Coton Green - New Mill Lane

Coton Green FC

New Mill Lane

Fazeley

Tamworth

Staffs

B78 3RX

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 675
Wednesday 15th March 2017
Coton Green 4-0 Chelmsley Town
Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup Quarter Final

COTON GREEN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

COTON GREEN FC were formed in 1982. They started out as a Sunday football team but after switching to Saturday football, they progressed through local leagues prior to joining the Midland Combination in 2004. It was a great first season for them with them losing twice all season and lifting the Division 3 championship. They continued their good form and a couple of years later, they were promoted again. 2007/08 saw them make their step 6 debut and it was a hugely successful season, with them finishing runners-up to Knowle and earning promotion to the Midland Combination Premier Division. For the first time in years, the results didn't come and they finished bottom of the league and were relegated. They've taken a while to recover, being relegated back to Division 2 in 2013/14 and then finishing rock bottom again in 2015. Restructuring saved them from a further relegation and they seized the initiative last season finishing 7th - their first top-half finish in seven seasons. It's looking like a mid-table finish again this season, with Coton Green sitting in 9th, but with plenty of games in hand on the teams around them. 

The club entered the FA Vase for the first time in 2015, losing 8-1 at Nuneaton Griff, a club who play at two levels higher than them. This season it was step 5 opposition again, with them going down 3-1 to Kirby Muxloe They do have a local cup honour to their name - in 2012 they defeated Lichfield City to win the Fazeley Charity Cup. They've also been runners-up in the Midland Challenge Urn in 2005.

MY VISIT

I'd decided this game with Chris roughly a week before the event, with me keen to do a Wednesday groundhop after Wycombe had a home game on Tuesday. I was made all the keener by the fact that I had managed to switch my day off at work, so that I could start my holiday a day early. We both had our first choices for games - me with West Bridgford (Chris didn't fancy it, as it was effectively their reserve side) and Chris with Cinderford Town (I didn't fancy it due to the tight time schedule) but in the end we agreed on Coton Green v Chelmsley Town, a game being played in the Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup Quarter Final. We'd already seen a game in this cup this season, as Boldmere S&S Falcons won at Bilston Town back in the autumn. The previous night I'd seen Wycombe put in a sparkling first-half performance to lead 1-0 against Plymouth Argyle and have the title chasers on the ropes, only to do the typical Wycombe thing of sitting deep and hoofing and inviting pressure. The end result of 1-1 was not bad, but we should have had more. Undoubtedly the highlight results-wise was AFC Wimbledon beating Milton Keynes 2-0 and our local radio station made for decent listening with lots of whining Franchise fans phoning in.



The day of the game came and I was in a good mood. As well as it being my last day for a while, my manager was off. Also, the other half of the pair I've christened the 'gruesome twosome' announced he was leaving. I reckon the pair only got the job after they failed the charm test to become traffic wardens! It was a quiet day too, and I was out by 11.15. I got home and went straight to bed, though in truth I only got an hours sleep before waking at 2. I had some lunch before getting my stuff together and leaving at 4pm. Chris had warned me he may be a tad late in finishing, but me entering the road of his workplace, he was coming out and we were soon on our way. There was some delay in getting out of Milton Keynes, then the usual long-running roadworks on the M1. There was a slight mishap as my sat nav navigated to the wrong 'Market Street in Tamworth, but we were only a few miles out and things were soon corrected. We got to our intended pub, The Market Vaults, at 6.50. We had both chosen this pub independently, so it was the obvious choice. It didn't disappoint on the cider front, with 16 available. I concentrated on local cider maker Hurst View, who turned out to be a fine producer. I had halves of Jibber Jabber and Medium still while we relaxed in anticipation of the game. I'd also bought a container with me and so took home two pints of Bishops Blend which turned out to be the best of the lot. The pub was a real cracker, with some friendly dogs, including a lovely beagle.



Around 7.25, we left for the ground, getting there 10 minutes later. After paying £3 to get in, we went to the bar, where I got some chips before going out to watch the game. Coton Green were the better side from start to finish, in a game that was played with full-blooded commitment. It was former Bolehall Swifts player Dave Yonwin who opened the scoring with a dipping shot early on. It was 2-0 before half time - a ball from the right was nodded in by Yonwin for his second goal of the game. The game descended into a scrappy contest with both sides committing needless fouls, but the referee did well, making the correct decisions and keeping a lid on things. The hosts sealed the game in the last 15 minutes - Adam Goodby nipping in to head home from 6 yards to seal the game and Dave Yonwin passing up the chance of a hat-trick by squaring the ball to Jake Walker whose low shot into the bottom left-hand corner put the icing on the came and made the final score 4-0.



