Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

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Ponteland United v Wallington, Saturday 20th August 2022, 2.30pm

August 28, 2022

Jen and I were up north for a party. It was an excellent evening and whilst I enjoyed meeting new people, the best part was catching up with friends that I hadn’t seen for, in some cases, as little as a fortnight, and others ranging from anything from a few months to thirty-odd years. Even for those that I’d not seen for a long time the conversations fell easily into place as if we’d just picked up the chatting from the last occasion that we spoke.

As good as the party was, I didn’t want to start the drinking at two in the afternoon and so Jen and I headed for Ponteland first and a game in the eleventh tier Northern Alliance Premier Division. Ponteland looks to be a fairly posh commuter village, a place where geordies move to when they’ve ‘made it’. Alan Shearer once lived there, and I imagine that if Ant and Dec didn’t have to work down south they would probably be lunching in the Blackbird pub as we did.

There’s a Pele tower too. Nothing to do with the Brazilian, by all accounts, but a place where the vicar would hide from marauders by cunningly ‘going upstairs’. I’m not sure you get many marauders these days or how much protection the tower would provide in its current state, but I’m glad it hasn’t been turned into a florist or a nail salon.

The game took place at Ponteland Primary School. It’s a big pitch if it is usually used by the under elevens. Ponteland United have recently moved to a nearby leisure centre but that pitch wasn’t quite ready. It means that I got the opportunity to tick off the school pitch and I’ll no doubt return to see them at their new place before long.

The sign on the gate stated that it was two quid to get in, but nobody was taking any money. We were an official short too, with just the one lino accompanying the ref on their long trek from the changies. Each of the teams provided a replacement for one half and both did a good job at enthusiastically flagging the opposition offside.

Ponteland were in Newcastle colours with visitors Wallington in green and black. The home side took the lead ten minutes in and held on to it until half-time.

The second half was marred by rain. Normally I wouldn’t have been too bothered by light drizzle, but I only had the one coat with me and didn’t want to have to turn up at the party soaked through. I’d spotted a gap in the fence behind one of the goals and I drove around from the school car park and positioned the car so that I could see the far goal. Whenever the rain stopped I got out and watched from the rail and when it started up again I followed the progress from the more comfortable and drier front seat.

I got lucky in that all four goals in the second half were scored by Ponteland at the end that I could see. They ran out five-nil winners and I was perfectly placed to drive off to the party the moment the ref blew the final whistle.

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Ashington v Sunderland RCA, Tuesday 16th August 2022, 7.30pm

August 27, 2022

The Northern League season is well underway now and with Ashington having won their opening four games to top the table I thought I’d head through the Tyne Tunnel to take in their fixture with Sunderland RCA. It was eight quid admission to the Woodhorn Lane ground with another pound-fifty for a programme.

There’s a large covered seated stand down one side, with a smaller one opposite. A burger van was parked behind one of the goals and as I hadn’t eaten before I set off, I paid it a visit. Chips were still fifteen minutes from being ready, so I settled for a cheeseburger. I was a little surprised to be charged fifty pence extra for adding onions to it, but I suppose it means that those who don’t like onions don’t have to subsidise those of us that do. Maybe they should apply the same logic to ketchup. Or sugar in tea.

Ashington were in a white shirt with a black V, whilst mid-table RCA were in blue. The visitors took the lead early on with a finish that I missed as I was making my way up the steps into the main stand. Ashington had most of the play in the remainder of the first half, but lacked patience in the final third and often just pumped the ball aimlessly into the box.

I went into the clubhouse at half-time, to get a coke and a warm. The temperature outside was colder than I’d expected, and I should have worn an additional layer or two. I stayed there for the remainder of the game, watching through the windows and by careful positioning also keeping an eye on the Rangers v PSV match on the television via the reflection in the glass that appeared to float above the real game.

Ashington pressed forward throughout the second half and with around ten minutes remaining the body language of some of the home players suggested that they felt it wasn’t to be their day. However, a cutback cross from the right was swept home to level and then in the third minute of added time a ball in from the left was met with a downward header that gave the keeper no chance and clinched three points that had looked well out of reach.

Five wins from five for Ashington strengthened their position at the top of the table.

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Middlesbrough v Sheffield United, Sunday 14th August 2022, 2pm

August 26, 2022

Harry and Alistair were both away on holiday, so I went along to this game by myself. It was a hot day and there was plenty of drinking going on at the bar outside the main gates. It didn’t seem as busy as the season opener a fortnight ago, but I suppose it’s a bit more difficult for a lot of people to travel on a Sunday.

