Sheff Double

Saturday 24th July 2021

782. Olivers Mount

Handsworth 2-4 Ossett United

Pre-Season Friendly

1pm ko

 When I saw Handsworth play at Sandy Lane in 2015, The Amber Parras went close to winning the NCEL Premier Division that season, after amassing an impressive 94 points, but they were pipped to the title by Tadcaster Albion.  Since then the club have twice finished fourth and were renamed Handsworth FC in June 2019.

The club have also moved back to Handsworth from Worksop, returning to their original home at Olivers Mount. The ground had failed a ground grading review in 2012, which led to the merger with Worksop Parramore, but it has still been in regular use by the reserve and youth teams. Handsworth is a suburb in south-east Sheffield, which covers an area of approximately 5 square miles and a population of approximately 15,000.

Handsworth Junior Sporting Club

Olivers Mount

Sheffield

S9 4PA

The ground has two stands joined together, with a seperate standing enclosure all along the same side. The dugouts are on the opposite side with the impressive club name and Real Football… Made In Sheffield on the fence. The changing rooms are behind the goal with the clubhouse a walk away facing the neighbouring cricket pitch. The ground has an all weather pitch, so it’s one which can be ticked off in the winter months

Handsworth 2(Flint 87 Oliver 88)

Ossett United 4(Haswell 24 Walshaw 40,63 Connolly 54)

Att.TBC (about 160)

Admission £5 

I have seen the old Ossett clubs a few times, but this was my first view of Ossett United. They went 0-2 up with Aaron Haswell firing in from 25 yards, before James Walshaw took advantage of a defensive mix up to double their lead.  Early in the second half Nash Connolly headed in the third, then a free kick from the right was headed in by the defender for an own goal, but the goal was credited to Walshaw who had the assist. 

Handsworth had missed a penalty in the 56th minute, but finished the game well with a lovely near post header from Noah Flint and James Oliver scrambled in a second to make the score look more respectable. 

783. Swallownest Miners Club

Swallownest 3-2 Maltby Main

The Chris Lilll Memorial Trophy

3pm ko 

Swallownest is a village in the civil parish of Aston cum Aughton, which is 4 miles south of Rotherham and 7 miles from the centre of Sheffield. 

 

The club started life in 2006 as Aston FC  playing in the South Yorkshire Amateur League, winning Division 1, then the Premier Division title the following season. The club changed its name to Swallownest Miners Welfare in 2010 and dropped the MW part in 2015.  

Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League 2008-2017

Division Two champions 2008–09

Premier Division champions: 2010–11, 2016–17

NCEL Division One 2017 to present

Swallownest Miners Welfare

Rotherham Road

Sheffield

S26 4UR

The club originally played at the Leonard Kyte ground in the neighbouring village of Aughton, before moving to the Miners Welfare in 2008. The ground has all the spectator facilities at the entrance end. There’s two enclosures on each side of the refreshment kiosk, with a stand along one side with two rows of flip seats supplied from the Don Valley Stadium. If the club are to progress there’s plenty of scope for expansion on the far side and behind the top goal.

Swallownest 3(Grady 68 Woodhouse 72 Greaves 77)

Maltby Main 2(Austin 13 Hardwick 20)

Att.TBC (about 180)

Admission £5

Programme:free

Mince pie & gravy £2 Coffee £1

 

The match was played in honour and in loving memory of Chris Lill, who was an inspirational character and is sadly missed. The match receipts are shared between Sheffield Mind and Rushey Meadows Children's Home charities. There’s a loving tribute to Chris and the story of the Memorial Trophy on the Maltby Main website which can be read here 

A frantic start from the visitors saw them take a two goal lead in the first 20 minutes. Joseph Austin headed in the opener, then Alex Hardwick got on the end of a right wing cross for the second. In the 68th minute Oliver Grady pulled a goal back which set Swallownest on their way to a thrilling come back. A left wing cross from James Woodhouse was deflected past his own ‘keeper by the defender, then five minutes later Callum Greaves stroked home the winner from the edge of the box. 

