NOTTINGHAM SHOCK ROWSLEY

ROWSLEY 86 V NOTTINGHAM FT 3-4

CMFL SOUTH AT THE RECREATION GROUND

28 AUGUST 2021 --- 3PM 

PICTURESQUE COUNTRYSIDE FOR ROWSLEY 86 V NOTTINGHAM

The classic game of two halves saw Nottingham hang on for the three points in a shock to the much fancied Rowsley.  The surprise was there for all too see for those gathered to watch with the visitors confidently 4 up at the break, it could have been at least three more.  But something roused Rowsley out of their slumber and they stormed back only to fail by one goal to get back on level terms and in the process rue a missed second half penalty.

MUSTAPHA LEONE A CONSTANT THREAT TO ROWSLEY

This season the blog has not undertaken more than local travels by alongside a steady walking hobby the challenge after a fifteen mile round trip to Teversal was to see if twenty miles was really possible for a game.  With that in mind there were a few options from base and Rowsley came up a few weeks ago but inclement weather ruled out the trip over the moors, today though with the weather set fair would be the day to go for it.  Soon leaving behind the houses of north Derbyshire into the parish of Ashover and the first of only two climbs, it was that sort of strange walk, up Alton hill and onwards over the Chesterfield to Matlock main road.  Hitting the tops at Beeley moor the long and straight roads found many cars racing past and with the main road closed all using my direct route to Rowsley it proved a less than happy four miles or so.  Before the descent into our destination the views come into play of Chatsworth, Mam Tor and to the opposite side Darley Dale and the hills beyond. 

FROM THE TOP THE VIEWS OF DERBYSHIRE

The approach to the retail outlet of Peak Village is by a 20% drop or 1 in 5 for those of us in old money along one and a half miles and I knew this awaited me at the referees final whistle.  Rowsley or 'roseley' the former is the definitive spelling however pronunciation wise I was always brought up with the former but have over the years been guided into the latter by mates from around the area and it wold appear to be the correct one to follow.  Peak Village is based on the old sidings for the former London Derby Buxton train service and it was looking busy for retail customers, adjacent The Grouse and Claret was doing a good trade also.  On the same side of the road is the upmarket Peacock which guards the approach road to the quaint Post Office and church.  But I would need the other side of the busy A6 that splits the village in two and our preferred side contains a visitors centre for Cauldwell's Mill, the school and village hall.  The village has the pleasure of two rivers the Wye and Derwent, although pleasure may be a strong descriptor because the low fields in the wet winter months are often flooded by the fast flowing swollen waterways.  Having crossed the bridge that takes you over the Wye the recreation ground appears on the left and when you think of recreation grounds this is not your town centre example.

CROSSBAR SAVES ROWSLEY

Entry to the ground is by a few points but having visited once before many years ago when the club I believe were in The MRA I opted to go along to the main car park entrance.  The downside for the club is public access is of course allowed so a suggested donation is the order of the day, having dropped this in at the snack cabin area that fronts the changing rooms pavilion building I moved for a look at the main pitch.  Its worth mentioning here the club currently does an excellent programme and this does meet with many hoppers approval, its presentation is well above the standard of most CMFL sides.  The ground I believe used to have cricket played on it as well but football seems to be the order of the day now and its a pretty setting with its hedges growing though the back drops becoming decreasingly less camera attractive.  The disappointing part is that one side is all you can access with a full roped off touchline there is no access behind the goals, the far side is tight and fair enough would be hard to access it does contain the permanent wooden dug outs with the Rowsley one having padded cushion its length and name above it.  This side also contains a nice selection of local advertising boards from much needed patrons on that point there will clearly be people who turn up here and don't chip in an admission fee I just hope they are not many in number, clubs don't run for nothing as we know.  The club appears well organised but although the ground is smart and the pitch looks nice for of course August there is no furniture and I guess never will be which means the club in their current home can not advance should they wish.  It does seem strange and may be from the CMFL's desire for clubs a few years ago when you consider some of the grounds in this league non more so than nearby Clay Cross Town, of course their continued development is with the desire to progress.

