Tuesday 3rd April 2012 ko 6.10pm

Midland Combination Division 2

POLESWORTH 1 (L Haddock 67)

ASTON 0

Att 26 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No Programme

There’s aren’t many advantages to an earlier than usual finish at work in Banbury, but an early kick off in the Midland Combination is one! The club used to be known as Polesworth North Warwick, and while the town is in Warwickshire, its a long way north of Warwick, being close to Tamworth! The name was in fact a reference to the North Warwick (open cast) Colliery that dominated the landscape to the extent that the river Ankert was diverted to accomodate it. Those days are long gone, and Polesworth is little more than a dormitory suburb.

Boudicca, queen of the Iceni tribe, is thought by some to have been buried somewhere at Polesworth following the defeat of her army by the Romans in battle near Manuessendum (modern day Mancetter) in A.D. 60. One theory suggests that, after taking poison, her body was placed on a raft and set adrift on the River Anker, eventually coming to rest in Polesworth, where her body is thought to haven been buried.

Hermitage Hill has a suburban feel, with its multi-sports set up, and the M42 rumbling away in the background. The basics are here, cover courtesy of an “add on” roof to the changing room block, and a rail on three sides. I did wonder whether in the past the pitch ran at right-angles to be current arrangements. A flat stretch of concrete did make me wonder.

The game pitched Polesworth struggling at the bottom of the bottom divsion, but under new management, against high flying Aston, second in the table. They had everything to play for being two points behind Greenhill, but with this game in hand.

The game had none of of the tension you’d have expected. It meandered pleasingly enough, but with no real edge until Leon Haddock fired home for Polesworth, in the 67th minute. After that the tackles flew in and there was a minor scuffle, that saw 3 booked. One more followed in the final minute, but it it all felt rather inconsequential.

Still a decent tick, on an unlit ground on a midweek, which is no bad thing.