My Matchday - 191 Bloomfield Road

Blackpool 2v2 Crystal Palace

Championship

25th October 2008

Blackpool is a world famous seaside resort in Lancashire, off the Irish Sea coast. The town became a major holiday destination during the first half of the 20th century, when factory workers and families from the north of England and Scotland took their annual holidays there. Even though the number of visitors has declined over the years, it is still the UK’s favourite coastal resort with over 10 million visitors a year, although nowadays it’s a more favoured destination for stag nights and hen parties.
Blackpool FC were formed in 1897, they previously play at Raikes Hall Gardens and then the Athletics Grounds on the racecourse at Stanley Park. In 1899 they moved to land owned by a local farmer at Gamble’s Field, which was then used by Lancashire League side South Shore, the two clubs agreed to merge, keeping the Blackpool FC name and renamed the ground Bloomfield Road.
The ground had a single 300 seated wooden stand, which was destroyed by fire and replaced with a new West Stand in 1917, a small wooden stand was also added at the north end; named the Motor Stand with additional terracing to the south and along the east paddock, which at the time made Bloomfield Road one of few grounds in the country with stands at all four sides.
The two tier South Stand was built in 1925, included changing rooms, offices and refreshment bars, bringing the total capacity to over 20,000, more improvements followed after the clubs promotion to the First Division in 1930, The Motor Stand moved into the north west corner to make standing room for 12,000, the north terrace Spion Kop took the capacity to over 30,000.
The ground reached it’s peak in the 1950’s, the East Stand was extended in 1954, raising the capacity to over 38,000, giving the club it’s biggest ever gate of 38,098 against Wolverhampton Wanderers the following year, floodlights were installed in ‘57, the Kop finally had shelter and additional seats were added to the West Stand.
The ground structurally remained unchanged over the next 50 years, but was gradually striped down and it’s capacity reduced, the roof on the Spion Kop was taking down, as the council viewed it as too dangerous and expensive to repair, resulting in the removal of the East Stand’s seats to compensate, maintaining covered standing in the ground. Safety measures saw the ground capacity dramatically fall, the old North-West Stand was pulled down, half the kop was closed and segregation in the East Stand meant the capacity was down to 9,000 by the 1990’s, the floodlights pylons didn’t escape either, 20 feet chopped off the top due to rust.
After surviving all those decades, the Spion Kop was knocked down in 1999 followed by the West Stand two years later, their replacements make up the first phase of the reconstruction of Bloomfield Road. I opted to sit in the far corner of the former Kop, or as it’s now known the ‘Stan Mortenson North Stand’ where a statue of the legend can be found outside, opposite the club shop and ticket office. The drummer at the back of the stand generates a great atmosphere, I must say that the Blackpool support was superb, with the drummer boy not allowing the backing to stop, resulting in constant singing, although by the end of the game the “di di di di di doe” song was beginning to get on my nerves a bit. The stand has a single tier with tangerine flip seats with BFC picked out in white.
The North West Stand links up the Sir Stanley Matthews West Stand, this also has a main single tier with the word ‘Seasiders‘ stretched across in white seats, there’s also an added small shelf with three rows of seating in front of the executive boxes
The East Stand is the away end, an open temporary stand with a capacity of just under 2,000, so those poor Palace fans got a right drenching, the stand is set a fair way back from the pitch with the turnstiles found off Bloomfield Road, there’s also a sad looking temporary pylon at the south side with the only original surviving floodlight in the north-east corner.
The South Stand survived until 2003, which is due to be replaced with a new stand with a capacity of 3,500. There’s been constant promises over the last few years of ‘work due to start soon’ however when I called at the ground earlier in the day the bulldozers and JCB’s were busy grafting, so it looks like work is commencing. There’s a clear view into the ground from the works entrance gate, where a few tried their best to watch the game, while a half a dozen blokes stood on a step next to the Travelodge across the road, where they got a slightly better free view.