FIRST HALF ROWSLEY POSSESSION

What to expect, well the home side are much feted for success and always a strong challenge and watching their pre match routine were odds on favourites as Nottingham meandered out for a warm up I could only see the result going one way, it just shows what I know and a Rowsley player also who ten minutes in and trying to instil something into his team mates declared 'come on these are rubbish'.  Thirty minutes later he was staring down the barrel of 4 goal deficit.

A brief look at the game and in current times I'm not obtaining teams and here on this one to guide my match day notes I would like to thank the CMFL reviewer Richard Lane for his excellent and speedy match day round ups.

ANOTHER SWEET FINISH FROM LEONE MAKES IT 2-0 TO THE VISITORS

[Once again apologies for not all names featuring as mentioned above].

The opening exchanges saw Nottingham hit the bar from a right sided corner before Rowsley had a goal disallowed for offside.  But it was the visitors who took the lead after fourteen minutes and what a goal a superb weaving run and finish from Mustapha Leone.  The visitors almost doubled their lead with a cross goal shot that fell just wide but on twenty five minutes they did and it was that man Leone again finishing sharply at the back post after a lovely run and cross off the left wing.  Rowsley were struggling to get a foothold in the game as the visitors played the ball around and controlled the proceedings the home side were thankful to their keeper for a wonderful double save before Leone fed Elie Muendakani Tshilumba whose shot flew back of the base of the post with the keeper beaten, he wasn't though to be denied on 37 minutes after a lovely flowing move he fired home to make it three for Nottingham.  Rowsley were deep in trouble and even more so three minutes before the break when Jahnai Raynor finished well from a corner Rowsley had failed to deal with.  An amazing half that must have seemed like a dream to the visitors and for Rowsley could their management team get them up for a second half comeback.

TSHILUMBA MAKES IT 3-0 TO NOTTINGHAM

Within seven minutes of the restart we had the answer with two goals clawed back first Tim Baker from the penalty spot following a handball and Jordan Watts shortly afterwards.  In between this the home keeper had pulled off a superb save with his legs to deny the Nottingham number 7.  You feared the visitors could be in trouble but they found a way back into the game to quieten a rampant looking Rowsley until 72 minutes that was when they were awarded the second penalty of the game  The offence looked a yard or so outside the box but referee Vayro was the man in charge and he pointed to the spot.  For the second time Baker would step up but he placed the ball to the left again and the visiting keeper made a tremendous save.  But Baker was bossing the game now and just five minutes later he reduced the arrears further to make it 3-4 when he curled in a low free kick from the right hand side about twenty yards out the ball was dummied over by and attacker fooling the defence and keeper who could only watch it fly in at the far post.  The closing stages would see the Rowsley keeper pull off two more excellent saves as the game refused to give up on creating chances and the home side could still have got level when on 85 minutes the number 12 had his shot well turned away by the Nottingham number one.

We had been treated to a wonderful attacking show by Nottingham in the first half and a superbly determined second half from Rowsley which all round made for an entertaining game however nothing could take away from me the thought of that 1 in 5 climb that was now beckoning.

BAKER PENALT SAVED BY NOTTINGHAM KEEPER

GRASSMOOR SEE VICTORY SLIP THROUGH THEIR FINGERS

GRASSMOOR WORKS 162 ALL OUT THORESBY COLLIERY 2'S 174 FOR 8

BASSETLAW AND DISTRICT DIVISION 2 AT BARNES PARK

14 AUGUST 2021 --- 1PM

SHAILESH PATEL MAN OF THE MATCH FOR THORESBY COLLIERY V GRASSMOOR

Grassmoor looking to consolidate on second spot in division two somehow managed to lose from a strong position twice against Thoresby Colliery.  Having reduced the Nottinghamshire visitors to 59 for 6 an achievable target looked ont the cards but that was to forget the contribution of man of the match Shailesh Patel [74*] who steered the total to 174 for 8.  Even after three early losses in reply the home side rallied thanks to David Spendlove [83] with a wonderful innings but he couldn't hang around with the target at only just above four an over and when the bowling figures were viewed Thoresby again had to look towards Patel who took 3 for 25 as Grassmoor fell a dozen runs short.

