Canaries' Rous(l)ing Performance Knocks Sporting Off Their Perch....

And so to another trip to Worcestershire, this time to the Victoria Ground, for a Southern League Premier Central clash between Bromsgrove Sporting and Barwell.

Bromsgrove Rovers FC was formed in 1885 and initially played in the local Studley & District League, during which time they played on at least four grounds before arriving at the Victoria Ground in 1910. Rovers were promoted to the Birmingham & District League in 1898, then switching to the Birmingham Combination in 1908, where they were to remain until 1954 when it was absorbed into the Birmingham & District League, later renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League. Rovers were champions of the Combination on two occasions (1946–47 & 1959–60) and reached the FA Cup first round Proper for the first time in 1947, losing 2–1 to Aldershot. 

In 1972 the club joined the Southern Football League, and, under Bobby Hope, Rovers won the Midland Division in 1985–86 to gain a place in the Premier Division. The 1991–92 season saw a remarkable run of 15 home wins in a row to pip Dover Athletic to the Premier Division title with a game to spare, meaning Bromsgrove were promoted to the pinnacle of non league football, the Football Conference.

This remarkable form from the promotion season continued during the 1992–93 season, with Bromsgrove, despite being one of the smallest clubs in the Conference, finishing runners-up to the eventual champions Wycombe Wanderers. The following season, 1993–94, saw Bromsgrove get past the first round (Proper) of the FA Cup for the first time, claiming their only ever league scalp with an away 2–1 victory over Northampton Town. After another away victory in the second round against fellow Conference side Yeovil Town, Bromsgrove lost at home to Barnsley 2-1, the Tykes scoring twice in the last two minutes. 

Rovers were relegated from the Conference back to the Southern League in 1996–97, and after this the club went into almost permanent decline. Further relegations to Division One West in 1998–99 and then to the Midland Football Alliance in 2001 followed, although promotion back to the Southern League was gained at the first attempt. In 2007 Bromsgrove reached the Division One West playoffs, defeating Evesham United 1–0 in the semi-final then coming from a goal down in the final to beat Willenhall Town 2–1 in the final, to return to the Southern League Premier Division.

After a bright start to 2007–08, a poor run of results saw manager Rod Brown dismissed, and Duane Darby was put in temporary charge. But under his charge the team plummeted to an abysmal set of results which saw Rovers relegated leading to protests against the controlling shareholder and sole director, Tom Herbert, in the close season and an attempted takeover by a fans' consortium. Darby was sacked shortly afterwards.....

Any hopes of bouncing back were abruptly brought back down to earth with first the presentation of a winding-up petition, and then a fans' consortium bid and takeover from Mike Ward both failing. With the lease of the Victoria Ground expiring in the close season, the landlord declared that it was open to applications for a new lease. The fans' consortium announced that they had started a new club, Bromsgrove Sporting – and had applied for the lease.

In June 2010, the District Council announced that Bromsgrove Sporting were to be awarded the new lease for the ground; it was planned that Bromsgrove Rovers would continue to play their home matches there. However Rovers then said that they could not afford to pay the hire charge, following which a court order removed them from the ground. On 11 August 2010, Rovers were slung out of the Southern League after not being able to show that they had a ground to play at, and never played again. 

Bromsgrove Sporting Football Club was formed in 2009 by a group of former Bromsgrove Rovers directors and supporters with Rovers in serious financial difficulty and facing closure. Whilst being offered the tenancy of the town’s Victoria Ground, Sporting initially had to play all home matches at the Beehive, home of Studley FC, as the pitch at the Victoria Ground had been left in an unplayable condition.

After a lot of work and expenditure, Sporting were able to play their first match in Bromsgrove on 6th November 2010 in front of a crowd of 458 and despite The Rouslers missing out on the two promotion places a reorganisation of the Midland Combination saw them move into Division One for season 2011/12. Deja vu the following season, as again they missed out on automatic promotion, but Sporting were elevated to the Midland Combination Premier Division when the League increased the number of teams at the top level.

The Rouslers finished runners up in 2014 and 2015, the latter featuring a run to the 3^rd Round of the FA Vase before losing to the marvellously named Thurnby Nirvana. 2015/16 saw Sporting as the bridesmaids again, finishing second in the Midland Football League Division One to Coventry United.

