26/09/20 Review: Heather St John's vs Sporting Khalsa

Heather St John's 1-3 Sporting Khalsa (Midland Football League Premier Division) St John's Park

Hello folks, I'm back again and creeping towards the big 200 ever so slowly. At the moment, my efforts to get to a "biggy" to mark my two-hundredth seem likely to be limited to wherever the heck I can get to, so it's time to just embrace the fact that I can get to games at the moment and my short-term plan leads me towards following Sporting Khalsa's 2020/21 campaign after the depressing demise of my beloved Macclesfield Town. Since living in the Midlands, I've always had a soft spot for the Willenhall based club and when I first visited Noose Lane's Aspray Arena back in January 2016 I knew that it wouldn't be my only visit. Having made a second trip in November 2017, I'd say that so far I've been a lucky omen for the club after seeing 8-0 and 3-0 wins, as well as a couple of away day victories too, and after almost three years of not visiting the Aspray I made my triumphant return last Tuesday night to watch a brilliant 3-2 game against Racing Club Warwick, the club who I'd visited on my last outing.

It's an away day for me on this occasion, though

Trying to fill the Silkmen shaped gap in my life, I made plans to utilise my weekend off work by heading off for Khalsa's latest away match as they would hope to keep a hold of their unbeaten start to the Midland Football League Premier campaign. My visits with Macc Town had been as luxurious as cup games at West Ham's London Stadium and the KC Stadium in Hull, with more localised fixtures being at the likes of Tranmere, Chester, Stockport and Burslem, and although my away days with Sporting are going to be on a much smaller-scale, I was still very much looking forward to going to new places that I'm yet to explore, with yesterday's trip to St John's Park in Heather, Leicestershire, kicking things off. Of the nineteen grounds in the division, this would be my tenth tick, and in what felt like a new chapter of my footballing life I was delighted to be being accompanied by Sophie for a rare outing to a ground.

First stop, PINT!

Although kick-off wasn't until 3pm, we left our Stafford abode at noon with the intention of getting to Leicestershire with plenty of time spare to allow for a walk around Sence Valley Forest Park. The less said about our efforts the better really, but after a hellish drive down all of the back roads across the Midlands, we finally arrived at half one and were so desperate for the toilet that we had to forsake the woods walk due to the facilities being closed, meaning that instead we'd make it to the Queen's Head. On the plus side it meant that I was able to enjoy a couple of pre-match pints, but overall it was a disappointing start to the day out in Heather. Thankfully though there would be nothing that could ruin the big game for me and with time almost approaching 3pm we made our way over to St John's Park. The first impressions of the ground were good, as they often are with MFL grounds, and it was nice to see the place looking fresh and ready to welcome crowds back. It certainly wasn't the best ground I'd ever been to at any level, but with a bold blue lick of point on the doors, a modern and stylish clubhouse around the back and what I imagine is old Filbert Street seats populating the covered areas, the place was looking in good nick and had a proper "village team" vibe going on. After making our way through the gates, along the one-way system and into the bar, we grabbed a seat inside the spacious clubhouse. There were less than 100 people in attendance today, so there was plenty of space to sit and mentally prepare for a cold afternoon in the stands cheering on the Khalsa boys.

Can always guarantee a Union Jack or two at small Midlands grounds!

Continuing our walk around the ground, we made our way back outside and over to the main stand, which is located about the half-way line on the far side of the entrance area. We plonked ourselves down as the game began, with Khalsa donning a grey outfit and Heather in a smart all-blue number, ready to see if the visitors could continue to strengthen their grip on top spot in the early stages. At the start of the day, HSJ were 12th in the table after one win and one defeat from two matches prior, whilst Khalsa had managed to already chalk off five matches before this one, winning four and drawing one. It has been an expectedly funny old start to the MFL campaign so far and even though we are less than a month into the season there are already some teams whay ahead of others in terms of games played. Coventry United, for example, were playing just there second league game at the weekend, compared to Khalsa who were on to their sixth. These two teams were top of the pile before the nullification of the 2019/20 season, so it'll be interesting to see whether they will be up there again. Both will have felt that they had a huge chance to win the division last season, but with COVID-19 taking hold of most league's in the world in some shape or another, everyone out there today will have just been grateful to be back playing in front of their adoring fans. Soppy stuff aside though, this was a big game for both sides and if Khalsa are to finally escape the division in which they have finished in the top five of for the past five years since their arrival in 2015, they need to be winning sticky away games like this and if the early signs were anything to go by, this match would be exactly that- a tough, sticky, game against a team who aren't here to make up the numbers!

