DODWORTH MINERS WELFARE FC (The Welfare Ground)

SHEFFIELD & HALLAMSHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, DODWORTH MINERS WELFARE 3-0 NORTH GAWBER COLLIERY, ATTENDANCE: 38 (h/c)

After a Friday night in Luton (watching Everton draw 1-1 with The Hatters) I headed across the Pennines to the village of Dodworth, which is approximately 2.5 miles from Barnsley.

This is a ground that has been on my radar since the covid lockdown restrictions forced groundhoppers like myself to look at grounds at step 7 and below. There are definitely some crackers at that level.

Dodworth is a former coal mining village and, like most of the old mining communities in these parts, the welfare ground boast excellent facilities, the football ground being no exception, boasting a large covered enclosure. After 135 years, mining ceased in October 1985, as part of the pit closure policy of the Thatcher government.

The game had something riding on it as the opponents, North Gawber Colliery, needed a win to help in their bid to avoid the drop but that always seemed unlikely as Dodworth dominated proceedings from the off. It was a comfortable victory for the homesters thanks to a hat-trick from Matthew Jacobs.