New Year
What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That’s not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that’s the burden of the year.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1850-1919
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Monday 1st January 2024
Northern Premier League Midlands Division 1
Corby town 3
Toby Hilliard 5, 39, Ben Isaacson 47,
AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2
Caiko Taylor 44, Jarvis Wilson 67,
Referee: Joe Woolmer. Attendance: 714
Admission: OMGDS £6.00 (£12). Programme: £2.00
Lovely bright sunny morning and The Steelmen, at last, claimed their first home victory of the season in a nervy encounter against bottom club, Diamonds. There were a high number of hoppers there due to the early start and the number of afternoon kick-offs close by. Corby started brightly and were ahead within five minutes. They added a second towards the end of the half, but Diamonds responded with a strike of their own just on the interval. The Steelmen struck in the opening couple of minutes of the second half, but once again, just after the hour mark, Diamonds pulled a goal back. There was no further scoring, but a nervy final twenty minutes before Corby were able to claim their first home league win of the season!
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Monday 1st January 2024
Northern Premier League Midlands Division 1
Harborough Town 2
Tendai Daire 33, Ben Williams 64,
Rugby Town 1
Loyiso Recci 90 (pen),
Referee: Karl Donaghey. Attendance: 357
Admission: OMGDS £5.00 (£10). Programme: £2.00
In contrast to this morning’s match, the rain beat down incessantly after half-time onto Harborough’s 3G pitch. There has been a new seated stand installed since my last visit but it did little to keep the rain out! Considering that the hosts are top of the table and the visitors were third from bottom, this was no one-sided contest. Harborough held a two goal lead just after the hour mark, but Rugby pressed towards the end, and reduced the arrears. As at Corby Town in the morning, there was a goodly gathering of hoppers in attendance!
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Friday 5th January 2023
FA Cup 3rd Round
Fulham 1
Bobby De Cordova-Reid 24,
Rotherham United 0
Referee: Dean Whitestone. Attendance: 15,083
Admission: OMGDS £15.00 (£20). Programme: £3.50
By train from Corby to St Pancras and then tube to Putney Bridge. The District Line was particularly busy and is apparently experiencing difficulties due to engineering works. I have not been to Craven Cottage since I went there to see a friendly International match on 3rd May 2014, where Italy and Republic of Ireland drew 0-0. The new Riverside Stand at Craven Cottage is not yet in operation, but looks impressive. Kids got in for £1 for this match which pleased my grandsons. Dad and mum were there, too. The match itself was nothing to write home about. A severely depleted Fulham side dealt economically with The Championship’s bottom club and progress to Round 4.
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Craven Cottage
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from the front :- Sonny, Kingsley, Jim and Cora
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The new Riverside Stand at Craven Cottage …. was not in use for this match ….. or is it not yet completed?
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Saturday 6th January 2024
Northern Premier League Midlands Division 1
Coleshill Town 2
Jonathan Letford 58, Alex Tomkinslon 90+2 Lamin Ceesay s/o 83,
Corby Town 2
Jack Keeble 48, Toby Hilliard 97 (pen),
Referee: Michael Wright. Attendance: 215
Admission: OMGDS £8.00 (£10). Programme: £2.00
With so much precipitation over the last few days – and weeks – 3G was the only surface to rely on for a game taking place! Coleshill is a regular watering hole because they play their midweek matches on a Monday evening and, today was an opportunity to visit Pack Meadow in daylight. There was little to report in a goalless opening spell, but the second half burst into life with The Steelmen twice taking the lead, but twice being pegged back. The hosts also had a player dismissed some ten minutes from the final whistle.
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A pensive Freddie at Coleshill Town.
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Sunday 7th January 2024
FA Cup 3rd Round
Luton Town 0
Bolton Wanderers 0
Referee: Andrew Madley. Attendance: 10,739
Admission: Hospitality (£85 adults and £35 for children). Programme: incl. (£3)
I love trains and football days – even when the first train is cancelled when you get to the station! We had a wee spot of hospitality at Kenilworth Road in a packed stadium, creaking and groaning, and seriously in need of replacement. Despite the lack of goals, it was a pretty tense and exciting encounter and Wanderers fully deserved to fight another day.
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Freddie and Ed
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Jim and Sonny
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Freddie, Kingsley and Sonny
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Freddie and Ed
Monday 8th January 2024
Premier League 2
Leicester City U21 2
Harvey Godsmark-Ford 18, Oliver Ewing 90+3
Newcastle United U21 2
Dylan Stephenson 2, Ben Parkinson 74,
Referee: Abigail Byrne. Attendance: 199
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£5). Free team sheet
It looked like it was going to be another defeat for Leicester after Newcastle took a second minute lead. We were all thinking if it was a question of ‘how many?’. The Foxes fought back, however, and were level by half-time. In the second half it was just a question of when Newcastle were going to regain the lead – and they did, midway through the half. A scrambled goal deep into injury time at the end of the match, allowed the hosts to grab a draw from what seemed certain defeat!