#Heedhopper

123 mile drive door-to-door 

Total Non-League grounds visited 483 

Current NCEL grounds visited 35/40

An easy double and another two off my ‘T’do’ list. The two grounds are just a 10 minute drive apart, and with both halves at Handsworth kicking off on time, there wasn’t a mad rush in between matches. As always, I saw someone who I know, but this time it was a first meeting - 100FgC Squad#59 and Blades supporter Brett Price was also at both games. (Thanks for the pin badge!)

The quiet traffic meant I was back, washed, fed and out of the house for 7.30, for my birthday eve night out with the breadknife after an afternoon of classic Groundhopping. 

✔781. Millfield Park

Haddington Athletic 4-1 Arniston Rangers

EoS League 1st Division - Conference A

Wednesday 21st July 2021

The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, 17 miles east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the sixth or seventh century, when the area was incorporated into the kingdom of Bernicia(I wish this geographical area still existed)

Nowadays, Haddington is a small commuter town for Edinburgh, with a population of under 10,000, but during the High Middle Ages it was the fourth-biggest city in Scotland after Aberdeen, Roxburgh and Edinburgh.

 

Haddington Athletic were founded in 1939 and currently play in the East of Scotland League First Division Conference A, having stepped up from the Junior Leagues in 2018. The Hi-His achieved their best finish in the East Region Premier League, when finishing 3rd in their final season at Junior level.

Edinburgh & District League champions: 1956–57

Lothians District League Division Two winners: 1998–99

East Region South Division champions: 2014–15

East of Scotland Cup winners: 1941, 1957, 1973

Fife and Lothians Cup winners: 1940 Brown Cup winners: 1959

Thornton Shield winners: 1940, 1941, 1947

St Michaels Cup winners: 1950, 1959 Laidlaw Cup winners: 1979

Millfield Park

Mill Wynd

Haddington

EH41 4DB

 

Current East of Scotland grounds visited - 31

Total number of grounds in Scotland visited - 111

 

The ground has a covered standing enclosure with a few concrete steps next to the refreshment hut. The dugouts are on the far side with the changing rooms behind the goal in the nearside corner, next to the paying entrance. The club gained SFA membership in 2020 after upgrades were made to the ground, which included the addition of floodlights. The ground looked immaculate so it's obviously well maintained with a lot of tender loving care.

 

 Haddington Athletic  4(Hill 26 pen McGarry 32, Hutchison 69, Watson 77)

Arniston Rangers  1(Shearer 78)

East of Scotland League - 1st Division Conference A

1930ko

Att.162

Admission £6

Mince pie(superb) £2 & Coffee £1

Once Guy McGarry put the Hi-His two goals ahead just after the half hour mark, the match result was never in doubt. The left-back made an overlapping run to double their advantage, following a Shaun Hill penalty in the 26th minute.  Haddington played some good football in the second half and extended their lead when Ryan Hutchinson finished off a swift move, then Euan Watson got on the end of a lovely through ball to fire home number four. Gary Shearer pulled one back for Arniston to make it 4-1 at full time (a popular scoreline for my matches so far this season)

#Heedhopper

Following our two days in Aberdeen, (Cove Rangers ticked) the breadknife and I arrived in Edinburgh early Wednesday afternoon. On arrival we obviously went for a few bevvies, which included some previously uncharted hostelries, namely the Jeremiah Taproom (at £6.10 a pint, I won’t return) and the Hanging Bat. We arranged to meet James Little in the Summerhall Royal Dick Bar at 5pm, for a couple of drinks before he drove us down to Haddington for the game.

Our car journey back to Edinburgh saw a detour through Musselburgh because of roadworks on the A1. When I eventually met back up with the breadknife at the Hanging Bat, I took her to a couple of the JDW’s in the centre of Edinburgh, as they seemed to be the only pubs open after 10 o’clock.  

Overall a very enjoyable few days in Scotland with plenty of great pubs and beer, good company, entertaining football and of course, a couple of more entries to add to my football ground ledger.