STEAMING IN FROM THE BIRKIN LANE END

Local was again the order of the day with the threat of rain late afternoon and other difficulties guiding me thankfully to a second Grassmoor Works game in close succession, so much so that I wont revisit the local history etc.  Needless to say the afternoon remained as non serene as last time with the beautiful game punctuated with motorbikes fit to break the sound barrier, noisy traffic on the adjacent road and then just as this settled down a neighbour decided to power wash his patio with the loudest machinery for an hour or so.

NIGEL BIRKETT SOLID OPENING FOR THORESBY

Still we were viewing some live sport and there was an anticipation to see if last time outs big hitting could be repeated but we would have to wait as the visitors would bat first and a solid start was made before the first wicket fell at 40 in the last ball of the tenth over, Shaun Caldwell [15] bowled by Ian Bradley.  There was a quick return to the new functional pavilion after a duck for Jack Waring  before captain Alistar Walker [14] stabilised the ship.  Opening batsman Nigel Birkett [27] was bowled by John Donaldson after a contribution that had helped set a sturdy base for Thoresby.

JOHN DONALDSON RECEIVES THE PLAUDITS FOR HIS FOURTH WICKET

From the Birkin Lane end Donaldson was proving the threat he dismissed Chris Spittlehouse [1] and James Collins no score before bowling Walker to haul four wickets in and the visitors who were still in the fifties with just four wickets left.  The lower order saw Nathan Culkin [12] chip in before John Kenward-Nash dislodged his bails and Greg Cheshire [5] was stumped by Sam Smith off Craig Dawes.  The bulk of the total would be contributed by Patel who grew in confidence and shot ability as Grassmoor scratched their heads their confidence visibly started to melt away and with Ian Halfpenny [23] contributing that expected total of around 100 had gone nearer to the two hundred.

JOHN KENWARD-NASH WATCHED OVER BY THE GIRAFFE

A challenging total which at one stage was looking like a fairly easy meander and would require the powerful top order to get away and get away well.  Rounding up the bowling Donaldson was on fire for his eight over spell and it was just a shame he couldn't claim five despite his best efforts.  There was 2 for Kenward-Nash and one apiece for Bradley and Dawes.

THE CROOKED SPIRE AT NEARBY CHESTERFIELD WATCHES ON AS GRASSMOOR REPLY

A tea interval wander around a nearby estate took away enough time to just arrive back at the perimeter to see the home sides reply commence.  It was not the start they wanted as they soon fell away to 27 for 3 with Donaldson [11], Andy Woolven [6] and captain Adam Bedford [2] back in the pavilion.  This disappointing start brought together Spendlove and Carl Bowling [18] who steadied the ship and as their confidence grew and the saw off the early threat from the Thoresby attack started to play some shots that would bring the target back within range.  Sadly Bowling was not to hang around to allow Spendlove to attack he was bowled by Christopher Mitchell but the total had moved onto 88 by then.  

TOP MATCH SCORE 73 FOR DARREN SPENDLOVE OF GRASSMOOR WORK CC 

Wickets would fall steadily with Dawes [4 ], Bradley [1 ] and Smith [3] back at base the total had reached 139 thanks in the main to Spendlove.  As confidence grew further in the home number four he was hitting out well and with the target around four and a half an over a win was looking on the cards while he remained but with the score on 149 and achievable with some controlled pushing and running one big hit too many arrived.  Spendlove would fly into Patel only to launch the ball space bound and as we waited for it to fall there would be no mistake by the bowler as he capped his man of the match performance by dismissing the danger man with a comfortable catch.

