02/11/19 Review: Paulton Rovers vs Basingstoke Town

Paulton Rovers 4-2 Basingstoke Town (Southern League Division One South)

Winterfield Road

It's not often you get game of the weekend, ground of the weekend and goal of the weekend all in one hit when on a groundhop, but *spoiler alert* that's exactly what I'd be walking into as I arrived at Winterfield Road for the early KO Southern League South encounter between Paulton Rovers and Basingstoke Town. As the tens millions of you who read my last entry will know, I was on one of my semi-legendary trips down to Severn Beach to visit Tom and that always equates to a tonne of footy and a couple of gallons of beer. Where better to start off than at one of Tom's most highly recommended- and non-postponed- grounds?

I'd barely parked up and he was through the turnstile!

Seems as how my host for the weekend had driven us over to rainy Cardiff for some Welsh Premier League action between Met Uni and Penybont the night before, it was my turn to take the wheel and after waddling through Bristol city centre to the outskirts, we eventually arrived late at Winterfield Road. Thankfully there would be goals aplenty in this one and despite missing out on an early opener from Paulton's Ryan Gay, we were optimistic about seeing more action and rightly so. Paulton 1-0 Basingstoke. As we entered the field from above the corner flag, I was instantly in love with the sights in front of me. The stand behind the goal is elevated above the pitch and was today where the Basingstoke boys would be housed, which followed around past the opposite corner and continued into a roofed terrace that ends just past halfway. Across from this is the main stand which shares resemblances to the beauty at Coles Lane in Sutton Coldfield, albeit a wee bit more cosy, and to my delight it has one of my favourite features of a non-league stand- a dugout that reaches out from the centre of the stand. Glorious!

Yup, it's a beauty!

The rest of the ground is surrounded by a stone wall and it completes the classic look of the two and a half thousand capacity stadium that once hosted an ITV covered FA Cup match against Norwich City. Although the hosts lost 0-7 that day, things were already going much better in this league match and the side, who are battling to overtake unbeaten Thatcham Town and leaders Frome Town, had already shown their intent against struggling Basingstoke. Tom and I climbed up the stairs into the grandstand and nestled ourselves into the fairly full seating area for the remainder of the first-half. The game itself had been entertaining, end to end, and the highlight for me was a rapid attack by the visitors which led to Ryan Suckling clipping the bar with a left-footed strike from mid-range. On the whole, the only eyesore was the Town away kit. Urgh, hate a luminous yellow strip!

Half-time, already?

Knowing that an afternoon game and an evening pubcrawl were still to come, we headed into the Rovers clubhouse to sample a shandy and it's fair to say that the bar area- just outside the stands and next to the car park- is just as great as the ground itself. With everything from a club emblem on the carpet as you walk in, to the many pool and snooker tables in the back room, there was also a wide range of beers to choose from (including Carling Premier... whatever that is!) and they even had the early Premier League kick-off showing on the TV. Who wouldn't want to watch highlights of United losing to Bournemouth whilst sipping a Staropramen and chatting about the various times we've played pool. Perfection- and the best thing was, there was still five more goals to come from the game we were here to see.

Ready for the second-half spills and thrills

By the time the second goal came, just after the hour mark, we'd already seen many half-chances from Basingstoke right in front of us and it would be through a lack of precision from the visitors that they then watched as a foul was conceded to give a penalty on the break, which Ben Bament banged home. Paulton 2-0 Basingstoke. Thankfully for the fans of the luminous boys they would not be downtrodden for too long. As a group of kids from Paulton's support ran into the away end to mock the visiting fans, the Town support would soon regain credibility as just four minutes later Zach Robinson slotted home and all of a sudden the excitement levels in the ground were raised to a mouth-watering level. Paulton 2-1 Basingstoke. The Dragons were flaming by now and when another half-chance came knocking in the 75th minute it would be Robinson who rose highest and beat Joe Perry to the ball, backwards heading the ball past the keeper and forcing a well-deserved eqauliser with fifteen minutes to go. Paulton 2-2 Basingstoke.

The firework display wasn't supposed to start until the evening

With the game now poised at two-all, we began to turn our eyes towards Twitter to see if there was still a chance of getting to a 3pm game nearby. We'd already been letdown by Bitton and Weston-Super-Mare being called-off and it appeared that we were clinging on to the hope that the FA Vase game over in Warminster was still going ahead. As Tom was looking into the distance between our current location and the Wiltshire ground, I watched on as Ed Butcher scored the goal of the day with a wonderful left-footed run down the wing, followed by a bit of trickery to take him out wide and then a lovely finish that nestled into the underside of the net's roof. Paulton 3-2 Basingstoke. Despite the fact that they'd done it once already, Basingstoke didn't quite have enough in the tank for a second fightback and after being let off by a Brad Abraham strike just before full-time, it would eventually be David Sims-Burgess who sealed the deal with a chipped finish. Paulton 4-2 Basingstoke.

