Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup - QF (19/01/2016 19:45)

After our failed mission to see the third round between Alfreton Town and Whaley Bridge, myself and my pin badge collecting companion were back at the Impact Arena to witness Alfreton's quarter-final tie against Long Eaton United.
I had travelled to Long Eaton on the previous Saturday to watch United play a league game, only to find out, as soon as I had arrived, that the game had been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Arriving at the game I met Chris the Groundhopper who informed me that Alfreton had put out a very strong team. It soon became apparent that tier 6 Alfreton were going to be too good for tier 9 Long Eaton.
United were limited to a few a long range attempts and the didn't really look like troubling the Town 'keeper. Alfreton on the other hand should have really threatened double figures but a 6:0 victory was a fair return on the night.
Smith completed his hat trick just after the break, each goal involving a lovely turn on the edge of the box and a sweet finish. Goal number four came from Robertson whose good control with his chest set himself up for a chance that he riffled home. The last two came from the nippy Jackson. The first, he latched on to a through ball down the centre and calmly slotted home, the second was via a good cross from the right to the far post and he was given a golden chance from the head of his colleague who nodded the ball into his path six yards out.
My pin badge collecting companion added the new Town 'King Alfred' pin badge to his collection and was amazed to see some pin badges from obscure Northwest outfits including Squires Gate and Wyre Villa.

Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup - QF (12/01/2016 19:45)

The most prestigious game in Whaley Bridge's history lasted just 66 minutes on 12th December. Their 3rd round County Cup game against Alfreton Town was abandoned due to unplayable conditions and was then rescheduled for 22nd December. That re-match was postponed as a result of a waterlogged pitch, as was the subsequent rescheduled game on the 5th January (I actually drove their on the night to find the ground dark and closed).
The game was then re-scheduled for 12th January, the night when the quarter-finals were due to be played.
Alfreton Town v. Whaley Bridge was a 'road to the final' game, having seen Hilton beat Dronfield and then Whaley Bridge beat Hilton, but because of the fixture clash with another 'road to the final' game, Heanor's match against Stapenhill, a tough choice had to be made.
I chose to watch Heanor.
I had seen Belper Utd.'s win in the first round and then Heanor's victory over them in round two. I then travelled to the Town ground to see the Lions beat a very poor New Mills team in the third round. Tonight I travelled alone (as my usual companions were otherwise engaged watching Derby County and Nottingham Forest respectively) to see Heanor entertain Stapenhill.
Tier 10 Stapenhill put up a great performance against Tier 9 Heanor who, due to suspensions and experimentation, fielded a weaker team than normal. The Swans can consider themselves very unlucky to lose 2:1 as they very much looked like equals on this performance.
Although Heanor were up by two goals early on in the game (a mazy run by Cooper taking the ball to the left of the keeper and finishing calmly and a freekick converted by Debrouwer from the edge of the box) Stapenhill were always in the game. The Swans could have easily gone into the break 2:2 had it not been for the woodwork which was struck twice.
Stapenhill got a goal back shortly after half-time. A good ball was played through the middle and Ellerton took the ball on a few yards further before placing the ball passed the onrushing keeper.
Stapenhill's big chance to square the game came mid-way through the second-half. A cross from the right was timidly met at the far post and a soft header was put wide as the goal gaped. And 2:1 it finished.
"Are you Sinfinista?" a club Heanor club official asked me prior to half-time (it's always good to know that people read your Tweets). "Yes" I replied, and so began a conversation with him and his companion Chris, a fellow Groundhopper. Chris is actually '@GroundhopUK' a full-time sports fan / Groundhopping organiser / writer. I learnt that there is an organised trip to Serbia coming up. This interested me as that is one European country that I haven't yet seen a game in. I will be staying in touch.

For information Alfreton beat Whaley Bridge 3:1.

