Basford United - Greenwich Avenue

Basford United FC

Greenwich Avenue
Basford
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG6 0LD

07850 996397
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 531
Tuesday 27th October 2015
Basford United 1-1 Newcastle Town
NPL D1 South



 

BASFORD UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1900. Early days were spent in the Notts Combination before Basford switched to the Notts Alliance. It was here where they tasted early success, winning the title on three occasions. This would be it in terms of titles in this particular competition, and they bounced between the first and second tiers for many years, winning Division 2 in 1930. The club joined the Notts Senior League in 2005, but resigned halfway through the season. The short break was just what they needed, though and after working their way back, they were twice runners-up here. A rapid rise through the leagues followed, starting with a switch to the Central Midlands League, with them winning the South Division title at the first attempt in 2012. They had the facilities to progress to step 6 and subsequently won the East Midlands Counties League in 2013. Following a 5th place finish in the NCEL Premier the following year, they were switched to the Midland Premier, which they won in 2015. Three seasons in the NPL Division 1 South followed with another title won in 2018. They finished 7th in their first season and were going well when Covid-19 struck. Since then, the team have struggled and they finally went down at the end of this season.

Basford United had their best FA Cup run in 2022, beating Romulus and Rugby Town before beating Boston United after a replay in a giant-killing feat. Their run came to an end in the 4th Qualifying Round as they lost 1-0 at National League side Solihull Moors.Last season saw their best FA Trophy Run as they reached the 4th Round. Routine victories over Hanley Town and Anstey Nomads before a notable 2-1 win at higher-league St Albans City. Another giant-killing feat came as they beat National League side FC Halifax Town on penalties, but their run came to an end with a 4-1 loss to Eastleigh.They also reached the FA Vase 2nd Round in 2012. Local cup wins include six Notts Senior Cups, two Notts Alliance League Cups, the East Midlands Counties League Cup in 2013, the CML Floodlit Cup in 2012, the Notts Intermediate Cup in 2006 and the Notts Combination Cup in 1904.

MY FIRST VISIT

As it was half term, my groundhopping partner Anwar would not have to pick his kids up from school, and so we would be able to leave earlier if needed. The original plan was to take in a game in the afternoon - Wigan Athletic were playing in the FA Youth Cup at the Wigan Robin Park Arena, and it was a 3PM kick-off, meaning we could take in another game in the evening. Sadly, his parents were busy until 2PM, so that idea was knocked on the head. I was hoping to go to the FA Cup replay at North Ferriby United v Stalybridge Celtic, but unusually for them, the game was being played on Wednesday. Anwar presented a list of the games he was interested in and I plumped for what I felt the most attractive one - Basford United v Newcastle Town. This was a good one for me as I'd been targeting a visit to there ever since they played in the NCEL over 2 years ago. I was glad to be getting on a groundhog, to be honest. I’d had a two-week break from watching Wycombe play, but when we played Newport County last Tuesday, we were dire and were lucky to lose only 1-0 to the bottom side in the league. Carlisle on Saturday was a tiny improvement, but we were still very poor and only got a point thanks to a last-minute equaliser against another struggling side. It now looks as if the early season promise of a repeat of last season’s 4th placed finish or better was a false dawn, and October has been a horrible month for us with 3 defeats and a draw so far. 

It was my usual Tuesday off work on the day of the game, and so I walked down Wycombe as per usual, getting some drinks for tonight's game. After relaxing for a couple of hours, I left home at 3.15 and, after getting petrol, met Anwar in Aylesbury at 3.45. It was a reasonable journey, at first we thought the M1 was going to give us hell when I saw 40 minutes delay on my Sat Nav, but in the end, there was only around 20 minutes delay. We got to the ground at 6.15, going to a nearby takeaway called Mr T's. There, I had a decent Spicy Burger and Fries before walking back to the ground. Paying a bargain £6 to get in, I got myself a programme for £1.50 before going to the club shop. There I bought a mug for £3 and then went into the bar, having a can of Strongbow. After that, I went outside, joining Anwar on the halfway line and getting some pictures of the ground while I waited for kick-off.

The hosts had a couple of players I recognised. Saul Deeney played for Notts County against Wycombe many times, including our victory over them during our Carling Cup run in 2006/07, while from across the River Trent, former Forest man Eugen Bopp also starred. In the early exchanges, Basford dominated possession, but it was Newcastle Town that were most threatening in the final third. Even so, it was Basford that opened the scoring on 35 minutes with a well-worked goal from Courey Grantham. It was Basford that continued to dominate, but on 59 minutes Newcastle got an equaliser, a pinpoint header into the top right-hand corner from Ben Mills. Despite chances for both sides, that was the way it stayed. Basford will be disappointed they failed to make their possession count, but the visitors were a much-improved side to the one I saw lose in the FA Cup earlier in the season.

 

The journey home started off well enough on the local roads. The game between Guiseley and Halifax that would decide where Wycombe would be going in 10 days in the FA Cup was still going on, but we couldn't find a commentary. Instead, we had to make do with BBC Leicester, who were covering their Carling Cup game up at Hull.  We found out that Halifax would be our destination on November 7th, as well as various other scores, which included Barwell getting through to their FA Cup 1st Round debut. As it turned out, the BBC moved Halifax v Wycombe to Sunday, meaning I was unable to go due to work. We got onto the M1 OK, but around Leicester, they had shut it for roadworks. The standstill, along with a poorly worked diversion, added an hour plus 20 extra miles onto the journey, not what you want when you are up at 4am for work the next No apology either, and it feels as if I write about the disgraceful amount of roadworks and bad roads every blog. Eventually, I dropped Anwar off at 12.20, getting home myself 20 minutes later. I hardly got a wink of sleep, but thankfully, the following day was not busy at work, and I caught up on sleep the following afternoon.

THE GROUND -2015

GREENWICH AVENUE is typical of a ground that has seen a rapid rise in fortunes, with a few metal ‘arena’ type stands in place. There are a couple of original small stands, but overall it’s not one for the purists. There is a local pub nearby, but it didn’t seem that great from the outside. Food wise there is a local chippy, kebab & pizza place and an Indian takeaway nearby, while the tea bar at the ground is a decent one also. The club shop has a decent range of stuff as well as old programmes. Overall, the £6 admission and the friendliness of the people make this club well worth a visit.