@ Leicester City Council Employees Sports Ground, Pitch 4
Braunstone Lane East
Leicester
LE3 2 FW
No Admission
Tournament Programme, free, 68 pages.
Despite this being the highest level match so far, it was easily the least entertaining. Derby took an early lead and Smethwick levelled it up just two minutes into the second half. Both teams cancelled each other out and there were very few chances for either side to win it, so we headed to penalties to decide the winners. Smethwick only scored one of their three taken, but Derby scored all four of theirs to go through.
Having watched three matches back to back, with no time in between for food or drink, I decided to take a break and have a sit down, before doing match number four of the day, scheduled for 16.45, which would be a match involving the host club G.N.G. Leicester.
@ Leicester City Council Employees Sports Ground, Pitch 3
Braunstone Lane East
Leicester
LE3 2FW
No Admission
Tournament Programme, free, 68 pages.
As we waited for our scheduled 11.15 match to start, the trouble brewing following the Panjab Sandwell versus G.S.A. Youth match now turned into a mass brawl, which involved between 50 and 100 people, including one of the teams from our match, G.S.A. Reserves, who went to add numbers to members of their club involved in the fighting. For a good five minutes or so the fighting moved from one side of the pitch to the other and just as it looked like it had quietened down, another fight broke out on the fringes, and off it went again. The Police arrived just as it was calming down and some sort of order was restored.
There seemed to be a dispute going on between various sections of the G.S.A. committee and players as to whether they would actually play on, or withdraw from the tournament as some sort of protest, but eventually it was decided that they would carry on. Having kicked off 33 minutes late, it meant the match was reduced to 2 x 40 minute halves to try and get back some of the lost time and keep the rest of the day on schedule.
It didn’t appear to affect G.S.A. too much, as they came out and attacked from the off, going two goals up early on, but a superb free kick pulled Coventry Lions a goal back, but G.S.A. soon restored their two goal lead. The second half was a non event. This match didn’t finish until 13.17, which could have been a problem, as our next match was due to start at 13.00. Thankfully, the game beforehand went to penalties, so our next match was going to start late and it meant we had a minute gap between our match finishing and the next one starting. It was a good job it was only about 25 yards between the two pitches.
Above : G.S.A. have a penalty saved, but it has to be retaken and they score the second kick to go 0-2 up.Above : G.S.A. score their third goal from close range.
@ Leicester City Council Employees Sports Ground, Pitch 2
Braunstone Lane East
Leicester
LE3 2FW
No Admission
Tournament Programme, free, 68 pages.
Having attended this tournament last year, I arrived with a list of 4 pitches that I hadn’t seen matches on previously. Although the fixtures are on the tournament website, the actual pitches are not known until you arrive on the morning of the opening round of matches. It turned out to be a real bonus today though, as they were using the three pitches at the Leicester City Council Employees Sports Ground, which hadn’t been used last year, so I decided to do a match on each of these, then see if I had the stamina to do any more matches after this.
From the two tournaments played so far, in Walsall and Birmingham,(they use the same venues for both competitions) these were the top two teams in the overall league table. There used to be three divisions, but this year there has been a ‘Premier 2’ added, although it means a number of teams receive a bye in the first round of this division, which is the lowest level, due to it having fewer entrants. It is also the only one of the four divisions that are played as 80 minute games, rather than the traditional 90.
This was a really good game, although it turned into a very niggly affair, especially after G.S.A. went ahead late in the match through a controversial goal. Panjab thought a free kick should have been awarded to them, but having stood and watched G.S.A. score, they then argued with the Referee and each other for around 6 or 7 minutes before the game finally restarted. To make matters worse, G.S.A. then added a fourth goal well into added time to seal a 2-4 win.
As we headed to Pitch 3, for the scheduled 11.15 kick off, the arguments continued on the other pitch and as well as the two teams that had just played, it now seemed to have Sikh Hunters involved as well, as they were trying to warm up for their match, but were being hampered by the arguments that were beginning to become much more heated………it was about to ignite, big style!
Above : G.S.A. take the lead with a free kick that went in off the underside of the crossbar.Above : Panjab level the scores at 1-1.
