Holbrook St Michaels 1, Swanwick Pentrich Road 4 (19/11/16 13:30)

With a free Saturday afternoon I scanned the fixtures for a local game. Much to my delight I saw that a Central Midlands Football League Challenge Cup (sponsored by Buckingham Insurance) tie was to be played at Holbrook Park; with the Saints entertaining The Swans in a second round, tier 11 league, cup game.

I had seen mid-table Swanwick Pentrich Road win their first round game and as such this could become another 'road to the final' challenge. I had also seen The Saints this season as well, in a capitulation against Aston United.

The Swans had not progressed in the league since the time I saw them in September. There were a couple of obvious absentees from that team and they looked the weaker for it. They still had enough about them, however, to overcome a team with only one win under their belt this season.

Although The Saints started brightly, The Swans soon took control of the game with two goals. The Saints rallied and got a goal back to give them hope for the second-half. A good start to the second-half with some good work down the left could have resulted in an equaliser for the Saints but the 'keeper did well to maintain The Swans advantage. Two quick goals around the 70 minute mark killed the game and The Swans wound up rightful winners.

My man of the match was The Swans stocky forward, their number 10, who looked dangerous with the ball at his feet in and around the box.

The goals are summarised thus:

0:1 - a good though ball put the number 10 clear and from a central position on the edge of the box he fired his shot under the 'keeper. The 'keeper managed to get something on the ball but not enough to stop it trickling over the line.
0:2 - with the Saints' defence asleep a neat ball in from the left found the number 10 ten yards out and, with a neat turn, he shot past the 'keeper.
1:2 - good work down the right and a good pass into the centre of the box found a Saints player who got a shot away and past the 'keepers right hand.
1:3 - with the Saints unable to clear the ball from their box the ball broke to The Swans' number 8 who fired a shot from 18 yards to the 'keepers left.
1:4 - panic in The Saints defence and with the 'keeper out of position, number 10 fired in from 18 yards.

Hilton Harriers 3, Stapenhill 3 (Stapenhill win on pens.) DSCR2 (12/11/16 14:00)

It was my intention today to watch Shirebrook Town to complete my challenge of seeing all the Derbyshire teams that play in the top 11 tiers of English football. A friend, and my companion for the afternoon, persuaded me otherwise, and I am glad he did. We witnessed a classic Derbyshire Senior Challenge Cup game in which tier 11 Hilton Harriers performed magnificently to hold tier 10 Stapenhill to a 90 minute 3:3 all draw at the Mease Pavilion.

There are no replays in the Derbyshire SC Cup, and in this case there was no extra time in the fading South Derbyshire light. It was straight to penalties and Stapenhill won 3:2. Hilton missed 3 of their 5. P3 was stuck straight down the middle at the 'keeper, P4 was saved well by the 'keeper to his right and the decisive P5 was struck against the crossbar.

I have written quite a few words about Hilton Harriers in these blogs, and with good reason. It is community clubs like this that are the lifeblood of English football. Again, upon arrival at the Mease, it was heartening the see an overflowing car park and the youngsters in their practice matches and skill training sessions.

Prior to the game itself we marked our respect to our fallen heroes, and then battle commenced.

Stapenhill started more brightly and deserved the early lead. Hilton battled away and, with the help of some AWOL defending from Stapenhill, took a late lead in the game. The back end of the game was dominated by Stapenhill however; they got the late equaliser and struck the bar twice.

The goals are summarised thus:

0:1 - Good work down the left found No. 10 in the left hand side of the box who, after some nice control to keep the defenders at bay, unleashed a shot past the 'keeper's left hand from 12 yards.
1:1 - A scrappy goal in the 6 yard box converted on the turn.
2:1 - A cross from the right found a Hilton man on the far post and a composed kneeling head found the net.
2:2 - No. 10, holding off defenders with some good control, fired home a  left footed shot, from the corner of the 18 yard box, past the 'keeper's right hand.
3:2 - An unmarked Hilton player in a left of centre position got the ball past the 'keeper.
3:3 - A ball whipped in from the right and a lovely glancing header from 8 yards got the ball past the 'keeper's right hand.

My man of the match was the big Stapenhill number 10 and it will be good to compare him against a similar player, Glossop's Jamie Rainford, in Round 3.

Clay Cross Town FC 5, Pinxton FC 2 (08/11/2016 19:45)

The second round draw of the Derbyshire Senior Challenge Cup brought together two teams from the Central Midlands Football League (Tier 11). Clay Cross play in the northern section whereas Pinxton play in the southern section.

