LYE TOWN 8 - 0 NORTHAMPTON SILEBY RANGERS

 

                F.A. VASE, FIRST ROUND PROPER

                Sports Ground, Stourbridge Road, Lye,  DY9 7DH

                     22nd October 2022           3:00 pm Kick-Off 

I have decided to go to a FA Vase cup tie today and the one that I am going to is taking place at a club that I last visited in October 2014. Again it was a match in the FA Vase and it was between the Black Country team of Lye Town v Pegasus Juniors (now Hereford Pegasus), which ended in a 2-1 victory for the visitors.  

The weather forecast is a good one with mainly sunny spells and little chance of rain.

I take the train from my local station at Acocks Green in Birmingham whose destination is Kidderminster but I get off at the penultimate stop at Stourbridge. I have time for a meal and a quick look round some of the shops before catching the No.9 bus from the nearby bus station and then a few minutes later I get off the bus near Lye town centre.

I walk up the road to Lye Cross and turning left at the traffic lights I come across a memorial (in the shape of a film-strip) commemorating Lye's most famous son, the star of stage, movies and later television, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.

Some of his most famous Hollywood films were ' The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1939) and 'The Ghost of Frankenstein' (1942).

Lye is a small Black Country town of approximately 12,000 people and it grew in size from a village during the Industrial Revolution with the manufacturing of goods such as nails, anvils, chains etc.

I passed the entrance of Lye Town's ground on my way up here and I just have to re-trace my steps and cross the road to get there.

As you can see, the same sports ground is shared by the local cricket club, a similar situation to that of nearby Stourbridge. I walk through the car park the club house is to my right and the turnstile entrance is in front. I had emailed the Club Secretary, Paul Roberts, yesterday about my impending visit and taking photos for my blog and he got back to me a bit later, informing me that yes it's OK for me to take photos and that I would be allowed to get in free!

What an unexpected and nice gesture. 

Unfortunately there are no programmes for sale.

I get myself a cuppa, buy some raffle tickets and take my place at the side of the seated stand, which takes up a third of the side of the ground opposite the side which borders the cricket ground. At the one end of the ground nearest the entrance, there is another stand for standing spectators and the opposite end has a grass bank behind. A few younger spectators are going to be watching the game from there.

The teams come out and Lye Town are in their usual all-blue strip while the visitors of Northampton Sileby Rangers are in their first team strip of red and black striped shirts, black shorts and socks. They play in the 1st division of the Spartan South Midlands League (Step 6) while Lye Town are a Step 5 side from the MFL Premier Division.

It's the home side who come rushing out of the blocks and virtually have this tie sealed in the first 10 minutes! Firstly, Northampton don't clear their lines properly and the ball falls nicely for Lye's No.9, Josh Hessom to hit the ball straight in to the left hand corner of the net.

Next, Lye Town are awarded a free kick for a needless push in the back of one of their forwards and Ben Billingham, the captain and former Stourbridge player, steps up to score with a great free kick which arcs over the wall and nestles in to the bottom right hand corner, despite the scrambling efforts of the keeper.

 

Just a minute later and it's goal number 3 after Lye's No.5 Matt Aston scores with a flicked header.

This is most unexpected and before 'The Rangers' can get back in to this game, Hessom scores a beauty from a shot with the outside of his boot after 24 minutes.

Ben Billingham next turns provider with a flighted ball for No.8, Joe Palmer to run on to and shoot past the Rangers keeper, Dan Smith and the same player scores the sixth and final goal of this half after 34 minutes.  

So the first half comes to an end and 'The Flyers' of Lye Town are certainly living up to their nickname, with this flying start. Northampton must be wondering what's hit them and it's certainly a damage limitation job for them now.

I get talking to a groundhopper from Newcastle-Under-Lyme and it's the first time he's been to this ground. He tells me that he even goes abroad to watch games, especially in Spain.

Before this game started I had talked to a guy who turns out to be Ben Billingham's dad and he said he's been watching him play since he was 8 years old. He must be feeling a proud father today.