£3 Tournament Brochure available, plus free Team Sheet. Didn’t bother with either.
The journey from Bodedern took about 12 minutes and I arrived in time to get the last car park space at the ground, which was a bit of a relief as the surrounding area didn’t look the best area to be leaving your car unattended. As with the earlier match, there was a collection for admission as you entered the ground and there was also a tea bar that was doing a roaring trade, as host ‘nation’ Ynys Mon drew in a very good crowd of 620, which may have even reached the 650 mark once all the stragglers had arrived.
It was nice to see that the traditional national anthems were played over the tannoy prior to the match, with ‘Land of My Fathers’ and ‘Flower of Scotland’ representing the Welsh and Scottish teams on view tonight. Ynys Mon went ahead after 16 minutes and it looked like this might be a bit one sided. Orkney started to push for an equaliser and it became much more even. The Ynys Mon Number 10 deserved to get a red card for his ridiculous act of cheating, when he pretended to have been head butted by the Orkney ‘keeper, in one of the most pathetic pieces of play acting you’re likely to see. The Referee only gave him a yellow card and a couple of minutes later it was 2-0, and yes, it was the Number 10 who scored it. He goaded the ‘keeper once more during his celebration. What a pity Orkney were not able to turn it round. They did pull it back to 2-1, but with the game still in the balance, Ynys Mon finally made it safe with a very harshly awarded penalty three minutes from the end. Somehow, I don’t think it would have been given if it had been at the other end……
The match was over at 20.23 and at least I would get around an hour and a half of daylight to start my near 300 mile drive home. Amazingly there were no motorway closures, so home for 01.15.
Guernsey 2 Shetland Islands 1, attendance 165 (official number given as 208 !)
21’ 1-0
44’ 2-0
52’ 2-1
@ Cae Ty Criston (Bodedern Athletic F.C.)
Ty’n Fford
Off Church Street (B5109)
Bodedern
LL65 3TU
Admission by donation
£3 Tournament Brochure available, plus free Team Sheet. Didn’t bother with either.
The Inter-Island Games are being held in Gibraltar this year, but as they only have one football ground there, the football part of the tournament was being held in Wales, on the island of Ynys Mon, perhaps better known as Anglesey.
The matches were being held at a number of grounds across the island and of those being used, there were 3 that I hadn’t visited for a match. Unfortunately, the ground of Bro Goronwy was only staging a Women’s match, which I will not watch, so I was left with needing just two. Luckily, they were both hosting matches today and even better, they were at different times and very easy to double up. It also fitted in perfectly with the rugby league in Workington yesterday, so after a second nights accommodation in the North West, it was only an hour and a half drive along the North Wales coast for today’s action.
I had visited Bodedern Athletic before, (4th September 2004, when they beat Llandudno Junction 1-0 in the Welsh Alliance) when they played at Bodedern Secondary School, or Ysgol Uwchradd Bodedern, to give it it’s Welsh name, which is on London Road, on the left hand side when entering the village from the A55. They now play on the eastern edge of the village, next to the Primary School. They are developing a nice little set up here and they even had the tea bar up and running, doing hot food and drinks. The organisation of the proceedings wasn’t too bad, considering volunteers would have had to take time off work to cope with the late afternoon kick off. The playing of the national anthems, which I have no idea what either of them were, could have been done better, but at least everything was done and dusted to enable the match to actually get underway a minute early.
Guernsey had quite a number of their squad who play in the Isthmian League for Guernsey F.C., but they made hard work of winning this match. The opening goal was finished with a shot through the ‘keeper’s legs after cutting in from the left and the second goal, just before halftime, was deflected past the ‘keeper at his near post from close range. Shetland got back into it early in the second half. They were awarded a penalty, but although it was saved, the ball fell perfectly for the striker to slot in the rebound. Neither side looked like adding any further goals and the game finished 2-1 to The Channel Islanders.
Above : The Shetland Islands see their penalty saved and Below : They score from the rebound.
Workington Town 54 Coventry Bears 16, attendance 895
@ Borough Park
New Bridge Road
Workington
CA14 2DT
£15 Admission
£2 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.
