headed in at the far post. The second half was a similar affair to the first with the visitors looking the better side. Again though it was the home side that scored first and levelled up the proceedings. Matt Griffin with the finish following a well worked move and cross from the left. Whitwick only had to wait three minutes to restore their lead as Hutchinson got his second of the afternoon with a twenty five lob over the keeper. Chances kept coming and with seven minutes remaining of the ninety Hutchinson completed his hat-trick. The referee played about ten minutes of stoppage time due to a nasty injury. One of the Ferrari players was on the ground when an stray boot from Hutchinson caught him between his nose and left eye. From my point of view it appeared innocuous with the home players not making an issue of it. Even in stoppage time more chances were wasted by Whitwick.

To sum up - another enjoyable game in this competition that was played on a heavy pitch in dull and at times during the first half wet conditions.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 6

Entertainment rating: 8 out of 10

A slideshow of some photos taken during the game can be viewed below:

RTJFC

2011-12-09T18:48:00.001Z

RUGBY TOWN JUNIORS 0–5 LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS

Saturday 10^th December 2011

Midland Combination Under-21 section; East / North Division

Kilsby Lane

The first part of a “double” today, as having been impressed with the Students when I saw them beat Stapenhill 4-1 in October, decided to take in their away fixture at Rugby Town Juniors. The following paragraph on the club is taken from their official website:

“RTJFC has been running for 12 years and currently has approximately 700 members (children under 18 years old). Its general “ Football for All” message means that any one of any ability can play football. In addition it has close working links with and encourages community groups and schools to participate in and enjoy the game of football. The club’s volunteers play a vital role, offering services such as organised structured coaching and running after school clubs. RTJFC members play in approximately 47 teams in five different leagues.”

The club play their home games on Kilsby Lane which is on the south-east side of Rugby. My route is a very simple one taking me down the M1 (junction 21) to junction 18, then along the A428 towards Rugby itself. After approximately 2 ½ miles it was a left turn onto the B4038 Kilsby Lane for just 100 yards before turning right at the ground entrance. The 24 mile journey took around 35 minutes to make. There are numerous pitches at Kilsby Lane which are set on different levels, with the main pitch and clubhouse / changing room block set at the bottom. The main pitch is fully railed off, dugouts, floodlights and hard standing on one side. There was a tea bar in operation before and for the majority of the game which was most welcome in the cold but sunny weather.

As it stands in this inaugural season of the Under-21 competition Rugby lie third in the table with nineteen points from their eleven league games, sitting six points behind league leaders Loughborough Dynamo. The Students currently sit one place and one point further behind but have only played seven league games so far. Rugby’s last game was three weeks ago (due to last Saturday’s fixture @ Kettering Town postponed) when they suffered a 4-1 defeat at Loughborough Dynamo, while the Students put Woodbourne Sports to the sword in a 6-2 victory at The Paddock.

When arriving at the ground I was informed by Peter Simmons (president of Loughborough Students Football) that the game would kick-off thirty minutes late due to the overnight frost. The game saw two good sides contest an enjoyable first half with good football played and an even number of chances created. The second period saw a more one sided affair and the Students struck five times to move up to second in the East / North division table. Gabriel Ali scored the opener on 49 minutes but as I was on the phone at the time to Kevin Zupp @ Oadby Town FC I missed it and could not tell you anything about it!!!! The second goal came just seven minute later when a swinging volley from Jordan Cocksedge just crossed the goal line. Rugby's best chance came came a couple of minutes later but a volley was well saved by White in the Students goal. The hosts discipline was starting to let them down as they began to argue with the referee. Two of their players were booked for dissent another for persistent fouling. Three goals in the last ten minutes put a more one sided slant on the scoreline. Firstly substitute Worthington got in on the act by hitting a first time shot past the Rugby keeper on 81 minutes. Two minutes later and Humphries finished off a flowing move with a superb strike from the edge of the area. With the game about up it became 5-0. A clever flick from Ali put Worthington away down the left, who then crossed for the unmarked ? to head home from a few yards out.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 12 (h/c)
Coffee: £1
Sausage Bap: £2.30

Overall another enjoyable game in this inaugural season of the under-21 competition.

Websites:

Rugby Town Juniors

Loughborough Football

Midland Combination

A slideshow of some photos taken can be viewed below:

After this I should have watched Oadby Town take on Bardon Hill in the East Midlands Counties League at 3pm, but at 12.30 I received a phone call from Kev Zupp @ Oadby who informed me that the game had been postponed. A rash and premature decision as the pitch was playable once the frost had thawed. In the end I went back to Oadby and had a beer in their clubhouse before getting home at 3.30pm.

Stalemate in the Vase

2011-12-03T19:16:00.001Z

OADBY TOWN 1–1 (aet) TIPTON TOWN

Saturday 3^rd December 2011

FA Vase 3^rd Round

Greene King Park

Another home game for Oadby Town this afternoon, this time against former adversaries in the Midland Football Alliance Tipton Town in the 3^rd round (last 64) of the FA Vase. This is the first time since the 2004/05 season that Oadby have reached this stage of the competition. A controversial 1-0 defeat @ Stourbridge ended the hopes of glory then. This time around Oadby have moved quietly into the third round with three one goal victories. First up was Huntingdon Town who were dispatched 3-2 here @ GKP. This was followed up by a trip to Leicestershire Senior League outfit Lutterworth Athletic who were beaten 2-1 and last but not least, just two weeks ago local rivals St. Andrews arrived at GKP and a superb effort from Jon Stevenson was the difference between the two sides. Tipton Town started out in the 1^st round and have had two home ties so far. Fellow MFA side Highgate United were beaten by the odd goal in three and Bardon Hill were on the wrong end of a 5-1 score line in the previous round. With Bardon Hill exiting the competition Oadby are the last Leicestershire club standing. Both clubs had midweek matches to overcome with Oadby putting St. Andrews to the sword once again with a resounding 4-1 success in the 2^nd round of the Leicestershire Senior Cup. Tipton meanwhile were in MFA action and came away from Stratford Town with a 1-1 draw.

I finally got round to watching Oadby @ Tipton Town last season and despite taking the lead were on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing. How things have changed? Despite Oadby being relegated the side now is unrecognisable from the one last season and the feel good factor (both on and off the field) is now well and truly back at GKP.

An intriguing cup tie that ebbed and flowed at times, with neither side able to exert any superiority in the 1st half. Oadby took the lead in the 45th minute when Jermaine Gordon scrambled the ball home from a yard out.

Oadby's lead did not last long as Tipton equalised within five minutes of the restart. Nathan Waite finishing off a good move down the right hand side. The games main talking point came with 12 minutes remaining as Oadby sub James Miller was shown a straight red card. Despite going down to ten men Oadby looked the better side for the remainder of the 90 and had three chances win in the dying moments. Matt Moore had a shot saved, Matt Piper's chip from a tight angle failed to find the target and a Steve Fenton shot that was heading for the top corner was superbly saved by the Tipton keeper in the 4th minute of stoppage time.

Extra time and Oadby played the better football but Gordon had a shot saved and Jon Stevenson volleyed over. Tipton had their chances but the majority of their efforts were off target and Elliot Shilliam was the quieter of the two keepers.

Attendance: 167

Match rating: 7 out of 10

Replay Wednesday night and the tie I'm sure will have a few more twists and turns.

One sour note was that there was some racist chanting by the few Tipton fans that came across, referring to Leicester as Paki Land.

Websites:

Oadby Town: official – facebook – forum

Tipton Town:: official

Stadium Journey magazine

2011-12-02T10:33:00.001Z

A new US based magazine has been published on stadiums and is based around the website Stadium Journey which gives fans reviews of stadiums and game day experiences. The website was set up a couple of years ago by Paul Swaney who is based is Ann Arbor, Michigan and the following paragraph is taken from the site itself:

"Stadium Journey is a web venture with the goal to become a world-class community resource for sports fans, built around optimizing the experience of attending live sporting events. We provide tips and information through reviews of pro and college sports stadiums. We also rely on fans to provide tips and information about their favorite home stadium, or a first time impression. By sharing our knowledge, we can make every trip to the ballpark, stadium, or arena the very best it can be. Enjoy the journey!"

