My Matchday - 271 Whaddon Road

Cheltenham Town 1v1 Morecambe
League Two
Saturday 20th November 2010


For a second consecutive week I caught the 0744 Cross Country Trains service from Newcastle to Plymouth. Last week I alighted in Tamworth but this week I travelled a further 70 miles south to the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire for my first ever visit to Cheltenham.
The town was awarded a market charter in 1226 and became a holiday spa town resort after the discovery of mineral springs in 1716. The spa waters continue to be taken recreationally at Pittville Pump Room, built for this purpose and completed in 1830.
The town is famously known for the annual national hunt horse racing meeting - The Cheltenham Festival, which takes place every March, which includes its feature race the Gold Cup.
Horse racing began in Cheltenham in 1815 with the festival established in 1902.
The meeting is the equivalent of racing’s world cup, annually attracting tens of thousands of visitors (mostly Irish folk and of course not forgetting Stevie Charla....Eddy)


Cheltenham Town Football Club was founded in 1887, formed when Mr Albert Close White returned home from college in London to take up a teaching post. White discovered the game of association football whilst away studying and introduced the sport to the town on his return. Trials were held at the local Cricket Ground and a new football club was born.
The club spent its primary years playing local football, turning professional in the early 1930’s when joining the Birmingham Combination.
The Robins played in the Southern League for half a century from 1935 until joining the Alliance Premier League after winning the Southern League Premier Division in 1984-85.
The club were relegated in 1992 but returned to the Conference in 1997 and within two seasons won promotion to the Football League, coupled with victory in the 1998 FA Trophy final, beating Southport 2-0 with the backing of 19,000 Robins fans at Wembley.


The club previously played on three grounds within half a mile of their current home, Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Whaddon Lane and Carter's Field before moving to the Victory Ground on Whaddon Road in 1932.
The ground originally had a low wooden main stand, filling the stand with seats borrowed from Gloucestershire CCC, which were returned again in the spring.
Floodlights were installed in the 1950’s and upgraded ten years later along with the building of the Main Stand at an original cost of £25,000.
The stand has the familiar classic look, similar in design to the main stand which once stood at Morecambe’s Christie Park. Now known as the Stagecoach Main Stand, access is gained via staircases at each side which leads to a single tier of red seats, with terracing at the front. Sitting centrally between each 18 yard box, the rest of this end is filled with open terrace to either side with an overall capacity of 1,800.

Opposite is the In2Print Stand which was opened in November 2001 and holds 2,034, having the same design as The Carlsberg Stand which was opened four years later with a capacity of 1,100 fans. Both stands were built by Barr Construction, having a single tier of red seats with the club name and ‘Robins’ picked out in white. The stands are the same height and meet in the corner, where there would have been room for a few more seats if it wasn’t for the intruding floodlight pylon. The Carlsberg Stand also has a small scoreboard on the roof facia above the goal.
The old Chicken Run was replaced by a new full covered terrace in 1990, the main standing area for supporters is now the Speedy Skips Stand, which is a fully covered shallow terrace behind the goal which was opened in August 2000.
The record attendance still stands at 8,326 for a 1st Round FA Cup tie against Reading in November 1956 and from April 2009 the ground was renamed the Abbey Business Stadium for sponsorship purposes.
Cheltenham and Morecambe met just a fortnight ago in the 1st Round of the FA Cup, the Robins narrowly coming out on top courtesy of a goal from Wesley Thomas. That game may still have been fresh in the players memory, as both teams snuffed each other out in a hard fought out draw.
The hosts were the better side in the first half and went in front just before the break when Wesley Thomas broke down the left, his scuffed shot found Josh Low who tapped into an unguarded net.
Morecambe were on top after the break as Paul Mullin shot wide, with Andy Fleming and Adam Rundle also going close for the Shrimpers.
The visitors finally grab a deserved equaliser when awarded a penalty after Martin Riley fouled James Spencer. Jevons coolly converted the spot-kick for his fifth goal in four games and secure a well earner point.