In the second half, to their credit the shell shocked visitors try their best to get in to the game but without really testing Ben Newey in the Lye Town goal.

After 15 minutes, the home side add to their tally when their No.6, Sam Hall, heads in from a corner.

 Josh Heesom gets his hat-trick goal when his shot is parried by the keeper but not enough to keep it going in to the net.

In the last minute they 'The Flyers' have a good chance to make it 9 following a good move down the left but when the ball is played inside to the advancing No. 3, Jason Chilton, he slices his shot wide.

The final whistle blows and the visitors escape any further punishment. They were unlucky to find Lye Town in such fine form and have kept trying to play good football.

It will be interesting to see who Lye Town draw in the 2nd Round and they will also want to improve their current league position of 14th place. Their opponents today though currently lie in 3rd position in their league competition and will be mainly concentrating on promotion.

Match Attendance:            94

Entrance Fee:                     Free 

Match Programme:           none available

Match Entertainment:      7.5/10   

 

 

DROITWICH SPA U-21 4 - 5 STOURBRIDGE U-21

 

    MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, U-21 DIV (WEST)

       King George V Playing Fields, Briar Mill, Droitwich, WR9 0RZ

                  15th October 2022                   10:30am Kick-Off

As I will be out this evening in Birmingham, I have decided to go for an early kick-off and what better match than the top of the table Under 21 clash between Droitwich Spa (2nd) v Stourbridge (first)?

Also it's an opportunity for my first visit to Droitwich's new/re-developed ground. I have heard good reports about it and the first team have been pulling in very good sized crowds there too.

Weather wise it's a gorgeous sunny Autumn day as I make my way to my local railway station at Spring Road and I'm taking the 8:53 am train for Droitwich. It's on time and there's plenty of room too as you'd expect at this time on a Saturday.

Later on when we have passed through Stourbridge I look at and appreciate the beautiful countryside of my home county of Worcestershire, with a view of the Clee Hills (I guess) in the distance.

I like Droitwich Spa with it's old buildings in the town centre, the canals and nice parks too. It's a place that I always enjoyed visiting when I lived in nearby Worcester.

I have time to grab a coffee at a cafe close to the railway station and then make my way to the ground through a housing estate and soon I am walking on a path by the rustling reed beds of the canal. I find the footbridge which takes me to the other side and there are some football pitches close by and then there is the new 3G pitch of Droitwich Spa FC and just beyond it lies the newly built ground of the first team.

  The entrance is close at hand and I go through the open gate in the perimeter fence and pay my entrance fee to Mark Roberts who is the Secretary of the Under 21 side.

He tells me that the Droitwich Youth set-up is not actually part of Droitwich Spa FC but is affiliated to it and use their facilities, while the Under-21 team is the entrance point to the first team.

I make my way to the left of the entrance and decide to start the game at this end of the ground, especially as the sun is shining over my shoulder.

On the right hand side of the pitch looking down is a seated stand, which I think can hold 100 spectators and on the opposite side are located the team dug-outs.

Before the game starts I have time to have a quick chat to Matt Mason who is the main photographer of the football club. He tells me that he's going to be busy today, as he's been asked to umpire a ladies hockey match at the nearby club before this game finishes and he's also been asked to play in a football game too this afternoon.

The 2 teams come out with Droitwich in their usual colours of red & black striped shirts, white shorts and red, black & white socks. The visitors are in their change strip of all blue.

It's the home team who are pressing strongly for the first 10 minutes of this game, especially down the left, with their No.9, Louis Mitchell proving to be a handful and he has a shot saved by the keeper.

  After this early scare, Stourbridge are starting to get more into this match and in the 17th minute take the lead, with a shot by their No.10 I think, from the edge of the penalty area.   

The visitors are starting to dominate the game now and in the 31st minute they double their lead, when from an attack down the right, the ball is passed inside for one of their players to neatly flick the ball into the net.

Just 4 minutes later, the Stourbridge No.8 is left unmarked at a corner from the left to plant a header into the goal.

Droitwich Spa unexpectedly reply a minute later, when their is a mix-up between the visitors keeper and a defender, allowing Louis Mitchell with an open goal and he duly scores.

