Anstey Town - Beaumont Park

Anstey Town FC 

Beaumont Park

Bennion Road

Leicester

Leicestershire

LE4 1ES

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Ground Number: 1592

Tuesday 20th October 2026

Anstey Town 2-0 Boldmere Rangers

Midland D1

ANSTEY TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Although an Anstey Town side played in the Leicestershire Senior League between 1897 & 1899, the current incarnation of the team was established in 1973. For the first nine years, the current side played in the Leicester & District League before joining the Leicestershire Senior League in 1982. They were long-term members of the second-tier (currently step 8) Division 1 and won the title three seasons in a row between 2005 & 2007. The loss of their ground led to a nomadic spell playing in the North Leicestershire League between 2009 & 2013, with them winning the title in their final season. With a groundshare at Ellistown agreed, they could return to the higher level. Another long run in the LSL D1 followed with them moving to their current home of Beaumont Park in 2023 and winning the Division 1 title in 2024. In 2025 they were Premier Division champions; however, a lack of facilities meant that they would have to wait one more season for promotion. This came last season with a runners-up spot behind Loughborough Students Development.

Anstey Town had two FA Vase campaigns in the second half of the 1970s but lost both games. More stringent rules over league level prevented them from entering until this season, but they made up for lost time. They won 2-0 away at Clay Cross before a thrilling 4-3 win over Coalville Town. Their run came to an end in the 1st Round as they lost 2-1 to Lye Town. The game was played at Anstey Nomads due to their ground not being fully compliant as yet. Local cup honours include the North Leicestershire League Cup in 2012. In 2008 they reached the LRCFA Senior Cup Final, losing 2–0 to Blaby & Whetstone at Holmes Park. The club currently plays at Beaumont Park, around two miles by car or one mile by foot from Anstey. The large village that they represent has a population of 7,700, with the senior club that plays in the town being Anstey Nomads of the Southern League Premier Central. Anstey is known as the Gateway to Charnwood Forest. It is a combination of a traditional English village (with two village greens - the top green and bottom green) and an industrial town (with several 19th-century hosiery factories, many of which are now being turned into apartments) which is made up mostly of several small estates, both council and private, which are intertwined, often with no clear border.

MY VISIT

It was a rare new floodlit tick for me on this Tuesday. The last time I went to one was on the 2nd December last year at Stapleford Town. It would be the East Midlands again for me at Anstey Town as they faced Boldmere Rangers. These games were rare because of work, with me having an early start, plus a lack of options within a reasonable distance. I knew I would be knackered the morning after, but I didn't ask to be dragged out of bed at 3 am for minimum wage. I was having plenty of Tuesdays with no game now, as I only stayed local for revisits. My only concern was not driving tired, and with me having Tuesday off and getting a lie-in, I'd be fine. This was about the 3rd or 4th closest new ground for me at steps 1-6, with them being freshly promoted from the Leicestershire Senior League at the end of last season.

After getting back from Wales at 11.45 on Friday night, I stayed up until 2, having a few drinks and getting my blog up. I slept through until 8.30, which wasn't great for getting an early night later, but I didn't care. It took me a while to wake up and get ready, and as a result, I left for the Wycombe game 45 minutes later than usual. I still got my usual pre-match routine in: spoons for a pint of Black Dragon and Shawarma Chips, although the food took 35 minutes to arrive, so I ended up with a second pint. I got to the ground two minutes before kickoff, and although it was a dull game, Wycombe beat Notts County 2-0. It was our first home win in five and a half months, and it allowed me to justify a blowout in town after. I had a pint of Old Rosie at the Rose and Crown and a couple of pints at Wetherspoons before getting the bus home. I stopped at the Chinese takeaway for Pad Thai and Spring Rolls, which were delicious. I was home at 8.45 and had another drink with my meal as a nightcap whilst listening to the Legal Hour on LBC. I needn't have worried about not feeling sleepy, as all that drink sent me off to sleep at 9.45, with me feeling fine in the morning. It was a standard Sunday at work. Sadly, no football I fancied after.

 

