The season is underway!!

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.

Retford United 0-2 Burscough

My Easter weekend kicked off with a night out around Retford on Thursday night. This in turn led to me waking up with a dreadful hangover at 6.00am on the Friday. I am blaming the Banana Bread flavour beer which i consumed in the Phoenix. seeing how i obtained the hangover there, i returned the next day to cure it with a full English breakfast; which was fantastic and was just what the doctor ordered. I washed it down with a couple of J20s as i was still a little delicate and couldn't face up to more Banana bread beer just yet.

Today was Retford United's last home match of the season and it couldn't have come quick enough for them. I have blogged about the club's problems a few times this season and don't want to tread over the same ground again. Although the writing has been on the wall since before Christmas the team's performances have got a lot better in the last couple of months so maybe they have something to take into the pre-season and next season.
Retford had beaten today's visitors Burscough away back in September, so today gave the badgers the chance to claim a very rare double. Ossett Town had joined Retford in becoming relegated a few weeks back leaving two relegation spaces sill up for grabs; Burscough being one of the sides still in the doo doo. If they were to stop up then three points here today was a must.

There was a decent crowd inside Cannon park today mainly due to the weather and the reduced admission prices. And most were disappointed to say the least when Burscough slammed in two goals in the 8th and 11th minute to all but kill the game off. Both goals were simple yet well worked and finished from a couple of yards out. They could have added a third when one of their strikers beat the Retford offside trap just inside the badgers half and made a bee line for the goal. Thankfully the ball got a bobble which took it away from the striker and safely into the arms of the goalkeeper. Retford steadied the ship and came more into the match as it went on but struggled to test the away side's keeper who looks like he has been on a few of the Retford Imps jolly boy trips.

Hands up if you want a 2nd helping of Buffet after the match


I retreated to the clubhouse at halftime form another soft drink and to scoff my chips like a fat boy. Lincoln were holding 2nd place Bury 0-0 away at Gigg Lane. A year ago unless you got into the clubhouse 5 minutes before the half time break you couldn't get a seat and it took you a while to get served. Today i would say the bar was half full at best. Its a real shame to see the support drift away as soon as the going gets tough. Respect to the lordofsodall and co for sticking with the side this season. I tip my hat to you all.

Retford were the better side in the second half and had Burscough on the back foot for most the half. They hit the post and missed a couple of half chances but were unable to get on the scoresheet. They probably deserved a goal but didn't get the breaks. The story of their season really. Lincoln put in a brave performance but lost 1-0. Lets hope Gillingham do us a favour tomorrow because boy do we need one right now.
Seeing how Retford have been struggling for cash this season i decided to make a rare purchase in the club shop before the match to help them out a tad.

While i am rambling on about Nottinghamshire non league football i would just like to congratulate Carlton Town on getting to the Notts senior cup final at Field Mill in a couple of weeks. Carlton are the most entertaining side i have seen on my non league travels this season so it is good to see them getting a bit of success after sadly dropping out of the promotion picture in the Evo stick south division. I hope they nwe go one better and win the cup.

Retford United 2-1 Kendal Town

Another trip to Cannon Park this weekend. I had planned to go to Lincoln United but a combination of working in the morning and this being the last weekend before payday put pay to that. It actually worked out pretty well as this was a decent performance by Retford as they chalked up only there second home win of the campaign. However if they continue to play like they have over the last couple of games i have seen them then they may well get a couple more before the season is out and salvage some pride in what has been a disappointing season so far for the Badgers.

Having paid my £9 quid and a couple for the programme i headed straight for the bar for the first of many drinks i consumed. The lager flowed as i chatted to a couple of die hard Badgers and we all agreed that the team had started to show alot more fight in the last few weeks or so. Another point of discussion was the crowds at Cannon Park. Over the years attendances have steadily gone up at Retford and were averaging around the 200-250 mark last season. If you weren't in the clubhouse by 2.15ish you used to struggle to get a seat in the large clubhouse. Today the bar was barely half full before kick off. Maybe having the wooden spoon match in the rugby six nations between Scotland and Italy on the big screen in the bar was putting people off i dont know but the crowd of 87 who did show up were treated to a decent enough match and a battling performance from the home side who thoroughly deserved to take home all three points.

At times this season the badgers have named just a bare eleven but today they did at least have one sub and it was a good job as they were forced into a change as early as the 12th minute. Kendall seemed to have come with the attitude that all they had to do was turn up and they would win. Well that went tits up didn't it?

Retford took the lead in the 29th minutes from a breakaway goal following Kendal pressure. The home side had created the best of the chances and thoroughly deserved their lead despite what the BBC Radio Cumbria reporter was saying in his match reports. (We were sat just behind him and it was fun to listen in to the bullshit that he was sending back to his listeners up North). So it was Retford that went in 1-0 at half time and deservedly so in my humble opinion.

Retford continued to dominate after the break and doubled their lead, much to the delight of the home crowd in the 60th minute. It was only now that the penny dropped for Kendal that they were 2-0 down to the whipping boys of the division and their playoff dreams were going up in smoke. Kendal then upped their game and pinned Retford back in their own half for much of the remainder of the match. I have seen a fair bit of Retford this season and they strike me as a 70 minutes team. Up till 70 minutes they compete very well but after that fade, drop off and make daft mistakes. So i wasn't overly confident of them holding out when the visitors scored from close range in the 76th minute. Kendal pretty much laid siege to the Retford goal for the final 15 minutes but for once the badgers stood firm. Retford could have sealed the win on a couple of occasions when they broke in 3 on 2 situations in their favour but either the wrong option was chosen or the final ball just wasn't good enough. With the last play of the game Kendall did have the ball in the net only for the goal to be ruled offside. The flag was up before the ball went in so i must assume that the decision was correct. It would have been very very harsh on Retford had Kendal got anything from the game. So thankfully they didn't and so it was smiles all round!
I then headed back into town for a few pints with a member of the badgers hardcore and it is at this point that my memory becomes a tad hazy.
One final point. It was quite amusing to see a few Kendal players just storm off down the tunnel at the final whistle without shaking hands or anything. Tossers.