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.

Hebburn Is A Place On Earth - And In The Last 16 !!

And so to the Syncreon Arena, aka Rivacre Park, for an FA Vase 4th round, last 32, clash between Vauxhall Motors and Hebburn Town.

Vauxhall Motors FC was founded in 1963, shortly after the opening of the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port. Initially playing, and then outgrowing, the Ellesmere Port League and the Wirral Combination, the Motormen moved to the West Cheshire League, winning the title in 1986.

The club relocated from the company owned Hooton Park to Rivacre Park in 1987 and that coincided with a successful application to join the North West Counties Football League - Division Two won in their first season. Despite finishing fifth in Division One the year after the club's board decided to take Motors back to the West Cheshire League.

Rejoining the NWCFL in 1994, the Motormen again immediately won the Division Two title, and in 2000 were Division One champions to move up to the Northern Premier League Division One.

As runners up in their inaugural season Vauxhall climbed to the Northern Premier League Premier, and, after beating QPR 1-0 in the FA Cup, took their place in the Conference North in 2004.

Despite finishing 21st in 2008, the liquidation of Nuneaton Borough and expulsion of Boston United provided a reprieve, and that was repeated in 2010 when a 20th place finish was obviated by Farsley Celtic's resignation and Northwich Victoria's forced relegation due to financial reasons.

However in March 2014 the club announced its intention to withdraw from the Conference North due to 'ever increasing costs' - I recall watching a game that season, the rain hosing down, the Motormen thrashing an on the way down Histon 4-0, and a crowd of 140....at Step Two.

And so to a third stint in the West Cheshire League, where the club finished runners up in 2018 and met the criteria to join the expanded NWCFL Division One South, where they finished runners up to Rylands last term - this time they are perched atop the division.

Hebburn Town FC was founded in 1912 as a works team for the Reyrolles engineering company. Playing under the company name, they joined Division Two of the Jarrow and District Junior League. After World War I they joined the South Shields Combination League, before switching to the Tyneside Combination in 1923. They then moved to the Tyneside League in 1927, and were league champions in 1938–39. During World War II they enlisted in the Northern Combination in 1941, and after winning the Durham Challenge Cup in 1943, they won the league title the following season. The Hornets then moved to the North Eastern League for the 1944–45 season, before returning to the Northern Combination in 1945. The club remained in the Combination until rejoining a relaunched North Eastern League in 1959.

In 1960 Reyrolles transferred to the Wearside League and were league champions in 1967. In 1986 the club was renamed Hebburn Reyrolles, before changing their name to Hebburn in 1988. In 1989 they climbed up to Division Two of the Northern League, and after finishing fourth in 1992, they were promoted to Division One. Hebburn were relegated back to Division Two in 1995 due to ground grading issues. Subsequently promoted in 2000, The Hornets then adopted their current name.

Relegation the year after, promotion in 2012, another relegation in 2014 and promotion back to the top tier in 2018 and then finishing runners up in Division One last time. The visitors from the Energy Check Sports Ground currently sit second this time, albeit having played 25, and hence considerably more than their challengers, of their 38 league games.

Past queuing traffic on the opposite carriageway, spectators trying to reach Old Trafford for the relegation six pointer between Manchester United and Norwich City, I spot numberplates SHA40W (sadly not on a Rolls Royce !) and PA55 RAP (driving school) and a liveried van 'Posh n Barks' (dog grooming). Thereafter the M56, Stanlow flaring, belching fumes and the wind turbines in overdrive.

Onto the M53, beyond Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet and off at Junction 7 Netherpool and then right into Rivacre Road and the stadium is on the left amidst a new housing estate. There's a new fitness centre alongside with plenty of parking - although I avoid grass and mud....

£5 in, a good crowd of 175 including 2 coachfuls of Hornets' supporters, with the near end supporting the changing rooms, an Everton Football College static trailer and the vast modern Vauxhall Sports Club. To my right is the 350 all seater main grandstand, behind which are several all weather pitches, and the source of many two balls on the pitch this afternoon !!

