Ground #348 - The Hawthorns (Brigg)

Date: 31st October 2020

Ground: The Hawthorns

Location: Brigg, Lincolnshire

My eighth new ground of 2020 was on Saturday 31st October at The Hawthorns in Brigg, Lincolnshire. The game was Brigg Town vs. Armthorpe Welfare in the Northern Counties East League Division One.

The Hawthorns is part of a sports complex in the north of the small town of Brigg. To the south of the football pitch is the car park and a couple of tennis courts. There are two more tennis courts to the west along with a multi-purpose court, one full-sized football pitch and five mini pitches. A park lies to the north of the Hawthorns with housing to the west. The venue is just under a mile north of the town's railway station but this has very limited services with the nearest regularly served station at Barnetby some four miles east. The Hawthorns has been home to the club since 1959.

Out the entrance on the southern side of the ground is a large grass area with a playground and around 20 picnic benches with an additional paved area containing more picnic benches. Access to the clubhouse and bar is found in this area as well. This side of the ground has hard standing for the whole length though is split into three distinct sections. The western section is covered with the clubhouse roof extending out over the standing area. There is then a small uncovered area before a stand by the halfway line. This is attached to the dressing room building with the roof of this covering the three level concrete structure underneath. This section has 25 seats bolted onto the concrete for directors to use. Towards the eastern end is a covered two-level concrete section. This stand has three separate cushioned benches and an additional 10 plastic seats at the end.

The northern side is dominated by the largest capacity stand in the venue extending for most of the length of the pitch. This stand has three rows of seating able to hold around 250 spectators and has a small section at either end with no seating where fans can stand and watch the game while covered. The two ends are similar with flat concrete uncovered standing by the goals with grass areas behind. There is also a snack outlet in the south-west corner.

Brigg had enjoyed a positive start to the season with the hosts go into the game in 3rd in the table. Armthorpe on the other hand had struggled thus far and were down in 17th. Initially the play seemed to be going the way of the formbook when in the 6th minute a clipped cross from the left byline from Martin Pembleton was glanced off the goal line by Armthorpe defender Robbie Watson. In the 9th minute though the visitors took the lead in fortuitous circumstances. It came about when James Arnold lofted a free-kick from the right wing which flew over everyone into the top corner of the net. It was certainly intended to be a cross but it didn't matter to Armthorpe as they celebrated the opening goal. Brigg tried to restore parity five minutes later when the ball broke to Paul Sherbern who squared to Luke Williams. With just the keeper to slot past Williams managed to drag his shot just wide of the post. That miss proved costly as the away side went two goals to the good in the 22nd minute - it was another set piece as a corner from the right was met by Lee McFadden who steered his header into the far corner over the diving Patrick Shaw. Brigg had the better of the second quarter of the game and went closest in the 25th minute when a close range header was tipped over by Armthorpe goalie Connor Trueman. The away side were well organised defensively and made the hosts wait until nine minutes into the second half to finally make their breakthrough - it took some nice link-up play on the edge of the box before the ball was passed out to Alfie Usher who sidefooted low past Trueman into the bottom corner. The end-to-end contest continued as three minutes later Armthorpe were denied by the crossbar from Luke Williams' dipping free-kick. It was back down the other end five minutes later as Brigg were awarded an indirect free-kick in the area after away goalie Trueman picked up a backpass. The effort was blocked on the line and after a mad scramble the ball was put was put behind for a corner. The home side's hopes of getting level then took two blows in the space of two minutes. Firstly they were reduced to ten men in the 70th minute when Wayne Graves received a second yellow card for a late tackle on Adam Baskerville. 60 seconds later Baskerville was at the centre of the action again as Luke Williams picked up the ball on the edge of the area, neatly laid off a backhell to Baskerville who curled a sumptuous curling shot past the keeper from 20 yards. Still the contest wasn't over and the fifth goal of the game arrived just three minutes after this as Reece Newell got Brigg back within a single goal again. The home side kept persevering and in the final minute of the ninety a long ball over the top found Jamie Osbourne who scooped the ball just over the crossbar. After a few minutes injury time the referee blew time on a terrific contest - which turned out to be the last action before the season was put on hold as the nation went into another period of lockdown.

