Harwich & Parkeston - The Royal Oak Ground

Harwich & Parkeston FC

The Royal Oak Ground

Main Road

Harwich

Essex

CO12 4AA

01255 503643
Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 644
Thursday 3rd November 2016
Harwich & Parkeston 2-1 University Of Essex
Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division






HARWICH & PARKESTON - A BRIEF HISTORY

Harwich & Parkeston were formed in 1877 and for their early years played in local leagues as the game of football established itself. In 1935 they became founder members of the Eastern Counties League, winning it in their first season and stayed there until 1964 apart from 1937-38 when they defected to the Essex County League, winning it in their only season. 1964 saw them join the Athenian League in their third tier, with 2 immediate promotions seeing progress to the Premier Division. After some mixed seasons, they joined the Isthmian League in 1973 in it's second tier.1976-77 saw them finish 3rd which remains their highest ever finish in the football chain, as at the time it was the joint second highest level of non-league football in England.

The 1982-83 season saw them exit the Isthmian League as they finished bottom of Division 1, with them spending a season in the Athenian League before returning to the Eastern Counties League the following season. They remained in the Eastern Counties League until 2010 when they resigned mid-season due to financial issues. During their tenure, they spent all but one season in its top tier with a best ever finish of 3rd in 1996/97 where they amassed 104 points and scored 133 goals but still finished behind Wroxham and Wisbech Town. Since 2010 they have played in the Essex & Suffolk Border League, with a voluntary drop down to its second tier in 2014 as the financial troubles worsened and the reserve team was disbanded. Top flight status has since been regained, but it's a far cry from the many glory days the club has enjoyed.

As one of the countries top amateur and semi-pro clubs, Harwich & Parkeston have reached the FA Cup 1st Round on no less than 6 occasions, the last of which in 1976 saw them take Enfield to a replay before losing 3-0 at their own ground. They've played some Football League clubs too, but progression through the Qualifying Rounds saw defeats to Crystal Palace and Torquay United. The club were runners-up in the FA Amateur Cup in 1899, losing to Stockton in the final. Their run was not without controversy though, as they lost their Quarter Final tie to Royal Artillery Portsmouth but were reinstated following a successful appeal to the FA that the club was not an Amateur side. As a result RA Portsmouth disbanded, with the vast majority of fans defecting to Portsmouth FC and taking the Pompey Chimes with them. Credit to friend and fellow hopper Laurence Reade's blog for this little gem.

The competitions replacements have seen some success. They reached the FA Trophy 3rd Round in 1975/76, remarkably their narrow 2-1 defeat to Bedford Town was their tenth game in the competition that season. The 1990-91 saw an equally impressive run in the FA Vase as they lost 2-0 at home to Gresley Rovers in the Quarter-Final. The victors went on to reach the final at Wembley, playing out an incredible 4-4 draw before losing to Guiseley in the replay at Sheffield's Bramall Lane. Locally the club have won the Eastern Counties League Cup on 3 occasions, the last of these coming in 1997.



MY VISIT

This game was arranged around a week prior and credit must go to my mate and fellow hopper Dan for spotting it. After confirmation with the club that the unusual time of Thursday night was indeed correct, plans were put in place to go, with me stopping in and around Braintree en-route to pick up Dan and our mutual friends Maurice and Josh. Harwich was a ground I'd wanted to visit for a while, though the fact that they rarely played midweek had restricted my chances. I'd seen both sides once before, with Harwich winning an FA Cup Preliminary Round replay 5-2 in 2005 at Holmer Green, a club less than a mile from my front door. I'd seen University Of Essex play at Coggeshall in May 2015 as they won 2-0 away from home. The day held happy memories for me as I met Dan and his cousin Maurice for the first time that day, both of which have gone on to be firm friends and have joined me on a number of subsequent groundhops.