The match got off to a slow start, conditions didn’t help, with both teams taking turns to venture up field before running out of ideas in the final third. The first shot on target in the opening half produced a goal, Palace back wearing their ‘Team of the Eighties’ strip took the lead through Ifill, shooting home from inside the box after playing a neat one-two.
The second period was more entertaining, Pool equalised after three minutes, with a tremendous volley by Ben Burgess from the edge of the box, which was greeted with a blast of The Dave Clark 5 hit ‘Glad All Over’ however the joy was short lived as Palace regained the advantage minutes later, Craig Beattie producing a fine finish from a Palace counter attack. Blackpool went all out for an equaliser, which arrived on 65 minutes, a free kick was floated into the box and nodded home by Ian Evatt, his first goal for the club. The Tangerines looked likely to grab a winner with Palace happy to soak up the pressure and capitalise on the break, they continued to play some neat football, which was typified by the best chance to win the game ten minutes from time, a neat exchange of passes saw Adam Hammill clean through on goal with only the keeper to beat, but his shot went agonisingly past the post, meaning a share of the points when maybe the team in tangerine just shaded it.

We're going down Blackpool, alright?

We're going down Blackpool, for a pint

We're going down Blackpool, alright!
To see the lights!

©1983 The Macc Lads ‘Blackpool’ from the album ‘Beer & Sex & Chips n Gravy’

It’s been over 14 years since I had just cause to sing that song, my last visit to the ‘Golden Mile’ was a typical boozy weekend away with the works football team, that I was playing for back then. That trip was memorable for my appearance at the breakfast table on the Sunday morning, when I experienced my worst case of ‘DT’s’ ever, and the weekend was also more memorable for the unforgettable ‘ashtray incident’ the night before. (but that’s another story!)
It’s not that I dislike Blackpool, it’s just I’m not a big fan, but I thought it would be a nice weekend away with the family, the kids love the amusements (James is determined to finish ’House Of The Dead 4‘) we pre-booked our tickets for the Pleasure Beach for Sunday, the breadknife had the shops and the boozers, while I was happy to go the match and also visit some of the local hostelries. The weekend also gave me the perfect getaway from “The game I hate the most” and at long last I could finally ‘tick’ off Bloomfield Road.
I had the opportunity to visit Blackpool’s home in 1987, Newcastle drew them in the 2nd Round of the League Cup (Littlewoods Cup then methinks..Ed) which in those days were two-legged affairs. I was a couple of weeks into a new job at the time and I couldn’t really take liberties and wag a day off, so I had to miss out. That turned out to be a big regret, as I would have loved to have seen the ground in full bloom, before it gradually diminished.
The constant heavy rain didn’t put too much of a dampener on our weekend, every time I’ve headed west over the last few months we’ve encountered relentless rainfall, so it’s something we’ve grown accustomed to. We had a good weekend break, the kids enjoyed themselves(unfortunately James didn’t finish ‘House of the Dead 4‘) I saw a canny game and me and the breadknife enjoyed a good drink and night out on Saturday.
Bloomfield Road is a great ground to visit, handily placed in the town centre, with plenty of choice for pre and post match eating and drinking, not short of a hotel or B&B, an ideal destination and not one of those out of town, stuck in the middle of an industrial estate types, that have emerged over the last few years. I’ll maybe do a revisit to Bloomfield, I’ll look forward to returning to the ‘Golden Mile’ and checking out the new 16,000 stadium, that’s when it’s finally complete of course, so with the current work rate that’ll probably be another 14 years

Matchday stats
BFC 2(Burgess 48, Evatt 65 )Palace 2(Ifill 28, Beattie 50)
Att.7597
Admission £28
Programme £3.50
Match Report

Ground no.191 Bloomfield Road – Matchday Web album(15 pictures)

My Matchday - 190 Butchers Arms

Droylsden 3v2 Gateshead
FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round
11th October 2008


