Posts Tagged ‘Northern League’

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Grangetown Boys Club v Sunderland West End, Saturday 4th October 2025, 3pm

October 26, 2025

Quite a few games were being called off due to the effects of Storm Amy, so I didn’t really want to travel too far just in case I turned up at a ground an hour away with a postponed sign on the gate. Fortunately, I’d still to visit the Northern League’s Grangetown Boys Club and so I decided to make the short trip to their Trunk Road ground.

The night before, Jen and I had been at Coulby Newham Cathedral to see John Bramwell. It’s quite a modern building for a church and it solves the problem of sitting on hard wooden pews by hiring out cushions. The gig was good, but as it’s the fifth time we’ve seen him this year, I know his anecdotes word for word.

Grangetown’s ground proved harder to find than I’d anticipated, as I’d left my phone in the house by mistake. The sat nav in the car isn’t the best, but my old-skool technique of just driving around Grangetown until I saw the pitch worked in the end.

It was a fiver to get in and I bought a programme and a chip butty from the food kiosk behind one of the goals.

Grangetown Boys Club dates back to the 1940’s with most of their time having being spent in the now-defunct Teesside League. They gained promotion from the North Riding League in 2024 and so this is just their second season ever in the tenth tier. The visitors, Sunderland West End, have been in the Northern League for a few seasons now, but haven’t ever really looked as if they might reach Division One.

As Grangetown haven’t been long at this level, their ground is still developing. There was a fifty-seater shipping container stand along one side of the pitch with two covered ‘bus stop’ type sheds providing somewhere to shelter when it rains. There was also a portacabin bar that seemed popular with a bunch of older fellas who looked to be on some sort of jolly.

The Northern League has a rule that spectators can only stand in areas where there is hard standing and not grass. This meant that half of one side of the pitch and the area behind one goal were out of bounds. Some concreting preparation was going on, so hopefully it won’t be long before there are views from the full perimeter. It could also do with some fast-growing trees planting between the pitch and the trunk road, to reduce the risk of wayward clearances hitting cars.

The attendance was announced as eighty-four. In addition to the jolly boys, there were a few fans from West End, many of whom might have been unselected players and their Mams. I spent the first half of the game in the container stand picking up snippets of info from some of those in the know.

For the second half I moved to the rail on the far side. The hills provided a better backdrop than the road.

The wind made play difficult and neither side had many clear chances on goal. West End upped their game in the second half and took the lead with around twenty minutes to go. Grangetown had a few chances afterwards, but the visitors held on to take the points.

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Alnwick Town v Esh Winning, Saturday 5th April 2025, 3pm

April 12, 2025

I completed the full set of grounds in Division One of the Northern League earlier in the season and had just three to go in the Second Division. One of them was Alnwick Town and as we had tickets for a John Bramwell gig in Berwick on the Thursday night, we decided to stay up there until the weekend and then call into Alnwick on the way home.

Bramwell was good, with a similar set to the one we’d seen a few days earlier in Stockton. It was in The Barrels pub, in a downstairs room that held around forty people. I spent some time before the gig chatting to an old fella sat at the bar with a beagle/Jack Russell cross.

With two days in Berwick, we took the opportunity for a couple of coastal walks. I like walking by the sea and all you have to do to navigate is remember which side of your body should be closest to the water.

On the Friday we walked around some of the old defensive walls before joining the coastal path for a total of eight miles northwards and back.  We passed The Stanks, where there is usually a football game or two in the summer. I’ll return at some point to tick it off.

On Saturday morning, we drove in the direction of Alnwick and parked at Budle Bay before walking past the Newtown Gun Emplacement and Bamburgh Golf Club until we reached the castle. There were rabbits in the fields and a bi-plane circling overhead. As we were pressed for time, we turned around at Bamburgh and clocked up just the six miles.

Alnwick play at St James’ Park and in black and white stripes. I’ve no idea if they named their ground and chose their colours before their Newcastle neighbours did, but someone somewhere has shown a lack of imagination.

We arrived at two o’clock as Jen had some things that she wanted to do and we managed to nab the last spot in the club car park. I suspect that every other car belonged to a player or official. Jen headed off to visit a garden full of poisonous plants. She returned later without any cuttings, so I guess I must still be in her good books.

After parking I returned to the gate to hand over my six quid admission. I bought a programme that wasn’t really worth the pound I paid for it. It’s nice to see paper programmes still being produced but there has to be something in them worth reading.

There was a clubhouse with a bar and a telly. I bought a cheese and onion pasty for lunch and watched the end of the Everton v Arsenal game. Moyes looked old, doddery and in need of a haircut. I know how it feels.

There were three seating options, a couple of padded seats outside the clubhouse that I presume were earmarked for directors, an old stand on the halfway line with wooden benches and a shipping container behind the goal with fifty seats. I started off in the latter and then worked my way around the rail.

