My Matchday - 161 Stokesley Sports Club

Stokesley SC 1v1 Horden CW
Arngrove Northern League 2nd Division
16th February 2008
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My final Northern League trip down the A19 and my first ever visit to the small market town of Stokesley, which lies in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, ten miles south of Middlesbrough.
Football in the town dates back to 1920, playing locally in and around Teesside on a variety of different grounds, the club actually played on the cricket pitch at the current site until being evicted to make way for a by-pass in 1963 and finally returned some 29 years later. They left the South Bank League in 1994 joining the Teesside League for five years before progressing to the Wearside League. A successful period including success in the various Wearside League cup competitions culminated in promotion to the Northern League after finishing runners-up in 2005-06.
Last season they finished a respectable 8th, with the club hoping to make more progress with a higher placing this season, they also reached the semi-final of the Ernest Armstrong Trophy.
Stokesley Sports Club can be found on the outskirts of the town, in 2004 the Club and the North Riding Football Association won a lottery grant of £849.000 enabling the building of a new clubhouse and to make the necessary ground improvements to meet Northern League standards. As well as the football club, there’s also facilities catering for cricket, bowling, tennis and a lot more football pitches within the complex.
Stokesley is the home of Quorn, who sponsor the main stand, this is similar in style to those found at Team Northumbria and Darlo RA, with four rows of red and black seats, running from the paying entrance to the half way line, with the tea bar squeezed in between. Behind the nearside goal there’s hard standing with partial cover each side of the goal, the rest of the ground is open, which is the main attraction as it gives splendid views of the North Yorkshire Moors, so a clear bright day like today, gave ample opportunity for good pictures. The dugouts are on the far side with the changing facilities within the Sports Club, which means the players have to walk across the car park to the club, but use a separate exit which is cordoned of from the supporters.
The game was a closely ran contest, but Horden will feel the more upset at not taking all three points after missing a first half penalty and some gild edged sitters in the closing stages. It was Stokesley who took a one goal lead into half time courtesy of a goal from Andrews, latching onto the end of a long cross, alas punishing the missed spot kick three minutes earlier, Stokesley’s keeper Johnson making a great double save from Shekoni on 36 minutes. The same player made amends just past the hour mark, converting another penalty, why the pen was awarded was a bit of a mystery to the majority of the crowd, the first penalty was a clear shirt pull inside the box, but no on had a clue what the offence was this time, as there was no apparent infringement, but full marks to Shekoni who had the bottle to try again, making no mistake, blasting the ball into the keepers right-hand corner. The game could have gone either way with both teams going all out for a winner, but a draw was maybe a fair result, even though the chances that fell Horden’s way should have been converted. (I would have scored them, nee bother!)
If your still to visit Stokesley SC, I can thoroughly recommend it, I regret not having more time to take a look around the town and also visit nearby Great Ayton; the birthplace of Captain Cook, the club staff give a friendly welcome, plus there’s the added bonus of the surrounding view of the moors, which must make Stokesley one of the most picturesque football grounds in the north of England.

Ground no.161 Stokesley Sports Club - Matchday web album(15 pictures)

My Matchday - Last match at Portland Park

Ashington 2v3 Seaham Red Star
Arngrove Northern League 1st Division
15th February 2008
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The final historic match at Portland Park, Ashington’s home for over 100 years, the game against Seaham Red Star was more of an occasion than another football match, I was honoured the be amongst the near 2,000 in attendance in a final farewell to this former league ground.
Ashington is 15 miles north of Newcastle, in the Wansbeck district of Northumberland, with it’s many collieries the towns main export was coal, known as the “world’s largest coal-mining village” but it’s became more nationally know for it’s production of footballers than coal, namely Wor Jackie, Big Jack and Bobby Charlton, if you wanted a good centre-forward, you just needed to shout down a coal mine in Ashington and one would appear.
Northumberland’s oldest club were formed in 1883, they joined the Northern Alliance in 1892, then on to the East Northumberland League until returning to the Alliance at the turn of the 20th century, winning the title just before World War One. After the war a spell in the North-Eastern League lead to the Colliers election to the Football League as founder members of the Third Division North in 1921.
Having played at the Recreation Ground for 25 years and then a year at Station Road, it was in 1907 the club moved to Portland Park, named after landowner the Duke of Portland, major development coincided with their Football League involvement, 2,000 shares were issued to help finance the upgrading of the Main Stand with concrete terracing added at a cost of £6,000.
The Football League years were brief, eight seasons with a highest placing of 8th in 1923-24 with frequent five figure attendances, the club became one of the first to miss out on re-election after finishing bottom in 1928-29, the Colliers returned to the North Eastern League, where they stayed until 1958, the ground recorded it’s highest attendance during this era, 13,199 for a 2nd Round FA Cup tie v Rochdale in December 1950, a narrow 2-1 defeat in front of a passionate crowd.
The club went through a itinerant phase, a name change to Ashington Wanderers would have been appropriate, as the club played in six different leagues culminating in becoming founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. Life in the new league proved difficult and costly, the club ran up debts and were close to going out of business, so after only one season the club were relegated, finishing eighteenth of the twenty clubs and returned to the Northern Alliance.
As well as football, Portland Park has played host to Greyhound Racing, the ground was redeveloped during the 1940’s, adding an oval track to accommodate the dogs for over the next 20 years, speedway racing arrived briefly in the ‘70’s and stock car racing, it was at one of those meetings that the grandstand and dressing rooms were destroyed by fire after a crash in October 1971, the ground was redeveloped with new floodlights and the greyhounds returned in 1984.
When entering Portland Park, it’s evident there was once a surrounding track, as the ground still has an oval appearance, the terrace behind each goal is build up on top of a grass bank with the main standing area on the south side, a covered terrace with a corrugated iron roof giving shelter along one third of the pitch, the large clubhouse is behind this stand which houses an impressive array of Colliers memorabilia.
The Grandstand which was rebuilt in the 1980’s has a seating capacity of 300 made up of six large steps painted black and white, there’s a built up terrace in front with the changing rooms inside, the outskirt of the ground has a wooden fence which is on it’s last legs, splattered with a wide range of graffiti slogans.


