Bedworth United - The Oval

Bedworth United FC

The Oval

Coventry Road

Bedworth

Warwickshire

CV12 8NN

02476 314852

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 296
Saturday 7th September 2013
Bedworth United 0-1 Halesowen Town
NPL D1 South

BEDWORTH UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was first established in 1895 as Bedworth Town. They were founder members of the Nuneaton & District League, but had folded by 1900, and the club went into temporary abeyance. The name Bedworth Town was resurrected in 1905 when Bedworth Evening Combination School of the Coventry & North Warwickshire League changed their name, but it too folded in the early 1920s. The name was restored in 1925, when Collycroft United (founded in 1916 and also members of the Coventry & North Warwickshire League) were renamed. In 1936, they joined the Central Amateur League but played only one season. Incarnation number 4 came in 1947, when another Bedworth Town was established. They joined the Birmingham Combination, finishing 3rd in their first season, before winning back-to-back titles in 1949 and 1950. In 1954, the club moved up to the Northern Division of the Birmingham & District League, and were placed in Division 1 the following season after league reorganisation. In 1962, the league was renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League. After several seasons struggling in the league, finishing bottom in 1960 and then finishing in the bottom five every season between 1963 and 1968, the club folded.

The fifth and current incarnation of the club was established in 1968. They picked up where the old club left off and spent four unremarkable seasons in the WMRL before making the step up to the Southern League in 1972. Until 1979, they played in Division 1 North and then for three seasons in the Midland Division. In 1982, the league was restructured, and the club was placed in the Premier Division. In 1983, Bedworth United achieved their best-ever finish of 5th in what was, at the time, the second tier. They remained in the Premier Division until 1989, when they were relegated to the regional divisions. Another demotion of sorts occurred in 2004 when the league dropped a tier following the establishment of the Conference North & South. A 3rd place finish in 2012 saw Bedworth qualify for the play-offs. After beating Uxbridge 2–1 in the semi-final, they defeated Beaconsfield SYCOB 3–1 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. However, the following season saw them finish second-bottom of the table, resulting in relegation, this time to the NPL D1 South. They were transferred back to the Southern League in 2014 and qualified for the play-offs again in 2015 after finishing fourth. A 2–1 win at Aylesbury in the semi-finals and then a 2–0 victory against Barton Rovers in the final saw them promoted back to the Southern League Premier. However, the following season saw them relegated back to the NPL D1 South. They reached the playoffs again in 2018. After beating Chasetown 2–1 in the semi-finals, they defeated Stamford 2–1 after extra time in the final to earn promotion to the Southern League Premier South. However, the club finished bottom the following season and were relegated to D1 Central. At the end of the 2020–21 season, they were transferred to the NPL D1 Midlands, where they remain to this day.

Bedworth United reached the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup in 2009, losing 2-0 at York City. They have also reached the FA Trophy 2nd Round on a number of occasions. Local cup wins include three Birmingham Senior Cups and two Midland Floodlit Cups. Between 1911 and 1939, the club played at the British Queen Ground, after which they moved to their current home. The record attendance of 5,147 came in 1982 against local rivals Nuneaton Borough, whilst the record appearance and goals contributor is Peter Spacey, who played for the club between 1949 & 1969. They received £30,000 when prolific scorer Peter Landon joined Plymouth Argyle in 1994. Other famous players to have turned out for the club include Keith Scott, who played for the club as a youngster before going on to have a good Football League career, including spells at Wycombe Wanderers.

MY FIRST VISIT

After leaving Sutton Coldfield, the destination of my morning game, I made my way back to Birmingham New Street station, where I then caught a train to Coventry. It was then that I discovered that the train service to Bedworth was utter rubbish, only running once every hour. The most I had to wait for a train was 10 minutes so far, so 45 minutes wasted time in Coventry was not welcome. I killed it by going in search of some lunch, in my case, a very good value 99p Chicken Donner Baguette with salad and chilli sauce. Despite the price, the portion of chicken was generous, and it tasted as good as anything from Subway or the like. Eventually, just after 2.40, I finally caught the train to Bedworth. After a short journey, it arrived at 2.53. I didn't bother with Google Maps, instead. relying on a site called 'Getting To Football' to get me there. Despite the design looking like it was made in the 1990s, it does the job excellently. The information was spot on, and I just made kick off after a quick jog, getting there with minutes to spare. I hadn't seen either team before, though I had been to see a game at Halesowen's ground. It was back in 2005 when I was aiming to do a game in every round of the FA Cup. The first one of the lot was in August in the extra preliminary round. It was Stourbridge v Glossop North End, and it was only being played at Halesowen due to Stourbridge's ground being used for the cricket club who they share with. 



