The Football Pitch that Dad Built
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Dad made a football pitch in our back garden.
He mowed the grass
Marked it out with creosote
And built the goalposts.
They had real nets.
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He painted the posts white
Just like on Match of The Day
And sent away to a special company for the nets.
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Paul Cookson (to be continued)
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Sunday 1st September 2019
FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round
Littlehampton United 1
Tom Fox 40,
Bexhill United 5
Craig McFarlane 5,
Jamie Bunn 11,
Jack Shonk 45+1, 86 (pen), 90,
Referee:- Jamie Wells. Attendance:- 91
Admission:- OMGDS £3.00 (£5). Programme:- NONE
After a day of cricket at Arundel Castle, I was just in time to catch this FA Vase fixture. Littlehampton Town had already played Tunbridge Wells this afternoon in the same competition and now, co-tenants United bowed out of the cup in emphatic fashion. Very pleasant ground with cover all down one side and shared with the cricket club and the social club dominating behind the near goal.
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Friday 6th September 2019
U-18 International Tournament
England 3
Alex Mighten21, 36, 65,
Australia 2
Noah Botic 5 (pen)
Trent Ostler 71,
Referee:- Scott Oldham. Attendance:- 532
Admission:- OMGDS £5.00 (£6). Programme:- NONE
I never expected to go back to The Leicester Road Stadium after the untimely and unfortunate demise of Hinckley United, but tonight was a special occasion! A large crowd included lots of school children – and the other teams (Brazil & South Korea) in the tournament. England were not at their best. They recovered from an early penalty setback to lead 2-1 at the interval, extended their lead, but then conceded a sloppy defensive error and clung on for victory in the final ten minutes. They did, however, have a hero in Alex Mighten who scored all the home side’s goals!!!
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Saturday 7th September 2019
FA Cup 1st Round Qualifying
Willand Rovers 1
Douglas Camilo 68,
North Leigh 2
Ekow Elliott
Trying Hunte 15,
Referee:- Jack Clench. Attendance:- 119
Admission:- OMGDS £5.00 (£8). Programme:- included
Willand replaced Street in The Southern League Division 1 South, this season, but five league defeats had seen them sink to the foot of the table. The ground is neat and tidy and the welcome was warm and there were delicious Cornish pasties on offer! Sadly, the hosts were well beaten in the day by the visitors, whose tigerish manager, Craig Dore, barely drew breath in exhorting his team to greater efforts! A missed penalty just after the hour mark should have put the game to bed for the visitors, but back came Willand with all three subs brought into the ‘fray. They scored and gave North Leigh a torrid final ten minutes, but it was not to be! With Graeme Askham and John Main and good to see Martin Bamforth there!!!
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Monday 9th September 2019
Everards Brewery Leicestershire Senior League
Beacon Hill Cup 1st Round
Rugby Borough 2
Sam Davis (og) 80,
Tom Rawlings 90,
Kibworth Town 0
Referee:- Ryan Lloyd. Attendance:- 43
Admission:- OMGDS £1.00 (£3). Programme:- NONE
The extensive sports facility at Kilby Lane includes a main pitch with a small seated stand and a 3G pitch and alongside is a railed, grassed pitch. There are floodlights for both playing areas and, tonight, the youth team played on the 3G (attendance:- 32), and the first team played on the adjacent grassed pitch. They made heavy work of defeating a team two divisions below them and it wasn’t until the final fifteen minutes when they scored through a rather fortunate own goal and a strike from a second half substitute and took the tie when a draw seemed more likely!
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Tuesday 10th September 2019
Emirates FA Cup 1st Round Qualifying
REPLAY
Peterborough Sports 3
Daniel Lawlor 6,
Cameron Johnson 45,
Dion Sembie Ferris 83,
East Thurrock United 2
Frankie Merrifield 34,
Auodeji Oluhoga 90+2
Referee:- Josh Crofts. Attendance:- 201
Admission:- OMGDS £5.00 (£8) Programme:- £2.00
I arrived fully expecting to see the new stand that the club are seeking sponsorship for, but there was no sign of it!! A very tough match between a couple of determined sides with the width of a cigarette paper between them! The Turbines came out on top in a pretty exciting encounter!