But season 2016/17 was the club’s most successful to date - finally winning the league with 104 points (19 ahead of Hinckley AFC) and reaching the semi finals of the FA Vase, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Cleethorpes Town, with a record crowd of 3349 for the home tie.

The Rouslers were then crowned champions of the Midland Football League Premier Division in 2017/18, moving up to Step 4. Last term Sporting won a third consecutive promotion via the play-offs in a crazy final game against Corby Town, where Bromsgrove ran out 4-3 winners after extra-time. This time Sporting sit fourth in the BetVictor Southern League Premier Division Central, but with form starting to stutter.

Barwell FC, formerly nicknamed The Kirkby Roaders (where the club play with seats in the main stand acquired from Filbert Street), and now known as the Canaries, was established in 1992 as a merger of Hinckley FC and Barwell Athletic. They took Hinckley's place in the Midland Combination, before becoming a founder member of the Midland Alliance in 1994. The club reached the last sixteen of the FA Vase in 1995/96 losing 3-1 away to Flixton.

After finishing as runners-up in 2008/09, they won the league the following year, earning promotion to Division One South of the Northern Premier League. Their inaugural season in the division saw them win the title, earning promotion to Step Three, but instead of playing in the Northern Premier League's Premier Division, the club were moved to the Premier Division of the Southern League. Barwell also reached the semi finals of the FA Vase that term, ultimately losing out to eventual winners Whitley Bay.

Two seasons later they were transferred back to the Northern Premier League, and then laterally transferred again to the Premier Central Division of the Southern League in 2018 following another non league pyramid restructure. The Canaries finished 16th last time, and currently sit 13th.

I set out to a parliament of magpies in the trees (yes really - and how apposite !!) and then an industrial unit occupied by Office Refurb, specialising in 'Delapidation' (not quite ELCTRICALS. TOILETORIES but close !!), numberplates of 000 321, LE55 GAS (?) and D13 BRO... Matched by a hoarding on a rusting truck by the side of the M6 'Avertise - Rent Space Here'....

Then Smart Motorway and distracting red bridge signs - this week Eccleshall Road, reminding me of a trip to see the Eagles, the dirt track, unseen tractors, and spectators stranded on the mud bath of a 'car park'. This leads to that jolly good storage place and the West Midlands this time shimmering in the spring sunshine.

The M5 provides a French lorry, carrying Belzebuth Violette biere, flirting with the fast lane, and more Oldbury viaduct testing and speed restrictions. Off at junction 4 to the A38, bypassing Lydiate Ash and Lickey End and the A448 (the A38 closed in both directions beyond because of an accident), leading to Bromsgrove, famous for its cloth, leather and nailmaking industries (and Harris paint brushes !!)

I park in the last free spot on School Drive, by the leisure centre, and head into town, past Hoiti Toyti and a bust of AE Housman, born in Bromsgrove, but famous for his poetry 'A Shropshire Lad'. Then a pint of Legend at the Golden Cross, before a walk taking me beyond Artyfacts to the Victoria Ground.

£10 in, the league's highest crowd today of 846, and a tidy ground with the club shop on approach and a walkway spanning the perimeter of the stadium. Immediately I come to the Sporting Lounge and Rouslers Bar  with the Shed End, a deep covered terrace, up top - alongside is the Shed End Snack Shack.

Across the way is the main grandstand with a shallow terrace in front, incorporating 30 blue (?) seats where we perch; to the right is The Rouslers Return snack bar and the Town End open terrace looking out onto Georgian buildings (and Aldi !!)

The Canaries are in lime green, with their stopper Max Bramley (wearing 13 rather than 1), and Sporting in red with white pinstripes and blue shorts.

An open and entertaining first half ensues; Jack Wilson's marauding run on 8 minutes ends with a shot straight at Bramley, whilst two minutes later Barwell's Tristan Dunkley is played through, one on one, but overruns the ball. It is a lesson not learnt however....

Dunkley is given a further opportunity on 25 minutes but home keeper Daniel Platt saves with his feet. From the resulting corner there is indecision, haphazard defending and Dunkley, scruffily, toe pokes the ball into the corner of the net.

On the half hour Greg Mills' perseverance wins a corner which he then takes. Bramley loses it in the air, allowing Leon Broadhurst to head home the equaliser from a yard out. Kai Williams blasts over for the Canaries before we reach the break at 1-1.

