Kirkley & Pakefield FC - Walmer Road Recreation Ground

Kirkley & Pakefield FC

Walmer Road Recreation Ground

Walmer Road

Lowestoft

Suffolk

NR33 7LE

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Ground Number: 1571

Saturday 8th August 2026
Kirkley & Pakefield 1-2 Little Oakley

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

KIRKLEY & PAKEFIELD FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Although the club's official formation date is 1975, they can trace their history back to around the time of the Second World War when they were established as Brooke Marine FC. They were a works team for Brooke Marine shipyard employees.  The club was well-established by the 1940s, famously winning the Suffolk Junior Cup during the 1945–46 season right after competitive football resumed following World War II. It was the 4th club to use the Kirkley name. They had to be known as Kirkley Town for a period of time, as local side Lowestoft Town owned the Kirkley FC name. They were long-time members of the Anglian Combination and progressed through the leagues in the late 1970s; by 1980 they were in the Premier Division after they won the Division 1 title, as well as the Division 2 title in 1978. They gradually dropped down the table and in 1984 were relegated to Division 1. They spent five years here before going back up as champions in 1989.

Kirkley stayed in the Premier Division for the rest of their time in the Anglian Combination, lacking the facilities to go up. It was after their third Premier Division title in 2003 that they met the ground grading criteria. They were placed in the Eastern Counties Division 1 and won promotion to the Premier Division in 2005 after a 3rd place finish behind Ipswich Wanderers and Needham Market. In 2005, the club merged with local youth side Pakefield, and they changed their name to Kirkley & Pakefield. They have been mainstays of the Premier Division ever since, finishing as high as 4th twice. Latter years have proved more tricky; they survived relegation despite a bottom-place finish in 2024 and have had two 14th-place finishes since.

Kirkley & Pakefield have reached the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round three times. The last occasion was in 2015; this was notable as they won 2-1 at Southern League side Beaconsfield SYCOB before losing 2-0 to Hitchin Town. They have also reached the FA Vase 4th Round on four occasions. In terms of local cups, the modern club has won the Suffolk Senior Cup twice and the Anglian Combination Knockout Cup in 2002. On 26 December 2005, the club played its first league match against Lowestoft Town since the 1934–35 season, attracting a record crowd of 1,125. The record appearance holder and scorer for the club is Barry Dale with 241 goals in 495 appearances. Sir Stanley Rous played amateur football as a goalkeeper for a previous Kirkley FC early in his life before a broken wrist ended his playing career and led him to a legendary career in refereeing and administration.

There have been clubs in the area before, though. Kirkley FC were established in 1886; they lasted for a year before merging with East Suffolk FC to create Lowestoft Town. A second Kirkley FC was established in 1890, mainly from the teachers from Clifford House and other schools. They reached the FA Amateur Cup in 1897. Plans to merge with Lowestoft at the end of the 1907–08 season due to financial difficulties were abandoned after the "Good Friday Fiasco", in which Lowestoft used reserve players in a league match against Kirkley to rest first-team players for the cup matches between the two clubs. They disbanded in 1914, and a third club was established in 1919 and won the Suffolk Senior Cup. After merging with Waveney Athletic in 1929, the club became known as Kirkley & Waveney, although they reverted to the name Kirkley in 1932. In 1935 they merged with Lowestoft Town and ceased to exist again.

MY VISIT

I always like to do a game in the FA Cup Extra Round if Wycombe are not at home. As it was a late start to the EFL season, I was in luck. There was also no shortage of games to choose from either, twelve in total. Although that only represented around 5% of the 200-odd ties on offer, so my experience was proving a hindrance to getting a cost-effective day out. I considered departures from Amersham, High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead or Reading and put in some major work into finding the cost-effective option. Carlisle City & Penrith were good value for money but were way out of town, away from the railway station. They would also be a very late night ahead of Sunday, something I was keen to avoid. Kirkley & Pakefield turned out to be the value for money option as I could get a coach from Stratford to Norwich (£7), a bus towards Lowestoft (£3) and a train from one of Lowestoft's many stations to London (£20.42). Below for posterity are all of the 'deals' I could find, hampered by the lack of a nationwide open-age railcard.