Result: Brigg Town 2-3 Armthorpe Welfare

Competition: Northern Counties East League Division One

Attendance: 259

Ground #264 - Sincil Bank

Date: 21st April 2018
Ground: Sincil Bank
Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

My twelfth new ground of 2018 was on Saturday 21st April at Sincil Bank in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The match was Lincoln City vs. Colchester United in Football League Two.

Sincil Bank is in the east of Lincoln less than a mile south of the city centre. The site is on the edge of a large residential area close to the South Commons park. The ground gets its name as it is on the banks of the Sincil Dyke which runs along its western perimeter. It is bordered by a sports college to the south and a three-quarter size cage pitch to the east. To the north there is a car park and then the aforementioned housing. The venue is just over half a mile south of the city's railway station and has been the club's home since 1895.

The eastern side has the St Andrews Stand sitting by the half-way line. Despite only being built in 1987 this stand looks a lot older than it is - the budget for the stand was slashed during construction which left it smaller than its wooden predecessor. The stand has a couple of supporting beams in front of the seating in order to hold up the roof. The interior holds the reception, club shop, ticket office and boardroom. The area to the north of the St Andrews Stand is unused though an additional family stand was added to the south of the St Andrews Stand in 1994. With it only able to hold a couple of hundred fans the stand looks tiny compared the rest of the ground. There are also club buildings in this area with the dressing rooms, treatment centre and a police control box.

The West Stand runs the length of the field and dominates the stadium. The single-tier stand with its cantilever roof was built in 1995 to replace an old terrace and with a capacity of 5,700 it accounts for over half the stadium's total capacity. The southern end of the stand contains the noisiest home supporters.  The stand behind the southern goal was opened in 1992 replacing the Railway End terrace and is the smallest structure in the venue. With only half a dozen rows of seating the stand has 17 hospitality boxes which run the whole way along the back of the stand. There are a couple of supporting beams towards the middle which reside in front of the seating area. Behind the stand there is an outside bar area for home fans. The Stacey West Stand is behind the northern goal and was opened in 1990. 12 rows of seating were added on top of the original concrete terracing in 1999 completing the stadium's conversion to an all-seater venue. The stand has three supporting beams which can restrict views and is now assigned to away fans. However, if home support is sufficiently high the stand can be segregated with home supporters allocated the western half and away fans allocated the eastern half. This is the arrangement for my visit.

Colchester had to win to keep their faint play-off hopes alive and started the game the better of the two sides. Chances though were at a premium throughout the half with the closest either side went being on the half-hour mark when Matt Green's 25 yard effort was pushed wide by Colchester keeper Sam Walker. After a dull goalless first half the second half was a more entertaining affair. Lincoln took the lead from the penalty spot in the 55th minute after Ollie Palmer was felled when he was about to shoot. Elliott Whitehouse tucked the penalty into the bottom corner with Walker diving the wrong way. The lead was short-lived though as the U's equalised in the 60th minute. A fortunate deflection saw the ball break to Courtney Senior on the left-wing, he then played a nice 1-2 with Mikael Mandron as he ghosted into the area to slot home from six yards out. The away side should have taken the lead in the 73rd minute when Sammie Szmodics had plenty of time to pick his spot from the left side of the area - his effort was saved by Ryan Allsop with the rebound being blazed well over by Mikael Mandron when he had an open goal to aim for. The hosts nearly went back in front in the 82nd minute when a spectacular 25 yard shot across goal by Ollie Palmer hit the underside of the bar and bounced to safety. A minute after this the task got harder for Lincoln as they were reduced to ten men when Michael Bostwick pulled back Mikael Mandron as he raced in on goal. With both sides needing a win Lincoln and Colchester threw players forward as the game entered an end-to-end finish. There was a dramatic end in the 94th minute as Alex Woodyard's hanging cross from the left saw Colchester keeper Sam Walker come to claim the ball. He missed his punch with Luke Waterfall stealing in to head into the top corner to secure three points for Lincoln as they took a big step closer to booking their play-off place.

Result: Lincoln City 2-1 Colchester United
Division: Football League Two
Attendance: 9,211

Ground #240 - Eslaforde Park

Date: 13th September 2017
Ground: Eslaforde Park
Location: Sleaford, Lincolnshire

My twenty-fourth new ground of 2017 was on Wednesday 13th September at Eslaforde Park in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. The match was Sleaford Town vs. Peterborough North Star in the United Counties League Premier Division.

