HEADY HEIGHTS FOR WINTERTON

WINTERTON RANGERS 3 AFC EMLEY 0
NCEFL 1 @ WEST ST
20 APRIL 2019 --- 3PM

CALLUM FOSTER CELEBRATES HIS GOAL FOR WINTERTON

A comprehensive victory for Winterton who looked a well organised outfit saw fourth spot secured and the challenge going forward to potentially finish third with a win in their final game of the season next Saturday in Derbyshire.
Off the back of a very poor game yesterday the one saving grace is you very rarely witness two bad ones in a row so it was with enthusiasm that I set off for North Lincolnshire, again.  After a brief change in Sheffield the Cleethorpes bound train was not to bound up with Bank Holiday trippers and I gained a seat for an interesting conversation with an elderly gentleman on his was back to Grimsby and as he enquired where I was going he replied 'people only go to Scunthorpe if they have too', before following it up with 'pretty much like Grimsby too'.  Time travelled fast and departure at 'sunny scunny' saw a lung creaking sprint to a town centre bus stop for the orange liveried Hull 350 service which I made with 3.54 seconds to spare it was that close with barely enough time to return my breathing to normal capacity.

MAIN STAND AT WINTERTON RANGERS

After leaving the outskirts of the town and flowing by the fields of Roxby the bus soon turned into the really rather impressive village of Winterton, although it would appear for local government purposes it is a town.  Having departed a stop earlier than I had intended there was just over ten minutes before closing time for the Town Chippy thankfully I made it for home made fish cake and a portion of England's finest.  A brief food laden walk around the streets of the village which is around 5 miles north of Scunthorpe on the way to the Humber and Kingston Upon Hull revealed a collection of neat houses, village self contained shops catering for most things meaning you probably didn't have to leave for basic essentials.  There was even a prestige car company 'Richtoy'  I wasn't sure whether that was a play on words but it does appear to be a shortening of both the owners Richard Clayton and Toyne Fox.  The village had a fairly well to do feel about it and save for all the flat land in this part of the country it was a place that felt very comfortable to spend a spring afternoon in.
West St gives up the ground entrance by the Town Council offices but also shows the way to the skate park, library and community gym.  A fiver for entrance is very reasonable with a functional programme containing quality pictures from the clubs photographer who it was a pleasure to meet whose enthusiasm was clear for the club.  Having been in generous mood a couple of raffle tickets and Fulham on the scratch card did pay dividends when the London side gained another win and I pocketed me £20 at half time.

LIBRARY SIDE ENCLOSURE

First impressions here are of a very smart set up, well cared for with two tidy stands, the circuit then reveals, to the left and behind us the changing rooms, snack bar café and clubhouse once again very tidy throughout and a credit to the club.  The far side has a stand that is well catered for with a large selection of tip up seats offering a good view over the dugouts which drop down into the floor by a step.  Behind the far goal is uncovered and down the opposite side and at the front of the library is a smart covered terrace enclosure around the half way line.  Its all very modern and sanitised but as we come back to the turnstile block the toilets sum up the place people actually care about this ground, the facilities were clean and tidy where many clubs loos you dare not venture into them.  Well done Winterton officials a cracking little ground keep looking after it its a credit to you.

PAUL GRIMES WINTERTON

The first half I spent in the company of a local teacher watching the proceedings and discussing footy, all things educational and local bistros amidst this Paul Grimes Rangers assistant manager was putting in a tremendous shift working the AFC Emley, next season to be Emley AFC [?!] back line to the full and in the opening minutes crashed an effort off the visitors bar.
But it wasn't until 28 minutes that Luke Anderson gave the home side the lead and that was doubled on 39 minutes when Emley failed to clear their box Callum Foster was on hand to pounce to score much to his delight as he wheeled away to celebrate.

HEADS ITS MINE

The second period was put to bed within ten minutes of the re start when Elliot Broughton stormed away and fired home with confidence to make it 3-0.  It was comfortable going now for the home side and although it would have been nice to see them add to their total Emley continued to try for a way back into the game but overall Winterton were too strong for them today.

GET SOMETHING ON IT

The returning 350 was well on time allowing a 45 minutes in Scunthorpe where sadly the improvements appeared not to have happened and redeeming features could still not be found although on a sunny day the place did look marginally better than normal.

EMLEY KEEPER GEORGE CLARKE GETS A VITAL TOUCH

Back at the station and normal service was to be resumed with toilets locked and a notice declaring call for the keys at the ticket office and show your ticket needless to say the ticket office had a notice up saying closed all day due to staff shortages, the new lifts to the footbridge were not working and the clock on platform two was still an hour behind alongside a non functional destination display, still this was Scunthorpe.

EMLEY HAVE JUST BEEN TOLD THEY ARE GOING BACK VIA SCUNTHORPE

Return to the big steel city for the change was all fairly civil until the EMT service to base was loaded back to the capital with Euston out of action all weekend there was a collection of Manchester City fans travelling back and standing of course occurred all in a carriage with its heating stuck on.
Base was arrived at just before 8pm from a very enjoyable trip to a nice little self sufficient village which contained a super non league side what more could anybody want?