✔735 Rockware Sports Ground

St Joseph's Rockware of Worksop 1-3 Dinnington Town

Central Midlands League Premier North

Saturday 26th September 2020

 

Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, close to the borders of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Worksop lies on the River Ryton, located at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. (population: almost 42,000)

The town is known as the "Gateway to The Dukeries", because of the now four obsolete closely located ducal principal sites, just south of the town. These four ducal locations were; Clumber House, Thoresby Hall, Welbeck Abbey and Worksop Manor. Other houses such as Rufford Abbey and Hodsock Priory are also just a few miles away.

The birthplace of Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, actor Donald Pleasence, golfer Lee Westwood and from the football world - Former England manager Graham Taylor, Leeds United FA Cup winner Mick Jones, goalkeeper Ian Bennett and Spurs & Coventry City player Danny Thomas.

St Josephs Rockware of Worksop have been around since 1984, but joined the football pyramid last season, playing in the

Central Midlands League Division One North. When the season abruptly ended,

SJR were sitting 12 points clear at the top of the league, winning 14 and drawing two of their 16

fixtures, but club were still promoted into the Premier Division North.

Rockware Sports Ground

Sandy Lane

Worksop

Notts

S80 3ET

Rockware is just along the road from Worksop Town's ground, just off Sandy Lane and down a

steep bank which leads to the ground"s entrance hut. The pitch has a new perimeter fence with

a pair of dugouts on one side. The changing rooms, refreshments bar and lounge is set back on

the far side, as the ground is shared with the cricket club.

SJR Worksop 1(#5OG 2)

Dinnington Town 3(Evans 15 Turner 24 Hopkins 50)

CML - North Division matchday 3

3.07pm ko (they forgot the corner flags)

Att.180

Admission £3

Coffee 50

Tea 50p 

Dinnington gifted the hosts a goal headstart, when a backpass from the centre half wrong footed the 'keeper to put them 1-0 up. The visitors quickly responded with Cameron Evans heading in a left wing cross, before Jordan Turner fired in midway through the first half.  Five minutes from the restart, a corner kick was met with a bullet header from Jamie Hopkins, which was enough to clinch this local derby.

#Heedhopper

127 miles door-to-door 

I travelled down to Notts with Katie & Lee and we also picked up John McClure on the way. There were plenty of familiar faces in what was a record attendance for SJR, including Chris GroundhopUK and our old friends from Humberside - The Hull Hoppers.

✔734 Coxhoe Park Leisure Centre

Durham City Reserves 0-3 Polton

Wearside League Division 2

Saturday 19th September 2020

Coxhoe Park Leisure Centre

Linden Grove

Coxhoe

County Durham

DH6 4DW

Wearside League Grounds Visited 31/37

18 miles door-to-door

Durham City Reserves v Polton

Wearside League Division 2 matchday 2/3

2pm ko

Polton took the lead after 14 minutes, when a poor back pass fell into the path of Harley Clarke to fire in the opener. Ben Henderson grabbed their second from the penalty spot, before Clarke scored again, latching onto a flicked header to make it 0-3.

Matchday Stats

Durham City Reserves 0

Polton AFC 3(Clarke 14,77 Henderson 57pen)

Att.24hc

✔733 Dorlonco Villas

AFC Durham 0-4 Durham United Reserves

Durham Minor Cup Preliminary Round

Saturday 12th September 2020

AFC Durham are another new club in the Wearside League this season, and one of four teams within the two divisions to carry the name of the city of Durham. (5 if you include Durham City in the Northern League) The club are based in Meadowfield, just off the A690 road from Nevilles Cross to Crook. The ground is at the end of Dorlonco Villas, having a changing room cabin and a spacious stretch of land for the roped off pitch.

 

Dorlonco Villas

Browney,

Meadowfield

Durham

DH7 8RZ

 

#Heedhopper

16 miles door-to-door

I met Lee & Katie at the ground, before we doubled up with a five minute drive over to the Welfare Ground, for Brandon United 3 Sunderland West End 0.

 

Current Wearside League grounds visited 30/37

 

AFC faced another Durham side, up against the United Reserves in the Preliminary Round of the Durham Minor Cup.

