Winterton Rangers 0 Nostell Miners Welfare 1
KoolSports Northern Counties East League Premier Division
At: West Street
Kick-off: 12-00 noon
Admission: £5; Programme: £1 (32 pages)
Attendance: 60
Weather: sunny spells, blustery wind
Duration: first-half: 45:23; second-half: 48:55
My original plan was for a ‘walk to Stafford Station, take the train somewhere and walk to the ground’ day. But when I started to study this week’s Football Traveller there was one fixture that simply leapt off the page at me. Right at the end of the fixtures for the KoolSports Northern Counties East League Premier Division, in bold type, was ‘(12-00)’ at a ground I hadn’t previously visited. Better still there were quite a few nearby options to double up with a 3pm kick-off – I just had to choose which one!
Clear blue sky and sunshine, admitted with temperatures around the 9°C, was all around as I made my way to Lincolnshire.
It turned out that the reason for the early kick-off was to avoid the football interrupting/disturbing a wedding reception being hosted by the club later in the afternoon. Zoe and Simon were the happy couple and the tables for their reception had an artistic theme judging by the names of ‘Lawrence’, ‘Bryon’ and ‘Rossetti’ I was able to spot.
Looking at the advertising boards on the drive and around the ground and adverts in the programme, Winterton are looking to make the most of their ‘Rangers Suites’ as a wedding, conference and party venue. And, just before Christmas there will be two pantomimes in one day, one aimed at families and a later one aimed at over 18s.
While the noon kick-off was appreciated by around ten groundhoppers, I’m not sure what the locals made of the early start. The gate of 60 was down on the average attendance of 86 from four home league and cup games this season. Yet, I know that the wedding celebration provided vital income for the club.
One familir face at the game was RAMBLER77 who was heading Nettleham for the second leg of his Saturday 'double'.
Both sides went into the game in the lower half of the Premier Division table in which one side had played just three league games, most had played six games and some had played as many as eight games. Out of the two teams in action this lunchtime, Winterton occupied a higher position of 12th with 7 points from 5 games while Nostell (6 points from 7 games) were two positions lower. Winterton had a 100% home record while Nostell were still seeking for their first away league win.
The game was settled by a single goal scored by the visitors in the 80th minute. Lee Maturine got into the area on the left and slipped a low shot wide of the keeper into the opposite bottom-right corner of the net.
All in all, West Street was a good place to mark what I think was the 1300th different ground that I’d watched a football match, ignoring the pitches I refereed on during the early 1980s or played/ran the line for Compower and the Trumpet during the 1980s.
Next stop... North Ferriby United via the Humber Bridge.
Winterton Rangers (blue/blue/blue): 1. Jack Ward, 2. Craig Robinson, 3. Graeme Severn, 4. Andy Walkden, 5. Scott Pickles, 6. Danny Smith, 7. James O’Neill (capt), 8. Rob Sanderson, 9. Liam Wilkin, 10. Liam Slack, 11. Lee Wilkinson. Subs: 12. Kirk Frost (for Wilkinson, 61), 14. Jack Cross (not used), 15. Gavin Cooper, (for Sanderson, ht) 16. Ryan Malee (for Robinson, 85), 17. Alex Yates (not used).
Nostell Miners Welfare (yellow/black/black): 1. Gavin Ainsley, 2. Sam Jackson, 3. Wayne Ball, 4. Darren Rushton, 5. Dave Watts (capt), 6. Toby Rutter, 7. Clifton Firth, 8. Mark Thompson, 9. Ernest Boafo, 10. Lee Maturine, 11. Jimmy Eyles. Subs: 12. Richard Collier (for Firth, 79), 14. Scott Colqhhoun (for Boafo, 90+2).
Referee: David Musgrave.
Assistants: Tony Lewis and William Pharoh.
Goals:
0-1 Lee Maturine (80)
Cards:
Winterton: Liam Wilkin (YC, 84)
Nostell: Dave Watts (YC, 61)