Droylsden is a former cotton mill town, east of Manchester in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside.
The club was formed in 1892, when Joseph Cropper, landlord of the Butchers Arms, wanted a football team to play on a field that had been originally used as a fairground behind his pub. Their formative years were spent playing in local leagues and friendlies, with the club folding, reforming and renamed several times.
After the First World War, as the only surviving club in the town they joined the Manchester League, in 1923 after raising the necessary finance, the first work on the ground saw the pitch railed off, with additional duck boards and banking and a small stand added.
‘The Bloods’ were champions twice in the early thirties, thanks mainly to the goalscoring exploits of Ernest ‘Gilly’ Gillibrand, who notched 275 goals in four seasons. It was during this era that the ground was fully operative, by 1933 there was stands on three sides, and sunken baths installed in the dressing rooms, the capacity was up to 8,000 which included 2,500 covered.
The club joined the Lancashire League in 1936, new offices, turnstiles, lengthening the pitch and cover for 1,000 was added as part of their application, then after the war joined the Cheshire League until 1950. A year later they were forced to leave the Butchers Arms after rival club BelleVue FC(renamed Droylsden United) took up the lease, meaning relocating to nearby Moorside Trotting Stadium. Thankfully the local council bought the ground, it wasn’t viable to have two clubs within the town, so a merge was negotiated and the ground was renovated in 1952, including the rotation of the pitch and the ground totally rebuilt with only the changing rooms remaining.
The reformed Droylsden FC played in the Lancashire Combination until returning to the Cheshire League in 1968, however by the 1980’s the club made rapid progress, they became founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982, becoming Division Two champions in 1986-87 and stepped into the newly formed Northern Premier League Division One the following season.
In 1989-90 they won promotion, although a 7 points deduction deprived them of the title, after six seasons they were relegated, but returned in 1998-99 as champions, this time a strange twist of fate saw them benefiting from a points deduction of three points to Hucknall Town.
After finished runners-up in 2003-04 they joined the newly formed Conference North, losing out on promotion in their opening two seasons via the play-offs, however it was third time lucky in 2006-07 winning the title by five points ahead of Kettering, unfortunately they struggled to make the step into the top league of the pyramid, relegated after finishing bottom last season.

The Butchers Arms has been virtually rebuild again due to recent investment. The new William Pace Stand sits on the half way line, it has a capacity of 500 red seats, with access gained via stairs at the front of the stand behind the dugouts, with the changing rooms underneath, the clubhouse is in a separate building next to the stand beside the turnstiles and the toilets. To the left of the stand is a new looking covered terrace, with a bank of around a dozen steps and red crash barriers. At the far side there’s a covered rickety looking stand, sitting either side of the half way line, with the rest of the ground including the far goal, open hard standing bringing the overall capacity to 3,000.

Droylsden’s best performance in the FA Cup was in 78-79 reaching the 2nd Round Proper going out to Altrincham after beating Rochdale 1-0 at Spotland in the first round. Now they’re just one qualifying round away from again reaching the First Round after an injury time goal from Carl Lamb settled a thrilling cup tie at the Butchers Arms. The home side took a 20th minute lead, a cross from the right was met by Townson, who found plenty of room to direct his diving header into the corner of the net. Gateshead equalised midway through the half, when a free-kick from the edge of the D, was fired in from Alex Francis with the help of a slight deflection. Just prior to the break Droylsden regained the lead, poor defending from a corner kick resulted in the ball eventually falling to Byron who was fortunate to see his shot cannon in off a defender, giving Musselwhite no chance.
The Tynesiders started the second half well in search of an equaliser, this arrived after eight minutes when a great through ball from Southern set Harwood through on goal, he stayed onside before outpaced the two defenders, then kept his head to coolly place his shot to the goalkeepers right. The tie was finely poised with both teams going all out for a winner, however it was Droylsden who finished much stronger in the final ten minutes, just as it looked like Gateshead had held on for a replay, a deep cross from the right saw Lamb rise above the defence, his header hitting the underside of the bar and bouncing into the net, sending the home supporters into paroxysms of delight and the away following deep into despair, hope of a money spinning tie against a league club gone for another season.
Although I was disappointed to see Gateshead lose, on reflection I had witnessed an excellent FA Cup tie, both teams playing football in the correct manner, in great spirit and I cannot recall one dirty tackle throughout the whole game, testimony to both clubs for an entertaining ninety minutes (well 93 actually, if it was 90 then it would have been a draw) both teams a credit and a great advert for Non-League football.

