Spellbound
.
The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.
.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.
.
Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing drear can move me;
I will not, cannot go.
.
Emily Bronte (1818 – 1848)
.
Friday 1st November 2024
Premier League 2
Leicester City U21 3
Jeremy Monga 10, Louis Page 13, Henry Cartwright (pen) 23,
Aston Villa U21 1
Brad Burrowes 90+2
Referee: Paul Cooper. Attendance: 342
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£5). Free Team Sheet
Three goals in the first twenty-five minutes gave the hosts a somewhat flattering interval score line. Villa spurned several gilt edged first half chances and then spent the second period encamped in the Leicester half with only a single strike for their efforts and that in the second minute of added time. With John Main.
.
.
.
Saturday 2nd November 2024
North West Counties League Division 1 North
Maghull 3
Harrison Worden 36 (pen), Darren Brannigan 45+1, Jacob Till 90+1,
Route One Rovers 5
Anees Younis 16, 27, Muhammed Arshad 41, Zakariya Khan 82, Mohammed Hasnain 89,
Referee: Joshua Mitchell. Attendance: 138
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£6). Programme: NONE. Free team sheet.
Pleasantly impressed with Maghull’s Hall Field ground which they share with the local cricket club. There is secure fencing and hardstanding all around the pitch, a small covered, terraced standing area, but no seating unless you include the tiny number of picnic tables. Well stocked bar and a tight but imaginative food gallery serving Chinese chicken curry and “Scouse and crusted bread”. The parish church of St Andrew peeps above the tree line and The Leeds Liverpool Canal runs behind the far goal. The local railway station recently won station of the year across the whole country!
The visitors ground-share with Steeton in West Yorkshire and are presently mired deep in the relegation morass, but they were much the better side on the day. Five goals shared in the opening period gave them a single goal lead at the break, but after heavy home pressure in the second period, the visitors added two more before a last minute consolation to the hosts. Good game, helpful officials (providing free team sheets!) and friendly supporters of both sides! John Main and I came, not expecting much, but leaving pleasantly surprised. A very entertaining afternoon and well worth a visit.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Monday 4th November 2024
Northants Senior Youth League North Division
Desborough Town U18 4
Owen Shepherd 18, 45, 58, 73,
Kettering Town U18 6
Ellis Chapman 22, Adam Barnett 37, 90+3, Tom Williams 65, Elvis Allen 86, Gedminas Grevishes 90+6
Referee: Aaron Lloyd. Attendance: 110
Admission: £3.00 Programme:- NONE
Tough night for Desborough on their return season in The Northants Senior League, playing against a strong Kettering Town side. They led twice in the first half, but had to be content with honours even at the break. They led twice more in the second period and with fifteen minutes to go, they held a slender 4-3 advantage. Three more goals from the visitors, two of them in added time swept the match away from a very young home side, who, nonetheless competed effectively and enthusiastically.
.
.
.
Tuesday 5th November 2024
Eastern Counties League Division 1 North
Needham Market U23 1
James Coton 30 (pen),
Haverhill Rovers 5
Ryan Twinn 16, Shaun Avis 23, Brandon McKay 31, 58, Tom Head 48,
Referee: Henry Harvey. Attendance: 81
Admission: OMGDS £5.00 (£7). Programme: NONE
A wasted journey of nearly a hundred miles, hoping to take in the 3G pitch at right angles to the main pitch, where Needham Market U23s usually play, but not, apparently, for midweek games. Tonight, they played on the main pitch. A young home side, next to bottom in the league with but one victory from sixteen games, were comprehensively demolished by second in the table, Haverhill Rovers. Officially, there were 36 fee paying spectators, but I counted a crowd of 81.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Saturday 9th November 2024
Velocity Wessex League Division 1
Ringwood Town 3
Lee Vint 64, 90+4, Joe Petty 82,
Cove 3
Luke Edmondson 3, Nathan Connolly 11, William Peters 26,
Referee: Ole Underhay. Official Attendance: 69
Admission: OMGDS £4.00 (£7). Programme: On Line
A couple of miles outside the town of Ringwood and in the middle of nowhere is The Ringwood Community Hub recently developed with substantial financial support from AFC Bournemouth, whose women’s team play at the stadium. The pitch has been move around two metres (goal to goal), but the old stand remains in place, a new metal fence surrounds the pitch and a substantial complex including changing rooms and clubhouse has been erected (but without a bar or hot food). These two teams nestle just outside the play off places, but the visitors dominated the first half, scoring three times and missing several more opportunities aided by a constant stream of invective from their bench. The second half was a different story. Three goals in the final twenty five minutes, with two visiting players sin-binned, saw the game turned on its head and the draw was a pretty fair outcome. With John Main.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sunday 10th November 2024
.
From “My November Guest” by Robert Frost (1874-1963):
.
My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of Autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walked the sodden pasture lane.
.
A short stroll out of the village, past the farm and down the track, where the fields are dotted with wooden frames and the aging ruin of a boundary wall lies amongst the remains of the recent harvest and a glittering autumnal array of leaves. A strange accoutrement bedecks the hedge along the way, before the farm returns to view and, beyond, the towering golden spread in the pocket park followed by the reverent homage to the fallen at village green and churches. With Charlotte, 5.04 miles and no stiles.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Monday 11th November 2024
Northern Premier League Division I Midlands
Coleshill Town 2
Ryan Nesbitt 49, Jack Hallahan 90+2,
Coventry Sphinx 2
Shay Willock 22, Kyle Carey 24, Shay Willock s/o 88
Referee: Jack Shepherd. Attendance: 125
Admission: OMGDS £8.00 (£10). Programme: £2.00
A cold, sharp evening and the visitors cut to the quick with two early, first half goals, and, they could have had more. The hosts were a different side after the interval and pressed forward determinedly, but it wasn’t until the second minute of added time and after the dismissal of the visiting striker, that they eventually claimed the equaliser.
.
.
