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Earlswood Town
The Yakinori Pavilions
Malt House Lane
Earlswood
Solihull
West Midlands
B94 5DX
Ground Number: 1106
Monday 6th May 2024
Earlswood Town 2-5 Littleton
Midland D2
EARLSWOOD TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was born out of an older team, Churchgreen United and were established in 1968. They competed in the West Midlands Metropolitan League for the first three years before joining the Mercian League in 1971. They were Premier Division runners-up in 1980 before winning the title two years later. They then moved to Division Three of the Midland Combination in 1982, renamed Division Two the following year. They would remain here until 2007 when they finished 4th and were promoted to Divison 1. They finished as runners-up to Stockingford AA in 2010 before winning the league and promotion to the Premier Division the following year. Three seasons were spent here with a 3rd place finish in 2013. That remains their best finish to this day. In 2014, the leagues were restructured and Earlswood were placed in the Midland League Division 2 where they remain to this day.
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MY VISIT
Bank Holidays used to be a time of joy for me, with my 23 years of service at work entitling me to elect which three I voluntarily worked. However, in 2019, my employer, aided by the treacherous Tories stole all that from me, stripping away all my rights and privileges in an enforced fire and rehire. It used to be even worse with me scheduled to work until 4 but with that changing to a 1 pm finish, at least I had a bit of choice. The wonderful morning kickoffs I used to enjoy were out of the question, however, as were all but moderate-distance journeys. Fellow hopper Colin had the luck of the devil, despite being scheduled to work and his store being open, he got the day off which upset the other staff at his store. I'd be without him as he had got a ticket for Worthing v Braintree, one of 400 for Braintree fans from another hopper and temporary ticket tout Daniel.
Finding a game was proving to be a right pain. My first choice was Trowbridge Town, but even if I left on time, I'd only have fifteen minutes to play with in terms of delay, on a busy Bank Holiday. I thought I'd found a great second choice in Indian Gymkhana as it was a ground I fancied going to for a while. However, their game against Slough Town JFC was played as a doubleheader on Thursday night. My third choice was Liphook United but this match was cancelled well in advance for whatever reason. Choice number four was Overton United, but that was moved to another ground due to a cricket clash. Choice number five was Stopsley United, but that was another game reversed to Caddington where I had already been. Choice number six was LU Donz. Again they suffered a change of venue from their normal home of Dunstable Cricket Club. They were excellent on social media but didn't have much of a history, being formed in 2023. What is it about the Dons' name in that part of the world? It was a real shame that the game was not reversed as Bletchley Scot looked like a great venue for the level and one to bear in mind for the future. It'd have been perfect to double up with a revisit to Kempston Rovers in the evening too. In the end, Earlswood Town fitted the bill, further than I'd have liked but a nice venue. It was also quite fiddly by public transport, so it was ideal to do in this situation.
After a boozy but fun Saturday, it was the usual Sunday. I've started to cope better with my least favourite day of the week. However, it was still a slog, the first screaming brat showed up at 9.57 and there was the usual excess of people asking questions and families having a day out. We were also swamped with orders so I was glad when 4 PM came and I could go home. The evening was spent researching Earlswood Town's history and preparing my blog which took longer than I expected. I then had an awful night's sleep owing to a back pain that I occasionally get. Painkillers did little and it still persisted into the next morning although it started to get better as the day wore on. It was busy in store but not in my department and I finished at 12. I wish I'd brought my laptop with me and was in no rush, leaving at 12.20. It was raining once again, but up in Warwickshire, the forecast said it was dry. It stopped raining north of Oxford, then lesser recognised blue skies and sunshine emerged as we got into Warwickshire. I was near the ground by 2, having driven up as economically as I could. I filled up with fuel as it was 2p cheaper a litre than back home. I got to the ground around 2.10 and saw TalkSPORT's Tony Incenzo who was also up for the game in his role as groundhopper and non-league ambassador. I paid £4 to get in and £1 for a decent programme. It was a smart setup and though my back had a bit of an ache again from driving, I was in good spirits.
Earlswood Town were 12th, having confirmed that they were staying up on Saturday, despite losing 3-0 to Cadbury Athletic. This was one of three consecutive defeats. Littleton were still very much in the mire and needed to win both of their remaining games to stand a chance. They'd not won in three but got a credible 2-2 draw at Coventry Alvis last week. The game started fairly equally. Littleton scored with their first chance of the game on four minutes, a curling shot was only parried by the keeper but James Batchelor followed up from a few yards out. It was 1-1 on nine minutes, a corner was fed back in, lines were not cleared and Joseph Drake-Cervantes shot home on the turn from fifteen yards out. Both sides had chances, Earls with a lob a few minutes after their equaliser and Littleton has a goal ruled out before halftime. It was the visitors that looked more likely to score. They did indeed score in first-half injury time when Michael Boyd was given too much space and had plenty of time to twist and turn and fire home from around the penalty spot. Littleton continued to have the better of the game. On 61 minutes, they were awarded a penalty but Harry Patterson saved Dan Cottrill's effort. They were not to be denied for long, a combination of a well-worked move and sloppy defending saw Batchelor score his second and Littleton's third on 67 minutes. The game was put beyond doubt on 72 minutes, Dan McArdle with a powerful low shot into the bottom left of the net. Or was it? A rare Earlswood attack saw them pull it back to 4-2 with a looping header by Tom Kinsey on 74 minutes. Littleton made sure on 84 minutes, Ben Cowlishaw springing the offside trap before finishing well to make it 5-2. Earlswood did have one cleared off the line in the last minute but they were very much second-best on the day.
At half time I had a decent hot sausage roll for £2. Not as good as a tie-up with their ground sponsor but decent all the same. It was a really good game to watch, the referee had a decent game despite a lot of whinging by both sides. It was a mystery as to how Littleton are struggling so badly as they could have had a few more. There was a significant amount of injury time, the game ended at 4.55. The attendance was later given as 74 and it took me five minutes to get my things together and leave. It should have been an easy journey home but due to an accident pervert rubber-neckers, I had to come off a junction early. It only added ten minutes to my journey and I was back in just after 6.30. It was a good day for Braintree fan Dan and fellow hoppers Colin & River as they saw Braintree win an excellent game 4-3 at Worthing to seal promotion to the National League. I was also chuffed for Marine, one of they most friendly clubs I've been to. They overcame Macclesfield to seal promotion to the National North. Macclesfield & Bury were really nice clubs to visit in the EFL but in the non-league, there's a bit of the billy big bollocks about them and an entitlement that they should go up by dint of being a big club. It'll be a day off for me tomorrow both football and work-wise but I'll be back at it Wednesday in both senses.
THE GROUND
THE YAKINORI PAVILIONS (sponsored by a local Japanese restaurant is a pleasant ground. It's fairly isolated although The Lakes railway station is nearby. There's also a decent amount of parking. The pitch itself is fully railed and there is a small amount of cover in front of the clubhouse. In here is a bottle and can bar, snacks and lots of club memorabilia. Also for sale are club shirts (£30) and a large selection of old programmes (donations). Nice touches like a visitor's book all add to the day out. Overall, it's a nice place to watch a game at. The pitch also has a slope with the car park end being a bit higher than the far end.