Let the game begin

Heather St John's, nicknamed The Saints, are a fairly new team to the Premier Divison of the MFL having won Division One just two seasons ago. In their debut to the top flight, they sat in a very respectable position of 5th before the season was halted and they were in fact only five points off 2nd place Khalsa in the prematurely concluded 2019/20 table. Today was their first league game at home and after a slim 1-2 defeat to Cov United, followed up by a 2-0 win over in Selston, it was hard to imagine them rolling over and letting their visitors take the points without a fight. My pre-match prediction was for a 1-3 win for Khalsa today, which I am pleased to say is the first time I've correctly guessed a score on a groundhop for a long long time. Khalsa started the game off slightly better in terms of chances, although it was an explosive end to end opening, as a tenth minute header evaded the flailing Saints keeper only to be denied the opening goal by the woodwork. At the other end, the hosts made some great attacking moves down either wing, with their left-back in particular looking like a class act. It looked as though it would be down to an individual piece of magic to break the deadlock after Gaz Singh was the latest to test Heather's shot stopper, which would be the cue for Gibraltar international and former Bristol Rovers winger to jump in the hot seat as he has done so many times already since arriving at Sporting Khalsa. Stood over the ball for a corner, the man who up until last year was his country's joint-top scorer with two goals in twelve caps, hit a sweet left-footed drive into the box which ended up deceiving everybody and landing in the goal of its own accord. Some will have called it a fluke, but those of us who know Gozza will know that he meant it as the number 8 scored his second direct corner goal of the season- his fifth overall. Heather 0-1 Khalsa.

So far so good for the guys in grey

Believe it or not that wasn't the best corner I'd seen from the 27-year old, and I'm sure he'd agree with me that the set-piece specialist's in-swinger at Wembley for the Gas to set up an Ellis Harrison equaliser in the National League Playoff Final in 2015 will always top that list. The rest of the first-half would remain as cagey as you'd expect from two decent teams both fighting for goals, with the next one coming from practically the last kick of the half. Yahiya Todd, formally of Highgate United, was the man to grab an equaliser for the home side as his low and bobbling strike bounced in off the post to set up what would be a very interesting second-half here in Leicestershire. Heather 1-1 Khalsa.

Getting nippy now

Being a British groundhopper I can't help but talk about the weather and as Soph retreated back to her car to warm up, I stood alone for the next hour in my shorts looking like a deranged loony. Usually at this time of the year I will consider the thought of jeans for a midweek evening match, but Saturday afternoons are categorised as Summer season until December in my eyes, so it was time to grab another beer, stick the hood up and stand in a sheltered part of the ground ready to enjoy an eventful end to proceedings. The lads came back out fired up and ready to do battle again, but not before the tannoy announcer shouted out the local scores from Premier League downwards- something that I thought was an excellent touch for this level!

Call me sad, but I also highly rate a club that plants conifers around the ground

The second-half, much like the first, started off well and there was again an early rattling of the post, this time from the home side who were only just denied taking the lead for the first time. They would live to rue their luck as this would ultimately be a turning point in the match in a case of "what could have been" if the Saints had gone ahead, as the next massive chance would fall to the visitors and it was one that they did not miss. Khalsa had made a couple of personnel changes throughout the half and when they were awarded a penalty it would be one of them who took the chance to put Khalsa one step closer to three more points. Heather 1-2 Khalsa. And in a game that would see both sides continue to look for goals, the forth and final strike of the day would fall to the same sub striker again as the away side's goalkeeper of all players would bunch a big ball up to his forward. Some calamity at the back allowed the ball to fall kindly into his path, meaning that the result was all wrapped up and ready to take back to Willenhall. Heather 1-3 Khalsa.

The end of a busy second-half for this lino

Next up for Heather St John's on Tuesday night is an away trip to Long Eaton United, whilst Khalsa are back at home for the arrival of Stourport Swifts and that is also the destination for my next match. I now sit just five new grounds away from 200 and with October plans to check out Nottinghamshire's Selston and Long Eaton grounds, as well as a ground in Leicester on the 10th, I should find myself very close to the big anniversary. The big question is, where will I be celebrating? Keep tuning in to find out!

