The new online store is now up and running, where you can purchase more top quality 100 Football Ground Club products, thanks to our suppliers at Café Press you can know buy polo t-shirts and mugs embossed with the club 100FGC crest, full details including cost and postage available here .Online Store
The new online store is now up and running, where you can purchase more top quality 100 Football Ground Club products, thanks to our suppliers at Café Press you can know buy polo t-shirts and mugs embossed with the club 100FGC crest, full details including cost and postage available here .My Matchday - 150 Madejski Stadium
Reading 2v1 Newcastle United
27th October 2007
Premier League
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27th October 2007
Premier League
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The Mad Stad was opened in August 1998, and was the creation of Reading owner and multi millionaire John Madejski, the man may have a bit of a dodgy nappa*, but earned his fortune as the founder of (if your buying a car, Britain’s biggest by far is..) Auto Trader magazine. The club were struggling in Division Two(Division 3 in old money) at the time of the grounds construction, but the building of an ambitious Premier League type stadium was rewarded when the Royals won promotion in 2002 and reached the football summit after winning the Championship(Division 2) in 2006.
The ground was built at a cost of £50m upon the site of a former household dump, surrounding the stadium there’s metallic posts topped with cylinder discs, these act as methane gas vents which control the built up of underground gases, the exterior of the ground is silver coloured with the club crest on a red background in each corner. There’s the Premier Wall where supporters can have their names engraved and behind the East Stand is The Jazz Café, outside the venue is a list of the artists that have appeared there, I recognised all the names listed which included amongst others the Average White Band, The Real Thing and The Stylistics, but I don’t know of a group called Hot Choco Ate.(see web album)
The ground has a capacity of 24250 and has three similar stands of a single tier of blue seats, the West Stand has two tiers divided by 28 executive boxes and a different look with a curved roof and has the 4 star Millennium Madejski Hotel behind. I was seated with the rest of the away fans in the South Stand, sitting in front of the big screen in the far corner, the view of the pitch was first class and there’s two steps between each row of seats which means ample leg room.
This was my first visit to Reading since January 1990 that was back in the old Elm Park days, the clubs home for the previous 102 years. My vague memory of the 3rd round FA Cup tie being a brace from Mark McGhee and an injury time equaliser from Michael Gilkes to make it 3-3, meaning forking out again for the replay at St. James’ Park (won 4-1) and being hit by a snow blizzard from Scotch Corner on the way home with myself and Jimmy Jimmy getting soaked walking home after the coach dropped us off, and to make matters worse we just missing last orders.
It was an early start, departing at 6.30am for the long drive south for myself, Ian and his son Lee, for Lee it was a special occasion, being his 100th ground, so today he was giving his pin badge and squad number 79. My first memory of seeing Lee at a football match was when he was only 3 years old, on his Dads shoulders after being chucked out of the Fulwell End at Roker Park and being escorted amongst others around the cinder track to the safety of the Roker away end, as he’s grown up Ian’s took Lee around the country and throughout Europe watching the Toon , now a young man of 20, he has now achieved his first century of grounds, like myself and Ian beforehand all watching United.
With the help of Ian’s comedy sat-nav we arrived in Reading at 11am, prior to departure I found a free place to park that was within walking distance of the ground as the club advised us to park in Reading town centre, then get the shuttle service to the stadium. As we tried to locate the street where we wanted to park it was then that the comedy sat-nav really kicked in, after an hour of touring the streets of Reading, stopping at red lights for an eternity and one or two cases of road rage from Ian at the wheel, we finally found our parking spot at 12.15pm, how the posh lady who navigates our path manages to keeps a degree of decorum and not burst out laughing, I’ll never know.