I'd spotted Youtuber 'Swifts Fan' during the game and was glad that he would provide me the opportunity to watch back the goals, which are above. It was he from who I knew about Dave Yonwin and it's one of the few channels on Youtube that I love for its individuality and personality. We made our way to a well-regarded Chinese takeaway called 'Simply Chinese' which turned out to be very good. I had house special curry with salt and chilli chips. The portions were huge and despite not having much since breakfast, I was stuffed. One thing I've learned from my travels is that the best Chinese food seems to be from the Midlands area, so Barry from Auf Wiedersehen Pet's enthusiasm for the cuisine was not altogether misguided. Whereas David Bowie provided the soundtrack on the way up, it was the podcast of the best show on the radio, The Two Mikes, that had us laughing all the way home. There were a couple of closures and diversions, but we were back in Milton Keynes to drop Chris off, just before midnight. I got home myself 40 minutes later, having 20 minutes to get everything together before settling down to listen to the Two Mikes on TalkSPORT. It was nice being able to interact live for once and I had a few comments read out on air while typing my blog. I got into bed at 4 am, vowing to get some sleep before tomorrow's trip to the North East.



THE GROUND

NEW MILL LANE is a pretty basic venue, with just the one area of standing cover, which would hold around 150 if needed. That said, it's better than most at step 7 and the bar and tea hut facilities are excellent, offering a good range at decent prices. The club shop is also excellent, offering a much bigger range than a lot of clubs up to step 3, though I was disappointed that notebooks were out of stock - I bought a pen for £2. There are plenty of takeaways nearby to suit every taste. I really enjoyed my visit here, a great value visit to a friendly club who I really hope make it back to a higher level.

Dudley Sports - Hillcrest Avenue

Dudley Sports FC

Hillcrest Avenue
Brierley Hill
West Midlands
DY5 3QH

01384 826420
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 674
Tuesday 7th March 2017
Dudley Sports 1-2 Dudley Town
WMRL Premier





DUDLEY SPORTS - A BRIEF HISTORY

Dudley Sports were formed in 1979 from the ashes of works team MARSH & BAXTER. After playing in local leagues, they joined the Midland Combination in 1985. 9th place in their first season was good enough for them to be promoted to Division 1and they stayed here until 1996 when a 7th place finish was good enough to see them promoted to the Premier Division. They spent two seasons struggling at the higher level before being relegated back and would have to wait until 2003 for their next crack at that division. They've survived at that level ever since, switching to the West Midlands Regional League in 2006. Last season saw their best-ever finish of 6th, though this term had seen them struggling at the wrong end of the table.

The club's best ever FA Cup run came in 2009/10 when they beat Southam United and Rocester, only to lose 6-0 at Rugby Town in the 1st Qualifying Round. Their record in the FA Vase has been pretty poor, winning just one out of 12 games when they defeated Pegasus Juniors 2-1 in a 2011 first qualifying round clash. Locally, Dudley Sports won the West Midlands Premier League Cup in 2007. Famous people to come from the town include comedian Norman (Hale &) Pace, football manager Sam Allardyce, former Premiership player David Burrows and former Wycombe defender Chris Westwood. The town is twinned with Bremen in Germany and Fort William in Scotland.



MY VISIT

I'd initially tried to visit this venue last Tuesday for a Smethwick Rangers game, but was thwarted by the weather. After many cancellations, I ended up having to revisit Sutton Coldfield Town, though I had the compensation of it being a good game as they beat Marine 3-2 in a relegation battle. The main reason for wanting to visit here was an excellent takeaway called AK Grill that I and fellow hopper Anwar had visited several times previously. Based in Halesowen, they did the best chicken balti I've ever tasted, and all for a fiver including two roti breads. They also did various other things that were nice too. That was why, when I presented a list of forty possibilities, that this game had a strong chance of being chosen. Anwar had initially fancied Cinderford, but with their dodgy pitch, there was little chance it would be on, and so this proved to be the case, with the customary afternoon postponement at the slightest hint of rain. Our visit would be a good game too - as well as a local derby, it was also a relegation 6 pointer, with both teams in danger of joining another Dudley-based side, Gornal Athletic, in the relegation zone.



