✔597 Nunthorpe & Marton Recreation Ground

Nunthorpe Athletic 1-4 Guisborough United

North Riding Football League Premier Division

Saturday 24th February 2018

 Nunthorpe is a suburb of  Middlesbrough, historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire. (population nearly 5,000) Its origins can be traced back to before the Domesday Book of 1086. The village was named “Thorpe”, or “Torp” described as a thriving settlement, consisting of an estimated 1,080 acres of land. Towards the end of the 12th century a group of Cistercians nuns, allegedly evicted from nearby Hutton Lowcross for rowdy behaviour (naughty nuns!!!), were relocated to Thorpe, given land which belonged to Whitby Abbey, where they built a priory and a mill. The nuns only stayed at Thorpe a few years, but their short stay resulted in Thorpe being renamed Nunthorpe.

Nunthorpe Athletic formed in 1970 and joined the Teesside League. The club also played in the early stages of the FA Vase between 1979 and 1986.

Teesside League winners in 1989-90

MacMillan Bowl winners 5 times in 1974, 1984, 1990, 1999 and 2009.

As well as the senior team in the North Riding Premier Division, the club has junior teams at all age levels and a girls team playing at the Rec. The County FA awarded Nunthorpe Athletic Junior FC the prestigious FA Charter Standard Community award for grassroots football in 2011.

Nunthorpe & Marton Recreation Club

Guisborough Road,
Nunthorpe,
Middlesbrough,
TS7 0LE

North Riding Premier Division grounds 5/13

A leisurely 42 mile drive down the A19 and A174, arriving as the players were just emerging from the changing rooms for kick off.

Nunthorpe Athletic utilise 5 pitches at their ground on Guisborough Road, with the senior team using the central pitch adjacent to the tennis courts. The car park, social club and pavilion are at the entrance with the pitches at the side in view of the Cleveland Hills.

Nunthorpe Athletic(13th) v Guisborough Town(11th)

North Riding Premier Division Matchday 14-16
2pm ko
Weather:sunny
Att.13hc

Nunthorpe stay anchored at the foot of the Premier Division table after a home defeat to Guisborough United. The visitors took the lead on 13 minutes when Lewis Minter poked home from a right wing corner, before doubling their advantage through Paul Roddam twelve minutes later. Nunthorpe got themselves back in the game from the restart with a fine chip over the ‘keeper from Scott Wood, but the comeback was denied when Liam Fox made it 3-1 on 52 minutes.

The hosts were awarded a penalty with fifteen minutes remaining after a clear handball in the box, but Tom Atkinson was denied by Sowerby in the United goal who pushed the ball onto the crossbar before it was scrambled away to safety.

With just over ten minutes remaining Guisborough wrapped up the points with the goal of the game, as Morgan Corner curled a fine effort from 20 yards into the far corner of the net to make it 4-1.

Matchday Stats

NAFC 1(Webb 46)

GTFC 4(Minter 13 Roddam 25 Fox 52 Corner 77)

Entertainment 7/10

Top Bloke - Morgan Corner(Guisborough United)

✓596 Mill Farm

AFC Fylde 0-1 Leyton Orient

National League 

Saturday 17th February 2018

 I visited AFC Fylde in March 2016 during the club’s final season at Kellamergh Park. The Coasters finished third in National League North in 2015-16, losing out to North Ferriby United in the play-off final, however the ambitious club took a step nearer the Football League by comfortably winning the league title last season.
You can read about my visit to their old ground, including a potted history of the club here.

Mill Farm

Wesham,

Preston,

PR4 3JZ

The ground is dominated by the 2,000 capacity main stand, which has seating at the front of a large corporate area. The stand has the club name on its facade with a wall clock in the middle (which by my reckoning was 3 minutes slow) with the team dugouts within the seats. There is covered terracing opposite with runs pitch length, with further cover behind one of the goals which is giving up to away supporters. At the turnstile entrance there is open hard standing behind the goal.

