Dinnington Town v Grimsby Borough Saturday 24th September 2011 FA Vase Second Qualifying Round

It's Cup day and Grimsby Borough travel to Phoenix Park which lies somewhere between Worksop, Rotherham and Sheffield in South Yorkshire. I locate the ground very easily and after taking a few shots outside I head for the turnstiles.

Phoenix Park turnstiles

The turnstile operator seems surprised to see someone this early (its only just 2pm) and when I am inside I'm the only spectator to be seen. Excellent, no one to block my pictures. The turnstiles bring you in on one side of the ground more or less on the half way line. I head to my right. After a few yards there is gate which separates spectators from the players as they enter the pitch. Immediately after this there is a small covered seating stand with benches in it.

Covered seating stand

After the stand the hard standing runs down to the corner with a grassy area behind it with a white railing separating you from the pitch.

Looking back to the seated stand

There is the same arrangement from this corner running down to another seated stand behind the goal with a high fence separating the ground from the bowls club situated behind the ground.

View behind the goal

There was a bench situated in front of the goal at this stage and I wondered what it was there for as the players totally ignored it when they came out for the warm up and were all over the goalmouth. Later on it became clear why it was there as a team photo was taken using it.

The seated stand at this end is set to the right of the goal to give you a better view of the pitch as there is not much distance between the stand and the pitch. It has three rows of plastic seats with a capacity of 50 odd.

Seated stand behind the goal

The far side of the ground consists of a one level hard standing with some dodgy plastic flooring after that and plenty of weeds. The white railing continues along this side. There are three floodlights down this side and the dugouts are here too.

Far side of the ground complete with weeds

The far end of the ground is a narrow strip of hard standing bordered by a breeze block fence to separate the ground from outside and more breeze blocks also form the fencing between the pitch and standing too.

View behind the other goal

This brings me back to the side of the ground I came in. The wide area on this side of the ground is split between a single level of hard standing and a grassy area. It leads to another covered stand and the tea hut.

View of the side of the ground

The stand is a simple but effective affair and gives plenty of cover although we did not need it today as the weather was glorious. The tea hut is a brick building and offered the usual fayre.

View across the pitch of the stand

By now the Blue Army had assembled in the ground and an impromptu pitch invasion enabled a picture of the band of supporters to appear on the website with yours truly on it.
The game kicked off in bright sunshine and the first few minutes saw both teams testing each other out with Dinnington having the slightly better of it.

Boro's Scott Raworth on the ball

Boro then started to create some good chances with both Nathan Emson and Matty Hall seeing efforts come back off the cross bar.

Beats the keeper but hits the bar

Luke Hands in the Dinnington goal also did well to turn another shot round the post and Boro hit the post in another attack. The game then saw few chances running up to half time but there was no doubt that Boro had had the better of the first half.

A Boro attack broken up

But all that hard work was undone at the beginning of the second half. A good move down the left hand side by Hoyland and Pearce saw the ball arrive at Reet's feet and he fired home with a good finish. This put Boro on the back foot and it was all Dinnington. After 72 minutes a defensive mix up left debut boy Dachi Khutsishvili clear on goal and he finished coolly to put Dinnington 2-0 up. Boro did rally late in the game but were unable to carve out many chances and there were no Cup dreams left at full time.

Programme cover

More pictures of Phoenix Park here.

There are more pictures of the ground, action and the fans here.

Dinnington Town 2-0 Grimsby Borough
Att: 38
Admission: £4
Programme: £1.00

Eccleshill United v Grimsby Borough Saturday 10th September 2011 NCEL Division One

I decide to follow Boro to Eccleshill United for my game today and head to Bradford and the Rapid Solicitors Stadium, home of The Eagles. We find the ground fairly easily and park up with a view of the ground which prompts me to take a couple of pictures over the fence above the ground. I use the fence to steady my camera. Mistake! The top of the fence is covered in anti-vandal paint and I'm covered in wet black paint on my arms. Mrs Reynard helps to clean me up before we enter the ground, another lesson learnt!

Turnstiles

We head to our left and through the covered area and are immediately greeted by a very friendly Eccleshill official.

Covered Terrace

After the stand you come to the Clubhouse where the facilities for the spectators are situated. Straight after this are the dressing rooms and the players enter the pitch from the corner of the ground.

