Tag Archives: soccer

North of Warwick

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in P

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

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.

Soap & Steel

18 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in D

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 17th March 2012 ko 4.30pm

Central Midlands League North Division

DRONFIELD TOWN 4 (Doran 15 90 Gange 48 67)

THORESBY COLLIERY WELFARE 1 (House 60)

Att 276

Entry & Programme-Hop Ticket

Teamsheet 25p

Badge £3

Cheeseburger £2

Tea-in-a-mug 50p

The day’s 3rd game saw a real change of environ, from North Nottinghamshire to North Derbyshire, and there’s a real rivalry between the 2 counties, exacerbated by the UK miners’ strike (1984–1985). I drove through Chesterfield with its iconic crooked spire (or typical Derbyshire workmanship if you’re from Notts!), and headed north to to the small town of Dronfield. Rick Allen, drummer with Def Leppard hails from the town.

Situated as it is on several borders, Dronfield’s roots lies in several industries. There have been, at various times tanneries, soap works, and with a nod to nearby to nearby Sheffield, a significant steel industry. With the Peak District being a mere 3 miles away agriculture was also a massive contributor to the town’s prestige, and the most famous building in the town is testament to this.

The “Peel Monument”, situated on the town’s High Street, was built in 1854 out of gritstone as a tribute to Sir Robert Peel, to commemorate his repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The monument is very distinctive, and is often portrayed in images of the town. It also forms the football club’s badge.

Dronfield’s ground makes use of the hilly topography of the town. The car park is above the cricket club, which is in turn above the football ground in Stonelow Road. On the other side of the valley the terraced houses disappear into the distance like a Lowry painting.

Like Basford, Dronfield Town are an ambitious club, and buckets were in evidence for their floodlight fund. A barbeque was fired up, but the club found the one food that even groundhoppers turned their noses up at. Pork dripping sandwiches are, so I was told by Rob Hornby, a local speciality, but I actually heard a hopper comment “Do they come with a free heart attack!” That said, I now regret not trying one, it couldn’t have been that bad could it?

The game pitched Dronfield against a Thoresby side that had only conceded only 9 goals in 19 league games. Clearly, noone had told Dronfield, and particularly fowards Andy Gange and John Doran, who scored excellent braces, despite at various times playing through driving rain and hail. Doran in particular looked a class better than the CMFL, and I do wonder whether in the future he’ll feature on a Northern Counties East hop! Danny House’s strike, from Thoresby’s only corner of the game was scant reward for the visitors who made a fine contribution to the game, for me the best of the 4 on offer today.