Five minutes into the second period and Mills, fortuitously, makes and then passes up a chance, shooting into the side netting when a lay off was the better option - it proves to be the turning point of the game. Three minutes later Williams is given far too much time and space to drill the ball across Platt into the far corner and the Canaries are chirping....

Barwell then take advantage of Bromsgrove's attacking policy, Sporting's full backs bombing forward much more than defending and their centre backs lacking pace, leaving gaping holes at the back. Williams hits the post and number nine Omotolani Omotola misses a sitter. It's not all one way though as the Rouslers' Gibraltar international Reece Styche flashes one just over the far angle, and sub Richard Gregory has a header tipped away by Bramley.

With a quarter of an hour to go Kieren Westwood brings down Williams in the penalty box, and Canaries' captain Brady Hickey scores from the spot down the middle to make it 3-1. Worse is to follow six minutes later when Platt gets the ball trapped under his feet from a back pass and Omotola brushes him aside to tap into an empty net for 4-1.

Styche's dreadful miss, chipping wide after outmuscling his defender in injury time, is the final nail in a bad afternoon at the office for the Rouslers...

Church Needs A Miracle After Being Put Through the Mill(s) - That's No Word Of A Lye !!

And so to another trip to flooded Worcestershire, this time to Lye Meadow, and more Southern Premier Central football between Alvechurch and Needham Market.

Football in Alvechurch dates back to 1913 in the form of Alvechurch Juniors FC. By the 1920s the club had changed name to Alvechurch Swifts but 1926 saw the General Strike, depression and the demise of the football club. The club was resurrected in 1929 again as Alvechurch Juniors and played at the Meadows, a field given to the club by a Colonel Wiggins, competing in the Redditch League until World War II. They then moved to Guants and purchased land in 1957 which was transformed into the current ground at Lye Meadow. The Church were runners-up in the West Midlands Alliance in 1960–61 and moved up to Division One of the Worcestershire Combination. After a seventh-place finish in their first season in the Combination, the next seven seasons saw the club finish either first or second in the league, winning the league title in 1963, 1965 and 1967. In 1965–66 they also reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, eventually losing 1–0 to Wealdstone at Stamford Bridge with around 10,000 supporters travelling to London for the game.

The league was renamed the Midland Combination in 1968 and Alvechurch won their fourth title in 1972. That season also saw them make FA Cup history, now never to be broken; in the 4th Qualifying Round they were drawn against Oxford City. Following a 2–2 draw at home, the tie went to a (Guinness Book of Records) record five replays at Oxford City, St Andrews, the Manor Ground (twice) and finally, after 17 days and six cup ties, the Church won the fifth replay 1–0 at  Villa Park. The win meant that Alvechurch reached the First Round proper, becoming the first club from the Midland Combination to do so. They went on to lose 4–2 at Aldershot.

After finishing as runners-up in the Midland Combination in 1972/73, Alvechurch switched to the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League. The club's first season in the league saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup again, defeating Fourth Division Exeter City 1-0. This was followed by a 6–1 win at home to King's Lynn in the second round, before a 4–2 defeat at Bradford City in the third round. That season the Church also won the West Midlands (Regional) League title, the League Cup, the Birmingham Senior Amateur Cup and the Worcestershire Senior Cup, thereafter retaining the league title for the next three seasons, before moving up to Division One North of the Southern League.

Following league reorganisation, Alvechurch were placed in the Southern League's Midland Division for the 1979/80 season, and were divisional champions in 1981, beating Dartford of the Southern Division in the championship play-off, winning 1–0 at home and losing 3–2 away, and winning the tie 4–3 on penalties. A further league reorganisation then saw them placed in the new Premier Division for the 1982/83 campaign, but relegation to the Midland Division in 1990, and another relegation two seasons later saw them drop back into the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League. After the death of club benefactor Philip Palmer and a brief intervention by Geoff Turton of The Rockin' Berries pop group, the club was taken over by financial speculators and subsequently folded in 1993.

The club was re-established under the name of Alvechurch Villa in 1994, entering the Premier Division of the Midland Combination. In 1996 they reverted to the name of Alvechurch FC, and in 2002/03 the club were Premier Division champions and League Cup winners, prompting promotion to the Midland Alliance. When the Midland League was created in 2014, Alvechurch were placed in the Premier Division. They were runners-up in the league first time around and went on to win the league and League Cup double the following season thereby earning promotion to Division One South of the Northern Premier League.

