Game 10

Hall Road Rangers V Scarborough Athletic
NCEL Premier Division
Dene Park
17/03/12
att:146

The massive clubhouse

Wow what an afternoon I had at Dene park.  On arrival the ground wasn't open however the clubhouse was and on entry they have what can only be described as a cinema screen showing the Ev**ton V Sunderland game.  For £3 something I got a cheeseburger and chips and it was superb.  Cathederal city cheese on the burger ( well it made me happy). 

The entrance

Entrance to the ground was a wonderfully reasonable £5 and would go on to prove to be probably the best fiver ever spent at a football ground.  The ground itself is very simple and has a small seated stand behind the goal.  Either side of this are a number of un used porta cabins.  The Home and Away dugouts are on either side of the pitch.  Hall Road had put on their website that a larger than normal crowd was expected for the game.  So ive got to ask where was the programme?  My expectations were low after reading Wheres the tea hut? ( my ground hopping bible) and amazingly the excuse was exactly the same.  The same printers I presume had let them down again.

The stand

The game was superb entertainment from the start.  Scarborough raced into a 2 goal lead with goals from Ryan Blott and a superb free kick from Paddy Miller.  As with last weeks game I was dissapointed with players trying to get each other carded and the level of abuse being thrown at each other.  Following a shocking dive from one of Hall road's players the Scarborough player Paddy Miller was subjected to a torrent of abuse from the Hall Road bench.  It was constant and in my opinion quite disgusting and the manager for me should have been sent away as it was clear the referee could hear what was being said.

Hall road pulled the game level before half-time with 2 goals of their own leaving the majority of the crowd stunned ( Scarbough outnumbered the home fans about 14-1).  The 2nd half saw Hall Road go 3-2 in front following a horrendous mistake by Kevin Martin in the Scarborough goal.  As if feeling left out the Hall Road keeper made an equally horrendous mistake leading to a Scarborough equaliser for Ryan Blott.  Ryan then went on to complete his hat-trick by putting Boro 4-3 up.  The goals were finished but the action kept coming.  As Scarborough were making a substitution prior to taking a corner something kicked off in the Hall Road goal mouth.  The keeper appeared to have hold of one of the Scarborough players by the throat.  Despite not really seeing the incident as they were concentrating on the sub coming on, the ref and his assistant took the decision to send off both players.  Towards the end of the game another Hall Road player saw red after throwing an elbow into the face of a Scarborough defender.  The final whistle went and as the players left the field the Hall Road manager appeared to be carded by the ref ( about 45 minutes too late).  7 goals and 3 reds what amazing value for £5.

Game 9

Scarborough Athletic V Arnold Town
NCEL Premier Division
Neil Hudgell law Stadium (Queensgate)
10/3/12
Att: 367

Outside the shared ground

Queensgate or the neil hudgell law stadium as it has been recently named is the home of Bridlington Town it is also the temporary home of Scarborough Athletic.  The Queensgate ground is the closest football ground to my house and one I have visited on several occasions.  The previous incarnation of Scarborough were followed by several friends of mine and I have them to thank for introducing me to the non league game.

The main stand

Athletic since reforming has been run by the fans and match days are manned by volunteers.  Since losing the McCain stadium and any hope of returning, "Boro" set up their temporary home in Bridlington.  I have to point out that another group of fans formed their own version of the old club under the name Scarborough Town and they play their home games in Scarborough.  It is not my intention to join the debate as to who are the true heirs to the former clubs status.  I was introduced to Athletic through some friends of mine and have made several trips to Bridlington to watch games here.

The bus stop

On entering the ground you find yourself in the corner behind the goal, along the touchline in front of you is the main stand which is mostly seated but has a terrace area towards the far end.  Behind the goal is a small hut selling programmes at £2 each which are reasonable.  Then you have the Tea hut which is run by the Bridlington Town staff and therefore all the profits go to them as well which highlights another problem in not having your own ground.  A tray of chips and a can of coke cost me £1.90 so not bad value at all.  After the tea hut you come accross the clubhouse and once inside the snooker table doubles as the club shop.