Eslaforde Park is a sports complex on the eastern tip of Sleaford. The ground is bordered by three full-size pitches to the north, two mini-pitches to the west and one mini-pitch to the south. The eastern border is the edge of the complex so backs onto fields. The complex is one mile east of Sleaford railway station in the town centre. The club played at The Rec until 2004 when they moved to a temporary home at RAF Cranwell in order to gain promotion to the United Counties League. Eslaforde Park was completed in 2007 allowing the club to move to its new permanent home.

The western side of the ground has a clubhouse which contains the dressing rooms and a club bar. Within this is a food outlet which faces both into the bar and out to the pitch. In front of the clubhouse is a grass section leading a strip of hard standing which runs the entire length of the field. The other side of the spectator barrier are the two dugouts.

This hard standing extends round the entire ground though there are a couple of stands to meet ground-grading requirements. On the eastern side there is a 160-seat structure while behind the southern goal there is a 4 row metal terrace for covered standing. There is an additional building in the south-west corner to house club property.

Sleaford began the match well and in the 2nd minute a corner was poked goalward and cleared off the line by Northern Star. This seemed to wake up the visitors who were the better of the two sides after this. They went close in the 18th minute when the ball was passed out to Matthew Barber on the right wing. Barber beat his man before driving the ball straight at Sleaford keeper Garry Doran. In the 29th minute Northern Star got their noses in front when Matthew Cox picked up the ball near the edge of the box, played a neat one-two with Craig Rook and steered the ball low across the goal in off the far post. At 1-0 down at the break the hosts needed to make sure they didn't concede a quick goal after the restart. Unfortunately for them this is what exactly what happened. Again it was Matthew Barber causing the home defence difficulties as he picked up the ball on the right and shot low. Doran palmed the ball straight to Zak Munton who tucked in the rebound from close range. In the 57th minute the game changed when Northern Star defender Daniel Wilson got tangled up with a Sleaford player. In frustration he lashed out and struck him in the face so received his marching orders. With the visitors down to ten men it was a far more even final half an hour. Sleaford's Ben Machin had a shot cleared off the line in the 84th minute before the hosts grabbed a goal back in the 90th minute when a through ball to Michael Haydon bypassed the defence allowing Haydon to shoot past the keeper from 12 yards. Sleaford were unable to generate any chances in injury time so went down to another defeat to leave them near the foot of the table.

Result: Sleaford Town 1-2 Peterborough Northern Star
Division: United Counties League Premier Division
Attendance: 65

Ground #239 - Sir Halley Stewart Field

Date: 12th September 2017
Ground: Sir Halley Stewart Field
Location: Spalding, Lincolnshire

My twenty-third new ground of 2017 was on Tuesday 12th September at Sir Halley Stewart Field in Spalding, Lincolnshire. The match was Spalding United vs. Lincoln United in the Northern Premier League Division One South.

Sir Halley Stewart Field is ideally placed in the centre of the town so easily accessible for fans. Its western border sits adjacent to Spalding bus station with a retail park to the south meaning there is plenty in the way of parking. The northern and eastern sides are close to housing. The venue is a quarter of a mile east of Spalding railway station and has been home to the club since they formed in 1921.

The main stand is by the half-way line on the western side of the ground. This brick structure is raised high above the pitch to give good views of the action. The stand is split in the middle by a section carved out which contains the announcers area. As a result there is a set of stairs leading to the northern side which is just standard seating, and a set of stairs leading to the southern side which is standard seating the lower section and officials seating in the upper section. The split stairs also allows for the players tunnel to be positioned in the middle of the stand with this leading back to the dressing rooms. The two dugouts are also located in front of the stand. To the southern side of the stand there is an additional small metal terrace and to the northern side there is a decent area of flat concrete for hard standing as well as a food outlet and a programme selling area by the turnstile.

The only other stand at the venue is a 4 row metal terrace behind the northern goal which contains the most vocal home support. On the western side of this stand is the clubhouse and on the eastern side a small grass area. The eastern side of Sir Halley Stewart Field has a strip of concrete for its length for hard standing and behind this a large grass section which could double as a mini-pitch. The southern end is all concrete with the back section of it given over to car parking spaces.