Alvechurch's first season in the Northern Premier League saw them finish as runners-up in Division One South, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League. A fourth-place finish in 2018/19 led to the club qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, after beating Stourbridge 2–1 in the semi-finals, they lost 3–0 to King's Lynn Town in the final. However a change of manager, Ian Long moving to Stourbridge and all bar 4 of the squad leaving, then his successor Darren Byfield being sacked in November, has led to a terrible second season syndrome with the Church languishing in 21st place this time, garnering only 17 points, 8 adrift of safety.

Although records show the existence of a Needham Market Football Club during the late 1890s, the modern club was officially established in 1919. They joined the Ipswich & District League and subsequently won Division Two A in 1932–33 and after World War II captured the Division Two title in 1946–47 before going on to win Division One in 1952–53. 

Following relegation in 1984, in 1986–87 the Marketmen were Division One runners-up, earning promotion back to the Senior Division.  In 1996 the club were Senior Division champions, and were promoted to Division One of the Jewson (then Ridgeon and now Thurlow Nunn) Eastern Counties League. They were Division One runners-up in 2004/05 and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2006–07 the club won the East Anglian Cup, before going on to finish as runners-up in the Premier Division and winning the League Challenge Cup and the Suffolk Premier Cup in 2007–08, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase, losing 4–2 on aggregate to Kirkham & Wesham (now AFC Fylde).

The 2009–10 season saw Needham Market win the Premier Division title and the League Cup double, earning promotion to Division One North of the Isthmian League. In their first season in Division One, Needham finished as runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, but losing 3–1 at home to Brentwood Town. The following season the club finished third, again reaching the play-offs, but lost 1–0 to Enfield Town. They qualified for the play-offs for a third time after finishing fifth in 2014, this time losing 1–0 to Witham Town. Finally the Marketmen went on to win the division in 2015, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2017 they won the Suffolk Premier Cup for a second time.

Needham Market were transferred to the Premier Central division of the Southern League at the end of the 2017/18 season as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid. After a bright start, the visitors from Bloomfields, named after former player and club stalwart of 70 years Derrick Bloomfield, finished 11th last term - the Marketmen again sit 11th this time, having just appointed Kevin Horlock as their new manager.

It's a blustery morning with spasmodic rain as I join the M6 at Tabley, with traffic freely moving and providing more unusual numberplates - MOO53, the slightly (wh)iffy SK1.1NKS and the very clever H20 PTP - Pete The Pipe, unsurprisingly a plumber !! And a private car with the sticker 'How's My Driving ? Tel: 0800 F*CKU' ....

Then onto 'Smart' Motorway, 26 more miserable months of roadworks and goodness only knows how more deaths, and those red distracting bridge signs. This time Yarnfield Lane catches my eye, as two of the three clubs that play there - Stone Dominoes and Tunstall Town - have folded this season.

Past that Jolly Good Storage place, onto the M5 and still speed restrictions at Oldbury due to viaduct and technology testing. With a backcloth of the Sutton Coldfield TV mast and council tower blocks, the West Midlands is not so much Black Country as presenting a visage of fade to grey....

The M42, then joining the A441 before cutting back on myself to Redditch Road and the village of Alvechurch with The Swan, The Red Lion, Tran's Chinese takeway, a Co-op and not much else. The football club is on the right, free parking and a helpful Safety Officer who directs me to a spot for an easy and immediate exit.

Two prehistoric tractors in the car park, and after paying £10 admission, an even older caravan inside the ground - 201 is today's attendance, with two pockets of Marketmen support.

Inside Lye Meadow a narrow walkway surrounds the pitch which has a pronounced slope from left to right, the main stand on the left, a mix of red, black and yellow seats, alongside which there is a modern office and taped off grass banks. At the top end is a crumbling, weed infested covered terrace.

To the right is a warm up area and Portakabin with a 'Ministry of Defence Guard Service' sign that houses the filthiest and darkest toilets I have ever seen at a football ground. The press box and adjoining clubhouse and bar are a different matter altogether, although I can't speak for the burger bar.