Clubhouse

This side of the ground has a white railing running down the length and there are houses behind the perimeter fence which is painted in the blue of Eccleshill.

View down the side of the ground

The dugouts are also situated down this side of the ground too, one either side of the half way line.

Dugouts

There is hard standing all the way down the side varying in width with a couple of grassy area either side of the dugouts with a netting fence above the blue fencing.

View past the dugouts

This brings you to the corner and the end opposite where we came in. This also has a single level of hard standing running along it's length with a grassy area behind up to the fence. There is a field behind this with the usual gate to allow the retrieval of balls lost to wayward shots.

Far end behind the goal

In the far corner there is the "(in)famous" toilet block, which I have to say does not look that bad on the sunny day we are having, but might not be as welcoming on a dark winters night.

Toilet Block

This brings us to the side where the Main Stand is situated. Once again there is the white railing and hard standing running the length of the side of the ground. Before and after the Stand there is a bare soil bank which goes up to the perimeter fence where I had my mishap earlier.

Bank leading to the Main Stand

The Main Stand sits astride the halfway line and is very impressive.

Main Stand

The Stand is divided between blue seats and white seats, presumably bought at different times as they are two totally contrasting styles. There is a section in between them for Club officials and the stand is smartly painted throughout.

The blue seats

Just after the stand there is a steep set of steps which lead to another gate for the recovery of wayward balls and the banking continues with the fence at the top used for advertising boards and another Club sign.

Looking back to the Main Stand

This brings us back to the end where we came in.

Entrance and covered terrace.

I take up a position at this end of the ground as Boro are attacking this end in the first half. I'm standing with Brian, a loyal member of the Blue Army. I'm soon leaving him as all the action is at the Boro end and I'm just not getting any action pictures. How Eccleshill did not score in the first twenty minutes of the game I do not know. The Boro defence are riding their luck and they simply have trouble making any worthwhile attacks themselves. The best two chances for Eccleshill both follow some slick passing. The first chance comes as the ball is played across the goal and the shot somehow is fired over the bar from six yards.

George Newby on the ball for Boro

The next one came after work down the right and the cross was met in the centre of the goal but the Eccleshill striker could not keep his header down and the ball just went over the bar. Boro were still finding it hard to get in the opposition half but as the clock ticked on they started to find their feet and started to make some headway against a resolute Eccleshill team.

Aerial challenge for the ball

Then on 41 minutes (no, not 9 minutes reported everywhere else!) a through ball found Ricky Forrest on the edge of the box. He controlled the ball and fired in a fierce shot which the keeper could only push up into the air and the ever alert Andy Taylor launched himself at the ball and headed home. 1-0 to the Boro! The joy was not to last long however. Poor decisions by Boro players led to two goals in two minutes on 43 and 44 minutes from Andy Howland and Adam Bower. Both goals came from lapses of concentration from Boro and the clinical finishes from both players left Miles Fenty in the Boro goal no chance. The half time whistle goes with Boro down 2-1.

Just before half time another Eccleshill official asked me if I had any good photos and then asked if I was here to follow Boro. After my reply in the affirmative I was then invited to join him at half time for a tea or coffee and sandwiches. As the half time whistle went I was then approached by the Eccleshill official who had spoken to us as we came into the ground and the same offer was made. We went into the Clubhouse and were then treated to tea or coffee, sandwiches, cakes and biscuits. This was totally unexpected and I have to make my appreciation of the gesture public. Just as an aside, the carpet in the Clubhouse had the Club badge woven into it and looked very smart. Pity I forgot to take a photo!
The second half carried on as the first half ended with Eccleshill on top. They had the ball in the back of the net with a clever chip over the advancing keeper but it was disallowed for offside. It must have been close though. The attacks came thick and fast but a combination of some great saves from Miles Fenty, determined defending and poor finishing kept the score at 2-1.

Eccleshill's Marcus Edwards

Boro also started to have their chances too as the half went on. Both Ricky Creer and Andy Taylor had great chances only to fire their shots narrowly wide of the upright. The majority of the chances were going Eccleshill's way and I lost count of the number of times Marcus Edwards picked up the ball in acres of space to start another Eagles attack.

In acres of space. Again.