The trip to Droylsden wasn’t too bad, our coach left around 10.15am and after a half hour stop-off arrived in Droylsden for 1.30pm. The ground is located right smack in the town centre, with plenty of choice for a pre-match drink. Our first pub of call was ‘The Kings Head’ which is a Joseph Holts pub, where I tried a couple of pints of their bitter which has an acquired taste, there I had a chat with a couple of the local bar flies hanging around the bar, one of them a Geordie exile from Walker (like the saying goes “Everywhere you go…”)
I couldn’t go to the Butchers Arms ground without visiting the pub it’s named after, so I called in for a quicky, enjoying a top quality pint of John Smiths, before heading into the ground. The clubhouse is called the Phoenix Social Club, where I walked straight in with no sign of Max and Paddy patrolling the door and no sign of Brian Potter either. The club is very spacious, with a big TV screen and plenty of seats, even though there was none to be had as the club gets very busy on matchday.
I returned to the Phoenix at half time and before setting off home at 5.30pm, arriving back on Tyneside by 8.30pm. Obviously, apart from the result, I had an enjoyable day, I can recommend a trip to Droylsden as it’s a smashing little ground with a quality clubhouse, with plenty of places to eat and drink nearby and only a short distance from Manchester city centre.



Matchday stats
Bloods 3(Townson 20, Byron 44, Lamb 90+1, ) Heed 2(Francis 23, Harwood 53)
Attendance 370
Admission £10
Programme £2



Ground no.190 Butchers Arms - Matchday Web album(14 pictures)
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My Matchday - 187 Meadowbank Stadium

Edinburgh City 2v0 Nairn County
Scottish Cup 1st Round
27th September 2008

I took advantage of a work free Saturday and headed up north to Edinburgh, visiting a stadium with an uncertain future for the start of this seasons Scottish Cup, at the same time it gave me an excuse to get away from the circus which is going on nearer to home.
Meadowbank Stadium has a capacity of 16,500, building began in 1967, completed in time for the 1970 Commonwealth Games, it also staged the games in 1986 and is more commonly used nowadays as a venue for music concerts, it was on such an occasion that I previously visited the stadium, seeing the Pixies and Teenage Fanclub at T on the Fringe in August 1995.
Only the Main Stand is in use now, a steep cantilever stand, with 7,500 discoloured dark orange seats, which is starting to look it’s age, the rest of the stadium’s made up of uncovered wooden bench seats and terracing which curve parallel with the running track, these three sides are out of bounds for safety reasons. The changing rooms are in the corner, in a separate building block which doubles as a support for one of the four tall pylons, which can be clearly seen from the town centre end of London Road, on entering the ground you walk over a 100metes track which runs underneath the stand, there’s other facilities with the sports centre next door and the nearby velodrome.
East of Scotland League side Edinburgh City, have played at the stadium since 1996, after Meadowbank Thistle relocated to Livingston the previous year. The club reformed in 1986 when Postal United were allowed to take the Edinburgh City name (there was another Edinburgh City between 1928-1955) playing at various parks throughout the city, beginning at Saughton Enclosure, they later moved on to Paties Road and City Park, where the original ECFC played in the 1930’s and 1940’s.The Citizens attempted to get into the Scottish League this summer, unfortunately missing out for a second time, losing out to Annan Athletic, after another previous attempt in 2002 when Gretna replaced Airdrieonians.

The match was an open entertaining game with plenty of incident, both teams went flat out from the start and after only five minutes it could have easily been 2-2 , but it wasn’t until the 26th minutes that the first goal was scored. A free kick from the right hand side found City centre-forward Robbie Ross, who easily nodded home from 12yds out. Nairn had a golden opportunity to get back on level terms five minutes later, winning a penalty after the defender dragged the striker down to the ground as he tried to get on the end of a cross, surprisingly the culprit received a red car and then took an eternity to leave to field, taking the furthest possible route back to changing rooms, the delay tactic worked, putting the penalty taker off as Monteith made a fine save to his right hand side.
The Citizens doubled their lead after 53 minutes, a similar goal to their first, this time I was Michael Bruce who got in behind the County defence with an easy header, after another good delivery into the box. Nairn tried their best to pull a goal back, but 10 man City held firm as the visitors became more frustrated , this was typified with another red card five minutes from time when County’s big right-back McDonald screamed “Foulk Off Ref” when he failed to award a corner kick, even though the stand is quiet far from the pitch, the shriek was clearly heard from everyone in the ground and probably anyone walking down London Road. City ran out comfortable winners over their Highland League opponents, and were reward with another home tie in the 2nd Round against Wick Academy.
In March this year the City of Edinburgh council voted to demolish the stadium, to make way for new housing. There is strong local opposition over the councils plans, the stadium’s an essential facility which is frequently used by athletes and various sports groups, as well as it’s historical heritage, it’ll be a sad loss to the community, with no alternative sporting facilities east of the city, although there’s been proposed plans to construct a smaller sports facility east of the site. The council has no firm commitment to redevelop Meadowbank, so the stadium is stuck in limbo, looking outdated and left in neglect until the council get there own way, which seems just a matter of time, lets hope it’s later rather than sooner.