I should have arrived earlier as the food and drink kiosks inside were sold out of diet coke and water. If I’d wanted a non-sugary drink, then coffee or tea were the only options left. Surely, it’s not too much to ask for to have sufficient stocks of drinks that would have sell-by dates well into next year. I think part of the problem is the free drink scheme where mainly old folks seemed determined to take up their entitlement regardless of whether they wanted to drink it or not. Maybe I’ll have to start bringing my own supplies.

The game was decent. We started slowly but scored an excellent equalizer after some good one touch passing to open them up. We conceded another in the second half but drew level in the last few minutes. A draw always feels better when you come from behind.

I’d have liked to see Fry and Steffan lumping it forward on fewer occasions, but in the absence of Crooks and with a few new signings still to come, I was happy enough with the performance.

A downside was the constant aggro between the home and away supporters where they were segregated by stewards. I’d have just removed anyone who took a step into the empty seats between themselves and the opposition fans. It won’t be long before there are fences between blocks at this rate. Another pitch invader increased the likelihood of fences between us and the pitch too. It’s as if Hillsborough and Valley Parade never happened.

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Richmond Town Reserves v Northallerton Town Reserves, Wednesday 10th August 2022, 6.30pm

August 24, 2022

I’d been hoping to watch a game at Earls Orchard for a while. It’s the pitch that’s alongside Richmond Castle and occasionally pops up in groundhopper threads about picturesque venues. Richmond Town played their games there until joining the Wearside League and then moved to the Dave Clark Arena, which sounds grand, but in reality is a school pitch.

Richmond Town Reserves play in the less demanding Wensleydale League and when I noticed that they had a pre-season friendly against Northallerton Town Reserves at Earls Orchard, I thought I’d go along.

Richmond is an ideal location to go for a walk and so Jen and I turned up a couple of hours prior to kick-off and took Henry for a stroll along the River Swale. The Coast to Coast National Trail runs alongside the river for a while and as we thought we’d be unlikely to get lost if we kept the river in sight this seemed like a simple option.

The path took us through some fields of sheep and kept returning to the river, which allowed Henry some drinking opportunities. Wildlife sighting were rare, with rabbits in a field being the highlight. There were lots of people around though with some family barbecues being held on the river banks and groups of teenagers dipping in and out of the water.

We were back at Earls Orchard in time for kick-off and, as suspected, the castle did provide a spectacular backdrop. Richmond were in blue with Northallerton dressed up as Newcastle. There weren’t many people watching, maybe twenty or so most of the time, and I suspect some of the lads in the crowd were either first teamers or squad members who hadn’t been selected.

Not a lot happened in the first half but the game came to life in the second half with Richmond scoring two penalties in quick succession. They added a third on the hour before Northallerton pulled one back from a spot kick of their own.

Richmond had the game well under control though and rattled home another three goals before the end for a comprehensive victory. If I lived in Richmond I’d probably pop along every week, set up a camping chair, and watch the football in front of a special backdrop.

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Chester-le-Street Town v Redcar Town, Tuesday 9th August 2022, 7.30pm

August 23, 2022

Chester-le-Street Town have played at their Chester Moor ground for the past forty-two years. Initially in the Wearside League and then in the Northern League since 1983. It’s an easy drive from Norton, so I’m a little unsure as to why it’s taken me so long to get to a game.

Anyway, better late than never, Jen and I took the dog up the A1 for their Division Two fixture with Redcar Town.

It was five quid in and another two for the best programme at this level that I’ve seen for a while. I speculated another quid on the raffle which, as usual, came to nothing, before sitting on the concrete steps behind the far goal. If we’d wanted, we could have had proper seats in the main covered stand, but it was fairly crowded and I thought it would be better if the beagle had a bit more space.

There was another clash of colours on the pitch with both sides in blue and white. It’s something that seems more prevalent lately.

I learned from the programme that Chester-le-Street were on a losing streak of nine home games. Their chances of ending that streak were reduced midway through the first half when a long through-ball drew the keeper way out from his goal. The Redcar striker got there first, nicked it past him and tapped home into an empty net.

At half-time I went into the clubhouse and got a pasty and some chips. The friendly lady behind the counter told me that they had been cooked in a Ninja. It was wasted on me as I’ve no idea what a Ninja is, or whether it is likely to improve the taste of what were clearly bought-in oven chips. The tray came in handy though for giving the dog some water from a tap behind the goal.

Redcar had most of the territory in the second half and in hindsight we’d have been better off switching ends sooner than we did. The game was over as a contest when Redcar added a second goal fifteen minutes from time and they notched two more in the last ten minutes for a win that extended the home losing streak to ten games.

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Boro Rangers v Prudhoe Youth Club Seniors, Saturday 6th August 2022, 3pm

August 22, 2022

This game took place on the weekend of the Stone Valley North Festival and as it was only twenty minute’s drive from the Ushaw Moor festival site I was happy to nip out for a couple of hours despite it resulting in me missing Sleeper and Stone Foundation.