The club have played in the Northern League since 1970, the only honours coming in 1999 and 2003 winning the Craven Cup during a spell in the Second Division, their first game at Portland Park as a Northern League club was a 2-0 win v Blyth Spartans, but hopes of signing off with a win wasn’t to be, as Red Star came intending to spoil the party.
After a quite start, the game came to live after 25 minutes a cross come shot rebounding off Hutchinson’s knee and into the net, Red Star levelled before half time, a clear cut penalty converted by Byrne. The home side restored the lead on 53 minutes, a scramble in the box ended with a stooped header from Bainbridge, but the visitors finished strongly, equalising on 68 minutes with Byrne getting his second, playing a one-two before hitting a cracking shot into the corner of the net, before the winner coming from a great cross and header from substitute Burns, a fine goal to take the honour as the last ever goal at Portland Park.
I cadged a lift to Ashington off squad no.76 El Queso Grande, we arrived early and after a walk around the empty stadium heading into the clubhouse, I was surprised to find squad no.69 and Matlock Pieman John Lawton there, taking advantage of work commitments in the area to visit another ground, he was in the company of a couple of ground hoppers from Norway, one a Scarborough fan, the other a follower of 'Dirty Leeds'
The evening was more of a get together of fans from the Northern League, with supporters from other clubs coming to pay there last respects to the old ground, I met some members of Non League Zone, finally able to but faces to names and by half-time the clubhouse bar was dry, with only bottled beverages left, so the bar staff cheekily took advantage of the ASDA across the road for more supplies.
As the bulldozers and ASDA move in, Ashington will play the remainder of their home fixtures this season at Bedlington’s Welfare Park and hopefully their new home at Hirst Welfare will be ready in the summer, so the dawn of a new era begins. The night was an enjoyable one, with a great atmosphere, top vocal support (and that bloody drum!) from the Ashington Barmy Army and a grand final match, and so a fitting end, a send off Portland Park deserves.

Links-
Match Report
Portland’s Last Stand – The Aftermath
Photo Gallery
Skif(squad#14) previous visit last month

Portland Park last game - Matchday Web Album(14 pictures, sorry about the quality)