Nothing much to report on this trip I’m afraid to say, nothing out of the ordinary, basically just a standard day at the football with a few pre match drinks. I arrived at noon and took the longish walk from the railway station to the town centre, which isn’t as far as the ground guides make out, only taking around 20 minutes.
I visited both the JDW pubs and a couple on the High Street - The Old Restoration, (which is excellent) and The Swan, as well as the Kemble Brewery after the game.
My journey home was via Derby, being careful not to make the same mistake as one of my work colleagues, who last week went to Cheltenham Races and fell asleep on the train. Having missed his connection he spent the night in Derby, resulting in some poor bugger having to travel down the following day and pick him up instead of coughing up the hundred quid train fare.(mentioning no names Hogey!)
Whaddon Road is pretty much what I expected, a mixture of old and new. The old Main Stand remains from their Non League days and new stands added as the Robins continue to established themselves as one of the 92.
The town itself is much bigger than I expected, being more like a city than a town and it’s yet another place I’ve visited which is perfect for my typical day out at the match. The town has plenty of choice regarding hostelries and eating places, so it’s a good day out for visiting football fans, and of course it‘s easy to understand how the Cheltenham Festival is so popular with racing punters worldwide.



Matchday stats
CTFC 1(Thomas 43)MFC 1(Jevon 80pen)
att.2,524
admission £15

My Matchday - 270 The Lamb Ground

Tamworth 1v1 Gateshead
Blue Sq.Bet Premier
Saturday 13th November 2010

Another Conference ground and Heed away game, with a stress free trip courtesy of Cross Country Trains, which run trains directly from Newcastle to Tamworth.
Tamworth takes its name from the River Tame which flows through the Staffordshire town. Located 14 miles north east of Birmingham city centre, the town is home to the historic Tamworth Castle and Moat House, as well as The Snowdome, the UK's first full-sized real-snow indoor ski slope.
The town was the Ancient Capital of Mercia, Creoda the earliest king of Mercia came to power around 584, building a fortress at Tamworth which became the seat of the Mercia's kings.
Tamworth was once home to the Reliant Motor Company, producing the famous Robin model, which personally evokes memories of not Del Boy, but Coventry City’s Highfield Road, with the fleet of sky blue three-wheelers parked along the side of the pitch during the 1970’s


The town’s football club formed in 1933, filling the void left by the defunct Tamworth Castle F.C, who had played in the Birmingham League from 1921.
The new club started life in the Birmingham Combination, before enjoying success in the West Midlands League (former Birmingham League), winning the league title twice during the mid 1960’s, as well as further honours in the West Midlands League Cup, Birmingham Senior Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup in the same decade.
A third championship title in 1971-72 saw promotion to the Southern League before a period in the Northern Premier League from 1979-80, where the club struggled both on the field and financially. After four seasons The Lambs returned to the Southern League, but were relegated back to where they originally started the following season.
In 1987–88 Tamworth won the West Midland League and promotion back to the Southern League, ending the decade with a trip to Wembley in the FA Vase. The final with Sudbury Town ended all square, but The Lamb won the replay 3-0 at Peterborough’s London Road.
Apart from two seasons in the Conference North between 2007 and 2009, Tamworth have played at Conference National level since 2003. The last decade saw an FA Trophy final appearance in 2003, losing out to Burscough 2-1 at Villa Park and twice reaching the FA Cup 3rd Round, playing both Stoke and Norwich City.


Tamworth spent their first season at the Jolly Sailor ground before making the short move across the river to The Lamb Ground, named after "The Lamb Inn", which stood for many years at the entrance to what is now the ground's car park.
In those early days, supporters created banking around the pitch with the players using the Lamb Inn as changing rooms. It wasn’t until after the war that the first significant work took place with a stand at the Cross Street side, changing rooms, clubhouse, as well as a seated stand with wooden sleeper terracing.
The record attendance was set in 1948, when 4,920 witnessed a Birmingham Combination League fixture with Atherstone Town.
In 1969 the ground acquired floodlights from Scarborough, which were switched on for a friendly fixture against Gillingham in recognition of the Gills being the club’s first Football League opposition in the FA Cup, having met in the First Round three years earlier.

