Tuesday 21st December 2022 ko 19:45

Midland League Division One

INGLES 2 (Tansley 52 Minshull 86)

CHELMSLEY TOWN 1 (Woods 90)

Att 67

Entry £5

Programme £1

In purely groundhopping terms when a club in a groundshare gets promoted to Step 6, they tend to pass me by. I may see them by chance as visiting team, but I prefer to visit the ground for the primary tenant. So when Ingles graduated from the Leicestershire Senior League, groundsharing at Shepshed Dynamo’s Dovecote, it all rather passed me by.

But something unusual has happened with Ingles, and that it is that they’ve taken on a defunct ground. Thringstone Miners Welfare dropped out of the Leicestershire Senior League in 2019 and folded soon afterwards. They played at Thingstone Miners Social Centre which operates as a separate entity. Since neither Ingles’ spiritual home at Little Haw Lane in Shepshed can be developed nor a suitable alternative in Shepshed be found, a move 4 miles south-west was a viable option.

That’s not to say that Homestead Road came ready for Midland League football. The stand, floodlights and stand have all been extensively refurbished, and fresh hard standing laid. It is a lovely case of each side bringing something to the agreement. The Miners Welfare provides a home for Ingles, and the football club improves the facility and generates additional income. 

It was a convivial evening; part of it was due to the large numbers of hoppers there. I’m not sure whether Ingles’ meant it, but they do tick a lot of groundhopper’s boxes for visiting. I found myself ticking off some of them, badge, programme, pyramid football and so on. None of those are essential for me, but nevertheless it was good to have all of those. Perhaps the point I’m trying to make is that variety is the spice of life!

The pitch was heavy, and I’m sure any further rain would have caused a postponement and both sides struggled to pass and move effectively. At times it got a little feisty and the officials did well to keep 22 players on the pitch. Ingles probably deserved their win, but that wasn’t what I took from my evening out. For me, other than meeting friends it was finding a club who are doing so much right.