  Unfortunately for Droitwich, this is just a small respite as in the 42nd minute, following a cleared Droitwich free kick, the ball is quickly moved downfield for their No.10 to slot the ball home.

The scoreline is made more unreal when in injury time the live-wire Stourbridge No.7 shoots past the home keeper in to the right hand corner.

'The Spa' are trailing 1-5 at half-time and now they need to re-group and somehow restore some pride in the next 45 minutes. Stourbridge on the other hand must be wondering, by how much can they improve their goal difference today?

During the latter part of the first-half I have been talking to a guy, who is watching his sons play in the Stourbridge side and he is originally from Cyprus. They are Kyri and Michael Kourouyianni and Kyri is the captain too. He also tells me that his eldest son plays for Tividale and he scored a goal last week in their win at Worcester City. Quite a family football dynasty in the making there!

When play resumes, a defensive mistake on the right lets in the Stourbridge No.7 who shoots in to the side netting.

Droitwich respond in the 57th minute when their No.5's header clips the top of the bar from a free kick.

They go close again when one of their players pushes the ball past the keeper but his shot is blocked by a defender and I wonder if a penalty should have been awarded as it looks as if it struck him on the arm.

They are eventually rewarded when they get a penalty in the 70th minute and their No.6 places it into the left hand corner of the goal.

Although Droitwich are much more in the game now, Stourbridge still look dangerous on the break, especially down the right.

        (Spa captain, Aston Amies, snuffs out this Stourbridge attack)

2 more chances are created for the home side but not converted before they are awarded another penalty for a hand ball in the area.

 This is converted and then in injury time they score again when the ball is taken round the keeper and slotted home for the 4th goal.

       (Droitwich keeper, Dominic Rogertson safely gathers the ball)

Droitwich Spa have run out of time though and Stourbridge come away with the 3 points that they nearly messed up.

A spirited come back by The Spa and they must surely rue their first half defensive lapses. Stourbridge keep their 100% record and must be the hot favourites to win this division.  

It's good to have finally made it to this new ground and next Tuesday it will be hosting the much awaited local derby between Droitwich Spa and Worcester City in the First Round of the Worcestershire Senior Cup. That could see yet another record attendance.

This redeveloped ground is certainly an improvement to what was here before and the sloping pitch is a thing of the past. The grass pitch apparently had been a bit threadbare at the start of the season when there had not been much rain but it's certainly looking good now.

Entrance Fee:                       £3

Programme:                          none available

Match Attendance:              40 (approximately)

Match Entertainment:        7.5/10

PAGET RANGERS 1-1 DUDLEY TOWN

 

     MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION ONE

           Central Ground, Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield, B72 1NL

                         8th October 2022,    3pm Kick-Off

There is another rail strike on today and following my last weeks bus journey back home, I have decided to make sure that I will not be going through the city centre this time.

Travelling back from Darlaston had been fine until I got to the centre of Birmingham and then realised that the traffic was so bad that nothing was moving by Moor Street rail station for the five minutes I was waiting for the No.4 bus back to Acocks Green. I decided to start walking, which I did for most of the way (with a 20 minute meal stop), until I finally managed to get a bus for the last mile and ended up getting back at 9pm!

So today I am going to Sutton Coldfield via Erdington to watch the leaders of the Midland League Div One, Dudley Town in their away match at Paget Rangers who ground share with their landlords, Sutton Coldfield Town at Coles Lane.

It promises to be an intriguing clash as Paget have a good home record while Dudley are proving to be a handful both home and away.

It's a glorious day of sunshine with temperatures around the 15-16 C mark.

I take the 11A bus to Erdington without any problems, have time for a light meal at a local cafe and then catch one of the several buses that go to nearby Sutton Coldfield.

I have got to the Central Ground 20 minutes before kick-off, pay my entrance fee and have time for a leisurely cup of tea. 

For a match like this, it's looking to be a disappointing turn out, although I do know that Paget these days don't have a large following.