My Matchday - 160 Sincil Bank

Lincoln City 2v1 Rochdale
League Two
9th February 2008
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Sincil Bank has been Lincoln City’s home since 1895, the club formed a year earlier, the origins of works team Lincoln Recreation FC, playing 300 yards away at the John O’Gaunts ground, named after a medieval proprietor who owned the nearby land. In 1894 City’s landlord died and his family sold the estate to builders, the club then moved south to the other side of Sincil Drain (a canal forming an overflow from the River Witham, thought to have been created by the Romans) mainly thanks to the efforts of the supporters who raised funds and developed the new ground themselves.
During the early years the ground also hosted cricket matches, a cinder tack was added to hold athletics and cycling, but the ground remained basic until the 1930’s, which saw the construction of a terrace at the Railway End and a new Main stand to the east. After the Second World War the capacity was raised to over 20,000, after The Imps gained promotion to the 2nd Division in 1948 their average gate rose to 16,500, more extension work followed through the late ‘50’s/early’60’s including the installing of floodlights in 1962 and five years later a record crowd of 23,196 witnessed a League Cup tie v Derby County.
The Imps nickname derives from the mischievous little creatures, sent by the devil to do his evil work, according to the 14th century legend, two of the little buggers caused chaos in Northern England before heading to Lincoln Cathedral causing more mayhem before an angel appeared, turning one to stone while the other escaped, that Imp seems to have taking refuge at Sincil Bank, as the ground has suffered it’s major share of setbacks and bad luck. In 1908 a freak storm toppled the Main Stand over on to it’s back, landing in a nearby field (amazingly after a short break they played on) while in 1929 the South Park stand, along with the club records were destroyed by fire, but again thanks to the efforts of the clubs supporters and an FA loan, a replacement was in place within two months.
The club continued to struggle, raising finances by staging boxing, wrestling, greyhound racing and in 1966 a major rock concert took place, featuring The Who, The Kinks and The Small Faces (Wow!.. What a line up!) then exactly 40 years later the venue held the city’s biggest ever gig, 13,000 were in attendance to witness Westlife, Liberty X and Journey South (Ugh!.. What a line up!)
The grounds poor fortune continued, this time the perimeter wall of the South Park terrace collapsed during a League Cup tie with Stoke City in September 1975, which meant the closure of the terrace for good. With the rest of the ground slowly going into decay, they became one of the first clubs in ground redevelopment following the Bradford Fire and Hillsborough, City were Bradford’s opponents on that tragic day in May 1985, among those dead were two Lincoln supporters Bill Stacey and Jim West and it is in their memory that the Stacey-West Stand is named.
City have the unwanted milestone of being the first club to suffer relegation from the Football League to the Conference in 1987, but this
setback turned out to be a blessing in disguise, after the council had previously bought the ground for £225,000, they backed the club after relegation, helping rebuild Sincil Bank, there was even a rise in attendances as the Imps returned after only one season, the club have organised events this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their return to the Football League.
I arrived in Lincoln at 1.15pm unintentionally finding a prime parking spot on the riverbank; a short walk from the stadium, after a short tour of the exterior of the ground and purchasing a fifteen quid ticket, I went into the supporters club ’The Trust Suite’ which welcomes both home and away supporters as well as neutrals like myself, I watched another inept performance from the Toon and witnessed a live auction, with a signed framed picture of Peter Shilton going for £26. (I think the winning bidder was a Forest fan)
I watched the game with the hardcore Lincoln support in the covered Stacey West Stand, it has a capacity of 2,000 red seats which are now look more pink than red, this was the away section until 2002, when the old Railway End terrace was demolished the away support now share the CO-OP Community Stand, a large single tier covered area which runs pitch length, it has a capacity of 5,700 and was opened in 1995. This stand is shared with the home support which includes the Imps brass band, who have maybe the John Bonham of football drumming amongst their ranks.
The far goal has the IMPS Stand which replaced the old South Park End, this has a small section of green seats and has a row of 17 executive boxes running along the back, there’s also an electric scoreboard and a large digital clock.
The St Andrews Stand, now known as the Lincolnshire Echo Stand is very distinctive, opened in 1987, it sits proudly on the half way line, leaving gaps at either side, this was due to clubs relegation from the Football League meaning a reduction in the originally planned capacity, there’s 2,200 red and white seats, the very bright yellow stairways sets it off, giving a more attractive appearance, one side has been filled in with a small family stand with the police control box on top, while the other section is still empty apart from a selection of rubbish skips, which were constantly being filled up throughout the game by the ground staff.
Lincoln have improved since the appointment of Peter Jackson in late October, after flirting with the bottom two for most of the season Jacko has steadied the ship and City are heading in the right direction,
City’s opponents Rochdale have a fantastic away record, 14 games unbeaten, stretching way back to August, on the opening day at Peterborough, so I was expecting an entertaining encounter, but no matter how the game went, it would surely be an improvement on the TV game I saw earlier.
An even first half finished with City taking the lead in stoppage time, a free kick by Frecklington on the edge of the box was too hot for the keeper, who parried to ball into the path of Jamie Forrester to net the rebound. Rochdale equalised in the 56th minute, with a well taking goal from their danger man Rene Howe, who beat the offside trap with a cool finish that the Fonz would have been proud of, however City finished strongly and grabbed the winner on 81 minutes after a long throw-in fell kindly to Danny Hone in the box, notching his first ever league goal, the roar that greeted the final whistle showed what a big win this was for City.
After two blank Saturday’s due to bad weather, it was good to be bagging a new ground, especially one with such a chequered history, the last league club I visited In Lincolnshire was rival club Boston United who sadly fell under the league trap door, but I’m confident the Imps won’t go the same way, not unless those devilish creatures return to cause more mischief and mayhem at Sincil Bank.

Links -
Lincoln City match report

Ground no.160 - Sincil Bank Matchday Web Album(15 pictures)