Moulton - Brunting Road

Moulton FC

Brunting Rd

Moulton

Northamptonshire

NN3 7QF

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Ground Number: 1139
Tuesday December 6th 2022

Moulton 3-1 Northampton ON Chenecks

Spartan South Midlands D1 Cup

MOULTON FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1896, their first game was a friendly against the small village of Old, some seven miles away. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. They've spent the vast majority of their history playing local football and a good chunk of that in the Northamptonshire Combination. They were league champions in 2004 and runners-up in the following two seasons. They were also runners-up in 2017 & 2018, after the latter of these, the pitch was upgraded to a 3G and the ground prepared for the step up to semi-professional football. Moulton were in a runners-up position again when the season was cut short in 2020. Last season saw them finish 3rd and with a shortage of candidates in their area, they were invited to join the Spartan South Midlands D1 for this season.

Moulton is a large village located in the west of Northamptonshire, around five miles north of Northampton. It has a population of around 3,500. There has been a small church building in Moulton since the early 7th century, built of wood, but this was burnt down by invading Danes, was rebuilt, but again suffered the same fate. The invading Normans erected a building of stone, the beginning of today’s building. During the 19th century, during church renovation, the shaft of a stone Saxon preaching cross was discovered under the floor, which is now displayed in the south aisle. Moulton also has a college, focussing on agriculture and trade.

MY VISIT

This game was decided on Sunday. I was originally intending on going to Foley Meir v Port Vale in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, however, after seeing that the temperature would be 1 degree at kick-off, I decided against it, fearing a frozen pitch. This will become an ever-regular occurrence with the weather getting worse and 3G pitches such as those at Moulton are a godsend. It would also mean me recompleting the Spartan South Midlands League following the addition of a few new teams this season. Sunday was not so bad at work, despite me having to miss the Wycombe game and waste my season ticket. At least I was able to watch the final 20 minutes on my tablet and I saw Garath McCleary put us 2-0 up to confirm an excellent victory over Portsmouth. I was glad to have both Anwar & Colin with me for this trip for the company and help with travel costs. I'd completed my 100th game of the season on Saturday, not a patch on some hoppers I have seen but the earliest I'd got to three figures before was 27th December.

I had a decent day at work on Monday, very busy, but that's my favourite type as time flies. I came home in the evening and started researching this blog, only realising that it was a Cup game once I dug a bit deeper. I looked forward to later in the week and had fancied a trip somewhere on Friday. However, the baltic conditions meant that anything would have a high chance of a frozen pitch, so I probably won't bother. I did receive good news about Boxing Day though, working is voluntary as long as I don't mind losing a day's pay. So I'll be able to attend the Wycombe game, unlike Sunday. It was my day off on Tuesday as per usual and I did my usual walk to town and back, having some nice Gunpowder Massala Fries at a great place called Karak Chai. I came back and had a couple of hours at home before I had to head out again. I left at 5.20, picking up Colin and Anwar along the way. It was a slow old route to the ground but we got there at 7.30. We met up with Dan and Richard who had come over from Essex. As from last week, it was a bit of a hoppers convention with loads in attendance.

 Moulton had been in disappointing form in recent times. I'd seen them win 3-0 at Rugby Borough last week and they'd looked really comfortable. However, they lost 4-1 at Amersham Town on Saturday. In fact, the win I saw was their only victory in nine league games. However, due to a strong start to the season, they were in 9th whereas Northampton ON Chenecks were a couple of places above in 7th. They were in great form, having lost just once in twelve games. That was a 2-1 loss at home to Winslow but they'd had some big victories too, including an 8-0 win over Burton Park Wanderers. They'd drawn their last three games - 0-0 at Lutterworth Athletic, 3-3 at home to Amersham and 1-1 at Moulton in a league game. Northampton ON Chenecks started brightly, having three chances and hitting the bar in the opening five minutes. Both sides continued to have chances but Moulton opened the scoring with a penalty on 32 minutes after a trip on the edge of the area. The spot kick was converted by Joe Evans. It was 2-0 a couple of minutes into the second half, a cross from the left and a header at the back post, Evans with his second. Northampton ON Chenecks deserved a goal and they got one back 25 minutes from time. It was a ball across the edge of the area and a low shot into the net. Moulton sealed the game in injury time, with another header to make it 3-1, this time by Nathaniel Ansu.

 There was a total of 92 in attendance, at least according to the figure given officially. I said goodbye to Dan & Richard and it had been a night in decent company. Anwar had been in a jubilant mood thanks to his native Morrocco beating Spain on penalties earlier in the evening. He proudly displayed his flag and it was just as shame he couldn't bring a bit of Moroccan sunshine on a chilly night. As seems to be the case lately, the game had dragged on a bit and by the time we had cleared the car windscreen, it was 9.50. It was the usual Greatest Hits Radio on the way back with me dropping Anwar off at 11. I dropped Colin off at 11.25 and got back home around 15 minutes later. I decided to get my blog up before I went to sleep as I wasn't tired at all.

THE GROUND

BRUNTING ROAD is a typical 3G modern setup - perfect for frozen weather but not the most exciting. At least three of the four sides are accessible though and the small 50-seater stand does have the club's initials picked out in the seats though. There was a smart clubhouse and this did snacks like sausage rolls. Parking wise, there is a large car park at the ground, plus street parking. There's not much nearby, aside from Fuller's Fish & Chip shop and a couple of convenience stores, located a short walk away.