I got through Monday too and had a great night's sleep, getting a six-hour lie-in, though I woke up for half an hour around 6 am. That would leave me fine for driving back, which was my main concern. The weather was gloomy and unpleasant, but the rain was not too heavy. I didn't need to go into town, so I got my 10k steps in with a local walk totalling six miles. I spent a few hours at home, researching tonight's blog and doing more research into Holmer Green FC. I left at 3.30 and got to Colin at 3.45; he was out within a minute. As we were leaving, Dave, AKA Hertfordshire Hopper, rang Colin and asked if we knew anything about the status of tonight's game. Rather than answer him, he put him on loudspeaker and got me to answer. I told him I was none the wiser, but we both decided to take the risk. Once he hung up, he berated Dave for being too lazy to look things up for himself. A bit rich given that Colin gets me to do all the research. He also moaned at Daniel for never driving, though Colin is not capable. To be fair, PuffPuff does use every trick in the book to avoid using his own car. The traffic was bad due to the school run, so we were sent a dreadful back route up to Redbourn to get the M1 from there. It saved time, but the roads were basically glorified footpaths with passing places. Thankfully, the hell eventually ended, and we started seeing some proper roads. The M1 was on good form, and we had a clear journey up to Wigston. It was a nice touch that we arrived just after 6 as the parking charges stopped. It was a few minutes' walk to Wetherspoons 557, the William Wygston. I ordered the buffalo burger deal with Cranberry Juice, excellent value and great service. We left at 6.30 and got to the ground just after 7. The guy on the entrance said the car park was for coaches only and sent us round to some motorcycle training place. We walked back ten minutes to find an empty car park, meeting plenty of familiar faces. It was a smart but bland setup, but entry was good value at £6.

 

Anstey Town were in 17th and had won four, drawn three and lost nine. A couple of points above the relegation zone, they had won 5-1 at Cradley Town on Saturday but had lost the four before that.  Boldmere Rangers were in 21st, three points from safety. They had won three, drawn two and lost nine. They were six games without a win and had lost narrowly 2-1 to Coalville Town in their last game. They used to be called Smethwick Rangers and played at Boldmere St Michaels, hence the name change. They had travelled an hour, or 47 miles, to the game. Anstey started on the front foot and were 1-0 up on their second attack on two minutes. A corner was put in, a shot hit the post, and the rebound was gobbled up by Josh O'Brien from a few yards out. The game continued to have chances for both sides. The referee let the game drag on, though, with the half-time whistle at 20:39. At least the second half started at 20:54; again, it only took two minutes for Anstey to score, in similar fashion to the first, with a low shot by Micah Lawrence. The second half followed the same pattern as the first, with chances for both, although fewer than in the first period. We left at 9.55, the journey going fine until we were sent off to M1 early due to a closure. They were horrible roads at night, very narrow through Tring and with well-hidden speed bumps in Amersham. I dropped the ungrateful Colin off at 11.45, who again accused me of never helping him as I didn't want to do a long-distance revisit on a midweek. A two-hour drive to a ground I'd done within the past few years with a 3 am alarm. I was in at midnight and went straight to bed, though it took me a while to drop off.

THE GROUND

BEAUMONT PARK is on a large complex and is part of De Montfort University. Surprisingly, there is no proper car park for fans who have to park a ten minute walk away. The ground is basic but tidy, a new setup obviously. Three metal stands more than cover the ground grading criteria. There is a building outside that offers a basic canteen, but it is at least a warm place to relax. Prices are decent all round, and the people are friendly as always. 

Rogerstone - Newport Fugitives Athletic Club

Rogerstone FC

Newport Fugitives Athletic Club

High Cross Road

Rogerstone

Newport 

NP10 9AE

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Ground Number: 1591

Friday 16th October 2026

Rogerstone 2-0 Newport Saints

Gwent County Premier

ROGERSTONE FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1890 and started life in the now-defunct South Wales League. They won the title three times and also finished as runners-up to Aberdare in 1900. They then moved to the Rhymney Valley League in 1905, winning Division 1 at the first attempt. This, in modern-day terms, eventually became the Cymru South, albeit in a more local form. The club went into abeyance for some time during the first half of the 1900s, reforming in the 1950s and playing in the Newport & District League. Around the 1980s, they moved into the Gwent County League. From 2000 until 2004, they played in Division 2, going down to Division 3 and winning the title during the 2004/05 season. They were relegated again in 2014, and this time their stay in the bottom tier would last longer. Rogerstone finished as low as 12th in 2017 but won the title the following season. It was an especially successful period between 2018 & 2020. They won Division 3 in 2018, then finished 3rd in Division 2 in 2019. This was renamed Division 1 that year, and Rogerstone won the title in 2020. There was then a break for the pandemic of two seasons. Although they've never troubled the top places since, they have maintained a top half finish since football returned.

Local cup honours include two South Wales Senior Cups, two South Wales Intermediate  Cups and the Gwent Premier League County Motors Cup in 2019. The large village of Rogerstone ist located near Newport, which has a population of over 10,000. The Welsh name Ty Du translates to 'black house' in English. The parish lies at the gateway to the Sirhowy Valley, north of Newport on the eastern side of the Ebbw River. It is bounded by the M4 motorway to the south, the Ebbw River to the west, the Henllys Vale to the east and the city boundary with Caerphilly County Borough to the north. The original settlement dates back to Norman times when Rogerstone Castle was built in the early part of the 12th century. The name is said to originate from Roger de Haia, the Norman Lord who was responsible for the building of the castle, the remains of which are reduced to a low bush and tree-covered motte adjoining the lower section of Tregwilym Road. The population increased with the growth of the tin, iron and aluminium industries which flourished near the South Wales coalfield. At one point, the village boasted the longest aluminium-rolling mill in Western Europe. The Tiny Rebel microbrewery is based in Rogerstone and opened its £2.6 million brewery and bar at the Wern Industrial Estate in 2017.

