BATTLE OF THE EX'S SEES DRONFIELD AND CLIPSTONE SHARE THE POINTS

DRONFIELD TOWN 0 V CLIPSTONE 0
NCEL DIVISION 1 @ STONELOW RD 18 MARCH 2015

STONELOW ROAD

With Dronfield Town's pitch finally coming back into play this game was eagerly anticipated with the return to Derbyshire of Towns former assistant manager and player Chris Millington who is now leading Clipstone charge for promotion.  Alongside this when he left for the Nottinghamshire side a fair few Dronfield players left Stonelow Road to join him.  So a right royal battle was to be expected and we got just that in a game of full commitment with both benches nervously and loudly encouraging their players on.

CRAIG BUTLER [RIGHT] GREETS CHRIS MILLINGTON HIS FORMER ASSISTANT
NOW MANAGING CLIPSTONE

 With Dronfield sitting just above the relegation zone and Clipstone advancing towards the title with games in hand I guess most would have expected 'Clippo' to have secured the three points.  But not today as Dronfield manager and stalwart Craig Butler encouraged and cajoled his troops on to a workmanlike performance that over the 90 minutes gave them the upper hand in this contest but with neither teams being able to break the deadlock it finished 0-0 and I guess both sides were fairly happy at the final whistle.  More on the game shortly.

JOLLY FRIER IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN

 Its not the blogs first attempt to cover a game with an earlier visit here this season frustratingly called off 45 minutes before kick off.
Normally when I arrive by the lofty heights of public transport to visit either Sheffield FC or Dronfield Town I make a slight detour to Egerton St a small back St just off one of the main thoroughfares, Snape Hill Road, for a little gem of the area The Jolly Frier [Dronfield].  Yes its fish and chip time and this small establishment I discovered a few years ago is enthusiastically run by Paul the jolly frier, a Wednesday fan, who offers all a warm and friendly welcome.  With a small wait for freshly cooked food there was time for a quick catch up and a photo opportunity from the outside.  But back inside as my large cod is about to be served there are phone orders coming in for this traditional chippy none of your kebabs and pizza machines cluttering this good old chippy!
So off to Stonelow Rd wobbling along with cod and chips positioned in outstretched arm alongside camera the first problem for any new visitor would be where to get in.  Having been here quite a few times I was ok but if you find the car park you are there.  From here its a dark and rather dubious entrance across the Coal Aston Cricket Clubs outfield head towards the brightly lit pavilion and your going in the correct direction.  The pavilion serves as snack bar for games and is situated outside of the confines of the ground but always as a warm welcome with home made snacks on the boil tonight.  By the side of the cricketers base is the entrance to the ground down a small flight of steps with a programme purchased entrance to pitch side is by a walkway that runs parallel to the players entrance. 

THE NEWLY SEATED STAND

To the right is Dronfields only cover a small stand with beige seats now in place, to the side of the stand is a concrete hard standing base which is guess will in time add some covered standing area to the ground.  Hard standing is on three sounds of the ground with the bottom side of the pitch out of bounds to spectators its a bit of a shame because the dug outs are also housed there and I quite enjoy the banter from these.  Tonight there was quite a lot of this with both sets of managers encouraging their players at full voice throttle, appealing decisions and generally kicking every ball.  I looked to keep a crib sheet on the most used phrase and I reckon Craig you won with 'YOUR IN' being the favourite as he encouraged said Dronfield player to hare down on goal.
The most amazing feature at Stonelow Road is behind the goal to the left a 15 foot plus wooden fence, something that had to be installed when Dronfield installed floodlights, what a great waste of money for a football club who has a big community base and does a lot within in the town with players of all ages.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE A TALLER WOODEN FENCE?

It wouldn't be so bad but the area behind that goal is separated from the pitch by the large poplar trees.  That really sums up the ground there is not a lot to see structure wise.  As previously mentioned the club has suffered a mass of postponements due to waterlogging and they clearly have a problem that they are working towards solving with the addition of some drainage.  The top side of the pitch at the town end is still very wet, but playable, with visiting players having a few embarrassing slips during the game!
There were a few hoppers out today at the game and it was good to catch up with a some familiar faces who were visiting Stonelow Rd.
In my former guise associated with a Central Midlands League club Dronfield were always our derby game and frustratingly they mostly had the upper hand on us however during that time I always had the upmost respect for their then and current manager Craig Butler a man you would want on your side if you had the chance.  As ever it was nice to be greeted by him tonight along with Rich Stevenson who has joined the club this season too, the guys are turning round a disruptive start to the season and as ever they seem to get stronger after poor starts.

RICH STEVENSON [LEFT] GREETS CHRIS MILLINGTON

So to the game and Clipstone could have stormed into an earlier lead in the opening minutes when Matty Ord crashed a shot off the underside of the bar that looked to have crossed the line, however nobody on the Clipstone side seemed to think so and play continued.  This seemed to spring Dronfield to life and former keeper Nick Siddons pulled off two good saves to keep Clipstone on level terms the latter a deflected close range effort from Christian Savage.
The half time break saw an approaching 20 minute interlude added to this a 7.48 start its always a bit frustrating with a tight train time at the end.  Match officials please not can we kick off on time 7.45 and get on with the half time breaks ready to go again.
Onto the second half and the battle continued with both sides not wanting to give an inch and lose this game Dronfield went closest in the second period when Jamie Willis drove goal bound from the edge of the box only for Siddons to get down well to save.
Clipstones former Dronfield player Ash Rawson was sent off following a second booking with ten minutes remaining and with the visitors playing numbers reduced you felt they would then be happy with a point and maybe Dronfield could breathe easier too.

An important game for both clubs ended in what was probably a respectable draw which adds a point to both sides totals for very different reasons as the season reaches its close.

Frenetic dash to train station and the obvious happened a delay of 7 minutes!  An enjoyable night out even though it was now my second 0-0 match in a row this was more entertaining than the Alfreton v Lincoln encounter last night.
We finish as ever with a very quiet station at Dronfield for our departure back to base.

A LONELY DRONFIELD STATION