Major improvements were made during the nineties. In 1993 the changing rooms were replaced and the club house extended, with a new covered terrace at the Meadow Street end. The terrace is basically a long wall, divided into seven brick partitions topped off with a small red peaked roof which gives cover towards the back of the terrace.
The Main Stand was opened in 1996 and holds 518 red flip seats divided into six rows. The stand straddles the half way line, flanked by terracing which continues behind each goal. The Castle End is an open terrace and opposite the Main Stand is The Shed, which is a small ‘cong-iron’ construction which runs nearly full pitch length. There is five thin floodlight at the rear with the TV gantry perched on the roof.
The changing rooms are found on this side in the far corner with the turnstiles at the other side. Access to this side of the ground is found further up Kettlebrook Road then a right hand turning through a residential area.


I had a walk down to the ground at around 1145am to take photographs but was unable to gain access, so I walked around the perimeter and found a perfect spot to take some pictures. So at this point, I would like to thank the tenants of 77 Cross Street. The house sits behind the Shed End and has a perfect view into The Lamb from their driveway. I did knock on their front door to ask permission and even though there was a car parked on the drive I didn’t get an answer. There was either no one home or they spotted me from behind the curtains, thinking that maybe I was a canvasser, Jehovah’s Witness or just some bogus official. Whatever the reason, if you were either in or out - thanks very much! I was delighted with the snaps.

Gateshead came away from The Lamb with another well earned away point, following on from the midweek draw at Fleetwood Town.
An uneventful first half sprang into life just before half time with a Tamworth “Goal of the Season” contender (well according to the gentleman who was sitting in front of me) Jay Smith unleashing a 30 yard volley which swerved high into the net and out of the ‘keeper’s reach, as soon as the ball left his right boot you knew it was goalbound.
The introduction of striker Gary Mulligan after the break gave Gateshead a more attacking formation, which was rewarded with an equaliser in the 63rd minute. A Clark header was parried by keeper Atkins, before being scrambled home by the substitute from close range to level the score.
The game was evenly balanced and could have gone either way in the closing stages. McKenzie came closest to producing a winner, his shot was saved by Farman, who let the ball squirm from under his body towards goal, but he recovered in time to stop the ball just millimetres from the goal line.
Overall the draw was a fair result in a game of the proverbial two halves, the second period without doubt more entertaining than the first.

After a horrible week of gale force winds and heavy rain showers, it was nice to travel three hours south to Tamworth and be greeted by calm and glorious sunshine.
After a splendid breakfast at the West End CafĂ© on Marmion Street, I headed to the first of the five public houses I especially picked out to visit throughout the day. Those pubs being the two JDW pubs and three GBG listed; Sir Robert Peel, White Lion (which was where I met up with a raucous Heed Army) and The Albert Hotel which I kept back until later in the day, as it’s the closest pub to the station.
When I finally did call in on the Albert Hotel there was no beer left (must be closing down) so instead called in at the Tweeddale Arms, hoping for a nice quite pint and watch the live TV football before boarding the 1819, all was going to plan until the bar was invaded by the aforementioned boisterous Heed Army.

I enjoyed my day in Tamworth. The town is quite pleasant, with plenty of options for a nice pint, with the football ground nicely placed on the edge of the town centre.
The Lamb is a proper non-league ground with a few unique features which overall makes the club and town well worth a visit.


Matchday stats
TFC 1(Smith 44) GFC 1(Mulligan 63)
att.802
Admission:(PP) £10 'Category C' match.

