Allscott Heath 1-2 Stafford Town (Pre-Season)
Shawbirch Road
It's not like me to start a post off in a negative way, but after I started my last post with the statement "it might not last forever" it seems as though already the grey skies are looming over football at this level as reports are circulating on social media that even at sparsely attended open-field grounds, such as the one I attended tonight, football is being told to be played "behind closed doors" and although it appeared as though matches attended by spectators so far have been respectful and well received, this short-lived affair between fans and football may not be the new normal we'd all been hoping for.
 |
| Clubs like this deserve better |
Okay, negativity out of the way and it's time to start the run down of my second game of the pre-season as I made the twenty mile drive to Shropshire in search of my 190th ground, Allscott Heath's Shawbirch Road. After getting my car back up and running, I was very excited to be attending my first midweek match since an FA Cup Replay between Birmingham City and Coventry City all the way back in February and I arrived at the small village located between Telford and Shrewsbury with plenty of time to get signed in and thermometered at the turnstile!
 |
| Better to be safe than behind closed doors... |
Today's hosts, like myself and also their opposition, were ready for their second friendly since the restart and after beating Solihull based Hampton FC at the weekend they would be looking to build on fitness and momentum in this one. Stafford Town, which just so happens to be the closest club to my house, would be playing their first game in front of fans after a behind closed doors match against Stafford Rangers, which ended 0-5 to Boro at Evans Park. For me, Saturday's outing took me to The Cumberland Arena in Crewe where I saw a well-fought match between Crewe FC and Sutton Athletic, and with that we all found ourselves here on a gloomy Tuesday night in August for a 7pm bout between a member of the West Midlands Regional League and the Midland Football League. The home team are at Step Seven in the non-league pyramid, whilst the visitors are Step Six, but considering my two outings to see Stafford Town so far have seen them lose 0-8 at Sporting Khalsa in a regional cup game and 2-5 whilst hosting Studley, I was wondering whether I'd see one of my hometown clubs take another slaughtering or if this pre-season fixture would give me the chance to see the Reds- who were playing in grey and yellow- grab a win. My pre-match prediction was for a high-scoring end-to-end game and I guessed at a 3-2 home win on this occasion.
 |
| But enough of the chit chat, let's have a mooch around the ground |
Allscott's ground is one with infinite potential and for those of you who have visited it will know that when I say that what I actually mean is that there is loads of room to grow. Although there is currently only a couple of benches underneath a small sheltered area for fans, the land in which the ground sits on could easily be shaped to have a few little stands and a shiny new clubhouse should the club desire. Having spoken with someone from the club briefly, I believe that their plan is to get floodlights erected first and then start to shape up for a clubhouse behind the far goal. For now though, it's good old portacabins, fences and mishmashy goodness- my favourites! In fairness, the scenery that would form the backdrop of a game on a sunny afternoon is no doubt purely stunning and with the ground being so open it is an ideal place to host a Summer evening match such as this one. On the other hand though, there was a lack of sun and pleasantness to be seen from above tonight and instead we'd be treated to thick clouds moving faster than the Transport for Wales trains that could be heard in the windy distance.
 |
| At least we had the main ingredient... FANS! |
The game kicked-off a little after 7pm and so I made my way from the main standing area, which seemed to be hosting a respectable but certainly not overcrowded fifty people, over to the netted area behind the goal so that I would be poised to see the goal-fest commence. Needless to say that as I'd predicted goals galore, the first-half would come to a goalless conclusion but that certainly wasn't for a lack of trying. Both teams were fairly nimble in possession and although the games at this stage are all about fitness I think that it was actually an entertaining game considering the lack of goalscoring opportunities. The opening exchanges saw Town dominating without really threatening and despite picking up the first of what seemed like a lot of bookings for a friendly match, they did look a good and well-drilled side from the first whistle. For the hosts, playing in green, their number 7 and number 9 both looked like tricky customers and it was indeed their forward who got the first real chance just after the water break, only to scuff it wide.
 |
| Red flags, blue stand, green badge? I suspect the Heath have been through some stuff |
In the second-half there was much more to shout about in terms of goals and the half began with an early one as the home side went ahead courtesy of a deflected strike which caught Town's goalkeeper flatfooted and inevitably turning around to pick the ball out of his net. Just the start the hosts wanted. Allscott 1-0 Stafford. With the second spell not even yet ten minutes old, we'd see another goal and this time it came in the form of a blasé piece of goalkeeping from the home goalie as he loosely passed the ball to one of the three Stafford forwards all waiting to pounce. It was Josh Wilson who gratefully took the ball in his grasp before hitting home the equaliser which based on the first-half performance was probably deserved. Allscott 1-1 Stafford. The match was now "as you were" and although we'd see more chances at both ends there could only be one more goal in it and that came just before the last ten minutes when a windy clearance ended up in a two man hunt between Stafford's forward and an Allscott centre-back. The Town striker out-muscled his man to then give himself the glory with a nice finish as his side took the lead for the first time in the match. Allscott 1-2 Stafford.
 |
| I watched on from this randomly placed set of stairs leading on to the pitch |
Allscott were more urgent after going behind but ultimately the referee would end their misery by blowing the whistle on this match, meaning that although my pre-match prediction was wildly wrong, at least I can finally say that I've seen Stafford Town win a game. Third time lucky for me!
 |
| Time for a quick one before the ride home |
In summary, I'm really pleased to have been able to tick this one off as I always feel bad for delaying small nearby visits. As I was explaining to someone earlier, I tend to try and keep a list of easy local grounds like this one for when I am in need of a new ground but haven't got time to swan off to Italy or ride all the way down to Portsmouth. Being one of these freaks who works a lot of Saturdays and evenings, the options of a quick visit within an hour's drive are crucial to have on the back-burner and I suppose depending on how things pan out I will be visiting a lot more of them in the coming months. Hopefully I'll also get to revisit Allscott when they have more development work done and it would be great to see it buzzing. Full credit must go to the club's volunteers who ran the evening superbly and I do hope that the government will bear the precautions and care that go into planning even a basic match like this. The track and trace records were completed, people were zapped on the way in, they had plenty of signage and instructions, so just let them play the damn game!
 |
| Cheers lads, it was a pleasure |
No comments:
Post a Comment