Also on this side is the club shop, reopened after storm damage to the roof, and offices, whilst at the top end is a walkway, backed by trees and the golf course. On the left is a covered terrace, split in two to allow access to a rugby pitch and beyond which is the M53 and the Vauxhall plant. The terrace is dedicated in honour of Mark Pearson, who collapsed and died on 21.9.99 aged 34, whilst playing against Northwich Victoria.

The Motormen are in white and navy, with keeper Ryan Crump in orange and his shirt sponsored by Lookers, whilst his team mates all sport Syncreon on their shirts. The Hornets, naturally, are in yellow and black, with NE31 stitched into the back of their shirts; the stadium announcer gives up, at the second attempt, at pronouncing Hebburn substitute Angelos Eleftheriadis.... who fortunately doesn't play any further part in this afternoon's proceedings !

With just over a minute on the clock, the Hornets' Michael McKeown plays in ex Darlington striker Graeme Armstrong, who is clearly being tugged back. Despite this he manages to lay the ball off to Olli Martin on the left flank, and he finishes gloriously, curling it into the bottom right corner. The referee then comes over to the Hebburn bench to tell them he would have brought play back and issued a red card if there had been no advantage. In the aftermath Vauxhall's Tom Mitchell is booked for his ineffectual attempt at a professional foul.

Thereafter the strong cross wind (but not the forecast heavy rain) takes centre stage and the tie becomes a war of attrition. For the Motormen, Joe Heath shoots, but it's easy for glovesman Mark Foden, who later drops a Glenn Rule free kick, causing consternation.

Indeed the only other piece of entertainment comes when the ball, not for the first time, goes into touch and is headed by a Hornets' fan. The ball goes sideways but the fan still feels pretty pleased with himself, and his pint is unspilt !! Then, strangely, the half time draw is announced five minutes before half time.....

The second half is marginally better with Hebburn having the first opportunity; Thomas Potter's glorious cross sees an unmarked Martin head down and well wide - anything but glorious this time.... Rule puts a free kick over the bar for Vauxhall.

Then the Hornets try to sting the Motormen by scoring the all important second goal. McKeown has a long range effort well turned aside by Crump, Armstrong can't quite get his foot round another effort that trickles through, and finally Crump excels himself, diving to keep out Potter's 20 yard drive.

Mitchell has a free header for the Motormen, disappointingly wide, and then substitute Ben Holmes has his free kick tipped over by Foden. There is a late scare as a Vauxhall cross zips over, but with no final touch, to end a match where I was, in the end, hoping that extra time wouldn't happen..... Hebburn go into the last 16 and an away tie at the last surviving NWCFL team, Longridge Town.

Shambles, Shambles and More Shambles - But The Ice Man Cometh......

And so to the Coach and Horses, and a trip entirely funded by Northern Fail's, err failure, to provide a train service, for the alternative Steel City Derby, bizarrely taking place in Dronfield, Derbyshire (!!). The derby is between Sheffield FC and Stocksbridge Park Steels in the Northern Premier League Division One South East.

Sheffield FC's nickname is 'The Club', and they are renowned for being 'The World's First Football Club'. The club was set up by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest on 24 October 1857 at Parkfield House in the Sheffield suburb of Highgate, although the original headquarters was a greenhouse.....

Initially Sheffield FC games were played amongst club members - 'Married v Singles', or 'Professionals v The Rest'. Creswick and Prest drew up the club's rules of play, 'The Sheffield Rules' - and along with near neighbours Hallam FC, 'The Countrymen', formed in 1860, they take part in 'The Rules derby', the oldest still contested football derby in the world. FA rules were adopted in 1878. 2nd January 1865 saw the first fixture outside Sheffield - the club playing at Nottingham in an 18 a side game under Nottingham rules. The decision was then taken to play only teams from outside Sheffield, and on 31 March 1866 they played London losing by 2 goals and 4 touchdowns to nil.

The Club entered the FA Cup in 1873, but thereafter there was a decline from the top echelon with the advent of professionalism. Sheffield FC retained its amateur status and suggested to the FA the introduction of an FA Amateur Cup, which was inaugurated in 1893 and which Sheffield won in 1904. After one season in each of the Yorkshire and Midland Leagues, the club reverted back to local leagues, before rejoining the Yorkshire League in 1949. They then joined the Northern Counties East League in 1981, before promotion to the NPL Division 1 South in 2007 - their 150th anniversary. Sheffield FC remain in Step 4.