Full-time, 4-2

As the game drew to a close, we lingered by the exit knowing that we'd be cutting it fine for the twenty mile jaunt down the country roads and over to see what Weymouth Street would have to offer us. Sure enough the Ref called it a day and we departed arguably my favourite ground visited in the south-west so far ready to take on the second game of the day and third of our four match weekend.

01/11/19 Review: Cardiff Met Uni vs Penybont

Cardiff Met University 1-1 Penybont (Welsh Premier League)

Cyncoed Campus

Having spent almost a month apart from the beloved game, it was time to rectify four weeks of absence as I headed westward to visit my old pal Tom on what would be a weekend filled with four games, sixteen goals and eighty-four beers- give or take. My last outing was over in France at the start of October and it is safe to say that even this annual jaunt over to the West Country would have to be something special to compete with the occasion that was checking out Stade Raoul Barriére. The weather forecast was sketchy to say the least and from the moment I left Coventry on Friday afternoon there was a need to keep on checking ye olde social media as slowly but surely I drove into the wet and windy west. After arriving in Severn Beach- my digs for the weekend- I quickly transferred into Tom's car and we began heading towards Wales. Our initial plans to visit Taff's Well or Goytre were scuppered, so we made the call to give the uni a try and the gamble paid off as we emerged at the Cyncoed Campus ground for the 7:45pm Welsh Prem game between Cardiff Met and new boys Penybont.

Is there anything nicer than a wet and windy wander to Wales?

Sadly, on each of our four adventures this weekend we arrived late- but thankfully we hadn't missed much action on this occasion and we made the most of a slow start by attempting to gather some dinner. I spent a couple of quid on a hot dog that I literally inhaled in one go and Tom had even less fortune as there was a fifteen minute wait on chips- thankfully we are simple folk though, meaning that we could quite simply enjoy the gusty rainfall rinsing everyone in attendance as it poured in every possible direction, whilst debating our predictions for the game. Call me a pessimist, but I wasn't expecting a thriller and having seen a goalless match between Stafford Rangers and FC United back in September I went for a 0-0, whilst Tom opted for an away victory of 0-1 for the Bont. As mentioned earlier, this season is their first in the top tier and the merger club, formed in 2013, have so far only managed to conjure up one victory so far and that was against Airbus UK Broughton- the other promoted side in the division. CMU, on the other hand, have somewhat maintained the momentum they built from last season and although the Europa League qualifiers didn't make it too far in their continental campaign, losing on away goals to Luxembourg's Progres Niederkorn, the plan will be for the currently sixth placed side to try and challenge again with their crop of students.

The form has been poor lately for the hosts though

My last outing to a Welsh ground back in August was a second-tier trek up to Chirk AAA and although the game had some resemblances in terms of quality, but to be fair I'm more than used to the non-league English game so you certainly won't see me squirming or moaning as Tom and I stood having a real good catch-up. In and amongst our gassing, we got to see our first goal of the weekend as Will Evans slid home for the hosts just before the thirty minute mark and meanwhile silencing the visiting fans from just over the M4. Cardiff Met 1-0 Penybont.

And we're off!

As you can probably tell from the few pictures I managed to snap in and amongst the precipitation surrounding us, the ground is modern and about as generic as you'd expect from a uni campus ground. It is of high quality, apart from the horrendous port-a-bogs, and there is a nice little blue-seater stand across on the far end. I certainly wouldn't call it a classic, but having been to Oswestry and seen the chuffing ball-pit and bowling alley at Park Hall, I would also admit that I've been to worse grounds. The one major downside for the loud and proud away fans (and us!) was the lack of bar on the ground so we had to spend the whole of half-time walking back to the car to grab a couple of cans from Tom's boot. Yes, they may have been sticky and covered in dog hairs, but it was Friday and we needed to get this party started.

After all, the Welsh are kings of flamboyancy

We spent the second-half behind the goal with Uni's goalkeeper and the lovable goalie, nicknamed by me as "Fuller Bants", kept us entertained throughout the second-half. At one stage he was caught eyeing us up for our canned Kronenbourg and when asked if we wanted a swig, he simply said "see me after". Not sure how serious he was, we carried on our mooch around the ground and ended up in the corner watching at Penybont began to fight desperately for the inevitable late equaliser that they craved. With time getting on and injury time now upon us it was Kostya Georgievsky, a man who is described on Google as being a "diminutive winger", who would grab the leveller and spark wild celebrations amongst the side in blue and white- meaning that the poor form of the hosts continued with a sixth straight winless game. Cardiff Met 1-1 Penybont.