The home team created some good openings early on but it was the away team that were clinical in front of goal. They took the lead after twenty minutes when Jovan Singh set up Steven Telford for a simple tap in, before he grabbed his second and Singh made it 0-3 before half time. Telford completed his hat-trick early in the second half to easily book their place in the First Round of the Minor Cup.

 

Match Stats

Durham Minor Cup Preliminary Round

1.30pm ko

AFC Durham 0

Durham United Reserves 4(Telford 21,30,48 Singh 32)

Att.29hc

✔732 Parrot Park

Kirkby Stephen 1-2 Keswick

Westmorland AFL Division 1

Saturday 5th September 2020

The market town of Kirkby Stephen lies at the head of the Eden Valley, the source of which is in the Mallerstang Valley, to the south east. Kirkby Stephen was granted a market charter in 1352, and a lively market is still held on Mondays. The town is close to the southern boundary of the North Pennines Area of Natural Beauty and just north of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. (Population: just under 2000)

Kirkby Stephen FC was founded back in 1907, but the present set up was established in 2017. The team took several players who were part of the Carvetii United team which dropped out of the Westmorland League a couple of years beforehand. That team played home games at Brough and Kirkby Stephen, but the new club is based solely at Parrot Park. The club started off in Division 3 but have worked their way up to the top division in a short space of time.

Parrot Park

Hartley Road

Kirby Stephen 

CA17 4RT

The ground is just off the main street in the town, across a narrow bridge which crosses the River Eden. The car park and pavilion are at the entrance with the pitch set further back. 

Matchday Stats

Kirby Stephen 1(Collinson 90+5pen)

Keswick 2(Hindmarch 57 Frampton 77)

James Cropper Westmorland Association FL Div.1 matchday 1

Att.36hc 

After a goalless first half with plenty of missed chances, Keswick took the lead just before the hour mark, when Steve Hindmarch headed in from a left wing corner kick. The visitors doubled their advantage ten minutes later with a snap shot from Andy Frampton on the edge of the box.

Kirkby finally got on the score sheet, but it was far too late, as Ben Collinson slotted home from the penalty spot deep into added on time.

#Heedhopper

At long last after a 6 months gap, the NE Groundhopping Contingent(or Mafia as some might say) were back watching football together. Katie finally got home from New Zealand last week, so this was only her second match of the season, although Lee and I have been to several games together already.

We headed off at midday, so there was time for a toby around Kirkby Stephen before the match kicked off. A huge thank you to Katie (and Teddy) for my belated birthday presents which I was delighted with, and her Dad's s records which I will treasure. 

✔731 Hetton School

Hetton Juniors 3-3 Sunderland West End & University

Wearside League Division 2

Wednesday 2nd September 2020

Hetton Juniors Football Club was established in 1996, providing a platform for local kids to be coached and play competitive matches. The club run teams from under-7s to under-18s, and have added a senior team to play in the Wearside League Division 2. They are based at Hetton School which has a huge plot of land with several pitches, with the senior team using a roped off pitch nearest the school building.

Hetton School

North Road

Hetton-le-Hole

DH5 9JZ

 

Wearside League grounds visited 29/37

Hetton Juniors kicked off their first ever Wearside League in a very entertaining game, on a horrible wet night against Sunderland West End & University, getting off to a great start when Sam Nye got on the end of a corner kick to knock the ball in from close range in the fifth minute.

As the half progressed West End improved with Elliott Howey firing in the equaliser, before an overlapping run and lovely finish from right back Abdull Karim Ali Abdullah made it 1-2 with half an hour gone.

The home team's most impressive player Joe Hassanin equalised in the 57th minute, but the visitors regained the lead minutes later, when a shot from Stafan Rosca crept in at the far post. The hosts were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute which was calmly converted by Connor Hayes-Smith to make it 3-3, then both sides had chances to win it, but overall the draw was a fair result.

Match Stats

Hetton Juniors 3(Nye 5 Hassanin 57 Hayes-Smith 67pen)

Sunderland West End & University 3(Howey 24 Abdullah 29 Rosca 60)

Att.27hc