My Matchday - 269 Home Park

Coldstream 2v3 Peebles Rovers
East of Scotland League Division One
Saturday 6th November 2010


Work commitments meant I was unable to make the trip to Notts. for the big FA Cup tie, so as an alternative I decided to head north, nipping just over the border into the small town of Coldstream in Berwickshire.
Coldstream lies on the north banks of the River Tweed, the natural boundary between Scotland and England. Before the Coldstream Bridge was built in 1766, the river was forded at Coldstream and the name is a reference to the temperature of the river, which at the time was a large stream.
“The First True Border Toon” was once a rival to Gretna for quickie weddings, but is best known as the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, formed by General Monck in 1659 in support of the Stuart Restoration.

Coldstream Football Club are one of the oldest clubs in Scotland, formed in 1895. The
'Streamers' remain as one of the top sides in the Borders, having played in the East of Scotland League since its inception in 1923-24, becoming the first team to win the title and are the only club to remain as constant members of the league.
During their 115 year history the club’s main honours include lifted the Scottish Amateur Cup in 1924, the Kings Cup in 1967 and the Borders Cup on four separate occasions. Coldstream also qualify to play in the Scottish Cup from the preliminary rounds, with Home Park hosting several Scottish League clubs throughout their history.

Home Park has a picturesque setting, found in the shadow of the town centre with the scenic Cheviot Hills forming a striking backdrop. The ground is close to the border which must make Coldstream’s football home either the first or last (depending on which directions your coming from) football ground in Scotland.
The clubhouse is found at the main entrance to the ground from the south west corner, off the residential Home Place, found behind the main High Street. The Jim Patterson Pavilion was opened in 1991 which incorporates the changing rooms, hospitality room, refreshment bar and lounge. The catering serves hot drinks in proper mugs as well as scotch pies which is always my favoured match day scran when heading north.
As well as funding for the clubhouse, the playing surface was also developed with newly laid turf and drainage system. The facilities were officially opened with a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in July ‘91, the Magpies winning the match 1-0.
The nearside of the pitch has hard standing courtesy of a pathway with a few park benches for the elderly spectators. At the far side there’s another two pitches, one has floodlight facilities used for weekly training sessions.

I drove up the A697 to meet up with Jamie (squad#81) who was finally completing the set of East of Scotland League grounds. The EoSL programme has been badly hit by the heavy rainfall this week with half of today’s fixtures falling victim to the weather. Luckily the Borders has escaped the deluge, in fact it was quite glorious for November, making it a very pleasant and troublesome run through Northumberland.

Coldstream were up against border neighbours Peebles Rovers, the match producing five goals which gave me a 5.5 goal average tally over the previous week. (Gateshead 2-3 Cambridge, Newcastle 5-1 5under1and, Billingham Town 2-4 Gateshead)
The game burst into life during a ten minute period in the first half. The visitors taking the lead after half an hour when a penalty decision harshly reduced the Streamers down to ten men. The push by the defender was a 50-50 decision that the referee got right but producing the red card was an awful erroneous verdict.
The home keeper made a fine save from the resulting spot kick, but Martin was able to make amends for his miss by netting the rebound. Within ten minutes the Peebles number six had completed his hat-trick, twice breaking through from midfield to produce splendid finishes, especially his third which was a delightful chip with the outside of his foot. The player was mobbed by his team mates, with one of his colleagues comparing him to Steven Gerrard, following his match winning hat-trick burst for Liverpool against Napoli in midweek .
Coldtream had halved the deficit in the 38th minute with a half volley from 12 yards from Lockhart, but found themselves two goals behind and down to ten men at the break. However they still made a decent fist of it in the second half, grabbing a late consolation goal courtesy of Guy, who was on fire with a fine individual effort, an aptly named scorer on the day after Bonna Night.

Matchday stats
CFC 2(Lockhart 33, Guy 90) PRFC 3 (Martin 31,33,40)
att.85(hc)
Admission/programme:none