As a neutral, there's something quite ravishing about a last minute equaliser

There was no time following this goal for the hosts to seek a winner and with that the game ended all-square. We left Campus with a slight buzz after the late drama and as per all of my trips to Wales for the footy I would definitely summarise by saying it's worthwhile. The thing I love about the Welsh pyramid is that there is more than often a Friday night match and, weather providing, there are some cracking old grounds knocking about in some places that you'd possibly never visit if not for the footy. I'll certainly be checking out some more of the ones that are a bit more local to my home in Stafford and although Cyncoed wasn't the most exciting one I've ticked off, it was still worth a ride out to!

04/10/19 Review: AS Béziers vs Bastia-Borgo

AS Béziers 1-1 Bastia-Borgo (Championnat National)

Stade Raoul Barriére

Bonjour and welcome to a special edition of 'Pint of Football', or "Pinte de Football" as it should be known for this French instalment. In the midst of holiday exploits that saw my partner and I travel up from Perpignan to Montpellier and back again, we managed to squeeze in an evening over at Béziers in the Occitanie region and along with a mooch into the town there was also a date with Stade Raoul Barriére to look forward to as a bonus. Prepare yourselves for my latest venture over to the south of France to see AS Béziers take on islanders Bastia-Borgo.

The latest of my visits to a see the beautiful game in a rugby ground 

Yes, with visits already made this season to Burton RFC's Peel Croft ground in August and more recently a trip to Butts Park in Coventry to see Cov United versus Haughmond, I am starting to get a bit of a reputation for visiting stadiums primarily used for rugby and in all fairness they have been fabulous so far. For tonight, it was to be even bigger and better a trip as we ascended on the monumental 18,000 capacity stade for what would be the ground's second match of the day. The afternoon had already seen one win for Béziers as the rugby team triumphed 20-15 over Oyonnax in Pro Division 2, but for us it was all about the football and so we arrived just in time to see the battle between two of the Championnat National's midtable sides. With tickets priced at just ten euros a pop this third tier game was bound to be value for money, with the equivalent of our own pound sterling not even covering the cost of parking at some of the big grounds in England. The one thing I've enjoyed about my trips to Italy, Spain and now France for the football is that they make it comfortable, affordable and accessible for all and this Friday night in the floodlights would prove to be all of the above with all ages coming out to cheer on their local side. For me, this would be my sixth match in a foreign ground, after visiting Mallorca in Spain, as well as four of Italy's finest during the EURO U21 Finals back in June.

We also poked our heads into FC Séte's Stade Louis Michel on the way in

At the start of proceedings today's hosts found themselves sat in the lower realms of the table and despite being a newly reintroduced club to the division following last season's relegation from Ligue 2, they weren't exactly setting the league on fire so far after picking up just two wins from the opening nine matches. The merger club, who are only 12 years old, have had some good times since forming off the back of AS Saint-Chinian, FC Béziers Méd and Béziers-Méd Football Cheminots and they achieved professional status for the first time in 2018 when they won promotion to France's second tier. Of course, they came straight back down with a 19th place finish but after fighting hard in a tough division they will be disappointed not to be higher up in the early stages of their return to the third step. Their opponents, from the island of Corsica, were another merger team in the form of Bastia-Borgo who are (surprise, surprise) a combination of CA Bastia and Borgo FC. Only into their third year as a new club, the club was promoted last season after finishing 2nd in National 2 Group C behind Nantes Reserves. The one thing that this scenario did get me thinking about was the potential for success for smaller clubs to gain through merging in difficult times. When I think of the struggles that Bury FC, Bolton Wanderers and my own side Macclesfield Town are having, I do wonder if a merge option would help the three sides who are only 36 miles apart! Buryfield Wanderers FC.... could work? Maybe not!

These guys seem happy enough with sharing a club with neighbours

Inside the surrounds of the ground we stepped into a pleasant entranceway that included a club shop, a food stand, drinking hole and of course the unforgettable "Jeton Drop". Now I'm no expert when it comes to French, so forgive me ignorance when I thought for a moment that the club had developed its own currency in the form of jetons, which actually just means 'tokens' in English. However, these delightful red coins that cost 1.43 euros a pieces would prove to be the only way that one can buy food and drink in the ground. I'm not sure what the reasoning is, but with the purchase of a beer and a coke for five jetons, we were delighted to be given proper AS Béziers plastic cups which of course are now my favoured beer holders at home. I think there was some sort of recycle for more jetons scheme going on, but as we aren't going to be back any time soon we decided to keep them as mementos! I also purchased a scarf in the club shop to add to my collection, so it was a win-win for me so far.