It was an enjoyable game, finally won in the 66th minute by Ben Haseley. I have included a match report below, from the non-league paper. I was still quite full from lunch, but I managed to squeeze in a big portion of faggots, mushy peas and chips, which a mate had recommended on Facebook. They turned out to be every bit as good as suggested, and this has to be one of the better tea bars in non-league. I also went into the club shop and bought a pen, as pennants were £7 as opposed to the pens that were £1.50. I have started collecting pens more lately, but I only have five at present. The reduced cost, along with my ever-decreasing wall space for pennants, makes them a decent option. After the game, I made my way back to Coventry, after waiting for around 25 minutes at the station. I had soon changed trains and was on my way back to Birmingham. I had been recommended a pub, the Post Office Vaults, before, but had never actually got round to visiting it. I had searched for it with no luck last time I was in Birmingham, probably due to the fact that Google Maps had it in the wrong place. It was only a small door anyway, the entrance no bigger than a standard house door, but as I was to find out, it would be a good find.

 

I got there around 6.15, meaning I had just over an hour drinking time, as I didn't want a repeat of last time I was in Birmingham. That time, I was on my way back from Telford, spent a minute too long in the pub, and got to the station just as my train was pulling off. The next one was cancelled, which means I had to wait for 2 hours. Luckily, there were no inspectors on that journey, as I had a timed ticket for a certain time. On this occasion, I was more careful but still managed to have a few pints of cider, lucky that I wouldn't have to drive for 3 hours. The pub turned out to be a real cracker, with 13 ciders on. I had halves of Border Orchards cider and Pennalt Capsy Wennet. To finish it off I had a pint of Hogan's Hazy Daisy, which was 3.9% and the lightest of the lot. It also turned out to be the nicest, a really pleasant tasting one which was a bit like some of the French ones I have had, which are amongst my favourites. I shall most certainly be returning, should I get the chance. I got to the station with 10 minutes to spare. I grabbed myself a can of Irn Bru and a chocolate bar and waited for the train home. On the way home, I hadn't got much to read, so I was glad I had bought my headphones. I listened to some music, which made the journey pass a bit quicker. I was back in Wycombe at 9.30, and after the walk to my car, back home by 10PM. Sadly, there was no Match Of The Day, owing to the international weekend. But even more pathetically, there was no Football League show either, despite all of League One and Two playing. Instead, I had a curry out of the freezer, and a fairly early night for a Saturday, falling asleep just before 11.

MY SECOND VISIT

1-0 v Stafford Rangers, Midland U21 League, 31/01/26

As with a lot of grounds I had been to in the early days of hopping, I was always open to a revisit under the right circumstances. This happened on what was a weekend with a lack of variety due to the dodgy weather and the fact that all the grounds that I needed at step 6 and above were miles away. I also needed the Wetherspoons in the town, so a morning game in the Under-21 League was ideal before heading elsewhere in the afternoon. I was in Bedworth at 09:10 and headed to the Bear and Ragged Staff, my 475th Wetherspoons. It was nice and busy, and the people were friendly, in contrast to the gloomy town centre. Breakfast Muffin, haggis, energy drink and pints of Stowford Press and Old Rosie came in at under a tenner. Great prices and food, the service was first class too.

Bedworth was created in Victorian times, from weaving and coal-mining. The town centre was redeveloped in the 1960s and early 1970s, when the centuries-old and well-known King’s Head and the Old Pheasant both disappeared. So, too, did Bedworth’s status as an urban district, in Warwickshire. The Bear and Ragged Staff is the county emblem of Warwickshire, and also the name of a public house swept away in the redevelopment of Bedworth’s town centre, but the name lives on in this Wetherspoon pub. In a good mood, I left at 10:15, frustrated by Simplenote not working properly. It was less than ten minutes walk to the ground, where £4 was handed over in lieu of entry. The only goal of the game came after five minutes, a cross bundled home from close range to give Bedworth the win. The second half was more equal and Bedworth Town hit the bar on 65 minutes. The Bedworth keeper lost the ball in a challenge and the #6 bailed him out. The resulting corner came to nothing, but Stafford will rue their missed chances. It was a deserved win for Bedworth mind and despite the match not being a thriller, it'd been a great revisit.

Bedworth United sat 12th in the table, having won five, drawn one and lost four of their games so far. They had won three in a row, including last week when they beat Boldmere St Michaels 4-0. Stafford Rangers were 16th and had won two, drawn one and lost nine. They were on inconsistent form but had won 3-2 at Mercia Athletic last week. Bedworth were in their usual home kit, Stafford Rangers in a snazzy purple and pink combo. It was the hosts who took the lead after five minutes when they converted from a right-wing cross. 

THE GROUND

THE OVAL is set in nice green surroundings and makes for a pleasant place to watch football. The main stand usually holds around 300, but with part of that covered over, probably only holds around 200 now. Apart from that, the only area of cover is a small bit on the clubhouse side, whilst the rest is open standing. As mentioned before, the tea bar is excellent, with a wide range of nice stuff and big helpings. The club shop too has a fair few things and even has a small selection of old programmes and books for sale. The bar does the standard range of drinks, but looked pretty nice with TV's to watch the football on. All in all, I enjoyed my visit here; it's a nice place to watch football at and is a short distance from the train station for those who don't have a car or find it cheaper on the train, as I did on this occasion.

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