MY VISIT

I was super keen to go to a game on this Friday, having decided to miss out last week and there being no options for a new ground on Tuesday. The only question was where. My preference was Brimsdown, but they were unsure of whether they would be using their new ground or not. The backup was Rogerstone of the Gwent County League, a quick hop down the M4, although quite a distance. Sandwiched in between two Wycombe games, I needed some proper football to break up the complete mess at Wycombe created by our chairman Dan Rice. Employed by our rich owner, R*ce - sacked a good recruitment team and replaced them with spreadsheet bores who have wasted millions. He forced out club legend Matt Bloomfield, who created the best team in our 139-year history. A botched move to Harlington, leading to yet more money having to be spent on Marlow Road and a golf club. Two more failed manager appointments, and the third set to repeat the first mistake. New 'manager' Hounsell with this five-at-the-back nonsense, including Steeve Cook, who is totally past it. The entitled players, whining when Duff calls them out, think they are on easy street now, and it showed on Saturday. Add to the terrace being half closed due to lack of maintenance, and the club is in a sorry state for one so rich.

Everything was great train-wise on my journey home from my last hop at Crewe, a comfortable, peaceful and well-priced journey. Tech-wise, though, it was most frustrating; my photos took an absolute age to upload, and the mobile data had been slow all day. GiffGaff (using O2) had been a noticeable downgrade on Spusu (using EE) in the past few days. However, thanks to my new phone contract, I will have to stick with them for the next 17 months. At least it's not as bad as Vodafone and Three in previous experience, but frustrating all the same. The best thing was that the train went straight to Hemel, no need to faff about in Milton Keynes changing. I was pleased to get my blog up finally, by around 7:30. I was back at my car by 8.25 and home 30 minutes later. I had a couple of drinks in an attempt to wind down for bedtime ahead of an early start at work. I didn't get much sleep, under four hours, as I didn't feel sleepy. I woke at 3, tired at first, but an energy drink soon sorted me out. It was a typical Sunday, nice for the first 4.5 hours, but hellish once the families and their irritating offspring packed the store out. It was also a busy day, and I was asked to stay on past 12, but I had other plans.

 

WD Herons v Brewster Plumbing was my FA Sunday Cup game of choice, winning over a game at Winslow. Roadworks delayed my journey to Northwood FC, but I parked up around 1. I had chosen this game purely on a decent takeaway called Pizza Hot House. I had chilli chips and a Desi Spicy Pizza. The latter was by far the standout due to the interesting and very tasty addition of fresh ginger on the pizza. If only they had a branch in Wycombe. It was 20 minutes walk to the ground and a fair & 5 entry fee with paper ticket. Brewster Plumbing won 2-1 in a decent, competitive game. I was getting tired by now and, after going home and having dinner, was in bed by 7, getting around 7.5 hours of sleep.  That did me well ahead of Monday, and with Tuesday being my day off, it was my usual ten-mile walk to Wycombe and back, followed by the afternoon at home. It looked like a bit of a fallow period for new grounds. The nearest new one for me on Friday would be Penrhwiceiber Rangers, which would be about £60 in car costs on my own. The ground was a pretty one, best saved for a daytime game. Aberdare looked like an interesting town for pubs nearby, but I'd have to drive later. All in all, I was erring against it, although I hadn't made a final decision.

On Tuesday, it would be my 49th visit to Watchet Lane to watch Holmer Green v Chesham United in the Berks & Bucks Cup. Or should that be 46th, as three of the visits have been on an alternate pitch. That was a newly built 3G for the two later visits, but despite several requests, Futbology has not responded to my request to add it as a new ground. I am happy to count it as part of the same complex, but other users have had issues with the people that run it totally ignoring them. Compare that to their treatment of their golden boy PuffPuff, who they fawn over and arselick, give him loads of free merch and last week, something he asked for on the app took them six minutes to sort. Others have been waiting months or years for a response, even those volunteering to add fixtures to lower leagues for nothing but helping out other hoppers. It turned out to be a great night at Holmer Green in front of a decent crowd of 265. The hosts were 2-0 down with around twenty minutes to go and started to take players like top scorer Josh Peck off to avoid injuries. Nevertheless, they roared back to level at 2-2 and then 3-3 after going behind once more. Holmer Green finally beat a side four leagues above them in a tense penalty shootout in what was a great night for the club.