I left home with the breadknife and the kids at 9.45am, a straightforward journey up the A1 with no hitches, meant a 12 o’clock arrival at Meadowbank. We caught the bus along to Edinburgh city centre, heading to the JD Wetherspoons pub ‘The Standing Order’ on George Street, where we had a spot of lunch, and I met up with 100FGC squad#81 Jamie McQueen.
I left Debra and the kids to trudge around the town as me and Jamie headed off to the match, stopping off at a pub on the way to catch the Merseyside derby, with my Fitba Daft blogging pal delighted with the Reds 2-0 win.
I parked the car next to the stadium, so was able to head straight off after the game. I made a wise choice, escaping another depressing afternoon at St James Park, for a day out in Edinburgh, and more importantly the opportunity to attend a match at a stadium which is in danger of becoming extinct.
I arrived back home at 7.20pm, tearing back down the A1 in good time, which made the breadknife very happy, part of the conditions of our trip was we had to be home by a certain time, I achieved this feat with time to spare, so by 7.45 she was contently sitting with a can of lager in front of the TV, watching that effing X-Factor.

Matchday stats
City 2 (Ross 26,Bruce 53) County 0
Att. 145 est.
Admission £6
Programme £1

Links-
Save Meadowbank website
Edinburgh City FC
Fitba Daft at Meadowbank

Ground no.187 Meadowbank Stadium - Matchday Web album(17 pictures)

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The Football Bog Blog

Great Stadia Toilets no.13 in a series of...
The ones at Wisbech where you pee behind the tree.

The latest addition to the football bog series was snapped at Wisbech Town, by 100FGC squad#10 Tim Rigby, when he attended the last ever league fixture at Fenlands Park.
The toilet has been overtaking by nature, where you have to plot through the overgrowth, and if you can squeeze past it, pee behind the prevailing tree.
This toilet was cordoned off and out of action and now Fenlands Park has gone the same way, with the ground recently staging its last ever match, you can read Tim’s review of the ground as well as more pictures here.

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My Matchday - 186 Don Valley Stadium

Rotherham United 1v0 Luton Town

Football League Two

20th September 2008

Rotherham United’s residence at Millmoor, their home for the last 101 years, came to an abrupt end on the eve of the current season, the club failed to come to a feasible rental agreement with the grounds landlords, taking the decision to relocate 4 miles to the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield.
The current situation, makes it likely that Millmoor is yet another stadium condemned to the ‘lost ground’ list, which is a shame because yet another proper football ground has gone. I visited Millmoor twice previously with NUFC in 1982, the first was near the end of the 81/82 season, The Millers had gone on a fantastic run, winning their previous 9 games, giving them an outside chance of promotion. Their side was skippered by Emlyn Hughes, and included that old dirty hacker Gerry Gow, as well as Ronnie Moore up front, but it wasn’t a perfect 10 for Rotherham, Kevin Carr saving a last minute penalty from Tony “Tiger” Towner in which was an entertaining goalless draw.
I returned again the following season, with United fielding a couple of key signings including Kevin Keegan (whatever became of him) and Terry Mac, the game was featured on BBC’s Match of the Day, with viewers treated to a 5-1 away win, which included 4 goals from Special K, I loved standing on the old Railway End terrace, which could generate a great atmosphere and a lot of noise, especially like on that occasion in October ‘82.
The club have agreed to play their home games at the stadium for at least the next 4 years, built in 1990, the 25,000 capacity Don Valley Stadium became the first national outdoor sporting venue built since the old Wembley Stadium in the 1920‘s. It was designed by Sheffield City Council and built by RM Douglas Construction at a cost of £29M in readiness for the 1991 World Student Games. The Millers move is a bit like being shoved out of your council flat and moving into the neighbouring private estate, the ground is of course an athletics stadium, the hint being the surrounding eight lane running track and the odd hurdle lying around, but take these non-football aspects away and your left with a very attractive looking stadium. The ground is open on three sides, a single tier of silver and light grey toned seats, with an extra section of seats added in the near corners, leading up to the press boxes, parallel to the start and finish lines of the 100m track. All the spectators on matchday are housed in the 10,000 capacity Main Stand, it’s focal feature being the rather unusual canopy roof, made from Teflon coated glass fibre, it gives the impression of a set of giant sheets thrown over some iron girders, giving the stadium a unique look. There’s an Eastern European feel to it(not that I’ve been to Eastern Europe but you get the jest) not just because of the running track but mainly due to the five 45metre tall pylons which are the strongest illuminating floodlight system in the country, there’s also standing room for spectators behind the other three stands, which can be used for open air music concerts.