Programme stand

As you leave the clubhouse and move round the ground you pass a portacabin which houses the st.john ambulance people who were called into action to help an elderly gentleman.  You then head to the touchline at the opposite side where in the middle you have the bus shelter.  The goal at the far end has a small covered area which then leads you back to the main stand.

Main stand (terracing on the left).

The game itself was pretty poor however much better value than the £22 paid at Doncaster last week.  Arnold scored after about a minute but should have scored earlier than that.  Despite dominating possesion Boro lacked any cutting edge and failed to worry the Arnold keeper in the 1st half.  Arnold scored a contreversial 2nd in the 2nd half.  From the position we were in it looked like the goal came as a result of a foul on the keeper but the goal stood.  Curtis Bernard who had returned from a spell with Bradford Park Avenue pulled one back for Boro.  Despite more domination of possesion Boro couldn't get the equaliser and the game finished Scarborough Athletic 1 Arnold Town 2.

More Boro pressure

The only thing that spoilt a lovely sunny day for me was the way the players were harrasing the referee for decisions.  Players from both sides were constantly trying to get each other booked and surrounding the ref.  The Arnold keeper covered half the pitch to try and get one of the Scarborough players carded.  Not what I want to see at this level thank you very much.  Next week Boro away to Hall Road Rangers.

Matchday Programme

Game 8

Doncaster Rovers V Brighton & Hove Albion
NPower Championship
Keepmoat Stadium
03/03/12
Att: 8964

Outside the Keepmoat



Having been a while since ive managed to attend a game (thanks to work commitments) a Saturday off arrived and Football was high on the agenda.  There didn't seem to be many local games in the non league world so I took Dad along to the Championship.  We didn't bother with the satnav as the clubs website gave pretty good directions, however best laid plans an all that saw an accident on the M18 causing us to come off early.  Luckily Dad had a fairly decent knowledge of Doncaster and got us to the stadium with plenty of time to spare.

Inside the Keepmoat

After parking up at the retail park near to the ground we made the short walk and headed towards the ticket office.  Having purchased a nice glossy programme fo £3 (full of adverts obviously) we asked the seller the best place to sit. His reply was "what noise there is comes from the Polypipe Stand." Polypipe it is then.  At £22 a ticket we are paying about £14 more than at any of the non league grounds I have visited. Heres hoping we get £14 more worth of football.


Donny dog entertains the crowd


On entry to the stadium you arrive in the concourse under the stand where flat screen tvs are showing the 2nd half of Liverpool V Arsenal.  We grab something to eat and for a pie and a bottle of Tango iam left with very little change from £5.  We head out into the stands to get our first view of the stadium.  Now I have to say Iam not particularly a fan of the identikit bowl stadiums that are appearing up and down the country (see Kc, St.Marys, Riverside etc.) however for a club the size of Donny, the 15000 seated Keepmoat is pretty smart.  Traditionalists will like the fact that there are 4 floodlights in the corners.

An ode to owner John Ryan

On flicking through the programme I realise that representing Doncaster today will be a certain El hadji Diouf.  As a Liverpool fan I have to say seeing the serial spitter in action is going to be difficult and I will have to keep my opinions to myself while sitting with the home fans.  The home fans chant about him spitting on his opponents was only sung and found amusing by a limited number of individuals.  Wosre was to come when I saw a home fan setting up a drum. A f**cking drum whats that for?  I hate the England band and any other set of fans that think instruments create an atmosphere.  THEY DONT SO STOP IT.

The Polypipe stand before the arrival of the drummer boy

Prior to the game we are treated to a group of little girls/cheer leaders girating about to some very loud dance music anyone who wolf whistled should hang their head in shame.  As the teams take to the field local kids greet them by waving Rovers flagson the pitch.  A lot is being tried to create an atmosphere but it all feels very manufactured (especially with the hideous drum going).

The warm up

The game kicked off and we soon realised we were not going to get £22's worth of Football.  Brighton have earned great reviews about the style of Football they play under Gus Poyet.  Well Today no one played good football.  The highlights of 90 minutes action include a very scrappy Mackail-Smith goal in the 1st half for Brighton and a Penalty equaliser by my favourite Player Diouf following a hand ball.  The game was awful and by no means better than anything I have seen 7 leagues below.