My mind’s frustration weighs
Heavier than failure.
Alas, my heart and I
Know not how to endure.
– Sri Chinmoy
Easter Monday 1st April 2013 Chromasport & Trophies United Counties League k.o.:- midday
Premier Division
Wellingborough Town 1 Irchester United 0
Jon Mitchell 15
referee:- Mark Wetherall attendance:- 101
Wellingborough Town have spruced up their ground considerably since my last visit in December 2009. The stand looked freshly-painted and there were improvements to the perimeter fencing, seating and refreshments. Has a ground share with AFC Rushden & Diamonds provided the funding?
On the field, both these sides had endured a dreadful season and, until recently, might both have occupied the relegation spots in the division. Wellingborough have picked up a bit of late and look like saving themselves, but for Irchester, the drop, which they avoided for off pitch reasons last season, looks inevitable. The only goal in a scrappy contest came to the home side after fifteen minutes.
Tuesday 2nd April 2013 Molten Spartan South Midlands League k.o.:- 7.45pm
Premier Division
London Colney 0 Hanwell Town 0
referee:- Wayne Cartmell (Luton) attendance:- 44
This was a first visit to Cotlandswick Playing Fields, home of London Colney. It was a cold, cruel night to be playing football and that was reflected in the attendance! The ones who stayed away missed absolutely nothing. Both these teams have exceeded expectations this season and sit comfortably in the top half of the table. Colney won the reverse fixture at the beginning of the season by 1-0.
There was a very pleasant club-house and bar – with an adjoining committee room which had glass windows affording a good view of proceedings to all and sundry in the bar! Very helpful staff ensured that I had team names before kick-off and the official attendance at the end.
Sadly, none of this made up for a pretty poor game of football. It was the definitive “It’s got 0-0 written all over it” match. For all the substantial effort put in by the players, the game had few chances in a dour struggle where both teams cancelled each other out. It was my fifth 0-0 draw of the season after earlier posting 151 games on the trot without seeing a 0-0 draw!
Wednesday 3rd April 2013 East Midlands Counties League k.o.:- 7.45pm
Lutterworth Athletic 2 Aylestone Park 0
M. English, D. Laywood
referee:- J. Johnson attendance:- 78
It was a cold night for my first visit to Hall Park, home of Lutterworth Athletic. There are two teams in Lutterworth – the other being Lutterworth Town – and they seem to have been playing musical chairs with their stadia over the past few years. Now, it is Athletic in the ascendancy and they have risen to the dizzy heights of The East Midlands Counties League.
They are struggling a bit this season, however, and occupy a position perilously close to the relegation area. Their opponents – and former colleagues from The Leicestershire Senior League – were Aylestone Park. They have fared much better this season and are presently ensconced in the upper reaches of the league. Tonight, however, they were undone by a determined home side and some comical defending.
Chris was there, and, in return for snaffling him one of only seven programmes produced for tonight’s game, he provided me with a bag of chips from a local chippy, an establishment of which he is quite enamoured! It was the correct result, but it was a pretty humdrum affair and I was glad to repair to the comparative warmth of my car at the end of the game!
Matthew Needham was only eight when he died in 2004. This monument is behind the goal at The Hall Road Stadium.
Friday 5th April 2013 Blue Square Bet Premier k.o.:- 7.45pm
Cambridge United 0 Newport County 0
referee:- Rob Whitton attendance:- 2,012 (130 away)
This was my twentieth visit to The Abbey Stadium since my first match there on Boxing Day 1974 (Cambridge United 2 Brentford 0 attendance:- 3,959). I really believed that it would be a very competitive fixture because the away side needed a victory to leap-frog Wrexham into third place in the league. What we got was a lacklustre performance from both sides. Each team was more intent on preserving their goal intact than on scoring at the other end and very early on, a 0-0 scoreline was a pretty safe bet and so it turned out!
Somehow I managed to take this picture with my camera switched to sepia mode!!!!
It was my sixth 0-0 draw this season (compared with a total of five in 2011/12)!
The 130 ‘away’ fans!
Saturday 6th April 2013 Blue Square Bet North k.o.:- 3.00pm
Droylsden 2 Corby Town 2
Lee McEvilly (pen) 51 Gary King 47, 75
Steve Hall 74
Lee McEvilly missed penalty 51
referee:- Darren England (Barnsley) attendance:- 139
Corby Town’s awful season continues. Five of us travelled up in Michael’s car for what we hoped would be a very useful and welcome three points in the battle against relegation from The Blue Square Bet North. Droylsden, the last of the current crop of Blue Square Bet North clubs to be visited, were considerably worse off than Corby and virtually certain of relegation. After the 5-0 drubbing they handed out to Droylsden last October, surely it would be another three points in the bag today for Corby Town?
The main stand at The Butcher’s Arms, Droylsden
Rory, Mike and Aman, very cheerful BEFORE the match!
The Butcher’s Arms is a quite impressive ground. There is a fine imposing stand and, behind one goal and down the far side, there is additional cover. There is an excellent club-house with bar and pool table and very reasonably priced beverages! Helpful stewards ensured that I had a team-sheet and the food hut had a good supply of the usual fare at sensible prices. The sun was out and after all the recent bad weather and freezing temperatures, it felt good to be out at a football match again.
The stand behind the goal
The dark satanic mill sits broodingly over the stand on the far side of the ground!
Droylsden had Lee McEvilly playing for them. The ex-Chorley midfielder is now in the Indian Summer of his career and playing in central defence, but his reading of the game was excellent. His only error, however, was costly. At 1-1 in the second half, his penalty was saved by Paul Walker, the Corby custodian and then, from point blank range, he lifted the rebound over the bar!
Corby were lucky to get away with a draw!
Two new grounds, two no-score draws and a slight improvement in the weather! I suppose, in the end, the glass was half-full!
