Moatmen Dig Deep

Gresley FC 2 (Langston 70', Lyons 71')

Romulus FC 1 (Marshall 40')

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division 1 South, 23rd November 2013

Attendance - 262

Well this is my 5th review in my first month of blogging, Thank you for the continued support and I've passed 2,500 page views already! Please continue tweeting me (@chris_sharp18) with what you think and I'm always grateful for any retweets or feedback. I'd love to continue to do more with this blog and have a number of ideas but I'm still fairly new at this.

First of all, if you'd like me to come and visit you or your club then tweet me and I'll make a note and be along as soon as possible. I'd love to know if any clubs would consider putting a  review of themselves by someone in their programme? So that hopefully I could publish a review for them to use after I've been. Or if any clubs would want me to visit so I could write them a piece? Maybe a piece about general ground hopping or reviews from other games that I've done?
Please can you or your club respond to me whenever possible as it would be great to see their opinion, I fully expect most clubs to simply say "No" but I'm not expecting it to happen anyway, it was only a thought. Any club, any tier, any where I'd love to hear from you!
You can simply tweet or direct message me on twitter @chris_sharp18

Secondly, I sometimes feel clubs can underestimate the effect of ground hoppers and blogs, they can actually be a crucial advertisement for clubs which are finding harder than ever to attract large crowds. Ground hops have became increasingly popular also providing big boosts for clubs, the Notts Senior League ground hop was a success last season and hop for the same this time but the Northern League Ground hop has also proved very successful. Even the Non League Day Conference ground hop (which I done) was a success. Now onto my actual review...

In the morning of the game I didn't quite know where to go, Tamworth were playing against Kidderminster so this left me with a choice from a few other local teams, but I shortened it down to either Coalville or Gresley. Both in the same league with mixed fortunes, Coalville continuing from last season and trying to gain promotion where as Gresley made a below standard start to the season which has picked up lately. Looking at the opposition I thought this game would be more interesting and entertaining. I imagined that Coalville would ideally look for a hard thought win against Lincoln United who seem an average team in this league and they'd most likely get it, which they did, 2-1 the score. So this left me with Gresley, a place I've been many times before.

For some unknown reason I hadn't been to Gresley for a league game this season, but I'm glad I chose this one! I first watched Gresley 2 seasons ago when they beat Westfields 3-2 in the last minute of the game, eventually becoming champions of the MFA and getting promoted to the NPL1S. Since then I've watched them a number of times and twice this pre season, with losses of 3-1 and 5-0 against Shepshed Dynamo and Solihull Moors respectively. I became quite worried for them as the close season saw a number of players leave, including Jordi Gough and Michael Nottingham along with their manager Gary Norton. With this big transformation happening so quickly I wondered if they could replicate the success of last season, the start of the campaign reflected this winning only 2 out of their first 7 league games, although a 2-0 victory against Kettering in the FA Cup did show promise. They were hovering just above the relegation zone and all looked worrying. In the past month this has all changed, 7 unbeaten in league and multiple cups and a string of promising signings where everyone seems settled under Martin Rowe. In 16th place before this game there was still work to be done. Romulus on the other hand have enjoyed an initial great start to the season, seeing them get some great results but are beginning to move ore mid table now, having won and lost the same amount of games before this one. Marcus Brown has been their main goal threat with 13 already and you could see his quality. I thought it seemed like it was going to be an interesting game and that it was.

I made the short walk to the ground from where we parked, paid our admission, brought a programme and entered via the gate behind one goal. The stadium is quite compact and located just off a main road in between lots of houses but at the same time the space is quite well used. The ground is now 3 sided due to them having to make the pitch longer when they got promotion into this league, behind the other goal there the left hand side when entering is fully covered, with more covered terrace and wooden seating running along the left hand side of the pitch. On the right you find the club house, club shop and offices, main stand, dugouts and changing rooms. Uncovered terrace is also located either side of the Main stand and there is also some covered down towards the far goal. For the league their currently in the number of seats is very good, must be a couple of hundred and everyone is capable of going under cover. The ground has a certainly feel about it, like what you'd imagine a proper traditional non league ground to be, following the clubs history. Following the demise of Gresley Rovers the club have re-established themselves and been on the rapid rise ever since. Everyone is very friendly and the club house is welcoming.

