✔897 Shildon Railway Sports & Social Club

Shildon Railway 9-0 Wolviston Reserves 

Wearside League 2nd Division Challenge Cup 2nd Round

Saturday 14th October 2023

Shildon Railway are newcomers to the Wearside League this season, stepping up from the Crook & District League, where they had relative success, winning the Norman Wright Cup, Weardale Cup, Alan Britton Cup, plus the Durham Minor Cup in 2019. 

The club is based at the Shildon Railway Sports & Social Club, which has a fully enclosed football pitch with changing room facilities behind the goal. The social club is also home to the cricket and bowling clubs. 

Shildon Railway Sports & Social Club

Hackworth Street,

Shildon

County Durham

DL4 1XL 

#Heedhopper 

30 mile drive door-to-door 

Current Wearside League grounds visited 38/41

Shildon Railway 9(Curl 17,42 Ellis 21,33 Lowes 29,60pen,77,84 Taylor 65)

Wolviston Reserves 0

2nd Division Challenge Cup 2nd Round 

2.30pm ko

Att.29hc

 

Shildon Railway strolled into the next round of the Challenge Cup as they hit nine past Wolviston Reserves. The goals got underway in the 17th minute when Curtis Curl was on hand to tap in after the keeper initially saved, before getting their second when the ball rebounded off Noah Ellis a few minutes later. 

The hosts easily played the ball through and around the Wolvo defence, as Connor Lowes grabbed the third and further goals from Ellis and Curl made it 5-0 at the break. 

Connor Lowes fired in a penalty on the hour mark, then the impressive Harrison Taylor scored the best goal of the game, receiving a ball in from the left and firing in a first time shot from outside the box. 

With three players on a brace it was a race to see which player would score a hat-trick and the honour fell to Lowes, who grabbed the eighth on 77 minutes, before the number nine made it nine with a neat chip finish to wrap up the goalscoring. 

✔896 Evenwood Welfare Ground

Evenwood Town 4-0 Gateshead Redheugh 1957

Durham Minor Cup 1st Round

Saturday 7th October 2023

Evenwood is a former mining village in County Durham, situated by the River Gaunless and located about 3 1⁄2 miles south-west of Bishop Auckland and 8 miles north-east of Barnard Castle. Evenwood with Barony was a township in the ancient parish of St. Andrew Auckland. (population:approx 2,400)

The major pit in the village was Randolph Colliery with its associated coke ovens, which worked between 1893 and 1962, and at its peak, employed over one thousand men.

The original Evenwood Town joined the Northern League in 1931. They were league champions for the first time in 1948-49 and later won it two years running in 1969-70 and ‘70-’71. At the end of  the 2004-05 season the club had completed their fixtures in the Northern League, but were unable to continue the following year and at the same time, Spennymoor United were removed from the Northern Premier League after being unable to complete their schedule or pay the players wages, which resulted in the club folding.

The two parties affiliated when the Spennymoor United fans formed a supporters trust with the intention of forming a new club in the town, meanwhile a consortium behind Evenwood Town were looking at the prospect of continuing at the now vacant Brewery Field. Both groups made bids on the lease and after a meeting between both parties they decided to join forces and support Evenwood’s bid for the lease and the transfer of a new club. The FA granted permission for Evenwood Town to change the club's name to Spennymoor Town and they took their place in the Northern League 2nd Division for the 2005/06 season and that club has gone from strength-to-strength ever since.

The Evenwood Town name was rekindled with the club playing in the Crook & District League. They still play at the Welfare Ground but it's not what it once was, with the two stands long gone. The changing rooms are in between the cricket and football pitches, with dugouts on the same side. The only traces of the old ground is the perimeter fence, floodlights and some hard standing.