On the day of the game I woke at 9am after a decent sleep in my own bed. After having breakfast and a bath I caught up on my blog for the past two days amongst other things. I ended up leaving around 3.30 and for the time of the night with me getting to Josh at 5.20. It helped that he lived out in the country and soon we were on our way. After picking up Maurice and Dan we made our way to Harwich. With me being hungry and there being an hour until kick off, we stopped at a local Chinese takeaway called Tasty where I had chicken curry, rice and mini spring rolls for £6. I took them back to the clubhouse and eat them while I waited for the game to start. With 15 minutes to go I went and took a seat in the impressive stand.




The game started promptly and at a decent pace. Harwich took the lead on the quarter-hour mark when after a good jinking run, a University of Essex defender could only deflect the ball into his own net. The second Harwich goal just before half time was a great overhead kick and one of the best efforts I've seen this season. The chances dried up in the second half, though University of Essex pulled one back from a header with 10 minutes to go. From there we had a decent journey home, dropping Dan off at 10.20 before making the other 2 drop-offs. I got in just before midnight, having a drink before I went to bed half an hour later.

THE GROUND

THE ROYAL OAK GROUND is a classic ground, although owing to financial issues a lot of it has fallen into disrepair. The main stand would once have held around 500, but now it holds a fraction of that as only the front few rows area available. The view from here is still decent if you can avoid the supporting pillars as it is well elevated. There are even a few cushions available to make things more comfortable. There is further cover behind the goal in the form of a steeply covered terrace, holding a decent amount. The rest of the ground is open, and a lot of it overgrown. There appeared to be an open terrace on the far side at one point, but this is fenced off now.

There's a bar and tea bar at the ground and these sell basic snacks and hot and cold drinks. Further afield, there is an ASDA opposite the ground, plus the area of Dovercourt is around 5 minutes walk from the ground and this offers various takeaways and pubs. This ground is well worth a visit and although there are no firms in place, the club are hoping to move in the future.

Wellington Amateurs - School Grove

Wellington Amateurs FC
School Grove
Oakengates
Telford
Shropshire
TF2 6BQ

Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 644
Wednesday 2nd November 2016
Wellington Amateurs 2-3 Wolverhampton Casuals
West Midlands Regional League - Premier Division



WELLINGTON AMATEURS - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was formed in 1950 as OLD WELLINGTONIANS by former pupils of a local grammar school, changing their name when players that were not former pupils. They played in the Wellington League for the first 31 years of their history, before joining the Shropshire League in 1981. Starting in its second tier, they won the league and cup double in their first season, earning promotion to the Premier Division in the process. The success continued and they won the championship in their first season. Though they won it again in 1989, but it wasn't until 2006 when they were runners-up that they made the step up to the West Midlands Regional League. It was an immediate success story, with them starting in Division 2 and winning the league in the first season. Despite top 2 finishes in Division 1 for the next 4 seasons, it wasn't until 2012 that they made the step up to the Premier Division due to their ground not being up to standard. Since then they remained here, sitting at step 6 of the non-league pyramid. Their best ever finish came in their debut season od 2012/13 when they ended the season in 12th place.

Wellington Amateurs have not yet entered the FA Cup, and have only entered the FA Vase twice. The only win in the latter came this season when they hammered Dudley Town 4-0 before a defeat to Uttoxeter Town in the 2nd Qualifying Round.Locally a host of cups have been won including the WMRL D1 Cup, the Shropshire League Cup, the WJ Evans League Cup, the Shrewsbury Town Directors Cup, the Commander Ethelstone Cup and the Wellington Senior Cup. 

MY VISIT

I woke around 7.30am on the day of the game, having had a decent night's sleep. I was disappointed to hear that my afternoon game at Halifax, or to be more accurate, the West Riding FA ground had been called off due to the hosts involvement in the FA Youth Cup in the evening. After yesterday's bore draw at Pontefract and the lack of programmes I was beginning to think this trip was cursed. I set about finding a replacement and narrowed it down to a couple of options, namely Radcliffe Borough and Kidsgrove Athletic. The latter won out for 2 reasons - firstly I'd missed part of a 7-4 epic at the ground due to confusion after kick off time for another afternoon game. Secondly I fancied some Staffordshire Oatcakes, and I knew that I should be able to get them in the town. It also decided my evening game from a very limited choice, and that would be at Wellington Amateurs who were hosting Wolverhampton Casuals. I'd not been inspired by any of the games on offer, so I was kind of pleased that my hand had been forced and a game chosen for me.