The Club have previously played at Strawberry Hall Lane Park, Newhall Athletic ground, Old Forge, Hunters Bar, Abbeydale Park, Hillsborough Park, Owlerton and the Don Valley Stadium. Current home is the Coach & Horses ground in Dronfield, which was bought in 2001, and formerly the home of Norton Woodseats FC.

In 2004 The Club were awarded the Centennial FIFA Order of Merit for services to football and maintenance of its values - Integrity, Respect and Community; the only other recipient was Real Madrid. And in 2007 The Club was inducted into the English football hall of fame on its 150th anniversary. Sheffield currently sit 10th in the Northern Premier League Division One South East, and crowdfunding plans to return to Olive Grove in Steel City are still ongoing.

The Steels were formed in 1986 from the merger between Stocksbridge Works FC, the works team of the local British Steel plant, and another local club, Oxley Sports FC. The team joined the Northern Counties East League Division 2, and were then placed in Division 1 after a league reorganisation in 1991. The following year Steels were promoted as champions to the Premier Division, but were denied promotion, having won the league, to the Northern Premier League in 1994 because of ground grading issues. Two years later, as runners up, the club gained admission to NPL Division 1.

After finishing in the top half for 5 seasons, relegation was only just avoided the following year and this saw the appointment of Wayne Biggins as manager. He oversaw the record 17-1 win over Oldham Town in the FA Cup Preliminary Round, with Paul Jackson scoring ten - still an FA Cup record. Biggins' departure saw a succession of managers before promotion via the play offs to the NPL Premier in 2009 was achieved - with Jamie Vardy leading the line. Five years of struggle ended with relegation in 2014, with mediocrity thereafter, and Steels currently lying 8th this season.

 

An early departure and limited road action but Navigation Road provides number plates YY0 5EXY (empty and parked - unfortunately) and WH11 NOT, and then the train leaves early but arrives late before I join fellow bleary eyed travellers on the Hope Valley Line - a shouty walking group and multiple piercings being my main recollections. On to Marple where there is a blue plaque in honour of Agatha Christie and Miss Marple, and then New Mills and the Torrs Millennium.

Thereafter Strines, Chinley, glorious Derbyshire countryside, murk at Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford, Dore & Totley, The Hardy Pick pub and then Steel City - needless to say the train is late but so is my Northern connection to Dronfield, whose station celebrates its 150th anniversary on 1st February 2020, complete with pit tub on rail track memorial.

Dronfield is home to Fat Sams, Killer Byte, Mucky Pups, Café Tiere, The Forge Boutique Shopping at Dronfield and the William Lea Ladle opposite 'The Home of Football' . Not forgetting the pubs of the Dronfield Arms (home of Hopjacker Brewery), craft beers at The Underdog, The White Swan but sadly The Bridge is a bridge too far....

That takes me to the Coach & Horses, the pub ten minutes from the station, next to the football ground and owned by The Club with Thornbridge ales on tap; I sample pints of Brother Rabbit and Shambles, whilst fellow supporters are entirely dismissive of 'Dry January' and 'Veguanary'..... 

£9 in, a decent crowd of 416, and inside reveals to my left The Barrett Steel Community Stand, an all seater affair behind the goal; that end also supports the clubhouse, club shop, bar, hot food and the changing rooms. On the right is a covered 3 step terrace leading to a massive pile of leaves and another cordoned off area. Opposite is a walkway, plastic sheeting highlighting 'The Home of Football' and behind which is the railway line and the busy A61.

 The teams are piped on, appropriately, by The Human League with a guard of honour for Club legend Matt Roney who recently made his 500th appearance for Sheffield FC. The Club are in red and black, Steels in yellow and blue.

Within 30 seconds Jonathan Hedge is palming over Steels' Scott Ruthven's rasping drive, and less than a minute later the Club win a corner from which an unmarked Rob Darkin heads in for 1-0.

Thereafter it's all Sheffield; Lee Cooksey's header at another corner causes pandemonium, Jacob Carney, in the away goal, just keeps out Marc Newsham's shot, debutant Sheldon Jordan goes close three times and Rieves Boocock wreaks havoc on the wing. At the other end Nenad Smiljanic volleys wide.