Spalding took the lead in the 12th minute when a corenr into the box was cleared as far as Nathan Whitehead - he looped the ball back into danger and it went over everyone before dropping into the bottom corner. The best opportunity Lincoln had was in the 25th minute when a free-kick into the area was met by the head of Jack McGovern who nodded just wide. It was a pretty sparse first half in the way of chances but fortunately the second period saw more incident. In the 54th minute Spalding doubled their lead - the ball was played forward to Gary King who controlled it and fizzed a low shot past Lincoln keeper Jake Turner into the bottom corner. The balance of play changed in the 63rd minute though when Spalding's Conor Marshall saw red for a two-footed tackle near the centre-circle. This game Lincoln impetus and a the resulting free-kick into the box saw a shot saved at point blank range by the home keeper. With a quarter of an hour to go the away side grabbed one back - after good work down the right wing the ball was crossed to Rob Norris who tapped home. Just after the kick-off from the goal Spalding keeper Michael Duggan then had to produce a good double save to prevent an equaliser. A minute later things got even harder for Spalding as they were reduced to nine men. This came about when Jonny Lockie flung an elbow at an opponent in an off-the-ball incident. Unsurprisingly it was all Lincoln in the final stages and in the last minute Duggan saved a shot in the area - the rebound was then blazed wide and Lincoln's last chance of rescuing a point was gone.

Result: Spalding United 2-1 Lincoln United
Division: Northern Premier League Division One South
Attendance: 147

Ground #218 - Blundell Park

Date: 28th February 2017
Ground: Blundell Park
Location: Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire

My second new ground of 2017 was on Tuesday 28th February at Blundell Park in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. The match was Grimsby Town vs. Colchester United in Football League Two.

Blundell Park is carved out of a residential area around a mile south of Grimsby Docks with the ground a short distance from the Humber Estuary which leads out into the North Sea. A mile south of the ground is Cleethorpes railway station which is the nearest regularly served station. The club went through four stadiums in the first 21 years of existence but have remained at Blundell Park since it was opened in 1899.

The Findus Stand (currently known as the Young's Stand) towers over the rest of the stadium with a top section consisting of just over 2,000 seats with a number of supporting beams at the front of the tier holding up the impressive roof. Directly underneath this seating are hospitality areas with windows facing out towards the pitch. Contained within the bowls of the stand are the boardroom, ticket office, club shop, a bar, a function suite and a restaurant. In front of the stand is an area which was once terracing but now has around 800 seats bolted into it. The seating areas only take up around half of the southern side of the ground with the remaining space currently unused for spectators. This was filled with temporary seating during the club's days in the 2nd tier but a drop down the leagues meant it was no longer required.

The now unused space extends round the south-east corner up to the Osmond Stand behind the eastern goal. This stand is given over to away supporters and has a capacity of 1,900. The Osmond Stand is connected to the Main Stand by a quadrant which is also currently unused. The Main Stand runs two-thirds of the northern side of the ground. There are at least a dozen supporting beams holding up the roof at the front of the stand but as with the Osmond Stand the old design does mwan it retains sound well. This stand also has a concrete press box taking up an area near the centre with the two dugouts level with this. The north-west corner is another area not currently in so this just leaves the stand-alone Pontoon Stand behind the western goal. This stand houses the more vocal element of the home support and can hold close to 2,000 spectators.

Colchester started the game well and came close to scoring in the 10th minute when Tarique Fosu let fly from 25 yards only to see his shot cannon back off the post. A quarter of an hour after this the visitors went within a few inches of goal again as a corner was played directly to Brennan Dickenson who shot just wide. Grimsby didn't spend much time in the U's area in the first half but a couple of minutes before the break were gifted a goal. With Colchester pushing forward Owen Garvan gave the ball away on the half-way line leaving a two-on-one situation at the back. Calum Dyson was able to go wide to beat Cameron James before squaring for Sam Jones to shoot over the line from four yards out. The hosts were tactically strong in the second half and bogged the visitors down in the middle third of the pitch. Colchester were rarely able to trouble Grimsby and were often limited to long-range efforts. The last few minutes saw a nervy period for the home side with a few scrambles in the box but they were able to see these out to record a one-goal victory.

Result: Grimsby Town 1-0 Colchester United
Division: Football League Two
Attendance: 4,186

Ground #182 - The Northolme

Date: 15th September 2015
Ground: The Northolme
Location: Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

My seventeenth new ground of 2015 was on Tuesday 15th September at The Northolme in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The match was Gainsborough Trinity vs. Tamworth in National League North.