We arrived at the turnstiles at the away section, where we were frostily greeting by the Reading stewards, there attitude was of a modern day Gestapo; everyone was searched thoroughly, but thankfully without the inconvenience and embarrassment of an anal exam, if you had been drinking you were flatly refused admission with each steward congratulating each other when a fan was rejected, what a bunch of barstewards(misprint) they are. Inside the ground there’s no alcohol for sale, even though it’s advertised on the pricing boards, you obviously can’t smoke, but the other three sections of the stadium conveniently allow you to pop outside for a quick tab. We were unable to have a punt on the game as there were no betting facilities, so three Geordie vices of drinking, smoking and betting that aren’t allowed, hence “don’t drink, don’t smoke, what do you do?” Only goody two shoes Adam Ant would feel at home here.
The game itself was a poor affair, Newcastle’s negative tactics of no width and a cramped midfield meant chances were limited on both sides, a great strike from Dave Kitson on 56 minutes opened the game up and United were fortunate to grab an equaliser in the 76th minute when an Emre free kick wide on the right was fumbled home from Michael Duberry to score his second Newcastle goal(he scored for us in his Leeds United days) this spurred the Magpies on in search of a winner, but that was to come at the other end, when substitute Shane Long took advantage of a hesitant Toon defence to score with his first touch of the ball, so overall a fair result as the performance from the visitors was simply not good enough with Reading worthy of the precious 3 points, another disappointing away day for Newcastle and a 280 mile trek home to look forward to, but full marks to Ian on another quality driving display, as I was home just before 10pm, nicely timed for a few cans of beer and Match of the Day.
The ground is known as the Mad Stad, this is suitably named as the madness of the club stewarding with their small town small mind mentality, bully-boy tactics and their mindset still in 70’s-80’s football culture making this ground visit a gloomy experience. The local populace of Reading were friendly enough and I don’t have a problem with the Reading supporters and R.F.C, they have a lovely little stadium, but it’s one I’m afraid I’ll never return to.
*Translation -Dodgy nappa -someone with a bogus looking haircut/style.
LINKS-
Match Report, line ups, post match.
Ground no.150 Madejski Stadium – Matchday Web album (14pictures)
My Matchday-149 Brinkburn Road
Darlington Railway Athletic 2v3 Birtley Town
Darlington Railway Athletics first formation began in 1919, after playing an initial season in the Darlington & District League the club applied for membership of the Northern League following it’s resumption after the war, unfortunately the club struggled to make an impact and returned to their former league after only six seasons.
The clubs most successful period came during the ‘60’s and ‘70’s when they were league champions as well as a successful cup side, winning the North Riding Cup and the Durham Amateur Cup, the club progressed through the Teesside League and on to the Wearside League, but sadly RA hit financial problems and were forced to fold in 1992.
The resurrection of the present club followed a year later, in the league where it all originally began, the Darlington & District League which they successfully won in 1999-2000, now with some financial clout behind them as well as a decent squad of players, the club then won the Auckland & District League and so another shot at the Wearside League, the obstacle the club fell at last time round.
The club made ground improvements with their ambition to achieve Northern League status, this was achieved when winning the Wearside league in 2004-05 and so after a gap of 80 years, the RA once again bring the world’s second oldest league to Brinkburn Road.
The grounds main entrance is on Brinkburn Road itself, behind the goal where the main seating area can be found, this is a basic criterion stand decked in red flip seats and is named as a memorial to former striker and reserve team coach Paul Adamson, the social club is in the corner next to the cricket pitch which runs parallel to one side of the ground which is open standing. The far goal has a covered terrace with the roof backing on to the building behind, this is built up slightly with wooden supports, and is a regular singing end for the RA fans, there may have only been 5 of them but they were loud enough with my personal fave chant being “There’s only one team in Darlo”, there’s also the Porto cabined changing rooms on the right hand side behind the terrace.