Clay Cross, 'The Millers', play there home games at the Mill Lane Ground in the town. Under a previous sponsorship deal the ground used to be known as the 'I Want Pet Foods' ground. In this age of sponsorship there have been some odd ground names but this has to be one of the strangest. Being from Derby I know that The Rams play at a stadium named after an energy drink. Some ground names are funny even without sponsorship. Other funny ground names have included / do include:

Tony Macaroni Arena - Livingstone
KitKat Cresent - York
The Dripping Pan - Lewes
Arnold Schwarzenneger Stadium - Graz
Middelfart Stadium - Denmark
Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium - Dumbarton
Hunky Dorys Park - Drogheda
Bargain Booze Stadium - Northwich
The World of Smile Stadium - Cheltenham

As I have already had a 'pop' at the name of Derby County's stadium and, as my companion for this evening was a Nottingham Forest fan, I thought it only fair to comment on the name of The Reds' ground. They play at The City Ground. The City Ground is technically in West Bridgford, a town, not a city.

Mill Lane is narrow; too narrow really to cope with fans parking along it outside the ground. But we had to park on the road as the car park at the ground is tiny. I was surprised at the number of cars and I was surprised at the number of fans attending on a cold, rainy, autumn night for such an insignificant cup game. But 60 or so hardy souls turned up. A number of Pinxton fans were in the crowd, but I guess that the 9 miles they had to travel was not too arduous (unlike for me who drove from work in Northamptonshire).

The playing surface was of an excellent standard and the rain added a 'zip' to the run of the ball upon it. The ground itself was tidy with a modern and functional covered standing and seating area, under which we stood.

The Millers are doing quite well this season and have gained some loyal followers. It was the first time, at this level, I had seen fans wearing scarves sporting the name of their club. It was nice to see. Clay Cross deserve a decent following and I intend to visit again.

Clay Cross, playing in their sky blue home kit, were the better team and the eventual score line did not flatter them. The tangerine clad Pinxton did not really threaten the goal in the first half, bar a couple of tantalising crosses that flew across Millers' six yard box. Pinxton did get into the game in the second half, for a short while, but only when Clay Cross took their foot off the gas after going 2:0 up. But the match was really about how good Clay Cross were. They looked dangerous going forward. Their right winger had a blinding turn of pace and the left sided midfielder had some nice skills including some deft touches, feints and dips of the shoulder.

The goals are summarised thus:

1:0 - A ball in from the right found an unmarked attacker at the far post and from seven yards and the striker converted the chance by placing the ball back past the 'keepers' left hand.
2:0 - A short corner to the edge of the box was riffled through the throng of players at the 'keeper. The 'keeper spilt the ball which was pounced upon at close range.
2:1 - A ball upfield from Pinxton was well controlled 25 yards out by the striker who then struck the ball past the 'keeper from the edge of the box.
3:1 - A perfectly weighted ball across the six yard box followed from a good run down the right; the ball being swept home by the onrushing attacker in a central position.
3:2 - A lovely weighted lob from 25 yards was placed beyond the outstretched arm of the scrambling goal keeper.
4:2 - From a corner the ball broke to a Miller on the edge of the box who fired his shot past the 'keeper.
5:2 - A lifted right wing cross picked out perfectly a player in blue, who, with a towering header from 6 yards, gave the 'keeper no chance.

Tideswell United 1, FC Bolsover 3 (05/11/2016 14:00)

There were a number of firsts today: 1) the first Central Midlands Football League North (Tier 11) game I had seen, 2) my first proper North Derbyshire derby and 3) the first time I had seen either of these clubs play.

Both clubs are new to the league this season. Tideswell have made their way up through the lower leagues, whereas FC, a newly formed club, have been allowed straight in at this level. FC have some ambition to progress and at the time of writing sit top of the league. Tideswell themselves are in the top half after making a respectable start to the season.

The ground itself, 'The Tideswell Sports Complex' is very tidy. The standard of the facilities are so high that it has been used by the academies of both Sheffield league clubs. It sits under the shadow of the tower of 'The Cathedral of the Peaks' adjacent to the village school.

It was a lovely drive from my home along the Peak District's lanes to get to Tideswell and from the ground itself one can see the rolling hills and their dry stone walls.

At the ground I chatted to a scout from New Mills FC. It has been sad to see this North Derbyshire team fall down the footballing pyramid. And it is sadder still that they have been forced to look at tier 11 players as potential recruits for their team.

