Lambs Do The Slaughter - Blues Murdered !!

 Tamworth 2nd DWLWLW v Leiston 22nd LLLDWW

So to the FA Trophy and the CR MOT Centre Community Stadium at The Lamb for an all Southern Premier Central clash between Tamworth and Leiston.

The town of Tamworth had been represented at football by Tamworth Castle F.C. until the club folded in 1933. This void was filled following a campaign started by a local businessman in the local newspaper setting in motion the formation of Tamworth FC. The club moved to its current ground, The Lamb, in 1934, starting in the Birmingham Combination before joining the West Midlands League in the 1950s - winning the league in 1963–64 and 1965–66.

1972 saw The Lambs promoted to the Southern League, but a period of falling attendances and financial difficulties followed. The club returned to the West Midlands League, and was taken over by a consortium of local businessmen in 1984. In 1987–88 Tamworth won the League and were promoted back to the Southern League.

Tamworth won the FA Vase in 1989, beating Sudbury Town 3-0 in a replay at London Road, Peterborough after a 1-1 draw at Wembley. Further success followed with the Southern League title in 2002, promotion to the Football Conference the following year but defeat 2-1 by Burscough in the FA Trophy final.

The club completed their highest profile signing of all time on 23 February 2006 of Paul Merson until the end of the season, but the arrangement lasted only two games and Merson retired on 9 March 2006. The Lambs finished in 21st position but relegation was avoided due to Canvey Island's resignation; it only deferred the inevitable and the club dropped to the Conference North at the end of the following season.

Two years later Tamworth secured the Conference North title and promotion back to the Conference Premier. An FA Cup giantkilling of Crewe Alexandra in 2010 was another highlight, but after five seasons in the top tier the Lambs fell into the Conference North in 2014. The club was then further relegated in 2018 to the newly formed Southern League Premier Central where they finished 12th last term.

Leiston FC was established in 1880 and was initially closely linked to the nearby Richard Garrett Engineering Works. In its early years the club was a member of the North Suffolk League and the Ipswich and District League.

 After reforming as Leiston Works Athletic at the end of World War One the club moved to Victory Road. Further periods were spent in both leagues plus the East Anglian League and Essex & Suffolk Border League, before they became something of a yo-yo club in the Ipswich League in the 1990s.

The Blues stepped up to Division One of the Eastern Counties League for the 2000/01 season, and won the Ridgeons Eastern Counties League Premier Division in 2011, earning promotion to Division One North of the Isthmian League. The following season they won Division One North, achieving back-to-back promotions and moving up to the Isthmian League Premier Division. Leiston FC was then laterally 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, and finished 19th out of 22 last time. The Blues currently prop up the table this season after starting with two points from a possible 36, but then securing back to back victories.

So on a dank morning with heavy rain and a temperature of 6C it's past a van advertising Slime & Grime to the M6. A horrendous journey takes in a mudslide with two lanes closed just beyond Sandbach services, an accident, breakdown, Smart Motorway speed restrictions and bedraggled, distracting bridge signs and a dog running loose.

Ignoring billboards shouting 'Are You Pregnant ?' (Newbie and Me)  and taking in today's numberplates of L111STN, LO55 GUY (?) and V111ANY I eventually turn off at junction 12 for Watling Street, aka the A5. Then it's signs for Hednesford Hills Raceway, the Silly Sausage Café in Cannock, Norton Canes, Hammerwich and Brownhills Quarry.

I bypass Shenstone, and its wonderfully named football club Shenstone Pathfinder, and the submerged fields all around - the rain having caused severe travel problems and many postponements. Then it's off at Ventura Retail Park and thanks to the helpful signs for Tamworth FC I arrive at a flooded roundabout, below the viaduct for the West Coast Main Line, at Kettlebrook Road and The Lamb with ten minutes to spare. The trip has taken just over three hours...

The Lamb is named after a long gone pub, The Lamb Inn, and has a huge car park - but at £12 a ticket, and £2 extra to sit in the stand, I forego the £2 parking charge and leave the car in an adjacent side street.

Inside the near end has a raised covered terrace, with seven separate alcoves, and to the right is the tidy all seater main stand, straddling the halfway line. On the left is The Shed, a four step covered terrace, housing 'The Shed Choir' which is slightly muted today given the weather and a below par crowd of 385. Alongside this is the clubhouse, slightly set back, and snack bar. The far Castle End is open terracing and another catering outlet in the corner, with trees beyond; the grandstand is overlooked by the Snow Dome and the other two sides by residential housing.

The Lambs are in red with white and black trim, and the Blues, surprisingly (!) in all blue with a dash of white, with Tamworth attacking the Meadow Street end as the rain continues to pour down. Thankfully the pitch is 3G astroturf, otherwise the tie would surely have been called off.

It's a cagey start but Tyrell Waite, for the home side, has two early shots, one easily saved and the other deflected. Just as the Choir are getting restless on the half hour Waite plays in Rhys Hoenes, who dummies Blues' keeper Charlie Beckwith and scores with ease.

Hoenes has a spooned effort over the top but, with five minutes to the break, Waite surges forward, also dummies Beckwith and scuffs his shot. Covering defender Harry Knights manages to fall over and both he and the ball end up, farcically, in the net; 2-0 to Tamworth at the interval.

Into the second period and Waite and Hoenes waste glorious chances, so it's the 62nd minute before the Lambs make it 3-0 with Dan Creaney heading in Jordan Clement's corner. Waite then hits the bar and Hoenes hits a one on one straight at Beckwith.

For the visitors Mason Sinclair registers their first effort, directly at Tamworth glovesman Jas Singh in the 79th minute, prompting the middle enclave of 8 Blues supporters to start singing ' We only sing when we're ploughing'. Curiously a 9th supporter is stood on his own, in the rain and looking thoroughly disconsolate.

Hoenes hits the post a minute after, whilst sub Ben Stannard fires a free kick low under the wall for the Blues straight at Singh. Bilal Yafai's curling effort then draws a flying save out of Beckwith.

In the final minute substitute Dilano Reid's cross is met with a gorgeous volley from Creaney to ice the cake at 4-0 and the referee decides that's enough - 4-0 at the death, a dominant Lambs performance and a quarter to five finish (remember those days ??!! )  .....