Here we are, all kitted out with my official club scarf and pint cup

The game was looming by now and as is a tradition of mine I decided to predict the outcome, with Soph and I both picking out the hosts to win. I went for a 2-0 Béiers victory whilst Sophie predicted more of a roller-coaster ride by opting for 3-2. And with that, the teams came out to the infamously known Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune and the 8pm match was underway with the away side defending over to my left in the first-half. The Corsican side were under the cosh from the word go and in just the third minute the home side's leading forward was looking to add to his impressive goal tally so far this season. Kévin Testud's third minute strike was close, alas not enough to beat Stephen Milosavljevic in the Corsican goal. Moving on into the tenth minute, more action came our way but this time in the form of a bad foul on a Béziers player. The chants from the crowd were indistinguishable, so I decided to try out shouting "rouge, rouge, rouge" as per the classic English chant.

It didn't work

The home side continued to press and they went close again through Francisco Roldán after Bastia-Borgo handed them the ball in a dangerous area, but this missed effort would not be the last they'd get. Twenty-two minutes into the match a rapid break from the halfway line saw the reds burst forward, with the ball eventually being unselfishly laid off to Roldán so that the Spaniard could slam home his first goal since moving north of the border from Elche Ilicitano. Béziers 1-0 Bastia-Borgo. If the hosts thought it would be plain sailing from then on they would be mistaken, with just three minutes elapsing between the opener and the equaliser from Bastia's captain. Born and bred on the island, their number 11 has spent all but one of his playing years with a Bastia based side and the 31 year old was in the right place to receive the ball from the right-wing and place it past Vincent Viot. Béziers 1-1 Bastia-Borgo. With less than half an hour played we hoped that this would be the start of a butfest, with the word "but" meaning "goal" in this instance, however in actual fact the remainder of the game would see chances coming few and far between and it wasn't until the second-half that the next notable strike was registered.

Still, at least we had the sunset to take in

Testud and Roldán continued to be the main attacking forces after the restart but much like our supply of jetons the entertainment factor was limited, with half-chances and intricate passing displays dominating the rest of the game. Even with the introduction of substitutes, such as possible futuristic android F-X Fumu Tamuso, there was to be little more additional momentum gained, with the exception of when attacking right-back Robin Taillan went as close as you could possibly go with a strike on to the underside of the bar. Very unlucky, but it was not to be for the home team and the game would end as it started, with the sides all-square.

Amazing ground, average game

No sooner had the game finished did we scoot off to the car in search of an easy escape back to the hotel, but in doing so we apparently missed a post-game scrap that saw Souleymane Aw and Cedric Odzoumo. I'm not sure what happened between the French visitor and the Senegalese youngster, but the match report shows them as both being "sent off" in the 95th minute. If anybody was there and knows, I'd be interested to hear what happened.

It just goes to show, never leave before (or just after!) the final whistle

Either way, the experience of another ground on foreign soil was something very special for me as I aim to continue to take my search for greatness as far and wide as I can. That's ground number 173 ticked off for me and with Non-League Day taking place this weekend in England, I'll be no doubt checking in somewhere far less glamorous than Stade Raoul Barriére!

21/09/19 Review: Darlaston Town 1874 vs Bilston Town

Darlaston Town 3-0 Bilston Town (West Midlands (Regional) League)

The Paycare Ground

Sunny September Saturdays are made for a ride out to Darlaston, right? Well, for 'Pint of Football' they are and with a local derby on the agenda in this West Midlands League encounter I decided to use my free afternoon to take the short drive down the M6 to see what all the fuss was about at The Paycare Ground, home to Darlaston Town 1874. Formed (or should I say reformed?) in 2014, the phoenix club of the dissolved originals were allowed back into the West Mids League family and since then have been treated as a new club. Their opponents for the day, known as the Steelmen, also have a bit of history behind them and since 1894 they've been called everything from Bilston Town all the way through to Bilston Borough. With just three miles separating the two clubs on the Black Country Route, the sides started the day just a point apart and it therefore promised to be a tasty encounter. I decided that there was no better time to get down to see a game and so without further ado, let's see how it all panned out.

Not a cloud in the sky this afternoon- lovely!

As regular readers know, I always pluck a pre-match prediction out of the air and although I got the number of goals right, I was not quite correct with my 2-1 early doors guess. I arrived at The Paycare Ground a good fifteen minutes early and after parking up and accidentally walking through the gap between the trees into the ground I then backtracked into the car park and made my way over the proper entrance... I'm tight, but not tight enough to sneak into a ground at this level. After relinquishing a fiver for entry, I then made my way straight into the modern and well-presented clubhouse for a pre-match Coors so that I could get in the mood for the big derby. One thing that I've not got used to, despite living in Staffordshire for a third of my life now, is the hugely differing accent that belongs to the Black Country folk! Being originally from Yorkshire, I know that I can't really judge, but their language is a hard one for me to grasp and I even stumbled across a lad and dad couple arguing in the toilets whilst discussing their hopes for the game. The dad thought that his son was saying "hopefully we'll get three pints today" and was rejecting the notion of having that much to drink, when all that the lad was actually hoping for was a win! I tried to add to the confusion by asking them if they'd need more than three pints if they didn't manage three points, but I think my humour was lost so I quickly departed out to sunny pitchside.

