It's an indication of the feeling towards the top level of the game in my family when I (a former West Brom season ticket holder) and my Dad (a Newcastle supporter for over 70 years) pretty much drive past the Hawthorns, where West Brom were about to take on Newcastle United, to get to Dales Lane, Rushall for an NPL Premier clash between Rushall Olympic and Stourbridge. In seasons past we have stood or sat together in all parts of the Hawthorns supporting opposite teams but today our allegiances were aligned with the Glassboys.

The Ground
Having never visited Rushall before I was looking forward to seeing a new ground as well as getting back to some live action after not getting to a game for almost 2 weeks. Dales Lane has the appearance of a proper, old-fashioned, non-league ground but was actually only opened in 1977. There is an ample car park which, even on a derby day like today, was big enough to accommodate the majority of cars. The facilities are all at the car park end of the ground. There are two turnstiles to get into the ground and these take you in behind the car park end goal. Also at this end of the ground are the players and officials facilities, toilets, club shop, club house and tea bar. Most of these buildings appear to have originally have been mobile style structures, in the mould of old mobile school classrooms, but over the years have been joined together into an all more fixed structure. There are plenty of covered areas around the ground, both standing and seating. At the far end of the ground from the entrance there is a covered standing area behind the goal, painted black and adorned with The Pics in yellow either side of the goal. To the left of the entrance there is a covered seating and standing area which runs for about two-thirds of the length of the pitch. Opposite this there are two smaller seating stands, the dugouts and a raised viewing area for the media.
The playing surface, view from the car park end, has a slight slope towards you and from left to right.
The ground has plenty of character with the fans all very close to the action.

The Match
The recent heavy rainfall had left the pitch looking heavy and pretty cut up in places and there was a deceptively strong wind blowing down the slope towards the car park end. It was Rushall who had the slope and the wind in their favour for the first half. They immediately looked to take advantage of this by playing balls over the top of the Stourbridge defence for former Glassboy Luke Benbow, Lavelle-Moore and Reid to run onto. Their cause was aided by what looked like an odd defensive setup from the Glassboys. Although playing a back four, left-back Brian Smikle was being pushed up in a wing-back style position, giving the Pics plenty of room to run in behind.
It was one such ball, in the 6th minute, that eluded Smikle's attempt to head clear and looped in for Benbow to take down the right-flank. This, in turn, dragged one of the Stourbridge central defenders out wide and when Benbow drilled in a  cross the unmarked Lavelle-Moore was able to steer the ball under Price for the opening goal.
The Glassboys did not learn from this mistake and Smikle, not through his own fault, was getting caught out time and again by balls in to the gap behind him. At this point Rushall appeared to have control of the game and continued to pose a threat when they pushed forward. Stourbridge seemed to be having difficulty coping with the conditions and were struggling to string passes together.
Then, just before the 25 minute mark, the Glassboys finally managed to put togteher a passing move down their right side. Striker Karl Hawlet latched onto the ball out wide, beat a couple of Rushall defenders as laid the cross on a plate for Smikle to smash home the equaliser from 6 yards. For a few minutes the goal seemed to stir Stourbridge and they started to knock the ball around with some swagger. However, this did not last long and pretty soon Rushall had resumed control of the game, forcing Price into a few more saves before the end of the half and Smikle, who was having an action-packed half, to head one off the line.
So, at half-time, it was all square but Stourbridge would be the happier of the two and could count themselves lucky not to be behind by a couple of goals.
The second half was an all together different affair Maybe the wind and slope played more of a part in the game then first assumed but, all of a sudden, the threat of the ball over Smikle was gone, Stourbridge looked more assured on the ball and, from the restart, looked a more threatening side. Matt Dodd, in particular, was causing havoc down the right side drawing some hefty (and foul) challenges from the Rushall defence, most of which seemed to go unpunished by the officials especially the assistant on this side, who had a good view of most of these challenges.
On 64 minutes the same assistant was to play a part in the second Stourbridge goal. Another foray down the right saw the ball  played into Hawley with his back to goal. His little flick inside for Richards to run onto was a great touch but Richards was marginally offside. However, no flag went up and Richards proceeded to smash the ball into the roof of the net. It was a superb finish from a tight angle.
A fine comeback from the Glassboys and the expected Rushall retaliation never really took off. In fact, of the two, it was Stourbridge who looked more likely to extend their lead with Broadhurst and Hawley both going close.
So, a third straight defeat for the Pics and a second straight derby win for the Glassboys.
Stourbridge host bottom club Ramsbottom on Saturday whilst Rushall make the trip North to take on Frickley Athletic.

