Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Final
May 12th 2007
att.approx 200 (+3 dogs)
It’s that time of the year when the football season draws nearer to closure,when the titles have all been decided and all that’s left are play-offs and cup finals,so the options become rather limited as far as watching live fitba are concerned,however I not about to let my wee band of loyal readers down,so I took a 100 mile round trip down to North Yorkshire to not only view a new ground,but also see a cup final clash with two sides playing for one of the oldest football trophies in the world.
Based in the coastal town of Redcar in Cleveland,Teesside Athletic are a club on the rise with a bright future ahead,they became one of the first clubs to receive FA Charter Standard Community Club Status,as well as having their senior side playing in the Wearside League and a reserve team,the club also run sixteen junior sides from ages 6-18 as well as a Ladies team and three junior girl teams making up over 250 playing staff.
Formed in 1993 playing in the Teesside League,the club took the step up into the Wearside League (level 7) as recently as 2005-06 season, finishing a respectable 5th (of 18) in their first season,they currently lie in 9th position this season but have progressed by reaching two cup finals,they face recently crowned Wearside League champions Birtley Town in the League Cup Final later this month and today they host Whitehaven Amateurs in the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Final.
The Green Lane ground lies just off Redcar sea front with views of the cliffs at Marske in the distance,at the moment the ground is pretty basic but there’s plans for major improvements, the ground is surrounded by a green panel fence and the club has recently launched a ‘sponsor a panel’scheme to raise finances,there’s also plans afoot to equip the ground with floodlights and spectator facilities,so currently there is no covered stand,not unless you count the unused dugout at the far site of the ground which would actually give the ground a seating capacity of four (see picture) On arriving at the ground there’s a car park and club house which sells a range of club souvenirs including pin badges and scarfs,quite impressive for a club at this level,the building also houses the changing rooms and the players enter the pitch via the same entrance as the supporters.
Today I had the pleasure of being accompanied by a couple fellow ground baggers with fellow 100FGC member Alan Price (squad no.26) as well as another Alan who I was meeting for the first time,both take in as many matches as possible throughout the season,I know that Mr.Price usually hits the 100 mark a season while the other Alan has had a busy time having attended an impressive nine matches in the space of this week.
The Monkwearmouth Charity Cup is a competition played amongst the Wearside League clubs and the current holders Teesside Athletic were hosting the final against their rivals from Cumbria,Whitehaven Amateurs,the final isn’t played at a neutral venue but home advantage wasn’t a telling factor today as it was the most one sided game I’ve seen this season,with the game being over as a contest by half time.
Whitehaven started the game brightly in the opening period,and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 27 minutes with Craig Robson’s clever lob over the keepers head from 18 yards,this opened the floodgates and the visitors added to their lead with a penalty from Jonathon Wight on 36 minutes and then a spectacular left footed volley from the edge of the box by Steven Hewitt five minutes before the break gave Whitehaven an unassailable lead at the end of the first 45 minutes.
Teesside improved after the break, but for all there possession they never seriously threatened in front of goal and Whitehaven added to their total with Craig Robson grabbing two goals to complete his hat trick in a five minute spell midway through the second half,the first on 65 minutes with a first time shot from a left wing cross and then he escaped his marker again to put his side 5 -0 up with a cool finish.To add more misery to Athletic’s afternoon they missed a penalty on 83 minutes with a fine save from keeper Jack Fryer and from their next attack forward Wight grabbed his second of the afternoon and Whitehaven’s sixth with a bullet header from a right wing corner,there was just enough time left for a late consolation goal from the hosts through a scrabbled goal by Steve Thompson.
So it finished 6-1 with Whitehaven dominated throughout and worthy winners of the Monkwearmouth Cup but a hugely disappointing performance from Teesside, although there’ll be better days ahead from a club that has a good infrastructure in place and an ambition to progress further.
LINKS –
What’s the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup
Based in the coastal town of Redcar in Cleveland,Teesside Athletic are a club on the rise with a bright future ahead,they became one of the first clubs to receive FA Charter Standard Community Club Status,as well as having their senior side playing in the Wearside League and a reserve team,the club also run sixteen junior sides from ages 6-18 as well as a Ladies team and three junior girl teams making up over 250 playing staff.
Formed in 1993 playing in the Teesside League,the club took the step up into the Wearside League (level 7) as recently as 2005-06 season, finishing a respectable 5th (of 18) in their first season,they currently lie in 9th position this season but have progressed by reaching two cup finals,they face recently crowned Wearside League champions Birtley Town in the League Cup Final later this month and today they host Whitehaven Amateurs in the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Final.
The Green Lane ground lies just off Redcar sea front with views of the cliffs at Marske in the distance,at the moment the ground is pretty basic but there’s plans for major improvements, the ground is surrounded by a green panel fence and the club has recently launched a ‘sponsor a panel’scheme to raise finances,there’s also plans afoot to equip the ground with floodlights and spectator facilities,so currently there is no covered stand,not unless you count the unused dugout at the far site of the ground which would actually give the ground a seating capacity of four (see picture) On arriving at the ground there’s a car park and club house which sells a range of club souvenirs including pin badges and scarfs,quite impressive for a club at this level,the building also houses the changing rooms and the players enter the pitch via the same entrance as the supporters.
Today I had the pleasure of being accompanied by a couple fellow ground baggers with fellow 100FGC member Alan Price (squad no.26) as well as another Alan who I was meeting for the first time,both take in as many matches as possible throughout the season,I know that Mr.Price usually hits the 100 mark a season while the other Alan has had a busy time having attended an impressive nine matches in the space of this week.
The Monkwearmouth Charity Cup is a competition played amongst the Wearside League clubs and the current holders Teesside Athletic were hosting the final against their rivals from Cumbria,Whitehaven Amateurs,the final isn’t played at a neutral venue but home advantage wasn’t a telling factor today as it was the most one sided game I’ve seen this season,with the game being over as a contest by half time.
Whitehaven started the game brightly in the opening period,and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 27 minutes with Craig Robson’s clever lob over the keepers head from 18 yards,this opened the floodgates and the visitors added to their lead with a penalty from Jonathon Wight on 36 minutes and then a spectacular left footed volley from the edge of the box by Steven Hewitt five minutes before the break gave Whitehaven an unassailable lead at the end of the first 45 minutes.
Teesside improved after the break, but for all there possession they never seriously threatened in front of goal and Whitehaven added to their total with Craig Robson grabbing two goals to complete his hat trick in a five minute spell midway through the second half,the first on 65 minutes with a first time shot from a left wing cross and then he escaped his marker again to put his side 5 -0 up with a cool finish.To add more misery to Athletic’s afternoon they missed a penalty on 83 minutes with a fine save from keeper Jack Fryer and from their next attack forward Wight grabbed his second of the afternoon and Whitehaven’s sixth with a bullet header from a right wing corner,there was just enough time left for a late consolation goal from the hosts through a scrabbled goal by Steve Thompson.
So it finished 6-1 with Whitehaven dominated throughout and worthy winners of the Monkwearmouth Cup but a hugely disappointing performance from Teesside, although there’ll be better days ahead from a club that has a good infrastructure in place and an ambition to progress further.
LINKS –
What’s the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup
(no.6008 is a good one)
Update - May 2007
Teesside got over their disappointment of losing out on the Monkwearmouth Cup by winning the Wearside League Cup with a cracking result against league champions Birtley Town in their own backyard, they came away with a 2-1 win with goals from James Smuk and Ian Mudd.
Well Done!
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