The game with Luton Town provided a clash of two of the clubs in the mini-minus-league at the foot of the table, both clubs along with Bournemouth started the season playing catch up, due to administration and financial irregularities . On a glorious late summer afternoon, when the weather gave the vibe of a pre-season game more than a relegation six pointer, it was so hot that when a player received treatment the rest of the players stopped for a water break, this contributed to a lacklustre display from both sides and a scrappy first half. Rotherham created a few half chances, but the best chance came Luton’s way, Spillane heading wide with their only worthwhile effort on goal in the half.
The second period improved as the game opened up, The Millers were the team most likely to and scored the decisive goal on the hour , a left foot cross 30 yards out from Alex Rhodes caught out the goalkeeper, sailing over his head and into the net, after the goal the keeper stayed down, appearing to be injured, but I think he was just hiding his embarrassment in conceding such a soft goal. The victory took United’s total to -3, so are now looking onwards and upwards and progressing up the table, but Town’s position is looking more precarious, still needing seven wins just to get rid of their minus points tally.
The Football League have instructed Rotherham United that they have four years to return to the town, the club are working with Rotherham Borough Council with plans for a Community Stadium and a return to the town as soon as possible, hopefully that new venue will be a proper ground, with a bit of character like the old place, or maybe their differences with their former landlords could be resolved and stop Millmoor becoming forever lost.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable day out in South Yorkshire, I left Newcastle at 9am, having no problems with my three train connections between Leeds-Doncaster -Sheffield and arrived in the steel city at 12.10pm. I met up with some of the 100FGC squad at the Bankers Draft pub at the foot of Market Place, this Weatherspoon’s pub had some fine real ale options (I know a few of you are fascinated with real booze) so I worked my way along the pumps, sampling a pint of each selection. I met up with ‘The Groundhog’ squad #34 David Poole who was accompanied by a couple of senior Sheffield residents, Cyril and Don. Jonathan Elton-squad #68 also made the trip, travelling north from Kent and we enjoy a few pints and some good football ground crack before stepping outside the pub, where the tram stop was virtually on the doorstep.
The fare was a reasonable £1.70 and stopped just a short walk from the stadium, we were all quite impressed with the stadium and it’s facilities, the match wasn’t a classic, as it looked to be heading towards a goalless draw, so we were relieved that our trip was finally rewarded with a goal.
After the game squad#.93 Dan Gooch found us heading back towards the tram stop, he made the trip from Nottingham but was unable to get in touch with me prior to his departure, so I was unaware he was meeting us. He made a grand gesture of requested an announcement over the PA at the stadium, welcoming the 100FGC to the Don Valley Stadium, which I regrettably missed prior to kick off. He joined us on our return to the Bankers Draft for a few more sherbets, before I headed off to catch the 1824 to Doncaster, the first of my return trains back home.
I was back in Newcastle for 10.15pm, with hordes of Toon fans returning from London on the same train after the defeat at West Ham, singing their hearts out in Central Station as if they’d won 5-0 and not witnessed another sorry display, that defeat for Newcastle didn’t bother me so much, as I had such a good time, visiting a marvellous stadium, with such terrific company and the lovely weather adding to such a great day.

