BARWELL GAIN CUP VICTORY AGAINST 10 MAN WESTFIELDS

BARWELL FC 4 V WESTFIELDS 1
FA CUP 1ST QUALIFYING ROUND @ KIRKBY RD
12 SEPT 2015---3PM

This game turned on the sending off of visitors keeper Jon Pugh after 62 minutes and with Barwell going two up from the resultant free kick it was game over just as The Midland Football League side were making their presence felt.  Two late goals made it look comfortable for the Evostik Premier side but overall it was far from it in a scrappy game.
So as ever the build up and with many of the normal routes north from base station avoided today due to league clubs travelling supporters and the St Leger horse race at Doncaster the hunt was on for a game southwards.  Following a search around Leicestershire and Staffordshire, were it has to be mentioned some very poor publicity about games from these clubs, we settled on Barwell from the Evostik who were publicising the fixture and club activities well.  Visitors this day for this FA Cup 1st qualifying round were Westfields from the Midland Football League who have had a busy few weeks with a crediatble draw against Hereford, an FA Vase win over Atherstone and a remarkable 6-5 extra time success in the previous round at Kidsgrove this after being 4-0 down!
Packed train to Leicester was met by a connection from the city onto Stagecoach 48 to Barwell once again a busy service was fully subscribed but we decamped in our intended destination about 45 minutes later.  On the way towards Barwell we passed a superbly named tanning shop going by the name of Tan 'ya' Hyde, it never ceases to amaze me of the superb names people think up to title their businesses with.

SMART ENTRANCE TO BARWELL FC

The village is a small affair and we had previously alighted here a few years ago for a visit to Hinckley FC's old ground but today a small walk away from the centre would take us in the opposite direction to the Kirkby Rd sports complex.  The village is a small centre and after about 5 minutes it was pretty much all seen around the 4 lane round a bout shopping area.
The short walk saw us arrive at the complex that houses indoor bowls, outdoor bowls, cricket and the sports bar.  The bar is situated outisde of the ground but adds to the sports centre which todays has a cricket match on from the Everards Leicestershire League 1.  Following the obligatory circuit of any sports ground the blog got into a lovely chat with a local cricket follower who told me of the clubs pride in being the holder of the oldest consistent fixture since the clubs formation in 1807 and the two teams, of course Barwell and the opposition Coventry and North Warwickshire.
With cricket tempting and following the chat about local sport and the excellent Kirkby Rd site time had approached 2 o clock and I bid farewell and moved to the turnstiles of the football club.
Just before entry we were approached to buy a programme whish of course we nearly always do always good from a clubs point of view having somebody on hand to 'sell' not just wait for somebody to ask and on this point the club were proactive and the gate greeting was good.  Recently the blog has covered steps 4,5,6 and 7 but today it was readily clear we were at a higher level in the home clubs step 3 status a tenner to get in with £2 for a programme, the latter which I have to say was a very nice effort with plenty to read in a well presented format.
Into the ground by the newish cantilever stand opened in 2001 by village lad Chris Kirkland England, Coventry and Liverpool goalkeeper.  The seated area is well positioned around the halfway line with a steep set of green tip up seats.  Turning to the left the ground has. of course for this level, hard standing all the way around with nice modern meshed fencing on 3/4 of its perimeter alongside some superb upvc panelled back vinyl advertising boards which was a different but neat touch.  Behind the goal to the left is the indoor bowls centre and on the immediate approach to these goals is a small covered standing area.  The far side is all uncovered with a small grassed area behind the hard standing behind three dug outs.  The top goal is also uncovered and in the far corner is a small gated entrance to the ground that was taking entrance for people coming to the game from the nearby houses to add a nice quirky touch. 

OPPOSITE THE MAIN STAND ON A SUNNY DAY!