Rushall Olympic - @rushallolympic
Stourbridge - @stourbridgefc

After wrongly putting off a trip to Camberley on Tuesday the footballing week was put back on track with an unplanned and unexpected trip to St James Park to see Brackley Town Saints take on Wokingham & Emmbrook in the Hellenic Premier League.

Having been to this ground before, I won't dwell on the stadium description. Suffice to say that SJP is a very tidy example of a non-league ground and a fitting stadium for their first team, playing in the National League North. This was, however, my first trip to SJP for an evening match and I was immediately impressed by how great the playing surface looked. The pitch here is always in good condition but, under lights, it really does look quite spectacular when you enter the ground.

The two sides playing this evening were both promoted from Division 1 East last season. Wokingham, known as the Sumas (short for Satsumas) because of their orange kit, won the division by some margin in the end with Saints finishing as runners-up. This season has been a bit of a struggle for both sides with Brackley fourth from bottom on 17 points from 22 games and Sumas propping up the division with just 8 points from their 24 outings so far.

To be honest, knowing how Brackley like to play their football and seeing that Wokingham had conceded 72 goals already, I was expecting this to be a one-sided affair. As it turned out, it really wasn't.
In fact it was Wokingham who took an early lead. A ball down their right-flank was not cut out when the Brackley left-back seemed to slip. This allowed the Sumas winger to get to the edge of the box where he delivered a precision, low cross for the on-rushing Josh Pearson to guide into the far corner.
A bit of a wake-up call for Saints and it wasn't too long before they started to get their passing game together. However, try as they might, they couldn't make too many inroads into the resolute Sumas defence and, when they did mange to get through Sumas keeper Woodward was on hand to block. Wokingham, despite losing the possession battle, still looked capable of making chances when they did get hold of the ball and Saints had to be on their guard in defence.
Finally, on 34 minutes, the home side got themselves back on level terms. A nice move down the Saints right side culminated in a diagonal pass that split the Sumas defence leaving Saint's right-winger a one-on-one with the keeper. He kept his nerve and made no mistake with a calm finish past the keeper's right hand and into the corner of the net.
Brackley continued to have the lion's share of the ball but could not take any more chances before the break. So, 1-1 at the end of a pretty entertaining half with both sides giving it their best.

The second half started following the same pattern as the first. Brackley playing some really neat passing football but being matched by the effort from the Sumas. Unusually, both sides had made a substitution before half-time and it was one of these, Brackley's number 12 Logan Kelling, who in my eyes was making the most telling of contributions since his introduction. A right-winger with red hair, his style of play reminded me of another redhead from the past (for thos of you older enough to remember the 70s), Zbigniew Boniek. Every time he (Kelling) got the ball his first thought seemed to be to attack the Sumas defence and he did so with both pace and end-product. It was, in fact, a Kelling break down the right that lead to Saints taking the lead just before the hour mark. Great play down the right flank from Kelling lead to the ball being fed into the Wokingham box where it was controlled by the forward who turned sharply and neatly stroked the ball past the keeper.
Fifteen minutes later another break down the right lead the ball being flashed across the Sumas box where it was met by a low drive which crashed against the post. A wonderful flowing move that deserved a goal in all fairness.
Wokingham never gave up on the game and the longer it went on the more I grew to like this team. Saints were, undoubtedly, playing the more eye-catching football and Sumas spent a lot of time chasing the ball down but there seemed to be a real team spirit about them. They certainly weren't performing like a team five points adrift at the foot of the table.
Sumas really tried to up the tempo towards the end of the game and really pushed for an equaliser. The Saints back-line was forced to work harder than it had all game and keeper, Dan Farrell, had to make a couple of stops to keep them out.
Ultimately, Sumas push to pull the game back lead to the Saints third and final goal. From a Wokingham corner the ball was cleared and the Saints broke very quickly downfield. Woodward in the Sumas goal saved the initial effort well but could do nothing as the follow-up was smashed past a defender on the line to make it 3-1.
There was barely time for the restart before the referee blew for full-time. A deserved win for Brackley on the balance of things but credit to Wokingham for their efforts. Tehy contributed greatly to an entertaining game of football played on a really good surface (credit to the Brackley groundstaff).

