PILSLEY REACH SECOND FINAL IN TWO YEARS

WINSTER AND DARLEY DALE LIONS 0 PILSLEY COMMUNITY 3

RODEN CUP SEMI FINAL AT WHITWORTH PARK DARLEY DALE

9 APRIL 2022 --- 2PM

GARETH LEWIN HIS GOAL FOR PILSLEY IN THE CLOSING STAGES

Pilsley Community will grace a Hope Valley Cup final for the second year running this time the Roden Cup following their victory over Winster and Darley Dale Lions [WDDL] at Whitworth Park, Darley Dale.  It was a testimony to the determination of the men in tangerine as they battled through a lack lustre opening spell to produce a couple of quality goals to go into the break two goals to the good and with a third on full time the final appearance was booked and although there is a wide age range in the squad today's three goal scorers totalled 115 years in the age stakes.

THE VIEW FROM FARLEY TOWARDS RIBER CASTLE 

The big travels on rail and any other form of transport have as regular readers will know morphed into big walks with increasingly late teens recorded on the mileage app but today would break all records coming in at 21.5 miles round trip from base along some lovely country lane and non to few steep climbs to add to the 'walk to and from the match' series number [enter your own figure here I've lost count].  With a departure just after 1030 the first hour took up the familiar lanes around Ashover before crossing over the main Matlock main road at Kelstedge.  Into the serenity of Uppertown with its fields showing up the first new born lambs and the belted Galway cows its of course far from a town with its collection of stone cottages and farms scattered around its geographical spread.

The climb out would extend Jaggers Lane and pass the highly popular and busy Matlock Farm Park before taking a left to pass Sydnope Stand and admire the views from the ridge of Sydnope Hall and Darley Dale in the distance.  It was well into the last hour of the three hours now as the turning to Ameycroft Lane from Farley would descend the walking boots into Hackney a village that I cannot remember ever seeing before it offered up some more exquisite views and an 1888 street well too.  The pace was consistent now as arrival at the busy cross roads which offers up the new Coop in a converted bank, Pear Tree Coffee Shop and Whitworth Institute and its Park the ultimate destination for today's game.  Arrival in just under three hours was well within time allowed and it allowed a few minutes around the busy park and a brief through fence peering look at Darley Dale railway station part of the Peak Rail heritage line.

WHITWORTH INSTITUTE

The amazing thing about these walks has been new bits of information that has come to the fore through some of them and The Whitworth Institute [now centre], Whitworth Hotel [now Barringtons], Whitworth Park and Whitworth Hospitals raised the connection of why the Whitworth name?  Briefly then Sir Joseph Whitworth was a mechanical engineer made good with inventions such as the Whitworth Screw Thread, Whitworth Rifle and machine tools.  He lived with his wife Lady Whitworth at Stancliffe hall which is just along the A6 a few hundred yards away but their philanthropy led to the collection of named provisions listed earlier for the local people of Darley Dale.

MAKE UP YOUR OWN CAPTION TIME

The pitch which sits adjacent to the Peak Rail line which runs part of the former London to Manchester line via Buxton with of course the Matlock to Buxton line is sadly no more but the heritage element as reinstated the line to just short of Rowsley and was in action today at a leisurely pace during proceedings.

The pitch was in a poor way with little grass in parts of the goal mouth, I guess a problem of having a pitch in a public park and in other parts grass that was over long, although in the defence of the maintenance team it was apparently stood in water only a few days ago.

DOMINIC SORRELL CLAIMS THE BALL FOR WINSTER DARLEY DALE

The eagerly anticipated game between two side who generally seem to have games that finish as close encounters started promptly but was then held up by a pitch invasion after two minutes there's some unruly elements watching Hope Valley League football.  These two were refusing to leave the pitch but with assistant referee Jason Glanville blocking off one exit the man in the middle Archie Anderson went in for the warning to depart before a red card would be shown and a report to the relevant authorities, thankfully shortly after the flew off to re-join their mates on one of the two ponds in the park.

THE 1417 DEPARTS DARLEY DALE TO ROWSLEY SOUTH

The opening exchanges had seen Darley Dale gain the upper hand in the possession stakes with Pilsley still on the team bus at this stage, if of course there is such a thing in the HVL, but they were slightly fortunate when Jon Cooper saw his effort scrambled of the goal line to deny WDDL.  Slowly the visitors would find a foothold in the game and it was through free kick talisman Shan Marriott that their confidence would rise he forced home keeper Dominic Sorrell into two sharp saves from twenty five yard strikes, a third kick struck the well paced wall.  On twenty nine minutes the deadlock was broken amidst a ten minute downpour that sadly sent me for cover but what a 'worldie' it was we saw a long throw from Callum Baker fall in towards Richard Marshall who launched himself into an audacious overhead kick that moments later was in the bottom corner of the home net. 

Pilsley would double their lead on the stroke of half time with another fine goal a speedy affair down the left wing by Bradley Saint who saw his cross find Steven Rogers who with his back to goal made space and turned to fire home.

SHANE MARRIOTT CARRIES THE BALL FORWARD FOR PILSEY

The second period would see WDDL have a fair amount of possession but Pilsley were bossing proceedings and the nearest the home side got was a Lee Boden effort that struck the cross bar.  The icing was put on the cake in the final minute when Tyler Barksby racing down the left lobbed the out coming Sorrell and as the ball fell in front of goal in raced Gareth Lewin to gratefully slot the ball into an unmarked goal.  Never one to miss a photo op Gareth knew were the camera was and celebrated with the lens.  Within a few minutes referee Anderson called time on the semi final and Pilsley had made it through to the final which will be against Hayfield this seasons champions who they had narrowly lost to 1-0 last week at Rupert St.

Prompt about turn for some more climbs out of Darley Dale and a few minutes over the three hours on return to base would see an enjoyable afternoon watching some HVL action again with a superb conclusion for Pilsley included in that a very enjoyable walk through some lovely scenery, now where is the bowl to soak my feet.

GARETH LEWIN MAKES IT 3-0 AS PROVIDER TYLER BARKSBY WATCHES ON