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12/09/20 Review: RC Warwick vs Bedworth United

Racing Club Warwick 1-1 Bedworth United (FA Cup Qualifying Preliminary Round) Townsend Meadow

In this new mad world we live in, it is so pleasing to be able to still see The FA Cup going on just like normal and although both of my competitive outings so far this season have been in the nation's favourite cup, I still remain confident of travelling the world during 2020/21 and all being well I'll be doing it all. From Warwick to Italy, from Crewe to Jamaica, I have massive ambitions for this season and I hope you all follow me along the way.

Before all of that though, it's time for more FA Cup action

Today's game, which would allow me to hop over to my 194th ground, came as a nice surprise as I finished work in Coventry nice and early at around half 1. Initially, I had expected to be lingering in my deserted theatre until half 2 and so hadn't committed to anything, so when I locked up and sodded off in good time I made the decision to seek out another ground nearby to the West Midlands city and despite the temptation to pop over to Coventry Sphinx, a match that would inevitably also go to penalties, I instead spread my wings a bit further to head to Warwick in search of action. Aside from the fact that this was a new ground for me, it is also my first venture to Warwickshire's county town- and considering I live in Staffordshire's, I know how exciting it is to head to a county town!

Old equals fancy- we all know that much

And in what is becoming a surprising new trait for 'Pint of Football', I yet again made it to a game in an early fashion. ONE WHOLE HOUR before kickoff, I found myself parked up at Townsend Meadow next to Warwick Racecourse and so the natural thing was to a) grab my ticket, b) visit Warwick Castle, and c) find a pub. Step A was pretty easy and although I think I caught the Warwick team off-guard with my premature arrival, I did manage to get a hold of a ticket and even got the chance to take some photos of an empty Townsend Meadow before exiting the ground and walking into town to see what the fuss was all about with the castle. As I mentioned earlier, I live in Stafford and am lucky to walk up to the castle their at least once a week, so Wazza Castle would have to be something special to impress. Unfortunately for me, being a tight wod on a time limit, I couldn't be bothered to pay to get in to the castle itself and instead just walked around the town and the grounds, enjoying the stunning architecture of the town rather than risking missing kickoff a pre-match pint and therefore I found myself sat in LEIF Tearooms & Piano Bar on West Street for a delicious Bierra Moretti and a chance to think about some pre-match predictions. Having watched today's visitors Bedworth United, just over a year ago over at The Oval against Cov Sphinx, I knew that they would be pre-match favourites and although there would be a feel of cup magic in this gorgeous town, I stuck my neck out with a prediction of 3-1 to the side who are higher ranked on the pyramid. Don't get me wrong, my heart was always with Warwick from the moment I set foot in the town, but my head had to go with the visitors on this occasion and with my early pint supped up, it was time to head back over to the ground in time for the big FA Cup bout. Forget the final at Wembley next year, I'm all about the early rounds and was so excited to check this one out.

Almost match time, let's ave it then

Having spoke about the town more than the ground by this point my spotlight now points on to this Midland Football League Premier stadium, which just so happens to by ninth of the nineteen. In truth, it's not the best I've been to, however I will say that it does resemble one of the country's most famous non-league grounds- and London's oldest. Much like The Old Spotted Dog, a ground I visited for more FA Cup nonsense back in August 2016 to watch London Bari versus Clapton, the main feature is a long-standing scaffolding built stand and across from that lives a more generic seating area, again like at London's oldest ground. I suppose the reason that The Dog is world renowned is because it is so historic and also because up until recently they had some of the maddest fans around, yet Warwick's routes lie elsewhere, however I'd still say it is a worthwhile visit and even though the bar isn't always people's main factor in going, I would certainly recommend popping over via public transport so that you can take part in their £2 pilsner offering. In a word, delicious, and with the match setting off I was in prime position for a delightful afternoon of football.

Pint, check! Early goal, TBC...