Brackley Town Saints - @btsaintsfc
Wokingham & Emmbrook - @wokingham_sumas

It was back to some league action after the weekend's FA Cup excursion. A Southern League Division 1 Central game between league leaders Chalfont St Peter and local rivals Uxbridge, with just 5 miles separating the two clubs. Mill Meadow is a ground that I have driven past on numerous occasions but have not visited before. So, it was a case of a new ground and two new clubs for me this Tuesday. I approached the ground from the car park, walking behind the main stand to get to the entrance, with the sound of carols filling the air. All very festive.
The Saints have played at Mill Meadow, which according to their website was a rubbish tip before they moved in, since 1949. The ground has three covered seating and standing areas although it appeared that the older, wooden, stand on the clubhouse side of the pitch was actually closed to spectators. There are, however, covered seating areas behind both goals. The car park end stand, which looks the newest of all, is quite a large structure which spans, almost, the entire width of the pitch. The area behind the opposite goal looks a lot older is nowhere near as large. There is a dual turnstile entrance in the corner of the ground towards the car park end. The clubhouse, which doubles as a pre-school during the day, and the associated rooms have an almost ramshackle appearance. I don't mean this in a bad way though, all in all it's a tidy little ground with a fair bit of character to it.
I was quite looking forward to this game.

The Saints had returned to the top of the league on Saturday with a fine 3-0 win over Barton Rovers whilst nearest rivals, Rushden & Diamonds, had gone down 4-1 at home to Royston. Uxbridge, meanwhile, had earned a very creditable draw at previous leaders St Ives Town. So, with both sides in good form and it being a local derby I was looking forward to a very competitive game.
With two minutes barely clocked up the home side upped the ante with an opening goal. Breaking down their right flank the ball was delivered early and with some pace for the onrushing Alex Paine to glance a header beyond the keeper and into the far corner. It was a very good goal and a great opening for the Saints. Sadly for them, that was about as good as it got this evening.
Despite going behind Uxbridge didn't let their heads drop. Instead they started to gain a an advantage in the midfield areas and gradually began to take a hold on the game. They were by no means dominating but they were more than holding their own.
Just before the half-hour they got their rewards for their hard work. A deep cross from the left was headed back across the goal where Reece Grant was on hand to bundle the ball over the line.
There was still time for Chalfont to have a goal correctly chalked off for offside, Uxbridge to hit the post and for a fair bit of injury time after the half got a little heated at times but there were no more goals.
So, all-square at half-time with the away side just about, in my opinion, shading the half.

The second half saw Uxbridge kicking down the slope and they immediately set about trying to get their noses in front. The Saints seemed to have very little to offer in response and Uxbridge quickly gained the upper hand in possession. However, they couldn't seem to find that final ball and, in truth, didn't worry the home keeper unduly for 30 minutes.
Then, on 75 minutes, a near-post cross was controlled by Grant who turned sharply and fired home for his and Uxbridge's second of the night. This did finally spark some reaction from The Saints who, to their credit, tried to up the game and force themselves back into it. Two decent saves from McCarthy kept them at bay and then just as the watch ticked over to 90 minutes Uxbridge broke away quickly and Grant coolly finished to grab his hat trick.
A very well deserved win for Uxbridge who, in my eyes, pretty much controlled the game after going a goal down. I am sure that Chalfont St Peter can play better than they showed this evening. They must have more about them to be this high up the league.
With Rushden & Diamonds winning, the Saints relinquish top spot. Uxbridge remain 11th but have closed the gap to 7th placed Egham to just 3 points.

