Tag Archives: Leicestershire

Ingredients

01 Thursday Oct 2020

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Tuesday 22nd September 2020 ko 19.45

United Counties League Division One

SAFFRON DYNAMO 4 (March 28 36 56 Johnson 89)

AYLESTONE PARK 2 (Holdom 79p Ray 90)

Att c70

Entry & Teamsheet £5

For me at least it had been a long time in coming. I’d arrived In Cosby 8 years ago, and discovered that the then Leicestershire Senior League outfit had called off their game with Desford as neither side fancied playing each other twice in 3 days! I ended up watching Rugby Town, and would never has guessed that both Rugby Town and Saffron Dynamo would end up playing in the same league! Or come to think of it, that poor Woodford United (Rugby’s opponents that day) would end up in the Northants Combination! Continue reading →

The Swap

07 Saturday Jul 2018

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Wednesday 9th May 2018 ko 19.45

United Counties League Division One

LUTTERWORTH ATHLETIC 2 (Hobert 20 Pegg 66p)

STEWARTS & LLOYDS 1 (Mpofu 88)

Att 31

Entry £5

No Programme

Half the fun of this one was working out exactly who Robyn and I would be watching! In the beginning there was Lutterworth Town and Lutterworth Athletic with one playing the centre of town the other on the edge. Then one left, the other moved into the other’s former ground, and the first moved into other’s an out-of-town location. I’d seen Lutterworth at the in-town location back in the day but in the day’s leading up to this day the mechanics of football in Lutterworth did take a little working out!

Continue reading →

The Two Green

20 Thursday Feb 2014

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Tuesday 18th February 2014 ko 19.30

Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

ROTHLEY IMPERIAL 2 (Love 33 Howard 70)

SILEBY TOWN 1 (Jelly 53)

Att 29

Entry £3

No programme

Tea 50p

Regular readers on these travels will know that I like to tell both of you, dear readers, a little about where I visited. The trouble with the small Leicestershire village of Rothley is where to start and what to leave out!

The village is centred off two greens, the Cross Green and the Town Green, both reached from the crossroads on the A6 that is the village’s raison d’etre. Continue reading →

Echoes

30 Friday Sep 2011

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Thursday 29th September 2011 ko 7.15pm (although it actually kicked off at 7.30)

Leicestershire Senior Cup First Round

HIGHFIELD RANGERS 2 (Jamu 51 Patrocinio 54)

ST ANDREWS 5 (Williams 11 Trevor 20 Connolly 42 48 Preston 87)

Att 41 (h/c)

Entry £3

No programme

Another trip to Leicester, this time to Gleneagles Avenue, home of this decidedly Afro-Caribbean club who ply their trade in the top division of the Leicestershire Senior League. A bit of a do at the gate as I tried to pay for Lee and I with a tenner, to discover that the gateman had precisely no change, it set the tone in a way…

The ground is typical of the league, railed, floodlit (but with quite a few bulbs missing), cover but no seats. There’s a decent enough clubhouse, and to be honest I’d have written off the whole thing as an unremarkable “tick” but then I found the echoes.

For a start this is the club that nurtured a young Emile Heskey before he moved on to Leicester City and stardom (of a sort). On gaining the teams I visited the officials room, and on the way discovered the quite wonderful graffiti-style art hidden to most. Add to that the visitors’ manager, Clem Dublin, Deon’s younger brother and you have a demonstration of the power of the community football club.

St Andrews are having a good season one level above Highfield, in the East Midlands Counties League and claimed a notable FA cup scalp of St Neots the previous weekend. Trouble is they had 9 out injured for this encounter. Nevertheless they soon rattled up a substantial lead, and then well you’ve read the script, they tried to sit on it. And Highfield gave it a real go, two goals in quick succession, and if one shot had have been just an inch or two lower, who knows……

A game of one half

30 Friday Sep 2011

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Tuesday 27th September 2011 ko 7.15pm

Leicestershire Senior Cup First Round

AYLESTONE PARK 2 (G Seal 18 27p)

BIRSTALL UNITED 1 (Man-Klee 8 )

Att 54 (h/c)

Entry £2.50

No programme

Chips & Cheese £1.50

With the  Leicester based club having moved a full 400 yards to their new home, The Mary Linwood Recreation ground in Saffron Lane, this fixture attracted some of the big hitters of the groundhopping fraternity.

The ground reflects precisely the clubs needs and immediate ambitions. There are two pitches, so close that the dugouts are double sided, and the clubhouse is both large and impressive. However the sole spectator accommodation is still the same unseated Arena stand, salvaged from the old ground, and given a lick of paint. You question how far the club can progress with the ground as it is particularly when you consider that the club has the advantage of the demise of the Leicestershire Constabulary club which supplied both players and committee.

What we got was a cracking half of football. Birstall took an early lead, Aylestone stung by the threat to their 100% record responded, and with a penalty to take the lead we were set up for an exciting second half. I’d have even settled for extra time.

I turned up for the second half, I’m not sure the players did! What we got was a turgid half of ill-tempered hoofing, and a catalogue of unforced errors. By the end, extra time would have been a trial.

Rat Trap

14 Wednesday Sep 2011

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Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

RATBY SPORTS 4 (McKenzie 4 83 Jacquei 49 Brightmore 57)

ASHBY IVANHOE 4 (Pollard 15 Bray 43 Netter 69 Gibson 72)

Att 23 (h/c)

Entry £3

Programme NO (this is Leicestershire remember!)

Can Diet Coke 50p

Very much an evening of contrasts, even down to the village itself. A pretty village yes, but showing obvious signs of dereliction. Desford Road, is similar, tucked away neatly behind the cricket ground, has a brand new clubhouse, but it’s half finished,  there’s a solidly built stand, but there’s no seats and there’s signs of a fire at its back. The Junior pitch is perfect but the adult version is badly cut and lumpy. There’s even signs of a terrace, sadly overgrown.

I’d picked the game, and as a goal whoring exercise, Ratby having shipped a hatful even at this early stage of the season, but it didn’t quite turn out how I expected.

Ashby should have won this at at a canter, but to my delight and doubtlessly the annoyance of the teams’ management, it turned into an exercise into who had the least competant defence! The highlight? Bray’s excellent finish for the 3rd goal, past his own keeper! Great stuff, and a good tick.