Saturday 7th May 2011

Stone Old Alleynians 1 Sporting Khalsa 1
West Midlands (Regional) League Division 1
At: Motiva Park (groundshare at Stone Dominoes FC)
Kick-off: 3-00 pm
Admission: none; Programme: £1 (24 pages)
Attendance: 29 (headcount)
Weather: cloudy, dry
Duration: first-half: 45:50; second-half: 49:48

Familiar venue (fifth visit), familiar colours (black and white stripes), but unfamiliar home side. Shame on me not for not having seen Stone Old Alleynians play either home or away until today, considering I made just a short 13.3 mile trip from home to ground. I found such a welcoming club with the added bonus of a decent programme. Both sides had something to play for – visitors Sporting Khalsa needed to avoid defeat to secure third position which may be high enough for promotion to the Premier Division. Stone’s aim was to win and move up to fifth position, After Stone had created several chances, it was Khalsa who took a 20th minute lead through Satnam Sangha. The home side, who included former Stoke City and Stafford Rangers midfielder Jamie Cartwright and ex-Stafford youth player Darryll Johns, equalised in the 70th minute when Steven Millington fired home at close range. Stone finish the season in sixth position, the highest they have achieved in the pyramid during their 49 year history while Sporting Khalsa have to wait to see if third is high enough for promotion.

Goals:
0-1 Satnam Sangha (20)
1-1 Steven Millington (70)

Monday 2nd May 2011

Church Warsop 1 Pinxton 0
Abacus Lighting Central Midlands League Buckingham Insurance Supreme Division
At: The Alley, Wood Lane
Kick-off: 2-00 pm
Admission: £3; Programme: none
Attendance: 40 (headcount)
Weather: Sunny, strong cold win
Duration: first-half: 47:20; second-half: 47:32

I arrived at The Alley around 20 minutes before kick-off to be greeted by Rob Hornby who told me that kick-off had been put back an hour to 2 pm and gave me some tips on the best places to park. This gave me time to visit the nearby old ground of Welbeck Welfare (which may be used again next season) and Warsop’s St Peter and St Paul Church. Laurence Reade, Lee West and Chris Berezai amongst other travellers duly arrived with Laurence heading for Ollerton before a planned return for Welbeck’s 5 pm kick-off at The Alley. As for the game itself, the strong blustery wind wasn’t conducive for entertaining football and neither side had anything to play for with Pinxton guaranteed third position. Plenty of chances were created and Church Warsop’s winner came from a 73rd minute penalty. Jamie Renshaw was penalised for handling Adrian Smith’s cross and Craig Cantrell fired home from the spot. At full time I made my way to the Summit Centre to catch the last 13 minutes of Kirkby Town v Dronfield Town, which finished 3-1 to Kirkby. All four goals had been scored by the time I’d arrived and it was good to spend some time in the company of Malcolm Storer (a pleasure to give an APTCOO donation), Kev Goodman, Eddie Fogden and ‘FredKirkbyTown’.

Church Warsop (navy blue / navy blue / navy blue): 1. Craig Tansley, 2. Adrian Smith, 3. Liam Middleton, 4. Craig Charlesworth, 5. Brett Crew, 6. Robert Camm, 7. Sam Ward, 8. Craig Cantrell, 9. Lee Eason (capt), 10. Liam Marsden, 11. Jordan Claxton. Subs: 14. Luke Cower (for Crew, 71), 15. Alex Marsh (not used), 19. Richard Preston (not used).

Pinxton (white shirts with black sleeves / black / black): 1. Dave McCarthy, 2. Josh Parker, 3. Ryan Kerlin, 4. Joe Riley, 5. Jamie Renshaw, 6. Liam Collins, 7. Frazer Thomas (capt), 8. Sam Hutsby, 9. Blake Vincent, 10. Martin Jones, 11. Martin Newman. Subs: 14. Jay Cooper (for Newman, 48), 15. Lewis Fantom (for Hutsby, 55), 17. Rory Davis (for Kerlin, 79).

Referee: Stephen Hall.
Assistants: Gareth Carlile and Martin Jones.

Goals:
1-0 Craig Cantrell (73 pen)