Second Class Citizens See Red - Where There's A Gill There's A Way !!

 And so to the Paycare Stadium aka Bentley Sports Pavilion in Darlaston for a Northern Premier League Division One West match between Darlaston Town FC and Clitheroe FC.

The original Darlaston FC was established in 1874, with their first recorded match taking place in 1893 in the Walsall and District League. The club moved to the City Ground in 1900, and adopted as their nickname The Citizens.

In 1908 Darlaston joined the Birmingham Combination, winning it in 1910/11. Promotion to the Birmingham & District League followed, but the Citizens returned to the Combination in 1928/29 and were crowned as champions in 1937/38.

Post war Darlo won the 1945/46 title, and became founder members of the West Midlands Regional League Premier in 1962. Demotion followed in 1982 due to 'poor ground facilities'....

Darlaston FC added 'Town' to its name at the beginning of the 1996/97 season, but were relegated in 2002. Promoted back to the Premier in 2007 the City Ground suffered vandalism in 2009, damaging the pitch and floodlights, and Town folded in 2013. The City Ground was repossessed by Walsall Council and remains demolished and derelict....

The phoenix club, Darlaston Town (1874) FC was set up the following year, playing at the Sports Pavilion and joining the West Midlands (Regional) League Division Two. The club was granted a place in the Premier Division in 2019 after a 20 match unbeaten run.

The Citizens joined the Midland League Division One in 2021, and were immediately promoted to the Premier via the play offs. Two seasons later they went up again, to the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, also through the play offs, beating Lichfield City 3-1 in the final. A restructure at this point saw the club revert to Darlaston Town FC.

After finishing 7th, out of 21, last term Darlo moved laterally to the West Division for this season. A poor start this time sees them next to bottom in 21st with 9 points from 12 games.

And so to the visitors from Shawbridge, Clitheroe FC from the Ribble Valley. The Blues were formed in 1877 as Clitheroe Central at the Swan Hotel in Castle Street, initially playing in local leagues, before moving to the Lancashire Combination in 1903 and dropping Central from their name.

They became founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982, and soon after won 3rd, 2nd and 1st divisions in consecutive seasons. FA Vase finalists in the 1995/96 season, they won the 2003/04 championship to reach their current level at Step 4 in the Northern Premier Division One North, now West. Last season the Blues finished 10th of 22, but this term they stand in 15th with 13 points from 10 matches - the £50 season ticket price experiment has been abandoned, after a failed play off attempt in 2023.

It's a grey, cloudy day as we hit the M6. Numberplates today are PH16LAV (Peter Higson Plumbing again !!), 4SK and BOL3R.

Riga Jengr graffiti is before Haste and Yang Ming lorries and then Jerico Group. Billboards for Nitrous Competitions, Rae of Sunshine and BadRhino Living Large precede Game Changing Cheese, Mammoth Hire and Land of Lights lantern festival.

Past Hanchurch Interchange we leave at junction 10. Then the Black Country Route, Axcess 10 Business Park and the Bentley Sports Pavilion on the outskirts of Darlaston. It's £10 in and today's crowd is 137, with a handful from Clitheroe.

Inside the near side hosts the LT9 Bar, clubhouse and changing rooms then The Halfway Line kiosk and finally a small covered seated stand. Both ends are walkways with two sides backed by residential housing and two tree lined; there are also two adjoining football pitches.

The far side has the Sue Jones Stand - covered standing - and The Dave Powers (Fingles) all seater stand. Advertising hoardings include Wink Cars and Ginger Apple Signs & Graphics.

Darlaston are in blue and white, sponsored by Allsee and the Blues, sponsored by CR Safety & Consumables, are in change all red...

The Citizens have the first chance on 9 minutes through Callum Knowles, but Clitheroe take the lead seven minutes after. A free kick in their own half sees Darlo switch off and the ball reaches French winger Veron Parny in acres of space. His cross finds centre forward Luke Gill - not the cleanest of contacts but sufficient to flatfoot home keeper Josh Bishop and the ball trickles home.

Jordan Windass should have doubled the advantage shortly after but shoots wide when he ought to have hit the target. However it is 2-0 after 39 minutes as a poor back pass lets in Gill again and he fires through Bishop's legs.

A James Rowland free kick for the Citizens, over the bar, is the only home response. The break arrives with the Blues 2-0 up.

Nine minutes into the second period home captain Alex Foreshaw is shown a red card for a wild challenge on Leon Creech. After an ugly skirmish Creech is substituted, injured.

It's game over on 63 minutes as Lewis Trickett nets at the near post to make it 3-0. Gill has other opportunities for his hat trick but is denied by last ditch defending.

A raft of substitutions sees Clitheroe become increasingly sloppy. Darlaston subsequently have a shot cleared off the line.

The Blues don't learn and on 82 Jake Collins takes advantage of James McLenaghan's flap at a cross to pull one back for Darlo. However Clitheroe unconvincingly see out seven minutes of stoppage time to take the spoils 3-1; The Citizens stay next to bottom whilst The Blues rise to 13th.

Gauling - Pikes Gutted !!

And so to North Yorkshire and another lengthy trip to watch the Northern Premier League Division One North West match between Pickering Town and Clitheroe.

Pickering Town FC, the hosts from Mill Lane with their slightly, er, ‘unusual’ badge (below), was formed in 1888, the same year the Football League was founded. The Pikes for many years competed in the local Scarborough and York Leagues, before stepping up to the Yorkshire League in 1972.