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Wednesday 11th September 2019
FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round REPLAY
Biggleswade Town 2
Solomon Sambou 17, 60,
St Neots Town 0
Referee:- Scott Kyle. Attendance:- 289
Admission:- OMGDS £8.00 (£10) Programme:- £2.00
The sun set grandiloquently on the visitors FA Cup campaign this season as Biggleswade Town took the match and the tie and the £4,000 prize money. St Neots returned with the consolation of the loser’s £800. Of course, St Neots are now a division below Biggleswade Town and the tie went to form after last Saturday’s tie ended 2-2.
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Friday 13th September 2019
Northants Combination Premier Division
Thrapston Town 1
Henry Cade 85,
Wollaston Victoria 2
Craig Stedman 48,
Reece Watson 81,
Referee:- Chris Walton. Attendance:- 71
Admission:- F.O.C. Programme:- NONE
What are Thrapston doing in The Combination? For years they have been stalwarts of The UCL. They were aware that they would lose their status midway through last season, but was it self inflicted or did the FA do the dastardly deed? In a closely contested match this evening, Thrapston lost for a second consecutive home game. It doesn’t sound as if they will be returning in the near future!
Oppido servire – “To serve the town”
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Saturday 14 September 2019
Vanarama National League
Dover Athletic 1
Ricky Modeste 19,
Chorley 1
Chris Holroyd 67,
Referee:- James Bell. Attendance:- 1,011
Admission:- OMGDS £15.00 (£18). Seat:- £1.00 Programme:- £2.50
Dover Castle greets you outside Dover Priory Station and Crabble Athletic Ground is host to football and rugby. Today, the sun shone brightly but the onfield fare was dull. “We don’t do team sheets” announced the lady in the club shop in a less than friendly manner. Well that was a challenge (see below). Then I found it cost another £1.00 to sit down! They have strange ways dahn saath! Chorley fell behind to an early strike and equalised midway through the second half and that was about the extent of the excitement.
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Monday 16th September 2019
Bet Victor Southern League Premier Division Central
Hitchin Town 1
Layne Eadie 88 (pen),
AFC Rushden & Diamonds 1
Jack Ashton 68,
Referee:- N Morrison. Attendance:- 369
Admission:- OMGDS £8.00 (£12). Programme:- £2.00
Ahhh! Happy days are here again! Hitchin have returned to Monday night midweek football at their iconic Top Field. Sadly, they are enduring a torrid start to their season, with only one point from their first six games! Meanwhile, the visitors from Northamptonshire, are sitting pretty in joint second place in the table. It was a cracker of a match with both teams going hammer and tongs from the start. Eventually, past the hour mark, the visitors took the lead and it seemed all over for the hosts. However, with a scant two minutes to go, the hosts levelled the match from the penalty spot!
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Tuesday 17th September 2019
Everards Brewery Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division
Cottesmore Amateurs 2
Harry Stannard 31,
Nathan Milne 38,
Rugby Borough 3
Josh Turton 67,
Shaun Barber 82,
Tom Rawlings 88,
Referee:- Tom Bingley. Attendance:- 30
Admission:- £2.00. Programme:- NONE
Cottesmore Amateurs from the heart of Rutland – the only county in England without a MacDonalds – the lucky beggars – we’re playing the current Senior League champions, Rugby Borough and it proved to be a game of two halves. Two first half goals from the hosts put them in a strong position and early in the second half they missed a third by the width of the goal post. Back came Borough with unrelenting pressure. They scored after an hour, but had to wait until the closing ten minutes to finally swing the game their way with two late goals!