Paul and his team are looking for more people to write reviews of stadiums from all over the world. If anyone is interested contributing to this excellent web resource then Paul can be contacted on paul@stadiumjourney.com.

Issue 1 of the magazine is out now and costs $9.49 for a printed copy. Postage to the UK is in my opinion a very reasonable $2.49 and it took around two weeks to arrive. This opening issue concentrates on the American College Football scene and in particular the South East Conference.

Personally I found the magazine to be an interesting take on stadiums that in all honesty I will never visit. Setting up a new magazine is never easy and credit to Paul for having balls to try it.

OT v Ellistown

2011-11-21T17:58:00.001Z

OADBY TOWN 1-0 ELLISTOWN

Saturday 26th November 2011

East Midlands Counties League

Greene King Park

Following four consecutive Saturday's watching other clubs in the East Midlands I am back at GKP for the second in a run of four Saturday home games for the Poachers. After last weeks tough victory against local rival St. Andrews in the FA Vase, Oadby are back in league duty against Ellistown. After Monday's 3rd round draw in the Vase, Tipton Town will be the visitors next Saturday while Bardon Hill come to town the week after. Also pencilled in is another home match against St. Andrews, this time in the 2nd round of the Leicestershire Senior League which will be played this coming Tuesday on the 29th November.

At the start of play Oadby currently find themselves in 5th place in the EMCL but have games in hand over all of the other teams above them. Ellistown meanwhile sit third from bottom but spirits were lifted last week with a 3-1 victory over Nottingham side Radford.

The game was one that Oadby struggled to get going in during the early exchanges and Ellistown belied their lowly position and took the game to their high flying hosts. Both keepers were called into action during the 1st period with Oadby keeper Elliot Shilliam producing three excellent saves from the Ellistown forward line. Matt Piper was the dangerman for Oadby and was a reliable outlet on the left hand side of midfield. Chances side Jon Stevenson had a volley saved at the near post and drilled a shot wide, Michael Reeve dragged a shot wide and Jake Duffy had his chip tipped over. The second half saw Oadby come out with a lot more purpose and vigor and played the game higher up the field, putting pressure on the visitors right from the off. Substitute Callum Ross who came on for Reeve caused numerous problems for the Ellistown defence during the half and had some good chances. It was a case of if not when Oadby would score the opening goal and it duly came eight minutes into the half. A Ross effort was cleared off the line for a corner, and from the resulting kick captain Joe Latham headed home from five yards out at the far post. Despite the game opening up Ellistown caused few problems in the second half for Oadby but they themselves could not find the crucial second goal to kill off their plucky visitors. Towards the end of the game Emit Wann had a shot tipped over and further efforts (created by Piper) from Stevenson and Ross went wide or were blocked.

Admission: Free for yours truly
Programme: £1
Attendance: 138 (official)

The win keeps Oadby in touch with games in hand in what is proving to be a very competitive league. In form Anstey Nomads had the result of the day when they record a 3-2 victory @ leaders Heanor Town.

Hard fought derby in the Vase

2011-11-15T20:17:00.001Z

OADBY TOWN 1-0 ST. ANDREWS
Saturday 19th November 2011
FA Vase 2nd Round
Greene King Park

After a five week break I am back at GKP for what on paper should be a cracking tie in the FA Vase. Both teams currently sit in the top six in the East Midlands Counties League (EMCL), and they played each other at the end of August with Oadby running out 3-1 winners.

Since I was last here Oadby have had mixed fortunes in three competitions - two wins (v Radford 1-0 and Radcliffe Olympic 5-1) and one defeat (v 2-0 @ Borrowash Victoria) in the EMCL, a 2-1 victory at Lutterworth Athletic in the last round of the Vase and finally a 3-2 defeat at home to Holbrook Sports in the ECML Cup 2nd Round.

On a personal note before the draw was made I was hoping for an away tie at a ground that I had not previously visited. The options were limited to five due to visiting quite a number of grounds in the Midlands over the years. They five were Bloxwich United AFC, Brocton, Ellesmere Rangers, Norton United and Wisbech Town. Alas it was not to be and this is as good as tie as any. Hopefully with Leicester City not playing until tomorrow this tie might catch the attention of some of their fans looking for their Saturday football fix. Looking at the Vase draw at the start of play there is only one other Leicestershire side still involved in the competition, and they are Bardon Hill who have a tough away tie at Midland Alliance side Tipton Town. One other tie did catch my attention and that was Leverstock Green v Enfield 1893. Why you may ask? Well these two teams played in the 1st round of last years competition and Leverstock won a nine goal thriller with the winning goal coming in the last minute. It was a game that yours truly attended and was the best game I saw last season. Click on the Leverstock Green link on the right hand side of the page for more details.

Since I was last down here Oadby have set up their club shop which is located adjacent to the entrance on the clubhouse side of the ground. They currently have a small range of merchandise for sale which include badges (£3), mugs (£5) and key rings (£2.50) plus several boxes of old programmes.

The game was like the heading says a hard fought victory for their hosts against their local rivals. Clear cut chances were at a premium but the visitors should have opened the scoring early on, but their #9 shot straight at Oadby keeper Elliot Shilliam's legs. Oadby then felt they should have had a penalty when Michael Reeve went down but the referee waved away their calls. The only goal of the game was came midway through the half and was to be honest the only real bright spark in the game. Jon Stevenson connected sweetly on the volley and it flew past Warren Butlin in the Andrews goal. Matt Piper nearly doubled Oadby's advantage but his free kick was saved by Butlin. At the other end the afore mentioned St. Andrews number 9 headed a corner wide. Just before half time the floodlights went out and the start of the second half was delayed ten minutes while the problem was rectified. Only five of the six sets came back to life but the referee was happy for the game to go on, despite a second of the pitch being in darkness. The second half was again similar to the first with few clear cut chances being created by either side. There were two that fell to Oadby that I can recall - the first from Matt Piper who turned his marker inside out, cut inside but his shot was saved at his near post by Butlin. The second came in stoppage time but having created space for himself in the penalty area Michael Reeve dragged his shot wide.

Joy and relief at the final whistle and now all eyes will be on the draw for the 3rd round on Monday. These two sides will be sick of the sight of each other shortly as they were paired together in the 2nd round of the Leicestershire Senior Cup, which will be played @ Oadby on Tuesday 29th November with a 7.30pm kick-off.

Admission: Free for me

Programme: £1

Attendance: 158 (official) - nearer 250

Match rating: 4 out of 10

A final note is that the game was attended by members of the Oadby Owls Under-9's who were mascots for the day.

Gretton

2011-11-09T18:41:00.000Z

GRETTON 2-9 WELFORD VICTORIA
Saturday 12th November 2011
Northants Combination Premier Division
Kirby Road, Gretton

Northants Combination logo

After last weeks plan B scenario thankfully there are no problems for today's trip to Northamptonshire. According to Google maps my journey from the Braunstone area of Leicestershire should take me through Leicester city centre along the A47 and out towards Uppingham, before heading south. Knowing what a ball ache the inner ring road around Leicester city centre can be I decided to avoid this route altogether and head towards Oadby before taking the A6 to Market Harborough, then heading to Corby and finally north to Gretton. This took around fifty minutes to make the 30 mile journey. When heading between Corby and Gretton I noticed this huge structure ahead of me on the right and while trying to figure what it was I missed the turning for Gretton. After turning around I had a different view and realised it was sections of grandstand seating at the Rockingham Motor Speedway. When heading away from Gretton after the game towards Corby you get a scale of the size of it as it dominates the skyline like nothing I have seen before.

St. James' Church tower

Gretton is a village in north Northamptonshire close to the border with Rutland and according to the 2001 census had a population of 1,240 inhabitants. It is located pretty much equi-distance (approx 5 miles) from both Corby and Uppingham. The village is noted for having the tallest church tower and second oldest running pub (The Hatton Arms) in Northamptonshire. It is also one of the few remaining villages to retain it's stocks and whipping post which can be found on the village green. The last recorded use was in 1858 when a villager was put in the stocks for six hours after failing to pay a fine for drunkenness.