After a nice breakfast I went back to my room where I confirmed my plans for the day and sent a tweet out, tagging both the clubs and the league so hopefully any late changes would be communicated to me. I left about 9.30, leaving plenty of time as I knew the M6 could be problematic. At least I'd have my favourite Podcast from the Two Mikes to keep me company as it was available nice and early for once. I had plenty of time to kill so I decided to look at some football grounds along the way. First up was Carlton Athletic, the team of the village I was staying in. This was a basic railed off pitch but it was quite pleasant. Though I normally look for grounds with stands, I'd not be too disappointed if I had to spend a match day here. After that I made my way to what was Rochdale Town's ground, but is now only used for rugby. They were kicked out of the north-west counties league at the end of last season due to various ground grading issues, so I was surprised to see a ground that was better than some I have seen at step 3. Sadly there will be no return for them as they folded a few games into the current Manchester League season, so it's unlikely that that venue will see football again.



After fun and games on the M62 and M6 where roadworks delayed me 20 minutes I arrived into Kidsgrove at 12.15. I stopped in the town for a sausage and bacon oatcake, though sadly the town's Tesco was very small and didn't have any for me to take home. I then made my way to the ground, arriving at 12.40. Happily there was no issue over the kick-off time - last time out, the kick-off was put back an hour due to the manager's work commitments, I arrived half an hour late and arrived when it was 3-2. In what was a crazy contest I did see the majority of the goals, the hosts beating Warrington Town 7-4 in the end. This time there were a few less goals with Kidsgrove shooting into a 2-0 halftime lead, before Radcliffe pulled back a penalty with 20 minutes to go. Sadly there were no grounds to get pictures of en route to Wellington and so after stopping at Asda to get some petrol and oatcakes, I went and had a look around Telford. It was all a bit fancy for my liking, just one huge indoor shopping centre with rows and rows of bland chain stores. At least it gave me somewhere to catch up on Facebook in the warm, but I soon went back to the ground, with over 2 hours to go until kick-off. Oakengates, near the ground, was much more like it. Had lots of personality and some interesting pubs. I had a half in The Crown and The Old Fighting Cocks, both of which were great but that was my lot for the night as I'd be driving in 4 hours. I was hoping for a curry but they didn't have forks to take away. Instead I had a Kofte kebab with lots of salad which was decent enough. From there I made my way to the ground, paying £5 entry which included a programme. The ground was fairly basic, but very homely and pleasant. I took a place on the opposite side, near the halfway line to watch the game from.

It was nice to catch up with some hoppers from Retford that I'd not seen for a while and we had a good chat and it filled the time while we waited for the delayed kick off. The reason for starting late was that the visitors forgot their kit, and ended up having to use Wellington's away strip. The home manager was keen to keep things tight and I was dreading a 0-0 for the second night in a row. But thankfully 35 minutes in Wolverhampton Casuals took the lead. A well-worked goal and a smart flick set up the striker to make it 1-0 past the exposed keeper. The visitors continued to be well on top but with 20 minutes to go the hosts equalised. It had a real touch of quality about it too, the two 'strawberry blonde' lads on the right combining a great through ball and a decent chip over the keeper for the goal of the night. It was soon advantage Wolves Casuals again though, as straight away they went up the other end and restored their lead from close range. Wellington equalised a couple of minutes from time but just as if it looked like they may get an unlikely point the visitors went back into the lead right on full time as they poked home a rebound from within the 6-yard box. 