Standing under the roof of the small stand I sheltered from the cold November breeze as I watched the game unfold. The pitch sloped very slightly and FC had the 'downhill advantage' in the first-half. FC were deserved winners in this game. They looked dangerous on the attack and the big Ian Ormondroyd style centre forward acted as an excellent target and link-up man. In addition to the goals FC hit the woodwork twice and they could easily have won by a clearer margin.

The goals are summarised below:

0:1 - The ball was fired in from the byline of the FC right wing and was sliced, at the near post, by a Tideswell defender into his own net.
0.2 - A great 20 yard shot on the turn beat the Tideswell  'keeper.
1:2 - Shot from the angle of 18 yard box took a deflection off a defender over the 'keeper.
1:3 - A 35 yard low driving shot from a left field position found the bottom right hand corner of the goal after the 'keeper was out of position following a poor clearance.

A Weekend in Malta

This weekend saw me add the Maltese top flight to my collection of UEFA affiliated leagues. I have now seen top flight league games in 32 out of the 55 nations.

Malta has a population similar to that of Bristol and, as you would expect for such a small nation, the Football Association tightly manages the league, teams and available playing surfaces. Only a small handful of grounds are used by the 12 teams in the league and the Saturday and Sunday fixtures are played as double-headers, two games are played back to back at the same venue. For fans of football, like me, this is fantastic, as great value is had by witnessing two games for the price of 1 (7 Euro) ticket.

The standard of football is difficult to judge but I would hazard a guess at levels ranging from tier 5 to tier 7 English equivalent. Birkirkara, one of the better teams, actually dumped Heart of Midlothian out of the Europa League this year, indicating it is not a standard to be sniffed at.

On the morning of the Friday flight, from East Midlands Airport, I checked the weather forecast to find that I would need to pack a shower-proof and brolly. A prearranged taxi took us from Malta airport to our harbour front hotel in Sliema.

On the Saturday morning, ahead of the first double-header, we did some sightseeing in Valletta. I managed to find a small shop selling scarves and I picked up, at 7 Euros each, a Hamrun one and a Birkirkara one. We then walked to the Hamrun ground.

The one-sided Victor Tedesco stadium, with its plastic pitch, was compact and functional. Functional that is if there is no rain (an unusual occurrence in Malta). But rain it did, and blow it did, and our 2 umbrellas, along with at least 3 more belonging to other fans, were completely destroyed. For the second match we found some shelter by the turnstiles but our view was obstructed. My father actually missed a goal because of it.

For us English fans, watching football in the wind, rain and cold is common and we prepare ourselves accordingly. For the Maltese this is not the case. They seemed quite happy to stand or sit out in all conditions in their shirt-sleeves.

The number of fans watching Saturday's matches were in the dozens.

On the Sunday we headed to Mdina to see the pretty walled city before the matches at the National Stadium. The stadium complex can be seen from the city walls and a short walk got us to the ground well before kick-off.

In order to protect the playing surface of the National Stadium no warming up / training is done on it ahead of the games. The teams have to use the adjacent Centenary Stadium, a ground that hosts tier 2 matches. As we waited to get into the West Stand we saw the Mosta players head over there. The National Stadium itself is a multi-sports venue and we noted the similarity to Iceland's National Stadium which we visited in the summer.

The first game was very much an appetiser for the main event, the second, and televised, match. The number of fans watching the Sliema vs. Mosta were in the dozens. Their ranks were swelled from half-time onwards as they were joined by the Birkirkara and Hibernians fans. We found ourselves with the Sliema and Birkirkara fans. I fitted in quite well for the second game as I donned my rather natty yellow and red Birkirkara scarf.

Sliema, for the first game, had a club band consisting of two drums, cymbals, trumpet and french horn, and they played some well known tunes throughout the game. Birkirkara's fans were more colourful. They hung banners, waved flags, let off a smoke bomb and sang songs to encourage their team (to no avail).

A good few hundred fans witnessed the latter match.

At the bus stop after the game we noticed a family of Scottish Hibernian fans resplendent in their green and white colours. They must have been delighted to see their namesakes beat the team that beat Hearts!