So to the side we entered on and in the top corner is the club shop run by Murray who we met before the game and once again if you want some memorabilia and merchandise is your thing you owe yourself a visit to Barwell.  From spinning football handled mugs to beanie hats some of extra long height size to programmes to shirts this is just a well stocked shop with a superb selection of all things Barwell and to be recommended.  Coming back towards the main stand is a covered standing area with a small lofted press area.  Between here and the main stand are the changing rooms, secretaries office, hospitality, toilets and snack bar.
Having not eaten on the way we decided as more often than not to spend our money in the clubs snack bar sadly for me today this was not an option because there were no chips and only burgers on offer, fellow hopper Mick went for this option at £3.50. 
Teams were secured thanks to the help of the Barwell secretary with thanks for this assistance. 
One of the other quirky parts of the ground are the floodlights with 4 down either side they were of the old style not on poles but atop scaffolding like structures.

ANGIE PURVEYOR OF GOALDEN GOAL TICKETS AT BARWELL FC

One of the highlights of visiting any non league ground is to catch up with the helpers at the clubs and Barwell have a lovely lady selling the goalden goal tickets and Angie was kind enough to allow the blog to take her picture, however she did not manage to sell us the winning ticket!

EARLY CHAT WITH DECLAN TOWERS

So we arrived at kick off and Westfields had undertaken a long journey to the game and with a league status two levels below Barwell they knew this would be a tough ask.
Of player note today is Barwell front man the much travelled Iseyden Christie formal of the Mansfield Town parish near base and the last time I saw him he was plying his trade at Halesowen.
In the second minute Declan Towers was lucky not to be at least cautioned for a foul but referee Thomas Harty offered to talk to the player seeming to give the benefit of the doubt due to it being early in the game.
As early as the 13th minute the Evostik side should have taken the lead Jamie Towers was considering his celebration when in space and with stacks of time he crashed his effort against the right hand upright with just Pugh to beat in the Westfields goal.

WESTFIELD JUGGLE THE PLAY

Three minutes later though Barwell did take the lead when Ant Carney fired home form 12 yards.  That was about the sum of the first half it had been a scrappy affair with enough big ball and belt the ball forward as fast as possible I considered offering the ball a paracetamol at half time.

During the early part of the second half it was nice to catch up with Craig Jones dad who was following Westfields to Leicestershire to watch his son and many of the visiting fans from Herefordshire were very approachable during the afternoon and thankfully entered the blog in conversation about their club, so much so that its going on the list for a big day out!
The second half started positively for Westfields who were getting a real foothold in the game and you could foresee an equaliser that was until the 62 minute when visiting keeper Pugh was red carded.  Under no pressure from within his box he reached outside his box to pull the ball to him a keen assistant referee and with of course credit to him backed his view and flagged for the misdemeanour.  I may be wrong here but whether the guidance as altered on this law of the game I believed handball by the goalkeeper out of the box had to deny a clear goal scoring opportunity which this did not do, I may be wrong of course, but referee Harty showed a red card and to this end when Mike Burgess guided home the free kick it was game over.
As the visitors felt slightly hard done by manager Sean Edwards who had be spoken to for an extended period in the first half was cautioned following a foul in front of the box a few moments after the second goal.

WESTFIELDS MANAGER SEAN ESWARDS NEEDS A CHAT BUT SO DOES THE REFEREE

With 7 minutes to go Westfields were caught and with numbers down in defence Alex Tomkinson headed home and as the goals came thick and fast the visitors pulled one back when James Feberey deflected one in on 87 minutes.

DISBELIEF AS WESTFIELDS KEEPER PUGH [FAR LEFT] IS DISMISSED

In stoppage time Barwell added the final touch to make it 4-1 when Carney got his second goal from Tomkinson's right wing corner.
Barwell progress into the next round with a few quid in the bank and Westfields took a long journey back to Herefordshire feeling a little bit hard done to by todays officials.
The reverse journey allowed a few minutes to stock up on a little food at The Heart of England Coop in the village a lovely name for the local society and then back on the on time '48' to Leicester.
Return to base station was eventful when quite a few passengers complained about noisy children in the carriage we had joined and with both sides approaching a stand off there was a threat of a few more red cards, where was Mr Harty when we needed him?
Good luck to Barwell in the next round and best wishes to Westfields and their supporters quite a few of whom we had some nice little chats with this afternoon.

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