2: Carlisle City v Northallerton Town - £53.60 + £13 to get to London & back

6: Penrith v Bridlington Town - £53.50 + £13 to London & back

8: Ashington v Horden CW - £116.30 + £13 to London & back

11: Guisborough Town v Thornaby - £102.90 + £13 to London & back + £6 bus

14: Knaresborough Town v Whickham - £88.70 + £13 to London & back

26: Thackley v Albion Sports - £70.90 + £6 bus + £13 to London & back

38: Beverley Town v Northwich Victoria - £84.50 + £13 to London & back

41: Burscough v Droylsden - £57.60 from Hemel

42: Keighley Town v Longridge Town - £64.50 + £13 to London & back

158: Guernsey v Crowborough Athletic - Flights around £200, plus getting there and back

212: Bovey Tracey v Exmouth Town - £57.50 from London, £13 to London & back, £6 bus 

It was great to chat to some Wycombe fans I'd not seen for ages on the train from Birmingham to Wycombe. It put me in a decent mood as we recalled past games, 35 years on from my first ever game. It was a strange feeling being stone cold sober on my way home, but unlike last week, I did not need to drive home. We were back in Wycombe at 7.15 and saw some Ipswich Town fans whose team had scored a last-minute winner at Wycombe in a friendly. Happily, my local team Holmer Green won 2-1 at Deportivo Galicia. I got the bus home, which cost £3 and saved an hour compared to walking. I had a couple more drinks and a pizza before bed, to wind down before a week of work. The two days at work were not so bad, even if I was feeling quite jaded. I was pretty confident the game would go ahead, so I put in all my research into the club history and day out on Monday evening.

When doing my research about the game, I remembered the classic Alan Partridge quote. I have someone on the line who fears he may be gay. He's married so wishes to remain anonymous...I'm talking to Domingo in Little Oakley. Nearer to the ground, it was disappointing to see that no pubs had any local cider, so I'd probably eat and drink in Norwich or at the ground. Norwich had a cracking range of pubs. Two Wetherspoons, which I had yet to visit, and The Vine, with Thai food and great cider, which opened at 11. Sadly, the White Horse, which also looked like a cracker, opened at 1, which was too tight for bus times. I do intend to go back to Norwich again though as it was the same situation when I went to Mulbarton Wanderers. The regular buses - one every fifteen minutes meant it would be easy to be flexible, although I was looking to arrive around an hour before the game.

It was my usual day off and routine on Tuesday. One point of note was some obscene ticket pricing. Sheffield Wednesday were charging Bradford City fans £35.50 for their Thursday night SkyTV-covered League 1 game, and Morecambe were asking Bedford Town fans to shell out £26 on the day for their National League North game. Greed runs rampant through football, but at the other end of the scale, Barnsley were only asking £17 for their game against Bromley, a real bargain. Most of my grounds now are well-priced as the level is so low, even if you can still see a great game. I went to Holmer Green v Belstone in the evening; they themselves had put the price up by a quid, but it was still fairly reasonable at £8 for step 6. Especially when I could walk to the games. It was a rather flat first half, with Belstone dominating and taking the lead just before the break. Holmer Green were better in the second half but blunt up front. Belstone grabbed a second with fifteen minutes to go. A decent end to the game saw Holmer pull one back through Joshua Peck on 84 minutes and then have a spell of pressure. However, Belstone made it 3-1 on the break with a minute to go. Due to a good night's sleep on Monday, I didn't get to sleep until nearly midnight, leaving me jaded the next day.

Friday saw me finish work early at 11. That meant I had a nice time at home with a couple of drinks before I left at 3.30. I met Colin and had a pint and food in Spoons before he went off, and I went to the Rose and Crown. I had my final pint before the ground. It was a low-key game, but neither of our local stations were showing any interest whatsoever, playing generic music. I got to the ground at 7.15, and it felt very run-down and unloved; I'd not been in this section for a few years. The game saw Wycombe have much the better of the play, but we were utterly feeble up front. It was typical that basic errors were made and Stevenage grabbed a last-minute winner. I was initially concerned that I'd miss the bus if it went to penalties, but we were saved the hassle and made it back 15 minutes before the last bus. I was in just after 11 and had a pint before bed on a boozier-than-expected day. Overall, it was a disappointing evening, but good to catch up with some old faces. I took a while to fall asleep, but was more than ready to go when my alarm went off at 5.10. I got ready and drove to Amersham station, getting my required 6.22 Metropolitan Line tube into London. Had I missed that, it might have been game over already.

