Guiseley FC
Nethermoor Park
Otley Road
Guiseley
Leeds
LS20 8BT
01943 873223
Official Website
Twitter
Nethermoor Park
Otley Road
Guiseley
Leeds
LS20 8BT
01943 873223
Official Website
Ground Number: 220
Tuesday 9th October 2012
Guiseley v Colwyn Bay
FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round Replay
MY VISIT
For the second day of my football marathon, I decided to head to Guiseley, near Leeds for their FA Cup replay against Welsh team Colwyn Bay. The 2 teams had drawn in the initial game in Wales at the weekend and so a replay was required. I was initially planning to go to Barrow v Southport in the Blue Square Premier, but the mate who I was planning on meeting there had done his ankle playing football and couldn't make it. On the day I was staying at my hotel in Bury and so nipped across the road to ASDA for a bit of breakfast. Suitably fed, I set off for the game, first stopping at Silsden FC to take some pictures. It was a pretty modern ground with some great scenery around the area, a lot of which was visible from the ground, giving it a really nice setting. I then went to Guiseley, parked up at the football ground and after getting some pictures of the ground in daylight, set off for the train station to get a train into Leeds. I had planned this beforehand and bought a return for £4.10, so I could save on petrol, parking and have a couple of pints as well.
I left Guiseley at 11.50 and was in Leeds just after 12. To be honest, Leeds was a bit of a letdown. It wasn't that it was a bad place or anything, just that it wasn't as good as other big cities I had been to, such as Newcastle and Liverpool. One good thing about it though was a pub called The Hop. I found it using the good beer guide app on my phone and also the UKCider website. And it turned out to be a richly deserved reputation. They had some great pies from a bakery in Huddersfield and also a good range of ciders. I opted for a pint of Three Sheets T'Wind at 6.5% and very nice it was too. After a visit to another pub, where I had a Belgian Cherry beer, I realised I had nearly 5 hours to go to kick off and decided to go back to the station and see how much a train to Bradford cost. It turned out to be just over £4 so I got a return ticket and caught the train, arriving about 4PM. Bradford was a much better city, and one I have been to a couple of times before, having visited for the football with Wycombe on a number of occasions. After looking around the shops, I made my way to another pub that had come recommended, called the Fighting Cock. If the one in Leeds was good, this one turned out to be epic, having an even better range of real cider and other stuff well worth a try. I'd certainly rank it up there with the best pubs I had been in and I was disappointed to only have enough time for one pint. I will certainly be returning in the future.
I walked the mile or so to the station, picking up a chicken wrap at a local takeaway before getting the train back to Leeds and changing for Guiseley. I got back about 6.50 and was in a pretty good mood after a decent day. After stopping at a local Chinese takeaway to get some chips, I made my way to the ground, arriving at around 7.15. After paying £10 to get in, plus £2 for a programme, I went straight to find the club shop, as I heard that they did old programmes. Sadly there weren't any of the ones that I needed there, but I did pick up a pennant, for the bargain price of £1. The bloke in the club shop was really friendly, as in fact was everyone there, and it was by far my favourite of the three clubs I visited that week. After taking some pictures of the ground, I settled down in the stand and checked my Facebook and Twitter on my phone, finishing just before the game started.
Despite dominating the game in terms of possession, Guiseley were behind at halftime. Rob Hopley put the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark. It was a half of few chances, despite some good football being played. James Walshaw, the ex Darlington player was probably the biggest threat for Guiseley. At halftime, I was delighted to see Wycombe were winning 2-1 at Portsmouth in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy having been 1-0 up after 13 seconds thanks to Joel Grant, and then 2-0 up after 8 minutes. I celebrated in buying a Yorkshire delicacy at the tea bar - a hot pork pie, along with some mushy peas, a nice generous portion too for £2.70, and very tasty too. The second half was a different story as the hosts seized the initiative and took the game to Colwyn Bay. The most amusing part of the second half was a Guiseley fan having a go at Colwyn Bay's number 11 for something or other, the player responded by calling the fan a 'f**king inbred' in a very loud scouse accent. The game was turned on its head by 2 goals from Wayne Brooksby in the space of a few minutes on the hour mark. It was no more than they deserved, having started to create more chances. The first was the pick of the bunch, a low drive which put his side back on level terms. Ex Wycombe and Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair was sent off for an off the ball incident, at the age of 41 he should be old enough to know better! The game was wrapped up after more good work from that man Brooksby, Gavin Rothery benefiting from his good work on the wing when he put a fairly simple chance away to give Guiseley a deserved 3-1 lead. They could have had more too, but had to settle for what they had in the end. They would now face the winners of the Buxton v Hednesford Town game, which unbeknown to me, I would be going to. At the time my mind was still set on Ashton United v Marine. It had been a good evening after a decent day, and after being made to feel really welcome at Guiseley, I hope they win their tie in the next round and get themselves a plum draw for the extra revenue and glory. After a fairly simple drive back, I arrived at my hotel just before 11PM. As with the previous night, I watched a few videos on my tablet before going to sleep.
THE GROUND
NETHERMOOR PARK is a smart modern ground, perfect for Guiseley and the support that they get. As mentioned above, the tea bar is good and club shop excellent. The bar is great too, having got Thatchers Gold and Gaymers Pear on draught, as well as some real ales. It is spacious and also has Sky so you can watch the live game beforehand or after seeing some real football on the pitch outside. The only seating in the ground is provided by 2 metal stands, owing to Guiseley's quick rise up the leagues. Although not blessed with huge character, they do the job well and are quite tall, unlike the other arena stands I have seen. Behind both goals is open standing, whilst the other side there are a couple of areas of covered standing. The town is a 5-10 minute walk away, I didn't try it, but I have heard good things about a pub called Coopers.