The match began as both teams looked gain a result and it was quite open.Gresley started having the best of the chances with quick breaks sometimes catching Romulus out. Martin Rowe had made two changes with Hayden Johns replacing Mitch Hanson and Alex Steadman coming into the midfield. Kieran O'Connell went close to opening the scoring for Gresley, but the onrushing Romulus keeper blocked his shot. They continued piling pressure on and went close again when Steadman's great run down the right ended with a  cross which was met by Piliero but his header came back off the bar and O'Connell fired the rebound over. Sam Grice then hit a volley which Romulus keeper Exall did extremely well to get a finger to it. Romulus started getting back into the game and Gresley keeper Alex Townsend made a fine save as Marcus Brown smashed in a free kick. The visitors took the lead in the 40th minute. A corner from Turton on the right was met by Marshall who was able to plant his free header into the net, with no chance for Townsend making it 1-0 to Romulus. This is how it remained at half time.

Half Time: Gresley 0-1 Romulus

Romulus started the second half well with Townsend pushing Brown's free kick away. However an inspired double substitution changed this, which saw Jack Langton and Mickey Lyons come on. Gresley then began to apply pressure with captain Jamie Barrett having a header cleared off the line and Langston having a goal bound shot deflected away for a corner. He took the corner from the left and curled the ball over everyone and somehow into the far corner of the net, a quite extraordinary goal for Gresley 1-1 Romulus!

Less than a minute later Gresley doubled their lead. A great move from a counter attack down the left hand side ended with a shot blocked in the box, the ball came out to Lyons who slotted it into the net with Exall helpless. Within 10 minutes of coming on both subs had scored to now make it Gresley 2-1 Romulus.

The game wasn't safe for Gresley yet as Langston forced a good save from Exall but Romulus had a number of chances to force a draw. A shot from Lee Smith smacked Townsend's near post which eventually led to a shot was blocked on the line by Barrett. Gresley responded well and went close twice themselves late on Exall held a low shot the other was blocked. Romulus had one more attempt to get a share of the points but Townsend was equal to Blake Thompson's low shot. The game finished Gresley 2-1 Romulus which matched the way the game was played but Romulus must have felt gutted to give away their hard fought lead. This keeps Gresley's unbeaten run and slumps Romulus further but it was a very exciting and tense game to watch.
Full Time: Gresley 2-1 Romulus

Admission - £7 / £4 (Average for the league)
Programme - £1.50 (36 pages, some colour)

Entertainment - 3/5
Price - 3/5 (Average)
Programme - 4/5 (Very stylish, good feel, good read, loads of notes and information and just everything you want)
Facilities - 3/5 (Everything you want but maybe some outdated a little)


Pictures all taken by me

 

 

 

Saints on the march

Boldmere St Michaels FC 3 (Baker, Osborne, Edmunds)

Tipton Town FC 2 (Ashton, Gater)

Midland Football Alliance, 16th November 2013

Attendance - 84 (officially but more present) 

I didn't intend to even go to this game, but Boldmere is a ground I've been meaning to go to for over a year now. I was expecting my choice to either be Stapenhill, Bolehall or Tamworth, out of which I would have probably gone to Bolehall but looking at the time and how to get their I decided it wasn't too late and the destination was the Mikes. I always look at their results and have been monitoring their progress this season, the club are going well in the MFA where they are established and have a record for being friendly. They're currently 3rd in the league having won all of their home games where as Tipton have yet to win an away game lying 12th in the league, there can only be one outcome.

On arrival at the ground I paid my admission, got my programme and went for a walk around. First thoughts are that it was a very pleasant place with a modern seating stand running along one side and large changing rooms/ food/ bar behind the home goal. The slope on the pitch was noticeable and exploited a lot throughout the game but not too bad. Everyone was very friendly and I took a seat about half way to get a good view of the action. There was plenty of parking at the ground and the sports club was located on the opposite side to the seats. Supporters were in high spirits and all were celebrating 70 years service at the club for Harry Peakman. It was great to see support for him and the club for what truly is a remarkable achievement. I had a minute or two before the game to flick through my programme which is a goo read for only £1, 20 pages in full colour and everything you want really however there doesn't appear to be an MFA league table? Only thing I noticed but it does already appear to be packed with notes, information and adverts which I can't complain about, plus I'm usually quite picky on programmes because I love collecting them.

Onto the game and it started off in full flow, both teams looked confident with good attacking moves but the first goal of the game went predictably to the hosts. A short corner was passed back to Baker who's shot curled perfectly into the top left corner of the net for Boldmere 1-0 Tipton early on. From here on the home side could assert their dominance further and had a number of attacking opportunities,  the second goal came from a great piece of play where a the ref giving advantage led to the winger put a low ball into the box for Osborne to poke it home for 2-0 to Boldmere. Many would have thought that the Mikes would go on and win comfortably from here but no, Tipton came back into it. A well taken shot saw the ball bounce off the crossbar and fall straight into the path of the supporting striker for a tap in and reduced the gap to 1. Boldmere 2-1 Tipton was how it remained at half time.

