Friday, 4 March 2022

Golcar United - Skye Direct Stadium



Golcar United FC
Skye Direct Stadium
Longfield Avenue
Golcar
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire
HD7 4AZ

07825 744829





Ground Number: 1042
Friday 4th March 2022
Golcar United 3-2 Campion
North West Counties D1 North






GOLCAR UNITED - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1904 and played football mainly in the Huddersfield & District League. During the 1930s, games were played in front of crowds in excess of 1,000 people and they even featured on cigarette coupons. Golcar United moved to their current home Longfield Avenue in 1955. They had a brief spell in the West Riding County County Amateur League in the 1930s but moved on a more permanent basis in 1993. They enjoyed a great deal of success here and were champions on three occasions, including consecutive wins in 2018 & 2019. Following this, their application to join the non-league pyramid was accepted and they moved up to the North West Counties League Division 1 South. Their first two seasons were abandoned due to the pandemic but they were doing especially well in their debut season, sitting 5th when the plug was pulled. Results have since declined, but they still find themselves in a fairly comfortable position.

Golcar United have competed in the FA Vase for the past two seasons. They had to wait until this season for their first win as they impressively won 2-1 at higher-tier Handsworth. This was followed by a comfortable 4-0 win over fellow NWCFL side Wythenshawe Amateurs. Their run ended in the 1st Round with a 3-2 loss at Newcastle Benfield. In terms of local competitions, they've won the Huddersfield Invitational Cup nine times and the West Riding County Challenge Cup in 2001. Well-known players to turn out for the club include left-back Joe Skarz who played in the Football League for Bury and Oxford United amongst others. The village of Golcar is located just over two miles from Huddersfield and has a population of just under 7,000.


MY VISIT

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, it was time for an organised hop with Groundhop UK. Activities had been suspended for a couple of years thanks to the pandemic, but the opportunity to tick a load of grounds in one day is one that is hard to turn down. For once, I got lucky - firstly that six of the seven were new grounds for me - and it was hardly a hardship to retick Bacup Borough. Secondly, it was actually on a date that I could make - not being a Wycombe home game and also being when I'd booked a holiday off work. Initially, I'd been going to Belgium that weekend but thankfully, it was nice and easy to reschedule. I made all the necessary arrangements including an Air B&B a month before but sadly I'd have to drive as the coach was only being offered to the people that stayed in the 'official' hotel. I'll cover that in a later blog, but I softened the blow by giving lifts to a couple of hoppers, though that was only arranged a week before the game. The company would be nice too and I'd be able to use public transport for this game thanks to a fairly decent bus service in the area.


I'd had a brilliant Saturday on the Tooting Bec team coach on their trip to Lydd, but it was the usual soul-destroying Sunday at work and the Monday was tough too. Tuesday was my day off and as per usual, it rained for a lot of the day. The bus helped me get to the Wycombe game and it was worth it as we won for the first time in eight games, beating Cambridge United 3-0. The Wednesday was nice and easy at work and I was busy in the evening, preparing the remainder of my six blogs that I'd be doing over the weekend. I also planned in some backups for Friday and Saturday. I was hoping I wouldn't need them though as I was looking forward to all of the games, even the revisit to Bacup which would lighten my load a bit as I'd already done a blog on my 2015 visit. Thursday was a hard day at work with time really dragging and so I had a few drinks to relax when I got home.


I got a fairly decent night's sleep, waking at 7am on the day of the game. I relaxed for a bit and had some breakfast and a bath before catching up online. I noted that Golcar were having a pitch inspection at 4.30 and was grateful for the early call. Should it be off, I'd be able to revisit Huddersfield Town at the cost of £25. It was one of five, along with Birmingham City, Oldham Athletic, Weymouth and Dorchester Town that I wanted to go to again, so although second-best, it would be no hardship. I left just after 10, the journey not getting off to the best of starts when I found out part of my phone holder had gone missing. The rain and one ear being affected by excess wax did not lighten my mood. It was a decent journey up and I was in Barnsley at Dodworth Miners Welfare at 1.15. It was all locked up, but I got pictures as best I could. It was then on to May's Thai Cafe and takeaway where I had Chicken Gang Pah for £6.50. This was superb and very tasty. I then popped up the road for a few pictures of North Gawber Colliery FC before getting on my way. The Bier Huis in Ossett was next up where I got myself £30 of local real cider. Next up was Littletown FC, a really good ground but I could only get pictures of the outside. I couldn't get pictures of Lower Hopton FC as a new housing estate had been built and I was running out of time.