The team dugouts are opposite the cricket pitch end; behind these is an old red wooden/congregated iron stand, which must have been standing for a long time as it gives credit to the clubs recognition of playing in the Northern League between June 1919-May 1926, this is a small shelter with one side having a wooden bench, the stand has a bit of overgrowth inside, so could do with a good dose of weed killer, but it is handy if you fancy a fruitful snack as there’s a blackberry bush growing through the wall, the ground is complete with a trim red and white perimeter fence.
RA played hosts to Northern League newcomers and early season pace setters Birtley Town and were looking for a much improved performance than the game I attended last week at Norton. After a tight opening phase it was the league leaders who took the lead just before the half hour when Allsop got on the end of a right wing cross to nod in at the far post, but the lead was a brief one with Athletic centre forward Neil Tarrant pouncing on a lose ball which ran kindly to him in the box, this seemed to put the sides level at the break but Birtley got a significant lead in stoppage time with Luke Kerry’s well timed run, latching on to a flicked header to calmly place the ball under the keeper.
At the beginning of the second half someone introduced themselves to me, recognised purely by me sporting my 100FGC pin badge; it was Northern League groundhopper El Queso Grande we briefly discussed football grounds and the groundhopping art and both had a good view of Birtley’s striker John Kesterven’s half volley from a corner in the 47th minute to but Birtley 3-1 ahead.
Darlo RA were giving a lifeline in the 78th minute when Tarrant again latched on to a defensive error to toe poke the ball home ahead to reduce the arrears, then in a hurry to get the ball out of the net and restart the game a ‘handbags incident’ occurred when Birtley defender Scott Garrett stopped Tarrant getting to the ball, this wee scurry was settled when Garrett smacked the striker in the gob and was deservingly giving the red card, even though the defender tried in vain to plead his innocence, his set off a frantic finale with RA almost snatching a last minute equaliser, but Birtley held on and were rewarded for their workman like display to stretch their lead at the top to 9 points.
While the trickle of Darlington RA behind the goal reminded everyone how many teams there is in Darlington, it’s worth remembering that there’s actually two, and since the sad unnecessary demise of Feethams, there’s actually still a proper football ground in the town that’s well worth a visit
Ground no.149 Brinkburn Road – Matchday web album(18 pictures)
Arngrove Northern League 2nd Division
20th October 2007
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Darlington Railway Athletics first formation began in 1919, after playing an initial season in the Darlington & District League the club applied for membership of the Northern League following it’s resumption after the war, unfortunately the club struggled to make an impact and returned to their former league after only six seasons.The clubs most successful period came during the ‘60’s and ‘70’s when they were league champions as well as a successful cup side, winning the North Riding Cup and the Durham Amateur Cup, the club progressed through the Teesside League and on to the Wearside League, but sadly RA hit financial problems and were forced to fold in 1992.
The resurrection of the present club followed a year later, in the league where it all originally began, the Darlington & District League which they successfully won in 1999-2000, now with some financial clout behind them as well as a decent squad of players, the club then won the Auckland & District League and so another shot at the Wearside League, the obstacle the club fell at last time round.
The club made ground improvements with their ambition to achieve Northern League status, this was achieved when winning the Wearside league in 2004-05 and so after a gap of 80 years, the RA once again bring the world’s second oldest league to Brinkburn Road.
The grounds main entrance is on Brinkburn Road itself, behind the goal where the main seating area can be found, this is a basic criterion stand decked in red flip seats and is named as a memorial to former striker and reserve team coach Paul Adamson, the social club is in the corner next to the cricket pitch which runs parallel to one side of the ground which is open standing. The far goal has a covered terrace with the roof backing on to the building behind, this is built up slightly with wooden supports, and is a regular singing end for the RA fans, there may have only been 5 of them but they were loud enough with my personal fave chant being “There’s only one team in Darlo”, there’s also the Porto cabined changing rooms on the right hand side behind the terrace.