Both teams came out for the second half which was quite tense as a goal either way would completely change the game, most of the play was in the midfield and neither team could really find a clear opening. The 4th goal of the game was for Boldmere, a corner was whipped in from the right an found the head of unmarked Edmunds at the far post, surely the result was safe at 3-1? What must have been no more than 2 minutes later I was tweeting the goal when I suddenly looked up to find a low shot go into the bottom left corner from Gater to make it Boldmere 3-2 Tipton. Game on again!

From here on it became even more tense when a quick attacking move saw a shot creeping into the corner saved well from the Mikes keeper which found the Tipton oncoming striker but his stab at the ball somehow found the keepers arms from a brilliant dive, so so close! That proved costly as it was their best chance for 3-3 and even though they still troubled it wasn't enough to find another goal. The fascinating and very close game ended Boldmere 3-2 Tipton and was a great advert for non league football on the international break weekend.

After the game I had a final walk around and asked an official if I'd be able to buy a club badge, which I did for £3 and I left the ground very happy, can't wait to return!

Admission - £3 (concessions) £5 Adults £1 for local season ticket holders
Programme - £1 (20 pages full colour)
Badge - £3 (Very nice!)

Entertainment - 4/5
Price - 4.5/5 (about average for the league but still very good value)
Programme - 4.5/5 (very good read, but lots of adverts)
Facilities - 4/5 (everything you need and all very modern, lots of parking)

Pictures all taken by me

 

FA Cup First Round as Robins beaten by Lambs

Tamworth 1 (Chadwick 19')

Cheltenham Town 0

FA Cup First Round Proper, 9th November 2013

Attendance - 1566

This is what I'd call a proper FA Cup game. Non league Tamworth beating League 2 Cheltenham, a shock result? Not in my opinion. The gap between the Conference and football league is now very thin, with the Skrill premier hosting plenty of ex football league sides and even the Skrill North and South improving every season with the calibre of sides. Tamworth had mixed form before this game with a convincing 4-1 victory over Solihull Moors showing they'll be up for the fight, Cheltenham have also had a tough start to the season being fairly low down like Tamworth, although a league above. The history and drama of the FA Cup always attracts more fans and becomes a popular television viewing with nonleague vs league games usually being shown. It can make some money for teams that desperately need it and usually all league form accounts for nothing in these games. There were some interesting results across the games, including this one.

I firstly went into the club shop where I purchased football manager 2014 for an amazing £15 and my programme for the usual price and started talking to friends when I walked into the ground. Everyone seemed happy and nervous for this big game.

Tamworth went onto the pitch looking positive which was shown in the attacking football early on, Cheltenham seemed nervous and maybe a little bit complacent. The Lambs hit the crossbar on about 10 minutes in a carbon copy of the 3rd goal against Solihull, Capaldi free kick, Chadwick connected but this time onto the upright. The wait for a goal wasn't too long though, a cross into the box was held well by Richards who laid it off for Chadwick to calmly slot the ball into the bottom right hand corner. 1-0 Tamworth. The rest of the half was spent in a tight midfield battle with neither team really troubling but the best chance went too Cheltenham with a goo passing move leading to a good chance but was wasted. It remained Tamworth 1-0 Cheltenham at Half time.

The second half saw Cheltenham become very attacking, guessing they got an ear full in the interval! It proved effective with them playing a lot better but still not being able to find the goal they needed. Belford made a number of great saves in the process and it would have been devastating for us not to have won in the end. The second half was very tense, with desperation sometimes telling. Tamworth also had some good chances when on the counter attack, Richards had a one on one which was well saved and the keeper done well to deny a point blank header from Todd. The last couple of minutes were nail biting and Cheltenham had a penalty appeal turned down, I wasn't sure on it myself but the Ref was close enough so I trust his decision. It finished 1-0 to Tamworth and big cheers went up from the home crowd and manager Dale Belford. It's set up a tie at home against Bristol City in the second round with the ITV cameras. It's also giving us much needed money and will hopefully attract a big crowd. Overall it was another great game at the team I support.

Admission - Category A (£14,£9,£4 terrace)
Programme - £2.50 (usual size)
FM14 - £15 (special offer, usually £35 in shops)

Entertainment - 5/5
Price - 4/5
Programme - 3.5/5
Facilities - 2.5/5

Pictures taken by me

Athletic suffer a Swan attack!

