Saturday 19th February 2022
Radford FC 2-5 Harrowby United
Admission: £5
Competition: United Counties League Division One
Attendance: 69
The aftermath of Storm Eunice and Storm Francis had not left me very hopeful of a new ground this weekend, and especially not one played on a grass pitch. Luckily, I found myself in Nottingham for the weekend and there was one game left standing (apart from Notts County at Step 1 which I didn’t fancy at £20) and that was Radford FC. I couldn’t believe my luck and donned my best waterproof coat before heading out in the rain to get that tick I so desired. I parked at the Asda over the road for the game as the ground is off a busy road with a tram track and was a bit of a nightmare.
Radford FC were founded in 1964 as Manlove & Alliots FC, which was an old engineering firm in Radford. The firm transferred to Scotland in 1970 and the club was re-named as Radford Olympic, hence the rings on the club crest. They moved to Selhurst Street in the 1981-82 season and have plied their trade in various Midlands leagues throughout their history. They first qualified for the FA Cup in 2009-10 but were knocked out in the Extra Preliminary Round.
Selhurst Street is a basic but smart stadium with quite a few structures and yet again another pleasant clubhouse. I would be far stretched to recall a more vocal following for a Step 6 side, as the stand in the picture above held the majority of the 69-strong crowd with various rattles, drums and walls which were rattled / banged in unison to get behind their team during the game. This stand also held the clubhouse which we’ll come back to.
Next to this was the seated section of the ground which was a good size and had around 100 seats at a guess. In between these two was the players tunnel which I’m sure the players were glad to get back down at full time.
Then on the far side of the ground, there are two similar stands which offered hard standing and deep shelter, accompanied by the tea bar which had a range of hot food and drinks available on the day.
There are no stands behind the other goal which is just hard standing, and then on the other side of the pitch there is another basic structure which is similar to the others. All in all, a lot going on for a Step 6 ground and plenty of space to spread out but stay dry for the crowd.
The clubhouse was a nice retreat for a half-time beer with a decent range of drinks, cobs available and Sky Sports Soccer Saturday on the television to keep up with the games of the day.
I’d give the food a 5/10, as the quality wasn’t great but it was very fairly-priced and quickly available. The chips I had were good but the burger not so much.
I’m always glad to see a programme available and Radford didn’t let me down, offering one for £1, and it was a good effort for a programme that has been pulled together by a volunteer rather than a professional printing company which can be the case at some non-league clubs. It had the histories of the two clubs, team sheets and the fixtures and league tables.
This was my first ever United Counties League game, although I have visited the home of Harrowby United for an FA Vase tie with AFC Bridgnorth. Unfortunately, I didn’t type that up for this blog so will need to pay it another visit at some point. The hosts, Radford, found themselves in 4th position at the start of the day with automatic promotion a distant dream but the reality of a play-off push a real possibility. Harrowby were down in 8th, although 17 points behind Radford, and they would need a really strong finish to the season to find themselves in the top 5 and securing a play off spot. I was bewildered when looking at the league table to see that a team called Aylestone Park were sitting a place below Radford despite having a goal difference of +75, scoring 114 goals but still being 15 points behind first place. How has that happened!?
Potentially aided by the mud-bath of a pitch, the game was a real thriller for a neutral like me. Seven goals is nothing to complain about although that was not the feeling amongst the home crowd when they found themselves 4-1 down within the first half an hour. The pitch didn’t do the defence any favours and there were a number of really sloppy mistakes leading to the visitors goals as Harrowby calmly wound down the clock until half time, unsurprisingly very content with their performance.
Radford came out fighting and with a real steely determination about them as they had plenty of chances which to the disbelief of the crowd, didn’t lead to them reducing their deficit. Game, set and match in the 74th minute when Harrowby made it 5-1. Radford’s effort levels never dropped and they continued with the pressure, finally getting their second consolation goal in the 84th minute with a smart finish.
Not to be for the hosts, but full credit to the supporters who stayed behind their team for the full game even when it wasn’t going there way and stayed to clap their side off the pitch with words of encouragement ringing out.
A great afternoon of entertaining non-league football and a friendly, welcoming club to go with it which is worth a visit if you are in the area. Hopefully Radford can bounce back in their next game and rejuvenate their promotion push.
ground bounce 