Everyone outside... it's game time

My last new ground was two weeks at time of writing and although my trip to Butts Park in Coventry was something a little more glam than what I'd witness today, my main focus would be on whether the hosts today could do better than the disappointing United side a fortnight ago. With that, the sides started to emerge on to the field and after a minute's silence in the centre-circle and around the ground, we began. Darlaston began the game strongest with Romano Graham looking lively up front, but as is customary for a derby at this level the fouls count was rising at a much higher rate than that of the shots registered. Into the twentieth minute I overheard a fan say that Man City were already 5-0 up against Watford, which at the time I didn't believe, but I couldn't help but start to wish that a Sergio Aguero character would enter the field here to convert some of the half-chances that Darlo were creating. At the other end, Bilston created a rare chance of their own through Sam Melia, but there wasn't too much testing Liam Whittaker in the home goal. The black country answer to Bjorn Lodbrok stood tall and watched as his side largely took control of the first-half.

No goals for this lot to cheer about though, HT 0-0

Whilst the attendance was fairly decent from what I could see, there was a notable lack of absence in terms of atmosphere and there was only one Bilston boy who made up for this. Yes, fully kitted out in his bright orange attire, the lad who I believe was named Frankie, stood out as being one of the looniest but also undoubtedly passionate fans I've come across so far. He was vocal throughout, giving general tactically instructions out such as "mark him, marrrrrrk him" and of course "have a go" as his side got anywhere near the 18-yard box. You can't knock this sort of commitment, as I've seen present in "Gladiator Tony" at The Creek over at Bristol Manor Farm, but I also couldn't allow myself to spend too much near him. He was making me feel sweaty just by looking at him.

Yup, that's him

The highlight of the break, aside from a second pint, was listening to the crowd moaning that the raffle was a fix. It was one of those 'pick a team off the card and the winner is then revealed later' things and the winning team was Wolves. One fan shouted out "it's them every week!" whilst another simply labelled the raffle a fix. With the heat rising in the clubhouse to match the soaring temperatures outside, I headed back out to get ready to see whether Darlo could turn domination into goals as they looked to build on what they would no doubt have considered a good first 45. It wasn't until the hour mark, but the inevitable opener did come and it was from a tidy Daniel Bolzon finish. The striker raised an arm as he jumped in the air to celebrate, whilst the rest of the ground gave a relieved cheer. Darlaston 1-0 Bilston.

Let the Darlaston decimation begin

And with that, the floodgates opened and despite freshening things up with the introduction of a Coby Jones lookalike, Bilston would ultimately have little left in the tank to formulate a response to the opener. Leon Taylor had been impressive all afternoon and it would be the home captain who would grab the second as he made the most of a frail and tiring defence to slot home and double the lead fairly soon after the first from his strike partner. Darlaston 2-0 Bilston. A couple more subs came on for the visitors, but ultimately they were of a very poor standard and in particular their new right-back looked leaky in both offensive moves up the field and defensive plays at the back. Taylor found himself with space in the 75th minute and he chested the ball down, wriggled past Zack Stretton- who had a good game, in fairness- and then walked into the net with the ball between his legs for his second of the afternoon. Darlaston 3-0 Bilston. By this time Frankie had stripped down to an equally as bright orange shirt and for a moment I thought the old-timer was going to run on to try and change his side's fortunes, but instead the frustrated chap released the instruction "hit it with a coal shovel if you want next time!"

Some away fans had seen enough...

When you have the monstrous three mile trek back to Bilston, you couldn't help but sympathise with the away fans who began to leave as we approached stoppage time, but thankfully for them they didn't miss anything and the game drew to a close with an important three points and boost to the goal difference going to the hosts. For the oranges, it would be back to the drawing board for their new manager who has 13th place Dudley Sports visiting next Saturday. Darlo will travel to another very local side in the form of Black Country Rangers, who will start the day just two points above them in 6th.

07/09/19 Review: Coventry United vs Haughmond

Coventry United 0-2 Haughmond (Midland Football League Premier)

Butts Park

When you have to work on a Saturday it can often be a gloomy affair, especially when you know your mates are out and about, having a beer, watching the footy. Thankfully for me, I'd arranged a strategic split shift that allowed me a "long lunch break" between 2 and 5 to go and check out the stadium around the corner. Step up Butts Park and my first venture over to see Coventry United in MFL Premier action against Haughmond.