I take my place in the main stand, out of the wind, and enjoying glorious views of the Worcestershire countryside. Pre match is dominated by Needham's number 5, Jordao Da Encarnacao Tackey Diogo (him again !!), warming up in a pair of ear rings, which thankfully are removed for the game. Church are in gold and black, with a hint of red, no number 6, (16 instead), and their goal keeper in a lurid salmon number; Market are in change navy.

Within the first 30 seconds Callum Page is through one on one for the Marketmen, but scuffs his shot beyond Matthew Sargeant's post. Barely thirty seconds later, at the opposite end, Marcus Garnham magnificently tips over Ryan Winwood's volley and then makes a reaction save from the corner.

Both sides struggle with a pudding of a pitch that's heavy, cutting up and full of divots. The Church shade matters, a corner from Kevin Da Veiga Monteiro catches on the wind and lands on top of the crossbar. Then Mitch Botfield seizes on a Needham mistake, pinching possession and bearing down on Garnham, but the pitch slows him up and his effort is blocked.

The Marketmen have been neat and tidy without any real penetration, but that changes in the final five minutes of the half. On 41 minutes a ball into the Church box is collected by Adam Mills, and he pulls it back for Page to stroke it into the corner. A minute later Sargeant does extremely well to turn over Craig Parker's well struck shot.

In the second period Needham take control with Parker spurning four clear chances. Alvechurch's tactics of only one attacker (Connor Deards) in the penalty box makes it easy for the Marketmen to defend; it is only when a second forward, Nehemia Zazi, is introduced from the bench that they begin to carry a threat.

With 13 minutes to go Deards cuts inside and his vicious swerving shot smacks against the crossbar. The Marketmen respond with Luke Ingram heading narrowly wide and substitute Jose Santa De La Paz (Santa to his friends !) hitting the side netting.

On 87 minutes Garnham tips over Botfield's effort and, whilst the ball is being retrieved, bizarrely two more are kicked on to the pitch by the home bench. Three balls, 'Ballfest' is the comment from the Needham fan next to me, but only one is required for the corner, which produces a scramble and a final touch from four yards from Deards for the equaliser.

When, 60 seconds later, two goal line clearances prevent Ingram from restoring the Marketmen's lead you wonder whether Church can improvise an improbable home victory. Sadly, when you're down amongst the dead men, luck tends to desert you, and so it proves.... In the third and final minute of stoppage time the ball falls to Needham's Mills and his left footed 25 yard strike is heavily deflected beyond the despairing dive of Sargeant to land in the net.

The home side are stunned and visibly deflated. Church adopt, for the final seconds, from the restart a Hail Mary 1-0-9 formation - sadly their prayers are not answered...  The Marketmen depart to Suffolk with a 2-1 victory and the three points, whilst at the same time enhancing their status as credible play off contenders.

Four Minute Blitz Is All The Marketmen Need - Reds 'Dead In A Ditch' !!

And so to the TRICO Stadium, aka The Valley, on Bromsgrove Road, Redditch in Worcestershire for a Southern Premier Central clash between Redditch United and Needham Market.

The Reds are one of the longest-established football clubs in the Midlands, starting out as Redditch Town in the Birmingham Combination League in 1891 and being crowned first ever winners of the Worcestershire Senior Cup in 1894. The club prospered as Redditch in the 1930s and again 20 years later when they were Birmingham Combination champions in 1952 and 1955.

In 1971, United was added to the name and the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time ever, with a record crowd of 4,500 rammed into the Valley Stadium to see the Reds draw 1-1 with Division Four side Peterborough United, before losing 6-0 in the replay.

The following season The Reds joined the Southern League and were promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 1975-76 campaign, having scored more than 100 goals in the process.

They were a founder member of the Alliance Premier League at the start of 1979/80 but struggled and finished bottom in their only top flight season, before plying their trade in the Southern League for more than 20 years, enjoying another run to the first round of the FA Cup in 1989 before losing 3-1 to Conference side Merthyr Tydfil in front of a sell-out crowd. United then made headlines at the end of the 1997-98 season, playing nine games in nine days due to a backlog of fixtures brought about by the poor weather.

At the end of the 2003/04 season, the Reds clinched an historic double promotion under the guidance of manager Rod Brown. Having secured the Southern League Western Division, the club then won two play-off matches to secure a place in the newly formed Conference North where they stayed for seven seasons.