The second period sees The Club become a shambles, creating little, coughing up possession and sitting deeper and deeper; Steels' injury ravaged side sense they can get something out of this derby.

'Sir Jonathan' Hedge somehow manages to save from Ruthven, and then produces an extraordinary tip aside - the away supporters already celebrating an equaliser. But it's been coming and with 9 minutes left, a corner breaks for ' Ice Man' Danny Frost six yards out and he draws the sides level.

In the final minute of injury time the Club fashion one final chance but, disappointingly, Newsham's free header from close in drifts wide and it finishes 1-1. Needless to say the Northern experience going home is another shambles....

Take It As Red - Collieries Undermine League Leaders !!

Pontefract Collieries  DWLWWW 4th  v Workington AFC LWWWWW 1st

And so to a first, no second, trip to the Harratts Nissan Stadium in PonteCarlo aka Pontefract. The initial visit to watch Pontefract Collieries against 'The North', Trafford FC, came to a sorry and very wet end - a trip notable for atrocious weather, aggressive undertaking, an absence of rear car lights and numberplates 1VY, OO04 AAH and LO53RSS (!!). Arrival at three minutes to two, and bang on two o'clock, a home official knocks on my car window and informs me the game has just been called off due to standing water in the penalty boxes. When I tell him that I have travelled just under 70 miles to get there, his response is 'Soon be a hundred and forty then'.... Priceless !! Subsequent league matches against Prescot Cables ('The Pesky Bulls'), City of Liverpool ('The Purps') and Clitheroe have all been called off... leaving Colls having played four (yes 4 !!) home league games this season, and nothing since October 5th....

Pontefract is known to have had a football club as far back as the 1890s when a side competed in the West Yorkshire League as Pontefract Garrison. Then there was Pontefract Borough who reached the Yorkshire League in the late 1920s but folded during the 1929/30 season.

By 1935 a club called Tanshelf Gems managed to acquire a ground on Ackworth Road, and became Pontefract United. United ruled the roost in local football, but the appearance of a Pontefract Collieries side saw the latter gain slight bragging rights, with both playing in the West Yorkshire League.

In 1960 the old Collieries club became extinct, only for the name to return a couple of years later when United merged with a local youth side and adopted the 'Colls' name. The club gained in stature and success in the West Yorkshire League, joining the Yorkshire League in 1979.

Colls were founder members of the Northern Counties East League in 1982 and successive promotions took them into the top flight. Progress on the field was matched by improvements to the ground at Skinner Lane, more commonly referred to now as Beechnut Lane which is the access road near the Prince of Wales pit, with much of the work undertaken during the Miners' Strike.

Relegation in 1995 after a decade in the top tier was the prelude to several off field crises. Fires destroyed seats, parts of the stand and the tea bar, the closure of the adjacent Prince of Wales Colliery and the loss of the electricity supply were matched by a significant downturn in the team's performances.

Ponte only avoided relegation out of the NCEL first by seeking and gaining re-election and then being saved by the constant restructuring of the Pyramid non league system. Eventually a corner was turned, and after 15 seasons absence Colls finished Division 1 runners up in 2015 to return to the Premier League. As champions of the NCEL in 2018, Ponte moved up to the Northern Premier League Division One finishing runners up last term and losing the play off final 3-0 to Brighouse Town. Pontefract are in fourth place but with games in hand.

Football in Workington has a very long history. Close by and adjacent to Borough Park, home of Workington AFC, the folk game of "Uppies and Downies" is still an annual event. There are records about the game from 20 April 1775 in the Cumbrian Pacquet which is one of the earliest reports of a football match ever.

Association football was introduced to Workington in the 1860s and became more popular when a group of 1,500 steel workers migrated to the town from Dronfield. They were workers of the Charles Cammel and Co steel works that arrived in the town in 1884. 'Dronnies', as the people of Workington called the newcomers, formed Workington AFC in 1888.

