My Matchday 132 - Darlington Arena

Darlington 0v3 Hartlepool United

Football League Two

March 25th 2007

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A match I’ve been really looking forward to, the only league Derby clash in the North-East this season and my first visit to the Darlington Arena.
Darlo and Pools rivalry stretches back 99 years when they first came together in the old North-Eastern League in 1908,they were both elected into the Football League in 1921, through the then newly formed Third Division North,and they've been the fiercest of enemies ever since,with only twelve seasons apart during this time.
Darlington moved from Feethams, their home of 120 years in 2003, the shift was the brainchild of egotistical fanatic and former safe cracker George Reynolds,whose dream it was to build a new football arena and name it after himself (so his immortality was assured )and take ‘The Quakers’ all the way to the Premiership,but it’s a crime he didn’t realise that it’s good players on the park that are essential and not the players surroundings which would ever make his fantasy come true,but crime is something the former Darlo chairman is all too familiar with.
The original Reynolds Arena name only lasted until April 2004 when ‘Gorgeous Georgeous’ went bankrupt and was nicked on charges of money laundering.The club went into administration with club creditors ‘The Sterling Consortium’ eventually taking control of the club,but not without a stubborn residence from the former chairman.The first steps of the new ownership was the removing of all evident Reynolds Arena signs, and indeed the alleged legacy(so immortality denied) and after a brief rebranding as Williamson Motors Stadium the ground is now named after new sponsors,local radio station for the Tees Valley area 96.6 TFM.
The ground consists of a single tier which bowls parallel around the stadium,divided into 40 blocks of seats,the only distinction between each stand is the black and white lettering imbedded within with the sea of red seats with the words Quakers(predictable) DFC Darlington(expected)and Come On Darlo(that’s more like it!)spelled out legoland style,there is also sponsors executive boxes in the South Stand,along with a police control box,there is a perpex strip to release more natural light,which circles the top of the stand,the stadium is completed by a giant widescreen television in the North-East corner.
The choice of red seats is a strange one considering Darlington play in black ‘n’ white,I remember a few seasons back Mr.Reynolds wanting to change the club colours to red and white stripes(well he is Mackem bred) but this went down like a lead balloon amongst the Darlo faithfull,so I suppose he got his own way in the end with his choice of seat colouring.
I ordered my ticket for the South Stand online and what a great seat I got, next seat to the directors box,just in front of the press area,along side the TV cameras,I was seated behind the SKY Sports match reporter(did anyone see iz?)I couldn’t have got a better view,it was if Darlo knew I was there representing ‘The 100 Football Grounds Club’website,so they give me the best available seat in the house.
The match had a cracking atmosphere with the hint of an undercurrent of local hatred (there was a bit of bother)both sets of fans sang throughout,trying to outdo each other in the choral stakes with Pools fans coming out on top, likewise their team,who produced a splendid second half performance to run out easy winners in the end by three goals to nil,and stretch their unbeaten sequence to a club record 22 games.The match was also to witness the best goal I’ve seen at a game this season,a brilliant chest and volley,’Roy Race style’ from Eifion Williams.
The capacity of the stadium is 27,500,but it is limited to only 10,000,which is a shame considering more fans would have liked to have been at this game,I must confess that I didn’t really attend this game as a neutral, I’ve always had a soft spot for Hartlepool United,my personal experiences in the past of attending games at Feethams and Victoria Park being the reason for this,let’s just say that the supporters of the team that play in blue and white are a lot more friendly and are more hospitable than their bitter rivals from along the road.
My overall impression of The Darlington Arena is it’s just another purpose built stadium.yes..it has great facilities and is a pleasant arena to watch football,but there’s no spirit or character,I’m positive any die in the wool Darlo fan would happily take that walk within the Town Centre,stroll past the cricket pitch,click through the turnstile and take their place in the old ‘Tin Shed’,happy days indeed, but now just a distant memory.