Chalfont St Peter - @csp_afc
Uxbridge - @uxfc_redarmy

It's testament to the recent cup history of Stourbridge that a defeat to a team two divisions higher left their support feeling disappointed. The Glassboys weathered a first half playing into a very strong wind and went in at half-time level at 0-0. If Karl Hawley had finished off the best opportunity of the half it could even have been better for Gary Hackett's boys. As it was, to second half goals from James Constable and Josh Payne saw the Spitfires through to the third round for the first time in their history. There was not even the consolation of a late goal for the home side as Ross Flitney guessed correctly to save Hawley's 87th minute penalty.
In a change to the normal blog format, there is no long-wined write-up.  I refer you to the, always excellent, match report on the Stourbridge web site http://www.stourbridgefc.com/teams/61056/match-centre/2-30704
However, here are a few photos taken from the main stand.

It's the eve of the FA Cup Second Round. Tomorrow I will be heading up the M40 to watch The Glassboys of Stourbridge try to knock out the National League Spitfires from Eastleigh. Neither team has ever made the Third Round, so a little bit of history is going to be made whatever the result. Even if it is a draw both sides will be in the hat for the 'big one'. I have to say, I hope that it isn't a stalemate for everyone's sake. If the 3rd Round draw is favourable it would devastating for whichever side lost in the replay.

Cup fever had me thinking back to my first experience of a cup match at The War Memorial Athletic Ground. The 24 April, 1974. I was 8 and my Dad took me to Stourbridge to witness the Glassboys take on Cardiff City, then of the Second Division (The Championship as it is known these days). Stourbridge were well on their way to winning the Southern League Division One North, finishing above both Burton Albion and Cheltenham Town, and their twin strike force of Chick Bates and Ray Haywood was enough to put the frighteners on any team.

In those days the Welsh Cup Final was a two-legged affair and this was the first of those two legs. A crowd of over 5,000 was crammed into Amblecote (5,726 according to the Welsh Football Data Archive). I managed to find a spot right by the fence on the cricket pitch side of the ground about two-thirds of the way towards the Shed end. For some reason I can remember very clearly where I stood. I also have a recollection of Cardiff wearing hooped blue and white socks to go with their blue shirts and white shorts. Of course, this may be my memory playing tricks because, in the official team phot with the cup, the Cardiff players are wearing white socks.
I have very little recollection of any of the game. I know, and actually remember feeling disappointed when leaving the ground, that Cardiff won 1-0 but I can't picture the goal going in at all. My main memory is of the ground being absolutely rammed. I had been to watch Stourbridge many times before and had never seen anywhere as many people there.
Cardiff went on to win the second leg 1-0 as well but only in front of 4,000.

So tomorrow, almost 42 years later, I will be there again standing next to my Dad watching the current group of Glassboys try to make club history.
I try to make this site as neutral as I can but for tomorrow......Come on you Glassboys. Make the Black Country proud again.

Despite all of the weather warnings about a month's worth of rain in a day and gale force winds, the Tuesday evening trip was never really in doubt. The Kempston Rovers twitter account confirmed that no pitch inspection was required and so it was that I set out for Bedfordshire and a visit to the only unbeaten side in the United Counties Premier League.
Hillgrounds Leisure, Kempston's home stadium, also boasts two state of the art all-weather pitches. Around the main stadium the majority of facilities are on the car park side of the ground. This features the clubhouse, changing facilities and, at the far end from the road, the single turnstile. Around two-thirds of this side of the pitch is bounded by covered seating and standing areas all of which are part of the clubhouse building complex. The rest of the playing area is surrounded by hard-standing and the dugouts are on the far side of the pitch, opposite the main stand.
This was Kempston's first evening game at their own stadium this year. They have been playing midweek games at Langford FC whilst their own floodlights were under repair.
With Sileby dangerously close to the drop-zone on 13 points from 17 games and Kempston riding high, unbeaten and having 36 points from 16 games, this would have been a home banker in any bookies. However, we all know that football doesn't always work that way and sometimes teams fighting for survival produce performances way beyond what their league position suggests.
Rangers came in to the game on the back of throwing away a 4-2 lead going into injury time on Saturday, ending the game with a 4-4 draw. Kempston, however, were on the back of a fine 3-0 win at Sleaford.
The teams took to the field on what was a remarkably warm evening for the first day of December, Kempston in their red & white stripes, Sileby in a change strip of all grey.
It was the home side who, as you would expect, started on the front foot. They took the lead after just 6 minutes. A deep left wing cross found it's way to the far post where it was cut back for former Newport Pagnell midfielder Ieuan Riley to fire home.
For a few minutes it seemed as if the floodgates may open. Rangers were being pegged back and Rovers were looking dangerous. However, a second goal didn't immediately transpire and gradually, to their credit, Rangers worked their way back into the game. The pace and trickery of Joel Gyasi and Ife Ogunbayo in particular were causing some concern in the home defence.
The equaliser, when it arrived on 26 minutes, was a nicely put together move which culminated in driven cross from the left flank. This was met by the left foot of Joe Merrill and driven hard and low under the home keeper. At this point it was no more than Rangers deserved.
In what was becoming an increasingly hard-fought half, the home side finally regained the advantage with 6 minutes go. Rangers conceded a free-kick just outside their 18 yard area and Ash Fuller stepped up to curl a splendid left-footer just inside the keepers right-hand post. Garscadden, in the Rangers goal, got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out.
So at half-time the home side had a narrow 2-1 lead and, on the balance of play, probably just about deserved it.

