SOCIO ECONOMIC EXPRESS TO SHIREBROOK

SHIREBROOK TOWN 2 RETORD UNITED 1
PRE SEASON FRIENDLY @ LANGWITH ROAD
10 JULY 2019 --- 7.30PM

LANGWITH ROAD HOME OF SHIREBROOK TOWN FC

The second fixture in The I Don't Do Pre-Season Friendlies Cup would take in a highly entertaining encounter but as so often the journey to a game is the meat in the sandwich.  Shirebrook being local to blog base has been featured on quite a few occasions but not too much over the last couple of seasons.  The adage of doing a pre season game if there is something different, eg Cliftonville a few weeks ago, was broken here I needed a game and with a 7.30pm kick off the old public transport would play ball too.
The bus journey would be responsible for this meander from base town aloft the upper deck of the stripey boys number 82 to Langwith its a journey of just under an hour but is a fantastic trip through the industrial history of the area and after its devastation in the late 80's and early 90's the community problems it left across a wide area of North Derbyshire. 
Through Arkwright Town, which is really a small village, now completely re sited after its original adjacent site was demolished due to the leaking of methane gas and after the colliery closed by the mid 90s the whole village had gone to its new base.  On the approach to the village there is now a plaque remembering the former 'town' and its rows of terrace houses serving the pit.  Moving through Duckmanton and its Markham industrial estate you can only imaging the days before closure of its original use the pit by the same name which suffered two accidents in the 1930's when 79 men lost their lives and then again in 1983 when 18 perished when the cage transporting the men to the bottom of the mine shaft broke away, some politicians had you believe they were the enemy within in, I think not.  The unbelievably large Great Bear distribution warehouse makes up part of the site alongside KFC, McDonalds and the familiar collection of units making up for some loss of employment but on a very different level all round, but its 25 years since the pit closed and its taken this long.  Moving towards Bolsover and its pit, of course closed, you pass the approach to the infamous former Coalite factory now also demolished but awaiting reclamation and site cleaning.  The centre of Bolsover offers a clash to industrial history with its outstanding English Heritage operated castle occupying a commanding site just off the market square.
Onward as time approached 7pm through the pretty village of Scarcliffe and onto the edge of Shirebrook approached via The Summit housing estate and into the Market Square which is quiet with little sign of activity a new Lidl has been built on the site of what was due to be a Tesco before they scaled back developments and beyond the monolith that is Sports Direct is in view on the site of the one again closed Shirebrook pit.  In a previous blog I covered the model village of which there were many designed around this area and the intention to bring communities together in a social environment but of course as the employment they were designed to serve was lost so these ideas looked more worn out and in need of investment.

THE TERRACE SIDE ALONG LANGWITH ROAD

There would not be time to visit today but needless to say many of the houses and former pubs are now converted into flats that base the many eastern European workers that have come to work in Sports Direct and employed indirectly through agencies.  As the town crumbled away after its pit closure so did its centre although there has been a slight revival now in the utilised shop units with many eastern European businesses taking up the empty premises.
Departing shortly afterwards on Langwith Road right outside the football ground it had been a wonderful ride through the memory and to that woman who said there is no such thing as society come and compare these old towns and village communities from the 1960's/70's to the desperation that is self evident now in many parts.
They were and still are tough places but a warm welcome was granted to me by a few of the regulars I know at Shirebrook and after tonight's visit I hope to get along a few more times this season so hopefully there will be time to feature a little more of the town again soon.

RETFORD UNITED KEEPER CAUGHT OUT BY WIDDOWSON'S 50 YARD FREE KICK

Its a wonderful ground with two main stands aloft grass banking offering a cracking view with opposite a covered terrace that is not far short of the full length of the pitch.  By the turnstile entrance is the business end with changing rooms and toilets and outside the ground the rail club that offers a liquid base for the team.  The café is also by the terrace side and is somewhere I always frequent and the first chips of the season were sampled tonight.  There was no programme and in the past its something that has let a visit down a little to Langwith Rd but overall this is a great place to watch your football and tonight's crowd of around 140 was a shock to me and I think some of the club officials against a team from a step below in the pyramid.  It would appear that a lot of the squad are now local lads and this hopefully has an influence on the gate and there is much hope they can perform well in their sideways move into The EMCFL.
[No team sheets so a few names missing of course]
All the goals came in the first half with Carter Widdowson floating a 50 yard free kick over the visiting keeper who was off his line too busy 'gently' advising his defence after 3 minutes.  The visitors in their Mansfield Town home shirts, adorned of course with Retford United badges, were level eight minutes before the break when number 5 headed back across goal for the number 10 to fire home at the far post.

THE VISITORS NUMBER 10 FIRES HOME THE EQUALISER

Half time would see Shirebrook in the lead a clear penalty awarded on forty minutes was swept into the back of the United net by Kieran Darby.
Ten minute break, why cant it be like this always, meant I would not need to miss any of this second half with the return service at 9.20pm.  It was an industrious affair that after the usual changes saw Retford secure a possession advantage but not a superiority in the goal tally and Shirebrook grew stronger and saw out an opening win in their first pre season encounter.
As darkness enveloped the town a warm evening saw a return through the previously mentioned areas and not a miner coming off shift in sight how times have change lets hope the Shirebrook Town glory days of old are not too far off again.