Ground #357 - Holker Street

Date: 10th September 2021
Ground: Holker Street

Location: Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria

My seventh new ground of 2021 was on Friday 10th September at Holker Street in Barrow, Cumbria. The game was Barrow vs. Colchester United in Football League Two.

Holker Street is located close to the centre of Barrow. The grounds sits adjacent to roads on the eastern and northern with housing and wasteland respectively beyond this. The southern side is across from a supermarket while the western edge is additional land used by the club including a supporters bar building. Approximately half a mile north west of the town's railway station, the ground has been home to the club since 1909.

The Brian Arrowsmith Stand is the main stand at the venue and is an all-seater structure on the southern flank. This takes up the middle half of this side and has around 1,000 seats with three supporting pillars to hold up the roof. There is uncovered standing either side of this with the western end moving from flat to a concrete terrace round the south-west corner. The eastern end, known as the Holker Street End, has been renovated since Barrow's promotion to the Football League in 2020 and is segregated between home and away fans. Part of this including adding a roof with a large number of supporting pillars. The away section has 130 seats with the rest of this end being terracing.

The other substantive structure is the Popular Side in the north. This has a covered terrace for the middle half (again with numerous supporting pillars) with a TV gantry on top. There is then uncovered terracing either side of this stand for the remainder of the northern side. The western end is the most basic as it is an uncovered area with flat standing at the front and some terracing attached to the building behind which doubles as the player dressing rooms.

The game was initially quiet until the hosts took the lead in the 25th minute after a defensive mix-up from the visitors. Tommy Smith attempted a backpass to goalkeeper Shamal George along the six-yard line but the pass was significantly underhit with Jordan Stevens nipping in to tap into an empty net. The U's managed a quick-fire turnaround later in the half with the equaliser arriving in the 35th minute. A ball down the right found Freddie Sears in space and he crossed for Alan Judge to slide the ball home from six yards out. Sears then turned from provider to goalscorer three minutes later after Frank Nouble's header forward split the Barrow defence and the Colchester man just got to the ball before the Barrow goalie to lift the ball into the net. The visitors looked on top until the 68th minute when Luke Chambers was sent off for a second bookable offence after a high foot on Offrande Zanzala. On 76 minutes the Cumbrians drew level from the penalty spot after an unnecessary foul by Luke Hannant. Ollie Banks struck a well taken penalty into the top corner of the net out of the reach of Shamal George. It looked like Barrow were going to go on and win it but with ten minutes to go Colchester retook the lead. This came when a rare away attack resulted in a corner and sloppy marking allowed Tom Eastman to head in from 12 yards out. There was still time for a little more drama in this exciting encounter as another red card was produced, this time for James Jones who picked up two quick bookings for incidents with Frank Nouble, the second a late tackle on the U's attacker when he was advancing on goal. 

Result: Barrow 2-3 Colchester United

Division: Football League Two

Attendance: 2,430

Ground #347 - Parkside Road

Date: 12th September 2020

Ground: Parkside Road

Location: Kendal, Cumbria

My seventh new ground of 2020 was on Saturday 12th September at Parkside Road in Kendal, Cumbria. The game was Kendal Town vs. Bishop Auckland in the F.A. Cup Preliminary Qualifying Round.

Parkside Road is located in the south of the town not far from Kendal Castle. Netherfield Cricket Club is located due north on the other side of the road and there are additional football pitches to the south of the ground. Other than that there is an industrial estate to the west and housing to the east. The venue is just over a mile south of Kendal railway station and has been the club's home since they were formed in 1919. 

The entrance to the ground is at the northern end with the car park also in this area. Upon entrance to to the left is the main stand. This seven level concrete terrace is split into two distinct sections with the eastern half having a spacious classic old style clubhouse and bar at the back of the stand which looks out over the pitch. Directly in front of this are 140 seats which are spread over the upper three levels before tapering off to a single row by the middle at which point the western half of the stand becomes terracing only. At the bottom of the stand is a flat concrete section for people to watch from pitchside.

