Southwell City - Centenary Sports Ground

Southwell City FC

Centenary Sports Ground

Brinkley

Fiskerton

Nottinghamshire

NG25 0TH

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1293
Monday 1st April 2024
Southwell City 0-3 Newark Town
United Counties D1

SOUTHWELL CITY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Southwell City were first established in 1893 but were re-established in 1956. They played in the Newark & District League for much of their early years, winning the Division 1 title in 1958. Following that, they moved to the Notts Alliance, winning Division 1 in 1960. They were then Division 1 winners in 1971 & 1982. Promoted to the Senior Division, they were relegated in 1991 and remained in Division 1 until they were promoted back up as runners-up in 1995. They were Senior Division champions in 2001 and a couple of seasons later, joined the Central Midlands League. They were runners-up to Radcliffe Olympic in 2004, their first season which saw them promoted from the Premier Division to the Supreme Division. Southwell finished 4th in 2006 and retained their top-tier status until the league was regionalised in 2012. They remained in the South Division until 2017 when they joined the Notts Senior League. They won the Premier Division in 2022 and having moved to their present home a year early, were accepted into the United Counties League where they finished 14th last season.

This season, the club played its first campaign in the FA Vase. They beat Kirby Muxloe 9-3 before losing 4-2 to Eastwood Community in the 2nd Qualifying Round. Local cup wins include the Notts Alliance Challenge Cup in 1911, the Notts Alliance Senior Cup in 2002 and the Notts Senior League Cup in 2022. Up until 2021, they played at the Memorial Ground in the shadow of the magnificent Norman Minister which became a Cathedral just before the club’s formation. Hence the name Southwell City, even though City status has never officially been conferred on the market town. The town has a population of 7,500 and is located 9 miles from Newark and 15 miles from Nottingham. Southwell Racecourse, owned by the Arena Racing Company, is situated on the outskirts of the town near Fiskerton and has an all-weather track. It hosts jump and flat racing. Famous people from the area include former Football League keeper Scott Loach who attended Southwell Minster School and played for Southwell United as a youth.

MY VISIT

Southwell City had been a long-term target for me, but finding the time to do it was tricky. Along with Skegness Town, another one needed to complete a league, they played Wednesday nights. With me having a 5 am alarm on both Wednesday and Thursday, it wasn't as appealing as the standard Tuesday. Public transport was also very expensive in that area which is a shame as a Saturday out in Nottingham would have been great. With the constant poor weather, advance tickets weren't really an option - last year in March I was unable to use my coach tickets due to snow. The perfect opportunity was announced around a month ago when a double groundhop day along with Newark and Sherwood Colliery was announced. Advance tickets were available at a bargain £8 for both. It would mean a revisit to Collingham but this was perfect for me as I had a lot of blogs to produce in a small amount of time as well as a busy time driving. There was the possibility of a new ground at the Montagu Cup Final but no matter how many times I told fellow hopper Daniel I wasn't interested due to having to leave earlier, he continued to tag me in all of their tweets and mention it regularly.

A few days before, Anwar indicated his interest which would bring the costs down for Colin and I. It would also be good to catch up with him as I'd not see him since New Year's Day due to various factors. The day of the game came and I awoke at 7.30 having had a decent night's sleep. I pottered around and caught up for a bit before getting up and getting ready. I left at 8.30, picking up Colin at 8.45. Despite being slowed down by a tractor, we were at Anwar's for 9.15. I popped in Budgens for a hot dog and other snacks before going to Sainsbury's for petrol. It was a slog to get up to the M1 via local roads, then fairly good until we hit the A46 which had a few delays.

We were at Collingham at 11.50, using our pre-paid ticket to get in. I went in search of food and saw some encouraging signs about all meat being from local farms. However, Newark and Sherwood had banned meat from their games and so I had a decent portion of chips for £3.50 instead. The club later gave us a copy of their old badge for free, so I don't hold any grudge against them for their stance. I had a bit of Colin's burger and it wasn't bad but as ever with compromise foods, it's not as good as genuine stuff, especially locally sourced. FA Vase semi-finalists Lincoln United had to change their keeper due to injury in the warm-up. It was a nice ground to revisit too, a new stand had been added since I saw them in 2019. 11th faced 2nd but it was Newark and Sherwood who were unbeaten in ten. The hosts took the lead on 12 minutes, a great goal and a speculative cross-shot by Ryley Thompson. They added two further goals from Tom Jones and Liam Moran just before the hour made it 3-0. A calamity moment from the stand-in keeper made it 4-0 from Kameron Campbell's weak shot as it went straight through the keeper's gloves. The groundhop initiative was rewarded with a 293 attendance, great to see.

From the game at Collingham, it was a 15-minute drive to the game at Southwell. I had missed out on the United Counties Hop because I was stuck in work so it was good to get it done. I picked up my programme for a quid and had some meatball pasta for £5 and a cornflake cake for £1. Both were excellent. I tried to watch the Wycombe game online but was thwarted by ID Mobile being crap. There was a nice atmosphere and the club had pulled out all of the stops to make people feel welcome and also get themselves a bit of money. The programme was great value for £1, the cover a nod to Blur's Greatest Hits album. The weather had also opted to behave for once and the club had done well to get the game on as Mansfield Town half an hour down the road had postponed their game at 1.30.

In terms of league placings, it was 15th v 3rd. Southwell City had lost 4-2 at Dunkirk in their last game but had won the two before that. The same was true of Southwell City as they had lost 1-0 at Selston in their latest game. It was a dull opening to this local derby but the Newark Town fans were in excellent voice as they were when I saw them at home on December. The funniest chant was them singing about the referee looking a bit like Phillip Schofield. They took the lead on 35 minutes, Lewis Chambers having a shot followed up by Sean Devlin after the keeper parried the initial effort. On 48 minutes, it was 2-0 to Newark Town as Ryan Smith headed home from a left-sided cross. Devlin got his second and Newark's third after 59 minutes with a lovely curling shot from the edge of the area.

It had been a really enjoyable day in great company. It was also an excellent initiative to organise this min groundhop day. Despite Southwell being on the UCL Hop last July, it still attracted 351 people to the game which would have swelled the club coffers. It is a shame that more clubs don't put in the effort and collaborate to do something that will bring both them and football fans something good. After the game, we left around 6. It was a fairly decent journey home and after dropping the guys off, I was back in just before 9. It had been quite the day for fellow hopper Daniel who was negatively mentioned to me on several occasions this weekend. He had set out as a passenger in Richard's car until the exhaust fell off. They were recovered back home and he drove to Hook and dropped Richard off before heading to Hartley Wintney. Upon seeing the pitch was knackered, he asked for a refund before the ref called it off, which he eventually did. He was able to get to Fleet Spurs four minutes before kick-off and see a game after an eventful day.

THE GROUND 

Brinkley CENTENARY SPORTS GROUND is a typical modern setup in that it is a simple setup with two metal stands holding 50 seated and around the same standing. It also has a train station nearby at Fiskerton and a limited amount of parking. The bar was very smart but the food was the highlight with a good range of options at reasonable prices.