The earliest information I can find on Gretton Football Club only goes back to 1999 when they were accepted into division 1 of the Northants Combination. They won the division at the first attempt and also added the Division 1 Cup as well, beating Kettering Nomads 2-0 in the final. Promotion to the premier division was achieved but their stay in the league's top flight only lasted two seasons before they were relegated back to division 1. Four seasons were spent in division 1, the last of which in the 2005/06 season saw them finish bottom of the fifteen team division and relegation to division 2. Two seasons ago they won promotion back to division 1 by finishing in second place, six points behind winners Corby Danesholme Vikings. They did add the Division 2 Cup title by beating Burton United 1-0 in the final which was played at Harborough Town FC. A second successive promotion was achieved last season despite finishing in 3rd place, some twenty-seven points behind divisional winners Ringstead Rangers. Runners-up Corby Morton Vikings were not promoted, reasons which I am unaware of. This season in their first back in the premier division for ten years Gretton have had mixed fortunes. They currently sit in tenth place recording two wins from their eight league games. Last time out they lost 2-1 at home to local rivals Weldon United witnessed by an excellent crowd of 100. Welford meanwhile are in their second season in the Premier Division having won the 2009/10 division 1 title. This season they remain unbeaten in their seven league games, recording four wins and three draws. Their last outing saw them beat Corby Khalsa 2-1 at Newlands Road.

Before I write about the match itself I ought to mention than in the three times I have seen Welford play (twice last season and once the season before), their opponents have had a man sent off.

The recreation ground is situation on Kirby Road on the southern edge of Gretton and is your typical village rec affair that is common in the Northants Combination. The football club share the facilities with the cricket club and on site is a clubhouse and changing room block. At half time the club served hot drinks for 50p each. The football pitch was roped off on all four sides while a small pair of dugouts were located on the far side. There is a small corrugated stand also on the far side but to be honest it is neither use nor ornament as it is situated behind the dugouts and would not offer a view of the action at all!!!

To be honest I am not sure where to start on this one. A game in which the Welford forward line of Craig Cassidy and Seb Seward ran the home defence ragged and on the day were a different class.

It started oh so good for Gretton as the took the game to their unbeaten opponents. They deservedly opened the scoring on eleven minutes as a free kick was headed over their number 8. Welford equalised five minutes later when Welford had a free kick of their own. It was spilled by the Gretton keeper and Craig Cassidy followed in a finished from a couple of yards out. Gretton continued to push forward at every oppportunity and their goalscorer was played onside by the visiting defence but his shot was sell saved by Welford keeper. Welford took the lead on nineteen minutes when the Gretton captain was caught in possession by Cassidy in centre field who then ran unopposed towards the goal, rounded the keeper and finished with aplomb. Gretton continued to cause Welford problems but were nearly caught out on the counter attack. A quick break upfield saw Seb Seward have his shot well saved. Welford's third of the afternoon came just before the half hour mark as Matt Wootton headed home a corner at the far post. Five minutes before the interval and it should have been 1-4. A free kick on the right found a diving Matt Wootton at the far post and finished superbly. The home linesman incorrectly ruled out the goal for offside - a decision which incensed the Welford bench and players as Wootton timed his run perfectly as he came from behind a defender. Justice was done somewhat as Welford turned the screw even tighter with two further goals in the last minute of the half. The first saw another mistake by the Gretton defence and Seward was unapposed as he slotted the ball past the keeper. The second (and Welford's fifth) was from the penalty spot - Iggy Mesias stepped up and finished confidently.

Half time: 1-5

After the problems Seward and Cassidy caused the Gretton defence in the first half they sat deeper to reduce the space between themselves and their keeper. Obviously a action causes a reaction and this resulted in the Welford midfield having a lot more time and space. Two goals in the space of four minutes before the hour mark saw Welford increase their lead to 1-7. A free kick fell kindly to Seward who stabbed the ball home from six yards out despite the Gretton keeper getting a hand to it. Cassidy's hat trick and Welford's seventh was similar to their sixth with the only real difference was that it came from a corner. Gretton never gave up and were rewarded with a consolation goal midway through the half as the ball across from the right was turned in by a defender. Welford's six goal cushion was restored on seventy four minutes when Cassidy got his fourth of the afternoon, heading in a cross over the oncoming keeper. Welford continued to create chances with Wootton drilling a shot across the face of the goal. With four minutes remaining and Welford were awarded another penalty as Seward was brought down. Cassidy stepped up but his shot to the right was saved by the keeper. A minute later and Seward completed his hat-trick. It started with a excellent one touch football on the right and ended with Seward getting the ball in the penalty area, cutting inside and finishing well for the final goal of the afternoon.

Gretton: 11, 66 (og)
Welford: 16 Cassidy; 19 Cassidy; 28 Wootton; 44 Seward; 45 Mesias (pen); 55 Seward; 59 Cassidy; 74 Cassidy; 88 Seward

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 20
Match rating: 4 out of 5

To sum up - an enjoyable afternoon in Northamptonshire in which I spent time talking to the Welford bench and was also good to put a face to the name of Andy "Pedro" Smith. I also hope to take in one or two of Welford's away fixures in the new year - hopefully they will not clash with Oadby's home games. They are a good bunch of lads and you can tell they enjoy playing for the club and each other and good luck to them in their quest of the league title.

Websites:
Gretton FC
Welford Victoria
Northants Combination
Gretton page on Wikipedia

Some photos taken of the ground and game can be viewed below:

Plan B

2011-11-05T18:40:00.000Z

BELTON VILLA 1-2 GENESIS

Saturday 5th November 2011

North Leicestershire League Cobbin Trophy 2nd Round

Recreation Ground, Church Street, Belton

Like the heading says this was Plan B today due to my first choice being postponed. I had originally planned to watch the Castle Donington - Butler Court tie in the same competition, but on arrival at Spittal Park (home of CDFC) I thought it strange that there were no nets up or players warming up. When I enquired I was told it was postponed due to some players being involved in a road traffic accident on route to the game. Hopefully nothing serious has happened and everyone is ok. I was aware of other ties in the competition, and on having a quick look at the road atlas found out that Belton Villa were the nearest to Castle Donington. Fortunately I arrived at Spittal Park early and this gave me enough time to get to Belton and I arrived at the recreation ground in Belton with a couple of minutes to kick-off. The recreation ground in Belton is like the name suggests a basic affair. The football club share it with the cricket club and it is located on the southern edge of the village on Church Street, with open countryside to the south and houses to the north.

If anyone is unaware the North Leicestershire League's (NLL) Cobbin Trophy is for 1st teams only and this tie pitched second division Belton against premier division Genesis. I am not sure when Belton were founded or when they joined the NLL as my records for the NLL only go back as far as 1997. The previous two seasons were spent in division 1 but having finished in 10th place in the 11 team division they were relegated to division 2. This season they currently find themselves in seventh place recording two wins from their seven league games played. Last time out they drew 1-1 at home to Markfield Reserves. Opponents Genesis currently sit top of the premier division with an unbeaten record - further details on them can be viewed in the previous post.

Belton itself is a small village located a few miles north west of Shepshed and is sandwiched between the A453, A512 and M1 motorway.

On paper this game should have been a complete mismatch but on the day we had an intriguing and interesting cup tie. Genesis, as expected started the brightest and made the early inroads but were limited to long range efforts. As the half wore on the home side grew in confidence, got into the game more and at times more than matched their opponents in the middle of the park. The opening goal came with five minutes remaining of the half and what a goal it was. Jorge Jimenez who was always a threat throughout the game controlled the ball on his chest some 25 or 30 yards out and hit a swerving volley that flew into the top corner. A goal right out of the top drawer that would grace any level of football. Genesis started the second half in the ascendancy and on 55 minutes doubled their advantage. A corner was won on the left and despite calls for handball it was stabbed home from a few yards out. Belton did not let their heads drop and midway through the half got a goal that their effort deserved. I did not have a good view of it but it appeared their #9's shot took a deflection before it looped over Wiggins in the Genesis goal. This gave the visitors a kick up the backside and within two minutes they nearly made it 1-3, only for the Belton keeper pulling off an excellent save at his near post. Genesis continued to make the most of the running but with seven minutes remaining Belton were awarded a free kick. It split the Genesis defence but the shot was well saved by the advancing Wiggins. In the end Genesis closed the game out and advance to round 3.