Relegation to the Southern League in 2011 followed, with an unsuccessful play-off campaign in 2014/15, the club finishing runners-up only to lose out to neighbours Leamington. Redditch finished 15th (of 22) last term, but currently prop up the table with a mere 9 points from 27 games, with the appointment of Duane Darby as manager having little effect - as a 15 match losing run, and a 6-0 drubbing at The Trawlers of Lowestoft Town last weekend and a 7-1 roasting at The Rouslers of Bromsgrove Sporting on Tuesday, bears testimony.

Although records show the existence of a Needham Market Football Club during the late 1890s, the modern club was officially established in 1919. They joined the Ipswich & District League and subsequently won Division Two A in 1932–33 and after World War II captured the Division Two title in 1946–47 before going on to win Division One in 1952–53. 

Following relegation in 1984, in 1986–87 the Marketmen were Division One runners-up, earning promotion back to the Senior Division.  In 1996 the club were Senior Division champions, and were promoted to Division One of the Jewson (then Ridgeon and now Thurlow Nunn) Eastern Counties League. They were Division One runners-up in 2004/05 and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2006–07 the club won the East Anglian Cup, before going on to finish as runners-up in the Premier Division and winning the League Challenge Cup and the Suffolk Premier Cup in 2007–08, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase, losing 4–2 on aggregate to Kirkham & Wesham (now AFC Fylde).

The 2009–10 season saw Needham Market win the Premier Division title and the League Cup double, earning promotion to Division One North of the Isthmian League. In their first season in Division One, Needham finished as runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, but losing 3–1 at home to Brentwood Town. The following season the club finished third, again reaching the play-offs, but lost 1–0 to Enfield Town. They qualified for the play-offs for a third time after finishing fifth in 2014, this time losing 1–0 to Witham Town. Finally the Marketmen went on to win the division in 2015, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2017 they won the Suffolk Premier Cup for a second time.

Needham Market were transferred to the Premier Central division of the Southern League at the end of the 2017/18 season as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid. After a bright start, the visitors from Bloomfields, named after former player and club stalwart of 70 years Derrick Bloomfield, finished 11th last term - the Marketmen sit 15th this time.

Roadworks on Chester Road cause chaos and the dreary weather is matched by the traffic - but that allows me to identify car registrations, and today it's spot the profession: R3V MU (complete with dog collar !), WE11DER and BA 57EAM. Then I hit the M6 and smart motorway, a fleet of lorries and an army of workers, with signs promising 28 more months of misery... all before smart motorways are scrapped due to safety concerns.

To the M5 and StorageBase, 'Jolly good storage rooms', and then more speed restrictions due to Oldbury Viaduct works and technology testing. Off at junction 4 to the A38, bypassing Lickey End and working my way through congestion at The Forest in Bromsgrove.

Then the A448 and Catshill, Finstall, Webheath, Headless Cross, Foxlydiate and Pitcher Oak Wood, the West Midlands cloaked in clouds of grey, before hitting the Bromsgrove Road. Beyond the Cricket & Hockey Club and I park up at Vicarage Crescent, refusing to pay the £2 car park charge introduced this month, and then it's a quick walk via Windmill Nursery and Terry's Playing Fields to the appropriately named The Valley, nestling in a dip and surrounded by woodland and housing.

£11 in and the stadium is dominated by the Comline Stand, the all blue (?) seater grandstand, spectators downstairs, boardroom, bar and function room upstairs. The supporters shop and Reds Café are open alongside, but the Tuck Shop and toilets are closed; two Portakabins are situated on the other side.

To my right is the Sallie Swan Stand, covered steep terracing with a tarmacked area to the front. Next is the Baylis & Harding Stand, 2 rows housing 50 black seats and more covered terracing, and where, despite a dismal crowd of 126 (compared to 1075 down the road at Bromsgrove), there is plenty of vocal support... and protest at the club's current predicament. In front of the stand are 12 (yes 12 !!) sets of goalposts and behind is the Kingfisher Shopping Centre (check the club badge !!). Up top is a flat standing area.

Redditch are in red and black stripes, Needham in navy with yellow trim, on the 3G pitch, whilst the linesman on the opposite is dreadlocked and goes by the name of Justice Jacobs.