Welfare Ground

Stones End

Evenwood

DL14 9RE

#Heedhopper

35 mile drive door-to-door

Evenwood Town 4(Worthy 25,35 McMahon 29,59)

Gateshead Redheugh 1957 0

Bob Strophair Durham Minor Cup 1st Round

1.30pm ko

Att.45hc

Evenwood strolled into the next round of the Minor Cup with an easy win over Northern Alliance club Gateshead Redheugh. They were three goals up at half time, even though they were kicking up hill and facing a strong breeze. They took the lead in the 25th min when Robert Worthy fired in from a right wing cross, before a good finish from Gareth McMahon. The goalscorers both grabbed a brace with Worthy grabbing the third and McMahon rounded the 'keeper to slot home the fourth. 

✔895 Phoenix Park

Boro Rangers 3-2 Tow Law Town

Northern League Division One

Saturday 30th September 2023

Since I visited Boro Rangers at the Herlingshaw Centre in January 2019, the club went on to gain more honours, maintaining their status as the number one club in the North Riding Football League.  Boro won the Premier Division title 7 times and lifted the North Riding Cup on five occasions, before the ambitious club were granted promotion to the Northern League in 2022.  Their debut season as a Step 6 club saw them play outside the town, firstly at New Ferens Park in Durham and then at the Stokesley Sports Club, but this didn’t stop them becoming  Division 2 champions at the first attempt.

This season the club returned to the town to become the first Middlesbrough based team to play in the Northern League since founder members Middlesbrough F.C. between 1889 and 1899. Boro played their opening fixtures away and are finally set to play at  home after they were granted Grade 5 ground status by the FA last Thursday.

Phoenix Park

Trinity Catholic College

Lacy Rd, 

Middlesbrough TS4 3Jw

The 3G enclosure has three separate covered stands pushed together with a standing enclosure sandwiched by two seated stands decked out in black and yellow flip seats,

The dugouts are on the opposite side but has no spectator access, but there’s open standing behind both goals and at the side of the stands. The changing room facilities are within the college and the facility also has three grass pitches, a  9-a-side pitch and is home to the club’s 74 junior teams.

( I've saw St Mary’s 1967 at Trinity Catholic College on the outer pitch in April 2019 )

Boro Rangers 3(Weatherold 16 Rose 38,62)

Tow Law Town 2(Dixon 60 Mallaburn 80pen)

Northern League Division 1 matchday 7/10

(16th v 19th)

3pm ko 

Att.261

Admission £7

Boro controlled the match from the kick off, twice hitting the foot of the post in the opening minutes before Nico Weatherold scored with a quickly taken free kick from the edge of the box, which surprised everyone on the pitch and in the stands.  

The hosts had several chances to extend their advantage before doubling the lead when Stuart Rose fired home from a right wing cross. 

Tow Law improved in the second half, reducing the arrears when substitute Liam Dixon headed home from a corner kick, but two minutes later Rose slid in for his second to make it 3-1.

With ten minutes remaining a foul by the Boro ‘keeper presented Brandon Mallaburn to score from the penalty spot, but the hosts held on to make a winning start in their new home. 

#Heedhopper

41 mile drive door-to-door 

Current Northern League grounds re-completed

I took advantage of a work free Saturday to attend three matches. I started off with a game just along the road and only half a mile away at Cardinal Hume School. The match was a NECF League match between Bill Quay Community and Jesmond Parish played on the 3G pitch. The away team missed a  penalty in a goalless first half, but were more precise as the match progressed, running out  3-1 winners.

Following that match it was a nicely timed twenty minute drive to Houghton-le-Spring, arriving just in time for the Wearside League Division 2 fixture between newcomers Project Fitness and Newfield Hilda Park. The home team play on a separate pitch from the main ground at Leyburn Grove and continue to struggle. After showing early promise and drawing level on 10 minutes, they conceded twice before half time and were lucky to lose 2-5 as their keeper made some outstanding saves, otherwise it could have been double figures. 

I met up with Lee & Katie for this 12.30 kick off and afterwards we went our separate ways. The North-East Celebrity Groundhopping Couple headed off to Horden v Newcastle Blue Star as I set off further down the A19 to the Boro. Overall and enjoyable Soccer Saturday, watching three decent matches with a total of  16 goals.