CARL BOWLING GRASSMOOR WORKS CC

A valiant effort was made to get over the line Pete Bedford [4] out bowled by Cheshire to the big swing needed at the time and finally Kenward-Nash suffered the same result to the bowling of Mitchell with four balls remaining.  It was probably about the right result but it always feels better when the chasing side gets to the total but the contribution of Birkett and ultimately Patel for Thoresby was not to be denied, it was though a game that swing first one way then the other and then did exactly the same an hour later when Grassmoor replied.

SHAILESH PATEL THREE WICKETS AND 74 WITH THE BAT

VALIANT PILSLEY FALL TO DUFFIELD

PILSLEY AND CLAY CROSS 175 ALL OUT DUFFIELD 2'S 232 ALL OUT

DCCL DIVISION 6 NORTH AT RUPERT ST

7 AUGUST 2021 --- 1PM

PILSLEY AND CLAY CROSS VERSUS DUFFIELD WITH TOM HOLMES FOR THE VISITORS

An intriguing encounter saw Pilsley and Clay Cross come up what looked well short against Duffield seconds but considering the home side were two players short of their compliment but admirably opted to fulfill their fixture, there is a lesson there for others, it was a superb effort.  After 22 overs the home side replying to the visitors 232 all out were 125 for 3 well on target apart from the lack of any leeway in the wickets column.  It would be Duffield though who found the resolve to take three quick dismissals and the challenge in the end fell 57 runs short.

OPENING BOWLER FOR PILSLEY TRISTAN BOWERS

Flip Flopping around on football or cricket today after last weeks start to the season in the NCEFL for the blog was leaning towards the same variety again until late hope sprung in the weather which gave the belief that a few hours of cricket could happen.  With only a brief visit in passing it was time to get back to Pilsley a place were I enjoyed some time last season, added to that as ever a prompt response from Tristan Bowers at the club and the boots were on and the two and a half mile walk saw arrival with thirty minutes in the credit page.

FIRST CHANGE IAN WORTHY ON HIS WAY TO THREE WICKETS

Most, if not all, of the history of the area has been covered on football and cricket visits to Rupert St and of course the wonderful back drop views to both games, if the weather allows, so now is not the time to re visit this.   It was though great to keep the grass roots sport interest alive after a week of footballers moving for multi millions, probably backed up by the same in contracts, to realise that these players are so far away from the fans and basics of the game a thought that you can aim towards a lot of major sports currently.

UP FOR THE SHOUT

Looking back over the pictures before selecting a few as made this look like a study of wicketkeeper Ian Knowles but if you are undertaking that role I guess you are going to appear in the action shots, as an aside to of course having a good performance with the bat too.

GARETH HATTON FROM THE CLAY CROSS END

Both sides came into the game with contrasting recent form with the visitors losing only one in the last five whereas for Pilsley you could flip the coin.  Duffield arrived with a full team sheet with a fair few chaps looking to make their way in the game alongside a nice collection of experience.  For Pilsley the nine available looked strong but it would of course make plugging the fielding gaps even harder and the chance to deny runs was taken away in many instances.

IAN BOWYER FOR DUFFIELD

With Bowers and Pete Lacey opening the bowling for the home side a breakthrough was much sought after winning the toss and electing to field and it came with the score on 25 when Joe Smith [13] was bowled by former.  The second wicket was not to far behind on 47 when a sharp take by Knowles off Bowers sent back Tim Holmes [29] for a respectable contribution.  Ian Bowyer [27] would join Daniel Tomlinson [69] at the crease and they proved difficult to dislodge with the latter gaining in confidence and passing his fifty in what increasingly looked a confident knock.  It would take Gareth Hatton to dismiss Bowyer when he dislodged his bails after replacing Bowers who had bowled his allotment of overs.

