MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE, DIVISION ONE
Pride Park, Hazel Lane, Great Wyrley, WS6 6AA
29th October 2022 3:00 pm Kick-Off
Today is the last day of British Summer Time and to make the most of this I am going to a 3pm kick-off. I had toyed with the idea of going to see the FA Trophy match at Hednesford who are playing Stourbridge but instead I am saving a bit of money by going to watch Wolves Sporting who are at home against Hinckley AFC.
This will be my 2nd visit to Pride Park, after having watched a West Midlands League match last season when Norton Canes FC were ground sharing there. I'm not sure what's happened to that club now? Folded maybe?
After some early rain, the forecast is a good one. Cloudy with sunny intervals with the temperature possibly hitting 18 degrees C.
I make my way by train to Walsall, have a good value meal of fish & chips at the Tesco cafe and then take the train to Landywood, which is the station before Cannock.
It takes me a leisurely 20 minutes walk to get to the ground and this gives me time to buy a cup of tea at 'Wolfies Bar' which lies at the top of a flight of steps in the building which houses the changing rooms below.
Unfortunately there are no programmes for sale, just like when I saw Paget Rangers a few weeks ago. The trouble is for clubs with usually low attendances, it's probably not worth their while and expensive to print too. I later find the team line-ups on a print out and pinned up near the entrance.
When the teams venture out on to the pitch they are both in their first team colours, Wolves Sporting in orange shirts, black shorts and socks while Hinckley AFC are decked out in red shirts, blue shorts and red socks.
It's the home team that start the brighter, with their No.11, Luke Francis put through on the left and he has his close range shot blocked by keeper, Brandon Bache.
The warning signs are not heeded though by the AFC defence as the same player is put through again a few minutes later and this time he makes no mistake with a placed shot going just inside the right hand post.
Hinckley are trying to get in to the game but their attacking efforts are generally being snuffed out by the Sporting defence before they can get close to their goal.
Disaster strikes for the visitors when a calamitous defensive error leaves the Wolves Sporting No.9, Arman Khoshkoo with the simple task of placing the ball into an empty net after Brandon Bache had raced out of his goal after 30 minutes.
Unfortunately the visitors suffered some more bad luck just before the end of this half when their No.3, Jeremie Agholor is clattered by Sporting's Callum Wood at the other end of the pitch to me and so I don't have a good view of the incident. I only know that the Hinckley fans are displeased by this.
He is escorted limping gingerly off the pitch at half-time, a sad sight indeed!
So Wolves Sporting are very much in the driving seat and what will Hinckley do to shake things up?
I see that there is still work being done to this ground. When I came here last season I was told that drainage work had been done and I can see that the labour is being carried out by a few volunteers on an ongoing basis.
I had seen 2 photos on the club website yesterday of the ground in 2014, presumably when it was bought. It was a sorry sight and has been well renovated since then.
The second half gets under way and Hinckley are putting more effort in to their game. The pep talk by the manager seems to have lifted them and just 7 minutes in their No.9, Chandler Pegg, has scored. I think that he previously played for the MFL Premier outfit, Lichfield City. A good acquisition!
8 minutes later and the visitors have equalised, courtesy of a penalty scored by their No.8, Lewis Collins, after Pegg is brought down in the area by Sporting defender, Ellis Jones.
We have a real game on our hands now and both teams are going for the 3 points although the momentum seems to be in Hinckley's favour, courtesy of their vocal loyal band of supporters.
Both teams fashion chances and it's the visitors who score the next goal, when following good work by that man Pegg on the left of the Sporting goal, the ball is played in to Jack Edwards who shoots past home keeper Ben Wood. You could almost feel the ball being sucked into the net by the Hinckley supporters standing behind that goal!
This sparks a big celebration with the some of the players and jubilant supporters.
I had a feeling that this match would be a good one to watch with both sides having similar league positions. Hinckley are now in the play-off places and later I find out that the top 3 teams all lost today.
Wolves Sporting are in 9th spot and no doubt will be looking to build up a good run of results to get further up the table.
Entrance Fee: £6 (£4 concession)
Match Attendance: 38 (0fficial figure) Approx 50 (head count)
Match Programme: none available
Entertainment Value: 8.5/10
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