Wolverhampton Casuals - Brinsford Stadium

Wolverhampton Casuals FC

Brinsford Stadium

Brinsford Lane

Featherstone

Wolverhampton 

WV10 7PR

01902 783214

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Ground Number: 1235

Tuesday 10th October 2023

Wolverhampton Casuals 4-0 AFC Bentley

JW Hunt Cup 1st Round

WOLVERHAMPTON CASUALS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1899 as Wolverhampton Old Church. In 1914 the club changed its name to Wolverhampton Amateurs. Following the end of the Second World War. the club merged with Old Wulfrunians, changing their name once more to Staffordshire Casuals. The partnership was short-lived but they retained the new name. They won the Birmingham AFA League three times in the 1950s. The club were nomadic during the first eighty or so years of its history, playing at various venues including Aldersley Stadium which is now the home of Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club.

The 1980s was a pivotal era in the history of the club. They moved to their own home and in doing so, renamed themselves Wolverhampton Casuals. They joined the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1982, starting in Division 2. A 6th place finish two years later was good enough for promotion to Division 1. In the next three seasons, the club finished as runners-up however it was after a 4th place finish in 1988 that saw them win promotion to the Premier Division. Three seasons were spent here with unspectacular results, however, it was the lack of lights rather than on-field performances that saw them demoted in 1991. With the facilities in place, the title was won in 1995 for a return to the Premier Division. They spent 26 seasons here, the highlight coming in 2017 when they finished as runners-up to Haughmond. It wasn't until recently when their performance over the two pandemic-hit seasons saw them promoted to the Premier Division. They've spent two seasons here so far, finishing near the bottom of the table.

Eleven seasons have been played in the FA Cup. Their best in 2012 saw them beat Tipton Town 1-0 and Pilkington XXX 2-0 in the Preliminary rounds. In the 1st Qualifying Round, they held Tividate to a 1-1 draw before losing 4-2 in a replay. 2016 saw their best FA Vase run with Continental Star, Bilston Town & Chelmsley Town defeated before a home defeat to Nuneaton Griff in the 2nd Round. Local cup wins include the Walsall Senior Cup in 2001 and the Staffordshire FA Vase in 1988. The dugouts were featured in David Bauckham's 'Dugouts' book, published in 2006. The club is based in Featherstone, a town in the district of South Staffordshire, England, near the border with Wolverhampton. It has a population of just under 5,000. The most famous person from the area is Andy Thompson, a former Football League full-back most well-known for his 376 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

MY VISIT

Originally on this day, I had Sikh Hunters v Dudley Athletic planned in. I had attempted to do it back on the 21st Match only to be thwarted due to rain. This pleased Anwar as we visited Lye Town which was a revisit for me. Futbology was always my first call for planning games due to the ease of filtering out grounds that you had already done and seeing a simple list of options. This threw up Sikh Hunters v Dudley Athletic and that suited me as I'd already researched the club's history for my blog. The Football Traveller provided a few more options and I added in Wolverhampton Casuals to the mix. This would go towards the Midland League Premier which I was three away from completing. It was very close with Colin & Anwar alongside me, they were happy to do both. Ultimately, it came down to convenience and the best food option. Sikh Hunters was in the middle of nowhere whereas Wolverhampton Casuals had a decent-looking place called Featherstone Pizza and Balti House so we decided upon that.

Sunday was the usual grind at work, very busy though less toxic than usual. I was pretty knackered in the ending so only researched food and travel plans. Despite having had a hard day, I didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m. but felt fine on Monday which was far easier. Monday evening saw me get a few jobs done and also start my research into Wolverhampton Casuals history. The day of the game saw me have my usual day off and my annual flu jab at the doctor. I was the youngest person in the surgery by around 30 years which made me feel young for once. It was then a walk down Wycombe with nothing much purchased. 

I came back and had a couple of hours at home before leaving at 3.50. I already knew that the game at Sikh Hunters was off due to issues with their floodlights and I was glad that I'd not had my hopes dashed for a second time. For once it was a good journey and I got Colin at 4 and Anwar at 4.35. There was a bit of a mishap after we picked up Anwar in Aylesbury as Colin left his phone on top of my car, something he only noticed after we'd turned back after a mile. We were in Featherstone at 6.45 and stopped at a pizza place. I had a six inch Mexican heatwave pizza and fries for £7.25. It was very decent despite it's iffy hygiene rating, something I'd taken into account when picking what to have. Anwar had got a nasty bout of food poisoning from last week's curry so I was glad I'd avoided the rice. I'd had similar from a Biriyani near Charlton Athletic in 2006 and it wasn't nice. We drove to the ground, paying £8 to get in out of the car window.

The hosts sat 16th in the Midland Premier and had won just once all season in the league. They'd had a credible 2-2 draw against Darlaston Town on Saturday and were unbeaten in three after winning 6-0 at AFC Wulfrunians and drawing 1-1 against Atherstone. This ended a run of five consecutive defeats after two draws at the start of the season. Visitors AFC Bentley played three steps lower in the West Midlands (Regional) League Division 2. They sat top of the league, unbeaten with two games in hand. They'd won four in a row including a 1-0 win at Stourbridge Standard although that was on 23rd September. Wolves Casuals started brightly and they took the lead on three minutes. It was a great run down the right and a cross found Benni Wilson who finished from close range. They continued to dominate and on 28 minutes it was 2-0, Tom Cottam netting amidst half-hearted claims of offside. Wolves Casuals continued to dominate and they extended the lead to 3-0 on 50 minutes, a second goal for Wilson from close range following a knockback. It was 4-0 on 69 minutes, Wilson completing a hat trick following a good run and dribble. He was subbed off straight after having had a great game. There was a bit of argy bargy between the players after which held the game up.

We were in good company during the game, chatting to the AFC Bridgnorth manager. There was a huge gulf between the two sides with Bentley barely registering a shot. It didn't make for a great game. It was a surprise with Bentley being unbeaten in the league. The tannoy guy had warned of road closures on the way home and I was hoping it wouldn't be a situation like last week where a botched closure led to over an hour's delay. Despite lengthy stoppages, the game ended at 9.33 and we were away five minutes later. It was a reasonable journey home, a few junctions of the M42 were closed and despite the poor signposting for the diversion, Google Maps sorted out a decent route that only added ten minutes to the journey. I dropped Anwar off at 11.45 and after a trip down very basic roads due to the A413 closure, Colin off at 12.15. I was home ten minutes later, staying up for a while to upload my blog and watch TV.

THE GROUND

I first visited Brinsford Stadium for pictures on 20th December 2008, prior to Wycombe's 1-0 win at Shrewsbury Town. Back then, a 'tick' was achieved merely by visiting the ground and taking some pictures and it would be a few more years before I became a proper hopper! At the time, it was a decent but basic setup, a single stand consisting of around 150 bench seats and a clubhouse, standard for that level at the time and better than the modern metal stands that you get now. 

2023 GROUND UPDATE

A few cosmetic improvements had been made including proper fencing at one end. It was fiddly to pay out of the car window unexpectedly but they appear to have a card machine normally. There was also a smart bar and beer garden plus  a basic tea bar.