For me the 2020/21 season finally got up and running this week as myself and my sidekicks were finally able to take in some live football action. The fact that non league clubs are finally allowed to let supporters attend is a huge boast to both clubs and fans alike as i am sure plenty of clubs would start fearing for their future had games been behind closed doors for much longer.
Our season opener was a short drive into South Yorkshire to the picturesque village of Maltby to see Maltby Main FC square off against Retford United. Incidentally when ex number one left me a couple of years ago after 17 years together she moved to this quaint little village with two cats that we had rescued , Onyx and Sapphire. I do hope the cats are ok as i do miss them so.
For us midweek games and pre game fine dining go together like Juventus and spectacular Champions League failures. The first Kebabs of the season were served up by the Charcoal Grill Kebab shop just around the corner from the ground. I played it safe and opted for the large Lamb donner at £6.30. It was tasty enough but could have done with being a tad larger, or maybe i am just a fat bastard. Either way it met with our seal of approval and is recommended. A solid start on the food front this season.
There has been much speculation as to how clubs will cope with the new COVID regulations and how different watching football would be. After watching two games this week it looks like things won’t be too different. Upon entry we signed in (i helped Felice spell his name) and leave phone numbers for track and trace, after this you sanitize you hands and off you go. All pretty simple really.
Maltby play their football two leagues higher than Retford United but you wouldn’t know that from this match as the Badgers gave as good as they got. Sometimes in these kind of games teams can look a little disjoined but both sides really went for it in this encounter. Maltby looking smart in there red and black home shirts with Retford rocking a kit that looks remarkably one a certain Nottinghamshire based underachieving/ Also ran’s League Two side would wear at home.
As with all friendly matches the result wasn’t of the highest importance and its more about getting the players match fit and using different formations etc. The game finished 3-3 and featured some high quality goals with Redford’s 1st probably the pick of the bunch. All in all a decent start to the season and the 7.30 PM kick off allowed us to be back at a decent time. Let’s have more 7.30 kick offs in local football please.
On Saturday we were meant to travel to Clay Cross to tick of a new ground. However mother natural had other ideas as overnight rain caused the game to be cancelled .Felice consulted Twitter and it was quickly decided that Kimberley Miner Welfare was to be our destination.
The 2pm kick off meant for a 12.30 departure time and a steady journey down to Nottingham for the game. Driving through Kimberley the place looked a nice little place with plenty of pubs that looked welcoming and plenty of people going about, a completely different experience from Tuesday night. The entrance to the clubs “Stag Ground” can be found just before the Stag Inn pub on the left, it’s a real blink and you will miss it though so thank the lord for sat navs as without one i am sure we would have been travelling around aimlessly looking for it.
We made our way to the gate and parted with our £3 and signed in. It looked like the club had really got the COVID procedure sorted so hat tip to them. And a second hat tip to Felice for spelling his name correctly. Once inside the ground hot and cold drinks were available but sadly the clubhouse was closed. With over half an hour to go till kick off we made the decision to head next door to the Stag Inn pub for a pre game pint. It turned out to be a cracking decision as the pub is a belter, a proper old fashioned boozer with a fantastic beer garden and friendly barmaids. From the beer garden you get a decent view of the ground and what was evident was the amount of work that had gone into the pitch as it looked a cracker. I had visited the ground over ten years ago and it looks like little has changed, the ground is fully railed off with the only covering being behind the far goal next to the entrance point and clubhouse. There doesn’t appear to be much room for expansion but i wouldn’t think that would be necessary as the ground seems to meet the clubs needs. The club has been busy adding new dugouts over the closed season and with the work that has gone on with pitch it’s obvious they have used the enforced break well.
Today’s visitors were Wednesfield Football Club who ply their trade in the West Midlands Premier Division, a league i know absolutely nothing about or ever seen a game in. After a quick Google search it appears that this league is at step 6 of the non league pyramid, the same level as Kimberley who still play in the EMCL. So in theory a close game was in store and that’s exactly what we got.
I am afraid i can’t really dress this up but this game was a tough watch. Both sides really cancelled each other out with very little goal mouth action to speak of sadly.
ak of. And whenever decent football was in danger of breaking out the referee out a stop to it with some over the top whistling. The only real high-point of the first half came in when the visiting keeper shanked a goal kick at about 30 degrees out of play when under no pressure whatsoever. It was a relief when the halftime whistle went allowing us to retreat back to the pub.
We missed the first five minutes or so of the second half but it hardly mattered as it followed a similar pattern to the first i.e. very poor. As the game dragged on it looked odds on that we would see our first 0-0 of the season but thankfully a couple of minutes before the end Kimberley were awarded a penalty that they duly converted. Only a fool would make a cast iron prediction on a pre-season game but on this showing i wouldn’t imagine that either will be challenging for honours this time around. However it’s all about getting minutes’ in players legs etc and while there was little quality plenty of effort was on display from all involved. Good luck to both clubs for the upcoming season and all that.