This eventually led to Eccleshill's third goal on 82 minutes. Another Boro attack broke down and some good passing found Edwards free again and this time he made no mistake, slotting the ball past Fenty to seal the win.

Edwards scores the Eagles third

There was no further score and a dejected Boro team left the pitch with another away defeat. Despite this, we had a great day out at Eccleshill, the friendly welcome and the banter with two Eagles fans throughout the second half was really appreciated. The ground is a good 'un too, so get yourselves down there, I'm sure you will not regret it.

More pictures of The Rapid Solicitors Stadium here.

There are more pictures of the ground, action and the fans here.
Eccleshill United 3-1 Grimsby Borough
Att: 33
Admission: £5
Programme: £1

Grimsby Borough v Handsworth Saturday 3rd September 2011 NCEL Division One

Okay, you may have noticed the lack of updates recently, but this has been down to personal circumstances, and I've only been to some local games at grounds I've already covered since my visit to Ossett Albion, hence the lack of posts.
Yesterday was National Non League Day and I was at my local ground for the visit of Handsworth. The new boys from Sheffield had a very good first season in the NCEL last season finishing fourth and were only two points behind Barton who secured the second promotion spot on the last day of the season. They have started off well this season, although strangely all their games before today have been at home. Their record is four wins and their one loss coming against Worksop Parramore who currently lead the league on goal difference.
The game starts in glorious sunshine and there are a good number of visiting fans here. The game goes wrong from the start for Boro' with a controversial sending off after 10 minutes. Handsworth's Lee Hill made a strong run after a through ball, seemingly handling the ball to control it to those of us at this end and along the side, and was then brought down by Pearson. To everyone's astonishment the referee produced a red card, taking no notice of the fact that two Boro' defenders were coming across to cover. Obviously I saw this through Boro tinted glasses but it seemed a harsh decision.

Handsworth took full advantage of their one man advantage and all the action was in the Boro half. The young winger Carter Mpwaya, making his first team debut, was beginning to cause Boro's defence problems and he was to have an impressive game. After creating a number of chances the breakthrough came after 23 minutes for Handsworth when a 20 yard screamer from Lee Hill found the Boro net.

Handsworth were now fully in control of the game with Boro finding it difficult to make any headway going forward and the visitors continued to create chances. The inevitable second goal came from the penalty spot on 32 minutes after Bates was fouled in the box. A cool finish by Cockerhill saw Fenty in the Boro goal go the wrong way to make it 2-0.

Miles Fenty goes the wrong way for the penalty

Boro's attack could still not find a way through the Handsworth defence who were more than comfortable at this point. The waves of attacks on the Boro goal continued forcing several good save from Fenty. The officials were not endearing themselves to either side with some of their decisions and this was summed up when a blatant handball by a Boro defender stopped a Handsworth effort in the box and the only people in the ground who did not see it were the three who counted. Half time came with no further score and Handsworth headed into the dressing room with a two goal advantage.

The second half saw Boro playing much better and Nathan Emson forced Handsworth keeper Herriott to make a good save from his effort. It looked like Boro may pull one back as they continued to make chances. This good work was undone on 60 minutes when Cockerhill latched onto a clearance from his keeper, shrugged off the Boro defenders and calmly slotted the ball past Fenty to make it 3-0.

Three minutes later the impressive Mpwaya was subbed and got a well deserve round of applause from both sets of fans for his performance. If Boro thought that that was the end of a Handsworth youngster causing them problems then they were mistaken. Alex Torr was his replacement and he was to score the best goal of the game. A Handsworth cross evaded everyone, but Torr picked up the ball out wide on the right. Showing great skill he got himself turned so that he was facing the defender, cut inside and then unleashed a curling shot that finished in the top left hand corner of the goal.

To be fair the scoreline could have been greater as the post was hit on at least two occasions and Miles Fenty pulled off several good saves. The final whistle sounded and Handsworth celebrated a good win. It was a very good performance from Handsworth, they look a good bet to improve on last season and I wish them all the best- apart from the return game of course!

There are more pictures of the action and the fans here.