Admission / programme: none

Attendance: 7

Match rating: 7 out of 10

Some photos taken during the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Loughborough double - part 2

2011-10-29T22:39:00.000+01:00

GENESIS 1-1 HOUGHTON RANGERS

(after extra time; Genesis won 9-8 on penalty kicks)
Saturday 29th October 2011
Leicestershire Intermediate Cup 2^nd Round

Lodge Farm, Oakley Drive, Loughborough

The drive from the University to Oakley Drive is less than a mile but with having some time to kill between the games I went and had some lunch before arriving at the venue about ten minutes before kick off. The venue is basic with three pitches and a wooden changing room block on site. Genesis use the back pitch with Loughborough United the front one. The third one which could be described as the "top" pitch with it being set above the other was not in use. Also at home today was Loughborough United Reserves Saturday Vase 2nd round match with Knighton EFC. There is nothing to distinguish each pitch from one another as none of them had dugouts or were railed or roped off.

Despite watching a poor game in the last round of this competition, this did not deter me in any shape or form to stop me watching a game in the next round. The draw was finally released to the public just three weeks before the game itself – good planning and organisation from the County FA!!!! There are 16 ties in the second round with Genesis thrashing fellow North Leicestershire League side Markfield 8-2 in the 1^st round while District Leaguers Houghton received a bye. I did state in the report on the 1^st round tie between Asfordby and Glenfield that the competition was competed for by teams in only three divisions. Well I was almost right as there are two teams from other leagues – Ketton who play in division 1 of the Peterborough & District League and Witherley United who play in division 2 of the Coventry Alliance.

Houghton keeper Jimmy Greasley saving in the shoot out.

One thing that attracted me to this tie was that both sides are top of their respective leagues and are also unbeaten. Genesis have recorded seven wins from their eight league outings and last week beat Birstall Old Boys 5-1 @ Lodge Farm. Houghton meanwhile have five wins from their six league games and least week beat Mounsorrel Amateurs 3-2 at the Weir Lane ground.

Who are Genesis FC?

Taken from their official website and written by Jez Cromie:

“Genesis FC started in a pub in Loughborough by five guys who used to play football together in the Christian Union team at Uni. The five of us Si Brown, Adrian Holland, Stu Arnold, Steve Straker and myself Jez Crombie had stayed around in Loughborough to live and work. We were reminiscing at some of our glory days when someone suggested the idea of starting our own club. After much amusement the idea gained momentum and became a serious possibility. So in May 2002 we decided to go for it. We had a squad of five but that wasn’t going to stop us. Over the coming months many different mates joined us and we had a squad of 15 for our opening game in the North Leicestershire League Division 2.

The name Genesis was chosen as Si Brown was a huge Phil Collins fan, not really. We knew we wanted to set up a club that was a bit different to your average club. Some of the guys were Christians and we wanted the club to reflect some of the Christian values in the way it was run and the way we played our football. So Genesis was chosen as it reflected our Christian influence and also because in the bible Genesis is known as the book of the Beginnings, and it was the beginning of Genesis F.C.”

Their playing since joining the NLL is as follows:

SEASON	COMPETITION	PL	W	D	L	F	A	PTS	POS
2002/03	N LEIC-2	18	10	2	6	64	38	32	4TH
2003/04	N LEIC-2	20	12	5	3	56	35	41	2ND
2004/05	N LEIC-1	18	10	2	6	59	37	32	3RD
2005/06	N LEIC-1	20	15	2	3	63	27	47	1ST
2006/07	N LEIC-P	22	5	3	14	39	61	18	10TH
2007/08	N LEIC-P	22	8	6	8	58	55	30	6TH
2008/09	N LEIC-P	18	6	4	8	43	44	22	7TH
2009/10	N LEIC-P	26	18	2	6	73	48	56	4TH
2010/11	N LEIC-P	26	16	4	6	80	41	52	2ND

On arriving at the venue the weather turned and the glorious sunshine from the morning game had turned into rain - thankfully it did abate during the game and also thankfully I managed to shelter from the rain under some trees. This was a game that could have gone either way - two inform teams producing an open, entertaining game or two inform teams cancelling each other out. Unfortunately it was the latter of the two that I witnessed. The first half was especially turgid with neither side seemingly up for it. Or it could have been the case that both sides were affraid to lose. The hosts only effort were a couple from long range that did not trouble Jimmy Greasley in the Houghton goal.

The second half started as the first ended though as it wore on the game became more open. Genesis had three good chances midway through the second period in the space of five minutes, but two went wide and the other saved by Greasley. Houghton then stepped up a gear themselves but could not break the deadlock and the game went into extra time. Not something I was looking forward to following the previous ninety minutes!!!

The first period of extra time was the most entertaining of the game. Genesis took the lead midway through it when their #6 was found unmarked in the penalty area and he side footed it past Greasley. The lead lasted just two minutes as Andy Almond headed home the equaliser following an excellent cross from the left. Almond should have give Houghton the lead on 114 minutes but somehow put the ball over from a couple of yards out when it was easier to score. The final fifteen minutes saw neither keeper tested and it invariably the game would be decided by kicks from the penalty spot. Both sides missed two from their first five kicks and on it went until it got round to the keepers having to take one. As always in penalty shoot outs there is a hero and a fall guy. Unfortunately for Houghton Greasley had his kick saved by the Genesis keeper and the game ended some two and three quarter hours after it had started!

Penalty shoot out sequence:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
GEN	O	O	X	X	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
HOU	O	X	X	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	X

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 9
Match rating: 2 out of 10

Websites / sources:

Official Genesis FC

North Leicestershire League

Thirty photos taken during the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Loughborough double - part 1

2011-10-29T21:40:00.000+01:00

Today there was only going to be one game in Loughborough in the form of Genesis FC, but on having had a butchers at some of the under-21 fixtures in the Midland Combination an easy Loughborough double stood out. The Under-21’s section of the Midland Combination was set up this season and the majority of the kick-offs are on Saturday mornings. I had not yet prior today seen a game in the under-21 competition but had heard mixed reports about the quality of football on offer. Surely it could not be worse than the watching the opening forty-five minutes of the Birmingham City - Leicester City game on television recently!!!!

LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS 4–1 STAPENHILL

Saturday 29th October 2011
Midland Combination Under-21 section East / North Division

The Paddock, Loughborough University

With this game kicking off at 10.30am I left home at around 9.45 and took around half hour to get to Loughborough University. According to the information given on the Midland Combination ask for Cayley One changing rooms on arrival at the gatehouse. But on having a look at the campus map (http://maps.lboro.ac.uk/) on the University website and Google Maps it appears access to The Paddock can be gained from Spinney Hill Drive. This proved to be the case and there are a few parking spaces before the barrier that takes you onto the campus itself. There are no dugouts pitch side while the pitch was just roped off.

The University has 18 outdoor sports facilities on its campus in Loughborough, a number of which are or can be used for football. Along with The Paddock there is Brockington, Cayley One, four Holywell pitches and two artificial rubber crumb pitches.

The students have only played two games so far this season. A 1-0 loss at home to Loughborough Dynamo two weeks ago was followed up by a 2-1 win at Coventrians last Saturday. Opponents Stapenhill currently top the ten team table recording five wins from six outings so far.

League table (up to & including 22nd October):

		Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Stapenhill	6	5	0	1	16	13	15
2	Kettering Town	6	4	2	0	20	5	12
3	Rugby Town Juniors	8	4	1	3	26	21	13
4	Loughborough Dynamo	5	3	1	1	12	7	10
5	Bolehall Swifts	4	3	0	1	6	5	9
6	Woodbourne Sports	6	2	0	4	16	18	6
7	Loughborough Students	2	1	0	1	2	2	3
8	Coventrians	6	1	0	5	10	17	3
9	Austrey Rangers	6	1	0	5	10	21	3
10	Nuneaton Griff	3	0	0	3	3	12	0

The game was one of the better ones I have seen this season so far, with the Students playing some excellent football at times and ran out deserved winners against the league leaders. Stapenhill settled quicker but after the opening ten minutes there was only ever going to be one winner. The opening goal came on the quarter hour mark when Gabriel Ali crossed from the right and Will Poole finished at the far post.Ali was a constant threat and it was he who got the Students second goal. Just after the half hour he had the simplest of finishes from a couple of yards out. With five minutes left of the half Stapenhill halved the deficit against the run of play. Their #9 collected a cross field ball and having advanced to the goal finished well into the bottom corner. The second half primarily one way traffic, especially the opening fifteen minutes as the Students could have added a further four goals, but for a combination of good goalkeeping and a lack of composure in front of goal kept the score down. It was inevitable that a third goal would come and it was Will Poole that provided it - following a mix up between two Stapenhill defenders, the ball fell kindly to Poole who drilled a low shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. The final goal of the game came from right back Jamie Shield who headed the ball into an empty net following a save from the visiting keeper.