I did see plenty of decent bands though, including From The Jam, with the highlights probably being the headline sets from The Stranglers and The Boomtown Rats.

As you may have deduced from that glimpse of the line-up, it’s a festival for old people. A few people had brought their grandkids, which lowered the average age, but I’d say that even at fifty-seven, I was below the median.

At 2.30 I left Jen, Paul and Strach to get on with their drinking and drove to the New Ferens ground in Durham. It’s the temporary home of Boro Rangers who were promoted to Northern League Division Two this summer from the North Riding League and had to relocate as their previous ground was below the required standard.

The visitors were Prudhoe Youth Club Seniors who were also in their first Northern League season having been promoted from the Northern Alliance League.

It was only three quid in, which is cheaper than usual for the Northern League, although in hindsight I wonder if I was charged the pensioner rate. I asked the bloke on the gate if there were many in already and he went to the trouble of adding up his tally sheet. I was the thirty-fourth person through the turnstile although a few more came in after me including three WAGs who were clearly unimpressed at the distance that they had to travel from the Boro for a home game.

The visitors were in blue with Rangers turning out in Boro kits. Usually that would be enough to ensure my allegiance, but Boro Rangers weren’t a likeable team. They were very aggressive with tackles flying in from the start. That’s legitimate, but they combined their over-physical approach with excessive appealing for every decision and then furiously berated the officials from the pitch, dugout and stands when it didn’t go their way. And often when it did.

The first half passed without much goalmouth action and as the game went on, I found myself hoping for a Prudhoe goal, ideally a contentious one that would reduce the entire Boro Rangers contingent to apoplexy.

A goal did eventually come when a direct free kick was curled with pace into the top corner of the Prudhoe net. It was enough to deservedly take the three points for Boro Rangers and I was able to get back to Stone Valley in time for the closing songs of Peter Hook’s set and to join in with the evening’s drinking.

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FC Hartlepool v Durham City, Wednesday 3rd August 2022, 6.45pm

August 21, 2022

August is a time when there are plenty of games going on in the lower leagues as fixtures can be played mid-week without floodlights and with little chance of the weather intervening.

With that in mind, Jen, Isla, Henry and I went along to FC Hartlepool for their eleventh tier Wearside League Division One match against Durham City. We found the ground easily enough but, as I’ve often done in the past, I’d got the date wrong and we were twenty-four hours too early.

This is usually the point where I bring up standing outside of Freddy Natt aged seven trying to get into a padlocked school one day before it actually re-opened after Christmas, but I dare say you’ve heard that one. As we were already out and about, we drove to Seaton Carew for a walk along the seafront and some fish and chips.

Jen and I returned to the Grayfields Enclosure the next evening with the dog and paid our three quid admission. If we’d been a bit sharper, we could have nabbed the bench seat near to one of the corner flags, but instead ended up having to lean on the railings around the pitch. There was a decent turnout, with people watching from all four sides of the pitch and a few kids having kickabouts of their own.

I’d seen Durham a couple of times last season in their relegation from the Northern League. They’d been really hammered on a few occasions and didn’t win a game until the final day of the campaign. I was hoping that the drop down a level would make them more competitive, but a seven-nil defeat on the opening day of the season suggested that they may struggle this season too.

Hartlepool were in red and blue, with Durham in red and black. Theoretically there wasn’t a clash of colours, but in real life it was often difficult to tell the teams apart. How hard is it to make sure that the teams play in non-clashing kits?

Hartlepool took the lead in the first few minutes with a shot from outside the box that appeared to have left the keeper unsighted. The added another ten minutes later and a third from a penalty on the half-hour. The home goalie didn’t have a save to make in the first half and whilst it was still only three-nil at the break, Hartlepool genuinely could have been ten goals to the good with better finishing.

Durham kept their hosts at bay for the opening fifteen minutes of the second half, but two goals in quick succession around the hour mark opened the floodgates and Hartlepool added another six in the remaining half-hour to run out eleven-nil winners.

It’s hard to gauge how good unbeaten Hartlepool are two games into the season, but it looks like another tough year for Durham.

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England v Germany, Sunday 31st July 2022, 5pm

August 20, 2022

Harry and I went to watch the England Women’s team at the Riverside back in February. That must have got me on to a mailing list and a few months ago I was alerted to the Euro’s ticket sale. I picked up one for the England game at Southampton that took place on a day when I was already scheduled to be there anyway, and I also got a couple for the final for thirty quid a pop.