On the day of the game, I was enjoying my day off and a chance to catch up with things. I'd spotted another potential game for my week off at Thornaby on a Friday night. If I played my cards right and got to leave work early on Thursday week, I could grab a free lift with my parents, get a cheap B&B room and make it a very cost-effective trip, with them being up in the area for Hartlepool United v Wycombe Wanderers on the Saturday. Though given the fact that my boss could be a complete plank at times, I wasn't counting my chickens. I enjoyed my usual walk down town, before coming back and having lunch, before starting this blog. As I wanted to check out a shop in Aylesbury, I left at 3.10 PM, despite not needed to meet Anwar until 4. I didn't get what I wanted, but I did manage to pick up some right bargains including cans of Caple Road cider for 30p each (normally £2 in Tesco) As a result of the traffic, I didn't get to Anwar's until 4.10, but at least he was there waiting for me. There was a small delay on our journey to the Midlands, mainly on the M40 due to an accident. I was glad I wasn't heading south on the other carriageway as rubbernecking amoebas had crashed and caused a huge tailback, according to the radio and seeing the queue, I'd have hated to be stuck in it. We got to AK Grill at 6.05 where I ordered a chicken balti with rotis and a meat samosa. It was excellent as ever, though a bit smaller than usual though I'm glad there are a few more teams I need to tick around here.



We left our takeaway at 6.50 and made the 20-minute journey to Dudley Sports, arriving at 7.10. After parking up outside, we paid a fiver to get in, plus £1 for a programme. After going and getting some pictures of the ground, I bought some chips for £1 before sitting in the stand for the game. The visitors Dudley Town made all the early running, though they weren't creating many clear cut chances. They took the lead on 23 minutes when a weak shot deceived home keeper Joe Sidaway and went in from outside the area. The glovesman made up for his error with a couple of smart saves to keep it at 1-0 as the visitors were well on top. Despite a brief spell of good play by Sports at the start of the second half, it was Town who continued to dominate. They doubled their lead on 70 minutes with a great strike into the top hand corner. On 83 minutes, the hosts were given a glimmer of hope when a corner was put in, the keeper flapped at it, and a Matt Perry poked home. Sports rallied and it took a good save from the visiting keeper to prevent them from getting a fortuitous equaliser. Town held on though for a deserved victory and to move them comfortably clear of any potential relegation battle, for now at least anyway. I didn't get any information on who was playing, but especially impressive was the blonde number 11 for the visitors.

It had not been the greatest of contests for the 60 fans present but had by no means terrible. It would have been nicer if the hosts gave it more of a go, but I'd enjoyed my visit nonetheless. Another disappointment was the attendance of 60, I'm not sure how it compares to their usual crowd, but I'd have expected more for a big derby. Perhaps it was due to the even bigger game a few miles up the road, as a huge attendance of 2,127 saw Halesowen Town narrowly lose 1-0 at home to local rivals Stourbridge. The main story of the night though, at least for the mass media was Arsenal's 5-1 thrashing at home to Bayern Munich, with the Germans triumphing 10-2 on aggregate after repeating their first leg score. There were the usual 'Wenger Out' calls as we listened first to Radio 5, then to TalkSPORT. I dropped Anwar off at 11.20, getting home myself twenty minutes later. After staying up for around an hour, I dropped off, though, with work at 4 in the morning, I needed my usual afternoon sleep the day after.



THE GROUND

HILLCREST AVENUE is a great ground to visit, with friendly people a fair bit of character. All the covered areas are along the side of the pitch - on the left-hand side is a mainly seated stand, though there is room for standing too. Opposite, is covered standing, with some benches at the back. Overall there is cover for around 350, of which around 100 is seated on benches. The rest of the ground is open hard standing. 


The bar shows TV sports and serves the usual range of drinks, including Strongbow for cider drinkers. The tea bar is good value, the chips I had were freshly cooked to order and only took 5 minutes. There is also a range of takeaways nearby, but I didn't use them on this occasion. 

Gorleston - Emerald Park

Gorleston FC
Emerald Park
Woodfarm Road
Gorleston 
Norfolk
NR31 9AG

01493 602802
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 673
Friday 3rd March 2017
Gorleston 3-1 Kirkley & Pakefield
Eastern Counties Premier



GORLESTON FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Gorleston FC was formed in 1887 by members of the local cricket club looking for a winter pastime. They initially played in very local leagues before moving to the Norfolk & Suffolk League. After being champions of the league in their last four seasons at that level, they were founder members of the Eastern Counties League in 1935. Apart from a break for the second world war and between 1960 and 1969, during which time financial difficulties forced them to play in the Norfolk & Suffolk League and Anglian Combination. Since the Eastern Counties League became a two-tier league, Gorleston have spent the majority of the time in the Premier Division, with spells in Division 1 between 1994 and 1996 and 2005 and 2011. They are three times champions of the Eastern Counties League, with the last triumph coming in 1981. In its current format, their best finish has been 3rd in the Premier Division in 2013, with the worst placing coming in 2006 when they finished 18th in Division 1. Prior to my vist, they were sitting in 4th, with a good chance of bettering their best ever finish thanks to having lots of games in hand.