 

A change to the overground at Liverpool Street gets me to Stratford on the Greater Anglia train. I was 25 minutes early for my bus, which turned up as I was arriving. The bus was quite full, but I had the whole back row to myself. It was a nice, peaceful day without Colin. We were in Norwich half an hour early so I walked the 15 minutes to the Queen of Iceni. This was a massive place and was seeing fans from Norwich City v Milton Keynes enjoy an early pint. Good on them, and come on the Canaries. For me, the cider festival was not on the app, but a pint of Stowford Press for £1.99 was decent, albeit it took ten minutes to come. It was a nice relaxed stay, then another fifteen minutes to the Glasshouse Wetherspoons, 550 for me. I had a pint of Stowford Press, wings and a third of the Elderflower cider I needed to complete the festival. I thought this was a smaller but more intimate pub than the last one with better range and service. Then around ten minutes to the Vine. The original plan was to eat here but there were no menus on the table. It did for a pint of Crones Perry, which was lovely. Finally, I did need food; Pepe's offered an excellent Quesedilla meal, but it took a while, and I missed my original bus to Southwold. No worries, around the corner it was to the bus station for the X21, which should just about get me there on time. I had a bit of a nap on the way, got off at the Tramway Hotel and just made kickoff. It looked like a very decent setup. Entry was well priced at £8.

Both teams were at step 5 last season. Kirkley & Pakefield finished last season in 14th place and had won eleven, drawn three and lost twenty. This season they were yet to win in the same division, drawing one and losing two. Little Oakley, meanwhile, had won the Essex Senior League by a couple of points but were yet to start their campaign in the Isthmian D1 North, such was the league's desire for short seasons. It was the visitors who were on top, but they had several shots blocked. Kirkley, meanwhile, were left to try to create chances on the break, but it was 0-0 at the break. I got a club glass with my drink at half-time, which I'll add to my collection. Little Oakley broke the deadlock on 54 minutes, a neat finish from Tobias Braney. The lead was doubled on 72 minutes, a neat move down the right, the ball swept in and Adam Joyce applied the low finish. There was nearly late drama when Kirkley & Pakefield pulled one back in injury time, the captain Kieran Wing finishing from close range. There were a couple more chances which came to nothing as the hosts held players back rather than sending the keeper up. As it was, Domingo will be dancing in the streets of Little Oakley tonight. It was a 40-minute walk to Oulton Broad South, via Co Op for a bottle of pop and the Flying Dutchman for a relaxed pint of Aspalls amongst friendly locals. It took the edge off noisy children on the 18:11 to Ipswich, where  I typed this blog.

THE GROUND

WALMER ROAD is a solid setup for the level. There is the rather predictable metal stand; this holds around 100 seated. At least the club has made an effort to decorate it in the club livery. There are also a few converted shipping containers; these provide covered standing for another hundred or so. It's a nice place to watch football. The extras are the best thing about it, though: a bar with a good range of drinks and branded club glasses. The food looked decent also, but I didn't sample. Parking was plentiful, and although you'll need a bus, the connections are regular and stop around ten minutes from the ground.

Northfield Town - Shenley Lane CA

Northfield Town FC

Community Association & Sports Centre

472 Shenley Lane

Northfield

Birmingham 

B29 4HZ

FAFT Page

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Ground Number: 1570

Saturday 1st August 2026

Northfield Town - Kirby Muxloe

Midland League D1

NORTHFIELD TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Although the name Northfield Town Football Club came into being in 1966, its origins go back to the 1930s, when it played under the name Allens Cross. In its early days, they had spells in the Kings Norton League, Warwickshire & West Midlands Alliance and the Mercian League. They joined the Worcestershire Combination in 1956 and won the title in 1962. Following an amalgamation with another successful local side, Castle Rovers, the club played briefly as Cross Castle United before adopting the present name, Northfield Town, in 1966. They carried on in the soon-to-be renamed Midland Combination, winning the title again in 1976. Northfield were relegated in  1980, spending one season in Division 2, finishing 8th but getting promoted back up. The top tier of the league was renamed the Premier Division in 1983. The club finished as runners-up in the Premier Division to Boldmere St Michaels in 1990 before winning the title in 1995.