Links -
Match Report
Post Match comments

My Matchday 131 - Hurst Cross

Ashton United 0v3 Gateshead
Unibond League Premier Division
24th March 2007
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This was my first of three games in three days, (marvellous!) as it was all aboard the Heed Army Charabanc to Greater Manchester for Gateshead’s Unibond Premier League clash at Ashton United
Ashton United history goes as far back as 1878,under their previous name of Hurst FC, it wasn’t until 1909 that they first played competitive league football,playing in the Manchester League and going on to lift there first title in 1912 after having previous success in the Manchester Senior Cup.
They then joined the Lancashire Combinations League (1917 Champions) and later the Cheshire County League until 1946 when they changed their name to the club we know today,Ashton United FC.
Their league history yo-yoed between the two associations including a brief spell in the Midland League,until becoming founder members of the North Western Counties League in 1982, after relegation and a brief spell in the 2nd Division, they regained promotion,but the club was in financial trouble with the Hurst Cross ground in decay and in need of some tender loving care.
The Robins found that tender care in 1990 through Businessman Terry Liversidge who helped turn the club around and transform the ground,his faith in the club was rewarded in 1992 when the club had their most successful season in their history winning the NWCL,League Cup,League Challenge Cup and Manchester Premier Cup.
The club took the step up to the Northern Premier League 1st Division and after a ten year stint in which they finished 3rd six times they finally made it into the Premier Division via the inaugural play offs of 2002, they became founder members of the Conference North in 2004 but alas were relegated in that first season, and so reside back in the Unibond Premier Division.
Ashton-Under-Lyne lies in the Metropolis district of Tameside, under the Pennine Hills,so this meant about a 3 hour journey from the Heed,so after a shift at work and an early finish achieved with a little help from a work colleague(Cheers Gav!) I made the coach pick up at 10.10am and we arrived at Ashton at around 1.30pm, the trip included a half-hour bait stop and a brief “You don’t know where you’re going” moment aimed at the coach driver after getting lost,all this on top of being fed 5 bottles of dodgy Brazilian bottled lager,so it was straight off the bus and into the nearest boozer(be it a ManYoo pub)for a few pints of John Smith’s Smooth.
Apart from it being a day out supporting Gateshead and grabbing ground no.131,it also was a farewell appearance for Private Goody,who was going from Heed Army to Real Army back to his day job of being a member of our Armed Forces,his regiment are posted out to Afghanistan this week for 6 months,so this was his last match and last good drink till the Autumn,so the best of luck to him,having to be teetotal that is. ;-)
I was told by Captain Carter on the way to Ashton that I would love the ground because it’s a dump,well I’ve seen worse,but Hurst Cross certainly doesn’t lack character.The grounds capacity is 4500,it has two uncovered terraces behind each goal,the Lees Road End which is classed as the away end(well it was for the first half)and the Rowley Street End which is a smaller standing area,in each corner of the terrace is a toilet which is basically a wall to piss on(see bottom pic)
The main stand is called the Sid Sykes Stand which is named after (not Eric’s brother) the clubs former chairman, it holds 240 seats,but only about a dozen punters take up this offer,it also holds a press box at the rear and on top of it’s red roof are 11 flag poles with the flags of Lancashire,the five home nations,Union Jacks and also(don’t know why?)Spain and France.To the left of the stand is a sponsors box and the very pleasant and homely social club,to the right is the refreshment area and club shop,these buildings have been painted red to blend in with the stand.
The opposite side is the Popular Stand,this is a covered terrace with a 500 spectator capacity, the black back wall has AUFC painted in white,this stand to be honest looks a bit tattie,and could do with a facelift,light comes via four thin pylons on each side of the pitch.
The match itself was a comfortable 3-0 win for the Tynesiders,this following on from their fabulous 6-0 win over Grantham in midweek,the support for Gateshead was superb on the day as the Heed Army sang throughout (a particular mention to Ashton United keeper Lee Bracy who took it in good spirits regarding the ribbing of his lack of hair)and celebrated Italian style by setting off a orange smoke bomb,which was something I thought I’d never see in the Unibond League,so a smoking end to a smoking performance, and a good day all round.

Links -
Ashton Match Report
Gateshead Match Report
Heed Army Blog Fan Pics
HeedForum pictures and here.

My Matchday 130 - Craik Park

Morpeth Town 2v2 Chester-le-Street Town
Arngrove Northern League 1st Division
17th March 2007
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Morpeth Town FC was founded in 1894 through the amalgamation of Morpeth United and Morpeth FC and originally began life playing at Stobhill Cricket Field before a move to Storey Park in 1954.
The club were members of the Northern Alliance and were twice league champions,their second title in 1993-94 along with the Challenge Cup double coincided with a move to a purpose built stadium named after long time father and son club servants W & R Craik,who were club secretaries between 1920 and 1985.The club then gained entry to the Northern League and in their second season in 1995-96 became 2nd Division Champions and since their promotion,they’ve established themselves in the top flight equalling their best finish of 6th last season.
Craik Park itself is pretty basic,there’s a large club house coupled with the teams changing rooms,the teams walk down a small bank on to the dirt track surrounded pitch, with the standing areas cordoned off by a white barrier fence.There is a small stand with four rows of dirty grey seats and on the opposite side there is a standing shelter which looks like it would be more at home in a bus concourse than a football ground. The wooden team dugouts which are on the edge of the pitch,in front of the track look like they’d collapse with a decent gust of wind,these are tardis type dugouts because I couldn’t believe that six players managed to squeeze themselves inside the Chester one.
Today I had the company of the complete Smith family,I suggested to ‘the breadknife’ a nice run up to Morpeth with the kids and we could have a Mothers Day Eve lunch as a special treat,and…erm.. since we’re in the vicinity we may as well go to Craik Park and watch Morpeth v Chester-le-Street,of course she happily agreed as it was an offer that was too good to refuse.
The game was entertaining,played on a bitterly cold afternoon, with 2-2 a fair result,both teams lie in midtable but still have plenty to play for as both clubs have reached the finals of their respective county cups.Morpeth overcame Newcastle Benfield midweek to book their place in the Northumberland Senior Cup against Blyth Spartans,while the Cestrians reached the Durham Challenge Cup final for the first time in their history beating current holders Whickham to book a final date with Consett.