Not bad for an eggball stadium

Although we are still early in the season, yesterday's trip would be my second to a ground that is purpose built for rugby, following on from a very special outing to Burton Rugby Club's Peel Croft in August to see the first football match there for over a century. In comparison, Butts Park is a dual-use stadium that hosts four teams across the two sports and the 4,000 capacity blue and white structure houses matches for Coventry RFC, Coventry Bears and of course Coventry United and Ladies football clubs. There also used to be an American Football Club playing there in the form of Coventry Jets, whilst the universities of Coventry and Warwick have also used the ground for their varsity day matches too, making it a valued asset to the City following Cov City's expulsion to Birmingham. Gotta be worth a visit on a sunny Saturday afternoon in September, right?

First though, a pre-match pint in the Broomfield Tavern

After polishing off a Spon End Fish Shop lunchtime deal I made my way down Broomfield Place and into the delightfully rough and ready saloon bar intending to sup up a quick shandy. Those who've been in there will know that it is not a shandy kind of establishment and instead I found myself guzzling down a pint of North Cotswold Shagweaver Ale- just the light lunch refreshment one needs before heading back to work. As pictured above, I wasn't the only chap in there awaiting the game and as 2:45pm rolled around it was time to mooch over and get ready for my fourteenth match of the season. Would it be as exciting as my last outing to New Bucks Head earlier in the week? Probably not! But nevertheless I was excited to see what the match could brew up and based on league positions, plus the fact that Shropshire's Haughmond were winless so far, meant that I very wrongly predicted a 3-0 win for the hosts as they looked to keep the pressure on my boys Sporting Khalsa who sit at the summit of the MFL Premier division. 

Butts Park is red and green again

Just six years since their formation as a backup club for if and when the Sky Blues fold, United are still going strong and despite slowing down after back to back promotions from the MFL Division Three all the way to the Prem, they are still considered to be one of the stronger sides in the league. A bit like Khalsa, who I actually saw beat United 3-0 back in November 2017, they have been unfortunate enough to find themselves battling very strong clubs in the form of Alvechurch, Bromsgrove Sporting and most recently llkeston Town, United have found themselves finishing 8th in each of their seasons at this level so far. This season is arguably the biggest chance for a side like Khalsa, United and other ambitious clubs to break out of the MFL and with the red and green army taking on Shrewsbury side Haughmond this would be a big chance for them to build momentum before a tough encounter with Walsall Wood, another side who've leapt up in recent seasons since I saw them in 2017. Of course the Mond, newly promoted after finishing runners-up to Tividale in the West Mids Regional League last season, would be looking to end their baron run of five league games so far without a win (two draws, three defeats) and in additional they would be seeking revenge on the hosts today who beat them 2-4 in the reverse fixture over at Shrewsbury Sports Village, which is the most westerly ground in the division and about 60-miles or so away from Butts Park. All the signs pointed toward a home victory today, but with the Acadmeicals beating Stone Old Alleynians 3-1 and United losing 0-2 at the Aspray Arena, anything could- and did- happen.

Butts Park, are you reeeeeeady?!

With the match kicking off on time and debuting a brand new astroturf pitch, I was still midway through my tour of the ground and indeed it's safe to say that I was a big fan. The XL Motors Stand, pictured above, is the 3,000 seater main attraction and it stands up as being arguably the meatiest stand I've seen in the MFL. Another rugby ground that I went to back in 2016, in the shape of AFC Wulfrunian's Castlecroft Stadium, may argue the toss but for me Butts Park has the edge due to the clean, modern and stylish structure. The underneath of the stand houses a splendid clubhouse area, including a bar, club shop section, full catering and all the mod cons, whilst at the back of the seating there is a couple of VIP boxes making it a proper all-in-one. Behind one of the goals is a windowed Guinness Bar which was not opened for the footy, and across the other side was a fairly old-school looking roofed standing terrace, which had yet another unopened bar attached to it. It seemed sad to say in such a high-quality venue, but I couldn't help but feel most at home in the standing area as I spent a good chunk of the first-half stood alone.

Now that's more my cup of tea

When you consider the typical standard of grounds at this level tend to be more like the ones I've visited such as the very old school Moat Ground in Gresley, the delightfully scruffy and wonderfully simple South Normanton Athletic home and wider afield my hometown ground, Queensgate Park of Bridlington, Butts Park is more like the quality of National League grounds I've visited in terms of facilities and of course this is largely down to the rugby residents but equally for the men's and ladies' clubs of Cov United, of which a superb 389 were in attendance for yesterday's match.

Speaking of which..