As the tournament went on, it looked very possible that England might make it all of the way. Harry never really doubted it, but he’s eleven and without a history of England and the Boro pissing on his chips. So, with train seats pre-booked at the same time as the match tickets, we set off for London.

It all went easily enough and we had time for a pre-match lunch at the pub we were staying in at Kilburn. We only stayed for the one night but it was sufficient time for us to visit the Millenium Dome, or the O2 Arena as it is now known, the next morning and walk across the roof.

I’d initially thought that the safety precautions were a bit over the top but, particularly after descending, I can see why we were required to do the walk clipped to a safety line and with suitable shoes.

We set off early for the game and even with two hours remaining to kick-off Wembley Way was packed. The atmosphere was completely different to that of a men’s game and the game could probably have gone ahead without any policing whatsoever. We were in the ground with ninety minutes to spare and watched some pre-match entertainment from singers who were more familiar to Harry than me.

I suspect that you might be aware of how it went. But, just in case you’ve been in a coma, England went a goal up after a pass and finish that graced the occasion. Germany equalized to take it to extra-time and then England scrambled a winner before indulging in ten minutes of top quality shithousery to keep the ball in the corner and run down the clock.

We stayed for the presentation, celebrations and the inevitable Sweet Caroline before heading out to a packed Wembley Way and then an overheated overground tube without air conditioning. After attending five Wembley finals with the Boro without a win, it was nice to be on the right end of a result once.

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Middlesbrough v West Brom, Saturday 30th July 2022, 3pm

August 19, 2022

I’ve already been to a competitive game this season in the Women’s Euros at Southampton and a couple of pre-season friendlies, but this one felt like the proper opening fixture of the season. Alistair was away for the weekend, so it was just Harry and I that went along.

You never really know what you might see on the river outside the ground and there was a new structure there this week. I suspect that it was something to do with the oil and gas industry but that’s about the best I can do in pinning down its identity.

Pre-match talk was inevitably about the personnel changes, mainly the arrival of the American goalie and Tav’s move to Bournemouth. Zack Steffan’s loan signing looks a good move, both for him and us, but I was disappointed with Tav’s departure, particularly without a replacement having been brought in. I appreciate the pull of the Premier League though and hope he does well.

One of the biggest surprises has been the re-integration of Chuba Akpong after his banishment to Greece and then the U21s. He started this one and did well, combining well with Ryan Giles to set up an early goal for Isaiah Jones. We had a second one disallowed shortly after and at that stage it looked like an easy three points.

It rarely pans out in the way that you expect though and West Brom equalized soon after the restart for the second half. They could have won it too, as despite us having most of the possession the better chances fell to them. I reckon a draw was a fair result though and with another forty-five games and hopefully a few more signings to come, I’m happy enough with the point.

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Carlisle City v Nelson, Saturday 23rd July 2022, 1.30pm

August 17, 2022

I’ve still got a handful of Northern League grounds to visit and with Carlisle City’s Gilford Park being the furthest away we made a day of it and went for a walk. Back in 2011, Jen and I spent four days walking alongside Hadrian’s Wall. We didn’t do the full route then, but focused on the central area which has most of the best bits. The furthest west we got at that time was Lanercost Priory and so what I thought we’d do was park up at Walton and then walk eastwards to the Priory and then back again.

It was an enjoyable walk despite some rerouting along a road. There wasn’t a lot of wildlife or a lot of wall, with most of the remains being buried rather than on display, but it was well signposted as the National Trails tend to be. Suitably inspired, we returned a few days later to walk the section between Walton and Crosby in both directions.

Carlisle City were taking on Nelson, a fellow tenth tier team that plays in Division One North of the North West Counties League. Nelson had played the previous day in Scotland and were accompanied by a handful of fans enthusiastically following the mini pre-season tour.

We gave our three quid admission to a girl at the gate. She was complaining to her friend that her fake tan was rubbing off on everything she touched. I remember when my daughter went through her fake tan phase and there was a terracotta stain around every light switch in the house.

There were two seated covered stands and a covered standing area down one side. I’d estimate that around forty people in total had turned up in cold and drizzly weather. We sat in the stand behind the goal.

Nelson’s conditioning seemed better than their hosts and they were two up after fifteen minutes and added a third on the half-hour. Carlisle pulled a goal back, but Nelson added a fourth before half-time. The constant stream of people returning from the burger van meant that the dog was far more alert to what was going on than the Carlisle defenders had been.

Nelson looked as if they would add to their lead after the break but ran out of steam as the game went on, perhaps as a consequence of playing on successive days. Carlisle took advantage of their opponent’s fatigue and scored a couple of late goals to make the game seem closer than it really was, but Nelson held on for a four-three victory that made the trip all the more enjoyable for their travelling fans.

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