Wolverhampton Casuals

Date: Tuesday October 27th 2009
Ground: Brinsford Stadium
Match: Wolverhampton Casuals 2 Dudley Sports 2  HT: 2-1 ATT: c45

Additional: Entrance £3, Programme £1.00, Coffee/Tea £0.60

Brinsford Stadium in pictures

This was my first ever West Midlands Regional Premier League game. Their Premier division sits at step six of the non-league pyramid, rather like the Midland Combination. It is comprised of a lot of Birmingham based clubs with a few outshoots in Shropshire and Herefordshire. Promotion from this division is into the Midland Alliance.

Carlton Town

Date: Saturday October 24th 2009
Ground: Bill Stokeld Stadium
Match: Carlton Town 5 Leek Town 2  HT: 2-1 ATT: 97
Gent 26, Ball 38 Jenkins 64p, Whitman 73, 76: Johnson 1, Cope 89
Additional: Entrance £7, Programme £1.50, Coffee/Tea £0.80

Bill Stokeld Stadium in pictures

Leek Town were in need of a win here. Their early season table topping form was deserting them. They came in to this game down in sixth with Carlton mid-table.

Winsford United

Date: Tuesday October 13th 2009
Ground: Barton Stadium
Match: Winsford 0 Newcastle Town 1  HT: 0-0 ATT: 97
Boast 79
Additional: Entrance £6, Programme £1.50, Coffee/Tea £0.80

Barton Stadium in pictures

This was a late decision. I was originally going to watch Leek Town at Market Drayton, but MDT had an FA Trophy replay. So I decided to finally capture the closest ground (step 6 and above) that I had yet to visit. It had the added bonus of being against a Newcastle side who had started their season with 10 straight wins. Could Winsford stop their spectacular run?

Ossett Town

Date: Tuesday September 8th 2009
Ground: Ingfield Stadium
Match: Ossett Town 3 Kendal Town 2  HT: 1-1 ATT: 233
Hardaker 19, Lee 56, Hollindrake 71: Wain 30, Steel 77
Additional: Entrance £7, Programme £1.50, Coffee/Tea £1.00.

Ingfield Stadium in pictures

 

Ossett is one of those unusual small towns that boasts two similarly sized non-league football teams. With a population of a little over 20,000, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield, it is host to Town (Unibond Premier) and Albion (Unibond Div One North), both grounds near the town centre. These double team towns aren’t actually as rare as you might think,  like pairs of prime numbers. There’s Atherton with its Laburnum Rovers and Collieries, Ashton in Makerfield with its Athletic and Town and Ashton under Lyme with its Curzon and United, to name a few. It’s always been Ossett I think of, though, when it comes to two team towns.

Leek Town update 19-09-09

Unibond League South
Sep 5 Leek Town 1 Stamford 0 HT: 0-0 ATT: 272
           Miller 51
Sep 12 Shepshed Dynamo 1 Leek Town 1 HT: 0-1 ATT: 141
              Ramsay 90                  Corden 6
Sep 19 Leek Town 1 Spalding 0 HT: 1-0 ATT: 276
              Cope 39

 

Leek stay top of the league after another 1-0 victory today, against Spalding. Two weeks ago they weren’t on top form, but managed to beat Stamford 1-0, thanks to an acrobatic strike from Miller in the second half. Stamford would’ve felt aggrieved at not getting a point there, though. It was a slim victory.

My Favourite Year (1990-91)

In a similar vein to the 1990 book of the same name this is an account of my favourite year, part one.

Brighton & Hove Albion – Second Division 6th place (losing Play-Off finalists) – FA Cup 4th round – League Cup 1st round.

Albion 1990-91 (wearing the worst kit of all time)

The motley bunch above, wearing the lurid pink strip, looking like some Gay World Cup side, is the team from my favourite ever season, 1990-91. The kit, incidentally, was voted as one of the worst five kits of all time. Not helped much by the words NOBO emblazoned on their chest. I still have this top in my wardrobe. 

Sutton Coldfield Town

Date: Monday August 24th 2009
Ground: Coles Lane
Match: Sutton Coldfield Town 1 Bedworth United 1 HT: 0-1 ATT: 158
Matt 90: Blair 22
Additional: Entrance £6, Programme £1.20, Coffee/Tea 60p Full food menu including Faggots.

Coles Lane in Pictures

 

Between two Leek Town home matches I had a free Monday evening. I had a choice of three venues all about the same distance away – Atherton Collieries, Curzon Ashton and Sutton Coldfield Town. Curzon Ashton’s is a new stadium but, while very modern with excellent facilities, too similar to the Weaver Stadium to entice me. Atherton are step six and so I guessed would be very small indeed, so I plumped for Sutton Coldfield from the Zamaretto League Midlands division (step four).

Leek Town 2009-10

Aug 22nd Leek Town 3 Mickleover Sports 2 HT: 3-2 ATT: 229
Unibond League South

Aug 25th Leek Town 5 Brigg Town 1 HT: 3-0 ATT: 216
Unibond League One South

Mickleover Sports was my first home game as a Leek Town fan. If I wasn’t already addicted on the Saturday, then I certainly was on the following Tuesday at home to Brigg. It wasn’t just the high scoring wins; it was the old routine of being a fan of one club, the familiarity, the same faces, stands and pubs beforehand. The willing of your team to win, rather than the polite attendance of a couple of random ones. It reminded me of days at the Goldstone Ground in the eighties, when I went to every home game.

Willenhall Town

Ground: Noose Lane
Date: Tuesday 18th August 2009
Match: Willenhall Town 1 Leek Town 2 HT: 1-1 ATT: 92
Warren 39: Griffiths 27 (og), Hawthorne 52
Comp: Unibond Division One South
Additional: Entrance £6 Programme £1.50 Coffee/Tea 50p Chips 80p

Noose Lane in pictures

 

My first game following Leek Town and their first away game of the season, after a 3-3 draw at home to Loughborough on the opening day. Their opponents for tonight’s game, Willenhall Town, from the Black Country, between Wolverhampton and Walsall. I believe they are the furthest south in the division. They started off on Saturday with a 3-0 defeat at Belper; this is on top of a ten point deduction for going into administration a few months back. Willenhall Town are very fortunate to be playing at all, having been saved from the brink of extinction.

Willenhall Town are known as the Lockmen, due to the Town’s history of making locks and keys. The town has a population of about 40,000 and just to the north is an area called New Invention. I can’t find out why it is so called. What was the invention?

Kettering Town

Ground: Rockingham Road
Date: Saturday 15th August 2009
Comp: Conference
Match: Kettering 1 AFC Wimbledon 2 HT: 0-1 Att: 1,746
Thomas 74: Kedwell 9, 66(pen)
Additional: Entrance £18 (stand) £14 (terrace), Programme £3, Hamburger £2.80, Hot drinks £1.00
Rockingham Road in pictures

Despite my decision to follow Leek Town this season, this game was booked in advance as a birthday present from my Dad, an AFC Wimbledon fan. Having seen the price of the ticket I’m very glad it was a present as I wouldn’t normally pay close on £20 to watch a Conference game.