Shildon v Jarrow Roofing

Dean Street

Northern League Division One

January 17, 2015

Ground No 164

I GUESS I'm destined never to watch Darlington play at their current Heritage Park home.

The plan was to watch the Quakers against Prescot Cables but, just as on the previous occasion I'd intended to go there, Mother Nature stuck her size nines in and kicked my plans into touch.

It always pays to have a Plan  B in place though and since this call-off  at 'Heritage Pond' (as someone on the Darlo forum board rather unkindly dubbed it) was hardly unexpected, I had a trip to Shildon up my sleeve as soon as I knew their fixture had passed a lunchtime pitch inspection.

As I pulled up, the Radio Five Live pundits were talking about how QPR's Loftus Road ground is hemmed in by housing on all four sides and, by way of coincidence, Dean Street isn't dissimilar.

With plenty of roadside parking as a result, it was easy enough to dump the car within short walking distance of the ground's solitary turnstile.

Since I was early I decided to call in on the local chippy for lunch, and if my day had involved a change of plan, then the owners had been burdened with even more ripping up of plans and starting again. They'd been broken into overnight and as a result business was conducted through the recently - and forcibly - removed upper half of the door while the damaged half remained stuck in situ.

As I passed on my way back to the car after the game I was pleased to see a shiny new replacement door in place, although the thieves must have been back and nicked the apostrophe out of the signage that read "Erics Fish Bar".

My next purchase was the club's excellent programme, surely one of the most professionally produced in the Northern League, as I entered a new ground for the 164th time.

The first thing you notice is the large and distinctive main stand on one side of the ground. Its pitched roof and squat shape make it look like a house with three of the four walls taken down and all the rooms replaced with rows of seats.

Incorporated within it are the changing rooms and the clubhouse. The latter is well worth a visit and not just because it's a cosy little den that offers respite from the cold outside. It's like a mini-museum.

On the walls are signed shirts (including one from SV Hamburg congratulating Shildon on their 2014 Durham Challenge Cup win), programmes (including one from the Shildon v Manchester United game in 1987 that marked the switching on of the ground's floodlights), pictures and other memorabilia from a proud history that dates back to the 1880s.

Pride of place on the bar - for this season at least - however, is the Durham Challenge Cup itself, a beautiful, hand-crafted silver trophy.

Opposite the main stand is the Lee Hainsworth Stand. Named after one of the club's players who was killed on the way to training in 2004, it offers covered standing out of the glare of the bright sun that blazed behind it.

Next to it are small grass banks with signs telling spectators not to stand there. Two blokes were doing just that next to one such sign and it would have made a great photo but I thought it best not to take one...

The game itself took a while to warm up, not something I was ever likely to do on a chilly January day, but it developed into a keenly fought battle between two teams in the top half of the table. The hosts fought back from a goal down to grab a deserved 2-1 win.

A great set-up, decent game and a ground worth visiting.

North Shields v Marske United

Daren Persson Stadium @ Ralph Gardner Park

Northern League Division One

January 3 2015

Ground No 163

 

 

 

TALK about chalk and cheese. There were easily as many people in the queue to get in at the Daren Persson Stadium when I arrived hot foot for my second game of the day as there were in the entire ground at Washington v Birtley in game No 1 of the afternoon.

Unlike my earlier visit to Washington, it was obvious where this ground was situated. The floodlight pylons were visible from the road, the tiny car park was full so there were plenty of vehicles parked by the side of the road and there was a steady throng of people heading in the same direction.
 

And the line of people waiting to get in for this battle of the Northern League title contenders had trebled by the time I'd got to the point of handing over my six quid at the gate.
 

All of this triggered one chilling thought: They were bound to have run out of programmes by the time I got to the point of being in a position to buy one.
 

Sure enough my fears were realised. Now, not getting a programme at a match is as big a catastrophe for me as eating curry being outlawed or being shut in a room with Hugh Grant.. I can't lie, it's a big deal.
 

Fortunately Marske United, my local team having lived in the village for almost ten years, did me a massive favour. Their 4-0 trouncing of a side that hadn't been beaten at home for 16 months not only sent me home happy but also led to one frustrated home fan heading off in such a hurry and no doubt so stung by the way his side's proud home was being dismantled that he left his programme behind.