Grimsby Borough 0-4 Handsworth
Att: 80
Admission: £4
Programme: £1

Ossett Albion v Bishop Auckland Saturday 30th July 2011 Pre-Season Friendly

I finally decide to head to Ossett Albion for my football fayre today. It was a fairly straight forward journey, although the satnav threw a wobbler, telling me of major hold ups ahead and that a "quicker alternative route" was available. I duly use the re-route facility only to be told two minutes later a "quicker alternative route" was available. So I use the re-route facility again and as you have probably already guessed, I was back to the original route. I saw no hold ups and have no idea what the problem was if indeed there ever was one. I arrived in Ossett fairly early, which gave me time to nip to Ossett Town's ground. I came here a few years ago for a pre-season friendly against Stalybridge Celtic, but I did not have a digital camera then, so I decide to go and see if I could get in for a few shots. The old heart gladdens as I see the hoppers "Holy Grail", an open gate.
I amble around for a few shots which you can find here. Here is the Main Stand behind the goal.

I then head to the Warehouse Systems Stadium, home of Ossett Albion AFC. There is a large car park, but I stay up the top end after I see a cricket ball hurtle into the space I was considering using. I park next to the Bowls Club which is situated at the top of the car park. There is a cricket pitch beyond which leads down to the ground.

There is a cricket match on and a couple of wickets fall as I am making my round the boundary towards the turnstiles. I stop to take a shot of the signs for the ground.

There are a set of turnstiles just after the signs, but there is a note on the Evo-Stik sign asking you to use the other turnstile. I'm curious as to why, so I have a gander at the turnstile which is resolutely shut and see the reason why.

I make my around the cricket scoreboard but head past the turnstiles as half way down the outside wall there looks to be an old entrance to the ground that is no longer used.

This picture was taken at great risk to my personal safety as I had to edge onto the cricket pitch to take it, mainly from the glares from the cricketers who spotted me encroaching.
I made my way into the ground and you enter more or less level to the eighteen yard line of one of the goals. I head clockwise and the tea hut is just after the closed turnstile, with the dressing rooms directly in front of you. After this is the bar with a terraced area with picnic style benches and the brand new toilet block which saw guided tours being given whilst I was using the facilities. Very off putting! After this there is a covered terrace with crush barriers, with a large uncovered area in front of it.

Beyond this there is another building, not quite sure what it is, but it does have what appears to be a serving hatch, so I'm not sure if it is another tea hut or an old one. There are a couple of steps in front of it and the wide standing area continues to the corner.

From the corner there is a two step terrace running down to the stand that contains the seat. There are also several more crush barriers set on the top step.

This brings you to the covered seating stand. An interesting feature is the passageway at the rear of the stand to allow you go past the area without blocking the view of the fans in the seats. It also allows access to the seats half way down it.

The seats are not the most comfortable I've ever sat in but they do the job. This is the view of the stand from the end of the ground. There is a very small press box on the left hand side of the stand.

After the stand the ground opens up again and you have a step up to a single level standing area which runs to the corner.

I'm now at the opposite end to where I came in and there is another small covered terrace at this end and as I take the shot of it I realise how much of a slope there is from the cricket side down to where I am stood.

I make my way along the end and reach the cricket side of the ground again. There is a three step terrace running all the way to the dugouts which are situated on this side, where the terrace narrows up and then opens up again after them.

This brings me back to where I came in and a visit to the tea hut is in order to buy a very cold can of drink, as the temperature has steadily increased since I left home. The game kicks off in glorious sunshine, which during the course of the afternoon sees a good number of fans seek the shade of the stands. The game is an absolute cracker.

There is plenty of action at both ends of the pitch and considering the the the players play at a decent tempo, although the ref calls a halt to proceeding half way through the first half for players to take on drinks. A thoroughly entertaining half sees the score level at 2-2.

Ossett take the lead again in the second half but Bishop level it up at 3-3, only to fall behind again following poor marking. I thinking at this point that that will be that, but an attack by Bishop results in a penalty award which is clinically put away to make it 4-4.

That is how it finishes and I'm sure both managers came away from the game with mixed emotions on the performances of their teams but for a neutral it was cracking entertainment and even the locals seemed to have enjoyed their game.

More pictures of the Warehouse Solutions Stadium here.

There are more pictures of the ground, action and the fans here.

Ossett Albion 4-4 Bishop Auckland
Att: 85
Admission: £4
Programme: £0.50