Wellington Amateurs equaliser against Wolverhampton Casuals, 2-2 now late on

A video posted by Russell Cox (@russ_wwfc) on Nov 2, 2016 at 2:48pm PDT

Wolves Casuals probably deserved the win on the balance of play but Wellington Amateurs had been a good and welcoming club. The ground had plenty of character and nice touches and it had been the best game of my trip, opening up after the first goal had been scored. I had a trip home that should have taken a shade over 2 hours although with 3 road closures on the M54, M6 and M40, I had to add another 25 minutes to my journey and to be honest as annoying as that was, it was nothing to some of the horrific delays I've had in the past. I got in at 12.15, and after catching up on Facebook I watched TV in bed before going to sleep just before 2am

THE GROUND

SCHOOL GROVE is situated in the middle of a housing estate, a;though it is situated a 10-minute walk from the small town of Oakengates. Here you will find a great range of pubs, the best of which is the Crown Inn which has a great range of drinks on offer. There are also a range of other decent pubs and a number of takeaways too. Back at the ground there is a bar and also hot drinks and snacks.

In terms of the ground itself, it is set amongst nice scenery with a grass bank on the far side. It is mainly an open affair, with 2 areas of cover. Firstly a small stand which seats around 50 under cover, whilst there is further cover on the far side for around 100.

Pontefract Colleries - Beechnut Lane

Pontefract Collieries FC

Beechnut Lane

Pontefract

West Yorkshire

WF8 4QA

01977 600818

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 642

Tuesday 1st November 2016

Pontefract Collieries 0-0 Penistone Church

NCEL D1

PONTEFRACT COLLERIES - A BRIEF HISTORY

Pontefract Collieries were formed around 1958. They played in the West Yorkshire League at first, moving to the Yorkshire League a few seasons before it was amalgamated into the newly formed Northern Counties East League in 1982. Starting in the third tier, they were an immediate success in their new surroundings, winning promotion in their first season after finishing runners-up behind Rowntree Mackintosh. They did even better the following season, lifting the Division 1 title and earning promotion to the NCEL Premier. From 1984 until 1999, they spent 14 out of 15 seasons in the top tier, only returning to Division 1 for a season in 1995/96 when a runners-up spot behind Selby Town on goal difference was enough to see them bounce straight back. It was that period, in the 1988/89 season that they posted their best ever finish of 7th in the NCEL Premier. Since the turn of the millennium however, they've spent all but one season in Division 1, the exception being last season when they were relegated narrowly, with Armthorpe Welfare being the lucky club to survive by a single point. They are looking good for an immediate return, with they and Penistone Church, tonight's visitors, making up the top 2 before the weekend's games. 

In the FA Cup Pontefract Collieries have not had much success, with only the 1st Qualifying Round beaing reached on 3 occasions. It was a feat they matched this season as they lost narrowly 3-2 to NPL side Tadcaster Albion. The FA Vase has seen similar disappointment with the 2nd Round being their best progress when they lost 2-1 at home to Northallerton Town during the 2001/03 season. Pontefract Collieries do have some local honours to their name, the NCEL Floodlit Cup has twice been won, and they have also won the league's Wilkinson Sword Trophy. Other than that they've won the Castleford & District Embleton Cup on 7 occasions, the last win coming in 2008. The club's record attendance of 1000 came in the first floodlit game in 1987 when 1000 turned up for a game against Hull City.

MY VISIT

This game was planned the previous week and is a ground that I have wanted to visit for a while, having attempted it on no less than 3 previous occasions. The first of which was on the 15th November 2014 when my hopping pal Anwar was going to Doncaster. However the match was called off at 11am due to a waterlogged pitch and I ended up going to Rossington Main instead. The following January it was a similar situation with me dropping Anwar off at Barnsley. This time I got as far as supping my pre-match pint, only to be scrolling through my Twitter feed and seeing that the game was off. This time Garforth Town were my saviours. On the 3rd attempt at least I was given notice. They were due to play a midweek game in August, though this time it was an FA Cup replay that cancelled my plans. I was beginning to think that I was cursed in my attemnpts to go to Ponte, but the weather for this one looked fine and I had Ossett Town v Scarborough as a backup. I booked a hotel in a village around 10 miles away called Carlton as the hotel in Pontefract had unfavourable reviews on Trip Advisor and was a fiver more expensive.

