THE BIG DERBY

WIRKSWORTH IVANHOE 0 CROMFORD AND WIRKSWORTH TOWN 0
CMFL 1 SOUTH @ DERBY ROAD
25 JANUARY 2020 --- 2PM

WIRKSWORTH IVANHOE ATTACK AGAINST TOWN

A superb local derby full of commitment and endeavour, it certainly wasn't your typical goal less draw and only lacked a goal or two but sometimes you can't have everything as both sides representing Wirksworth battled it out on a heavy pitch.
Arriving at the ground about 45 minutes before kick off and for this rural town on the edge of the Peak District there appeared to be no tractors in the car park and not a sign of Massey Ferguson or John Deere on the team sheet.  Gross generalisations aside John, Max and Matt are probably tech developers, antiques dealers and estate agents but the area made famous by the mills, mining and quarrying now is still surrounded by agriculture.  The journey had been a fraught one and after travels all over the country to complicated destinations this turned out to be frustrating when the town is about ten miles from base as the crow flies.  Departing to spire town arrival was slightly late and a two minute transfer to the X17 to Matlock was on board a double decker that was pretty full and mainly with noisy kids, my favourite travelling companions.  An attempt to board a service to Cromford crossroads to pick up the Trent Barton service fifteen minutes behind to Wirksworth was aborted two stops out of Matlock when a few people realised it was going the wrong way, apparently a diversion meant no Cromford stops.  Back to the original plans after a sharp walk back into Matlock and the planned service climbed up 'The Hill' out of Cromford passing The Black Rocks picnic site and into the town itself.  A brief race around for a quick look at The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway while taking in a town with enough buildings of different design and historical storytelling that you could shake a whole bundle of sticks at it really is a unique town.
Leaving the town on the Derby Road to the south a quick selection of hoppers provisions from the aforementioned road stores was gained and within a few munches arrival at The Recreation Ground was achieved.

ALL IS LOOKING QUIET IN THE TOWN

Last season this fixture was Ivanhoe v Town and I had just failed to do it for some reason or another but it had cropped up again however now Town had merged with nearby Cromford and moved to play out of town at the Cromford Meadows ground.  All the same it was a local and in real terms an inter town derby game and after a prompt text reply from Ivanhoe's it was game on for the big one.
Both sides have made the recent switch to the CMFL and find themselves in 1 South effectively step 8 and for the second week running we would witness a superb game much like last weeks Hope Valley affair at Ashover.

THE HAZY VIEWS TOWARDS THE CRICKET GROUND

The ground appears to have had a ninety degree turn, if my education worked, to now back onto the small changing room facilities that would house both sides a toilet and store/kitchen area.  Thankfully both team sheets were available although Cromford and Wirksworth Town [CW] provided an over written one that made it impossible to read so apologies not to many name checks.  The only furniture is two pop up grey dug-outs and a smartly roped off pitch on three sides, the playing surface was heavy but would make for a good 'old days' type of game.  The views behind the far goal lead to the cricket and bowling clubs with the hills surrounding Kirk Ireton in the distance.

JACK HIGTON FOR IVANHOE

Around ten minutes before kick off it looked like a typical step 8 game me and a few club regulars and then they came out or cars, houses and who knows where but by kick off we had a partisan crowd of around 80 people creating a nice atmosphere for this encounter.  With the visitors top of the table and Ivanhoe's sat in fourth the added derby element created even more anticipation.

AGONISING MISS FOR TOWN

Early sharp challenge in the first minutes set the tone and with Jack Higton looking lively he remained a threat throughout the game but after the early ascendancy for Ivanhoe it would be CW who would end the strongest.  Visiting number 10 Dec Jenkins if I have seen this part of the team sheet correctly, a former Ivanhoe player, forced Chris Conroy into a save and then moments later struck a post from close range.  After a promising start from the home side they had drifted away a little.

KYLE HIGTON HITS THE BAR

After half time though they came out re invigorated Kyle Higton struck the bar with a 25 yard free kick and with Dan Watson following up it needed Max Charlottes on form to save the second effort.  As the game was clearly in the balance it was Ivanhoe's who were putting on the main pressure Jack Higton took the ball down well and fired goal bound but Charlottes was on hand again and then eight minutes from time Matt Dranfield fired just wide.

HOW MANY PLAYERS CAN YOU GET IN ONE PICTURE

The point was probably a fair reflection on the game but both sides here take amazing credit on a heavy pitch they put in undoubted effort throughout the ninety minutes with more than a few full on challenges and all this in a game superbly refereed by Liam Vayro who got all the big decisions right aside to playing some excellent advantages.

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE VIEW AS CHARLOTTES CLEARS

Departure was more or less immediate on a bus serving the adjacent estate and back into Matlock the option, having purchased a all buses day ticket, was taken to travel back via Alfreton and on the final route get off at the big 'M's' just short of base.  Travel frustrations aside this had been one of the best 0-0 games I had seen and a thoroughly enjoyable visit yet again to a step 8 game for a highly entertaining Wirksworth derby.