The team dugouts are opposite the cricket pitch end; behind these is an old red wooden/congregated iron stand, which must have been standing for a long time as it gives credit to the clubs recognition of playing in the Northern League between June 1919-May 1926, this is a small shelter with one side having a wooden bench, the stand has a bit of overgrowth inside, so could do with a good dose of weed killer, but it is handy if you fancy a fruitful snack as there’s a blackberry bush growing through the wall, the ground is complete with a trim red and white perimeter fence.
RA played hosts to Northern League newcomers and early season pace setters Birtley Town and were looking for a much improved performance than the game I attended last week at Norton. After a tight opening phase it was the league leaders who took the lead just before the half hour when Allsop got on the end of a right wing cross to nod in at the far post, but the lead was a brief one with Athletic centre forward Neil Tarrant pouncing on a lose ball which ran kindly to him in the box, this seemed to put the sides level at the break but Birtley got a significant lead in stoppage time with Luke Kerry’s well timed run, latching on to a flicked header to calmly place the ball under the keeper.
At the beginning of the second half someone introduced themselves to me, recognised purely by me sporting my 100FGC pin badge; it was Northern League groundhopper El Queso Grande we briefly discussed football grounds and the groundhopping art and both had a good view of Birtley’s striker John Kesterven’s half volley from a corner in the 47th minute to but Birtley 3-1 ahead.
Darlo RA were giving a lifeline in the 78th minute when Tarrant again latched on to a defensive error to toe poke the ball home ahead to reduce the arrears, then in a hurry to get the ball out of the net and restart the game a ‘handbags incident’ occurred when Birtley defender Scott Garrett stopped Tarrant getting to the ball, this wee scurry was settled when Garrett smacked the striker in the gob and was deservingly giving the red card, even though the defender tried in vain to plead his innocence, his set off a frantic finale with RA almost snatching a last minute equaliser, but Birtley held on and were rewarded for their workman like display to stretch their lead at the top to 9 points.
While the trickle of Darlington RA behind the goal reminded everyone how many teams there is in Darlington, it’s worth remembering that there’s actually two, and since the sad unnecessary demise of Feethams, there’s actually still a proper football ground in the town that’s well worth a visit
Ground no.149 Brinkburn Road – Matchday web album(18 pictures)
My Matchday - 148 Station Road
Norton & Stockton Ancients 4v0 Darlington RA
Arngrove Northern League 2nd Division
13th October 2007
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Norton is a village within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, lying due east of the town. The football marriage of the two is the amalgamation of Norton Cricket Club Trust, formed in 1959 playing in the Teesside League who took over the remaining assets of their illustrious neighbours and 3 times FA Amateur Cup winners Stockton Football and Athletic Club.
The Stockton Club had earlier folded in 1975 and later reformed at nearby Thornaby, their remaining wares were transferred to the Cricket Club Trust including the Victoria Ground goalposts which are still used today, in 1980 the club became Norton & Stockton Ancients, the Ancients was the nickname of the old Stockton club and the name was adopted as a tribute to their proud history.
A successful period in the Teesside League meant admission into the Northern League in 1982 and in that first season the club won the Northern League Cup, beating Whitby Town 2-1 in the final, but the Ancients have yet to taste promotion remaining in the ANL Second Division with a highest finish of 5th in 1998-99. The club was awarded the prestigious FA community club award for their development of 20 junior sides from under 7-17s, there’s also a women’s team as well as a successful over 40s side.
The Norton Sports Complex on Station Road is a multi-sports site, on arriving at the ground there’s the cricket pitch with the football ground further on, there’s several floodlit all weather pitches, so the ground is tricky to spot as you can’t just head towards the pylons, but thankfully the ground is well signposted, with ample car park space outside the entrance which is easy to spot with a set of very striking gates.
The paying entrance is in the left corner, behind the goal which has the grounds main facilities which includes refreshments, toilets and storage Portakabins which store those valuable aforementioned goal posts which are put up prior to the game, there’s also a club hospitality cabin which I took advantage of at half time with a cuppa tea, sausage roll and some exceedingly tasty quiche, which everyone commented on being very nice and was the main talking point over the fact that England were 3-0 up over Estonia. The cabins are painted black with trimmings of the main club colour of amber, there’s also a pitched roof with shelter up to the perimeter fence and the players changing rooms are set back next to the main entrance gates.
