Northern League

Division 2

Saturday 18th January 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 14.59!

Grangetown Boys Club 0 Yarm & Eaglesclffe 4, attendance 271

49’ 0-1

53’ 0-2

62’ 0-3

90’ 0-4

@ B & W Lifting Stadium

Grange Farm Road

Grangetown

Middlesbrough

TS6 7HP

£5 Admission

£3 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

Until arriving at my morning game, this hadn’t been my intended destination this afternoon, although it was always a backup as it was kicking off an hour later than my other choices. However, with my first game kicking off an hour later than advertised, this became my only available option, if I was still to do a double. The home club had tweeted early on that there were no pitch problems and the temperature was set to be between 4 and 5 degrees during the afternoon according to the Met Office forecast.

Grangetown Boys Club are new into Northern League Division 2 this season, having finished second in the North Riding League Premier Division last season. The ground is very much a work in progress. It’s already floodlit and has a seated kit stand on one side and a covered standing area on the other. Hard standing is not yet complete, which means the far goal end from the entrance is out of bounds and you can only go along the right hand side as far as the section of cover at present, although the pathway beyond here is ready to have the concrete poured. There was a snack bar behind the entrance goal end that had a constant queue throughout the game, which did the usual hot and cold drinks, burgers, chips, etc.

Grangetown have found it hard going at Step 6, coming into this second bottom in the league table, having won just five of their 28 games played so far, whilst today’s visitors were second, in what looks like a three way fight for the title with current leaders Horden C.W. and third placed Jarrow, with just three points separating them, although Y&E have played two games more than the other two.

Grangetown didn’t get off to the best of starts, losing their ‘keeper to injury after just ten minutes, hurting himself when rushing out to challenge a Y&E player just outside the box. Despite an outfield player taking over in goal, he was never really tested and the game remained goalless at halftime. It only took the visitors four minutes of the second half to break the deadlock, when a deflected shot looped over the ‘keeper from the edge of the box. Four minutes later it was 0-2 and just after the hour it was 0-3, when a corner wasn’t properly cleared and was smashed in from the edge of the box. They could have added more, hitting the crossbar and post with two other efforts. Grangetown had a chance to pull one back with four minutes left, when they saw a penalty saved, before Y&E added a fourth goal in the final minute.

After today, I’m left with just Darlington Town to complete the Northern League now, which is also the only ground at Step 6 that I’ve yet to visit.

Football League Youth Alliance

North Division

Saturday 18th January 2025

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.02

Hartlepool United U18 3 Burton Albion U18 4, attendance 39

34’ 0-1

37’ 0-2

41’ 0-3 (pen)

42’ 1-3

47’ 2-3

61’ 3-3

90’ + 4, 3-4

@ Blackhall Welfare Park

Eleventh Street

Blackhall Colliery

TS27 4LX

No Admission or Programme.

Having had to scrape ice off the windscreen at my hotel, I was pleased to see that on arrival in Blackhall Colliery, some 35 or so miles down the coast, it was hovering between 2.5 and 3 degrees and despite evidence of an overnight frost, the pitch was in full sunshine and the cones were being placed ready for the warm ups. Unfortunately though, the match was not kicking off until noon, rather than the 11 o’clock kick off advertised on the Football League newsletter. Apparently, it had been changed some time yesterday. It meant my intended double was no longer possible, but I did have a 3 o’clock kick off to go with the morning game and at 11.15 the home club had tweeted there were no problems with the pitch, so it was all good after all, although a little disappointing to use up a floodlit ground visit on a Saturday.

Ordinarily, I’d have given the youth game a miss and headed off for a non floodlit ground elsewhere, but Blackhall Welfare Park is a ground well worth doing. It is railed on three sides, with just the goal end backing onto Eleventh Street lacking a barrier. There’s a pair of proper dugouts too, whilst the teams get changed in the cricket pavilion, just the other side of the fence, where there’s also a kids playground. Grass banking along one side of the ground offers a raised view, although it was much colder that side, as it remained almost entirely in the shade.

It was a bit of a slow burner, but once Burton opened the scoring just after the half hour mark, it burst into life. Two more goals in the next five minutes, the third of which was a penalty, saw it become 0-3 and the game looked to be over as a contest. However, Hartlepool hit back immediately, to go in 1-3 down at the break and within two minutes of the restart it was 2-3, finishing from just inside the box after Burton failed to clear a cross. It was 3-3 just after the hour mark, when the ‘keeper saved a shot from a striker cutting inside, but it fell perfectly for a player following in and he finished from a tight angle. It looked like ending in a draw, but Burton won it four minutes into stoppage time, when a player wriggled past three defenders before pulling the ball back across the 6 yard box and the ball fell perfectly for an easy side footed finish from five yards.