GARETH HATTON BOWLS BOWYER WITH CRICH STAND WATCHING ON

At the drinks break, 22 overs, Duffield were registering 81 for 3 showing how well under manned Pilsley were going in their reply later at the same stage.  First change the experienced Ian Worthy was proving a difficult job to handle for the visitors and he saw off Joseph Anderson and Saranya Madina both for ducks the former efficiently stumped by Knowles and the latter caught by Jack Warsop going for a big hit.  

PILSLEY KEEPER KNOWLES SHOWS HIS ATHLETICISM

Top scorer Tomlinson who had performed excellently for his years and was only finally dismissed by keeper Knowles as he missed a Worthy delivery moving down the wicket to keep the score moving on at the desired pace.  Bowers was alert in the field to run out Oliver Cox [15] with Edwards Cockayne [10] receiving similar treatment this time by Knowles.  In the run in a forceful effort from Jacob Melling [36] added a speedy and timely contribution to the visitors total while bringing up ten and eleven captain Adam Short [17*] and Richard Jordan [7] added vital runs with the latter caught by Hatton off Will Green in the second ball of the final over.

The home sides bowling held fairly firm in the plight they found themselves in with Worthy returning 3 for 57 proving the pick of the bunch, there were two wickets for Bowers and Hatton with Green chipping in with the final dismissal.

LAST PAIR HITTING OUT FOR DUFFIELD

The tea interval would undertake a trip around the local lane to view the former pit canteen now converted into a unique house/living accommodation.  The weather was no much improved with the wind almost non existent and the drizzle that annoyed a three quarter of an hour spell in the Duffield innings thankfully was by now away elsewhere.  

FINAL TWO ADD VITAL RUNS TO THE VISITORS TOTAL

It looked a tough total but when opener Jack Warsop [18] got the reply underway with a maximum in the first over the reply was well sourced achieving just shy of seven an over in the first ten.  Keepers were to feature in the blog and the busy Warsop was looking to go big but this drew the attention of the visitors keeper who was clearly bantering to upset him and with the number one chirping back it was lively with fellow opener Knowles looking to get the young 'uns head on the next delivery.  The big hitting continued until he was finally caught by an excellent running boundary catch by top scorer Tomlinson running round from long on off Richard Jordan going for another maximum with the score on 41.  With Knowles [55] going along at a steady pace it brought Steve Wood to the crease who struggled to get the ball away and was dismissed without adding to the score caught Bowyer off Adam Short with the scoreboard registering twenty four more runs on the total.  

INTERVAL VIEW TOWARDS THE CLAY CROSS PART OF THE TEAM

Bowers joined Worthy at the crease and this was a vital partnership and somebody needed to go big on the score front.  For so long it looked on the cards as Bowers [30] settled in but Knowles came down the wicket to Jordan and his counterpart whipped off the bails as the ball evaded the Pilsley opener.  Even then with the drinks break showing after 22 overs Pilsley on 125 for 3 the target was around four an over an with a huge boundary to one side it looked to need a calm head and not big hitting, at least for the time being.  It would be a sensible approach from Worthy [24] he fell caught by Joe Smith on the boundary off the bowling of  Joseph Anderson but there was still batting in the tank for the home side.

KNOWLES WATCHES THE BALL WHILE MOVING TOWARDS HIS FIFTY

Duffield struck now with two ducks for the home side when even they were starting to get concerned that the chase was on Green was bowled by Anderson and Hatton looped one up to Cox to take off his own bowling.  The closing pair of Kyle Butterworth [3*] and Pete Lacey [22] offered up some entertainment and as the latter started to hit out there was just the thought of  'could this be on again'.  Sadly not when the latter was caught and bowled by Short to give Duffield the victory by fifty seven runs.

TRISTAN BOWERS AND THE VIEW

The visitors bowlers shared two wickets apiece with Jordan, Short, Anderson and Cox registering in equal terms.