The main seated area is on the far side which has two separate stands close together, the smaller but taller of the two has a wooden frame with long benches put together with planks and supported by scaffold, while the longer narrow stand is also a wooden enclose and has two rows of similar seats at front and back, they both have a congregated iron roofs and are made more attractive with the supporting posts in the club colours and the front panel has advertisement boards, the rest of the ground is open standing made up of pathways and lawns.
Norton’s opponents today (and hopefully next week’s destination) are Darlington Railway Athletic, who’ve won all four away league games this season and scored 13 goals, while the hosts had an emphatic 8-0 win over Brandon United last Saturday, so I expected a competitive game with plenty of goals, I was happy to see four goals but surprised they were all in the same net as the Ancients comfortably beat RA, with two goals in each half.
The Ancients took the lead in the 14th minute courtesy of an own goal by Athletic defender Walton as his effort to cut out a low cross ended up with the ball nestling in the onion bag, five minutes later the lead was doubled thanks to a fine run by Marcus Laing whose shot took a slight deflecting on it’s way in, any chance of RA getting back into the contest in the 2nd half was laid to rest straight from the kick off as Ray Woodhouse went in bravely to get in front of a left wing cross to make it three. On the hour mark a major substitution was made when the referee pulled up with a hamstring injury, thankfully a reluctant replacement lineo was found meaning the game could continue with the tall skinny young linesman taking centre stage with the whistle, he had a trouble free half hour with no abuse or grief from players and managers, which very seldom happens. The game opened up with plenty of chances from both sides with some great saves from both goalies keeping the score down, until the home side capped a great win with Laing getting his second which was a carbon copy of his first, a run, a shot, and a deflection past the keeper.
The Ancients will be looking to built on some good performances in the last week and climb the table in their quest to finally play in the top division of the Northern League, the club motto is “suit stat viribus” which translates as “each to his own strengths” therefore the club can build on the strength of a committed junior development and a dedication to become one of the best clubs on Teesside.
Ground no.148 Station Road – Matchday web album.(17 pictures)
Arngrove Northern League 2nd Division
13th October 2007
att.52
Norton is a village within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, lying due east of the town. The football marriage of the two is the amalgamation of Norton Cricket Club Trust, formed in 1959 playing in the Teesside League who took over the remaining assets of their illustrious neighbours and 3 times FA Amateur Cup winners Stockton Football and Athletic Club.The Stockton Club had earlier folded in 1975 and later reformed at nearby Thornaby, their remaining wares were transferred to the Cricket Club Trust including the Victoria Ground goalposts which are still used today, in 1980 the club became Norton & Stockton Ancients, the Ancients was the nickname of the old Stockton club and the name was adopted as a tribute to their proud history.
A successful period in the Teesside League meant admission into the Northern League in 1982 and in that first season the club won the Northern League Cup, beating Whitby Town 2-1 in the final, but the Ancients have yet to taste promotion remaining in the ANL Second Division with a highest finish of 5th in 1998-99. The club was awarded the prestigious FA community club award for their development of 20 junior sides from under 7-17s, there’s also a women’s team as well as a successful over 40s side.
The Norton Sports Complex on Station Road is a multi-sports site, on arriving at the ground there’s the cricket pitch with the football ground further on, there’s several floodlit all weather pitches, so the ground is tricky to spot as you can’t just head towards the pylons, but thankfully the ground is well signposted, with ample car park space outside the entrance which is easy to spot with a set of very striking gates.