Both teams in the past have enjoyed brief stints in the Southern League and now ground share with other clubs who have artificial pitches (Dudley Town at Sporting Khalsa).

When the teams come out, 'The Bears' of Paget Rangers are attired in their usual colours of yellow & black striped shirts, black shorts & yellow socks while 'The Robins' of Dudley Town are wearing their first team strip of red shirts, white shorts and black socks. 

The visitors are using their pressing game to good effect in this half, being awarded several free kicks and winning plenty of corners too.

Dudley's No.11, Harry Crook cuts the ball back from the right for No.8,Todd Sherwood to volley wide of the left hand post and then Crook goes close with a free kick which skims the top of the cross bar.

In the 18th minute the home side spring to life when they break away and their lanky No.9, Szhem Whyte-Hall has his shot easily saved by the Dudley keeper.

The visitors next go close when their No.6, Owen Massey, heads just over the bar from a corner.

Dudley's failure to make their dominance count comes back to haunt them in the 38th minute, when Whyte-Hall makes a good run down the right. His attempted lob deflects off the Dudley Town No.5 who'd turned his back and the ball loops up, hits the cross bar and comes down for The Bears No.7, Tim Oyanda, lurking near the far post, to volley in the ball with his outstretched right foot (a la Erling Haaland).  

So the home side, who have battled well despite not seeing much of the ball, unexpectedly go in to the break with a goal lead and it promises to be an interesting second half in this tightly fought contest. 

The Dudley Town fans move down to the far end where their team will be attacking and they have been very quiet in the first half. There must be about 20-30 of them.

When play resumes they become more vocal and their efforts lift their team to push harder for a goal.

The Robins go very close in the 56th minute, when they have an in-swinging  corner delivered from the right and the ball ends up just going wide of the far post. 

However a few minutes later, the dangerous Harry Crook is put through again on the right and an over eager Paget defender takes his legs away from him for them to be awarded a penalty, which is scored by Owen Massey, much to the delight of the nearby Dudley Town fans. 

Paget Rangers are definitely not out of this contest yet and their No.11, Harry Jackson, fires in a fierce shot which stings the hands of Ethan Hawkes in the visitors goal.

Then in the closing minutes, both sides have great opportunities to get the winning goal. Firstly, Dudley Town's Harry Crook cuts the ball back in to the penalty area for their No.9 to fire wide when it might have been easier to score and then a Paget forward bursts through on goal only to blaze the ball way over the bar.

That's how the score stays when the ref blows his whistle for the end of a match, which was a credit to both teams.

Dudley Town stay on top despite this draw, with Bilston Town cutting down the gap to just one point after their hard fought 1-0 win over Smethwick Rangers and Leicestershire's Ashby Ivanhoe are just one point behind them in 3rd spot.

Paget Rangers are lying in 10th place and maybe fancy finishing in the top 5 or 6 if they improve their away form? 

 

Entrance Fee:                 £6 (£4 concession)  

Match Programme:       none available

Match Attendance:        70

Entertainment Value:    8.5/10           

   

DARLASTON TOWN 0 - 1 BEWDLEY TOWN

 

     MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION ONE

       The Paycare Stadium, Bentley Road North, Walsall, WS2 0EA

                           1st October 2022,   3:00 pm Kick-Off

With yet another rail strike on this Saturday, I decide to be adventurous and visit a new ground for me, The Paycare Stadium home of the newly promoted club, Darlaston Town. They have been on my radar for some time now.

I work out on Friday evening that I can take the faster bus up to Walsall, the X51 from Birmingham city centre and then the short ride west on the Number 529. 

I get to Walsall a bit later than planned as there was confusion where the X51 bus actually started from. After missing 2 buses I managed to figure which was the correct bus stop, no thanks to the Traveline West Midlands website though.

I have enough time to have a good meal and a bit of window shopping before hopping on to the 529 bus that drops me of on the Wolverhampton Road ten minutes later. 

