Dinnington Town 1-3 Retford United
Central Midlands League - North Division
Saturday 24th December 2022
Dinnington is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, which is the principal settlement in the civil parish of Dinnington St John's, which also includes the small hamlets of Throapham and St John's. (population over 12,000)
Dinnington has been inhabited since at least Neolithic times, and it has been suggested that the settlement takes its name from a local barrow, though a more traditional explanation would be "Dunn's Farmstead", or "Town of Dunn's People".
Dinnington was originally a small, isolated farming community, based around the New Road area of the town. Quarrying in the area helped expand the population, but it was the sinking of the Dinnington Main Colliery in 1905 that led to its growth. The coal miners initially lived in a prefabricated shanty town in Laughton Common, colloquially known as "Tin Town" or "White City" but later moved into purpose built terrace houses around the central shopping area of Laughton Road. The colliery closed in 1992 which left a negative impact on the local economy, resulting in job losses and the loss of local businesses.
The town’s original club, Dinnington Main was founded in 1908 and made headlines in 1922, reaching the 1st Round of the FA Cup. Dinnington Athletic played in the Yorkshire League between 1936 and 1975, plus Dinnington Colliery briefly appeared in Midland League in the mid-seventies. The current club Dinnington Town
formed in 2000, joining the Central Midlands League Premier Division, winning promotion to the Supreme Division in 2001-02, where they finished as runners-up three seasons off the belt, between 2004 and 2006.
Dinno switched to the Northern Counties East League in 2006-07, becoming Division One champions the following season. The club were relegated from the NCEL Premier Division in 2011 and returned to the CML set up in 2014-15.
Phoenix Park
131 Laughton Rd,
Dinnington,
Sheffield, S25 2PP
The ground is now a shadow of its former self since the all weather surface was installed. The stands on one side and behind one of the goals have been removed, to be replaced by a new stand later in the season. The entrance to the ground is via the Resource Centre reception and past the bowling green. The changing rooms are in the Resourse Centre, with spectator access on the near side and behind both goals. The team dugouts are on the far side.
(Coincidentally, the last uncharted ground I visited was at Shifnal Town, whose home is also called Phoenix Park.)
Dinnington Town 1(Sedgwick 51)
Retford Town 3(Froggatt 40 West 45+3,82)
Black Dragon North matchday 15 (3rd v 1st)
Noon k.o.
Att.269
Spondoolicks:
Admission £3
Pin badge £4Coffee £1
After an even first period, the league leaders had a stranglehold on the game late in the first half. A good ball into the box from Owen Fieldsend was met by Jon Froggatt at the far post in the 40th minute, before Mark West was fouled in the box in stoppage time and dispatched the resulting penalty to make it 0-2.
Dinno hit back soon after the restart with a quick turn and shot from Brad Sedgwick which found the top corner of the net, then had decent chances to equalise. The Badgers sealed the three points late on when Brandon Kane played the ball out to West on the left, who hit a perfect side footed shot into the far corner.
I picked up Lee & Katie at 9am and we arrived just before 11am.
This match was a double tick for me. Not only was it a new ground for the list, but also another day of the year marked off, having never seen a match on Christmas Eve before. As it now stands, there’s still 17 days to mark off, which includes Christmas Day (which will never be done) but as I’ve seen a match on the 29th February before, then 365 days of the year is still a possibility.
The early kick off time was ideal, so it meant I was driving home for Christmas at a decent time so the festivities could commence.
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