Capacity 6,000

Record attendance 3,858 v Chorley National League North, 26th 2016.  December 2016

National League grounds visited 23/24

AFC Fylde(7th) v Leyton Orient(17th)

National League matchday 34-33

Kick off : 3pm

Weather:sunny

Att.2,206

The Coasters have jumped into the play-off picture after a fabulous run of form, picking up 23 points over the last 10 games in the National League. On the other hand Orient are struggling just above the relegation zone, so a much needed three points for the O’s, courtesy of a Macauley Bonne penalty just before the break. Bonne netted the spot-kick winner after Dan Holman was fouled in the box by Simon Grand.
Danny Rowe and Henry Jones went close for Fylde in the second half but the visitors defended well and deserved their win to ease their relegation fears.

Matchday Stats

AFCF 0

LOFC 1(Bonne 42pen)

Entertainment 6/10

Top Bloke - James Brophy (Leyton Orient)

Spondoolicks

Admission £13 (standing)

Programme:sold out by 2.15 (good job I'm not a sad paper chaser)

Pin badge £3

Coffee £1.50 (yuck!)

#HeedHopper

I had this fixture picked out earlier in the season. I usually tick off the Non-League elite grounds as a Gateshead supporter, but I missed out on the Heed’s visit in October as I was away in Krakow at the time. The breadknife and I originally intended to stay in Blackpool for the night, but I decided to switch to Preston instead, as it’s closer to Wesham with plenty of decent boozers to explore for one of our mega pub crawls.

We arrived at Preston station at 11.15am, ticked off a few pubs before checking into our digs for the night. I caught the 1407 train for the short journey to Kirkham & Wesham and back in good time for our night out. We managed to have a drink in 15 pubs, including 6 GBG pubs, 2 ‘Spoons and plenty of good boozers in between, so overall an ace weekend.

Picture courtesy of John McClure

✔595 The Harold Wilson Centre

Thornaby Dubliners 2-1 St Mary's 1947

Lou Moore Trophy 

Saturday 3rd February 2018

Thornaby-on-Tees is a royal charter town and civil parish, 4 miles southwest of Middlesbrough and historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire(population almost 25,000)

The town name came into existence about 800 AD when the land was given by Halfdene - King of the Danes, to Thormod, one of his noblemen, therefore "Thormods-by" – Thormod's farmstead.

Birthplace of Grace Pace (mother of Captain James Cook) actor Richard Griffiths,  award winning author Pat Barker and the former home of RAF Thornaby (1925-1958)

The former Royal Air Force Station operated Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command, but its stint under Coastal Command is what the base was notable for, particularly in the air-sea rescue environment and the development of the Thornaby Bag. This was an emergency bag dropped to downed aircrew at sea and contained food, cigarettes and drink.

Thornaby Dubliners FC formed in 2006 out of the Dubliners pub in the north end of the town. Their best performance in the Teesside League came in 2012-13 season, finishing runners-up to Acklam Steelworks, missing out of the league title on goal difference.

I set off down the A19 in the driving rain just before 1pm. From the motorway its a quick drive along the A174, which brings you to the south end of Thornaby where the football ground is, so I arrived a good quarter of an hour before kick off.

The Dubliners are based at the Harold Wilson Recreation Centre, which has three football pitches one of which is fully railed, with a changing room block at one side and plenty of car park space behind the goal.

Thornaby Dubliners v St Mary’s 1947

Lou Moore Trophy Quarter-Final

2pm ko

Weather:light rain

The Dubliners got off to a dream start, gaining possession from the kick-off, they broke down the left flank and the cross found Gaz Mitchell, who slotted home with just 28 seconds gone.

After a nervy start the visitors finally settled and equalised on 2o minutes when the ball broke free in the box for Chris Norlund to fire in with his right foot.

St Mary’s shaded the second half on chances created and they looked to have won the tie when they were awarded a penalty with twenty minutes remaining. When clear through on goal the no.7 was brought down by the ‘keeper, although the home team reckoned that the player actually slipped on the clarty pitch and wasn’t fouled at all. The resulting spot kick was saved by Pat Pisani, who celebrated with a volley of verbal abuse towards his opponents.

The match looked to be heading towards penalties, but with just five minutes left the Dubliners clinched it, when a ball from the left was fired in by close range Jake Maughan to book their place in the semi-finals of the Lou Moore trophy.  

Matchday Stats
TDFC 2(Mitchell 1 Maughan 85) scorers TBC
StM1947 1(Norlund 20)
Att.27hc
Entertainment 7/10
Top Bloke - Patrick Pisani(Thornaby Dubliners)