Needless to say (after first asking around the nearby fans if anyone could lay claim to it or was willing to part with it) I gave it a good home.
 

Daren Persson Stadium @ Ralph Gardner Park (to give it its full title) has been home to the former FA Amateur Cup winners since 1997 and is a compact ground, enclosed by a wooden fence with a wooden 100-seat stand on one side and some covered areas on the far side.
 

The 'Curva Nord' terracing on the left as you walk in is home to the club's Ultras, but even they were no match for Marske's vocal band of travelling fans on this occasion.
 

The stadium has been nicknamed The Morgue since a sponsorship deal with Daren Persson funeral directors, the United fans ensured it was very much alive and kicking inside the ground.
 

Accompanied by a drummer, they were in fine voice throughout and, I know I have an affinity to Marske, but "Let's all do The Poznan" after every goal as something special. The team was a credit to its fans and the fans were a credit to their team.

The attendance was announced as 452 which created an electric atmosphere and despite being down to ten men after 15 minutes against a good side on top form, the Robins gave it a good go in the second half.

They fashioned some decent chances and provided us with the miss of the century when sub Denver Morris managed to somehow managed to divert the ball into the hands of Seasiders keeper Robert Dean when you'd have put money on my mum, 81 years old with a replacement hip, scoring.

By all accounts the North Shields fans were extremely hospitable to the visiting supporters before the game and in Northern League terms, this had 'big match' written all over it. A very enjoyable visit. Especially since I managed to get hold of a programme!

 

Washington v Birtley

Nissan Sports and Leisure Complex

Northern League Division Two

January 3, 2015

Ground No 162

 

 

 

I'LL be honest, being handed a pair of overalls and bolting exhaust pipes to new Nissan Qashqais on the production line while working the 2-10 shift seemed a more likely scenario than watching a football match when I approached the ground.

Washington have had a somewhat nomadic existence since the boys from F Pit first swapped their miners' lamps for football boots in 1947 and are currently based at the Nissan Sports and Leisure Complex, in the shadow of the giant car plant, having quit their previous some at Albany Park in 2010 after being targeted by vandals, arsonists and thieves.

As a result arriving at their current ground involves driving past a raised barrier and through the Nissan workers' car park before arriving at the entrance.

The sports complex is clearly signposted but even so, it felt more like turning up for a shift on the factory floor than going to a game.

The ground, it has to be said, is nothing remarkable - although if it's keeping a club in business after problems at its previous location, that shouldn't be sniffed at.

There's a modern, functional stand on one side with some terracing in front but, save for the Penshaw Suite and incorporated changing facilities behind one goal, that's about it really.

Because the ground is part of Nissan's sports and social complex it isn't hemmed in and - although they don't of course - the training pitches on the opposite side seem to stretch all the way past the wind turbines to the hills in the distance with the Penshaw Monument perched majestically atop.

I'd attended the match after reading the club's message on the Northern League website, urging fans to take advantage of the 1pm kick-off by using it as a starting point for a double dose of action. With the North Shields v Marske United match kicking off at 3pm just a few miles away, it seemed like a great opportunity.

I subsequently discovered another hopper had thought likewise (albeit heading to a different match afterwards) but I counted no more than 45 spectators in the ground so it's fair to say interest in high-flying Washington's derby date wasn't enormous.

A glance at the NL website showed that such attendance figures here aren't unusual. The heavy covering of moss on the tarmac path that rings the pitch confirmed that mine were among a select group of shoes that had trodden this route in recent times.

To be brutally honest I'm not entirely surprised. The ground is out of the way, there was no Tannoy (if there was I  couldn't hear it), and though those who were present were enthusiastic enough, the open nature of the venue doesn't lend itself to creating a crackling matchday atmosphere.

I was also, given the lunchtime kick-off, hoping to grab a pie or suchlike at half-time. But although the Penshaw Suite (named after aforementioned monument which, for me, will always be remembered as the place where the Toy Dolls shots the video I got as a 21st birthday present a good many years ago)  is smart, warm and serves a decent cup of tea, the only food available was crisps and chocolate from the vending machines downstairs.

On the plus side it was a decent game (won 1-0 by Washington), the programme contained some good reading and was included in the £5 admission price, and there's clearly an appetite and willingness by those involved to carry this club forward. I wish them well.