The original Workington AFC was one of the founder members of the Cumberland  Association League in 1888 and played at Lonsdale Park. In 1894 they moved to the Cumberland Senior League, and in 1901 joined the Lancashire League. However, the league closed two seasons later, and they returned to the Cumberland Senior League. In 1904 the club was admitted to the Lancashire Combination, but in 1910-11 season they decided to economise and join the North Eastern League. However, after only one season, the club folded.

The new Workington AFC was born in 1921 and immediately joined the North Eastern League. During the 1933–34 season, the club managed its best ever FA Cup performance, reaching the 4th round, before losing to Preston North End. Later in the decade, the club moved to its present home, Borough Park. In 1951 the club was voted into the Football League, replacing New Brighton.

The first season in the Football League was a sign of things to come - rock bottom and only improving by one place the season after. But things improved - the club was managed by Bill Shankly, played the Busby Babes in the third round of the FA Cup a month before the Munich disaster, reached the League Cup quarter finals twice and was promoted to the Third Division in 1964.

However relegation in 1967 was the start of a lengthy decline; in 1974 and 1975 the team finished next to bottom, and in 1976 Workington propped up the league. This was replicated the season after, in a campaign with only four wins, and The Reds were voted out of the Football League, replaced by Wimbledon, being the penultimate team to fail to gain re-election (Southport were the last in the year after).

The club dropped into the Northern Premier League with further relegations to Division One in 1988 and the North West Counties in 1998. However the title was won the following season concluding with a final 14 game winning streak and Workington were promoted to the Conference North in 2005.

After two unsuccessful play offs the Reds were relegated back to the Northern Premier League in 2011 and last time out finished 21st out of 21, following North Ferriby's liquidation, and were demoted to Division One North West, but currently lead the division by five points.

Light traffic on New Year's Day, and no more ELCTRICAL. TOILETORIES. as the shop has been taken over by Parcel Post Services. A glorious day too showing off Saddleworh Moor and Scammonden in all their glory, the sun penetrating the shimmering mist.

Two numberplates today V4MPS and O ER1C, before I turn off the M62 into Pontefract, past the racecourse and the Prince of Wales Reclamation Site, the old pit now being transformed into a vast industrial and housing complex. I arrive early so a quick stroll into town reveals Site for Sore Eyes (designer eyewear), the Castle which is free but disappointingly closed - I circumnavigate it anyway - and the historic water pump in the Market Square.

PonteCarlo is also home to Haribo, the Pomfret Gallery, Mr Motivaper. the Liquorice Festival and a huge array of pubs including Beastfair Vaults and the Liquorice Bush.

The main car park comprises sheet mud and deep pit holes atop a training pitch, leading to a small access road also featuring mud and pot holes; I park on the last remaining concrete patch away from the ground, but the car tyres are still filthy afterwards, nonetheless.

Pontefract may not be that large a town but it still supports three train stations - Monkhill, Bagshelf and Tanshelf, the last of which is virtually next to the ground. Sadly none of thom are disgorging vast numbers of away fans, probably because they are already frequenting the pubs.

£8 in, a good crowd of 321 including at least a hundred Reds who have undertaken the near 300 mile round trip. Inside the main stand features undercover seats and alongside open seating, whilst opposite is a 'dangerous area' fenced off, backed by the railway (2 Drax freight trains during the game plus, unusually, a regular Northern Fail service !! ) The near end holds a covered one step terrace whilst afar is a walkway backed by woodland.

Ponte, with their 100% home record (OK only 4 games), and playing their first home league game in 88 days, are in blue and white, and the Reds, without talisman Gari Rowntree who retired on Boxing Day, strangely in change yellow and black - much to the chagrin of the travelling support who have, to a man, donned the red home shirt.

Within two minutes Colls have the lead. A corner is headed on by the impressive Jameel Ible to the unmarked Joe Lumsden who finishes scruffily low at the near post at the second attempt - Reds' keeper Jim Atkinson blocking his first shot.

Thereafter Workington dominate but without threatening the Pontefract goal, aside from a sliced shot from Connor Tinnion which hits the frame of the goal. The Reds' policy of playing out from defence backfires spectacularly, as, after one close escape, Ceiran Casson's ball back to Atkinson is horribly underhit and Cody Cromack intercepts and lays the ball off for Lumsden who accepts the late Christmas present and it's 2-0 at the break.