Hamrun Spartans 2:1 Pembroke Athleta
BOV Premier League
29/10/2016 15:00
Victor Tedesco Stadium
Grech 14' (H), Triganza 18'(H) Maveski 55' (P)

Mid-table Hamrun started the game much better than their bottom of the table opponents and they took control of the match within the first 20 minutes. A shot from a central position, some 20 yards out, was going wide until a big deflection took the ball past the stranded 'keeper. Hamrun's powerful number 99, operating down the left caused all sorts of problems for the Pembroke right back and it was his run and cross which created the second goal. His cross was met on the far edge of the box and the right winger, with a deft touch, laid the ball back into the middle for the striker to slot the ball past the keeper's left hand from 17 yards.

Pembroke's first chance came on 32 minutes but the effort, from 6 yards, was fluffed by the striker.

Pembroke performed better in the second half and were soon back in the game when a good through ball found the striker, who calmly placed his shot from 12 yards out.

As the minutes ticked down, and as the players of the second match warmed up behind the goal, Pembroke had two good chances to level the score but could convert either.

Tarxien Rainbows 2:2 Balzan FC
BOV Premier League
29/10/2016 17:15
Victor Tedesco Stadium
A. Nilsson 11' and 51' (T), Alan 55' (B), Serrano (B) Red Card 81', Nafti 91' (B)

Lowly Tarxien deserved their lead in this game against the league leaders. An early lead was achieved from a good left of centre shot from 15 yards out after a through ball opened up the Balzan defence.

The lead was extended early in the secondhalf after some nice control by the number 8 was followed by a defence splitting pass to find the number 9 who found the back of the net from a narrow angle out left. Soon after however Balzan were back in the game when a hopeful ball into the Tarxien box caused panic. The flapping 'keeper could only push the ball out to the edge of the box to be met by an onrushing player who fired his shot through a couple of defenders.

The wins and rain niggled at the players and the players niggled at each other. A number of yellow cards we brandished by the referee and each tackle by Balzan was met with a chorus of 'Yellow Card!' from two ladies stood in from of us. The ladies got their prize on 81 minutes when a second yellow was shown to a Balzan player.

10 man Balzan pushed on to get their equaliser and a last gasp chance was offered to them when a late tackle occured on the edge of the Tarxien box. From the dead ball position, to the left of centre, the Balzan free-kick taker struck an unstoppable shot past the 'keepers left hand and into the top corner of the net. The goal was met with wild celebrations from the league leaders.

Shortly after, at the referee's final whistle, more wild scenes were witnessed as the niggled players all came together with as lot of pushing, shoving and 'handbags'. The cause of this I didn't see but I am sure that there will be some repercussions.

Sliema Wanderers 1:1 Mosta FC
BOV Premier League
30/10/2016 15:00
Ta'Qali National Stadium
Salomon 24' (S), Priso 57' (M)

Mid-table Sliema looked the more accomplished side against lowly Mosta. Mosta's game looked to be based around the energy and pace of the strikers. When the Mosta front line did break forward their was little in the way of support and little in the way of final quality.

Sliema took a deserving lead midway through the first half following some good play down the right. The winger pulled back a cross which was met 10 yards out, in a central position, by the forward who placed his shot past the 'keeper.

Sliema should have wrapped the game up before halftime. A clever chipped freekick caught the defence napping but the free header from 6 yards was soft and the 'keeper comfortably saved the effort.

Mosta levelled shortly after the break. The winger did well down the right to get to the byline and pull back a cross to a team mate. The 12 yard shot took a slight deflection which took the ball beyond the 'keepers right hand.

Sliema had a couple of late half chances but the spoils were shared.

Birkirkara FC 0:1 Hibernians FC
BOV Premier League
30/10/2016 17:00
Ta'Qali National Stadium
Failla (Pen) 78'

This game should have been the pick of the weekend but these teams, second and third in the league respectively, cancelled each other out and a rather dour game was the result.

Birkirkara has the best of the first half. Sustained pressure on 23 minutes resulted Hibernians clearing the ball off the goal line. Hibernians best chance in the first half came on 32 minutes when a free header from 7 yards was comfortable collected by the 'keeper. The fire, some way off behind the Main Stand, looked more dangerous than either of these teams' skrike forces.

As the game was beginning to look like a bore draw Hibernians were awarded a penalty. A needless outstretched arm of the Birkikara left back brought down a Hibernians player, 10 yards from the byline. The decision was controversial. Was the outstretched arm worthy of a foul being awarded? Was the foul actually in the box? Anyway, the left footed penalty taker put the ball to the 'keepers left and the game was won.

The Hibernians goal scorer undertook his celebrations in front of us and the Birkikara fans which resulted in a lot of booing and cat calling from those around us.