There had to be some doubt of what to expect when the news of a short staffed team for Pilsley was declared but this was a sterling effort from the North Derbyshire outfit in a highly entertaining game which featured two well gathered half centuries Tomlinson for Duffield and Knowles for Pilsley.  Overall though Duffield earned their victory but with those two players on the pitch for the home side this would have been a nail biting finish.

An enjoyable afternoon again at Rupert Street with some genuine honest cricket played during the second innings in some lovely weather.

GO ON THEN ONE MORE IAN KNOWLES PICTURE

FOOTYS BACK AND ITS STILL JULY

TEVERSAL 0 ARMTHORPE WELFARE 1

NCEFL 1 AT TOMLIN PERSONNEL PARK

31 JULY 2021 --- 3PM

TEVERSAL V ARMTHORPE

Armthorpe Welfare manager Lee Morris promised the South Yorkshire faithful fast free flowing football which provided an open day victory thanks to Matty Hughes first half stoppage time strike.  However Teversal were thankful to an excellent performance from the man of the match between the sticks Louis Pryce who produced a string of excellent saves to deny the goal tally column for the visitors.

Regulars to the blog will know that there normally is a look at the area and tales of transportation a plenty well however with local being the order of the day still one of my 'comfort homes' Tevie would be reached by foot today a fifteen mile round trip along some country lanes I had not trodden for a while.  As ever many discoveries that I had not made before awaited uncovering, a further footnote is that to reach Teversal just over seven miles away would now take three buses and then a half mile walk since the direct service was called off a couple of years ago.

HARSTOFT FORMER SCHOOL ROOMS 1858

The tired old walking boots were strapped up and over a familiar first hour walking arrival was made at Hardstoft were aside the busy main road between Holmewood and Pilsley sits a former Church Of England School dated from 1858 with bell tower and church style doorway now gradually being covered by foliage.  Apparently locally known as St Phillips it was under plans by Bolsover District Council to turn it into a community centre although on a busy road it has little surrounding it other than two terraced houses.

HARDWICK HALL WITH OLD HALL TO THE RIGHT

Within a hundred yards or so The Shoulder of Mutton came into vision and memories of seeing Noddy Holder lead singer of Slade in the office who were performing there after their fame years to the loyal base, all this while my dad was organising a works golf dinner.  Moving down past a lovely village green the drop took us towards Hardwick Hall which came into view with its old hall also visible.  An interesting fact is that the old hall is owned by English Heritage and the newer 'more glass than stone' variety is under the guidance of The National Trust.  Three quarters of the way along the gentle descent the motorway bridge offers some good views and the plan was to spend ten minutes capturing a few truck and coach pictures, I know another sad hobby to add to football hopping.  Just as time came up to move on Derbyshire's finest pulled up behind me as I turned around with camera you could see the look on their faces 'transport spotter' was my polite interpretation.  Anyway they'd had a call to say somebody was hanging from the other side of the fence once they ascertained it wasn't me we all moved on.

ASH COTTAGES IN OLD TEVERSAL

Turning onto the increasingly tight lane towards the hamlet of Stanley which greets you with the signage 'welcome to Stanley' so I guess its sod off if your name is Bill or anything else.  The realistation that this route was an uncomfortable to walk rat run with lots of rubbish deposited in its hedge sides and the arrival towards The Carnarvon Arms was more than welcomed.  Passing the newly expanded holiday let static home park and to the opposite side the site of the former Silverhill Colliery now a country park which features at its summit a miner with Davy Lamp, but that's for another day.

ITS ALMOST HEARTBEAT TERRITORY WITH THIS QUAINT OLD SIGN

With time in hand a look at the older part of Teversal which is a complete contrast to the Teversal football fans see took me past the old station house and into the quaint streets that featured Ash Cottages, superb old style directional road sign, The Reading Rooms Community Centre and The Manor.  The latter and the village are believed to be the base for Lady Chatterley's Lover the infamous D H Lawrence novel that pushed the boundaries of decency at the time.  Cutting back to the ground via the Teversal Trail half way along the walk back, the trail makes up a myriad of former railway lines that make up extensive walkways around the area. 