Alnwick Town went into the game in eleventh place in the table with little to play for. Esh Winning were in fifth and hoping for a play-off spot. Alnwick took the lead just before half-time and saw out the rest of the half.

It was Grand National Day and so I delayed my return to the side of pitch and watched the race in the bar. I’d backed the horse that eventually came second, so got a run for my money. I’m not really sure why I didn’t go this year as it’s definitely the place to be. Maybe it’s the size of the crowds and the scrum at the gates.

I headed outside to learn that I hadn’t missed any goals. There were plenty of chances at both ends in the second half, but Alnwick held on to take the points and dent Esh Winning’s play-off hopes. Two Northern League grounds to go.

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Penrith v Blyth Town, Saturday 8th March 2025, 3pm

March 15, 2025

Jen and I had walked the central sections of Hadrian’s Wall fourteen years ago. That’s the best part and at the time we thought we’d leave it at that. A couple of years ago we decided to finish the trail off and got as far as Rickerby Park in Carlisle. As I’d identified Penrith’s fixture with Blyth Town as my game for the day, we took the opportunity to head further north before the game and pick up the path where we had left off.

We’d been out the night before, watching Pete Wylie at the Georgian in Stockton. I’d enjoyed his stuff back in the eighties but hadn’t heard anything he’d done since his heyday. It was a decent show with plenty of chat between songs.

The late finish to the gig meant that we didn’t reach Rickerby Park until ten o’clock. That left sufficient time for a nine-mile round trip to Grinsdale, following whatever river flows through Carlisle. We passed by a castle and a couple of churches, but didn’t take the opportunity to have a closer look.

There wasn’t much in the way of wildlife. A black duck and a grey squirrel were about our lot. I’m not certain that it actually was a duck. Lets just call it a swimming bird. Despite carrying my camera in my hand for the entire time I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo of the squirrel. Still, you know what they look like.

Four hours and twenty-odd thousand steps later, we were back at Rickerby Park and with sufficient time to get to Frenchfield Park for the Penrith game. I checked the driving directions on the futbology app and discovered that it would actually be quicker to get to an Annan Athletic fixture in Scotland. It was tempting, but as it would have meant a longer post-match drive back to Teesside, I stuck with the original plan.

We arrived at Frenchfield Park with ten minutes to spare and found the last remaining parking spot. It was seven quid admission, and I bought a programme for a further pound. Despite it being close to kick-off there were plenty of seats in the main stand.

As we’d not yet had any lunch Jen nipped down to the food hut and brought me back a burger and some chips. The burger was fine, but the chips weren’t worth finishing.

Blyth Town are up at the top end of the Northern League Division One table. It’s unlikely that they will catch leaders Redcar Athletic and secure automatic promotion, but they have a more than reasonable chance of finishing in the playoffs. There’s not much for Penrith to play for as they are in the lower reaches of the table and are unlikely to slip into the relegation spots.

Blyth were the better side and by the time half an hour had gone were two goals up. They maintained their lead going into the break. I took the opportunity to prevent my legs from stiffening up and spent much of the second half watching from different viewpoints around the perimeter fence.

There were a handful of young kids supporting Penrith from behind one of the goals. They’d even brought a drum. At the other end it was just some sheep up on the fell. If it was a fell. It might just have been field with a slope. I’ve no idea of the difference.

Penrith got back into the game just after the restart, but within a minute Blyth had restored their two-goal advantage. A thirty yarder from Penrith reduced the deficit to a single goal again and made for an interesting final twenty minutes. Blyth hung on though to take the points.

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Darlington Town v Chester-le-Street United, Saturday 28th December 2024, 1.30pm

January 31, 2025

I’m gradually working my way through the Northern League, although with promotions, relegations, resignations and lateral transfers for geographical reasons, it seems a never-ending task. Today’s game was in the Second Division at the Eastbourne Community Stadium in Darlington.

Home side Darlington Town are new to tier nine, having won the Wearside League last season. Chester-le-Street United have been at this level for three seasons now and from what I read online, appear to exist for the purpose of showcasing young footballers hoping for a career in the game.  I might be wrong, but I think they are full-time with the players investing in their future by paying to play. They regularly take on the academy teams from clubs higher in the pyramid.

It was six quid to get in. Having turned sixty, I was tempted to ask what the age for concessions was, but I let it go. Anyway, it doesn’t feel right to be paying a reduced rate whilst I’m still gainfully employed.

There was a raffle for a basketful of booze, much of which looked like repurposed unwanted Christmas gifts. I bought a ticket anyway, despite suspecting that if I won, many of the bottles would go into a cupboard and remain there until I could re-gift them myself.

I took a seat in the small covered stand along one side and behind a sausage dog. There were also a couple of even smaller covered stands on the opposite side that might each have accommodated fifteen or so standing spectators.