The opposite end of the ground is the most basic consisting only of uncovered flat concrete though it is of decent size for fans to use. The eastern side has a two-level covered concrete terrace in the north-east corner though this was cordoned off during my visit. Beyond this is a seven level uncovered concrete terrace with a grass bank behind it which is used by spectators as well. The western side has a covered stand towards the northern end which has 84 seats across the front two rows and a flat concrete section at the back with a single bench section part of the way along. One of the two dugouts is located next to this and by the halfway line is a wooden stand consisting of six rows of benching. The middle of this stand leads back to the dressing rooms within. Towards the eastern end is the second dugout, a medical room building and a small club shop.

The match was an F.A. Cup Preliminary Qualifying Round tie between Northern Premier League Division One North West side Kendal Town and Northern League Division One side Bishop Auckland. The visitors had the ball in the net with less than 5 minutes on the clock when a free-kick to the back post was headed in but the goal was ruled out for offside. This didn't put off Bishop Auckland and in the 20th minute Kendal keeper Luke Camacho had to get down well to palm away Craig Hutchinson's shot from the left side of the area. For their part Kendal's first chance arrived after 27 minutes as Robert Liam Lightfoot's good attacking run saw him jink past a couple of defenders and then shoot strongly at Nicholas Liversedge who tipped it wide. The away side had a second goal ruled out in the 39th minute when an attacker fouled the keeper while heading the ball in from a cross. Bishop Auckland might have felt it wasn't going to be their day but just a minute later their luck turned. A ball up field saw an attacker in on goal and Luke Camacho mistimed his attempt to clear and absolutely clobbered the visiting player. Craig Hutchinson stroked the resulting penalty low to Camacho's left and despite getting a touch on it the ball ended in the back of the net. The 9th tier side were well worth their first half lead but any hopes Kendal had of a second half revival were dashed with an absolutely inept performance that saw Bishop Auckland run riot. The second goal came in the 51st minute and it was Hutchinson on the scoresheet again as he nodded home when a corner was floated over the keeper. In the 62nd minute the away side added a third as a ball over the top found Luke Hogan who coolly slotted the ball home from ten yards. The one-way traffic continued which a series of chances with a quarter of the game to go - in the 74th minute Luke Hogan poked the ball left to Craig Hutchinson whose deflected shot was heading over the line until a Kendal defender managed to clear. 60 seconds after this Hutchinson had another chance to complete his hatrick when he broke free of the defence but when in on goal the ball bobbled just as he went to pull the trigger and he sliced wildly over the bar. The home side were still all at sea and barely a minute after this the third key chance in as many minutes resulted in a goal. It was a near carbon copy of the third goal as a defence splitting ball saw Luke Hogan clean through and he had all the time in the world to stroke past Camacho as the keeper came to meet him from 15 yards. It had been a super attacking display by Bishop Auckland but the Kendal defence was woeful in the extreme as they took a thrashing at home from a team from a lower division. Their misery was rounded off in the final minute of the 90 when Luke Hogan picked up the ball down the left wing and squared for substitute Regan Nixon to tap into the empty net on the line. A 5-0 away win did not seem a likely scenario at kick-off given the two positions in the football pyramid but Bishop Auckland well deserved to continue further in the competition.

Result: Kendal Town 0-5 Bishop Auckland

Competition: F.A. Cup

Attendance: 257

Ground #343 - Borough Park

Date: 29th February 2020
Ground: Borough Park
Location: Workington, Cumbria

My third new ground of 2020 was on Saturday 29th February at Borough Park in Workington, Cumbria. The game was Workington vs. Clitheroe in Northern Premier League Division One North West.

Borough Park is on the banks of the River Derwent half a mile north of the town centre. The river borders the northern side of the ground with the eastern side backing onto a park and the southern side closest to a council building across the road. To the west is a supermarket with the town's rugby league stadium beyond this. The venue is just under half a mile north of Workington railway station and has been home to the club since 1937 when the club moved a short distance from the aforementioned Lonsdale Park.

The entrance to the ground is on the western side and leads onto an six level uncovered concrete terrace. There is a small covered seating area by the halfway line for officials and media only and this area is split in two by access to the dressing rooms contained within the stand. Working towards the northern end is an uncovered concrete terrace with access to the bar and clubhouse and then a flat concrete section running up the north-west quadrant. This north-west quadrant sees the start of an uncovered eight level concrete terrace which extends behind the northern goal round to the north-east quadrant.