To summarise - if this were a boxing match it would have been stopped long before the end as the scoreline flattered the visitors. I also feel that it will not be long before the Students dish out a proper hammering to a side. The game was played in the right way and spirit by both teams - not a yellow card in sight. A thoroughly enjoyable first game in the Under-21 section of the Midland Combination.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: peaked at 20
Match rating: 7 out of 10

Websites / sources:

Loughborough Students football

Loughborough University

Midland Combination

Some photos taken during the 1st half can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Mapping Leicestershire clubs - part 4

2011-10-26T17:10:00.000+01:00

Part 4 of my mapping series covers the premier division of the North Leicestershire League. The information I have on the league only goes back to 1997.

View N Leics Prem - 11/12 in a larger map

	CLUB NAME	JOINED NLL
1	ANSTEY CROWN	2003
2	ANSTEY TOWN	2009 (prev. Leicestershire Senior League)
3	ASFORDBY VILLAGE	2005 (prev. Leicester & District League)
4	BIRSTALL OLD BOYS	1998
5	EAST LEAKE ATHLETIC	2004 (prev. Notts Alliance)
6	FALCONS	2007
7	GENESIS	2002
8	INGLES SHEPSHED AMATEURS	before 1997 before 1997
9	KEGWORTH IMPERIAL	2006
10	LOUGHBOROUGH TOWN	before 1997
11	MARKFIELD	before 1997
12	SILEBY VICTORIA	2007
13	WHITWICK	2002 (prev. Leicester City League)

* - Ingles and Shepshed Amateurs play at the same venue

Notes:

Anstey Crown - Anstey Town 'A' changed name in 2008.

Markfield - Markfield Red Lion changed name in 2001.

Whitwick - Whitwick Wanderers changed name in 2011.

All Whites not right!!!

2011-10-22T21:08:00.000+01:00

CLIFTON 0-2 AFC HUCKNALL

Saturday 22nd October

Central Midlands League Division - South

Norman Archer Memorial Ground, Green Lane, Nottingham

A trip up to Nottinghamshire is the order of the day with Clifton being one that was on a shortlist of four – the other three being clubs in the Notts Senior League. There was another factor in my choice of game today and that was meeting up with Rob Hornby who was previously the Central Midlands League (CML) registrar. I owed Rob £16 for a copy of the new edition of the Non League Yearbook and we had previously arranged to meet up on this date about a month ago – it was just a case of where as I was waiting for Rob to confirm his plans. I had also roped in my dad to make the short drive north for this game against fellow Nottinghamshire side AFC Hucknall.

At the start of the season Clifton’s Norman Archer Memorial Ground was one of five in the newly reorganised South Division of the CML that I had not previously visited. The others being Pinxton (Welfare Ground), Belper United (Alton Manor), Bulwell Town (Bestwood Workshops) and Whatton United (Spa Lane). Pinxton were visited in pre-season and the latter two folded soon after the season started. So after today it just leaves Belper United and I’m sure I will pay them a visit at some point during the season, more than likely after Christmas. For the record (and not wanting to feel like the other division is being left out) there are four grounds in the North Division that I have not been to. They are Hutton Cranswick United (Rotsea Lane), Westella & Willerby (Bishop Burton College), Harworth Colliery Institute (Scrooby Road) and Dronfield Town (Stonelow Playing Fields).

About Clifton

Clifton is shall we say a piece of piss to get to from Leicester with it being a large estate on the south side of Nottingham. It is located alongside the main A453 which runs from Nottingham city centre to junction 24 of the M1. The estate was built in the 1950’s and was at one time the largest council estate in Europe. The term “Clifton” also refers to Clifton Village and Clifton Grove. Clifton Village is a small, picturesque residential area of approximately 200 homes set alongside the River Trent. The village green houses a dovecote, the OId School House and Village Hall. A number of older properties which include the Old Rectory and village church lie along Village Road which runs from the green to Clifton Hall. Clifton Hall is a Grade 1 Listed Building. The history of the hall goes back to the 11^th century but was remodelled in the late 18^thcentury in a Georgian style. It was owned by the Clifton family from the late 13^th century to the mid-20^th century. In 2008 the hall rose to tabloid prominence when it was reported that its millionaire owner and his family had left the house because they believed it was haunted. It was repossessed and is currently on the market for £2.75m.

The Nottingham trams system (NET – Nottingham Express Transit) has been given permission to build two new lines, one of which (line 2) will connect Clifton to the city centre. The following information is taken from a page on the Nottingham city council website: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/index.aspx?articleid=10436

“The 7.6 km route with 13 tram stops will link directly with NET Line One at Nottingham Railway Station on a new viaduct allowing people to transfer between trams, trains and other forms of transport. The route will run along Queens Walk through the Meadows, over the River Trent along Wilford Toll Bridge and mainly along the former Great Central railway line between Wilford and Compton Acres/Ruddington Lane. It will then run to the south of Silverdale and into Clifton along Farnborough Road and Southchurch Drive serving Clifton Centre, before terminating at a new Park and Ride site providing approximately 1,000 car parking spaces close to the A453 and junction 24 of the M1 motorway.

Through journeys onto NET Line One will be possible, allowing passengers to travel from Clifton to the Old Market Square, Royal Centre and beyond, for example, without the need to change trams.”

A map of the route can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=15768&p=0

About Clifton Football Club (taken from their official website: www.cliftonfc.co.uk)

“Clifton All Whites was founded in 1963, originally under the name of Thistledown Rovers. The clubs founder members include Mr Dick Lambert and Mr Bill Norwell.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s Clifton All Whites dominated youth football in Nottinghamshire by attracting the best players from all over the county, now most players are local. There is no doubt Clifton All Whites led the way in developing youth football in Nottingham. In 1963 there were only four teams in the Young Elizabethan League, and as the exploits of the club developed, and publicised, more teams and clubs were founded, many with advice and help from Clifton All Whites.

By 1966 plans were underway for Clifton All Whites to test their skills abroad in a tournament in Holland. In those days tours were unheard of. Success after success followed both home and abroad. In the early days when football clubs only usually supplied shirts for their players a new standard was set as Clifton All Whites supplied a full ALL WHITES STRIP. Another first was when the under 12’s played a top Scottish team before a crowd of over 20,000 before a Forest v Newcastle game, full time ending 15 minutes before kick off of the first division game.

Two quotes are remembered from that day. Police Inspector “The easiest days policing this year, not one arrest”. Scottish spectator “If Clifton play half as good as they look we are in for a hiding”.

Professional clubs clamored to persuade Clifton All Whites to become a nursery club, but still the club policy is not to become tied to any one club. David Stainforth was the first player to make a career as a professional footballer, with Sheffield United.

Constantly Clifton All Whites performed well in FA Youth Cup games, beating many Professional teams. It was no surprise that with an enthusiastic and hard working committee their own ground became a reality, quickly followed by a venture out of youth football to senior football at the highest level into the Midland League.

Mick Walker, who went to Notts County was the first Club Manager and Coach, and what a brilliant find he was. His professionalism and skills helped make the transition a successful one.

Whilst other clubs have come and gone Clifton All Whites are still thriving with teams from under 8’s to Seniors and in 1999 Clifton All Whites introduced the first girls team. The success of the club over the years has been due to hard working committee plus the continued support of some great team managers and parents.”