It was a cold day, and I was glad that I’d nipped up to the loft before the game and looked for the big coat that I’d bought when living in Moscow. In the inner pocket I discovered a ticket from a 2021 Moscow Dynamo game, which might have been the last time I’d worn it.

The visitors took the lead ten minutes in when a corner wasn’t cleared, and someone bravely stuck his head amongst some flying boots. Chester-le-Street’s good start was undermined fifteen minutes later when one of their players was sent off for what looked like an off-the-ball elbow.

At half-time I nipped out to the burger van where I saw a kid try to salt his chips only for the cellar top to come off and deposit the entire contents of the container into the tray. He reacted as if nothing untoward had happened and nonchalantly walked away with his food as if he always went for an equal ratio of condiments to chips.

Darlington Town struggled to make an impression on the game after the break. The visitors should have gone two-up mid-way through the half when they were awarded a penalty, but it was blazed over the bar. There was some home pressure towards the end, but Chester-le-Street held on for the three points.

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Blyth Town v Bedlington Terriers, Tuesday 26th December 2023, 3pm

May 31, 2024

For my second Boxing Day game I headed north for an hour or so to Blyth. I was there early enough to be able to leave the car outside the Gateway Park ground. With plenty of time to kick-off I made my way through a housing estate and followed a beck until I reached the sea.

It was busy, with people walking their dogs and strolling along the promenade. You have to stroll on a promenade, it’s compulsory.

With kick-off approaching I retraced my steps and handed over the six quid for admission. I was soon relieved of another two pounds for a raffle. I’m not really sure why I bother as the only thing I’ve ever won at one of these games is a trucker’s cap advertising engine oil. Maybe I should re-train as a lorry driver to get some use out of it.

Gateway Park has a small seventy-seater covered stand and I was there early enough to nab a seat before most of the crowd had left the clubhouse. There was a smaller adjoining standing area for latecomers with others lining the pitch perimeter and many of the two-hundred plus crowd nursing pints that seemed out of place on a cold winter’s afternoon.

Home side Blyth Town are a fairly recently established club, dating back to 1995. I had a look in the online programme and they had only made it into the Northern League around three seasons ago. The visitors, Bedlington Terriers, have a more illustrious history. They’ve been around for the past eighty years or so and hit a purple patch around the millennium when they won five Northern League Division One titles on the trot.

This fixture was in the Second Division and both sides were handily placed for promotion with Blyth in second place and Bedlington just one spot behind them. They both trailed leaders Newcastle Blue Star by a single point.

There weren’t many chances in the first half and the most excitement came whenever a wayward shot ended up in the car park. As I’d bought out the insurance excess on my hire car I had little skin in that game other, I suppose, than the inconvenience of having to have a windscreen replaced before driving home.

At the break I wandered into the clubhouse and had a look around. For a club with a short history, Blyth had a lot of trophies on display. As I bought a Bovril the bloke next to me let me know, with some delight, that Blyth Spartans were winning at South Shields three divisions up. Clearly there isn’t much of a local rivalry between the Blyth clubs, or at least not as far as that fella was concerned.

Blyth took the lead not long after the re-start with a strong header at the back post. They doubled their lead on seventy minutes with what may well have been intended to be another header but looked as if it might well have actually bounced off someone’s back.

The trusted tactic of a lofted ball into the box paid off for a third time with a cleaner headed connection as the clock ran down. The goal sealed the win for Blyth and opened up a gap between the teams in the battle for a top two spot.

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Boro Rangers v Redcar Athletic, Tuesday 26th December 2023, 11am

May 24, 2024

Jen had a trip to America booked and so I dropped her at the airport early in the morning. I’d thought about going with her, but I’d been doing some remote work and the time difference with the States would have meant some very early starts for meetings.

Another factor was the lack of sport going on out there at this time of year compared to in Europe and by staying behind it gave me the chance to get to a few games, including two Boxing Day fixtures. The first of those was a Northern League Division One clash between Boro Rangers and Redcar Athletic.

I think both sides were promoted last season with Boro Rangers having continued their previous form to sit at fifth place in the table. Redcar Athletic hadn’t fared quite so well and were down in fifteenth.

The game was at Trinity College, which sounds impressive, but is actually just a school. It’s an enclosed artificial pitch with a small covered seated stand and two small covered standing areas. It’s probably at about the bare minimum for Northern League level and if Boro Rangers were to get back-to-back promotions, I’m not sure that the ground would satisfy tier eight requirements. On the plus side, there was a burger stand and another selling cans of beer.

It was seven quid in and the eleven o’clock kick-off had attracted a sizeable crowd of more than 250, including two kids with a drum. There were a few away fans wearing club bobble hats stood nearby as I took up a position on the barrier behind one of the goals. Boro Rangers were wearing proper Boro strips, with Redcar Athletic in blue and black.