Then just as I turn into Bentley Road North, a car stops on the other side of the road and the driver shouts across to me 'Are you John?' Even though my name is Jonathan, a lot of people call me 'Jon', so I answer 'yes' and call back 'Are you Simon?' The reason for my question is that I emailed the Darlaston Town secretary, called Simon Cox, the previous day, asking about the availability of club programmes and badges.

He answers 'yes' and tells me to hop in to his car and he will take me to the ground. I'm thinking this is a really good and unexpected service but when we get to the ground entrance he carries on driving. I just think that there must be another entrance nearby but confusingly he soon turns off to the right for the AFC Bentley ground. I tell him that I am going to see Darlaston and he realises he's made a mistake as he'd thought that I was one of the match officials for the game taking place at this ground. We have a laugh about the situation and he kindly takes me back to the Darlaston Town entrance and drops me off there.

I find out when I relate this story to a fellow spectator later on, he tells me that before the kick-off that he thought he heard that there was found to be an extra linesman at the ground. If so I hope he made it in time for the start of the AFC Bentley game!

I walk through the car park, pay my entrance fee and get a programme too, while being told that there are metal badges for sale at the bar. I go in to the club house and there are plenty of people in here, with the Arsenal v Spurs derby highlights being shown on TV.

I buy a cup of tea,  a club badge (£4) and sit down at a nearby table and a bit later on, a guy comes along handing out neatly printed team-sheets for anyone needing one. A very nice touch!

Later I go out and take up a position by the side of the goal that's nearest the entrance. To my left are the changing rooms and the club house, with the team dug-outs in front. A bit further up is a small stand with seating for 50 spectators.

There is another small stand on the opposite side of the ground but just for standing spectators.

The teams come out with 'Darlo' in their home strip of blue & white striped shirts, blue shorts & socks. The visitors are in their change strip of lime green shirts, black shorts & socks.

It's Darlaston who go close to scoring first when from a free kick on the left the ball is crossed over to the far post where a Darlo hits a shot on the valley that goes across the goal and just past the wrong side of the post. 

Although Darlaston are mainly on top for the first 10-15 minutes, Bewdley start to get in to the game more and more in the first half. Darlaston go close again after 25 minutes when the lively Ryan Winwood passes to a fellow forward who sees his shot hit the stanchion and out.

When I move up to the far end of the ground, I get talking to another photographer who turns out to be the Club Secretary, Simon Cox. He is well kitted out with 2 of the latest Canon camera bodies with top notch looking lenses attached and a sturdy tripod too. Nice set-up!

He makes a comment about it not being the best of games and I have to agree. There is plenty of effort but it's just too frenetic with not many chances being created.

So it's no surprise when half-time arrives and it's still 0-0.

Darlaston Town, might be a new club but their forbears, the old Darlaston team had been founded in 1874! So they have a proud history. It's good to see them settled at this neat looking ground after having to ground share before after they had reformed the club for the 2014-15 season.

When play resumes, a Bewdley player finds himself in a one on one encounter with the Darlo keeper, Joe Sidaway who is able to block his shot.

Just 6 minutes later and Sidaway makes a clearance just from underneath the cross-bar from a Bewdley corner.

Defences are remaining on top and I think that the longer this game goes on, then the first team to score will probably win it.

Just a few minutes later and Bewdley Town's, No. 10, breaks through to push the ball past Sidaway.

 That goal had been coming from the visitors mounting pressure in this half but Darlaston are not going to lie down that easily.

They pile bodies forward in a bid to score an equaliser but the Bewdley defence manages to hold firm and take away the 3 points.

It's been good to finally visit Darlaston Town's ground. They are a friendly well run club who are certainly looking to put their team on the map. It's just a shame I have caught them on an off-day today.

They have come a long way since the first and last time I saw them in December 2014 at a muddy Bartley Green, where they won 3-2.

Bewdley Town look to have improved from last season, when they made a last minute escape from relegation. Hell, they won 0-3 at Worcester City recently, hastening the resignation of the then manager Tim Harris, who had guided them to a very respectable 4th spot in the last campaign.

 

Match Attendance:                 128

Entrance Fee:                          £6 (£4 concession)

Match Programme:                £2

Entertainment Value:            6/10