The club became founder members of the Northern Counties East League in 1982 when the Yorkshire and Midlands Central Leagues merged. The Pikes' best finish was as runners up in the Premier Division in 1992/93, losing out to Spennymoor United on goal difference.

1998/99 was a terrible season as, following a 1-11 walloping by Bedlington Terriers in the FA Cup, the Pikes were relegated. Promoted back in 2001 Pickering reached the FA Vase quarter finals in the 2005/06 season, losing out to eventual winners, the Dabbers of Nantwich Town.

In 2017/18 the Pikes finished as runners up again (to Pontefract Collieries) and moved up to the North West Counties Division One East, finishing 16th from 20 in their first season at this level, and then being moved to the renamed Division One North West. This season they currently lie bottom with four points from ten games - largely due to seven successive league defeats away from home and a crippling injury list.

And so to the visitors from Shawbridge, Clitheroe FC from the Ribble Valley. 

The Blues were formed in 1877 as Clitheroe Central at the Swan Hotel in Castle Street, initially playing in local leagues, before moving to the Lancashire Combination in 1903 and dropping Central from their name.

They became founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982, and soon after won 3rd, 2nd and 1st divisions in consecutive seasons. FA Vase finalists in the 1995/96 season, they won the 2003/04 championship to reach their current level at Step 4. Last season saw a hugely disappointing 18th position from 20, but this term they stand in 9th place.

Through the M60 and another escort vehicle for two RTH Lubbers lorries carrying massive electrical cable bobbins, numberplates SU5 8ABY, AD10S SU, CAG3E and, surprised this got through, K11LGB, to the M62 Summit shrouded in mist and that 'dilapidated' farm bisecting the motorway. Then the M1 and A1(M) before turning onto the A64 and John Smiths Brewery at Tadcaster, York racecourse, the Four Alls pub and flooded fields.

Then Kushtys Dessert Parlour at Flaxton and a turn onto the A169 by the Eden Camp Prisoner of War Museum, including a replica WWII fighter plane, at Malton before avoiding the villages of Espersykes, Kirby Misperton and Huttons Ambo and then arriving at Pickering Recreation Club on the outskirts of the town.

Past Piggies In The Middle, up Smiddy Gate with the St Peter & St Paul Church lording it over the town, then the Hares and Hedgerows Gallery, the Wonky Pitcher Cellar and onwards to the 13th century castle. After the Kirk Theatre and Primitive Methodist Chapel I reach the North Yorkshire Moors Railway with its fish belly rails and Black Five 5428 Eric Treacy on duty, and all ready for next week's 'Railway in Wartime' celebration - but at £31 return to Whitby I'm going to stick with the football !!

So back to Mill Lane and a three sided ground adjoining the cricket pitch; indeed the cricket scoreboard is actually in the interlocking fenced off football stadium.... £7 in, with a slightly disappointing crowd of 152 including a decent contingent from Clitheroe.

At the top end is the old covered all seater stand, strangely with red seats, and the newer grandstand, The Tony Dunning Stand 2010, is on the popular side by the touchline facing a pronounced dip in the pitch, whilst the near end hosts covered terracing in the corner leading to the clubhouse and changing rooms. Under an overcast sky, with the sun making intermittent appearances, The Pikes are in all blue with white trim, and Clitheroe (or according to the teamsheet Cleethorpes !!) play in a 'wine' strip - think burgundy or claret ☺

Within three minutes Craig Carney has breached a seriously malfunctioning home offside trap but Harrison Foulkes saves well; in response Sam Cable flashes a header wide for the Pikes. Clitheroe look the likelier but it's Pickering who take the lead on 20 minutes, with Jackson Jowett's tenacity, pace and then lay off to Cable who sidefoots hard into the net. Six minutes later Jowett's corner finds Matty Turnbull unmarked at the far post and he heads the ball into the roof of the net for 2-0.

The match is transformed four minutes before the break by a ridiculous decision from match referee Gary Fletcher-Tindall. Conor Gaul, for the Blues, stumbles in the box, and a penalty is given. Denny Ingram, the Pikes' manager, is vociferous in his condemnation of the decision 'Ref, that is f*cking sh*t - embarrassing' - the rest of us are incredulous. Gaul gets up, waits for Foulkes to commit himself, and rolls the ball into the opposite corner; shortly after Oliver Wood misses badly with a header for Clitheroe which would have tied things up at the interval.

Into the second period and Wood misses dreadfully from within the six yard box and shortly after is hooked. For the Pikes Cable tees up Jack Simpson with Connor King palming the ball away.

Then, with the Pikes' defence seemingly panicking every time the ball approaches their goal, Mr Fletcher-Tindall, who has spent much of the second half slavishly deciding where throw ins should be taken, decides to take centre stage again. Thirteen minutes to go, a three way aerial battle and the contentious decision is that Owen Watkinson, who has spent most of the afternoon flinging himself to the ground, has been fouled in the D outside the penalty box. Stupid Boy !! Gaul composes himself and then floats the ball over the wall into the top corner for parity at 2-2. 'Feed The Noodle And He Will Score' is the chant from the Clitheroe supporters....

Nothing contentious about the winner five minutes later. Blues' sub Terry Cummings jinks his way across the Pikes' back line and shoots low into the far corner beyond Foulkes and Clitheroe lead 3-2. That leads to a spiteful final few minutes littered with free kicks, injuries, yellow cards and melees but Clitheroe hang on and move up one place, whilst the Pikes remain bottom of the pool.