I can see why the home side would want to emphasise their Boro roots, but I’d have thought it would have been better to have their own identity, rather than being coming across as a tribute act with their kit. It’s like when you head up to Tyneside and the so many of the clubs have appropriated the black and white stripes.

There was a lot of squabbling and bickering between the teams with everyone appearing to appeal for everything, no matter how unlikely the prospect of getting the decision. The visitors took the lead ten minutes from half-time when someone got on the end of an enormous throw and stabbed the ball home.

I got a coffee at half-time, which was crap, and a burger which was much better. I’d barely resumed my position on the barrier when Redcar conceded a penalty with a handball. It was dispatched to bring Rangers level.

The momentum swung further towards the home side a few minutes later when the Redcar captain picked up a second yellow. Nobody else complained about the decision but he chuntered away to himself all the way to the dressing room.

Despite being a man down, Redcar restored their lead fifteen minutes from time with a header from a corner, only for Boro Rangers to level again moments later. The home side pressed for a winner and controversially were in possession and looking to get a shot away on the edge of the Redcar box when the ref blew for full-time. It wasn’t quite of Clive Thomas proportions, but he got some stick for it. The dropped points put a spoke in the wheels of the home side’s play-off ambitions but I thought a draw was a fair reflection of the game.

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Chester-Le-Street United v Billingham Town, Saturday 16th September 2023, 3pm

October 17, 2023

After catching a few minutes of a fifteenth-tier game on the field outside I made my way into the Riverside Sports Complex. There was a T20 game going on next door in Durham’s cricket ground, but with a fairly steady light rain it didn’t seem to have attracted many spectators.

It was a fiver to get in and, somewhat unusually these days, I was given a paper ticket. The bloke on the door asked me if I’d been before and when I replied that I hadn’t he directed me upstairs to a lounge where I was able to get a coffee. The fella before me in the queue managed to carry a pint in one hand with a wriggling toddler in the other. Never an easy task.

The fixture was in the second division of the Northern League and featured Chester-Le-Street United, in a gold and black kit against Billingham Town who were playing in blue with a white band.

The home side were only founded in 2020. Billingham Town are a lot longer established and are probably best known for having transferred Gary Pallister to the Boro in exchange for a pork pie and a Strawberry Cornetto.

I watched the first half from the balcony outside of the lounge. This provided an elevated view across the running track. If I’d wanted to be a bit closer, then there was the option of a small, covered stand behind the goal to my left.

I overheard someone mention that one of the home centre-halves was former Hartlepool player Michael Nelson. I looked him up and he’d played as high as the Championship with Norwich and Scunthorpe as well as winning the Scottish League Cup with Kilmarnock. He was also forty-three, which impressed me no end.

It was scrappy early on with neither side having a shot on target in the opening half-hour. Billingham Town went ahead shortly before half-time with a penalty that the fella just drove straight down the middle of the goal.

That was my cue to head inside for steak pie, chips and gravy and then go downstairs to watch the rest of the game from pitch-side.

It was steady-away for most of the second half until a floaty cross eluded the visiting keeper and was nodded home with twenty minutes to go to level the scores. Chester-Le-Street may as well not have bothered though as Town went straight down the other end to restore their lead. They added another on the break ten minutes from time before a consolation from the home side with the last kick of the game concluded matters for a three-two away win.

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Washington v Ryton and Crawcrook Albion, Tuesday 27th September 2022, 7.45pm

October 10, 2022

This game was at the Washington Football Hub, which I think is a new location for Washington. Shame I didn’t realise earlier as I could have ticked off their old ground prior to the move. The hub has a few all weather pitches with a car park separating them from the grass pitch used for this Northern League Division Two clash between Washington and Ryton and Crawcrook Albion.

It was a fiver in and I took up an initial position on the rail. There were two covered stands opposite on the dugout side with a few people in them, but with the rain holding off most of the one hundred and sixty-six-people present were spread around the perimeter.

I asked the fella next to me which team was which and after a small period of consideration he suggested that Washington were in the navy kit with white sleeves and Ryton and Crawcrook were in yellow and blue.

Washington had much of the early possession with Ryton relying on their attempts to beat the offside trap with early runs from deep. Neither side finished well though and as we approached half-time it was goalless. The deadlock was broken in added time when a cross from the Washington keeper’s left drifted over his head and dropped in at the back post. He was distraught, but it was clearly a fluke that not even the fella who floated it in had anticipated.

I joined the lengthy queue for a half-time Bovril and was pleased to be asked whether I wanted pepper in it. It’s always good when people know how to do something properly.

Ryton added two more goals in the second half, the first from the penalty spot and the second from an eventual successful evading of the offside trap. The win allowed Ryton to put some space between themselves and the teams fighting relegation but left Washington firmly in the bottom three.

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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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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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