Despite this title win, Northfield Town finished rock-bottom of the league the following season and were relegated to Division 1. They spent three seasons in the lower division, finishing as runners-up to Alveston in 1998 before winning the title and regaining their Premier Division status the following year. They lasted for two seasons before relegation. Despite finishing as runners-up to Bartley Green in 2007, Northfield Town were relegated to Division 2 in 2013. Reorganisation saw the club placed in the Midland League Division 2 in 2014, with the club finishing bottom in their debut season. A 4th place finish in 2017 was good enough for promotion to Division 2. The pandemic seasons saw mixed results, and Northfield Town left for a short spell in the Birmingham & District League. They won Division 2 (step 10) in 2022 and Division 1 in 2023. The rapid rise continued with a runners-up spot and a promotion from the Midland D3 in 2024. Division 2 was won in 2025, but Northfield lacked the facilities for promotion. This was remedied last season; the title was won again, and the club starts the season in step 6 for the first time in modern history.

The club has yet to enter the FA Cup but has had several seasons in the FA Vase. Their best run came in 1988 when they beat Coleshill Town, Baker Perkins, Solihull Borough and Racing Club Warwick before a 4-2 defeat at Ilkeston Town in the 3rd Round. Local cup wins include the Midland Football Combination Cup in 1957, the Midland Football Combination Challenge Vase in 1984, the Midland Football Combination Tony Allden Memorial Cup in 1977 and the Midland Football Combination Challenge Trophy in 1989. They've also won two Midland Football Combination Presidents Cups, the Birmingham & District Football League Holder Cup in 2023, the Birmingham & District Football League Intermediate Cup in 2022, two Birmingham County Saturday Challenge Vases, two Birmingham Saturday Amateur Cups, the Birmingham Senior Amateur Cup in 1975 and the Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup in 1990.

Northfield is a residential area in outer south Birmingham, near the boundary with Worcestershire, which it was historically within. It has a population of around 10,500. A centre of the Midlands nail-making industry during the 19th century and home to both the Kalamazoo paper factory and the Austin Motor Company's Longbridge factory in the 20th century, today Northfield is predominantly a residential and dormitory suburb of metropolitan Birmingham. Northfield lies on either side of the main A38, which heads south from the centre of Birmingham to Bromsgrove and onwards to Cornwall. Famous people from the area include George Cadbury – industrialist and founder of the famous chocolate brand as well as actor Ian Lavender, most well known for playing Pike in Dad's Army. Also, Britain's tallest-ever person, Jane Bunford, who stood at a colossal 7 ft 11 in and hailed from the suburb of Bartley Green. Bunford died at her home in Jiggins Lane on 1 April 1922. According to her death certificate, Bunford died of hyperpituitarism and gigantism.

MY VISIT

I was getting tired of friendlies and so was hoping to do a competitive game. With me having done and due to do a fair few miles in my car, something on public transport was a must. That rather limited my options; New Milton Town was a possibility, but it didn't look the best or easiest day out on the train and was better saved for midweek. That only left one option, Northfield Town v Kirby Muxloe. It allowed me to get the elusive Bicester Wetherspoons on the way up and also do a few more in Birmingham. It was one of the shorter trips and not especially good value on the train. But the pubs were key, and I roped Colin in with his Disabled Railcard, cutting the fare by a third. A rare thing for me to benefit from it, given his relative inexperience compared to me.

It was disappointing to depart ten minutes late on an otherwise impeccable Flixbus service. It would most likely mean I'd have to wait for the later tube home, but it wasn't the end of the world. Things did work out in the end, and I was back at Amersham by 10 and home 20 minutes later. I treated myself to a nightcap, watched YouTube for a bit and was asleep about 11.30. I felt OK the next morning, and it wasn't bad for a Sunday; busy, but the time went quickly. The Monday was similarly fine, and Tuesday's revisit to Horley Town is covered elsewhere on this blog. It was the annual time to renew car insurance and breakdown cover, and by shopping around, I was able to save £150 and also ditch RAC in favour of the better-rated Green Flag.