The second half begins with the sun disappearing, temperatures ticking down to 4C and a red smoke bomb from the away fans' terrace, and matters quickly become heated on the pitch with five bookings and three melees - plenty of (alcohol fuelled) vitriol amongst the crowd too. Four minutes in Reds' player manager Danny Grainger introduces himself to the fray.

It is a half where Workington lay siege to the Pontefract goal; Seb Malkowski saves superbly from Nathan Waterston and then incredibly tips Matty Clarke's piledriver round the post. There then follows a lengthy delay as objects are thrown on to the pitch and Malkowski, allegedly, is the subject of discriminatory abuse.

Finally, with 20 minutes to go, the dam is breached; Malkowski saves bravely from Dave Symington but the rebound is fired unerringly into the top corner by Scott Allison, and it's 2-1.

It seems only a matter of time before Workington draw level - Waterston hits the post, and there are near misses from Liam Brockbank, Allison and Waterston, but heroic defending (and timewasting !!) sees Colls prevail through five minutes of stoppage time. Workington stay top but their advantage is cut to two points, whilst Ponte remain fourth but only five points behind the Reds with four (home) games in hand.

Happy New Year, one and all☺

Pitmen Undermine Coalville - A Murder of Ravens !!

 Hednesford Town WLWDWL 3rd v Coalville Town DWWLWL 4th

And so to the PRG Stadium, otherwise known as Keys Park, and the FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round for an all Southern League Premier Central clash between Hednesford Town FC and Coalville Town FC.

Hednesford Town FC was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites (who were also known as West Hill) and Hill Top. Based at the Anglesey Hotel, they were sometimes known as Hednesford Anglesey. The club was a founder member of the Birmingham & District League in 1889 but left the league in 1891 and played only friendly matches before joining the Walsall & District Junior League in 1894.

In 1908 the Pitmen joined the Birmingham Combination, which they won in 1909–10. After World War I the club rejoined the Birmingham & District League, before withdrawing from the league during the 1937–38 season and folding. The newly reformed club reverted to the Birmingham & District League for the 1938–39 season.

After World War II Hednesford rejoined the Birmingham Combination. They won the league in 1950–51 and then returned to the Birmingham & District League, which became the West Midlands (Regional) League. In 1972 they joined the Midland League and in 1984 after finishing as runners-up, the club moved up to the Midland Division of the Southern League.

Promotion in the 1991/92 season to the Premier Division and reaching the final of the Welsh Cup (!), losing 1–0 to Cardiff City, followed. They won the Beazer Homes Premier Division in 1994/95, achieving promotion to the GM Vauxhall Football Conference at their new Keys Park home, finishing third in their first season. Notable FA Cup giantkillings of Blackpool, York City, Hull City and Barnet prefaced relegation in 2001 and then FA Trophy success in 2004, winning the competition with a 3–2 victory over Canvey Island at Villa Park. The following season play off success saw a return to the Conference North.

Hednesford finished bottom of the Conference North in 2006, resulting in an immediate relegation to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League. Flitting between lateral transfers to and from Northern and Southern Premier Leagues and failed play off campaigns, the Pitmen finally won promotion back to the Conference North in 2013 but were again relegated in 2016 to the Northern Premier League, finishing 13th of 21 last season and then moving last summer back to the Southern League as part of the pyramid restructure.

The visitors, Coalville Town FC, are from the Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium, aka the Owen Street Sports Ground, and were established as Ravenstone Miners Athletic in 1926. The Ravens were originally based in the village of Ravenstone, joining the Coalville & District League and undertaking a record journey of name changes. The club was renamed Ravenstone Swifts in 1947 and then back to Ravenstone Miners Athletic in 1951. They won the Division One title five times before, in 1958, the club was renamed Ravenstone FC. The Ravens then joined the Premier Division of the North Leicestershire League in 1974 going on to win the Premier Division in 1988–89 and 1989–90, and moved up to Division One of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1991.