Links –
Chester match report
The day the Simple Pieman came to Town.

Updates

May 2007 -Morpeth Town won the Northumberland Senior Cup Final defeating Conference North side Blyth Spartans 3-2 in a thrilling game at Newcastle’s St James Park. Well Done!

My Matchday 129 - York Street

Boston United 2v1 Bristol Rovers
Football League Two
10th March 2007
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Boston have played on the same site at York Street since the late 19th Century under many guises, but it wasn’t until 1933 that the name of Boston United was initially used,around this time the ground was known as Shodfriars Lane,but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that the ground was renamed York Street,that’s until the recent sponsorship deal as the Staffsmart Stadium.
The Pilgrims has played in both North and South ends of the Non-League Pyramid,most of their success came in the North,winning the Northern Premier League on four occasions,including sadly missing out on election to the league in 1977 due to League ground regulations(runners up Wigan Athletic were elected instead,whatever happened to them?)But it was via the South which was their passage to the promised land of League Football,winning the Southern Premier League in 1999-00,and two years later Conference Champions and promotion to League Division Three
My trip to Boston came courtesy of a weekend away at ‘the breadknifes’ relations(Ann & Malc,my favourite Auntie & Uncle-In-Law) in Lincolnshire on the outskirts of Grantham,which as well as being a nice break,and as always an enjoyable weekend away,it also doubles as my East Midlands groundhopping base.
I’ve never been to Boston before,but I have driving through the town on a previous occasion and I remembered that as soon as you see the sign which announces ‘Welcome to Boston’ that the traffic comes to a stop,and then continues at a steady 3mph to get you from one side of the town to the other,so instead of travelling through‘traffic-jam-city’ I parked the car at the first opportunity and made my way to the ground on foot.
The ground was easy to find, as all of you groundhoppers know,and I’m sure can easily relate to,we have a built in radar which automatically redirects us towards the direction of floodlight pylons,and the lights at Boston United’s ground are easy to locate,being the good old fashioned type,tall and proud with a big square nappa.
Pre-match I called for a quick sherbet at the Sports Bar which is a smashing little club which I can recommend to visitors,it’s located in the car park at the York Street end of the ground,outside next door is the portacabin club shop.(see pic)
I stood in the Spayne Road Terrace which is a covered standing terrace which runs the length of the pitch,my first impression as I entered the ground was how spotless and tidy it is,the crash barriers looked like they had been freshly painted that morning and were a gleaming bright yellow.The reason became apparent why the place was in such pristine condition,there are rows of dustbins in front of the terrace(cannot recollect seeing this before) which the United fans are happy to use instead of littering the terraces,I even participated with confiscating my used coffee cup and I even deposited my chewing gum in the bin instead of sticking it under the crash barrier.
The players emerge from the tunnel from the corner of the York Street end, which is a small stand which has a bit of everything,the stand is two tiered with a seating area at the top where access is gained via a staircase on the terrace,there is more seating downstairs directly behind the goal with the standing areas on either side,there is a inimitable press box,and a match control area, all this squeezed into a wee 1435 capacity stand.
The Town End behind the opposite goal is for away supporters,the terrace has a short roof,so if there’s any piss-istent rain the fans would need to huddle up at the back of the stand,looking towards the right hand of the terrace is an advertisement which dominates the end,a long yellow rectangle board with ‘The Beijing Buffet’ with phone number in huge red letters,finally the main stand which is now named after the ground sponsors, the Staffsmart Stand, has a 1323 capacity and is an all seated in an assortment of various coloured seats.
The match pitted Boston who are desperate for Football League survival up against Bristol Rovers who are in the comfort zone,but with a trip to the fabulous Millennium Stadium to look forward to in the ‘Magnolia Emulsion Paint Cup’(or whatever it’s called)
The Pilgrims grabbed the 3 valuable points thanks to an early brace from Watford loanee Albert Jarrett,who scored a third minute penalty and followed up with a cracking strike to make it 2-0 after only 9 minutes,but United had to hang on as Rovers pulled a goal back midway through the second half which lead to a nervy and tense finish.
Match report