With their own ground at Derwent Park undergoing work to widen the playing surface and remove the speedway track, to enable Workington F.C. to stage matches there next season, it meant Workington Town would be returning to the ground they used before moving to Derwent Park in 1956. Just over 30 years ago they played three matches here at Borough Park and will use it for the next couple of matches, or perhaps longer, depending how quickly the ground improvements are completed. The 4 photos below show the current state of work being carried out at Derwent Park……..
Workington has been chosen as a host for games in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, but this is subject to a new stadium being built, which will then be shared by the town’s rugby league and football clubs. Workington F.C. will move the 500 yards or so across to Derwent Park to share with Town, whilst the new stadium is built on the site of Borough Park, which of course staged matches in the Football League until Workington’s relegation in 1977, then once completed, both clubs will move in to the new shared facility. Having originally been passed by the Labour Council, a new Independent Councillor has now been voted in, but they are against the plans, so it may not now happen……
I had actually visited Borough Park twice before, both times for football. On 27th January 1990 I saw Workington 0 Droylsden 2 in a Northern Premier League Division 1 match in front of 150 spectators. Then, on 22nd November 1992, I returned to see Workington 1 Shepshed Albion 7, again in a Northern Premier League Division 1 match, this time watched by a crowd of 130. As Shepshed had been playing a match in Kendal on the Saturday, following an overnight stop, they played this match at 12 noon, which was perfect to double up with the rugby league, who were at home at 3 o’clock at Derwent Park in a Division 3 match versus Nottingham City, which they won 68-0 in front of 1,311 supporters.
As I headed north from my overnight base in Warrington, I had passed the Coventry Bears team coach near Junction 38 of the M6, just before 12 o’clock, as they made the long slog to West Cumbria for the second successive match, having played at Whitehaven last week. They came into this match third from bottom in the league table, but have managed to win three matches so far, which is a vast improvement for them and they are far more competitive in games. Town scored two tries in the opening ten minutes, but Coventry replied quickly with a converted try of their own and despite conceding three more tries they did get another of their own so at halftime it was 26-12. The second half was pretty much one way traffic and Town ran in five more tries for a resounding 54-16 win.
This was 6th versus 3rd in the league table and was much closer than the score line suggests. Egremont were missing a few regulars, but they were the better side early on, as both teams struggled to handle the ball as quite a heavy shower passed overhead and they were unlucky to go in at halftime with the score 16-4 to the hosts. Crusaders scored two more converted tries as we headed into the last twenty minutes of the match, before Egremont reduced the arrears to 28-10 as we entered the final five minutes. Crusaders finished things off with a try and conversion with the last play of the game.
Athletic Club Amiens II 2 Union Sportive Choisy-Au-Bac 3, attendance 361
25’ 0-1
27’ 1-1
57’ 1-2
79’ 2-2 (pen)
87’ 2-3
@ Stade Moulonguet
122 Rue Louis Thuillier
(entrance via Boulevard De Saint-Quentin)
80000 Amiens
€5 Admission
No Programme
As far as regular season matches are concerned, this wraps things up for me for 2018/19. I had started the season with a Coupe De France match at Jeunesse Sportive Cambron back on 17th June and was rounding off the season just 35 miles south east of there, in the town of Amiens. The real added bonus of this match was that it was being played at Stade Moulonguet, which has hosted matches in the French League, as high as Ligue 2, when it was home to Amiens Sporting Club before they moved to their new ground, Stade de la Licorne, back in 1999.
Athletic Club Amiens II had finished in sixth place in Seniors Regional 2B, whilst Choisy-Au-Bac had finished second from bottom in Seniors Regional 1A, so the game was evenly balanced. Choisy-Au-Bac took the lead somewhat against the run of play, but their lead only lasted for a couple of minutes. It remained level until just short of the hour mark. Despite having a player stretchered off a few minutes earlier, Choisy-Au-Bac responded well and a brilliant individual run, when beating two defenders, saw a shot into the far corner of the net to put them 1-2 up. It looked like they would hold out for the win, but a very harsh looking penalty decision saw them concede an equaliser eleven minutes from time and it looked like we would be heading to extra time. With just three minutes left, a speculative shot from the edge of the 18 yard box was deflected wide of the ‘keeper and what had been a disappointing season for Choisy-Au-Bac had at least finished on a high note as they nicked a 2-3 win.