On the new pitch, the game was well and truly in full-swing by the time I settled down and just ten minutes had passed-by when Haughmond took the lead. The visiting ponytailed striker, known as Spud, made the most of his side's early pressure by striking a post-corner volley into the ground and as it lofted up into the air it caught out Otuyo in the Coventry goal before landing in the net. United 0-1 Haughmond. The rest of the second-half was fairly 50/50 and although United were creating chances, they showed absolutely no quality in the final third and as a result they went into the dressing room knowing that they'd need to turn things around in the second-half to make up for their one-goal deficit.

For me though, it was time to check out the bar

After fifteen minutes soaking in the half-time atmosphere in the clubhouse and resisting the urge to buy some merch, I made my way back out into the sun soaked seating stand ready for part two. Could the green and red side do any better with their shooting this time around? The answer was no, despite their best efforts, and in fact things would go from bad to worse as Haughmond almost started the half with another goal. Thankfully on this occasion the Acadmeicals striker couldn't make the most after big man Otuyo struggled to retreat back to his goal after running out, but after going up the other end and missing from as close as two-yards out they would later be punished as Spud made the most of some poor defending and pounced to grab his brace and almost guarantee the points with just twenty minutes left to play. United 0-2 Haughmond. Had this battle been a game of rugby I dare say Coventry would have been much happier as their attackers punted over the crossbar for the thirty-eighth time in an effort that would have been deemed pointworthy, but ultimately even when they did finally score in the 90th minute the goal would be ruled out for offside, therefore consolidating a very poor afternoon all-round. Haughmond's first win in the league was secured and they will be glad to have the last laugh having got through this early return game against a side who'd previously toppled them.

In truth, they might not have scored even with another 90 minutes to do so

With a return to work now calling me I made my way back indoors ready to oversee an ABBA tribute band, but on the plus side I left very happy knowing that Butts Park is undoubtedly going to become one of my regular haunts. Hopefully after seeing them lost 0-3 and 0-2 so far, I won't prove to be an eternal curse for them and I expect that I'll eventually see them grab a win!

03/09/19 Review: Telford United vs Gloucester City

Telford United 4-3 Gloucester City (National League North)

New Bucks Head

Almost a month on since I headed down to Leamington to see the Brakes beat Brackley Town, I was again on the hunt for some National League North action and this time it would be a fairly short westward ride over to Wellington to see Telford United versus Gloucester City in a real ding-dong battle between two sides who started the evening in 13th and 14th respectively. This early contender for game of the season was certainly a spectacle for the fans and it again showcased the true beauty of football at this level, making it an all-round thrilling night out in Telford... astonishingly, the second one I've had this season after getting over to the Fortis Stadium during Pre-Season. Also surprisingly, that game had one more goal too as Wellington Amateurs beat Eccleshall 5-3.

Still, the artwork alone is worth the entry fee here...

.... well, some of it is!

In terms of my limited relations with the Lilywhites I have only seen them play once and it was back in March 2015, when United visited Moss Rose to take on my beloved Macc Town. We triumphed in this crucial battle thanks to a Thierry Audel goal on a dreary Spring evening in a season that saw Telford go down to the division they've been in ever since. Their fortunes almost turned last season as they just missed out on the playoffs through goal difference, but aside from that they've lingered in the lower parts of the table and have failed to rekindle the success of the 2013/14 season that saw them win the league, with their most recent minor trophy coming last season in the confusingly named Huddersfield Cup. The 2004 remake of the original Telford United will be no doubt looking to get back into the top flight of non-league football, but hopefully not in the same fashion as their defunct predecessors who folded at the end of the mid-table Conference campaign fifteen years ago. Looking back, that same campaign contains a few fallen clubs such as the original Scarborough, the club formally known as Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute- now Leigh Genesis of the South Lancashire Counties League- and of course old Hereford United team. Bury may well be the biggest side to fall into dismay, but they certainly weren't the first.

Ask any lower league club- they need their fans!

By the time I'd made my way into New Bucks Head, opened in 2003, I was ready for action and so I made my way around the ground starting in the Hamer Leisure Stand and walked around to my seat in the Wolverhampton Uni Stand. The ground has some similarities to the Moss Rose, with a friendly and polite fanbase sitting alongside me in the main seating area. The two identical stands behind each goal seemed to house the "proper" fans who stood in the terraced areas with flags aloft to show their support. The stand running opposite the one I sat in was the busiest and I'm assuming that was because there was a bar close-by! As the two sides began to enter to Prodigy's "Firestarter" I began to feel the excitement. The Gloucester City opponents, donning one of the most sublime purple away kits I've had the pleasure of seeing, looked well up for the match and after a minute's applause was taken for a passed lifelong fan we were underway between two sides level on points at the start of play. I'd gone for a 2-2 pre-match prediction, which would have seemed like a bore draw after the events that would unfold in front of me.