Old Games Revisited - A Special One

I thought it an idea to include in this blog, from time to time, some details of European matches that I had previously been to. Here is the first.
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix, better known as José Mourinho, has previously described himself as 'the special one' due to his outstanding record as a manager for numerous world renowned football clubs but, at the time of writing, one can see that there is nothing 'special' about being sacked as manager of a team that is lying 16th in the English top flight.
Although José is more famous as a manager he did play the game professionally and one of the clubs he played for was Lisbon's Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses. Myself and my father paid a visit to Lisbon in late 2013 to watch two Portuguese Primeira Liga matches.
The story started on the Friday before the Sunday matches. Myself and my father dropped our bags at the hotel and made our way to Sporting Lisbon's ground to obtain tickets for our second game and then we headed to Belem via the Metro and local train on a reconnaissance mission for our first game. We took photos of both stadiums knowing we would have to leave our large cameras behind on match day.
Belenenses' ground, the Estádio do Restelo, afforded spectacular views over the Tagus River, 25th April Bridge, The National Sanctuary of Christ the King and Jerónimos Monastery. An elderly club official spotted us taking snaps and guided us inside the ground itself to take further photographs. 
On the match day itself we retraced our steps and had a look at the local flea market before heading up the hill to the ground. Getting there very early we were informed, at the ticket office we thought we could get our tickets from, that we could only get tickets there if we were members. We were told to get our tickets from the office at the top of the hill marked 'for away fans'. Thankfully we weren't placed with the away fans. I picked out a nice scarf from the table outside the ground and paid the old scarf seller's wife the 5 euro note required. Match and scarf together came to 18 Euros.  Belenenses matched Gil Vicente, the visitors, throughout, even after they were down to 10 men following Fredy's red carded for dangerous play (he left an opponent rolling on the floor holding his face). Matt Jones, the home team's 'keeper from Stoke on Trent, had a good game and made a world class save at one point.
A final result of 0:0 seemed a fair result between these teams of a tier 3 English standard.
After the match we strolled down the hill with the other 3,244 fans, got the train and then the Metro and headed toward the Estadio Jose Alvalade for our second game of the day, Sporting Lisbon vs. Pacos de Ferreira.

  

Manc' Rant

"Wouldn't it be great if Salford City beat Hartlepool and we get to play them in the FA Cup?" a fellow Ram asked me in rhetorical fashion. My response was not full of expletives but I am sure that you would have forgiven me if it were. My reaction was quite negative and I'll try to explain why. We'll start at the beginning.
Manchester is a fantastic city of culture and importance. My favourite musical acts hail from that great city, those being namely The Smiths, Joy Division and New Order. As such you will understand that I am not anti-Manchester. Neither am I anti-Manchester United per-se. It is great that football fans from Manchester and the immediate area have a fantastic club to support.
"As you are from Bristol and you are a football fan, are you Rovers or City?" I asked a colleague. "Neither, Manchester United" he replied. And here is the crux of the issue.
Some football 'fans' are supporting teams (usually by buying merchandise, rather than actually going to games) that contribute nothing to their place of abode or birth. Local clubs, whether they be small or large, are active in the local community, developing the football skills of youngsters and undertaking charitable works etc. So why would one give money to a club that does nothing for the place you call home?
I understand that one likes to watch good football, but to call oneself a 'fan' of a particular team that you have no connection with, just because they are successful, is beyond me. I am not a psychologist but people do seem to like being associated with success. This is playground mentality, "my dad is bigger than your dad" kids say in school. Some outgrow this, some never say this and some continue to have this mentality by being 'fans' of successful teams that they have no connection with.
Every year dozens, if not hundreds, of small local community based football clubs disappear because of lack of funds. The 'glory-hunter fans' don't care. As long as they have the new £80 shirt of 'their team' that's all that matters, as they can stroll around demonstrating to others that they are associated 'personally' with success. I would prefer to spend the £80 going to several non-league games, buying a pie and a programme, knowing that that money is going to a club that is working in the local community with kids and youth teams and the like. In any case, in many ways non-league matches are more enjoyable an experience than big Premier League games. Many people have written about this and so I will leave that there.
In this way football 'brands' have developed while the grassroots suffer. It is the issue of the Manchester United 'brand' which is troublesome in this case.
When the Glazer's took over Manchester United some of the team's followers protested and went to the extreme length of setting up a new football club, FC United of Manchester. In this way they were showing loyalty to the Manchester United 'brand' but not it's roots. It's roots lie in a team called Newton Heath. Newton Heath was one of two clubs founded at the locomotive-building works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, the other team being Horwich Railway Mechanics Institute FC. Horwich RMI became Leigh RMI. Newton Heath became Manchester United. One can clearly see that Leigh RMI is (was) the true sister club of Manchester United.
Leigh RMI was struggling financially at the time of the Glazer's takeover of Manchester United but instead of the Manchester United 'fans' supporting their sister club they allowed it to struggle on and decline into the obscurity of the South Lancashire Counties Football League Premier Division as Leigh Genesis. Well, at least as they have two clubs with Manchester and United in their names to cheer for.
Another Manchester United 'brand' spin-off is the celebrity football club known as Salford City. A Singaporean businessman and investor and five former Manchester United players own the Northern Premier League club with the ambition of making it a Tier 2 team. Pumping in money and attracting the home grown players from other local teams is a way to do this.
One sees that they don't want to make it a Premier League team as that would mean they would actually have to compete in the league against the real Manchester United.
Because of the celebrity status of the owners of the club the BBC thought it fitting to do a TV documentary about it.
So, it won't be great if Salford City beat Hartlepool and we get to play them in the FA Cup.
1) I don't want my home town team associated with a Manchester United 'brand' spin-off;
2) I would hope that we get to play a good old fashioned real team; and
3) Derby County and Hartlepool(s) United share a common bond, the genius management duo of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.

Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup - Round 3 (08/12/2015 19:45)

Tonight was my 'road to the cup final' game. In round 1 I saw Belper Utd. beat Gamesley and in round 2 I saw Heanor win away at Belper. This evening I witnessed Tier 9 Heanor Town entertain Tier 8 New Mills at the Town Ground. I did have a second 'road to the cup final' team that I was following, Whaley Bridge, but unfortunately their game has been arranged for 12th December and I will be watching Derby County play Brighton on that day.
Heanor and New Mills are very much having contrasting seasons. Heanor would be top of the Midland Football League Premier Division if it wasn't for the presence in their league of the phoenix club of Hereford United whereas New Mills are already pretty much consigned to relegation from the Northern Premier League Division One North with their league record of played 18, lost 18.
At the ground I met up with a fellow Ram and we enjoyed a Guinness in the club bar before kick-off; a pleasant facility showing Sky Sports and containing a number of folk playing cards and darts, some of which weren’t bothered with watching the Derbyshire Cup game at all.
As kick-off approached I mentioned to my companion that I had to introduce myself to a New Mills official as he had brought down a club scarf for me. In 2014 I toured Derbyshire watching all the teams that play in the top eight tiers of English football. As part of this little challenge I bought a club scarf as a momento, the only team’s scarf missing at that time being New Mills’ as they had sold out when I had visited them.
The New Mills staff were a friendly group and they told us of how the club had struggled with finances, team managers and losing players to teams who would pay more. It was sad to hear this as New Mills is such a lovely little club, but this explained their current league position.
Heanor, The Lions, seem to be taking this competition seriously. They put out a strong team whereas the Millers gave some new players a chance to impress. The result was as expected. The skill and physicality of The Lions, which had previously impressed me the two times I had seen them, also impressed my companion, a novice non-league football fan.
The Lions roared and were three goals to the good by half-time. The goals came from Cooper, who rounded the keeper and blasted the ball into the top corner, Bettney, whose deflected free kick from 19 yards left the keeper stranded and from Debrouwer, with a close range effort provided by a deep ball from the right and a calm header back across goal from Cooper.
New Mills introduced some more established players in the second-half and made a better fist of it. Midway through the second-half however the newly introduced keeper fumbled his control and attempted clearance and presented an easy chance to Cooper who tapped the ball into the empty net in showboat style.
Myself and my companion willed The Millers to get a consolation but the closest they came was from a mazy run and a good shot which struck the post.
So, with Heanor’s 4:0 win, I am following The Lions into the quarter-finals.

Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup - Round 3 (07/12/2015 19:45)

Tonight saw the first game played in the third round of the Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup with Ilkeston FC of the Northern Premier League Premier Division (Tier 7) entertaining Long Eaton United of the Midland Football League Premier Division (Tier 9).  

Cup games provide a chance for smaller teams to punch above their weight and upset teams in higher divisions and myself and my father pondered this as we drove to Ilkeston listening, on the radio, to the draw for the third round of the FA Cup. We were disappointed to learn that our beloved Rams would have to travel either Salford City or Hartlepool United, with the chance of us being subject to a giant-killing. Our disappointment was short-lived however as we were hearted to see a reasonable crowd in attendance at the New Manor Ground.  