The paying entrance is in the left corner, behind the goal which has the grounds main facilities which includes refreshments, toilets and storage Portakabins which store those valuable aforementioned goal posts which are put up prior to the game, there’s also a club hospitality cabin which I took advantage of at half time with a cuppa tea, sausage roll and some exceedingly tasty quiche, which everyone commented on being very nice and was the main talking point over the fact that England were 3-0 up over Estonia. The cabins are painted black with trimmings of the main club colour of amber, there’s also a pitched roof with shelter up to the perimeter fence and the players changing rooms are set back next to the main entrance gates.
The main seated area is on the far side which has two separate stands close together, the smaller but taller of the two has a wooden frame with long benches put together with planks and supported by scaffold, while the longer narrow stand is also a wooden enclose and has two rows of similar seats at front and back, they both have a congregated iron roofs and are made more attractive with the supporting posts in the club colours and the front panel has advertisement boards, the rest of the ground is open standing made up of pathways and lawns.
Norton’s opponents today (and hopefully next week’s destination) are Darlington Railway Athletic, who’ve won all four away league games this season and scored 13 goals, while the hosts had an emphatic 8-0 win over Brandon United last Saturday, so I expected a competitive game with plenty of goals, I was happy to see four goals but surprised they were all in the same net as the Ancients comfortably beat RA, with two goals in each half.
The Ancients took the lead in the 14th minute courtesy of an own goal by Athletic defender Walton as his effort to cut out a low cross ended up with the ball nestling in the onion bag, five minutes later the lead was doubled thanks to a fine run by Marcus Laing whose shot took a slight deflecting on it’s way in, any chance of RA getting back into the contest in the 2nd half was laid to rest straight from the kick off as Ray Woodhouse went in bravely to get in front of a left wing cross to make it three. On the hour mark a major substitution was made when the referee pulled up with a hamstring injury, thankfully a reluctant replacement lineo was found meaning the game could continue with the tall skinny young linesman taking centre stage with the whistle, he had a trouble free half hour with no abuse or grief from players and managers, which very seldom happens. The game opened up with plenty of chances from both sides with some great saves from both goalies keeping the score down, until the home side capped a great win with Laing getting his second which was a carbon copy of his first, a run, a shot, and a deflection past the keeper.
The Ancients will be looking to built on some good performances in the last week and climb the table in their quest to finally play in the top division of the Northern League, the club motto is “suit stat viribus” which translates as “each to his own strengths” therefore the club can build on the strength of a committed junior development and a dedication to become one of the best clubs on Teesside.
Ground no.148 Station Road – Matchday web album.(17 pictures)
My Matchday-147 Ainderby Road
Northallerton Town 3v1 Pontefract Collieries
Northallerton Town lies in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, the most southerly based club in the Northern League, having been members of the league since joining the newly formed 2nd Division in 1982.
The precise date of the clubs formation is unknown, but a trophy donated by local MP Sir George Elliott ‘The Elliott Bowl’ has the name of the club engraved, being the first winners of the trophy in 1895, the club has also been known as Northallerton, Northallerton Alliance as well as Town.
Ainderby Road was renamed The Calvert Stadium in 1997 and is the clubs second home, after being forced to leave their original quarters at the Bluestone Ground in 1974. The local council placed a compulsory purchase order on the ground, with plans to extend the neighbouring County Hall, this work never took place and the old football ground still remains today. The council then reallocated the club to the present site, which including a clubhouse, changing room facilities, car park and two pitches and was officially opened in August 1976.
The club have played in numerous leagues throughout North Yorkshire and won an array of cup competitions, the Town took the big step up to the Northern League from the Harrogate & District League after the club raised almost £150,000 to upgrade Ainderby Road up to Northern League standards.
The most successful season for the Town was in 1993-94, finishing 6th top in Division One and beating Blyth Spartans in the League Cup Final, but a bitter blow was to follow in the summer, the High Court declared the club financially insolvent and the club folded, but thankfully a new committee was set up and the club were able to kick off the 1994-95 season as Northallerton FC 1994 and the club were later able to reinstate Town as their surname again in 1996.