In the second half it was Kempston who took the game to their visitors. However they could not find a finish to match their build- up play. The home fans were becoming increasingly aware that it would only take one Rangers breakaway to peg them back. In truth that didn't seem to be too likely though. Rangers battled away but rarely tested Martin Conway in the Rovers goal.
The clock had just ticked onto the 90th minute when Rovers finally sewed it up. A corner was not cleared properly allowing Shane Bush to apply the finish and guarantee 3 more points for the Walnut Boys.
So, the Rovers bandwagon rolls on.  A workmanlike rather than spectacular performance.
They move up to second place, still 11 points adrift of Leicester Nirvana but with 3 games in hand. Sileby Rangers remain third from bottom but, on this showing, I don't think they will remain there. With a little bit more luck in front of goal and maybe concentration right to the last whistle (that's 3 goals in the 90th+ minute in 2 games) they shouldn't find themselves in too much trouble in my opinion.

AFC Kempton Rovers - afckempston1884
Northampton Sileby Rangers - @silebyrangers

This is a bit of a rarity. A non-football entry in the blog list. Stay with it though because it is very important.
Some of you may have seen the pink butterfly logo on the web site home page. This is the logo of Edie's Butterfly Appeal. Edie is my wife's god-daughter and Edie's mum, Cate, is my daughter's god-mother. Edie is currently battling bravely against a form of childhood cancer, Ependymoma. As yet there is no definitive treatment for this illness and yet brain tumours are the biggest cancer killers of children and young people. Edie's Butterfly Appeal was set up to raise awareness of Ependymoma and to raise funding for research into this devastating illness. There is a lot of information and more about Edie and her appeal on the web site www.ediesbutterflyappeal.com

Now, if I promise that at no point in this blog will I ask for money, will you continue reading? Please do.

Last Saturday was the inaugural Edie's Butterfly Appeal Charity Ball held at The Grove in Watford. It was a truly amazing night. We were treated to some top class entertainment from Makin' Steps Performing Arts. Guest appearances from Teddy Sheringham and Andy Sinton as well as a blistering performance and auction hosting stint from the hilarious Terry Alderton (don't mention Bianca). Cate, Edie's mum, delivered a very strong and brave speech about Edie's story and their continuing fight to fund research and promote awareness.
It was a fabulous evening that, I believe, raised more than was initially expected.

Now to the point of my blog. As I said, I am not asking for money (although any donations are, of course, very gratefully received). One of the key aspects of the appeal is to promote awareness of Ependymoma (hence my plea to ready the website). So, I thought it would be wonderful if we could get Edie's Butterfly Appeal logo out there and visible to as many people as possible. This is where the non-league family can help out. Could we try to get the logo (and the associated link) onto as many club websites as possible? I appreciate that some people have limited access and ability to upload pictures to home pages. However, I know that many do have this functionality. If not on a club website then how about putting the logo and the web site URL in your matchday programme? Neither of these things costs the club any extra money but could possibly help to save the life of a child.
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You can download the Edie's Butterfly Appeal logo from the picture below, from www.botp.co.uk or from www.ediesbutterflyappeal.com 

Thanks for reading the blog. It would be wonderful to see butterflies all over the non-league world in the future.