Redcar Town - Mo Mowlam Memorial Park

Redcar Town FC

Mo Mowlam Memorial Mark

Trunk Road

Redcar

North Yorkshire

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01234 987622

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Ground Number: 1058
Friday 25th March 2022
Redcar Town 1-1 Easington Colliery
Northern League D2

REDCAR TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Though a team of the same competed in the Wearside League between 1998 and 2003, the current club was established in 2014. They played in the Teeside League at first, winning promotion from Division 2 in their first season. In 2017, Redcar joined the North Riding League, following the Teesside League merging with the Eskvale & Cleveland League. They finished 3rd in their first season and bettered that last season when they were 2nd when the season was abandoned. This was good enough for them to be invited into the Northern League Division 2 for this season.

Redcar Town competed in the FA Vase for the first time this season. They win 2-1 at Sunderland RCA and 2-0 against Billingham Town before a 4-1 victory on penalties at Grimsby Borough following a 1-1 draw. Their run ended with a 2-0 defeat at AFC Liverpool in the 2nd Round. The battle for football supremacy in the town is contested with Redcar Athletic who play in the Northern League Division 1 and Redcar Newmarket who play in the North Riding Premier Division. The ground on which they play is named after Mo Mowlam, the Labour MP who represented the town and sadly died in 2009.

The seaside town of Redcar has a population of 37,000 and is located around seven miles from Middlesbrough. It is a destination for holidaymakers although not as much as it was in it's heyday. There was also a steelworks in the town before a decline in the value of steel meant that it was closed. The town is also home to a running club, a cricket club and a rugby club. Famous people from the town include the footballer David Wheater.

MY VISIT

For the final few days of my weekend off, I wanted to make the most of my free time and so a Friday night game was essential. I looked at the possible options of which there were a decent few. In the end, I opted for one that I could make a weekend out of and so went for Redcar Town. Good value travel was available and I had to pay just £4.50 to get to London and then only £16 for the Megabus up there. I also managed to get myself a room for Friday night for £29. The only downside was with the coach leaving at 8 am, I'd have to set my alarm for 5.15 but it was worth it to give me more time up there. I'd had a relaxed Thursday, following my game at Nettleham on Wednesday. I walked to town and back in the morning and then in the afternoon did more research for my weekend and also started off all my blogs. Due to me having to carry my bag around all day on Saturday, I decided against taking my laptop, mainly due to the weight.

The day of the game came and I'd not had the best night's sleep when my alarm went off at 5.15. I was washed, dressed and out of the door within twenty minutes and I arrived at my parking spot in a local road by 5.55. This was the nearest unrestricted road to Chalfont & Latimer station and although it was a lot busier than usual, I managed to get a spot. I then walked the ten minutes to the station. It was a few minutes until my Chiltern Line train although it was fuller than expected, mainly with people going to work in the City rather than mad people going to watch a non-league football match 250 miles away. I was at Marylebone by 6.45 with plenty of time to kill. I was glad I was early though as there'd been 'severe delays' on the Metropolitan Line and the wait for my Bakerloo Line train was 12 minutes. Luckily the rest of the trip was better and I was at Victoria by 7.15. I took my time walking to the coach station but was there twenty minutes later. The bus was on time and I was glad to get a double seat to myself as there were plenty of spares.

 

After a few stops, I was in Middlesbrough by 1.50. Poundland was my first stop as I'd forgotten my phone charger plug and I also got some chocolate bars. Next up was a drink, The Infant Hercules was my initial choice but this only had fruit (other than apple) ciders so I made my way to somewhere I'd been before, the Swatters Carr Wetherspoons. I had a bottle of Gwynt Y Ddraig Old Crow cider for £3.50 and this made me feel a bit more relaxed. After that, I made my way a few doors down to Peri Peri Original for a Keema Hot Shot Parmo. As it was only £2 extra for a full one as opposed to a half, I opted for that and this came to £11.95 including drink. This was huge and very nice but I just about finished it. I then got to my room, in the heart of the student district just after 4. It didn't look much from the outside but the owner was really friendly and the room nice. After spending half an hour there, I headed out again and went to the other Wetherspoons, The Resolution for another bottle of Old Crow. This was a new one for me, my 224th Wetherspoons. The cider was too sweet for me at the second taste and so after drinking it, I made my way to the station. Once I'd bought my ticket, I discovered that it would be a 45-minute wait for the next train to Redcar so I headed to another pub, The Isaac Wilson for a pint of Strongbow. Overall, the town of Middlesbrough had not been the best for pubs or its gloomy train station but the people had been super friendly. The train left at 6.26 and was in Redcar 12 minutes later. I headed straight for the ground as the entrance was a mile away and it was a fair walk from there to the turnstiles. I paid £5 to get in and another £2.50 for a can of Dark Fruits. I also met Shaun, a Boston fan and had a good chat with him. I later got some chips for £2 and a can of Irn Bru for £1 to further help out the club.

 Redcar Town were in excellent form and had only lost once in their last nine league games. They'd won 5-1 at Birtley Town in their latest game, 3-0 against leaders Heaton Stannington, 3-1 at Chester Le Street and 1-0 against both Billingham Synthonia and Durham City. Their only loss in the last six had come with a 3-1 loss to Esh Winning. They were in 8th whilst Billingham Synthonia were in 3rd and had won their last six games. Prior to that though, they were one of the few sides to drop points to struggling Durham City in a 0-0 draw. They'd won the return game 4-0 though and had also beaten Boldon CA 5-1 and 3-1, Jarrow 1-0, won 1-0 at Willington and 4-2 at Blyth Town. When the two sides met in October, Easington Colliery won 3-1. The game kicked off a couple of minutes late and it was the visitors that were the better side. However, it was Redcar Town that took the lead on 12 minutes, a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner by Jack Henry. Easington continued to have the better of the first half but it remained 1-0 at the break. Redcar started the second half in a better fashion and clipped the top of the bar with a shot from outside the area. Easington soon resumed dominance though and they were awarded a penalty for a foul on 52 minutes. Jack Pounder stepped up and converted the spot-kick to make it 1-1. Redcar nearly had a chance to win it around eight minutes from time, a chance on the break down the left was narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

 

Easington Colliery dominated the game but couldn't find a way through. Redcar were solid in defence and their ground was far better than I expected. There was a decent attendance of 200. The game finished at about 9.25 and I met Shaun for the walk back to the ground. It was around 20 minutes in all. There was a bit of a palaver when we got back to the station as the level crossing stayed down for ten minutes and blocked access to the platform that we needed. We got the train we needed though, the 10.07 to York that got to Middlesbrough at 10.19. We then walked back to our respective rooms with me stopping off for a couple of cans on the way. I was back at 10.40 and watched TV before going to sleep.

 

THE GROUND 

MO MOWLAM MEMORIAL PARK is a decent venue for the level and for a change the easy option of dropping in a metal stand off the back of a lorry was not taken. The main covered area runs the whole length behind one goal and is a mixture of seating and standing. Adjacent to this is further cover near the clubhouse. I'd estimate around 300 standing and 100 seats at a push are covered. The rest of the ground is open hard standing. There wasn't much around the ground but the food selection at the ground is excellent with a wide range. There's also a range of drinks, both soft and alcoholic plus scarves for £7 and old kits.