BOXING DAY 'STAFFORDSHIRE' DOUBLE

First and foremost, Happy Christmas to all readers of this blog. I hope Santa brought everything you desired!

It wouldn't be Christmas without a Boxing Day 'double header' but with the weather decidedly dodgy over the festive period, I thought it safe to abort my original planned double of Welton Rovers and Chippenham Town (though both games did go ahead and both finished 3-3) and make a short-ish trip to Staffordshire for an easy double.... 

11.30am
MIDLAND COMBINATION
PREMIER LEAGUE

STAFFORD TOWN 1
BROCTON 0

ATTENDANCE: 185

Stafford Town's Evans Park was opened in 2010

With Stafford's excellent Twitter feed giving the heads up about this game being on, there were plenty of 'hoppers' in amongst the bumper crowd to witness Stafford Town beat Brocton for the first time since 1992. 

The game was a typical tight derby affair with both teams cancelling each other out. The best of the first half chances went to the homesters and they took the lead after 29 minutes through James Cresswell, whose neat lob over 'keeper proved to be a worthy winner.

Brocton's upped their games in the second half and their efforts probably merited a share of the spoils but it was Town who held firm to earn the local bragging rights.

Spot the groundhopper!

Once the final whistle blew at Evans Park, it was a trip up the A34 to the city of Stoke-on-Trent for.....

3.00pm
NORTH WEST COUNTIES
LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

HANLEY TOWN 4
LEEK CSOB 0

ATTENDANCE: 111

The covered terrace Hanley's Abbey Lane ground

Comfortable win for Hanley who are adapting well to life in their debut season at step 6, after being promoted from the Staffs County League. Two goals in each half bagged the points and Hanley also had the luxury of missing a penalty, amongst a host of other chances.

Theo Stair (20) gave the homesters the lead from penalty spot (pictured right) before missing a second spot kick. James Pointon (41) did make it 2-0 before the break.

Leek had a go, as you would expect, in the second period before were susceptible to the counter attack. They failed to breach the Hanley goal and eventually conceded to late goals as Danny Tainton (82) and Michael Morton (84) made certain of the points.

WALSALL WOOD (Oak Park)

FA VASE QUARTER FINAL, WALSALL WOOD 0-0 GUERNSEY FC (AET)
ATTENDANCE: 676

Well, after what seems an eternity trying, I finally found myself watching a game at the home of Walsall Wood. My previous attempts stretching back to last December had been foiled by the Great British weather as rain and snow forced the cancellation of my intended matches.

The crowd queueing at the gate, all eager to see the
"biggest game in Walsall Wood's history"

Oak Park has suffered badly over the recent weeks, but the pitch was fine today. Sanded in places and obviously still quite heavy, but playable. The ground, at the back of a Leisure centre, was well worth the wait to visit as the Main Stand dates from the 1930's and is believed to the only surviving stand of it's kind in England.

The stand today was full of the green of Guernsey as they swelled the crowd to a bumper 676, though it seemed there was a lot more in attendance. I was guessing it was nearer to 1,000. Regardless, the attendance was slightly better than the 54 at the previous home game!  The locals had certainly embraced the the occasion, which the club were billing as the biggest game in their 98 year history.



The historic Main Stand, packed to the rafters with fans


Walsall Wood were the lowest ranked team left in the last 8 as they ply their trade in the Midland Combination, which is Step 6 in the pyramid, whilst Guernsey are in the Combined Counties Premier, which is Step 5.



Luke Perry's sculpture in the background,
commemorating Walsall Wood's mining heritage.
Oak Park is close to where the colliery was
located, until it closed in 1964.



Both teams are handily poised in their respective promotion races, with plenty of games in hand though this could work against them as the fixtures pile up. Guernsey still have 23 league games to play before the seasons end whilst Walsall Wood have a mere 10 games in hand on leaders Bromsgrove.

The last thing both teams needed was a replay, but that is how it panned out.

The Green Lions made a sluggish start and it was The Wood who had the better of the exchanges in the opening 20 minutes. The Islanders eventually worked their way back into the game and it was a pretty even affair from from that point, with both teams matching each other blow for blow.

The really clear cut chances were few and far between and both goalkeepers, Dale Faultless for Walsall Wood and Chris Tardiff for Guernsey were in fine form in keeping the scoreline blank.

The best chance of the first half fell to Walsall Wood when just before the break when Ahmet Bilgimer broke clear, dinked his effort over the advancing Tardiff but the ball was cleared off the line as the home crowd looked for a "Russian" Linesman. This Linesman however got the decision absolutely spot on.

Guernsey had the better of the chances in the second half but Faultless produced a, err, faultless performance in 'keeping his team in the competition.

As the second period wore on extra time seemed inevitable as tiredness began to creep in. It was in the second period of extra time that Guernsey had their best chance when Dave Rihoy broke clear and smashed a shot which had Faultless finally beaten, but the ball crashed against the crossbar. The rebound landed at the feet of Dominic Heaume but he blazed his effort over with the open goal at his mercy.

No goals but an absolutely absorbing encounter, so it is off to the Channel Islands next weekend for the replay. Sadly I will not be able to attend but I really wish I could. The eventual winners will play Spennymoor in the two-legged Semi-Final.

 

A Wood supporter seeks
a better view
at a packed Oak Park





       

The sun sets on this cup tie, both teams will have to try again next weekend

 

BROCTON (Silkmore Lane)

MIDLAND COMBINATION PREMIER LEAGUE, BROCTON 1-1 STAFFORD TOWN, ATTENDANCE: 96

I was working until midday so today's options were rather limited. After first choice of Walsall Wood v Hanworth Villa bit the dust yet again, I headed, after getting the thumbs up via twitter, to Silkmore Lane, the home of Brocton FC, where the pitch was immaculate and the game was never in doubt.

The Badgers were founded in 1937 and this is their 75th anniversary season if you can't be bothered doing the maths!

After vacating their original Chetwynd Arms Ground, Brocton played at Rowley Park, Cannock Sports Ground and Heath Hayes FC before taking over the lease of the derelict Old Police Sports Ground on Silkmore Lane in 2006, but it wasn't until 2008 that the ground was deemed fit for football.

This was the second installment of the Stafford derby as Brocton ran out 3-1 winners last Saturday. Stafford seemed determined not to let that happen today as they got stuck into their hosts from the off. This meant the majority off the opening period was quite tetchy as both teams traded tackles and insults.

Stafford had a goal ruled out for offside, however Brocton just about shaded the play and went into the break with the lead, given to them through a fine Gary Fife effort.



Gary Fife gives Brocton the lead after 36 minutes



 

The second half saw Stafford begin to play football and they started to create chances. They were deservedly level through a Joe Woodward header (58). The game could have gone either way, though Stafford's cause was not helped by playing the last 10 minutes with 10 men, James Cresswall receiving a second yellow card.

A good, lively encounter and overall a draw was a fair result.