The first team having previously been members of the Midland League, Notts Alliance and (founder members of) the Notts Senior League (NSL) joined the CML in the summer of 2011 along with three other NSL sides; Basford United, Bilborough Pelican and Nottinghamshire Police. The seven years spent in the NSL resulted in one second place finish (2005/06) and in 2010 won the league championship. This season Clifton currently sit in fourth place in the South Division table having won six of their ten league games played. Opponents AFC Hucknall sit in twelfth place recording three wins from their eleven games played.

AFC Hucknall or Hucknall Town? You decide!!!

The Norman Archer Memorial Ground is located on the eastern edge of Clifton on Green Lane, with the boundary of the neighbouring village of Ruddington and Rushcliffe parish being literally “the other side of the hedge”. If coming from Ruddington the entrance is on the right just before the island with Farnborough Road. We were welcomed on arrival and were charged £2 each admission which included the programme – which is a folded sheet of thick A4 paper into A5 size. An added bonus was that on production of the programme at the tea hut you got a free tea or coffee. On site there is a spacious clubhouse with the pitch having a stand straddling the half line on the far side, with the dugouts sitting in front of it.

The game was played in glorious sunshine and on paper one would have expected a comfortable home win. In fact what we got was a fairly scrappy first half with few chances being created. The first notable opening came just after twenty minutes when Clifton’s Stuart Robinson took a quick free kick that found Danny Prance unmarked but he dragged his shot wide. Just before the half hour mark Michael Evans forced Hucknall keeper James Beddingham to save low at his near post. A minute later and it was the visitors turn to threaten but Scott Peach curled his shot wide of Scott Clay’s goal. A minute before half time and Hucknall took the lead – deservedly so as Austin Wallace flicked the ball following a cross from the left. The second half was more open and inside the opening minute the visitors should have been two up, but a header was a week effort that went into Clay’s hands. Clifton gradually took control and in the space of a couple of minutes hit the woodwork twice and had an effort cleared off the line. With around five minutes remaining Hucknall broke on the counter attack down the right. Wallace played the ball across and it found its way to Peach who cut inside and curled a lovely shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. The final chance of the afternoon came to hosts but having controlled the ball Will Heath blasted over.

Admission: £2 with programme

Attendance: between 35 and 40

Match rating: 3 out of 5

Finally it was good to meet up with Rob and his wife Hazel again for the first time since the CML hop game at Phoenix at the end of March.

Photos taken of the ground & game during the first half can be viewed below:

Mapping Leicestershire clubs - part 3

2011-10-18T06:56:00.000+01:00

Part 3 of this series covers the premier division of the Leicester & District League - my records for the District League only go back to 1996. If anyone has any information on the league before this then please get in touch.

View Lei & D Premier - 2011/12 season in a larger map

	CLUB NAME	JOINED L&D
1	ALLEXTON & NEW PARKS	2010
2	BIRSTALL R.B.L.	before 1996
3	BLABY UNITED	before 1996
4	COSBY UNITED	before 1996
5	COUNTY HALL	before 1996
6	GLENFIELD TOWN	before 1996
7	GURU NANAK GURDWARA (GNG)	2001 (prev. Leicester City League)
8	HOUGHTON RANGERS	2005
9	KIBWORTH TOWN	2005 (prev. Leicester City League)
10	MAGNA '73	before 1996
11	MOUNTSORREL AMATEURS	1999 (prev. North Leicestershire League)
12	THURNBY UNITED 2007	2007

Notes:

Cosby United - played in the LSL between 1957 and 1978

Glenfield Town - known as TWT Glenfield Town upto 1998

Houghton Rangers - reformed in 2005

Mapping Leicestershire clubs - part 2

2011-10-17T16:51:00.000+01:00

The second part of the Mapping Leicestershire series covers division 1 of the Leicestershire Senior League:

View LSL Division 1 - 2011/12 in a larger map

	CLUB NAME	JOINED LSL
1	Asfordby Amateurs	1991
2	Barlestone St. Giles	2008 (prev. Leicester & District League)
3	Belgrave	2010 (prev. Leicester & District League)
4	Castle Donington Town	2011 (prev. Midlands Regional Alliance)
5	Caterpillar	2010 (prev. North Leicestershire League)
6	Earl Shilton Albion	1953
7	FC Khalsa	2007 (prev. Leicester City League)
8	Friar Lane & Epworth	2011 (prev. Midland Football Alliance)
9	Hathern	2006 (prev. North Leicestershire League)
10	Lutterworth Town	1955
11	Melton Mowbray	2009 (prev. North Leicestershire League)
12	Narborough & Littlethorpe	1978
13	Newhall United	2010 (prev. Midland Combination)
14	Shepshed Dynamo Reserves	2010 (reformed in 2010)
15	Sileby Saints	2011 (prev. North Leicestershire League)

Notes:

Barlestone St. Giles also competed in the LSL between 1983 and 1991. Also played in the Midland Combination between 1991 and 2000.

Earl Shilton Albion - there was a club under the same name that competed in the 1913/14 season. Unsure whether same club or not.

FC Khalsa - they merged with Evington in 2010 and played under the name of FC Khalsa & Evington for the 2010/11 season. Appeared to have dropped the "& Evington" suffix in the summer of 2011.

Friar Lane & Epworth - reserve team effectively became the 1st team after the club withdrew from the Midland Football Alliance in 2011. Also competed in the LSL between 2004 and 2006 following the merger of Friar Lane Old Boys and Epworth.

Melton Mowbray - won the North Leicestershire League title in 2009 under the name of Melton Mowbray Building Society.
Newhall United - also competed in the LSL in the 1929/30 season.

Oadby v Heanor

2011-10-16T12:00:00.000+01:00

OADBY TOWN 1-2 HEANOR TOWN
Saturday 15th October 2011
East Midlands Counties League
Greene King Park

Again yours truly is down at Oadby for the second consecutive Saturday for this top of the table clash against the free scoring league leaders from Derbyshire. Oadby come into the game unbeaten from their eight games played, while Heanor have won eight on the bounce having lost their opening game. Last Saturday Oadby recorded their biggest league victory of the season when they put five past Graham Street Prims here at Greene King Park. Heanor meanwhile were putting eight past Gedling Miners Welfare and in midweek scored seven against Ellistown. This game was originally scheduled for the last game of the season but had been rearranged due to Barrow Town still being involved in the FA Cup.

Top 4 at the start of play:
Pl W D L For Aga Pts
1. Heanor Town......9 8 0 1 45 17 24
2. Blackwell MW....11 7 1 3 22 17 22
3. St. Andrews.....10 7 0 3 28 12 21
4. OADBY TOWN.......8 6 2 0 24 6 20

To put simply Heanor deservedly took the three points on the balance of play, and at times especially during the first half showed why they are top of the table and without doubt will be the team to beat this season. Oadby in the second half made a game of it and caused Heanor a number of problems - why couldn't they have played like that during the opening forty five minutes? If they had this game could have had a different outcome.

Like stated Heanor were quick out of the blocks and had Oadby on the back foot right from the start. They are a big, quick side that play the game at pace. A succession of corners resulted in the opening goal as it came from a Nico Degirolamo header on 14 minutes. The corner from which the goal came about apparently should have not been awarded but in fact a goal kick should have been given. To be honest yours truly was at the other end of the ground. Heanor continued to cause Oadby all sorts of problems and it was no surprise that they doubled their lead around the half hour mark. The ball was fed to Jake Vernon who smashed the ball past Oadby keeper Danny Hanley to make it 0-2. The whistle to end the half came as a relief to the home supporters and would hopefully give the Oadby the chance to regroup and make a game of it in the second half.

The second half was a more even affair with Steve Fenton forcing Heanor keeper Mark Frost save low at his near post in the opening minutes. Oadby made two early substitutions which saw their two debutants Callum Ross and Jermaine Gordon replaced by Danny Wilson and Andy Tiday. Former Leicester City and Sunderland midfielder Matt Piper got into the game more and had two efforts on goal - the first was deflected for a corner and the second went wide of Frost's upright. Hanley was also kept busy at other end making two or three good saves during the second half as the game ebbed and flowed. With around twenty minutes left Oadby got a way back into the game with the help of the referee as he awarded a penalty for handball. Jon Stevenson stepped up and made it 1-2. Michael Reeves had a couple of close efforts as Oadby pushed for an equaliser. They then should have been awarded another penalty for handball which seemed more clear cut that the first but the referee waved away Oadby's protests.

