Treflan

Friday 16th September 2022

Llansantffraid Village 7-2 Four Crosses

Admission: £3

Competition: Central Wales Northern Division

There is something truly special about football on a Friday night. A rarity throughout the football pyramid, but when one pops up on the Futbology app just over an hours drive away it is an opportunity you can’t turn down. Especially when it is a ground like Treflan, one that has been on my radar for some time so I was glad to finally get over the Welsh border and tick it off. There was plenty of parking on the large car park next to the ground.

Treflan was the former home of TNS before they relocated to Oswestry due to issues with European ground regulations, leaving behind a village with a terrific football ground but no team. Luckily, in 2007 this was rectified as the village re-founded its team under the name Llansantffraid Village FC and took their place right at the bottom of the Welsh football pyramid. Successive promotions in their first couple of seasons meant they found themselves in the Central Wales League Northern Division where they play today.

Treflan is a fantastic ground, and although I have not yet been anywhere else in the league, I am sure it must be the biggest in the division. The obvious difference being the ginormous stand behind the goal, immediately visible from the car park and one that would stand the test at much higher levels than this.

The other stand at the ground is also deceptively large, seeming smaller compared to the monstrous main stand, but when you are actually stand in it it has plenty of seating and great cover for the spectators. There is hard standing around the whole ground and you can get a great high vantage point all along the length of the pitch, thanks to the hill the ground was built on.

Right next to the ground is the “Llansantffraid FC Social Club” which was absolutely buzzing on a Friday evening. This offered a nice respite from what was a cool September night. They had a great bar, Sky Sports and they were serving portions of sausage and chips. There was no denying the community vibe in here as everyone seemed to know everyone!

The game was a local derby, with just four miles separating the two teams, but the form guide did not bode well for the visitors as Llansantffraid had won their last five in a row and sat top of the table. Once again, a minutes silence was impeccably observed by both sides and the crowd. The game played out in the expected fashion as the hosts raced into an early lead and dominated the first half, taking a 5-0 lead into the half time break. To give them credit, Four Crosses fought valiantly in the second half and managed to claw back a couple of consolation goals but in the end they never really stood a chance as the game finished 7-2, much to the delight of a very healthy-sized crowd.

Wood Park

Tuesday 13th September 2022

Alsager Town 2-4 Stockport Town

Admission: £6

Competition: North West Counties Division One South

Attendance: 61

The football season is well underway, and I have been slacking slightly on the blog front as I have ticked off a few new grounds but not written about them. I’ll try and rectify that over the next few weeks and get writing about my next few trips, a couple of which I am really looking forward to. Tonight was a trip up the M6 to get back involved in the North West Counties scene, a league which I have always been impressed with since my first venture into it last season. Wood Park is nestled deep in an estate in Alsager, which is a lovely little town, there is a small amount of parking at the ground but you can find plenty of space on the estate. I was a bit gutted upon arrival as I’d seen a photo of the programme on Twitter earlier in the day, but there was none left by the time I got there.

Alsager Town were founded in 1968 and started out in Mid-Cheshire League. They have flitted between leagues and names throughout their history, spending time in various Crewe leagues, the Midland Football League and now the North West Counties under the names Alsager Town and Alsager United. They spent some time at Step 4 before being relegated in 2008 after failing ground grading criteria. They’ve been at Step 6 for the last 7 seasons. They have played at their home ground, Wood Park, since their inception in 1968. It suffered considerable fire damage in 2011 but has been rebuilt since.

Elevation.

The view from the balcony.

Wood Park is a great stadium for Step 6, with a few different types of stands, a clubhouse and a tea hut. The clubhouse is on higher ground than the rest of the stadium so you can actually see 90% of the pitch from an elevated viewpoint on the balcony. Down the hill brings you to two stands, one with a few benches/seats in and one which has a few rows of terracing. This isn’t a ground where you will be fighting for cover if the weather turns!

Following the pitch to the right brings you to the tea bar and the hospitality suite which we will come back to, and then on the far side of the pitch are the dugouts and one remaining stand which also offers four steps of shallow terracing. Hard standing is available all around the ground.

Another groundhop where I didn’t actually sample the food on offer, but the Alsager tea bar had a decent menu at very reasonable prices. My friend took them up on their offer of pie, peas and gravy and it looked spot on. The clubhouse had a decent bar with a range of drinks available.