REFEREE PHILLIP MORTON GETS 21/22 UNDERWAY

Dropping back onto the main Stanton Hill road made the route a little longer but also allowed for a proper approach by Carnarvon St to The Tomlin Personnel Park for the opening game of The NCEFL season on 31 July.  The league had made a sensible decision to get the season underway to compensate for any potential suspensions and delays during the winter months.  Having watched what football that was available towards the end of last season at the imaginary step 8 level and some good stuff there was too in the likes of The Hope Valley League today would be the first game in an enclosed ground for around a year and a half.

ARMTHORPE ATTACK THE BACK POST

A pleasant welcome from the lady on the gate who I handed over my fiver too and on a fairly bright afternoon all was looking well with a healthy crowd for Teversal inside [att 133].  The football started brightly for Teversal with Jack McWilliams looking sharp and putting in a couple of tempting crosses off the left.  But Armthorpe were soon into the ascendancy with Liam Owen and Reece High getting in goal bound efforts but for the early heroics of Pryce in the home goal.

ITS A STUDIOS START TO 21/22 IN THE STRESS ZONE

The visitors were gaining the upper hand but were nearly shocked when Connor Bower crashed an effort against the woodwork but a look across at assistant referee Adam Crosser revealed an offside flag that would have denied the Teversal player.  Shortly afterwards it looked odds on a home side opener with Joe Fox through on goal he lifted the ball over visiting keeper Sebastian Tylek but as the ball landed it fell agonisingly wide.  

TEVIE CAPTAIN GEORGE SIMPSON CLAIMS THIS ONE

Sheffield referee Phillip Morton signaled two minutes added time to the first half and that was to the benefit in the final seconds when Hughes drove home a sweet strike that would prove to be the winner.  Teversal would feel flat from the goal and start the second period the stronger but with the couple of quality saves from Pryce denying Armthorpe they would claim the upper hand in chances from the opening 45 minutes.

SPONSORS BOARD PROMINENT IN BUSINESS AREA OVERVIEW

In the strong second half start from the home side Fox was again unlucky when his header struck the bar to give Armthorpe a let off that fired them into a response.  Harry Brown fed substitute James Bytheway but again Pryce was racing out to block the attackers effort with his legs and as the pressure dial was turned up goal scorer Hughes cut in off the left and did everything right bit once again Pryce rose to the challenge.

WATCH THE BALL

Armthorpe were now definitely finishing the strongest and feeling aggrieved they hadn't added to their tally thanks to Pryce who proved his worth again when Hughes drove an effort from the edge of the box that looked to be heading towards the bottom corner of the Teversal goal until the tangerine clad keeper appeared again with an excellent save.

BIT OF SECOND HALF CHASING FOR TEVERSAL

The closing stages saw a little bit of opening day controversy when Welfare thought they had at last doubled their lead Jack Wilson played through to Bytheway who made the move but was flagged for being offside but as he halted his run Wilson ran through and fired the ball into the net.  It was an incident you will not see too often but although it upset visiting manager Morris and for his comments he received the only caution of the day, it was the correct decision I believe with the attacking player making a move towards the ball.  

OWEN FIELDSEND DOES HIS BEST BRIAN BLESSED IMPRESSION AFTER A NEAR MISS

A successful start for Armthorpe and a score line that could have read more in their benefit but three points is three points, for Teversal they will be disappointed after a 4 year journey in The East Midlands Counties League to have come away with a blank.  But they will need no reminding of how hard it is in this excellently competitive NCEFL.

Return route was the same I opted out of a walk up to the statue on Silverhill Colliery and in about two hours fifteen minutes was back for a rest and the chance to review the first game of the season and a local but interesting discovery day that normally would have been in some far flung place after a two hour train journey. 

REFEREE MORTON AND ASSISTANT GREGORY DISCUSS SANCTIONS