The first of many applause

Even in the opening minutes the action was full-on, and within just two we saw the opener from the visitors as an early cross from the left was met by Bristol Rovers loanee Luke Russe. The forward managed to wriggle in between the Telford defence and he beat them to the ball to knock it home- giving the visitors the perfect start. Telford 0-1 Gloucester. The team in the media box behind me clearly weren't expecting a goal so early as they scrambled around trying to speak about the goal, whilst their Twitter guy clearly missed it as his Tweet simply states "can't describe it as I didn't really see it"- we've all been there, pal. By the time the second goal came in the 18th minute we were all settled in thankfully, but unfortunately for the hosts it was another visiting strike that would hit the net. This time it would be Gloucester born and bred lad Joe Hanks who hit a thunderbolt of a free-kick which flew hard and low. Telford 0-2 Gloucester. With Telford now two down they actually woke up a bit and started to play and on the half-hour mark their star man Brendon Daniels, formally of Crewe, Tamworth, Harrogate and many more, stepped up to rifle home a set-piece of his own to rival that of the one Gloucester's just a few minutes ago. Telford 1-2 Gloucester. There could have been more in the way of goals too, as both sides continued to press. Telford were playing the better football and looked most likely to grab the next goal, but equally they looked suicidal at the back and seemed almost as though they were trying to gift City a third. As it was though, the half ended at 1-2 to the visitors.

Gotta beat those HT queues...

Despite there being over 900 in attendance this evening the ground seemed fairly easy to negotiate, which is a rarity at any football match usually. With no problems finding a space at the urinal, an empty bar to plunder and even space to stand an check the half-time scores elsewhere, this was an odd sensation for me. I did wonder whether it's the case that the ground is just really well managed, or if it is just a quiet night at the New Bucks Head. To be fair, this was their first sub-1000 attendance of the season so that may answer a few questions on that front, but either way I stood and enjoyed my pint, checked that Macc were beating Newcastle's youth team in the ballbag trophy, listened to a lad recalling his weekend away day to Bradford Park Avenue and then headed back out for the second-half. One thing I did enjoy was that one of the kiosks was alcohol only and it was separate from the food counters to allow for us larger louts to grab a quick pint without having to listen to Edna list the four varieties of pie on offer, before checking them and then announcing that there is only cheese and onion left. Thanks Edna!

At three quid a pint, it would be rude not to

The Bucks started the second-half in fine form and although the opening ten minutes didn't bring any reward, the signs were there and with Daniels looking like pure class on the right it would only be a matter of time. The Stokie, who scored a brace during the weekend win, was involved again as he turned the left-side of the Gloucester wing inside-out, before pinging in a sumptuous cross with the outside of his boot towards an on-rushing Telford player to then nod it back across the six-yard line to allow Marcus Dinanga to rattle a close-range volley off the bar and into the net. Telford 2-2 Gloucester. Game on now and it was time for the side who wanted it most to step up and grab a winner. The hosts continued to ride the wave of their attacking fortunes and when a corner was won in the 70th minute it would be the United captain Shane Sutton who would rise the highest to header against the bar and the ball was deemed to cross the line, giving Telford the lead for the first time. Telford 3-2 Gloucester. It was fitting that the captain would be the one to grab this crucial goal, as the former Newtown man celebrated after a slight hesitation from the Ref to allow the header. Imagine that, a referee making a goal-line decision in 2019... madness!

They're not singing anymore

Sutton may well have captained his former side in the Europa League home and away to FC Copenhagen back in 2015, but the now Telford skipper would have been delighted by that and his glee would only grow as he watched his side steal a fourth goal thanks to a defensive mix-up at the other end of the pitch. A Gloucester defender nodded past his own keeper and former Football League striker Aaron Williams was there to mop up the finish. Telford 4-2 Gloucester. And as if my magic the Shropshire side had gone from two down to two up, but the question would be whether their leaky defence could firm up in the final ten to seal the points. The answer to that is a partial yes, but it wasn't without its complications as a very contentious penalty was awarded in stoppage time. As most of the crowd wondered why the spot kick was given, Joe Parker stepped up and lashed home to set up an unnecessarily nervy final few minutes for the Lilywhites. Telford 4-3 Gloucester.

Thankfully there would be no more twists in the tale

As the Ref brought the game to an end there was a huge sigh of relief followed by rapturous applause for the two sides who gave us a hugely entertaining game. On what was my fifth attempt to watch a game at New Bucks Head, after poor weather, a car crash blocking my route, a pre-season cancellation and a last minute location change for an England youth game preventing my previous four, all that I can say is that it was well worth the wait! I'd love to say that I will be back soon, but after that game I feel the bar of expectation may be too high to risk ruining! Well played both teams, I'll look forward to following your respective seasons.