Pinxton 2, Linby Colliery Welfare 1 (16/09/2017 15:00) - CMFL South

With the addition of Kilburn, made the other week, I have seen all Derbyshire (first) teams (that feature in the top 11 tiers of the English footballing pyramid) play competitive fixtures. Some of teams I have seen play have been as 'away teams' and as such I have not seen their home grounds.

The grounds missing from my 'hop' list are Dronfield's, Ashbourne's and Holbrook Sports'. I have been to South Normanton's ground (albeit for an amateur game) and Aston United (who have dropped out of competitive football this season) used to ground-share with Ilkeston, and so these have been ticked off my list.

The game today allows me to tick off Pinxton's Van Elle Arena.

Here, I should mention Renishaw Rangers. Renishaw is a Derbyshire village; their Chesterfield and District Sunday League side has been allowed into the CMFL North Division because they have managed to get the keys to a ground beyond the Derbyshire border. The fact that they do not play home games in Derbyshire and also as they are affiliated to the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA, I am discounting them as a pukka 'Derbyshire' team.

In addition to seeing Pinxton's ground I was looking forward to seeing a decent game. Both teams had made good starts to the season (Pinxton 2nd and Linby 3rd in the table prior to kick-off).

I was very impressed with Pinxton's ground; a very flat surface cut into the hill behind the social club. The match attracted a decent sized crowd on this intermittently sunny and overcast day.

In the first half Pinxton had the territorial advantage but Linby took the lead shortly before half-time. Pinxton looked dead and buried on 50 minutes when the substitute was shown a straight red for kicking out at an opponent who had put in a good tackle against him.

Pinxton were now the team playing on the break, soaking up pressure and thanking their lucky stars for some poor Linby finishing. But, with their Heanor Town recruits of Cooper and Keano, Pinxton pulled the game out of the bag with two good goals.

The goals are described thus:

0:1 The tricky number 10, on the angle of the box, played a lovely ball through to the big number 9, out left at an angle 8 yards out from goal. The low shot went under a defender and beat the 'keeper at the near post.
1:1 A similar goal to the first. A ball from the right to the unmarked number 15 was nicely controlled and passed into the net across the 'keeper.
2:1 A poor clearance from the 'keeper left him stranded on the edge of the box as his cleared ball landed at the feet of a Pinxton player, some 40 yards out. The 'keeper could just watch as a looping shot sailed back over his head and into the net.