Tuesday 9th October 2012
Guiseley v Colwyn Bay
FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round Replay
MY VISIT
For the second day of my football marathon, I decided to head to Guiseley, near Leeds for their FA Cup replay against Welsh team Colwyn Bay. The 2 teams had drawn in the initial game in Wales at the weekend and so a replay was required. I was initially planning to go to Barrow v Southport in the Blue Square Premier, but the mate who I was planning on meeting there had done his ankle playing football and couldn't make it. On the day I was staying at my hotel in Bury and so nipped across the road to ASDA for a bit of breakfast. Suitably fed, I set off for the game, first stopping at Silsden FC to take some pictures. It was a pretty modern ground with some great scenery around the area, a lot of which was visible from the ground, giving it a really nice setting. I then went to Guiseley, parked up at the football ground and after getting some pictures of the ground in daylight, set off for the train station to get a train into Leeds. I had planned this beforehand and bought a return for £4.10, so I could save on petrol, parking and have a couple of pints as well.
I left Guiseley at 11.50 and was in Leeds just after 12. To be honest, Leeds was a bit of a letdown. It wasn't that it was a bad place or anything, just that it wasn't as good as other big cities I had been to, such as Newcastle and Liverpool. One good thing about it though was a pub called The Hop. I found it using the good beer guide app on my phone and also the UKCider website. And it turned out to be a richly deserved reputation. They had some great pies from a bakery in Huddersfield and also a good range of ciders. I opted for a pint of Three Sheets T'Wind at 6.5% and very nice it was too. After a visit to another pub, where I had a Belgian Cherry beer, I realised I had nearly 5 hours to go to kick off and decided to go back to the station and see how much a train to Bradford cost. It turned out to be just over £4 so I got a return ticket and caught the train, arriving about 4PM. Bradford was a much better city, and one I have been to a couple of times before, having visited for the football with Wycombe on a number of occasions. After looking around the shops, I made my way to another pub that had come recommended, called the Fighting Cock. If the one in Leeds was good, this one turned out to be epic, having an even better range of real cider and other stuff well worth a try. I'd certainly rank it up there with the best pubs I had been in and I was disappointed to only have enough time for one pint. I will certainly be returning in the future.
I walked the mile or so to the station, picking up a chicken wrap at a local takeaway before getting the train back to Leeds and changing for Guiseley. I got back about 6.50 and was in a pretty good mood after a decent day. After stopping at a local Chinese takeaway to get some chips, I made my way to the ground, arriving at around 7.15. After paying £10 to get in, plus £2 for a programme, I went straight to find the club shop, as I heard that they did old programmes. Sadly there weren't any of the ones that I needed there, but I did pick up a pennant, for the bargain price of £1. The bloke in the club shop was really friendly, as in fact was everyone there, and it was by far my favourite of the three clubs I visited that week. After taking some pictures of the ground, I settled down in the stand and checked my Facebook and Twitter on my phone, finishing just before the game started.
Despite dominating the game in terms of possession, Guiseley were behind at halftime. Rob Hopley put the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark. It was a half of few chances, despite some good football being played. James Walshaw, the ex Darlington player was probably the biggest threat for Guiseley. At halftime, I was delighted to see Wycombe were winning 2-1 at Portsmouth in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy having been 1-0 up after 13 seconds thanks to Joel Grant, and then 2-0 up after 8 minutes. I celebrated in buying a Yorkshire delicacy at the tea bar - a hot pork pie, along with some mushy peas, a nice generous portion too for £2.70, and very tasty too. The second half was a different story as the hosts seized the initiative and took the game to Colwyn Bay. The most amusing part of the second half was a Guiseley fan having a go at Colwyn Bay's number 11 for something or other, the player responded by calling the fan a 'f**king inbred' in a very loud scouse accent. The game was turned on its head by 2 goals from Wayne Brooksby in the space of a few minutes on the hour mark. It was no more than they deserved, having started to create more chances. The first was the pick of the bunch, a low drive which put his side back on level terms. Ex Wycombe and Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair was sent off for an off the ball incident, at the age of 41 he should be old enough to know better! The game was wrapped up after more good work from that man Brooksby, Gavin Rothery benefiting from his good work on the wing when he put a fairly simple chance away to give Guiseley a deserved 3-1 lead. They could have had more too, but had to settle for what they had in the end. They would now face the winners of the Buxton v Hednesford Town game, which unbeknown to me, I would be going to. At the time my mind was still set on Ashton United v Marine. It had been a good evening after a decent day, and after being made to feel really welcome at Guiseley, I hope they win their tie in the next round and get themselves a plum draw for the extra revenue and glory. After a fairly simple drive back, I arrived at my hotel just before 11PM. As with the previous night, I watched a few videos on my tablet before going to sleep.
THE GROUND
NETHERMOOR PARK is a smart modern ground, perfect for Guiseley and the support that they get. As mentioned above, the tea bar is good and club shop excellent. The bar is great too, having got Thatchers Gold and Gaymers Pear on draught, as well as some real ales. It is spacious and also has Sky so you can watch the live game beforehand or after seeing some real football on the pitch outside. The only seating in the ground is provided by 2 metal stands, owing to Guiseley's quick rise up the leagues. Although not blessed with huge character, they do the job well and are quite tall, unlike the other arena stands I have seen. Behind both goals is open standing, whilst the other side there are a couple of areas of covered standing. The town is a 5-10 minute walk away, I didn't try it, but I have heard good things about a pub called Coopers.
Glad you enjoyed it! you really missed a treat by not going to Coopers though - like the Fighting Cock but not such a run down place.
ReplyDeleteCraig, Secretary GFC Supporters' Club.