The Northolme is in a residential area close to the town centre. The nearest viable railway station is 1.5 miles south at Gainsborough Lea Road (technically Gainsborough Central station is much closer but with only three services per week it is of very limited use). The venue was built in the 1850s as a cricket ground and has been home to the football club since 1884 making it one of the longest serving grounds in English football.

The Main Stand is next to the half-way line on the northern side of the ground. This two-tiered stand has just over 500 seats and three supporting beams towards the front of the stand holding up the roof. Either side of this is uncovered standing with the western section containing a couple of demountable buildings. The north-west corner of the ground includes a club shop and kids snack outlet which sits next to the covered concrete terrace which runs behind behind the western goal.

The south-west corner of the venue includes another food outlet just inside the turnstiles while directly outside the ground is The Blues Club supporters bar. The southern side of the ground is covered concrete terracing for around two-thirds of the length of the pitch with hard standing directly in front of this. The area behind the eastern goal is uncovered terracing.Though the ground is tightly packed in its surroundings there is a decent amount of space inside with an overall capacity of just under 4,500.

The hosts were fortunate to avoid going behind in the 12th minute when Elliott Durrell hit the post with a low drive from just inside the box. However, they weren't as fortunate a minute late as Elliot Durrell again caused problems as he skipped through the Gainsborough defence before unleashing a low curling shot into the net from 20 yards out. In the 34th minute Tamworth doubled the lead when a corner to the back post was struck hard into the bottom corner by Owen Warlow. The visitors were rarely threatened during the game and the event passed by with an largely uneventful 2nd half. The closest the match came to another goal was in the 75th minute when Jan Budtz saved a Ross Dyer shot from close range to prevent a the defeat getting any worse.

Result: Gainsborough Trinity 0-2 Tamworth
Division: National League North
Attendance: 404

Ground #160 - Glanford Park

Date: 18th October 2014
Ground: Glanford Park
Location: Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire

My twentieth new ground of 2014 was on Saturday 18th October at Glanford Park in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. The match was Scunthorpe United vs. Colchester United in Football League One.

Glanford Park sits adjacent to a retail park right on the western edge of the town. This runs alongside the M181 motorway and is 2 miles west of Scunthorpe railway station. The club left their former home at the Old Showground to move to the venue in 1988 but plans are afoot to move once again to a new all-seater ground.

From the outside Glanford Park is one of the least aesthetically pleasing stadiums in the Football League drawing comparisons with the appearance of a warehouse. This has been improved slightly as the club recently installed a wrap celebrating the team's successes over the years. Inside the 9,088 capacity ground is an enclosed rectangle shape with blocked off corners resulting in the spectator areas being split into the four sections. Only the North Stand consists of terracing with the more vocal home fans inhabiting this area. This part of Glanford Park was under threat of being converted to seating while Scunthorpe were in the second tier but relegation coupled with the announcement of another stadium move put pay to these plans.

The remaining three sides of the ground are seated with away fans positioned in the South Stand. There are a number of supporting beams across all of the stands in the ground which can restrict views but the the fairly low roof does mean the sound is retained better than some more modern venues. When Glanford Park arose Scunthorpe were the first Football League club in several decades to go for a new purpose-built stadium and they have recently decided that stadium design has moved on sufficiently to warrant another move to a new home at some point in the next few years.

The match was the first for Scunthorpe under their newly appointed manager Mark Robins but it was Colchester who almost took the lead early on. Sam Walker caught a Scunthorpe corner and the resulting fast counter-attack saw Freddie Sears hit the underside of the bar. Barely three minutes later the hosts opened the scoring against the run of play. Gary McSheffrey floated a free-kick into the box and Rory Fallon took advantage of slack Colchester defending to nod home from close range. In the 33rd minute the visitors got an equaliser when a slick passing move culminated in Freddie Sears striking a 20 yard effort into the bottom corner of the net and the visiting side remained on top in the second period. In the 80th minute Colchester had a glorious opportunity to go into the lead when George Moncur blazed over from a few yards out after a penalty box scramble. In the 92nd minute another chance went begging, this time as Rhys Healey's effort came back off the post. Shortly after the final whistle went with the hosts hanging on for a point.

Result: Scunthorpe United 1-1 Colchester United
Division: Football League One
Attendance: 3,303