Bank Holiday games in the Northern League generally kick-off at 11am and so that meant I had time to fit one in before the Boro’s Boxing Day fixture against Bolton. I picked Willington as it was handy enough to get to from Sedgefield.
On the way there I passed a couple of signs for a Roman fort. It’s a shame that I don’t plan ahead a bit more as I’d have quite liked to have had a look around and it might have made the blog post mildly interesting for a change. Oh well.
It was five quid to get into Hall Lane for the Division Two game with Tow Law Town. It’s a ground that has been home to Willington for almost all of their hundred-plus years and I think the stand opposite the dugouts dates back to the 1930’s. As ever, most of the crowd stood around the perimeter fence. It was a decent turnout, as you’d expect on a Boxing Day and I overheard one fella say that at almost two hundred, it was three times the usual attendance.
I don’t know a great deal about Willington other than they were managed for a while by Malcolm Allison. This was after he had left the Boro and long after his hey-day. If Willington had a team bath back in those days then it would be nice to think that the likes of Fiona Richmond would still be joining Big Mal in it for a bottle or two of champagne.
In addition to a former Boro manager, I seem to remember that they had one of our captains for a while. Tony McAndrew had a spell with them in the late-eighties as his playing career drew to a close. I’m pretty sure Trappa captained Chelsea during his spell there too. It’s hard to imagine any modern-day footballer continuing at this level after a successful pro-career, never mind Chelsea captains who probably earn enough in a week to fund Willington for a few years.
The game was lively from the off with a kung-fu style assault going unpunished in the first minute. The ref lost control from then on in and having set an early precedent allowed another couple of potential reds to go unpunished as the tackles flew in.
Willington were kicking down the slope and opened the scoring in the first half when someone tucked away the rebound from a shot that the Tow Law keeper couldn’t palm far enough away from danger. It stayed that way until half-time. I queued for a chippy butty and updated the tea lady on the violent disorder out on the pitch.
Tow Law could have gone top with a win but that looked increasingly unlikely as Willington went two up a few minutes after the break. The visitors had their chances, hitting the post and then having a penalty saved but despite the pressure Willington added another at the death for a slightly flattering three-nil win.
Tags: Malcolm Allison, Northern League, Tony McAndrew, Tow Law Town, Willington
Trail of the Lion King 
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