NOSTALGIA WINS THE DAY AT FRICKLEY

FRICKLEY ATHLETIC 1 CLEETHORPES TOWN 1
EVOSTIK NPL EAST @ WESTFIELD LANE
1 JANUARY 2019 --- 3PM

THE OLD LADY GOING STRONG FOR FRICKLEY ATHLETIC

The delight in the things of our younger years kicks in around a certain age and I guess its around the half century mark.  The day of great local towns often made by the large employing heavy local industries, football grounds that look like football grounds not modern day four sided boxes and TV cop shows like The Sweeney and The Professionals are a distant memory for many. 
Well here we nearly had it all, long gone is the pit but the ground of character at Westfield Lane is much alive and to finish the script the visitors Lewis Collins popped up with an equaliser four minutes from time for a nostalgic finish to todays pitch side drama.
This would be far from my first visit to the delights of Frickley Athletic but attendance here for me are infrequent and with this seasons planned visit constantly thwarted by The Northern Rail strikes on Saturdays that serve my preferred station of choice, nearby Moorthorpe, it all looked bleak.  That was until New Years Day and if a lift could be obtained to base station, no buses, a train could be boarded to Sheffield with a journey that half an hour later would deposit me within just over ten minutes of the ground.  Having left the proceeding Thurnscoe station on straining to see the lights at Westfield Lane the former Welfare at Moorthorpe could be seen with its emblazoned tiled roof 'Kung Fu 2000' now a martial arts academy and we were in familiar territory.

TOWARDS THE NEW CHANGING ROOMS AT WESTFIELD LANE

A sharp walk down Wesley St and over the recreation fields to Westfield Lane and much had changed since my last visit, there was no time to take in the town of South Elmsall about 3/4 of a mile down the road, the surrounding former terraced houses on my last visit had been demolished for a while but now the land had been graced with new builds.  Enhanced with street monikers of Colliers Way and Frickley Mews you could see the theme of not forgetting this areas rich mining history.
There is much still to do in the area for a proud community whose pit made the town and then had it taken away from it and very nearly destroyed its infrastructure when the whole mining industry was wiped out by political choice.
Its always a challenge to blog a ground visited before and with so much history my first visit was when the terrace houses were derelict, my second and third was when the land was barren and now a later visit shows some regeneration of the land but this is 25 years since the closure of the pit, how times move slowly when they seem so important.
My approach to the ground would be via the new estate today and the rough car park, walled ground and large stand also invited a glance at the new changing room complex that the club opened in October 2017.  Entrance paid, smart little programme too, golden goal ticket and there she is the beauty in all her splendour.

MARTIN MCINTOSH FRICKLEY ATHLETIC SUPREMO

Quick ground descriptor because you really have to go as with all former glory grounds they have so many nooks and crannies.  To the left a small clubhouse bar area behind the goal the former programme/club shop cabin is no more the terracing leads to the bottom corner that now houses a car park and changing room complex and club room, which with thanks to Chairman Stuart Highfield I was lucky enough to receive a guided tour of.  The far terracing is about four deep with a collection of wooden props supporting the structure that runs close on the full length of the touchline behind
here was the former Everest sized slag heap from Frickley Colliery now though there has been some regeneration into a country park and a small selection of grass football pitches.  The far goal is a flat concrete terracing with concrete walling going all round the ground there must have been a lot of the stuff available at the pit in the days of construction.  Both goal ends have land boarded off to keep things under control but this is a vast ground and we come back round to the former business end and the star of the show its main stand.

EARLY CLEETHORPES ACTION

A paddock terrace offering up an excellent food hatch which I have to admit to visiting twice today, the stand aloft and behind the terrace with its former and formidable caged concrete sloped walkway onto the pitch now devoid of its cage.  It was formidable as have a bad game ref or upset the locals and this was rattled with ferocity by the locals and provided much needed protection!  Wandering up the tunnel to have a quick check to see if the former social area under the stand still had its coal fire place in situ is where I met Mr Chairman who took me along to the new build.  I had forget that they also had open fires in both dressing rooms too, nostalgia I told you.
The stand itself now is a selection of bench and white tip up seats I cant remember the latter and I guess they must be a recent addition, it is a commanding view of the game and surrounds from here and sums up the feel of this ground.

FRICKLEY CLEAR WITH TRAVEL ORGANISER JOHN LOOKING ON WITH HIS TABBARD ADVERTISING AWAY TRAVEL

Talking of those days I was amazed to find that Frickley had spent a fair time in the Cheshire League but it all started to get heady in the eighties when they applied for The Alliance League, soon to be branded The Gola League, the fore runner to todays Conference National League.  In 1985/86 they finished second and were so close to gaining entry into the Football League an FA Cup third round tie against Rotherham United followed in 1985/86 with a packed ground but soon with the decline of the pit on the horizon the start of the 1988 season saw them back in The NPL.  A remarkable 30 year stay with a few close scrapes along the way saw them finally lose that status and for the 2017/18 season they would start in their current league The NPL East.  A remarkable story of endurance and the heights probably never to be revisited but little old Frickley Athletic can tell the tales of past glories and if not the ground will for you. They have at times against all the odds stuck around at the top of non league football.

THE CHASE IS ON

Before proceedings began there was a nice little catch up with new manager Martin McIntosh who is always very approachable when I have met him previously and after a very brief spell at Ilkeston Town hopefully he can now bring and enjoy some success with Athletic.
This mid table fixture turned out as a mid-table fixture chances at a premium of premium and not much to write home about but who cared this is the sort of ground that you could happily just spend time in and for longer than the allotted ninety minutes.  For the visitors Jack Richardson tested Hugo Warhurst in the Frickley goal on the quarter of an hour mark but just as the breakthrough looked elusive it was the home side who took the lead two minutes before the interval.  Captain Jacob Hazel was felled in the box and Tyler Walton swept the ball home and it was time to get the food in!

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL AS FRICKLEY CLEAR

The opening stages of the second half saw Frickley bombard the Cleethorpes goalmouth but the visitors defence was on top form repelling all even when they did get near the goal line thanks to an Hazel shot keeper Theo Richardson was on top form to deny.
As the encounter wore on Frickley looked to tire and got deeper this was the signal for the visitors to look for the equaliser and the warning was set on 72 minutes when Collins fired just inches over but with four minutes remaining it was the same player who held off the Frickley defenders challenge to curl the ball round the racing out Warhurst and into the home sides goal to level the scores.  The closing stages saw Cleethorpes in the ascendancy possession wise with Frickley looking for the winner on the break and in all fairness the closing ten minutes had provided much of the entertainment in this encounter.

SHIRT SPONSOR FRICKLEY COUNTRY PARK IN THE BACKGROUND

Honours even a fair call for both sides who will probably not trouble the play-offs but equally wont be worried by the wrong end of the table either.
Darkness had descended and the departure by the adjacent cricket club soon had me retracing my steps through Moorthorpe and to the station for the 5.20pm back to steel city and after a longer than normal connection time base station was arrived at just after 7pm.
The two games in the last four days had provided clubs and grounds that have to be on anybody's 'to do' list fully enjoyed the developing Abbey Hulton and the nostalgic trip back to Westfield Lane today.