The Reds make a bright start, but it's not long before the Marketmen take charge. On ten minutes an incisive move down the left sees Callum Page play in Adam Mills and his precise shot hits the inside of the post and bounces out. Mills, with a header, and Page, with a 20 yard shot, both go close in the next attacks. Then in four mad minutes Needham plunder three goals....

On 27 a great run down the left, a fine low cross from Mills, Page dummies and Craig Parker tucks the ball into the bottom left corner. Two minutes later Parker's shot is well saved by Reds' keeper Kieran Boucher but William Hunt slots home the rebound. Then on 31 a low cutback from Joe Marsden on the right and Page scores in the same corner.

Marsden hits the post just before half time, with Redditch's only response a long range effort from Josh Endall straight at Finlay Shorten; 3-0 to the Marketmen at the break.

Half time sees United introduce substitute Hostidio Santos (but not number 12 Ben Stokes, who may have other priorities....) but, in truth, the second period is anything but hostile, more docile verging on drab.

Akeal Rehman at least makes Shorten work for his first ever clean sheet, and a flurry of substitutions brings the exotically named Jordao Da Encarnacao Tackey Diogo onto the field for Market, who rarely move into second gear, believing (correctly) the job is done.

The Marketmen's best moment is Hunt's dink over a defender and then a volley wide, before in the final minute Marsden hits the post again; the referee has seen enough and, with mist shrouding The Valley, plays no stoppage time to conclude a straightforward 3-0 Marketmen victory.

An Afternoon At The Pics - Gold and Diamonds Sparkle !

 Rushall Olympic 4th WWLLLL v AFC Rushden & Diamonds 12th DDWLLL

And so to Dales Lane, Daw End in Walsall, and the Southern League Premier Central for a clash between Rushall Olympic and AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

Although football had been played in the village for at least 20 years previously, the earliest known reference to Rushall Olympic Football Club is in local newspaper reports on matches from the 1893–94 season. The club joined the Cannock & District League in 1895, before moving on to the Walsall & District League, with many players working at the local Aldridge pit. During the inter-war years the club disbanded.

In 1951, a group of local young men decided to reform the club. They approached the proprietor of a local fish and chip shop for permission to use his premises as their headquarters and secured the use of Rowley Place as a home ground. The club joined the Walsall & District Amateur League, and gained promotion to the Staffordshire County League.

After moving to Dales Lane the club was accepted into the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1978, and won the First Division title in 1980. The club enjoyed 14 seasons of moderate success in the Premier Division, with a highest finish of fifth place achieved in 1988–89. In 1994, the 'Pics' became a founder member of the new Midland Football Alliance.

Olympic gained promotion to the Southern League Division One West in 2005, and were then transferred to the Southern League Division One Midlands for the 2006/07 season, where they stayed for two years, qualifying for the play-offs in their last season by finishing fifth.

Due to the restructuring of the Northern Premier League, they were transferred again to the NPL Division One South for the 2008/09 season, when they once more finished fifth and qualified for the play-offs, but finally reached the Premier League in 2011 after a play off victory against Grantham Town. The club was moved laterally to the Southern Premier League Central this summer, where they currently lie fourth after four consecutive defeats.

The original Rushden & Diamonds was formed on 21 April 1992, as a merger of Irthlingborough Diamonds and Rushden Town. The club's early years were marked by success and the backing of Max Griggs, owner of Doc Martens. Within four seasons the club had reached the Conference, and within nine the club had become a member of  the Football League.

 

However, following their promotion to Division Two the Diamonds' fortunes took a turn for the worse. The club was relegated twice in three years, and suffered instability off the field. Seven different managers took charge of the team between March 2004 and May 2011, while the club itself was controlled by four different parties during the same period. Following a period of sustained financial difficulties during the 2010–11 season, the club was expelled from the Conference at the end of the campaign, and entered administration that July.

 

AFC Rushden & Diamonds was created during the summer of 2011 by Diamonds' fans as a phoenix club. After missing the FA league deadline for registering a senior side, AFC R&D formed a youth team to compete in the Northants Senior Youth League for the club's inaugural 2011–12 season, with the intention of fielding a senior side the following year. Initially they played at Kiln Park, home of Raunds Town.

The following season the senior team was registered to play in the United Counties Football League Division One, playing at the Dog and Duck, home of Wellingborough Town, and finished second to secure promotion to the Premier Division.

