There is only one thing better than getting a new ground in, and that is getting a new ground in when AFC Bridgnorth or Wolverhampton Casuals are playing there. So when I saw that Bridgo had arranged an away friendly deep in the Welsh countryside I was ecstatic and Mount Field did not disappoint. This was my 164th ground and my 4th in Wales, the only other lower league experience in Wales being a visit to Llangefni Town in 2018. Llanfair is a lovely, small village just off the A458 and there was free parking at the ground.
According to the league website, the football club was founded all the way back in September 1896 following a meeting at the National School that a team would be formed to compete in the Welshpool League. They won their first league title in 1948, the Montgomeryshire Amateur League. They have a long and prestigious history in a multitude of Welsh leagues and cups and now compete in the newly formed North Eastern league which after my visit to Mount Field today, I will be making sure I frequent regularly. If you want a bit more information about the history of the club, please click on the hyperlink above as there was plenty more I did not include.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the ground itself as I’d done no prior research into it and had no idea of the league requirements. As I rolled down the steep hill into Llanfair and the stadium appeared on the right, a wide smile spread across my face and it didn’t leave it for the rest of the afternoon. The ground is an absolute gem with a beautiful setting which I did my best to capture in my photos, but I am sure it doesn’t give it justice.
It doesn’t feel like there should be a football ground there, as we drove along the windy country lanes on our approach we were questioning whether we’d taken a wrong turn. There are three stands with plenty of hard standing around the pitch, a small refreshment van and a clubhouse which I didn’t end up looking in.
The ‘Ivor Owen’ stand, surely a reference to the Trefor Owen who captained the Welsh Youth side whilst playing for Llanfair back in the 1940s before a career in England in the 1960s, is a terrific structure set on a hill which means you get a great vantage point of the game coupled with protection from the elements.
The other two stands are identical and on the opposite side of the pitch. Two small seated structures which offer an additional 30/40 seats each to the main stand. There wasn’t a great deal on offer in the form of food and drink, a small van did have hot and cold drinks available but if you are hungry it is literally a hop and skip from the village centre where I am informed there is a chip shop and a Spar.
You never know what to expect from pre-season friendlies, I’ve been to 0-0 draws with hardly a shot between them and then on the opposite end of the spectrum you get games like today. Five a piece and some absolute crackers in there too, including a long range volley and a free kick from the home side who equalised late on in a game that kept the 50 strong crowd entertained as we watched the stereotypical rainy clouds of Wales draw in.
Free entry, ten goals and a cracking little ground nestled deep in the drizzly meadows of Wales. A fantastic afternoon and a ground I will definitely visit again if the opportunity presents itself.
My third Saturday in a row with a chance to get a new ground in, and something slightly more local this week as I travelled to the tip of the East Midlands to the lovely market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, the home of one of my favourite fictional characters – Adrian Mole. England had finally traded in the grey and stormy weather that had tainted the country for the past couple of weeks and blessed us with a beautiful blue sky for a change, although the presence of the sun was slightly deceiving on what was a chilly afternoon. There was plenty of parking at the ground although our car did need a bit of a push to get off the car park as it was a bit muddy.
Ashby Ivanhoe were founded in 1948 and initially competed in various East Midlands leagues across Burton and Leicestershire. They enjoyed plenty of success throughout the first part of their history, winning leagues and cups in their domestic leagues. They got their promotion to Step 6 in 2013-14 after finishing third in the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division, being moved up to the East Midlands Counties League where they remained until a sidewards switch to the Midland Football League in 2019. The record attendance at the NFU Sports Ground is a really impressive 693 when they played host to Ilkeston in the FA Cup first qualifying round.
The NFU Sports Ground is another pleasant, but basic, non-league ground which is in theme from the past few posts. It has a couple of basic stands and another great clubhouse, another running theme of my groundhops this season, there has been some real belters.
The first stand is behind the goal and in front of the clubhouse, and it is a small wooden feature with a few rows of plastic seats. It has wooden benches on either side and is a nice original home for spectators. Also, there is some covered hard standing along the pitch on this side up to the corner flag.
The only other stand at the ground is a more modern one and is on the left hand side of the pitch from the clubhouse, the same side as the dugouts. It has a good number of seats, although I’m not sure how much protection from the elements you’d get in it unless the wind was blowing behind you! There is hard standing available on these two sides but there is no access to the other two.
The clubhouse was comfortable and had both Sky Sports and the Six Nations on, with a good selection of beers and drinks. Hot food was available just outside the clubhouse with the usual burgers and hot dogs on sale.
Potentially one of the best programmes I’ve bought so far at Step 6, setting me back £2 but definitely worth the purchase. It had plenty of information, words from the manager and chairman and even a word search to keep you entertained at half time.
In the non-league world, AFC Bridgnorth are one of the teams that I follow and if they are playing at a new ground I will always bookmark it to see if I can to the match. I’m a semi-regular at Crown Meadow when fixtures allow and always check their scores on a Saturday. Unfortunately, they are in the midst of a pretty depressing season battling for survival in the Midland Football League Division One. They do show some glimpses of fight and belief in games but they are always just a mistake away from their heads going down and shipping another three / four goals. Hopefully they can muster up some results in the next few months and retain their Step 6 status.
On the other hand, the Knights are having a much more positive season and find themselves sitting in 5th position with a couple of games in hand on the teams above them. They come in to today’s fixture off the back of four victories on the spin and looked to be clear favourites for the tie.
A similar story to most of my Meadowmen games this season, a hard-fought start to the game with a couple of promising spells of play despite a lack of any real clear cut chances. The hosts did create a few chances and broke the deadlock late in the first half, a smart finish from their striker as he raced through one-on-one with the keeper.