Matchday stats Millers 1(Rhodes 61) Hatters 0
Att. 4095
Admission £20 (top tier)
Programme £2.50

Links -Millers Match Report
The Groundhog’s report / Tims92 visits on the opening day.

Ground no.186 Don Valley Stadium – Matchday Web album(19 pictures)

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My Matchday - 185 Welfare Park

Easington Colliery 1v3 Silsden
FA Vase 1st qualifying Round
10th September 2008
Easington Colliery is a former mining town in County Durham, a short distance east of Easington village. The colliery began in 1899, resulting in thousands of workers and their families arrived from all over Britain, terraced colliery houses were build, as well as pubs and shops and a whole new community was born. The pit suffered a major disaster in May 1951, when sparks from a mechanical coal cutter ignited a pocket of gas, causing an explosion which took the lives of 83 men, as a tribute the villagers planted 83 trees, one for each life, in Memorial Lane as a mark of remembrance.
The colliery closed in 1993 with the loss of 1,400 jobs, since then the town has fell on hard times, Easington Colliery is currently one of the most economically deprived locations in the country, the towns plight was recently brought to nationwide awareness in the Channel 4 series
The Secret Millionaire.
The town is famous for being the backdrop of the 2000 film Billy Elliott and also the scene for the second greatest album cover of all time (according to VH1) The Who having just pissed against a large concrete piling bulging out from a slag heap, for their 1971 album ‘Who‘s Next‘ although photographer Ethan A. Russell confessed that rainwater was used as a wee-wee substitute, as most of the band were unable to do the deed.

There are three separate football periods in the towns history, the first was back in 1913, formed as Easington Colliery Welfare, the clubs most successful phase was in the 1930’s, winning the Wearside League five times prior to disbanding in 1937. They returned two years later, the highlight during this second era was reaching the 1st Round proper of the FA Cup in 1955, going down 2-0 to Tranmere Rovers in front of a 4500 at the Welfare Ground. The club disbanded in 1964, but again resurfaced in 1973, enjoying more success in the Wearside League cups. In 1980 they merged with the towns other club, Easington Rangers of the Houghton & District League, becoming Easington Colliery AFC.
The new era raised ambitions to progress to the Northern League, after work on the main stand was complete, the club achieved their goal and began the 1985-86 season in Northern League Division Two, finishing runners-up the Newcastle Blue Star, scoring 101 goals and gaining promotion in their debut season. The remainder of their Northern League years saw a yo-yo effect, two further promotions and three relegations, until Easington finish 19th two seasons in succession between 2003-05, the club dropped into the Northern Alliance, before switching over to the Wearside league last season.

Entrance to Welfare Park, is via a short walk through the nearby park to the top of the hill, through the aforementioned Memorial Lane, at the foot of the park is a car park, with parking space on the road next to the Welfare. The football ground neighbours a cricket pitch, bowling green, with other football pitches in close proximity. The entrance gate is in the corner, next to the Main Stand, this is split into two sections, with access gained at each side, there’s three rows of blue benches and a green roof which extends out covering the hard standing.
There’s one building block, which caters for all the facilities, clubhouse, changing rooms and the food/drinks bar, there’s a separate toilet at the far end, which is now out of use, so bog facilities are found inside the clubhouse. In front of the building there’s two sections of terracing behind each dugout, sectioned off with white walls and crash barriers, there’s also a section of partial terracing in the far corner, these big concrete steps are better for sitting on, providing a great spectator spot and a top vantage point, giving panoramic views of the North Sea coast, stretching as far down as Billingham and towards Teesside and across to Peterlee, where their Eden Lane ground is clearly visible in the distance.
This FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round tie was postponed (along with every other game in the North-East) on Saturday, so I was surprised to find the pitch in great nick, considering the amount of rainfall over the last week. The furthest Easington have gone in the competition was in 1982-83, reaching the 4th Round, before losing to Seaton Deleval Amateurs, this year they were up against North West Counties League side Sisden, hoping to cause a upset against a club two levels higher.
The shock looked on the cards as Easington took a 12th minute lead, a cross from the right picked out Tom Orchard, who turned sharply in the box before hitting his right foot shot into the far corner. The lead was short lived, the visitors immediately applied the pressure and on 18 minutes a perfect cross was met by Lee Reilly with a fine header high into the net.
Silsden took control in the second half, scoring after 6 minutes when a corner kick was headed home by Hollindrake, then quarter of an hour later the tie was over, a bullet of a shot from Martin Packer from the edge of the box, gave the keeper no chance, Easington gave a hearty display, trying to get back into the game, but Silsden were well worth their place in the 2nd Round, booking another trip to the North-East at West Allotment Celtic.
I think Welfare Park is a cracking little ground, well worth a visit and is a laudable venue to host football at a higher level, the team have made a good start in the Wearside League this season, winning their opening four games, so a Northern League return may not be too far away for Easington Colliery