Stapenhill FC 3 (Wheildon 6', Sippits 23', Chatfield 86')

Blaby and Whetstone Athletic FC 0

East Midlands Counties League, Saturday 2nd November 2013

Attendance - 60 (Rough head count)

I was in two minds whether to go or not, mainly due to the weather with the forecasts showing heavy rain and cool temperatures but also not knowing if the pitch would be able to hold out or if there was much cover at the ground for me to shelter under. The morning came and I was trying fanatically to find out if it followed several other games within the local area and be postponed but I heard nothing, however when leaving the house it suddenly went bright in the sky, a lucky sign for Stapenhill perhaps?

On arrival at the ground it became very windy outside so I quickly found refuge in the clubhouse, which I thought was amazing! It was brand new, modern and most importantly warm. After purchasing a club badge over the bar I looked around and wondered why I never visited before. I learnt that the club enjoyed successful spells in the Leicestershire Senior League and Midland Combination before becoming founding members of the Midland Alliance until resigning in 2002. In the 2007-08 season, they were one again in the Midland Alliance but the club had to tragically close down as a fire ravaged their stadium. Since reforming in 2009 in the Leicestershire Senior League they gained promotion last season despite finishing 5th! With the club growing again maybe now was the perfect time for my first game here.

I walked into the ground, paid my admission, took my first look at the programme and proceeded to have a wonder around. First thoughts were that it was quite nice for a club at step 6 of the non league pyramid. A covered area behind one goal hosted a fair number of spectators but many (including myself) headed straight for the padded seating which ran along one side. I was happily surprised by the number of seats and they proved popular, you can see why the club is one which has the potential to be in the Midland Alliance.

The programme was short but sweet with good notes and information, including those of new manager Steve Titterton who was always liked by me during the time he spent at Gresley. The wind picked up and you were still able to feel the force even under cover! I took a number of pictures (look at the bottom) and it seemed that all supporters were in good spirits.

The game started and Blaby used the wind to their advantage straight away with a long ball played to the striker who saw his shot well saved in the first minute of the game. A couple of minutes later they were at it again when a corner drifted directly onto the crossbar but out of play. The deadlock was broken after just 6 minutes when a long ball was flicked on by the head of Stapenhills tall, powerful forward over the top of the defender for Phil Weildon for a one on one where he calmly touched the ball into the bottom right hand corner for 1-0 Stapenhill.

On 23 minutes, the score became 2-0 when a good spell of pressure from the hosts resulted in Asa Sippits driving a low shot to the keepers near post, only for the goalkeeper to make what must be described as an unfortunate mistake and somehow when diving onto the ball, it rolled under him. The goal scorer appeared to stand and wait to see if he had actually scored!

Both teams troubled but at 2-0 you felt the game was killed off, Blaby created good chances but either couldn't find the right finish or saw it saved by the goalkeeper. Stapenhill came closest to the next goal when a brilliant passing move saw a cross met by the header of the tall striker who troubled throughout the game, only for it to be excellently saved by the Blaby keeper.

At Half Time it remained Stapenhill FC 2 - 0 Blaby and Whetstone Athletic FC

The second half was much of the same as both teams had good spells of pressure although no one could find a goal, with Blaby having the better of the chances. Both keepers made great saves and it was actually becoming quite tense, a goal could throw the game open or seal it. One supporter said "2-0 is a hard lead" and I agree, you score and surely 3 points, you concede and the advantage may have gone and you could go on and draw.

The inevitable happened in the 86th minute though. A counter attack by Stapenhill saw a shot going into the right hand corner of the net if not for it being well saved by the Blaby keeper, although it was parried straight out to Danny Chatfield who tapped the ball into the net for 3-0 to the Swans.

 

This is how the game finished and what a good game it was, after clapping he players off I popped into the warm and cosy clubhouse again where the £1 for all hot drinks proved very popular! It was good to see so many fans and players using this great facility and you could see the smile on Steve Titterton’s face when he came in. An overall good game of football.

 

Admission and Programme - £3 (£4 for adult admission)

Badge - £2 (very nice)

 

Entertainment – 4/5 (Can't ask for too much else)

Price – 4/5 (very good for the quality of football on display)

Facilities – 4.5/5 (lovely clubhouse! Seats are in abundance and comfortable)

Programme – 3/5 (Short but still has got a nice set of notes from key figures and useful information about events and the visitors) 

 

 

I would fully recommend this club to everyone and I look forward to my next visit to Stapenhill.

 

 

I'd also like to thank everyone for your continued support and I love receiving tweets telling me what you think, within 1 week I now have well over 1,000 views on my profile even though I've only published 1 blog within that time. I’m always on the lookout for different grounds to visit so tweet me (@chris_sharp18 ) saying where you’d like me to go next!

 

(Pictures below are all taken by me)