We had arrived at Folkestone this morning to once again find Eurotunnel running late, this time, according to a member of staff, due to an inspection of the track, as something had fallen off a train earlier in the morning and a check had to be made to ensure it wasn’t causing an obstruction. Despite our 12.20 booking being re-timed to 12.40, we were actually still loaded onto the 12.20 train, but it departed nine minutes late. With the match kicking off at 17.30, due to it being yet another Bank Holiday in France, it meant we were able to book the 22.20 return crossing. Having checked in at 21.25, we were offered the earlier 21.50 instead (would have cost £7 more if we had actually booked for this, but no extra charge tonight) which left a minute early and rounded off a good day out.
Above : The Choisy-Au-Bac ‘ultras’ welcome the two teams.Above : Choisy-Au-Bac open the scoring.
West Wales Raiders 12 Workington Town 58, attendance 100
@ Stebonheath Park
Penallt Road
Llanelli
SA15 1EY
£10 Admission
£2 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.
I was surprised it was as far back as 24th November 2000 that I had first visited Stebonheath Park, for football, when I saw Llanelli 1 Barry Town 6 in a League Of Wales fixture. These days it is also home to the top rugby league club of South Wales, who were re branded as West Wales Raiders when they moved here. I don’t know how, or why, these clubs from outside the traditional heartland of rugby league bother though. A crowd of just 100 is pathetic for a national level three match and not all will have paid. It doesn’t help when the team are rubbish. They had lost all 9 games coming into this and the only reason that they are not bottom of the league table is due to Keighley Cougars starting with a minus points penalty, although having won five games already, the gap is now just a point between them and Raiders.
I thought today might be a game that Raiders had a chance of winning, as Workington had only won 4 of their 9 matches so far. It wasn’t even close. When former New Zealand and Tonga international Fui Fui Moi Moi went over for the visitors second try after eleven minutes it was already game over. By halftime it was 0-28. Workington converted another try, before Raiders converted a try of their own to make it 6-34 twelve minutes into the second half. Three more converted tries from the visitors made it 6-52, before Raiders scored again, but almost immediately Workington restored the gap to round it off for an easy 12-58 win.
Apparently, it had taken Workington nine hours to make the trip from Cumbria, having left on Friday and having had an overnight stop en route. According to their twitter account, the team coach arrived back at Derwent Park at 02.26 on Sunday morning!
Club Deportivo Furia Espanola 1 Association Sportive Pommeroeul-Ville ‘B’ 0, attendance 102
57’ 1-0
@ Rue D’ Hautrage 12C
7331 Baudour
€3 Admission
Team Sheet, free.
I thought my trips to Belgium were over for the season, but this one last fixture, which is the last game that will be played in the Belgian Pyramid this season, appeared on Monday. Due to short notice, plus perhaps the low level of the game, it meant only 3 of us made the trip.
Although it was a Promotion Play Off, it was more of a ‘next in line’ decider, rather than a direct game to go up to Provincial 3. It is now a case of wait and see what mergers or clubs dropping out occur, before Espanola will know whether this win will be enough for them to gain promotion or not.
As you would expect, the game was not high on quality, but there was plenty of effort and a hatful of chances, but the only goal of the game came just before the hour mark, when a shot from the left was pushed out by the ‘keeper, but was followed in by the right winger who smashed the ball into the far corner of the net.
With the attendance just making it into three figures, it surprised us that no ‘gate’ had been taken, but they finally came round and took some money as we entered the final ten minutes of the game, as if done as an afterthought. In keeping with their ‘lateness’, just as the Referee blew his whistle for full time, the floodlights were turned on!
Surprisingly, The Tunnel ran smoothly in each direction, although there were very few vehicles on either leg. Our 23.50 return even left a minute early.