Bedworth United, playing in their classic green strip, got off to a good start in the afternoon's action and although ultimately we'd come away applauding Warwick's ball playing defenders, the early signs were not good for the hosts and it was that, paired with an unfortunate bobble on the pitch, that led to the opener through Liam Truslove. He snatched the ball of the RC defence, struck the ball against Brandon Ganley, and then had time to tap in his own rebound. Warwick 0-1 Bedworth. With the early goal secured to settle the game into an attacking rhythm, I decided to give my ears a bit of a run out by wandering around the pitch to see what the fans were thinking of the action so far. After briefly conversing with a local, exchanging a look with an AFC Wimbledon fan and watching two volunteers searching through the bushes for a lost ball, I eventually found myself standing behind the Warwick goal and that would be where the real classics would emerge. It started off with me having to repeatedly listen to a guy randomly saying "well, at least Vale haven't scored yet", before eventually progressing to me standing next to an Irish Magician! More to come on that bit of gold, shortly.

Lovely bit of seating in the scaffold stand

Bearing in mind my last competitive outing ended up being a bit of a whitewash, as AFC Bridgnorth battered Highgate United, this match was proving to be a proper cup clash with the underdogs spending much of the game on top of their higher tier opponents. Every time Bedworth got into the final third, they looked threatening, but with the game closing at 1-0 at half-time it was still anyone's game and if Warwick could maintain their momentum in the second-half they would have a great chance. At this point, I got chatting to "Mad Dominic" the aforementioned magician who lives in Birmingham and from then on I'd made a new friend. The guy, who was watching Warwick because his son is a coach there, was pure gold and made for great conversation throughout the rest of my time at the game. As a lover of the game and a former Tamworth player, he entertained me thoroughly with his anecdotes, constant commentary and in a script that practically wrote itself he would go on to miss Tom Smith's leveller as he popped in for a coffee. The well deserved Warwick goal was taken really well by Smith and it set the lads off for hope of progression into the next round of the tournament and the slight whiff of a big non-league side in the hat. Warwick 1-1 Bedworth.

The magic of the cup is real

There would be no more goals in the game, despite the lack of trying from the underdog home side, and due to COVID-19 rule #67814577 there are no replays, meaning the excitement of penalties. With the spot kicks being lined up right in front of us, everyone watched on as Bedworth's Daniel Crane saved Warwick's first two attempts, leaving them two up early doors. Warwick got back on track and with United's third flying over the bar we found ourselves watching in anticipation as centre-back Fortune Maphosa stepped up knowing that he had to score to keep RC in it. Unfortunately the dream was shattered as the big number 4 saw his shot saved by Crane, who had made a magnificent performance in the shootout. As I left the ground, I could hear the relief-filled roaring coming from the visiting changing rooms which shows just how fortunate they must have been feeling to squeeze into the next round. Great scenes to see the shootout win, but unfortunately it would be defeat for the plucky Warwick side. Hopefully I'll get to see them in a couple of weeks as I intend to watch their game against my MFL side, Sporting Khalsa, and I look forward to seeing how they get on this season. A good team that should do well in the league, based on this display.

See you there, Mad Dom!

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01/09/20 Review: Highgate United vs AFC Bridgnorth

Highgate United 0-3 AFC Bridgnorth (FA Cup Qualifying Extra Preliminary Round) The Coppice

One month on from the 2019-2020 FA Cup Final, this week the Qualifying Rounds for the 2020-2021 competition began which meant it was time for 'Pint of Football' to get back into my little red car and head over to a first competitive football match in over six months. My latest journey took me over to The Coppice for my first ever visit to see Highgate United as they welcomed AFC Bridgnorth over to Whitlock's End, which is an area on the South-West of Shirley, which is a town just South-West of Solihull.... which is South-East of Birmingham, for anybody keeping score!

Or just "the land of Brum", to keep things simple

Highgate United, aka "The Gate", are perhaps best known for being involved in the tragic FA Amateur Cup Quarter-Final of 1967 in which one of their players, Tony Allden, was killed by a lightning strike during a game against Enfield. The club legend, who has The Coppice's Main Stand named after him, was a much respected man in the Birmingham non-league football scene and obviously a very sad loss to the game. More recently, the 1948 established club have been known for being a bit of a retirement home for ex-pros and aside from former League of Ireland defender and current captain Sam Oje plying his trade with Highgate, over the years England's one cap wonder and Villa legend Lee Hendrie has donned the red shirt of the Gate and just three years ago former New York Red Bulls, Lillestrom and Shrewsbury Town striker Luke Rodgers had a stint here too.