 
I was at my Air B&B for 4.15 and had a brief rest in my room along with one of the drinks I'd bought earlier. I headed out at 4.50 to meet Colin who was in Huddersfield for their game against Peterborough. After stopping at Poundland for some bits I needed, I met him in the Cherry Tree Wetherspoons at 5.30. There was no Black Dragon sadly but I did have a pint of Stowford Press Mixed Berries with my Scampi and chips. It was then the Sportsman for a pint of Nightingale Falstaff cider, a lovely pub and a decent pint. We met up with a load of other hoppers and walked to the bus station. I bid farewell to Colin and got on the 6.45 bus, having left it as late as possible in the event of a late postponement. The bus service was decent and I was in the ground at 7.10, seeing several familiar faces. £5 was great value for entry. Over the course of the game, I met so many people I knew, most prominently Dan & Ryan and we had photos together.

V

Golcar United were doing brilliantly in the league, sitting 3rd. Their recent form did not represent this though and they'd lost their last Saturday game 6-2 at Ilkley Town and also lost 2-0 to Holker Old Boys at the start of the year. They'd shared 1-1 draws with Pilkington and Bacup Borough and had beaten Daisy Hill 4-0 and Steeton 3-1. They also lost 2-0 at Nelson on Tuesday. Campion were sitting in 11th and were not in the greatest of form. They'd beaten Atherton LR 2-1 and also won 2-1 at Ilkley. However, they'd lost 5-1 at AFC Blackpool, 2-1 to Bury, 3-1 at Bacup and 2-0 to Farsley Celtic. The visitors edged the game early on but Golcar took the lead on 13 minutes, Buddy Cox curling a shot into the net following an attack on the left. On 27 minutes, it was 2-0, a high ball was put in and Jake Barrett powered the call into the roof of the net from the edge of the six-yard box. On 48 minutes, it was 3-0, an initial shot hit the bar and Dan Naidole put the rebound in. 59 minutes in and Jake Maltby smashed home a great free-kick for Campion. The game died down a bit after this and if anything, it looked as if the hosts would get another. However, five minutes from time Nicky Boshell netted another free-kick from an acute angle but the scoreline stayed the same in the remainder of the game.

It had been a pretty decent game to start off the hop with and it had been in great company. Golcar United had been excellent hosts and they were duly rewarded with a bumper 467 crowd. I said my goodbyes and got on my way. Originally, I'd been planning to go into town to visit the other two pubs that I'd wanted to visit in. However, I'd opted to travel light, thinking that I might have to go to Huddersfield in the event of a late call off. I had no battery pack, no headphones and I only had a vague idea of where my room was, if my battery ran out. Therefore, I decided to take the 50-minute walk back to my room as it was just as quick as getting the bus and then walking. I was back at 10:45 but was still going to have something nice to drink. I'd bought plenty of bottles and they were nice and chilled from being in my boot. I had these whilst I typed my blog. The news from Colin's game was good too - Huddersfield had beaten Peterborough - one in the eye for an especially obnoxious journalist called Alan Swann. He works for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph and has a bit of a warped obsession with Wycombe Wanderers, criticizing us at every turn.


THE GROUND

LONGFIELD AVENUE or the SKYE DIRECT STADIUM is a decent venue for the level. Of course, with the team not having played at this level for very long, the seating is supplied by the obligatory 'Arena' unit of around 50 seats. There is some covered standing beside this and also some more behind the goal, which would keep a few hundred dry at a push. The rest is open hard standing with one side being developed. 

There is a nice bar with a small range of drinks, no cider sadly. It would have been a cracking touch if they got some from local firm Udders Orchard, but I didn't see any. There was some good food on offer but I didn't partake due to the queues. In addition, there are some takeaways near the ground and a decent amount of parking if you include the nearby streets. There is also a decent bus service that drops off a few minutes from the ground, although this gets a bit patchy in the late evening.


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