✔780 Balmoral Stadium

Cove Rangers 3-1 Inverness CT 

Scottish League Cup Group A

Tuesday 19th July 2021

Cove Bay is situated to the east of the ancient Causey Mounth between Stonehaven and Aberdeen. This ancient trackway specifically connected the River Dee crossing via Portlethen Moss, Muchalls Castle and Stonehaven to the south. The route was taken by William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and the Marquess of Montrose, who led a Covenanter army of 9000 men in the battle of the Civil War in 1639. Traditionally known as The Cove, it became Cove Bay around 1912 and part of the City of Aberdeen in 1975.

Cove formed in 1922 and played in the local amateur leagues until 1985, when they became a Junior club. They stepped into senior level in 1986, playing in the Highland Football League, before winning promotion to Scottish Football League in May 2019, beating Berwick Rangers 7–0 on aggregate in the pyramid play-off final. The Wee Rangers went on to win the Division 2 title in their debut season.

North Junior League First Division winners 1985-86

Highland Football League 2000–01, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19 (7 times)  - League Cup winners 1994–95, 1999–00, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19 (6 times)

Scottish League Two Winners: 2019–20

Aberdeenshire League 2000–01, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 (6 occasions)

Also an array of cup honours, lifting the Aberdeen Cup three times, the Aberdeen Shield on four occasions and the Scottish Qualifying Cup (North) twice.

Named after a local farmer, Cove Rangers played at Allan Park from 1948 until 2015. The ground had a capacity of 2300, with a record attendance of 2,100 for the league play-off 3-1 defeat of Deveronvale in 2009. The club played their final game at the old ground in April 2015, following a successful planning application with Aberdeen City Council for a new stadium. Allan Park and the club's social club was bought by housing developers for a figure believed to be around the £3m mark.

Balmoral Stadium

Wellington Circle

Altens

Aberdeen 

AB12 3JG

Capacity 2,610 (410 seats)

Record Attendance - 1,995 v Berwick Rangers (11-5-19)

Current Scottish League grounds visited 40/42

Total Scottish football grounds visited - 111

Balmoral Stadium is next to a new secondary school, following the merger of Kincorth and Torry Academies. In a clause made by Aberdeen City Council, the new school is allowed access to the artificial pitch. The stadium was officially opened in July 2018, with a friendly match against Aberdeen, which unfortunately had to be abandoned, after Cove player Jordon Brown suffered a serious injury.

The main stand sits on the half way line, having a block of blue and white seats with a hospitality suite at the back. The team dugouts are at each side of the stand.The rest of the ground is open apart from three matching enclosures on the far side, with the middle section filled with seats. 

Cove Rangers 3(McIntosh 35 Megginson 38 Yule 85)

Inverness CT 1(Duku 90+1pen)

Att.506

1945 ko

Admission £10 (bought online)

Steak pie and coffee £4

The away side wasted some good chances in the first half and were punished as the hosts took a two goal lead. Leighton McIntosh finished off a lovely passing move before Mitch Megginson got on the end of a neat through ball to fire under the "keeper. The Wee Gers were never in danger of letting their two goal lead slip during the second half, and wrapped up the win five minutes from time, when Blair Yule slid in the third. Caley Thistle grabbed a late consolation goal when Duku scored a penalty to make it 3-1 with the last kick of the game. 

#Heedhopper 

224 miles door-to-door 

Dept. Monday 19th on 0847 LNER train Newcastle - Aberdeen Arr.1310

The Pubs and Beers UK tour made its long awaited return, as me and the breadknife travelled up to Aberdeen. The Granite City leg of our tour saw us supping beers in the Prince of Wales, Archibald Simpson, Ma' Camerons, Slaines Castle, The Grill, Number 10 Bar, Queen Vic, Justice Mill, Casc, St Machar Bar, Fierce and the Globe Inn. 

On Tuesday evening I caught the no,3 bus down to Cove, where I met up with Simon Lee and his better half, who were on holiday in Scotland. Also inside the stadium I had a bit crack with Gary, a Groundhopper from Exeter who was also ticking off a few on the SFL list. After the game Simon gave me a lift back to Aberdeen and we met Deb for a drink in Casc. The breadknife and I finished off the evening with a few strong bevvies in the Fierce craft bar, to conclude a fabulous two days in Aberdeen.

Dept. Wednesday 21st on ScotRail 1101 to Edinburgh. (Haddington Athletic)