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Wednesday 18th September 2019
Abacus Lighting Central Midlands League
Black Dragon North Division
Newark Town 2
Ben Castell 27
Lewis Chambers 81,
Harworth Colliery 0
Referee:- Wayne Mason. Official Attendance:- 187
Admission:- £3.00. Programme:- £1.00
Newark have moved. Their new home, after several years playing outside the town at Collingham, is: The YMCA Newark & Sherwood Community and Activity Village, which, to say the least, is a bit of a mouthful! Worse than that, they play in an arid featureless green wire cage on a 3G pitch with no cover and no seating. For all that, there was a good atmosphere for this top of the table clash and a fair sprinkling of hoppers in the crowd – which was probably nearer 157 than the official 187. Newark were deserved winners in this feisty encounter with a goal in each half – the second from man-of-the-Match Lewis Chambers, nine minutes from time.
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Saturday 21st September 2019
Sky-Bet EFL League One
Bolton Wanderers 1
Jack Hobbs 50,
Sunderland 1
Aiden McGeady 90+2 (pen),
Referee:- Ollie Yates. Attendance:- 12,776
Admission:- Hospitality. Programme:- included. (£3)
It was youngest son, Liam’s birthday outing, but he dragged along his mate, Richie and I brought grandson, Freddie. The last time I was here, the rain hammered down incessantly, but today all was warm and bright – as was The Wanderers performance against one of the teams fancied for promotion. Bolton led, shortly after the interval but then found themselves increasingly put under intense pressure by the visitors, but the equaliser only came in the third minute of added time through a blatant handball penalty.
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Tuesday 24th September 2019
Carabao League Cup 3rd Round
Luton Town 0
Leicester City 4
Demari Gray 35,
James Justin 44,
Touri Tielemans 77,
Kelechi Iheanacho 86,
Referee:- Matthew Donohue. Attendance:- 8,260
Admission:- OMGDS £19.00 (£25). Programme:- £3.00
As usual, parking at Kennilworth Road was a nightmare but we managed to get pretty close! As for the match, it was pretty embarrassing for the hosts who were nonchalantly dismantled by and efficient Leicester side liberally sprinkled with players not often seen in the first team! Good atmosphere, but The Hatters seem destined to struggle this season. With Graeme Askham and John Main.
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Wednesday 25th September 2019
Uhlsport United Counties League
Kitmanuk Knock-out Cup 1st Round
Blackstones 5
Martyn Fox 24,
Ben Cowles 61,
Jones De Sousa 67,
Lee Clarke 89,
Josh Edmondson 90+3
Sleaford Town 4
Max Gee 15, 50,
Nathan Brettoner 74,
Harry Wright 88,
Referee:- Richard King. Attendance:- 65
Admission:- £5.00. Programme:- £1.00
Lincoln Road, home of The Stones is not very far from Stamford’s new ground. It is a wonderfully atmospheric arena with the floodlights peeking out from amidst the trees, with a very friendly club house, a busy tea hut and an excellent chippy just across the road! Tonight against opposition from the Premier Division they played with verve and abandon and despite going behind three times, they pulled off a deserved victory with three of the goals coming in or after the 89th minute! Great game!
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Saturday 28th September 2019
Toolstation Northern Counties East League Division 1
Hall Road Rangers 2
Chris Murray 5
Rich Metcalf 47,
Rossington Main 2
Ben Clark 19,
Niall Doran 90+3
Referee:- David Sutton. Attendance:- 39
Admission:- OMGDS – £2.50 (£5) Programme:- £1.50
Played in the shadow of Haworth Hall (the ground is called Haworth Park) on a bright but cloudy afternoon, these two sides, languishing in the lower reaches of Division 1 of the league, put in plenty of endeavour in front of a sparse attendance and the visitors grasped a last gasp equaliser in the third minute of added time. With John Main and Chris Berezai.