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Tuesday 9th January 2024
Nathaniel MG Welsh League Cup Semi-final
Guilsfield 0
Iwan Matthews penalty saved 84,
The New Saints 2
Jordan Williams 42, 74,
Referee: Huw Jones. Attendance: 296
Admission: OMGDS £5.00 (£7). Programme: £1.00
Locating the floodlights was fairly straightforward, but finding an entrance to the ground was a tad more fraught – at one point, I ended up in a farmyard. Pleasant ground, seated stands on both sides and hardstanding all round, the bell ringers, from St Aelhaiarn’s church in the town, kept up a cacophony of campanology, but it didn’t help the host’s players. They were well beaten on the night, but their’s was a spirited defeat. They never gave up. However, TNS progress to the final and a prize of £10k plus a place in next season’s Scottish FA Cup at stake.
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Saturday 13th January 2024
Wessex League Division 1
Millbrook 6
Krysiek Krysztofowicz 9, 11, 22, 30, Mark Barker 69, Jamie White 74 (pen),
Frimley Green 1
Ronan Smith 52, Ben Harris s/o 73
Referee: Jack Hussey. Attendance: 53
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£6). Programme: £1.00
Millbrook – the Southampton variety – are comparative newcomers to the football fraternity having been formed (by amalgamation) in 2021, but they can trace their antecedents back as far as the formation of Bush Hill FC in 2002. They play at The Test Park Sports Ground, part of the Solent University sports complex. They are currently riding high in the play-off places, whilst their opponents are flirting with relegation. Four first half goals for the unpronounceable Krysiek Krysztofowicz set the tone for the match, but the visitors scored first in the second half, before having a man dismissed and conceding two further strikes.
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Tuesday 16th January 2024
Northern Premier League Midlands Division 1
Walsall Wood 2
Joshua Mansell 28, Alec Bradley 72,
Corby Town 4
Jack Keeble 35, 45, 52, Connor Tomlinson 36,
Referee: Richard Walker. Attendance: 136
Admission: OMGDS £5.00 (£6). Programme: £2.00
Ten years since my last visit to Oak Park, the neat and tidy home of Walsall Wood and quite surprised at how reasonable the entrance fee (my grandson was charged just £1). The game was full of goals. The hosts scored first, but found themselves 1-3 down at the interval. In the second half, The Steelmen scored a fourth and then attempted to shut up shop, not a wise decision. The hosts pulled one goal back and could easily have had two or even three more goals, but in the end Corby hung onto and took the victory and the points. With grandson, Freddie.
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Belgium 2024
The 05.35 train from Corby to St Pancras to link up with Jim, Jonny Crane and Mark Sumner for the 09.01 Eurostar train to Brussels. Once in Brussels Midi-Suid, we caught a local train to Ghent.. Lovely city (and we walked a great deal around it, even our apartment was over a mile from the station). It was VERY COLD – much colder than in England – and there was ice and snow all around, but not recent. Lunch, then onto the apartment, I had a room to myself, but they had left the windows open and it was very cold!
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Friday 19th January 2024
(Belgian) Erste Klasse A
KAA Gent 1
Julien De Sart 60,
KV Mechelen 2
Daam Foulon 26, Bill Leroy Antonio 83,
Referee: Jonathan Lardot. Attendance: 12,696
Admission: €20.00. Programme: NONE, free teamsheet
If you think it’s cold in The UK, it’s Baltic in Belgium, with the temperature never rising above freezing and footpaths treacherously icy. Third placed Gent were out thought and undone by tenth place Mechelen, who attacked well on the counter and made the most of their few opportunities. For all their possession, the hosts carried little threat. With Jonny Crane and son, Jim.
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We heard, early on Saturday morning, that our second game – Erste Klasse B: FC Dender v FC Seraing – had been called off. Postponed due to the icy conditions. So, we entrained for Bruges and spent the afternoon looking round the city, visiting the Club Brugge shop and dining at Delaney’s Irish bar. In the central square, a procession in fancy dress was taking place with horse drawn carriages, but we never did find out what it was all about!
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The main square in Bruges
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The main square in Bruges.
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Naturally, we sampled the local brews
Jonny, across the table!