On to the game, my second North West Counties game in seven days (following a visit to Abbey Hulton last week that I need to catch up on and write up) and hopefully one that offered slightly more quality. I must say that both sides observed the minutes silence impeccably in a fitting tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Mutterings around the crowd were that the visitors, Stockport Town, were a cracking footballing side who were dangerous on the break and full of pace and technical quality. However, the home side were no pushovers and came into the fixture off the back of successive league victories.

A very crumpled team sheet!

The game began with the away side showing why they were so highly thought of with some great transitional play and creating high quality chances from the get-go. They scored two quality goals in the first half through Scott McGowan and Kyle Foley to go in to the break with a strong lead.

The second half continued in similar fashion and the visitors lead was doubled to 4-0 by a Dan McLaughlin brace in the space of two minutes with 30 minutes left to play. The Alsager defensive line was absolutely furious and the goalkeeper frustrated, especially after the third goal was a rebound following a superb penalty save. However, the Bullets were ignited by this and the last thirty minutes was a fascinating watch as they put Stockport under immense pressure, pulling two goals back and missing a flurry of chances.

Full Time: Alsager Town 2-4 Stockport Town

A cracking evening of end-to-end entertainment at a lovely little football ground in Cheshire, one that is definitely worth a visit if you are to tick it off.

A perfect minute of silence.

The Silverlands

Saturday 27th August 2022

Buxton FC 1-2 Blyth Spartans FC

Admission: £15

Competition: National League North

Attendance: 692

What better way to kickstart a bank holiday weekend than a trip into the Peak District to combine two of my favourite past times – football and hiking. This was my 167th ground and is one that had been on my to-do list for a long time, thankfully it did not disappoint. I parked in the centre of Buxton as this was ideal for my morning walk and then it was just a ten-minute walk to the ground afterwards, parking around the ground might be a bit tricky as it is a tight estate so you may be better off parking in the centre.

Working up an appetite for football!

Buxton FC was founded in 1877 as an extension of the local cricket club and The Silverlands site established in 1884 on land that was owned by the club captain, Frank Drewry, meaning that it is one of the oldest grounds in the country that has been continually used by the same club. It is also the highest senior ground in the country at 1035 feet above sea level, almost double the Hawthorns of West Brom which is usually recognised as the highest in the country. Another example of non-league ignorance in the media! The Bucks have competed at various different levels of the non-league pyramid but after a title-winning season last year in the Northern Premier League Premier Division they now found themselves at Step 2 in the National League North.

The Silverlands is a fantastic non-league ground fitting to the town that it finds itself in. Located just a short walk from the town centre, which after a quick trip into the Kings Head pub I established has an astonishing 19 (yes nineteen) pubs which should make for a good away day! There are three covered stands at the ground, with one holding around 500 seats, and the other two standing. The seats in the stand came from Maine Road when Manchester City moved across to their new home.

The terraced stand behind the goal hosted the vocal contingent of Buxton supporters for both halves of the game, whilst the impressive Blyth Spartans following switched ends as is traditional at non-league games.

The final covered stand runs the length of the pitch and has a bit of terracing in parts but also just flat areas too. The far end behind the goal is just hard standing but has a slightly raised view of the 4G pitch.

I have to say that food available was fantastic, maybe slightly biased as I had just hiked 10 miles through the Peak District countryside, but it really did deliver. There was a great range on the menu but I had to settle with an unbeaten classic; pie, chips, peas and gravy. There was also chicken curry and chips which almost tempted me and looked great but the pie edged it.

There was also a printed programme available for the game for the price of £2.50 which is probably the going rate at Step 2. It was well made and provided a good read about the opposition and the game.

The Bucks have had a fairly positive start to their Step 2 campaign, only losing one of their first four games and picking up five points. They were hosting the superbly named Blyth Spartans who are a well established National League North side who had also had a mixed bag in their opening fixtures.

The game was well contested by both sides and it was the hosts that took the lead in the 42nd minute through a fantastic Jason Gilchrist header which gave them the advantage at the break. The Bucks defended valiantly in the second half and the full time whistle was drawing nearer when the Spartans finally broke through and equalised in the 87th minute. Two minutes later and disaster struck for the home side as they conceded a penalty which was cooly converted to make it a brace for Alex Nicholson, who sent the travelling Blyth fans back up North with beaming smiles on their faces.

A tad harsh on Buxton to concede twice so quickly at the end of the game and a point a piece would have been a fair result. Good luck to them for the rest of the season.