Matchday Facts
ECAFC 1(Orchard 12) SAFC 3(Reilly 18,Hollindrake 51, Packer 65)
Attendance 28
Admission £3
Programme50p

Ground no.185 Welfare Park - Matchday Web album(15 pictures)

My Matchday - 184 Woodhorn Lane

Ashington 2v1 Ossett Albion
FA Cup Preliminary Round
30th August 2008

After attending the last match at Portland Park, I was pleased to be present at the very first game to Ashington’s new home at Woodhorn Lane. It’s been six months since that memorable Friday night in February and in that time a lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to make the move a successful one.
Woodhorn Lane is a complete contrast from Portland Park, for starters the ground's penned in with a spanking new picket fence, compare that to the woodwork enclosure at the old ground, which had more obvious gaps than Shane McGowen’s teeth. Seating comes way of a basic standard stand, decked out in black and white flip seats, which sits either side of the half way line, at Portland, Ashington Barmy Army had the acclaimed paddock terrace to congregate in and get behind their team (and bang that bliddy drum) but there’s a disappointing small standing shelter here, which is set back in-between the dugouts on the far side, the Ashington vocal support now assemble behind the goal that the Colliers are attacking.
All the amenities are found in one block on the nearside, there’s two separate bars, the function suite which has a large TV screen, with plenty of seating room and the aroma of newness about it, there's a smaller bar next door which leads into a hospitality area, you'll also find the refreshment bar, toilets and changing rooms, as well as a few picnic tables outside at the rear of the hard standing area.
There’s only one Ashington fan who is a member of the 100FGC, Trevor Johnson(squad#89) is a Colliers exile living in Dundee, he travelled south for this special occasion, I met up with him prior to kick off, I also spoke to Harry Watson(squad#54) as well, but there didn’t seem to be that many ground hoppers in attendance or Ossett Albion fans either.
The magic of the FA Cup was a fitting first game for the new ground, the Colliers opponents were Yorkshire Unibond Division One North club Ossett Albion, the game obviously attracted a bit of media interest, ITV.com broadcasted the game live and Radio Newcastle were also providing live commentary, unfortunately they were unable to get a signal so they hastily nicked off in search of another game.
The game had a scrappy opening period, Ashington looked the team more likely to score as they tried to expose Albion’s offside trap, they were rewarded for their endeavour on 35 minutes with good wing play from McAndrew, supplying a fine ball into the path of Bainbridge, to give the hosts the lead at half time.
Ossett started the 2nd half strongly, carving out four good chances in the opening ten minutes, including hitting the woodwork twice, they were made to rue their wasted opportunities as Ashington doubled their lead in the 63rd minute, substitute Scott provided a great cross from the right which was met with a thunderous header from fellow sub Hogg, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes.
Albion got a consolation 20 minutes from time, after a clumsy challenge in the box the ref had no hesitation in rewarded a penalty, Kelsey sent the keeper the wrong way but the Colliers held on to record a winning start in their new home.
Woodhorn Lane is more than just a football ground, it’s a vital part of the community, the club have assembled a new executive board and management structure, under the umbrella Ashington Community Football Club, along with Wansbeck Council and support from their sponsors, the club are ambitious and heading in the right direction, the new ground just the beginning of a brand new era.

Matchday stats
ACFC 2(Bainbridge 35, Hogg 63) OAFC 1(Kelsey 69)
Att. 341
Admission £5
Programme £1

Ground no.184 Woodhorn Lane - Matchday Web album(13 pictures)