The ground now has a sponsored name, the Regency Stadium, but to avoid any perplexity I’ll remain to call it by the street the ground’s found on, inside the ground the majority of the facilities are on the same side, the turnstile is in the corner of the ground, with a small programme/souvenir shop to your immediate left, the impressive 400 capacity covered terrace leads to the smart looking clubhouse, next is the main stand which has a capacity of 150 red seats divided into 6 rows, which is split by the changing rooms/players entrance, one side has 23 seats for use of press and officials only, while the other side is for the rest of the spectators. Behind each goal is a built up 3 stepped terrace with white crash barriers and on the far side is the dugouts with flat hard standing made up of a pathway and stones.
Today is the 1st Round (proper) of the FA Vase, Towns best performance in the competition is the 4th Round in 2002-03 and their opponents today are North East Counties League Division One side Pontefract Collieries, a club I’m familiar with having seen them crash out of the competition last season at Jarrow Roofing
On a glorious Indian summer’s day, both teams played out a dire first half, with limited clear cut chances, the half time announcement of extra time if the teams are level after 90 minutes filled me with dread, the few who chose the option of watching the Rugby World Cup in the clubhouse instead of the action out on the pitch made a wise choice. (Australia 10 England 12 get in!!!)
The Northallerton team must have taking heed of whatever Town manager Andy Toman said at half time, because by the hour mark they were three up and well on their way to the 2nd Round, with a brace from Paul Hinton with a goal in-between from Craig Toman. Pontefract got back into the game with a goal from Kevin Duckworth (any relation to Jack?) on 69 minutes which lead to an entertaining last 20 minutes with Collieries trying their best to grab another to get right back into the tie, whilst the home side threatened on the break, so it was a surprise that no more goals were added to the 3-1 score line.
I was pleased to tick off the longest trip south in the Arngrove Northern League, the trip down the A1 was made more enjoyable by the lovely weather as well as the sociable and friendly staff at Northallerton Town, good luck in the rest of the Vase and hope they can go one or two rounds better than 2002-03.
FA Vase 1st Round
6th October 2007
att.104
Northallerton Town lies in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, the most southerly based club in the Northern League, having been members of the league since joining the newly formed 2nd Division in 1982.
The precise date of the clubs formation is unknown, but a trophy donated by local MP Sir George Elliott ‘The Elliott Bowl’ has the name of the club engraved, being the first winners of the trophy in 1895, the club has also been known as Northallerton, Northallerton Alliance as well as Town.
Ainderby Road was renamed The Calvert Stadium in 1997 and is the clubs second home, after being forced to leave their original quarters at the Bluestone Ground in 1974. The local council placed a compulsory purchase order on the ground, with plans to extend the neighbouring County Hall, this work never took place and the old football ground still remains today. The council then reallocated the club to the present site, which including a clubhouse, changing room facilities, car park and two pitches and was officially opened in August 1976.
The club have played in numerous leagues throughout North Yorkshire and won an array of cup competitions, the Town took the big step up to the Northern League from the Harrogate & District League after the club raised almost £150,000 to upgrade Ainderby Road up to Northern League standards.
The most successful season for the Town was in 1993-94, finishing 6th top in Division One and beating Blyth Spartans in the League Cup Final, but a bitter blow was to follow in the summer, the High Court declared the club financially insolvent and the club folded, but thankfully a new committee was set up and the club were able to kick off the 1994-95 season as Northallerton FC 1994 and the club were later able to reinstate Town as their surname again in 1996.
