el Queso Grande . . .
Arngrove Northern League Division 2:
Birtley Town 0-1 Darlington Railway Athletic
April 26 2008
Sorry for taking so long to post my report on this game, I have spent the last 24 hours trying to remember something memorable about it! I arrived at the ground to be greeted with the news that me old mate Paul Foster had resigned his position of Assistant Manager, for reasons best known to himself. Great start to the afternoon. My spirits lifted somewhat when I got in with some other pals, the Brinkburn Road "Massive" as they call themselves. I probably spent more time chatting and bantering with them than I did watching the footie.
The Brinkburn Road "Massive" on tour.
RA took the lead in the 11th minute when some slack defending allowed Danny Robinson finish well. Some poor finishing of some attractive moves from Birtley involving new signing from Washington, the 40-something Willy Moat cost Birtley dearly. RA keeper Simon Clark was never really troubled for most of the game. For Birtley, Scott Garrett, at centre-half alongside Andy Soulsby, was constantly waching out for his stand-in fullbacks - midfielders Ged Ramshaw and Mick Hay had to play out of position due to a long injury list - but still managed to display all his usual defensive skills while Willy Moat worked his socks off, constantly encouraging his fellow players, who seemed resigned to defeat after half-time. For RA, Tony Ptottopoulis (sorry if that is the wrong spelling, Toppy), Nicky Lyons and Michael Carter stood out.
Birtley's Scott Garrett sends a free-kick into the RA penalty area.
As for me, a decent pint of John Smith's Smooth in The William IV pub before the game was my only refreshment; I never bothered with anything to eat as I hit the nosebag before I left home. Nobody offered to sell me a raffle ticket, so I didn't win again. My most memorable moments came when fellow Nonleaguezone-er Timbo, of the RA Massive, kept up a running commentary on the punctuality of the various Intercity Expresses which flew past on the nearby London-Newcastle railway line! Some people liken Groundhoppers to Trainspotters; I sometimes wonder!
More photos of this match can be found at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/blackfelladder/BirtleyTownVDarlingtonRailwayAthletic
Arngrove Northern League Division 1:
Ashington 2-3 Seaham Red Star
25 April 2008
Pre-Matchday: This will be an unusual experience for me as I don't manage to get to many night matches. However, this one is special, as it will be the last game ever played at Portland Park, Ashington, before the bulldozers move in and demolish the old place, to make way for a superstore. A higher than average attendance is expected, as I am sure that there will be a lot of supporters of other clubs renewing their acquaintance with the ground, as well as a whole host of groundhoppers. The 90 minutes of football will probably be secondary to what I suspect will be a very emotional evening.
Matchday: I travelled up to Ashington with Shaun Smith, host of the "100 Football Grounds Club" and we arrived at Portland Park a good 90 minutes before kick-off, which gave us time to have the customary stroll around the ground and relax in the clubhouse with a canny pint of John Smith's Smooth. Even at that early hour, the clubhouse was probably busier than normal. One of the first people we met was fellow 100FGC member no. 69, John S Lawton, from Matlock, who was working in the area and was taking the opportunity to "tick off" another venue. With John were two other groundhoppers, one of whom was from Norway and was "hitting" his 320th venue. As the kick-off time drew nearer, the clubhouse began to fill up so we adjourned to the spectator areas and I took another lap of the perimeter, recognising a lot of people from other ANL clubs on my way. By the time photographs had been taken of the two sides, the referee finally blew for the off about 6 minutes late, by which time I estimated there about 1,300-1,500 in the crowd, which was still swelling by the minute.
The game itself was quite enjoyable and the atmosphere was great, with the famous Ashington Drum constantly being beaten, accompanied by the chants of the Ashington supporters. It was obvious that Seaham did not intend to be sentimental and provide the perfect result for the occasion. Goals for Ashington: Paul Hutchinson and Gareth Bainbridge, for Seaham: Warren Byrne (2) and Steve Burns.
Match Programme Cover
The Pit Pony Express - fanzine to celebrate the last match.
Read all of el Queso Grande's tour at www.freewebs.com/blackfelladder/index.htm
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