It had been a busy but ultimately satisfying week at work. I knocked off at 1 on the Friday, came home and walked straight down Wycombe. The Wetherspoons craft cider festival was my aim, and The Falcon came up trumps with a pint of Mr Whithead's Novo Pyrus Perry, which happily was my number one aim. A plate of shawarma-topped chips soaked them up. The other two halves - Rich's Sunset Gold and Hunts Mango & Passionfruit were mediocre at best. A couple of cans of Irn-Bru fuelled my trip home, with me back by 6 pm. It was a couple more at home before bed at 10. I awoke just before 6. Despite waking early, it was still a bit of a rush due to watching YouTube. I was out of the door at 7. 20, stopping at Tesco for a meal deal as I'd missed breakfast. I was with Colin at the station at 8.40 to find that he had cancelled our proposed Hamburg trip as PuffPuff had organised a trip to Scotland with him behind my back and he couldn't afford both. He did at least help me out with his disabled railcard, meaning the fare to Birmingham was £22.

It was a quiet but basic train to Oxford, with us getting off at Bicester Village. It was a plethora of suitcases and pushchairs blocking the way. The Penny Black Wetherspoons was just over ten minutes' walk away. What should have been four new ciders became three; an error meant that I got a retry of Harry's Scrummage, which was no bad thing as it was great. Alongside my breakfast muffin, I got Broadoak Lemon Haze, Barbourne Vumpy and Sandford Orchards Blackberry as well as the Scrummage in third measures. It made me feel better and we were half an hour ahead of schedule. The train was a warm and busy one, but at least we were on our way. We were in Birmingham at 11.35, and then it was 15 minutes wait for the 50 bus, which took us to The Elizabeth of York in Molesey. It was then the 35 to King's Norton. Twelve minutes walk got us to the Navigation Inn, where I had a pint of Farmer Jim's Prickly Pear. Then to the bus stop and a 19 to Northfield itself. I ordered a pint of Scrummage, but it was out of stock, so I got Aspalls instead. Also some chicken wings, with the cost being £6.14. Colin was whining as the world wasn't revolving around him, and we were cutting it fine for the football. But we got on the bus that got us to the ground ten minutes before kickoff; as someone who works 38 hours opposed to Colin's 12, I like to make the most of my time off.

The club was nice and welcoming. Colin continued his whining: the kit was the wrong colour, the way in was complicated, they'd not erected floodlights, you could see in the ground from outside. It always seems to be the people that get free money from the government that whine the most. I thought it was a great place, not a metal stand in sight. Division 2 champions Northfield faced off against Kirby Muxloe, who finished 17th in Division 1 last season. It was all Northfield early on; they shot just wide with the keeper stranded just as Colin was whining that the pitch barriers weren't to his liking. There was a lovely dog who loved having her belly rubbed. Shortly after Colin complained about the hard standing not going all the way around the pitch, Northfield opened the scoring. They poked home a loose ball in the area on 28 minutes to take a deserved lead. The hosts made it 2-0 just before half-time, catching out the keeper with a rocket from distance. I went to the toilet at half-time, walking past my fellow hopper having a sleep in the stand behind the goal. It was 3-0 on 64 minutes, an attack down the left and a finish from a narrow angle. A header made it 4-0 on 81 minutes as the pressure told. Colin had been wanting to go home since 4.30, and indeed, we did have to get our skates on as soon as the whistle went. If we'd missed the 4.59 bus, it would have meant hanging around in Birmingham for an hour. Goals from Graham, Wootten (2) and Green had got the goals for Northfield. We made the train just and met our Wycombe friends after getting slightly confused as the train was split in two.

THE GROUND

Shenley Lane Community Association is a work in progress but still a nice ground for the level. You enter through the bar, the entrance clearly signposted, but it's a case of working it out yourself once you are inside. The bar itself is very decent with a reasonable range but no food. Pin badges are available. The ground itself has lights and more hard standing is on the way. It's refreshing to see no metal stands, but there are two brick-built structures. A standing area on halfway provides shelter from the sun and rain and offers a great view. Behind the goal is seating for around 150, which also offers good views. Overall, it's a decent place to watch football. Transport links are plentiful, with a bus stop right outside the ground and various other options for getting back to Birmingham.