As the players took to the field the first thing that caught our eye was the awful kits that the two teams were wearing. Ilkeston are known as the Robins and I was disappointed that their traditional red top had now become one incorporating blue stripes. And as the presence of blue stripes clashed with Long Eaton's home kit the visitors were forced to wear their kit of salmon pink and black.

Long Eaton had the breeze on their backs in the first half and made an excellent start to the game. Within 10 minutes they were a goal ahead through a penalty, struck low to the keepers left, after the keeper had brought down an onrushing striker.  Long Eaton could have doubled their lead 10  minutes later but Ilkeston were saved by the crossbar following a header from a corner. 

Ilkeston looked more dangerous as the first half progressed. The Robins could have gone into the break all square had they capitalised on a free close range header or if their left back could have calmly finished after a mazy run with the ball from the left wing. A half-time lead for Long Eaton was a fair reflection on the first 45 minutes however.

The youthful looking Robins, with the breeze on their backs, threatened early in the second-half. Within the first 15 minutes they had two good chances with close range headers and the ball was cleared off the line from a thundering goal-bound free-kick.

As Ilkeston pushed forward in search of an equaliser a ball up-field from the Long Eaton defence to a striker was calmly controlled in the left channel and from 20 yards out a rasping shot to the keeper's right found first the inside of the post and then the back of the net. 2.0.

With 10 minutes to go Ilkeston were awarded a penalty following the bringing down of a striker. As the keeper went left the ball was put to his right and a tense last few minutes awaited the visitors. It was a case of too little too late for Ilkeston however as they couldn't create any more significant late chances.

A 2.1 away win for the smaller team was a fair score-line and the reasonable number of fans who had made the short trip from Long Eaton left happily with a giant-killing evening under their belts.

 

Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup - Round 2 (28/11/2015 13:15)

I was fortunate that this particular game had been postponed twice, due to the inclement weather of northwest Derbyshire, as the game should have been played while I was on holiday.  The re-arrangement allowed me to see another team that I saw win in round one, Hilton Harriers, and as such this was to be another 'road to the cup final' game.
Hilton, and their hosts Whaley Bridge Athletic, are tier 11 teams playing, respectively, in the Staffordshire and Cheshire leagues.
An 80 minute drive with my father saw us arrive at a very wet and blustery Horwich Park shortly after the Hilton players. The players had just left the bus and we witnessed the bus driver expertly negotiating the tight side streets of Whaley Bridge in an attempt find a suitable parking spot for the full sized coach.
Like many football grounds in the north of the county, Horwich Park lies in some stunning countryside. The facilities themselves at the ground were modern and fortunately the function room / changing rooms had a pavilion style roof which meant that we had cover from the rain from where we could watch the game.
Athletic had the weather on their backs in the first half and with that made a better start to the game. Within 15 minutes they were two up. The first came from a foul and a penalty and the second came from a right wing shot that snuck under the keeper at the near post. Athletic struck the woodwork twice before Harriers managed to create a chance, the striker firing high and wide from a good position.
As the first half was coming to an end a bobbling ball in a crowded box struck an Athletic player's arm and a penalty was awarded. The penalty was calmly converted, high and wide of the keeper's left hand. A 2:1 lead for Athletic was probably a fair reflection of the first half.
After the break Athletic were soon 3:1 up. The Harriers left back was dispossessed and the Athletic right-winger got to the byline and placed a measured cross onto a colleague's head who neatly finished from 7 yards out.
After the fourth goal had been scored the game was fairly even and both teams had a couple of half chances to score but the game saw no more goals and Athletic were through to the third round and a plum tie away at Alfreton Town.
On a personal note I was hoping that Hilton would have made it through. I have a friend who plays for the veterans team and it is fantastic that such a new club is contributing so much to the local community. The Harriers' chairman explained to us today how the club has, as the Hilton expands, ambitions to progress up the footballing pyramid. I soon hope to see Harriers playing in the East Midlands Counties Football League Premier Division (tier 10). But, with six Derbyshire Senior Cup games seen so far, my 'road to the cup final' teams are now Whaley Bridge Athletic and Heanor Town.