On the day of the game I woke up at 7.30 and had breakfast. As I'd still not found anything to inspire me for Wednesday night I set about researching Harwich and Parkeston who i'd be visiting on the Thursday. They turned out to have a very interesting history and so it took me a while to start the blog. I'd been having a 24-hour tape to monitor my heart and I was glad when it reached 10am and I could take it off. It itched quite a lot so I was glad to be able to soak in the bath for a bit. I left around 11, stopping at Morrisons to pick up some stuff for my trip away, and dropping the heart monitor at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. It was then a hassle free journey apart from a stretch of roadworks on the M1, and these didn't impact my journey too much. I arrived at my room at The Foxwood Guest House in Carlton at 3.10. It was a nice enough room, certainly for £30 a night and the village was very nice too.

After chilling for a bit, I decided that I was going to use the bus tonight and leave the car at the hotel. They seemed pretty regular and so I got the 3.47 one from the local post office. The day ticket was a fairly reasonable 4.70, about twice what it would cost in petrol, but at least I'd be able to relax and have a few pints. It took around 30 minutes to get to Wakefield and so I had a look around the town before going to a pub called the Hop for a pint of Bad Apple Cider. This was very nice and an American one too that I'd never tried before. From there I went to get my bus to Pontefract, which after a 10-minute walk to the appropriate stop, left at 5.30. I arrived at Wetherspoons in Pontefract at 6.15, meeting up with my mate Eddie and another hopper. I had a large mixed grill which was huge and filled me up for the evening ahead. I was also had a pint of Thatchers Gold and it was good chatting about all the grounds that we had done, as well as future plans. There was still time until kick off, so I had a pint of Old Rosie before we left just after 7.30. 

We got to the ground, paying a very reasonable £5 entry though sadly there were no programmes left due to an extremely limited print run. There was a nice vibe about the place though and so after choosing my spot for the first half got a pint of Strongbow Dark Fruits to have with the game. Penistone had the early running but it came to nothing. The second half descended into a real midfield battle and I knew from about 50 minutes that this would be a spawn of satan 0-0. A second pint during the game numbed the pain somewhat, but it was to be the last of the evening as I just wanted to get back to my room. I was told about a possibility of a digital copy of the programme, and indeed I now have a copy, which I am pleased about.

And so it proved to be. I had to be at my physical best to get the bus with Eddie as he surged through the half mile walk as though he was a contestant on the Krypton Factor. We got our bus well on time though. The connecting bus back to my accommodation allowed me a 10-minute buffer and so I got back to my room with ease. Arriving just before 11 I relaxed watching YouTube videos before going to bed 90 minutes later. It had been a good day, even if a goalless draw had been a disappointment. My other option for the night had been Ossett Town who had won 4-2 against Scarborough Athletic in what seemed a decent game, although I'd enjoyed meeting up with good friends on this trip.

THE GROUND

BEECHNUT LANE is a decent ground for step 6 and is probably good enough for a few levels higher. The main stand is a 200 seater affair and has reasonable views from it. There is further cover behind the goal in the form of a reasonable cider and this could fit around 250. The rest of the ground is open standing. The club have a decent range of souvenirs on sale in the bar.

Talking of food and drink, the facilities at the ground look decent. The range at the bar wasn't huge, so I made do with Strongbow Dark Fruits. The situation at the tea bar is a little better, with a decent range at reasonable prices, though I can't vouch for its quality. Further afield, the Robin Hood pub is under 10 minutes away and is probably your best option for drinking with a great range of real ales and ciders. Food wise, the local Wetherspoons, The Broken Bridge is great for food, but not as good as others I have been to for cider. Being a town centre there are plenty of places to suit all budgets and tastes, so you won't go hungry.