Today's tie was between two sides who had made decent starts in the blue square northern division this season. I had seen Eastwood destroy Gainsborough earlier in the season but knew little about Corby Town. Before today Eastwood was the highest ranked Nottinghamshire non league side i was yet to visit, that honour now falls to Carlton town, who drew in their FA cup game; so they could well get a visit in the next round if 1)they win the replay and 2) they are drawn at home in the third qualifying round.
I had a ferret about in Nottingham for an hour or so before i got the train to Langley Mill. There seems to be a few more Notts county fans about these days, isn't it surprising how a forward thinking board and a bit of investment brings the crowds back, I wish the board of LCFC would take note.
The walk to Eastwood's ground from the station seems to be all up hill. Plus it seemed to be quite warm yesterday which didn't help, its meant to be autumn for fucks sake! The area seemed to be a bit run down (especially near the station) but i found a decent pub called the "Man in space" right next to the ground, so i got a pint and sat outside in the sunshine reading Ballsmania which was quite pleasant.
Without wanting to sound harsh i was a little disappointed with Coronation Park overall. I had heard that the club is forward thinking and on the up and it does seem it, but it does seem to be doing this in a strange way. Although the club house is nice and new, their is a large room for directors and officials ONLY, and another room for the great unwashed, unlike in a lot of clubs where fans and officials mix freely (which for me is one of non-leagues strong points). On top of the club house is a stand from which the elite can watch the match away from the likes of you and i. I didn't take a picture of it, but it has the look of a conservative party conference about it. The club house does have its plus points though; the beer is nice, there is a good range of Eastwood town goods for sale (and of very good quality) the Portsmouth v Everton game was being played on the big screen and the service at the bar was quick, even when it was busy. It looks like the club have spent a lot of money on the club house but i cant help thinking it would have been better to spread the money around the ground instead of all on the club house.
I was reading the excellent programme before the game and was pleasantly surprised to see how many former Imps were in the Corby Town squad. Mark Stallard scored some great goals for us in the 2006/07 season, Phil Watt only played one game for the first team at Sincil Bank. Paul Mayo was as steady a full back as you would have found in league two and will always be remembered for that great goal against Scunthorpe united in the playoffs. Leon Mettam only played a handful of games for us, scoring one and getting sent of once. Jason Lee was at Lincoln before i started watching them but went on to play at the highest level with Nottingham Forest.
One of my all time favourite imps was also in the squad; Dean West. He came through the youth ranks at City and was one of the best right backs i have ever seen in the red and white of Lincoln. Steve Wicks dropped one of the biggest bollocks in Lincoln's history when we traded him with Kevin Hulme of Bury. West went on to play at Championship level for several clubs while Hulme was released a few months later. Even though he is well into his 30,s Deano won the southern league player of the season last season and when he came on today, looked quite at home playing at what is a decent level of non league football.
Match programme signed by Dean West v Scunthorpe United 94/95 season
Due to the ex-Imps connections i decided to stand with the Corby fans. Corby kept it tight for about the first 30 seconds till Eastwood took the lead, when nobody got close to the Eastwood player from a ball into the box. The Corby following were in good voice though as there side got more and more into the match. I did like some of their chants. Corby has a large Scottish population due to the steelworks there, illustrated by the chant of "we all drink irn,bru" plus a couple of Rangers shirts and caps in the away end. Apparently Corby has the largest Rangers supporters club outside of Glasgow and Belfast, so there!
Corby had a couple of chances kicked off the line as the former Retford goalkeeper Turner struggled to dominate his box; Eastwood looked dangerous on the break. i wandered to the club house a couple of mins before the start of the half time break and returned a couple of minutes late. Just before half time Eastwood got a penalty and scored it; didn't see it so i cant comment.
The second half was pretty much one way traffic with Corby making all of the play and pulling a goal back on 53 minutes. They had another couple of near misses but the worse one was when a shot was blasted against the underside of the bar, bounced down and out. A goal was not given but you could tell by the reaction of Turner that it was in.
Full time 2-1
All in all it was a decent day out. Apart from having to get a taxi back from worksop because i missed my connection to retford because the train in from Nottingham was late in due to vandalism. I will try and visit Corby at some point in the season.
oh and as a footnote next weeks league fixture is....
Corby Town v Eastwood Town!
Admission £9
Programme £2 very good 8/10
Badge £3
Match quality 6/10
Ground 5/10 one nice stand and covering on the other three sides but it looks a little run down.
Food,i didn't eat at the match as i was saving myself for the kebab in Nottingham after the game, but the pile of pies i saw in the corner on the floor seems to point to them not being very nice!
No comments:
Post a Comment