In the FA Cup, the club have reached the 1st Round twice, with the first time being one to remember during the 1951/52 season. Initially drawing 2-2 with Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road, their record attendance of 4,473 saw them draw 0-0 at their home ground. The game went to a replay at Arsenal, with Gorleston unlucky to lost 5-4. The second time was one to forget as they lost 10-1 at Gillingham in 1958. 2002/03 saw their best-ever run in the FA Vase, with them reaching the 5th Round before losing to Bridlington Town. The club have won a host of local competitions including several league cups, as well as the East Anglian Cup twice and the Norfolk Senior Cup on sixteen occasions.



MY VISIT

I'd been planning this Friday trip to Gorleston for ages, as it was a rare chance to see my mates from Braintree. I'd not seen them since the 17th December for another Friday night game at Thetford Town. There had been a dearth of Friday night football in the Eastern Counties League, and probably with good reason, what with the weather being really bad. There was plenty of heavy rain scheduled for the day all over the country, so I had Peterborough Northern Star as a backup should Gorleston suffer a postponement. The signs were not promising the day before, with their under 18's game called off, though there were no such problems nearer home as I went and saw my local team Holmer Green's youngsters play.

On the day of the game it was another busy day at work, but there was no overtime for me as I needed to get home. It was a sad day at work as my favourite supervisor left, in fact the only one that knows what she is doing. I came home and had a bath and some lunch whilst I checked Twitter for the latest news. Surprisingly, it seemed positive, with Gorleston optimistic that the game would go ahead. Even so, I was cautious, having had a few wasted journeys in the past, and so left as late as I could, around 3.30 PM. The journey to Braintree was reasonable with reasonable delays for school traffic, but a pretty unreasonable one for rubber necking planks who seemed more interested in gawping at an accident on the other side of the M25 than actually getting somewhere. I was on the outskirts of Braintree just before 5, but thanks to roadworks on what must be one of the worst road systems in the country, it took half an hour to do the final mile and a bit, plus another 10 minutes to wait for Maurice who was also caught in traffic. We left at 5.40 with it taking ages to get out of Braintree, then another huge amount of time on the single carriageways of Norfolk as you were stuck behind the slowest selfish pig that happened to be on the road as it was impossible to overtake.



We finally got to the ground moments before it kicked off, with me paying £7.50 for entry and a decent programme. First priority was to get a pint to help relax after 4 and a half hours behind the wheel, and a £3.50 pint of Aspalls did the job. I then went in search of food, initially wanting chips but being told that they don't do them during the week. Instead, I went for the bacon cheeseburger and this was excellent, with decent melted cheese rather than the solid plastic rubbish you get in most places. I'd rate it as the best burger I have had in a football ground. I'd not missed much of the game and joined the others to watch it. Kirkley and Pakefield took the lead against the run of play when they were awarded a penalty on 24 minutes. Nathan Stone was brought down in the area and although the defender looked to have got a touch on the ball, referee Stuart Franklin awarded a penalty. Miguel Lopez stepped up and fired home confidently into the bottom corner of the net. Joel Watts equalised for the hosts six minutes later when he finished from close range following a square ball across the 6-yard box. That's how it stayed until the break and with the second half taking a while to get going, the next goal came when Gorleston took the lead on 62 minutes. It was another cross, this time an unfortunate visiting defender deflected it into his own net although the goal was awarded to Jack Garrod.  Watts got his second and his team's third on 76 minutes when he finished from close range. It had been a deserved victory in a reasonable game for Gorleston, and with that over, it was time to head for home.



Before we went Dan tried and failed for the second time that night to get a pin badge after another five minute wait in the bar. We were all hungry after that, so headed for a local takeaway called Yummies. I went for a portion of chips for £1.50 and these were decent and generous in portion. I also stopped at Asda in Great Yarmouth to get some fuel and it was there we saw 'Awaydays' Youtuber Ellis getting a bus back home to Gorleston and wondered why he didn't go to the game. It was 10.40 by the time we left, and even after a brief stop so Josh could go to the toilet we still got back to Braintree by 12.10. I'd finished my drop offs ten minutes later and the journey home was good with me getting in at 1.30. I didn't want to go to bed straight away and so after catching up on messages on my phone, I had a couple of ciders with Coronation Street before going to sleep around 3 am.



THE GROUND

EMERALD PARK is an excellent venue for step 5 with cover on all four sides. Three of these are covered entirely, with the stands even being joined in the corners. There are a couple of hundred seats in total, including a smart executive stand with padded seats which is the only cover on the far side. The overall capacity is 3,000 with around 2,500 of this under cover. The ground looks good to go for step 3 football and even possibly step 2.

The bar at the ground is pretty decent with lots of Gorleston FC related stuff and pennants from other clubs. The ground is around a mile away and has quite a few pubs worthy of investigation of which the New Entertainer looks the best,  There are also a decent array of takeaways. Back at the ground, the tea bar offers great burgers, although it's a shame they only do chips on Saturdays.