To think of the names that have entered this tunnel...

Meanwhile in the blue corner we have AFC Bridgnorth who were reformed in 2013 after Bridgnorth Town folded. Yup, that old non-league story! Since becoming AFC, the Meadowmen have done pretty well for themselves and have climbed into the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division after starting off a couple of divisions below. Before the postponement of the last campaign, the Shropshire side were sitting nicely in midtable and well clear of the drop zone. It's not as impressive as the times they finished second to Sporting Khalsa in 2015 and Shawbury United in 2016, but looking at their history it seems about right for the club at the moment. Of course, as with any club at this level, a run in the FA Cup Qualifiers can lead to bigger long-term success and as we begin at the first possible entry stage of the tournament, it will be nice to follow the ventures of the competition again now that spectators are allowed to attend games. Being as how Highgate were the division above their visitors, I made a very inaccurate pre-match prediction of 3-1 to United as I pondered the game during my drive over from work in Coventry.

The Tony Allden Stand in all its glory

On to the game itself and we had a classic red versus blue bout on our hands, with the boxing comparisons also continuing into the match as some early crunching hits being landed from both sides. The opening half an hour of the game was pretty intense without there being much goalmouth action and once things settled down a bit there was some decent football to follow. The particular feel of the game so far had been that whoever was hungriest would grab the opener and that proved to be the case as AFC Bridgnorth's attackers began to put some real pressure on United's back four. The tenacious Meadowmen finally got their just reward in the 37th minute when the ball fell to Milne, with the number 7 having time to line up a strike which flew into the net. A lovely curling finish gave the visitors a deserved lead. Highgate 0-1 Bridgnorth.

A good game so far and there was much more to come

Just moments before the goal I had popped to the clubhouse across the field outside of the ground to grab a pint, meaning that I was lucky to make it back in time for the opener. The Coppice clubhouse is modern and has a decent bar, which is all well and good, but something that did confuse me a bit was that I could constantly smell food but didn't actually see anywhere to buy any. I mean, I could have just asked, but as I was desperately rushing to get back out to the pitch I simply grabbed a pint and pinged back over to the game. In hindsight, I suppose the food may have been for the players after the game. If anyone reads this and says that there was a tonne of juicy steak pies knocking about then I'll be depressingly satisfied to know that my nose hadn't failed me completely. Back into the game the opener had gone in and I just about caught it, but what happened next was a blink twice and you'll miss it situation as another goal was scored just seconds after the first. This time it was a striker in blue who made is way easily into the box before slotting home. Knowles' strike was cool and collected, but there were just far too many questions to ask of the Highgate defenders so far. Highgate 0-2 Bridgnorth.

All hopes of a comeback rest on the second forty-five

I popped back into the clubhouse during the break and it appeared that I wasn't the only non-local who was enjoying the facilities. "Even the bogs smell nice here!", confessed a Shropshire visitor in the urinal and for me that was a very apt, albeit an odd summary of the situation. Back outside it looked as though Highgate had made a half-time change and in strange circumstances it appeared as though an outfielder had taken up the role of shot stopper, which would possibly lead to quite unfortunate results. As it was, the lad wasn't too bad and he managed to remain unbeaten from open play. He made a few saves in a half that was largely controlled by the hosts, but ultimately he would be powerless to resist a 70th minute penalty which was converted comfortably by a player who is referred to on Twitter as "Pukka". Highgate 0-3 Bridgnorth. With food well and truly on the mind by this point I watched the final twenty minutes whilst creeping slowly towards the exit, meaning that as the full-time whistle blew I could jump in the old Suzuki and plod on home. Of course, nothing is ever that simple and in my stupidity upon arrival I parked facing away from the Tythe Barn Lane entrance and as a result I instead sat in my space for ten minutes waiting for an opportunity to do a five point turn and get the hell back to Stafford. When I eventually did get back on the road home, I took a moment whilst driving to think about the evening and although I can't summarise the evening as promptly as "nice smell bogs man", I will end this Blog by saying how good it is to be back at non-league grounds and in particular to have ticked off another Midland Football Premier League, my eighth of the nineteen.