In the end it was a fair result, mainly due to the first half performance from Heanor. The referee meanwhile had a shocker and I believe a report / complaint will be going in about him. Oadby do not have to wait long to put this defeat behind them as Nottingham side Radford visit Greene King Park on Tuesday night and make the short trip to Lutterworth Athletic in the FA Vase on Saturday.

The final note goes to the "Oadby Choir" who stand behind the clubhouse goal. They were vocal throughout as per usual and in the second half, instead of the usual "you're shit aaahhh" chants to the opposition keeper it was a case of "your shit baaaaa".

Attendance: 211
Match rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

25 photos taken during game can be viewed below:

Websites:

East Midlands Counties League
Oadby Town
Heanor Town

Mapping Leicestershire clubs - part 1

2011-10-15T06:52:00.000+01:00

This post will be the first of several in the next week or so showing the location of grass roots clubs in Leicestershire. Part 1 shows the location of all clubs competing the premier division of the Leicestershire Senior League for the 2011/12 season. Also if known will I try and state they year each club joined their respective league.

View LSL Premier Division 2011/12 in a larger map

	CLUB NAME	JOINED LSL
1	Ashby Ivanhoe	2005 (prev. North Leicestershire League)
2	Aylestone Park	1989
3	Birstall United	1976
4	Cottesmore Amateurs	1992
5	Desford	2009 (prev. Leicester & District League)
6	Dunton & Broughton Rangers	2007 (prev. Leicester & District League)
7	FC Dynamo	2008 (prev. North Leicestershire League)
8	Highfield Rangers	1992 (prev. Central Midlands League)
9	Kirby Muxloe Reserves	2009 (prev. Leicestershire Combination)
10	Lutterworth Athletic	2005 (prev. Leicester & District League)
11	Ratby Sports	2000 (prev. Leicester & District League)
12	Rothley Imperial	2003 (prev. Leicester & District League)
13	Saffron Dynamo	1994
14	Sileby Town	1953
15	Stapenhill	2009 (prev. 1957-1989 & 2002-2007)
16	Thurmaston Town	1998 (prev. 1977-1986)

Notes:
Aylestone Park were known as Aylestone Park Old Boys from 1989-2007.
Stapenhill played in the Midland Combination between 1989-1994, Midland Football Alliance between 1994-2001/02 and in the 2007/08 season.
Thurmaston Town were known as Thurmaston PWMC from 1977-1980.

Prims o'clock

2011-10-08T19:30:00.002+01:00

OADBY TOWN 5-0 GRAHAM STREET PRIMS
Saturday 8th October 2011
East Midlands Counties League
Greene King Park

Following on from a disappointing 1-1 draw last Saturday against Ibstock United, Oadby are at home again for the third successive Saturday. For good measure Oadby will be at home again next Saturday as well in a rearranged game against high flying Heanor Town. This is due to Barrow Town still being involved in the FA Cup following their excellent 4-1 win at Northern Premier League side Mickleover Sports last Saturday.

Oadby still remain unbeaten in their 2011/12 league campaign with five wins and two draws from their opening seven games, with both draws coming against Ibstock United. Prims currently occupy 14th place with two wins coming from their ten games played so far. The two teams played each other just three weeks ago with Oadby recording a 3-1 victory at the Prims Asterdale Sports Centre ground in Borrowash.

Oadby warmed up for their top of the table clash against Heanor Town next Saturday with a comfortable victory. Prims started the brightest which was helped with Oadby giving away a few silly and needless free kicks. Only one was in striking range but Matt Freeman put in a few yards over the Oadby goal. Oadby eventually settled and a Jon Stevenson volley was deflected over. From the resulting corner the opening goal game as Harley Hollinshead turned the ball into his own net. Oadby's best spell of the half came either side of the half hour mark, as firstly following excellent work from Stevenson on the right his low cross was put agonisingly wide of the left upright. Then on 31 minutes Stevenson received the ball, ran at the Prims defence and finished well into the far corner. Just six minutes later and it was game over as Oadby scored their third of the afternoon. Steve Fenton played a ball over the Prims defence for Michael Reeves whose touch took it away from keeper Chris Dodlsey and he finished from a yard or two out.

Jon Stevenson (far right) scoring Oadby's second goal.

HT: 3-0

The second half was a non event as a contest as Oadby did not have to get out of second gear. The home fans did not have to wait long for the fourth goal as it came within six minutes of the restart. Whether he meant it or not but Fenton hit a free kick that went into the top corner despite Dodsley getting a hand to it. It was then a case of how many but a combination of a): good goalkeeping from Dodsley who saved well from Stevenson and Piper and b): appearing to want to walk the ball into the net at time kept the score down. Oadby's 5th and final goal of the afternoon came with three minutes left, when Matt Piper crossed 1st time and found debutant Ash Palfreyman unmarked in the penalty area and he finished well into the bottom corner.

Attendance: 110

Match rating: 3 out of 5

A slideshow of photos taken before and during the game can be viewed below:

Village v Town

2011-10-02T10:06:00.000+01:00

ASFORDBY VILLAGE 0-3 GLENFIELD TOWN

Saturday 1st October 2011

Leicestershire Intermediate Cup 1st Round

Parish Hall Ground, Main Street, Asfordby

source: official website

Despite Oadby Town having a home game against Ibstock United I decided to give it a miss this afternoon and take in a game in a 1st round tie of one of the Leicestershire & Rutland county cups. The county FA run seven open age competitions for teams that play on Saturday's. They are in descending order of status: 1) Challenge Cup; 2) Senior Cup; 3) Intermediate Cup; 4) Shield; 5) Trophy and 6) Vase. There is also the Saturday Plate which is for reserve sides of the more senior non-league clubs in the county.

The tie today is in the Intermediate Cup and is competed for by 1st teams in the Leicestershire Senior League (Division 1), Leicester & District League (Premier Division) and North Leicestershire League (Premier Division). Of the nine ties in the opening round, there were three that stood out as they met two criteria. One was that I had not seen the home team before or watched a game at their home ground and 2) the tie must be between two teams from a different league.

The full 1st round draw:

1: Whitwick (NL) v Hathern (LSL)

2: Friar Lane & Epworth (LSL) v Lutterworth Town (LSL)

3: Genesis (NL) v Markfield (NL)

4: Barlestone St. Giles (LSL) v Magna '73 (L&D)

5: Melton Mowbray (LSL) v Asfordby Amateurs (LSL)

6: Allexton & New Parks (L&D) v Earl Shilton Albion (LSL)

7: Asfordby Village (NL) v Glenfield Town (L&D)

8: Sileby Saints (LSL) v Birstall Royal British Legion (L&D)

9: Birstall Old Boys (NL) v Shepshed Amateurs (NL)

In the end my three choices were Asfordby Village (obviously!!!), Whitwick and Sileby Saints.

Asfordby is a small village and civil parish in the Melton District of north Leicestershire. It lies 3 1/2 miles to the west of Melton Mowbray. The parish consists not only of Asfordby itself but also Asfordby Valley and Asfordby Hill. Combined they have a population around the 3,000 mark.

Asfordby was the site of a modern deep coal pit built between 1984 and 1993. It closed in 1997 due to numerous geological difficulties and the low price of coal at the time.

source: The Blue Bell - Everards official site

Before the game it had been arranged for myself to pick up Cheltenham based Colin Buchanan (who specifically came up to watch this cup tie!!!) from Narborough train station before heading off to the Blue Bell pub in Hoby for liquid refreshment and if time lunch. If not lunch would be after the game before Colin headed home to Cheltenhamshire. The plan changed, as on Friday evening Colin called and stated that he would not be coming due to catch too much sun during this exceptionally warm week. In the end I along with my wife, mum and her partner went up to Melton Mowbray to visit the East Midlands Food Fair before making our way to the afore mentioned pub and football. The Blue Bell is a pub that I have been to one a couple of occasions before and is a typical English country pub, helped by the fact that they serve good food and beer. Beer drinkers will like the fact that they serve four Everards beers (Tiger, Beacon, Original and Sunchaser), Adnams Bitter and a guest beer. A pint of Sunchaser went down very well before making the short drive back to Asfordby.

