Retford United 1-2 Club Thorne

Sometimes I have my weekends planned well in advance football wise. However, this weekend I wasn’t sure if I would make a game at all as I was teaching a Nunhuck seminar in Lincoln. Something I had been looking forward to doing for a few weeks. As my life has been in a rut for the past few years I have needed a new project to get my teeth into and although darts has filled some of this void I don’t want to be drawn into spending all my time in the pub (much fun as that would be and as much as I would enjoy it) I do like to practice at home a few evenings each week but I still have plenty of free time and a potential return to Taekwondo coaching could be a way to give me a much needed purpose in life once again. Having got back into the ghetto at 1.30 it gave me time to get changed nip into town to get the cats some treats and make my way up to Cannon Park who were taking on Thorne a club that I have a lot of time for and that have been “There or there abouts” for the past couple of seasons in the CML North as have the hosts Retford United. I choose to take the scenic route to Cannon Park walking along the cannel and arriving just after 2.30.

One of the things that I have noticed over the years is that there are basically three types of clubs in Step 7. Firstly, you have clubs that are having their first crack at Saturday football and are a more organised version of a pub team playing at a very basic ground which in many cases is a roped off pitch with players that are just happy to be playing Saturday football (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all) More often than not these clubs fold after a year or two or merge with other local teams. Next you have clubs that are happy to be a Step 7 club and don’t have to budget to spend on the ground but always turn out a competitive side and often have decades of history at this level and set themselves up as real community clubs with thriving youth sections. Then you have clubs that are looking to get out of step 7 as soon as they can in order to advance up the pyramid. Often these are traditional clubs with classic old school grounds that played at a higher level in days gone by or clubs that have had a decent amount of investment in order to bring the ground up to scratch. The biggest challenge is for clubs to install floodlights as they are a requirement at Step 6. The two teams on show today are most definitely focused on taking the next step and getting out of the CML North and are defiantly in the third category.

Before the game I held the view that the CML North will be a three-horse race between Retford, Thorne and Clay Cross with Nathon Arnolds Newark Town being a possible Darkhorse and having watched this game I have no reason to change my mind. All four clubs would be great additions and thrive as a Step 6 club but with only one promotion place up for grabs it will be a real scrap to get out of this league. Going into this match both sides had a 100% record with Thorne having won all five of their fixtures and Retford having won all three of theirs so on paper we knew it was going to be a good match. We saw these two teams lock horns in the first game of last season when Retford hit two late goals to record a 1-2 away win in match that was very competitive.

It’s been quite a while since I had been up to Cannon Park with my last visit being the Retford derby a couple of years ago. Back then the ground was looking a little tired, but it does seem to have been given a lick of paint and it seems a tad smarter even if the structure remains the same. Although I wouldn’t class myself as a regular attendee over the years, I do remember some fun times up there with the FA Cup 4th qualifying round match against Alfterton Town back in 2008 being the high point. The Badgers lost 3-1 that day with over 1,500 fans being present. With pretty much every man and his dog who had the remotest interest in football in the town showing up. Back in the early to mid-2000s most local Football League sides send teams down here for pre-season games with the likes of Doncaster, Sheffield United, Chesterfield and of course the Imps all rocking up at some point over the years. Some things never change however as the first person we saw on arriving at the ground was Mr Retford United and Groundhopping legend Dave Wathall who was on fine form and on the hunt for a team sheet. If you are ever looking for a random game and want to know anything about Retford United past just ask Dave, the man is a mine of information, always happy to help find a team sheet and chat about the good old days.

Today’s admission was the CML norm £3 with a programme costing a further £1. We headed over the food hut and sampled a wonderful chip butty which was very nice and no doubt the Duke of Edinburgh would have approved off. The club seem to have done up the club shop which had a nice range of programmes, and the club house looks like it has had a lick of paint too. We took out food and settled in to watch the match from the seated area on the far side of the ground. Looking at the teamsheet we got a reminder of how old we were. Back in 98/99 Lincoln were starting their 1st season in the 3rd tier of English football for Christ knows how long with the big summer signing being striker Leo Forutne-West, a player that had always looked great against the Imps and battered them into submission for Gillingham at the first home game of the 1995/96 season. As soon as Lincoln signing him, I was sure they would stay up and he would score bucket loads of goals in the Red and White. Sadly, it didn’t work out for Leo at Lincoln and his was transferred within a couple of months. He had a great career in the game though scoring goals pretty much everywhere he went. Today his son lined up for the visitors with Leo in the crowd watching on. He still looks in great shape and dare I say he would properly be better up front that what Lincoln have now with the current injury crisis at the club.

We didn’t have to wait long for the first goal as the hosts took the lead in the 7th minute thanks to a header from Bruno Holden. It was one of those headers that seems to hang in the air for what seemed like ages, but it nestled right in the corner just beyond the outstretched arm of the keeper. As the game wore on a couple of things became apparent. Firstly, these are two very good teams with no quarter asked and none given and secondly that the ref was a tad whistle happy which didn’t let the game flow and thus it became littered with freekicks. In truth neither keeper had much to do in the way of proper saves and a close game was always on the cards. On 36 minutes Thorne got their equaliser thanks to a great volley from Evan Fortune-West. It was no more than the visitors deserved and the next five minutes turned the game on its head. On 37 minutes Retford main goal threat Mark West suffered a knock and had to be substituted. Whenever I have seen the Badgers much of their good attacking play come through him and when he plays well the team tend to play well. Then on 41 Thorne took the lead thanks to a dreadful own goal when the Retford full back under pressure from Morgan Brown hit a back pass then slowly trickled past the dive of the keeper and into the bottom of the net. It was a tough one to take for the hosts but from an attacking point of view it’s another example of chasing lost causes and never giving up.

Halftime rolled around which was our cue to take a stroll around the ground and check the latest scores. The Imps were busy getting their asses handed to them and trailed Oxford 2-0 at the break which was a surprise to exactly nobody. Its still early in the season of course but I feel this Lincoln season will be more like 19/20 than 20/21. Let’s just hope to God its better than 98/99. The second half seemed to fly by with very few real chances for neither and more whistle happy refereeing. As the game petered out Retford started to run out of ideas and Thorne happy to try and play on the counter. Sorry for the rather brief description of the second half but sadly not a lot happen. Thorne saw the game out and thus laid down an early marker in the battle for the title. But obviously there is still plenty of football to be played. Well, that’s it till next time. The Imps have a blank Saturday coming up so we will be back on the non-league scene somewhere but as to where… Who knows?