Saturday 16th November 2024 ko 14:00

North Bucks & District League- Intermediate Division Challenge Trophy- Quarter Final

REAL MK 1 (Boboc 21)

BLETCHLEY SCOT RESERVES 1 (Dowdall 41)

No extra time Scot won 6-4 on penalties

Att 4 at Pitch 2 Marsh Drive, Great Linford, Milton Keynes

Sometimes the restrictions placed upon you produce something interesting. That morning the car was going in for a change of sensor, and in the evening we had tickets to see a tribute band in Banbury. So my options were restricted so I travelled to Wavendon, collected Chris Garner and simply aimed for the nearest game at a ground neither of us had been to before.

That ended up being one of no end of municipal sports grounds in Milton Keynes, there seems to be one for just about every district, and I know a friend James, sadly no longer with us, who made it his aim to see a game on every single one. I found myself thinking of him during this game.

The Great Linford Sports Ground hosts two North Bucks League sides. Great Linford use the near pitch and Real MK the far complete with a “Bonfire Night” scar just outside of the 18 yard box. It would have been simple enough to point our all that it wasn’t but when we’d worked out that no we weren’t going get a tea, the clubhouse was being used for a vaccination clinic, we concentrated on the simple pleasure of enjoying a crisp day surrounded by trees… and a football match of course!

The North Bucks & District League’s top, Premier, division sits at Step 7 in the non league pyramid with the Intermediate Division below, and Division One below that. Now I’m sure even the league don’t regard their middle tier’s divisional cup competition as particularly important but it kept a crowd of 4 entertained for a couple of hours.

Some may remember the Bletchley Scot club from their long stint in the Spartan South Midlands League Division Two, while I’ll admit to knowing almost nothing about Real MK save for seeing quite a few Romanian names on the team sheet! MK made the better start but once Scot had found their rhythm they looked the more likely to force the win in regulation time. That of course didn’t happen, and the resulting penalty shoot-out went to the wire, Scot keeper Segun Akinwale saving the 10th penalty.

He and his teammates celebrated, but Chris and I grinned at each other and headed back to the car. We knew that everything that needed to have been said, had. That’s the way you do it.