Asfordby Village Football Club are one of two teams that represent the village itself. The other and more well known 'Amateurs play just outside the village on Hoby Road and compete in the Leicestershire Senior League, while Holwell Sports of the East Midlands Counties League play their home games in Asfordby Hill. The ground that Village call home is behind the parish hall which is located on the eastern end of the village on Main Street. There is as expected nothing at the venue with the pitch not railed or roped off and no dugouts - typical for this level of football.

Asfordby Village were formed in 1993 and I have no idea about their first eight years of existence, but in 2001 they joined division two of the Leicester & District League (LDL). A 3rd place finish in the eleven team division secured promotion to division. Final placings of 8th, 4th and 12th were achieved before they switched to division 2 of the North Leicestershire League (NLL) in 2005. They were promoted to division 1 at the end of season having finished in the runners-up position behind divisional champions Radmoor. In 2009 they secured promotion to the premier division despite only finishing in 4th place in division 1. The two seasons in the premier division have seen Asfordby record 12th and 8th place finishes respectively.

The game was to be honest the worst part of the day as it was pretty poor. The first half was a niggly, stop start affair that saw very little football being played. Glenfield appeared to be the better side right from the start and we did not have to wait long for the opening goal. It came on eight minutes when the ball was worked well down their right and following a low cross the ball was turned in with a first time shot. Just after the half hour mark and Glenfield got their second of the afternoon. A cross field ball was headed back across the goal and David Postlethwaite headed home from a couple of yards out. The best move of the afternoon also saw the best save of the afternoon as following an excellent move the Asfordby keeper got down well to his right to turn to ball round the post. The third and final goal of the afternoon came on the hour mark when the Glenfield #4 scored with an individual effort, having finished well into the corner following a run through the home midfield and defence. To be fair to Asfordby they always kept trying to get something from the game but in reality did not look like scoring. I can only recall efforts they had that were on target and both were in the second half. One was a header that was cleared off the line and the other was a long range effort that was straight at the keeper.

In the end it was a comfortable win for the visitors but if they are to progress to the latter stages of this competition they will have to play a lot better than this.

Admission / programme: none
Attendance: 13 (head count)
Match rating: 1 1/2 out of 5

41 photos taken at the game can be viewed below:

sources:

Asfordby - wikipedia page

North Leicestershire League: official - full time

Leicester & District League: full time

In print...

2011-09-30T15:14:00.001+01:00

Following the Greenhill - Victoria game a couple of weeks ago I e-mailed the Syston Town News to see if they would be interested in any of the photos I took during the game. The reason being was that Victoria play their home games at the Wreake Valley Community Centre in Syston itself. A positive response from the editor Fiona Henry came about who also asked it I could write a brief match report as well. No problem and below is the article and photo that is used in the latest edition of this monthly publication. The Syston Town News is available from the post office in Syston and has no purchase price.

This is the first time that I have had any of my work printed in any form of newspaper / publication. A couple of match reports have been in the odd non-league club programme, but other than this nothing.

Playing badly and winning

2011-09-28T09:25:00.000+01:00

BARROW TOWN 1-2 (aet) OADBY TOWN

Tuesday 27th September 2011

Leicestershire Senior Cup 1st Round

Riverside Park, Barrow-upon-Soar

A week off from work fortunately coincided with a midweek fixture for Oadby Town and pitted probably the two best teams in the competition against each other in a 1st round tie. This is Oadby's first venture in the Leicestershire Senior Cup since the 1998/99 season began like it did then @ Barrow Town. The final was reached before losing to Birstall United on penalty kicks. It began last night with a narrow 2-1 victory against an under strength side, which to be honest was a poor performance from an Oadby point of view. It is doubtful whether they can or will play as badly as this all season.

Barrow started the brightest and created a couple of good chances in the opening ten minutes but the efforts, both from Naby Beny Doumbouya went side and blocked. Oadby then settled and opening the scoring on 19 minutes. James Miller flicked the ball to Michael Reeves who turned in the penalty area and finished coolly into the corner of the net. It took until 27 minutes for Oadby's first corner of the game but Craig Jacobs headed over. Just after the half hour mark captain Jon Stevenson outpaced the Barrow defence but his shot went wide of the post, and just two minutes later Reeves shot was saved by the Barrow keeper. Meanwhile Doumbouya continued to cause problems for Oadby and had further chances to level things up, but the efforts all failed to trouble Danny Hanley in the Oadby goal. With the half coming to an end a latch ditch tackle from Steve Fenton prevented an equalising goal, and in the last seconds Stevenson should have put the game to bed but having been put clean through curled his shot wide of the upright.

The second half was primarily a scrappy affair with Oadby offering very little and Barrow looking the most likely to get the next goal. Chances came and went until the 90th minute as Connor Hardy headed home a right wing cross for a deserved equaliser. This woke Oadby up and they should have won the game in injury time. Firstly an excellent cross from Jack Lane was headed over by substitute Kelvin Philips and then Lane himself curled a shot wide.

The first period of extra time saw Oadby step up a gear and took the game to their hosts. Firstly Matt Piper dragged a tame effort wide and Stevenson failed to connect to a Philips cross properly which saw the ball go wide. The winner came on 114 minutes when Piper saw the Barrow keeper off his line and lobbed him from 25 yards out. The ball hit the bar and bounced in off keepers head. The second period of extra time saw Oadby content to sit on their lead which in my opinion is a dangerous game to play at any level. Fortunately the game petered out and Barrow could not find another equaliser that would take the game to penalty kicks.

Admission: £4

Programme: with admission

Attendance: 64 (head count)

Match rating: 1 1/2 out of 5

Senior Cup 1st Round - other ties

Anstey Nomads 2-1 Bardon Hill

Aylestone Park 2-1 Birstall United

Ellistown 2-1 Dunton & Broughton Rangers

Harborough Town 4-1 Desford

Highfield Rangers 2-5 St. Andrews

Medbourne 4-5 Sileby Town

Oakham United 1-2 Ashby Ivanhoe

Ratby Sports 4-4 Saffron Dynamo
after extra time. Ratby won 4-3 on penalty kicks

Thurmaston Town 3-1 Holwell Sports

Thurnby Nirvana 2-1 Blaby & Whetstone Athletic

Uppingham Town 1-2 Cottesmore Amateurs

Food Hygiene at local clubs

2011-09-25T13:27:00.000+01:00

Following a post on Kempster's Non-League forum about food hygiene I decided to look at the Food Standards Agency ratings for local football clubs. Basically the scale is 0-5 with 5 being the best. What I have found so far is:

5
Anstey Nomads, Barrow Town, Greenhill Youth Centre, Holwell Sports, Kirby Muxloe, Mountsorrel Amateurs (as Mountsorrel Castle Cricket Club), Quorn, Ratby Sports, Shepshed Dynamo, Thurmaston Town (as Elizabeth Park Sports & Community Centre), Witherley United

4
Asfordby Amateurs, Barlestone St. Giles, Castle Donington, Caterpillar, Rothley Imperial (as Rothley Sports & Social Club), Stapenhill

3
Bardon Hill (as Bardon Hill Sports & Social Club), Blaby & Whetstone Athletic (as Blaby & Whetstone Boys Club), Heather St. Johns, Ibstock United (as Ibstock Miners Welfare Club), Loughborough Dynamo, Oadby Town

2
Earl Shilton Albion (as Stoneycroft Sports & Social Club)

1
Birstall United, Newhall United, Sileby Town

Awaiting Inspection
Narborough & Littlethorpe

Exempt
Huncote Sports & Social Club

No records found or not applicable
Ashby Ivanhoe, Aylestone Park, Barwell, Belgrave, Castle Donington Town, Coalville Town, Cottesmore Amateurs, Desford, Dunton & Broughton Rangers, Ellistown, Friar Lane & Epworth, Harborough Town, Hathern, Highfield Rangers, Hinckley United, Lutterworth Athletic, Lutterworth Town, Melton Mowbray, Saffron Dynamo, St. Andrews, Sileby Saints, Thringstone Miners Welfare, Thurlaston Magpies, Thurnby Nirvana