17/10/20 Review: Long Eaton United vs Sporting Khalsa

Long Eaton United 2-0 Sporting Khalsa (Midland Football League Premier Division) Grange Park

As most of you will have seen by now, my adopted team for the 2020/21 season are Sporting Khalsa and after seeing them home and away for their past five matches, it was time to make it six on the spin yesterday as I was back on the road over to the East Midlands for another Midland Football League Premier Division encounter, this time between the top two sides in the league so far as Khalsa took on Long Eaton United at what would be my 197th ground in total. Overall, I had seen the Willenhall based club play eight times so far and although this one would be a huge challenge, I so far boasted that I had a 100% win record when watching the blue and yellow side play. Since the first visit to the Aspray Arena back in early 2016 where I watched on as Stafford Town were demolished 0-8, I have always loved watching Khalsa play and considering their aggregate score in my company was 30-7 before this game, I'd say that must also love having me there too. Today's game between first and second would be a whole other prospect, though.

The fans piling in for the big game

This latest groundhop was a very straightforward 88-mile round-trip across the A518 from Stafford and then on to the A50, meaning that I arrived in good time for the game and had plenty of opportunity to have a wander around the ground, starting off with a mooch over to the fenced off second pitch next to the main entrance to Grange Park which was hosting an Under 16's match. I wasn't here for the kids though and so after a brief glance I headed over to the turnstile in search of the main event, meaning that it was time to mask up, check in and hand over my six quid so that I could enjoy more of the good stuff at my ninth new ground of the season and my twelfth overall in the MFL Prem.

First stop, though... the bar!

Today's hosts for Sporting Khalsa were rebranded in 1956 as Long Eaton United, following a couple of other variations before that can be tracked back to the early 1900's. The Blues have been a fairly stable non-league community club throughout time, with the best highlight I can find from their history coming as Long Eaton St Helens when they won the 1912-13 edition of the Central Alliance League. Since then, they've been known for being the club who gave the world Notts Forest legend Garry Birtles, the owners of "The Big Jim Stand", and the former club of Montserrat international striker Vladamir Santos Farrell! Last season before the league was dismissed United were a decent midtable side at best- and more significantly a whopping seventeen points off their visitors today, meaning that their stunning start to the 2020/21 season would have come as a surprise to many. The big question on everybody's lips will be whether they are the real deal and will they be the latest in a line of clubs who have pipped the likes of Sporting Khalsa and Coventry United to the post?

If yesterday's match was anything to go by, they could be

Grange Park has been the club's home since the 1950's and it is one of the best all-rounders I've been to in the division so far. No, it's obviously not as fancy and well-kept as Coventry United's Butts Park, but it has a much better atmosphere. I'd argue that it's not as rustic and classic as Gresley's Moat Ground, but it feels better in other ways in terms of facilities, pitch quality and so on. Ultimately, it's certainly one of the best for having "proper fans" and it looked as though there was a bumper crowd cheering the team on for this match. The beers (and Jagerbombs!) were flowing, the social distancing was being exercised in the clubhouse and everyone was well up a well-fought game. Roll on 3pm...

The infamous "Big Jim" Stand in the distance

I placed myself over by the dugouts across from the main stand for most of the first-half as I expected an end-to-end affair- my prediction for the game was for a 2-3 classic which would see Khalsa extend their lead at the top to nine points, albeit still at a time when clubs have played anywhere between five and nine games before kick-off. The match began with the expected explosion of action and even the 2018/19 MFL Player of the Year Sean Williams was starting for Khalsa at right-back just a couple of weeks after he was an impact sub striker, scoring in the 6-4 win for the visitors against Selston just 17 miles up the M1. Just eight minutes had passed in the bout when Kam Campbell sprung the Khalsa offside trap to run through and slot past the underwhelmingly on-rushing Sam Arnold. United 1-0 Khalsa. Moments later it was Khalsa with a big chance and throughout large spells of the first-half it was the visitors in control despite only really making chances through set pieces. The closest they came to a goal was from Gibraltar international Jake Gosling, with the midfield maestro only being denied his third direct corner goal of the season by the crossbar, whilst at the other end Arnold made a magnificent point-blank range save after being initially caught in no man's land from a Long Eaton attack.

Ian Rowe on the touchline certainly wasn't too chuffed with it all

Frustrations started to build from the visiting team as Rikardo Reid went in to the book for a rough challenge on a Long Eaton man, but then just before the break the same player almost made amends as the forward struck a fierce drive down the throat of debutant Jake Askew in the United goal. Half-time soon came around and as I headed off to the bar to refuel the players headed down the tunnel into the underneath of the main stand to do the same, with the key difference being that I spent the fifteen minutes queuing for a packet of Monster Munch before attempting to avoid the swamp like toilet which was flooded in all areas.

Not that I'm complaining... those MM were pretty damn tasty

Feeling optimistic for more goals, I watched the second-half unfold from behind Askew's goal, which turned out to be a fairly unfortunate decision as most of the action was happening over at the other end, with the Blues looking to try and kill the game. The hosts had a really good game management plan to tackle Khalsa and they executed it well, reducing the away side to bitty chances at best, and as the half developed it felt more like a chess match with Long Eaton looking toward Kieran Walker's long-throws and Khalsa praying that Gosling's set-pieces would eventually come good- a bit like watching Rory Delap versus David Beckham!

Things just wouldn't go right for Khalsa today

I constantly felt myself clock-watching into the final few minutes as I still had the feeling that there would be another goal to come and of course it would be one that decided the game as United looked to seal the points and Khalsa looked to snatch one for themselves. As we rode into stoppage-time it would be the well-drilled home side who got the win as they broke forward on a decisive counterattack and the ball eventually was gifted to Mitchell Robinson so that the substitute could round off a perfect day in the office for the Nottinghamshire side. "We are going up" chants began from the stand as the Blues knew that they'd cut Khalsa's lead at the top to just three points, but more importantly with two games in hand AND a superior goal difference. United 2-0 Khalsa. A huge win for Long Eaton and with a home game next weekend against winless Haughmond the ball is well and truly in their court now.

They will welcome the Shropshire strugglers with confidence

As I'm only now three grounds away from the big 200 it's really hard to put plans into action in order to make it a special occasion. Locally, I'd probably opt for something like Ilkeston Town as it's one I've always fancied. Ideally, I'd be heading off to somewhere exciting abroad for it, but realistically I don't think that will be a reasonable option for me in 2020 so I am still very open to any suggestions anyone may have... and in the meantime I'll be continuing to go to as many Khalsa games as possible knowing that I won't get to a new ground with them until Boldmere St Michaels in mid-December. Good luck to both of the clubs from the game yesterday for the rest of the season, I can imagine it being a very interesting battle for top spot again this year and these two should be right in the mix come the close of play.

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