At the end of the north-east quadrant is the eastern side of the ground which houses the main stand. Most of the structures were built around the time of the club's election to the Football League in the 1950s so are now showing their age. The main stand contains around 500 seats spread across five rows and a flat concrete section at the back of the stand. The roof is held up by nine support beams at the front of the stand. There are large uncovered concrete terraced sections either side of the stand and a few rows of terracing directly in front of it. The southern end has another large concrete terrace which extends to the south-west quadrant. This terrace consists of ten levels with the back half covered and the front half uncovered.

Workington were looking to strengthen their position at the top of the table against a Clitheroe side in the bottom reaches of the top 10. The hosts had a great chance to open the scoring in the 13th minute when Cerian Casson was tripped in the area while heading away from goal. Scott Allison sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot to put his side 1-0. Just six minutes later Workington went 2-0 up - the ball was zipped across the area by Dav Symington for Brad Carroll to drill low into the far corner from 12 yards. A minute before the half-hour mark the home side had a header cleared off the line but they did manage to notch up a third goal of the half in the 35th minute. A low cross into the box reached Allison who undertook some neat footwork to side-step a defender and smash into the roof of the net. This truly was a dominant first-half display significantly aided by a very strong wind towards the away goal. The home scoring was rounded off two minutes before the interval as Dav Symington knocked the ball across the area where Scott Allison steered home to round off his hattrick. With the wind against the league leaders in the second half the remaining 45 minutes were a much more even affair but Workington knew the game was already won. Clitheroe were able to pull one back in the 67th minute through a great 20 yard strike into the top corner by Tyrhys Dolan but there was never any danger of a comeback as the hosts played out a comfortable victory.

Result: Workington 4-1 Clitheroe
Division: Northern Premier League Division One North West
Attendance: 484

Ground #314 - Gillford Park

Date: 25th April 2019
Ground: Gillford Park
Location: Carlisle, Cumbria

My twenty-ninth new ground of 2019 was on Thursday 25th April at Gillford Park in Carlisle, Cumbria. The match was Carlisle City vs. Cleator Moor Celtic in the North West Counties League Division One North.

Gillford Park lies in the south of the city sandwiched between the River Petterill to the east and the West Coast Main Line with trains passing by on the London to Glasgow route. A second full-size pitch borders the northern wing of the ground with trees beyond this while their neighbours to the south are the British Railways Staff Association Club. 2 miles south-east of Carlisle railway station the venue has only been home to the club since 2015 when they took over the lease from Celtic Nation FC who had played there between 2004-2015.

The southern flank has a stand by the halfway line which is raised above ground level. It consists of an eight level concrete terrace with eight rows of seating bolted onto three-quarters of it. The remaining quarter is supposed to be out of use with a 'No Standing' sign in place at the back of the structure, not that anyone was paying attention to it. The stand has a seating capacity of 336 and the low roof ensures it is well shielded from the elements albeit with not the best views at the venue. In front of this stand are the two dugouts and either side of it is uncovered hard standing.

The northern side of Gillford Park has an uncovered hard standing section towards the eastern end but a long stand makes up the rest. This stand is a four level concrete terrace with a flat concrete area in front. The stand is entirely covered with multiple beams holding up the roof in front of the viewing area. The western end has a 191 seat stand with the players tunnel splitting the seating. At the top of the stand are the committee rooms and with the high roof sloping upwards the seating deck is covered but with no view restrictions from roof beams. The stand is bookmarked by uncovered hard standing and there is a food outlet in the south-west corner. The eastern end is the only end with no stand - it is the most space restricted zone of Gillford Park so just has uncovered hard standing for the width of the pitch.