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Saturday 20th January 2024
(Belgian) Erste Klasse A
Club Brugge KV 3
Thiago 37, 65 (pen),Antonio Nusa 80,
KVC Westerlo 0
Arthur Piedfort s/o 90+1
Referee: Nicolas Laforge. Attendance: 18,583
Admission: €35.00. Programme: NONE
Our earlier match at FC Dender having fallen to the icy conditions, tonight’s encounter in sub zero temperatures was our only match of the day. Westerlo started brightly, the little club from the sticks with average crowds of around 6,000 were up against the mighty Club Brugge in their fine stadium and it was the mighty Brugge who eventually prevailed with a first half goal from Thiago, a second from the same player, just after the hour and, ten minutes from time, Antonio Nusa struck the third. The visitors also had a player dismissed right at the end for a second yellow card. With Mark Sumner, Jonny Crane and son, Jim. We had a taxi pre-booked to take us back to the station in time to catch the very last train of the day back to Gent.
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Jonny Crane, Jim and Mark Sumner
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Jonny Crane
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Sunday 21st January 2024
(Belgian) Erste Klasse A
Royal Antwerp 4
Sporting de Charleroi 1
Referee: Eric Lambrechts. Attendance: 12,444
Admission: €35.00 Programme: NONE
The awesome approach to the ground belies the work in progress to bring it up to standard. An entire stand down one side is out of action and in need of replacement. Much has already been achieved, but much still needs to be done! The ground is, apparently, privately owned and there is some discussion about the best way forward to bring it up to modern standards. On the field, the hosts had little difficulty in dismantling the visitors defence, the only surprise was that Charleroi managed a very late consolation goal. With Mark Sumner.
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Yours Truly, Eddie McGeown
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Sunday 21st January 2024
(Belgian) Erste Klasse A
RWD Molenbeek 0
KAS Eupen 1
Edmond Renaud 58,
Match abandoned after 85 minutes.
Referee: Nathan Verboomen. Attendance: 3,500
Admission: €5.00. Programme: NONE, free team sheet
The match was on special offer at five euros at Molenbeek’s tired Edmond Machtensstadion, but the match was poor entertainment, no shots on target until the visitors struck in the 58th minute and no sign of the drama to unfold. With ten minutes to go and not a single home team shot on target, the faithful became restless and bangers – loud ones – were thrown around and onto the pitch. The referee took the players off for around twenty minutes and then restarted the match and almost immediately, another firework was hurled onto the pitch. That was that. The match was abandoned and riot police confronted angry fans whilst we were kettled in behind them, but eventually let out through a side gate. Fireworks were still being thrown at police as we hurried to catch the tram back to Brussels MidI-Zuid.
In accordance with Belgian FA and league rules, the final six minutes were played out at Molenbeek the following Wednesday. There were two further bookings, but no further goals and KAS Eupen won the match 1-0.
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No spectators allowed behind the goal, but the people in the flats had a good view!
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Riot police facing angry fans at Molenbeek
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The author, martialling his facts on the train from Antwerp to Brussels
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And that was the end of our Belgian sortie. Jonny Crane and my son Jim went to a different afternoon game: Belgian Erste Klasse B – Zulte Waregem 1 Jong Genk 1 (attendance: 5,539). After their match, they made their way to Brussels Midi-Zuid to catch the evening Eurostar back to London. Mark Sumner and I had booked into Appart’City hard by the station for one night, in order to catch the Molenbeek match, and met up with John Higgins who had been at Union St Gilloise for a match in the afternoon, whilst we were at Royal Antwerp. The following morning, we, too, boarded Eurostar for the trip back to London. It had been an exhilarating – but very cold – weekend, highly enjoyable, but also quite demanding.
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Tuesday 23rd January 2023
Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division
Aylestone Park Reserves 5
Lewis Turland 27,Aaron Preston 45+2 (pen), 66, Daniel Henry 63, Marley Spencer 72,
Thurnby Rangers 3
Connor Dixon 9, Colby White 47, 78,
Referee: Simon Fradley Attendance:- 44
Admission: OMGDS £2.00 (£4.00) Programme: NONE
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Tuesday 30th January 2024
Vanarama National League North
Banbury United 2
Manny Maya 10, Charlie Waller 32,
Darlington 1
Mitchell Curry 69
Referee: Eugene Robinson. Attendance: 534
Admission: OMGDS £11.00 (£15). Programme: £3.00
Very impressed that 76 Darlington fans made the 400+ round mile trip to Banbury for tonight’s match! The Quakers are seemingly doomed to relegation! The Puritans, meanwhile have just strung two wins together to give themselves a realistic chance of escaping the drop. After Saturday’s 2-0 victory against Hereford, the visitors arrived with positive intent, but they lack a cutting edge and posed little threat until a comical error in the home defence presented them with what turned out to be a consolation goal. Two first half strikes won the game for Banbury..
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