I was tired the next morning at 3 am for work, but my request for two days off in a row was refused. It's always an issue, as after a lie-in I don't feel sleepy until around midnight. I got through in the end, though and caught up on sleep the following night. It was a fairly dull end to the week with no Friday night football. Saturday was Wycombe Wanderers v Luton Town. The Hatters were a team that we had not beaten at home in seventeen attempts. The day started well enough with a walk down Wycombe and the discovery that they had Black Dragon cider on at Wetherspoons, which was very nice. It went downhill from there. My breakfast muffin took 37 minutes to arrive, although it tasted great as it was freshly cooked. It was around then that Wycombe Wanderers announced Tom Hounsell as head coach. Granted, he's done well as caretaker, but that was after Michael Duff did all the setting up and signings. He was a college friend of our chairman / grossly over-rewarded employee, Dan Rice, who has systematically destroyed the spirit of the club since he came in, forcing out club legend Matt Bloomfield and pissing millions up the wall on wasted transfers and a botched training ground move. His latest move is to employ a load of his mates from college, including Hounsell in the top job. From there on, the day was crap. A disappointing meal from Taco Bell, then one of the worst performances I have seen in my 991 visits to Adams Park. We were clueless and gutless in the 4-1 defeat to Luton, but it was all so predictable. I went home, drowned my sorrows, but was limited to a couple with work in the morning. A 3 am alarm and then an exceptionally busy Sunday. Although people were fine as ever, their dreadful, noisy children and the packed store were horrible. I was glad to finish at 12, not fancying football after, or indeed a revisit on Tuesday.

The rest of the week went by slowly with no game, and I was no closer to knowing where I was going on Wednesday, purely because Brimsdown themselves hadn't told which ground they would be using. I contented myself by booking a trip to Bucharest in November. My destination was confirmed on Thursday when Brimsdown confirmed they would be playing on the main Aveley pitch. I reckon it would cost them 50 - 100 people on the gate at least, but they were constrained by what Aveley had to offer. I made good progress planning for future trips. Following my advice, Colin sat out this one. We had a lot of expense coming up, and it would mean a detour at the end for me. Originally, I was only intending to complete the top three tiers in Wales, but it is such a great country, I may expand that to level four and beyond. That said, looking ahead to next season, Rogerstone may well be in the Ardal South East. It was the usual week at work with me looking forward to my time off. I had a couple of hours after work to relax before leaving for the game, going just after 3 as the traffic looked bad. It turned out to be the case, with it slow getting out of Wycombe, past Bristol and past Newport. An hour's delay in all, and I had to change plans. Instead of going to the Tesco to get some Welsh cider, I headed straight to my pre-match food place, the Tin Can Kitchen. Chilli cheese hot dog and fries came to £12.99. This was excellent, with spicy fries and a tasty hot dog. It was then to Morris for 5 bottles of Black Dragon. Finally, to the ground, with me parking up nearby. I paid £3 entry and also a keyring for £3 as I had eaten elsewhere and brought my own drinks. Entry was a bargain and I wanted to put a little extra into the club. I had around 15 minutes before kickoff to get some photos of the impressive ground.

 

Rogerstone were sitting in 2nd in the Gwent County Premier behind RTB Ebbw Vale. They were six points adrift but had three games in hand. They had won nine and lost two.  They had won five in a row, including a 1-0 win at Graig Villa Dino last time out. Newport Saints were in 13th place and had won two, drawn one and lost seven. They had travelled just over five miles from just southeast of the centre of Newport. They were unbeaten in three and had drawn 1-1 with Silfil in their last game. Newport Saints were solid at first, even having the first attack which came to nothing. Rogerstone tried and tried without really creating anything clear-cut. Their persistence paid off in the 20th minute when James Goodfellow swung in a looping cross from the left that Luke Thomas headed in at the back post. It was all Rogerstone, with the hosts well on top, but it was still 1-0 at half time. That doubled to 2-0 in the 48th minute, with Thomas turning provider and sending a ball across the area, which Connor Marsh rifled into the roof of the net from six yards. Ten minutes later, they had the ball in the net again, at least according to the fans behind the goal, but it was not given by the referee. There were loads more chances for Rogerstone and a couple on the break for Newport Saints, but no further goals. It had been an enjoyable evening, even if car costs for the trip totalled £59. I had a good run down the M4 and, despite stopping for petrol, was back well before midnight.

THE GROUND

THE FUGITIVES GROUND is a superb venue for the level and is better than a lot of Cymru South grounds. For a start, it is floodlit, with the pitch very well illuminated. Two sides have hard standing, and there is a large stand behind one goal that seats around 200. Of the remaining two sides, one is a raised grass bank, and one is flat grass standing. Inside the ground is a tea bar offering basic snacks and a reasonable range of merch, all at fair prices. Outside is a bar that looks very nice. A short walk away is a chip shop; further away is the excellent Tin Can Kitchen. There is plenty of parking near the children's centre opposite.