The afternoon got worse for Bridgnorth in the second half, as Ashby Ivanhoe’s quality started to show superior and they found themselves four to the good after 76 minutes. Not the easiest pitch to play on but the home side looked a tidy outfit and I wish them well in their remaining fixtures this season.
AFC Bridgnorth 0-3 Bilston Town Community Football Club
Crown Meadow is about a ten minute walk from Bridgnorth town centre which has plenty of pubs and cafes for pre-match refreshment
Admission: £5 Programme: £1
Competition: West Midlands Regional League Premier Division
Attendance: 70 (based on rough headcount)
The international break from league football for some football fans is an excuse for moaning and looked upon with high levels of contempt but for groundhoppers such as myself, who do follow a higher level of the sport for most of the season, it is a great opportunity to see some non-league action in natural light rather than the eerie glow of the floodlights. Saying that, because it is mid-November the floodlights still came out to play but at least I saw some sunlight fall on the slanted fields of Crown Meadow! On this occasion I decided to head over to the market town of Bridgnorth to tick another new ground off my list, and although I have visited Bridgnorth many times I had never even seen the football ground before. There is a small car park in front of Crown Meadow but this would not take long to fill up so there is lots of parking available in the streets around the ground. To get into the ground you walk around the left of the clubhouse to where the turnstile is placed, and this is also where you can get your programme.
History: The past of AFC Bridgnorth is one that is slightly confusing one but from what I can make out the earliest signs of a football team in the area was way back in 1899 under the name Bridgnorth Town. However, there was a different club formed in 1938 with the same name, but this folded due to the war. It was not until 1949 when a Brignorth Town was seen again in the Kidderminster League. They have spent most of their recent years in and around the Midlands leagues and spent some time in the Midland Alliance. The club folded in 2013 due to financial issues and AFC Bridgnorth were founded and won promotion back to the West Midlands Premier Division on their first attempt.
Stadium: You are welcomed into Crown Meadow through the turnstile and this brings you out in front of the clubhouse which is a decent size, with a bar and Sky Sports on the mounted televisions. Up a few stairs to the left is the pitch, which as I said earlier has a considerable incline down towards the clubhouse. There are two stands at Crown Meadow, the main stand on the left as you go up the stairs and this has a large number of seats fit for a bigger crowd. This is long and stretches most of the length of the pitch. Then, behind the goal there is another stand with no seats in but just for standing supporters. This is also where the refreshment bar is located so you can sort yourself out without missing any of the match.
The stand behind the goal, refreshments are located at the other end
The main stand from a distance
You can stand anywhere you please around the ground, and on the opposite side of the pitch where the above photo was taken you can get a different vantage point on the game as it is the top of the hill. It was a much better stadium than I had predicted, due to the financial past of the team but I was impressed by its stature and structures.
Catering: Alcoholic drinks are available from the bar inside the clubhouse but there is also the refreshment bar in the second stand. The availability of the items on the menu was slightly disappointing as a few of the items advertised were not available, however I settled for sausage and chips, with a cup of tea and this cost me £4 altogether. This meant that my total spend for the day was £10.
Programme: Always good to get a programme for a non-league game and based on first impressions I was impressed with the good quality of programme I got at todays match. It had news about AFC Bridgnorth and history about Bilston. My only criticism would be the lack of results and league tables which are things that are usually expected from a programme, it did prove a bit of a short read. But for a £1 it was a nice little purchase.
Front cover
Pre-match build up: I have seen both sides in todays match already this season, with AFC Bridgnorth being on the end of a 4-0 loss at Wolverhampton Sporting Community (which is hardly embarrasing considering their goalscoring record!) and Bilston Town losing to Stone Old Alleynians a few weeks ago. Bridgnorth are without a win in the league since the 30th September but according to the programme supplied a stronger performance away at Tividale on Saturday so would be looking to get something out of this game. Bilston’s form has been a bit hit and miss this season with some fairly inconsistent results but they did manage to get a victory at home on Saturday against Dudley Sports. The previous fixture between these two sides back in August finished in a 3-3 all draw so I was expecting goals and excitement but perhaps an evenly matched game to take place.
The match itself: The match kicked off and it became apparent that it might not be quite as tight as I had predicted as it seemed that Bilston always had the edge over Brignorth, despite the fact they were starting uphill. It wasn’t until the 18th minute when the Steelmen took the advantage through a looping header which beat the Bridgnorth keeper with ease. Although Bridgnorth managed to conjure up a few chances, they never had any clear cut enough to find it a big shock when Bilston doubled their lead in the 42nd minute through Daniel Elwell who seemed to pass the ball into the net and roll it past the keeper. They should have made it three before half time with a fantastic turn and shot but it went narrowly wide.
Half Time Score: AFC Bridgnorth 0-2 Bilston Town
A feisty second half affair saw lots of big challenges and tackles but the game was put to bed with 30 minutes to go when Sufyan Zia cleared the ball up the pitch and James Reid outmuscled the Bridgnorth centre back, controlled the ball and fired into the net on the half volley – much to the pleasure of the Bilston away contingent. Maybe the Bilston keeper was worried about a comeback hitting his side as he spent the last fifteen minutes shouting about “game management” despite the comfortable position and score. The game finished 0-3 with Bridgnorth never really looking like troubling the bright orange of Bilston Town.
Full Time Score: AFC Bridgnorth 0-3 Bilston Town
Overall: A nice stadium with decent facilites, despite the pitch not being fantastic. A good result for Bilston who I have seen more than any other WMRL team so far this season. Not a fantastic home performance from Bridgnorth so it is vital that they put the work in to ensure that they don’t find themselves in a relegation fight. A good ground to do and if you’ve never been here make sure you try and pop down for a good, cheap day out. Next match for me is Tuesday evening so as always keep an eye out on Wednesday morning for a post from me.
ground bounce 