A third place finish was followed by the championship in 2015 and a move up to the Southern League Division One Central, and a first campaign that saw the Diamonds reach and then lose in the play offs. A lateral move to the Northern Premier League Division One South again ended with play off heartache.

Rushden were then transferred back to the Southern League and moved to groundshare with Rushden & Higham United, before finally gaining promotion to Step 3 in 2018 as runners up, finishing 9th last time and currently sitting in twelfth, and still smarting from an 8-2 home defeat by the Rouslers of Bromsgrove Sporting.

So a brief meander down the tow path, spotting Wing Ding, Still Friskey (sic) and, my favourite, Giggling Haddock, it's over to the M6 via Hair Atelier, The Starving Man (a curious name for a takeaway) and Papa Chino's. On the motorway a lorry parked on the nearest bridge with its skirt advertising 'M6 Jn 19 Pub on Roundabout', two trucks in convoy transporting lorry cabs and, as ever, today's numberplates: F1RER, F4VE X and ELA710N.

The PIES graffiti has been painted over but, in the Smart Motorway roadworks, there are are now distracting signs on the bridges - Hanchurch Interchange, Jacob's Ladder, Knowl Hall Farm et al... Off at Junction 10 through Walsall with its signs for the Leather Museum and Dorothy Pattison Hospital, past the African & Caribbean Community Association, and onto the Lichfield Road at the terrific red floral entrance to the Four Seasons Garden. Right at Daw End Road and Rushall Olympic is hidden opposite the Royal Oak.

£1 to park and my worst fears emanating from mishaps at gridlock at Abbey Hulton and trapped in mud at Eccleshall prove groundless. £10 in 'the cheapest price in this division' (allegedly) and it's in to 'Yam Yam Land' and a 'busy' stadium, in terms of structures, if not fans - today's crowd of 236 includes a healthy number of Diamonds followers.

The pitch is astroturf, with three sides of the ground surrounded by woodland; inside we have a short raised walkway, then a covered disabled viewing area, adjoining covered benches, two small grandstands in the corners, an elevated terraced area behind the goal and, on the opposite side, a media room, video and press tower and sponsors' lounge, behind which is a field of mud littered with football paraphernalia. Finally the near end supports Pics Pantry, the clubhouse, changing rooms and the club shop. There's also a whiteboard showing the teams' line ups outside the clubhouse - a nice touch ! Busy as I say !!

Pics are in traditional gold shirts and black shorts, Diamonds in their third strip of blue with red half diamonds. Their goalkeeper, Ben Heath, is in all pink and wears number 13 - the no 1 having been retired after the tragic suicide of former shotstopper Dale Roberts. The match is refereed by a Mr Pratt.

The sun breaches the overcast cloud cover and it's a bright start to the game too. The first 15 minutes see Rushall conjure up five chances - Eesa Sawyers has two shots off target, Ben Lund has an effort straight at Heath and the Diamonds' custodian makes two routine saves from Shaquille Leachman-Whittingham. Rushden are not without menace too, Jon Flatt tipping Morgan Roberts' cross shot round for a corner.

So it's a surprise we have to wait 19 minutes for the first goal and a further surprise that Diamonds score it. Matthew Slinn's corner is flicked on by Ben Farrell and the away team's burly captain Liam Dolman crashes home. This is the cue for more Pics' pressure. Alex Moore has a piledriver turned aside then shoots wide, Whittingham has two shots saved and one over the bar and the overworked Heath also prevents Sawyers with a tidy stop.

Eventually Rushall do fashion an equaliser, a minute from half time, with Reece Mitchell superbly whipping in a short corner and captain Sam Whittall heads into the bottom corner, and it's 1-1 after a breathless first period.

The second half doesn't quite live up to the first 45 minutes, but Diamonds have the first big opportunity four minutes in. Slinn's free kick is headed goalwards by Roberts and the Rushden fans are already celebrating before Flatt pulls off an astonishing world class save.

Jon Letford then has a goal dubiously ruled out for Olympic by Mr Pratt for kicking the ball out of Heath's hands, before shooting straight at the keeper. Whittall also has a goal chalked off for offside.

But the best chance falls to Diamonds with ten minutes to go. Roberts is left unmarked on the right wing on the half way line and is set free, his pace ensuring it's a one on one with Flatt and finishes by placing the ball wide and then hanging his head in shame. It finishes 1-1 - hardly a true reflection of the game.....