Northamptonshire Combination League

Premier Division

Wednesday 20th August 2025

Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.33

Medbourne 3 Stewarts & Lloyds Corby 2, attendance 68

59’ 1-0

75’ 1-1 (pen)

78’ 2-1

87’ 3-1

90’ 3-2

@ Medbourne Sports Club

Hallaton Road

Medbourne

LE16 8DR

No Admission or Programme.

Medbourne Sports Club is actually in Leicestershire, despite the club playing in a Northamptonshire league, being some seven miles northeast of Market Harborough. It’s a large multi sport set up that also hosts cricket and tennis. Behind the north goal end is a small car park and the clubhouse/changing rooms, where both bar and tea bar were open, with the pitch running lengthways away from here, parallel to Hallaton Road, which side has a couple of perspex dugouts for the substitutes and a third for spectator use, with hard standing running along this side. The pitch is roped off on all bar the far end, with the cricket pitch overlapping the left hand touchline, with the pitch sloping down towards this side.

Medbourne had finished fifth in this division last season, whilst S&L Corby are newly promoted from Division 1. Both had won their opening games on Saturday and there was little between them tonight, right down to their kit choice! The opening goal didn’t come until just before the hour mark, when a 25 yard free kick, that the ‘keeper should really have saved, saw Medbourne take the lead. With fifteen minutes left S&L equalised with a penalty, but were behind again just three minutes later, when a corner from the left was headed in powerfully from six yards. A diagonal free kick, which was headed back across the box, before another header sent it into the far top corner, saw Medbourne make the points safe with three minutes left. S&L did pull a goal back in the last minute, heading in a right wing cross at the far post, but too late to avoid the defeat.

Apart from the usual M25 queue between the M4 and M40, it was a totally trouble free journey north. The return was also relatively smooth. Apart from two lanes being shut on the M1 around J9-J8, there were no other delays. According to the overhead signs, which began on the M1, the M25 was closed from J11 to J10. It wasn’t, it was just more incompetence from the Highways Agency, once again giving out false information.