The ground now has a sponsored name, the Regency Stadium, but to avoid any perplexity I’ll remain to call it by the street the ground’s found on, inside the ground the majority of the facilities are on the same side, the turnstile is in the corner of the ground, with a small programme/souvenir shop to your immediate left, the impressive 400 capacity covered terrace leads to the smart looking clubhouse, next is the main stand which has a capacity of 150 red seats divided into 6 rows, which is split by the changing rooms/players entrance, one side has 23 seats for use of press and officials only, while the other side is for the rest of the spectators. Behind each goal is a built up 3 stepped terrace with white crash barriers and on the far side is the dugouts with flat hard standing made up of a pathway and stones.
Today is the 1st Round (proper) of the FA Vase, Towns best performance in the competition is the 4th Round in 2002-03 and their opponents today are North East Counties League Division One side Pontefract Collieries, a club I’m familiar with having seen them crash out of the competition last season at Jarrow Roofing
On a glorious Indian summer’s day, both teams played out a dire first half, with limited clear cut chances, the half time announcement of extra time if the teams are level after 90 minutes filled me with dread, the few who chose the option of watching the Rugby World Cup in the clubhouse instead of the action out on the pitch made a wise choice. (Australia 10 England 12 get in!!!)
The Northallerton team must have taking heed of whatever Town manager Andy Toman said at half time, because by the hour mark they were three up and well on their way to the 2nd Round, with a brace from Paul Hinton with a goal in-between from Craig Toman. Pontefract got back into the game with a goal from Kevin Duckworth (any relation to Jack?) on 69 minutes which lead to an entertaining last 20 minutes with Collieries trying their best to grab another to get right back into the tie, whilst the home side threatened on the break, so it was a surprise that no more goals were added to the 3-1 score line.
I was pleased to tick off the longest trip south in the Arngrove Northern League, the trip down the A1 was made more enjoyable by the lovely weather as well as the sociable and friendly staff at Northallerton Town, good luck in the rest of the Vase and hope they can go one or two rounds better than 2002-03.
LINKS -
Northallerton Match Report
Ground no.147 Ainderby Road – Matchday web album. (19 pictures)
The Football Bog Blog
Great Stadia toilets No.9 in a series of.............loads!
The toilets at Matlock’s Causeway Lane ground look quite neat, being a small grey building tucked away in the corner of the ground, facilitating the needs of Ladies and Gents as well as a disabled toilet.
When I had to pay a visit to the bog, for convenience I staggered into the vacant disabled toilet and was astonished to find a big wheelie bin lodged next to the pot, not only was it a bit daft to
have this monstrosity inside the building, but on the lid of the bin I was informed via a slap of white paint DO NOT USE, TAKE YOUR RUBBISH HOME, so a bin in a bog that your not allowed to use….why? …..answers via email at the usual address.
The ones at Matlock with the forbidden wheelie bin inside.
The toilets at Matlock’s Causeway Lane ground look quite neat, being a small grey building tucked away in the corner of the ground, facilitating the needs of Ladies and Gents as well as a disabled toilet. When I had to pay a visit to the bog, for convenience I staggered into the vacant disabled toilet and was astonished to find a big wheelie bin lodged next to the pot, not only was it a bit daft to
have this monstrosity inside the building, but on the lid of the bin I was informed via a slap of white paint DO NOT USE, TAKE YOUR RUBBISH HOME, so a bin in a bog that your not allowed to use….why? …..answers via email at the usual address.Ground Image Of The Month
This month’s image is quite a disturbing one featuring a dead floodlight at Sealand Road, the home of Chester for 84 years.The Stadium, Sealand Road was the clubs third home after moving from Whipcord Lane in 1906 after originally playing at Faulkner Street when the club was founded in 1885.
The floodlights were installed in 1960 and the picture shows the ground in process of being demolished in 1992, after the clubs owners controversially moved out two years earlier, when the ground was refused a safety certificate for its away standing areas, which meant a reduction in capacity and a loss of revenue.
Chester City spent two years ground sharing with Cheshire neighbours Macc at Moss Rose until moving in to the new Deva Stadium in 1992, but to true City fans Sealand Road will always be ‘The Seals’ spiritual home.
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