With the league season concluding two days later this match-up was being squeezed in at the last opportunity to get the season finished. However with the sides sitting in 6th and 11th respectively there were very little at stake. The game nearly saw an early goal as James Earl got in behind the defence on the right-hand side, paused for a moment waiting for an offside flag that never came, before restarting his run on goal. This gave visiting keeper Craig Devine time to close him down and save his effort when it was eventually made. Four minutes later the home side wasted another terrific opening when two Cleator defenders collided opening the way for Jordan Palmer who shot straight at Devine. Cleator were not without their own opportunities - in the 13th minute a long throw was missed by keeper Stephen Townsley resulting in the ball bouncing along the goal line and out of play. More chances went begging as the half progressed, in the 23rd minute Carlisle's Robert McCartney beat the offside trap and with all the time in the world to knock past the keeper managed to chip it wide to the exasperation of his teammates. Ten minutes before the interval a home free-kick from Sam Atkinson was also heading for the roof of the net until Craig Devine stepped up and tipped over the bar. The home side will have been wondering how it was goalless at half-time and after the break the game continued in a similar fashion with Carlisle knocking on the door but poor finishing letting them down. The breakthrough finally came in the 68th minute with a move from one end of the pitch to the other culminating in Robert McCartney getting in behind the defence again and this time he made no mistake in tucking the ball into the bottom corner past Devine who raced out to meet him. McCartney could then consider himself unlucky not to grab a 2nd in the 73rd minute when he brilliantly controlled a long ball on his chest and volleyed inches over the bar. Within 60 seconds though Carlisle were two-up - a cross to the far side of the area found Jordan Palmer who nodded the ball down and David Reynard smashed the ball into top corner from close range. As the game ticked over into injury time a third goal arrived when Aaron Bradbury picked up the ball outside area, rode a challenge and took a fairly tame shot at goal. Unfortunately Devine misjudged it with the ball squirmed past him into bottom corner. A minute later the home side were a whisker away from adding a fourth to their total - a long ball found Robert McCartney who cut inside and shot across goal only to see his effort come back off the post.

Result: Carlisle City 3-0 Cleator Moor Celtic
Division: North West Counties League Division One North
Attendance: 110

Ground #150 - Brunton Park

Date: 26th April 2014

Ground: Brunton Park

Location: Carlisle, Cumbria

My tenth new ground of 2014 was on Saturday 26th April at Brunton Park in Carlisle, Cumbria. The match was Carlisle United vs. Oldham Athletic in Football League One.

Brunton Park can be found on the edge of a residential area just to the south of the River Petteril. The venue lies one mile from Carlisle railway station and has been home to the club since 1909.

The venue is dominated by the East Stand - a large cantilever stand built in 1996 which has a capacity of 6,000. This side of the ground is the only side which is all-seater and the northern end of it is usually given over to away supporters. On the opposite side of the pitch there is a mixture of seating and terracing which can also hold a total of 6,000 fans. This consists of the Paddock which is uncovered concrete terracing split down the middle by the tunnel to the interior of the stadium. Built above the terracing is the Main Stand which is split into three sections - the original structure which was built in the 1950s sits in the middle with two wings with additional seating which were added afterwards. The interior of the Main Stand includes the club facilities such as the dressing rooms, ticket office and hospitality areas.

The area behind the goal at the southern end of the venue is Warwick Road End. This unusual looking stand has a triangular roof which covers the concrete terracing which can house 3,500 people. The club shop is located directly outside the Warwick Road End. Finally the Petteril End is situated behind the goal at the northern end of the ground and is the smallest area at Brunton Park. This is a narrow section of uncovered concrete terracing with a small seated area towards the eastern end of it. The Petteril End is only fully opened for rare matches where high enough attendances are recorded to warrant the opening.

The game was the Carlisle's final home match of the season and they knew that a win was vital if they were to give themselves a chance of staying up. Oldham began the more composed of the two teams and played some good passing football despite not really threatening the home goal. Carlisle went closest when Gary Madine's long range effort was tipped over the bar just before the break. The visitors had the ball in the net around the hour mark as Joel Byrom headed James Wesolowski's cross into the net but as he turned to celebrate saw the offside flag denying Oldham the lead. Shortly after this the visiting side had the ball in the net again and this time it counted - a ball was sent over the drop to James Drayton who easily beat two defenders before poking the ball into the the bottom of the goal. As the game wore on the hosts desperately searched for an equaliser to get a foothold in the game but they lacked quality up front and the wayward finishing meant they could not turn it around. The angry home fans knew as the final whistle went that their chances of staying in League One were very slim and a week later their relegation was confirmed with a 3-0 defeat to Wolves.

Result: Carlisle United 0-1 Oldham Athletic
Division: Football League One
Attendance: 5,313