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Other Matches:-
Thursday 5th September 2019
FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round
Coventry Sphinx 5 Newcastle Town 6 AET Attendance:- 113
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Thursday 19th September 2019
FA Youth Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Peterborough Sports 3 Kettering FC 2 Attendance:- 53
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Monday 23rd September 2019
Thurlow Nunn Youth League West Division at Huntingdon Town
Cambridge City 0 March Town United 2 Attendance:- 55
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Thursday 26th September 2019
Thurlow Nunn Youth League West Division
Peterborough Sports 4 Kings Lynn Town 3 Attendance:- 56
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Monday 30th September 2019
FA Youth Cup 2nd Qualifying Round
Stamford 1 Long Eaton United 4 Attendance:- 77
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This month:- 20 matches 5 new grounds
This Season:- 55 matches 28 new grounds
TOTAL:- 4,225 matches 1,583 new grounds
Walks in September 2019
Thursday 12th September 2019
A lovely sunny morning with a cool breeze as we walked from Gretton to Harringworth Top Lodge – but there were no herons on view and onwards to the village of Bulwick where the village shop was burned down in February and is nowhere near re-opening. A short break in the grounds of the parish church of St Nicholas before we then returned by a slightly longer route back to Gretton! With Alison, Maureen and Harry, 9.3 miles and five stiles.
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Yours truly painted by Harry Hammill, from a photo taken just before this walk commenced
Harringworth Lakes
The shop at Bulwick
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Monday 16th September 2019
There are quite a few reservoirs in this part of the world and we have walked round a few – Rutland Water, Eyesbrook, Grafham – and, indeed, we have walked round Pitsford Water several time, it being a a walk on generally firm ground. Today, it was a chance to stretch the legs on a drizzly morning. With Alison and Maureen and Norma, 6.63 miles and NO stiles!
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Thursday 19th September 2019
A quite challenging walk, but well worth the effort. We set out from Holcot which hosts the annual steam traction event and passed Holcot Cricket Club with its thatched roof score box. Onwards to Pitsford and then The “Spectacular Gates” which is a folly in the middle of nowhere (see photo). We made a slight detour to visit the ruined parish church of St John The Baptist in The deserted village of Boughton. The church has not been used for hundreds of years, but burials occasionally take place in the still consecrated grounds. Close by was the house of Philadelphus Jeyes, of household cleaning fame, well shielded from passing scrutiny. In Moulton we took refreshment and with the warm sun high in the sky we journeyed back across the fields to Holcot. With Alison and Harry, 10.31 miles and eighteen stiles
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Holcot Cricket Club – in the forefront is a monument to a former player!
The Spectacular Gates
The ruined Parish Church of St John The Baptist, Boughton
The one time house of Philadelphus Jeyes
Monday 23rd September 2019
A walk from Gretton Village Hall down the gap past St James’ church across the fields to the (pedestrian) railway crossing and onwards down to Gretton Weir. From there, we walked to Caldecott and onwards to Rockingham where the flag flew high above the main turret of the castle. On the walk back from Rockingham to Gretton the railway line was negotiated by a track under a bridge before the steep climb back up to the village which sits on a hill. Alison Merrick, Marian Cardy, Norma Jarvis and Maureen Owens also walked and there were five stiles on the 8.25 mile journey.
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Rockingham Castle
Crossing under the railway on the Corby to Wing & Manton Line
A tough climb to end the walk!
Thursday 26th September 2019
Up in The Leicestershire Wolds, there are some wonderfully evocative village names! We started our walk from Goadby, managed to bypass Cranoe, but popped into the churchyard at Glooston before pressing on to Stanton Wyville and the church of St Denys. Onwards yet again to Noseley where the Hall is visible from miles away (but inaccessible once you get close). Then we followed the road back to Goadby and briefly looked in on the tiny church of St John The Baptist. With Alison Merrick and Harry Hamill, 9.45 miles and only one stile!
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The Parish Church at Glooston
The Old Vicarage at Stanton Wyville
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The gates to Noseley Hall
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