The Lee Johnston Signage Stadium
Leeds Road
Glasshoughton
Castleford
WF10 4PF
Ground Number: 1479
Tuesday 17th September 2025
Glasshoughton Welfare 3-2 Louth Town
NCEL D1
GLASSHOUGHTON WELFARE FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was established in 1964 as a Sunday league works team under the name Anson Sports. They initially played in the Castleford Sunday League, and adopted their current name in 1974 after moving to the sports ground of Glasshoughton Colliery on Leeds Road. The new ground enabled them to switch to Saturday football, with the club joining the West Yorkshire League. In 1985, they were admitted to the Northern Counties East Division 3. The division was abolished at the end of the 1985–86 season, with the club moving up to Division Two. They were promoted to Division 1 in 1990, following a 6th place finish and then again to the Premier Division in 1991 despite only finishing 11th. They struggled in the higher league at first, and a 5th place finish in 1998 was a real highlight and remains their best finish to date. Glasshoughton Welfare were relegated back down to Division 1 and would remain there until 2008, when they were relegated. They went back up in 2012 as runners-up to Handsworth. Three seasons were spent in the Premier Division until they were relegated in 2015. They have remained in Division 1 ever since.
MY VISIT
This trip was organised back at the start of August and revolved around using Colin's Disabled Railcard to get cheap advance tickets and to tick off Ibrox on the Sunday. Sadly, both of these fell by the wayside when our intended game on Friday at Knaresborough was shunted due ro an FA Vase game and worst of all, Rangers moved their game to Broadwood Stadium a week before the game. Those are the risks you take with advance tickets, I guess, and whilst I could chalk off the Knaresborough game to experience, Rangers' bait and switch was going to be more tricky to solve. That would be a problem to solve nearer the time, though, as having had a very busy start to September, there was tons of research to do. Glasshoughton would be our first game, though and probably the ground I was looking forward to the most with them being a long-established club.
It had been a boozy old Sunday in Luxembourg, with me making the most of my limited time there. For that reason, it was going to be a sober Monday for me, with the Wetherspoons ticking set to resume on Tuesday. It had been a patchy night's sleep for me, but I spent the morning in my room, researching this and other upcoming blogs. It was raining and there wasn't a huge amount to see in Luxembourg City. With lots of time to kill and the weather having brightened up, I got the tram to the Stade De Luxembourg. This was obviously deserted but it was a good way to kill time. I came back and had an excellent Kofte kebab meal at a restaurant near my hotel. It was then a tram to the airport, free of course. Luxembourg Airport was rubbish though, old-fashioned scanners where you had to take your electronics and liquids out of the bag and excruciatingly slow border control that only opened an hour before the flight. I saw the FA Cup draw and had Runcorn Linnets and Morpeth Town on my hitlist. Morpeth prices were obscene, but I was able to bag a return from Hemel to Crewe for £17.70. All the faffing about meant I was on my feet all the time and couldn't crack on with any of this week's blogs as planned.
The flight was perfect, though, as was security at Stansted, where there were no queues. The train was fine too, though I was concerned when the display on the train said that the underground was out of action. It turned out to be lies, although there was a bit of a wait for my Amersham train. The buses didn't line up very well, and mobile internet was unavailable for a lot of the journey, unique to London Underground, I believe. There was a 33-minute wait for a bus. On the old timetable, it would have been a couple of minutes, and I eventually got in just after 9. It was nice to come home, if only for ten hours, if only to sort photos and check my finances which had taken a bit of a hit this weekend. I had a patchy night's sleep, waking up before my alarm. I freshened up, got dressed and had breakfast before leaving at 7.30. I got a bus 20 minutes later, the 1B went around the houses but got me to Amersham Station for 8.30. We just missed the first train and had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. A brief stop and revisit to the Barrel Vault Wetherspoons allowed me a pint of Old Rosie, a breakfast muffin and an energy drink for higher than average but still reasonable prices.
It was a pleasant journey up to Leeds, with Colin sleeping the first half. I cracked on with my blog and was on to Wednesday's second game before we got to Leeds at 1. The Spoons in Leeds Station was ticked for a pint of Stowford Press. Then, over to the Cuthbert Brodrick for Cheese Meltdown meal with a bottle of Aspalls. We then walked to the hotel, arriving just before 3. After dumping our stuff and having a rest, we headed out at 4.30. We made the train by the skin of our teeth as it was at the arse end of the station. It was lucky it was delayed but the Northern train was not the most modern; it served a purpose and was read priced. We visited the Glassblower in Castleford for a pint of Strongbow and then the Winter Seam in Glasshoughton, where I had wings, strips and a pint of Stowford Press for a little over a tenner for the whole lot. It was then 15 minutes walk to the ground where we paid £6 to get in and chatted to a friendly Oldham fan and groundhopper.
Glasshoughton were second bottom and had won one, drawn two and lost eight of their games so far. Their last game was a 3-0 loss at Dearne & District, their third loss in a row. Louth were in 17th, having won three, drawn two and lost nine of their matches. On Saturday, they lost 4-2 at Route One Rovers. It was all Louth early on, but Glasshoughton took the lead on 13 minutes with a low free kick from Daniel Hickey that caught the keeper flat-footed. Louth equalised on 19 minutes, a brilliant shot that flew into the top corner by Harry Jacklin. On 35 minutes, Louth took the lead with a close-range finish by Cole Nelson. It was mainly Louth possession, but not many chances. Glasshoughton equalised on 71 minutes with a low shot from William Mendonca. Both sides then had good spells and chances. It was another great free kick by Lewis Shillito from 25 yards that gave Glasshoughton the lead five minutes before the end, much to the delight of their band of young fans behind the goal. It was harsh on Louth, who had brought a couple of fans amongst the 87 attendees.
THE GROUND
LEEDS ROAD to give it its unsponsored name, is a decent ground. There are two covered areas holding around 150 each, one seated along the side and one standing behind the goal. The rest of the ground is open, but it's a pleasant place to watch a game. The clubhouse was closed upon my visit, but various items were available from the tea bar. The ground is well linked by both buses and trains. There is a decent amount of parking. For a wider range of food and drink, the Xscape complex, 15 minutes walk away, has a Wetherspoons and various takeaways such as Taco Bell, Five Guys and Domino's.
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