In 1995 the club moved to nearby Coalville after being unable to upgrade their Ravenslea ground, and was renamed Coalville Football Club. In 1996–97 they finished second in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division. The club adopted their current name in 1998 and, after winning the Premier Division in 2001–02 and 2002–03, were promoted to the Midland Alliance.  They were league runners-up in 2009–10, and the following season saw them reach the final of the FA Vase, losing 3–2 to Whitley Bay at Wembley, but that disappointment was tempered by winning the Midland Alliance, scoring 153 goals in the process and earning promotion to Division One South of the Northern Premier League.

After two unsuccessful play off campaigns, they defeated the now defunct Shaw Lane Aquaforce 3-1 in the final in 2016 to earn promotion, moving laterally in 2018 to the Premier Division of the Southern League Central, and finishing 6th last time around.

So past Altrincham Library and the Eudaemonium ,'The Living Book', aka Council Vanity Project, then Papa Chino and Barberian, Moonchild Tattoo and Holly's Folly to the M6. Not long before the first registration C T0 5OOT (chimney sweep - brilliant ☺), then a van shouting 'Live Life On The Veg' (greengrocer in case you need to ask !!) and 111 OAP (surely all pensioners get ill at some point !) and 3KED (out ?)....

En route, queues for 'Christmas at Dunham Massey' and its excellent light trail, then Smart Motorway, distracting bridge signs before hitting the A5, Watling Street, then the A460 and Cannock Chase before turning off on Hemlock Way. Keys Park is just beyond the Cross Keys roundabout, opposite a business park and adjacent to the new Cherry Blossom housing development, on Keys Park Road.

I refuse to pay the £2 car park fee (tightwad !!), stopping in another new estate five minutes away (I'm not alone !!), and then it's £11 in to a modernised PRG Stadium built for better things and times... The Main Stand houses the Chase Suite and Strikers Bar, and 710 seats; opposite is the covered Wimblebury Terrace. To my right is the covered Heath Hayes End terrace, with the opposing Hednesford End hosting 301 seats alongside a disabled dugout and the club shop. With an overall capacity of 6,039 today's attendance of 354 plus one dog reveals the true extent of the stadium with huge spaces on the terraces reflecting the sparsity of the crowd - most of whom are huddled in the Main Stand.

A sign as the players enter the field announces 'Grass grows in inches. Feet kill it. Please keep off the pitch.' Hednesford are in white and black, Coalville in change all yellow - the sides are led out by mascot Pitman Pete.

Coalville start the much better, hungrier (more Ravenous ?? !) with Kalern Thomas having a shot pushed away by Andy Wycherley who is injured in the process. Shortly after a one two between Luke Shaw and Tom McGlinchey sets Shaw free but he chooses, greedily, to shoot wide, instead of squaring to Grenadan international Kairo Mitchell who has an open goal to aim at.

Thereafter Mitchell has a shot bravely saved, full on, by Wycherley and McGlinchey fizzes one just over the bar. For the hosts Andre Brown brings a good save from Ravens' keeper Saul Deeney but it's the Ravens who are flying....

Then, a minute before half time, a break from the Pitmen, Brown is fouled, the referee plays a good advantage as he manages to lay off to Danny Glover, whose perfect cross to the far post is headed back across Deeney by unmarked Jack Hallahan into the opposite corner; Hednesford lead 1-0 at the interval.

In the swirling mist and teeming rain, the goal buoys the Pitmen and in truth Coalville hardly get going in the second period so after Deeney saves well from Brown it's no surprise that the home side extend their advantage. On the hour a free kick is played to Ben O'Hanlon and his deep cross is met by home skipper Ben Bailey whose header is again directed back across Deeney, nudging the inside of the far post before nestling in the net for 2-0.

The Pitmen then manage the game well, retaining possession and stymieing the Ravens' now impotent attack. Brown has an overhead kick wide as the game draws to its conclusion.

But then Coalville substitute Tim Berridge scores with three minutes to play, tucking smartly into the bottom right hand corner and, as the small enclave of away supporters (A murder of ravens? An unkindness of ravens? A congress of ravens? Or simply a horde of ravens? You take your pick !! ) begin to believe, it's game on.

A succession of corners, Wycherley flapping at one which is diverted just beyond the post, and then the Ravens' final chance: Berridge's fierce strike is deflected over by a magnificent block by Bailey and Hednesford go through to a first round home tie with Chester.