Saturday 9th September and we made our first ever visit to Bottesford Town FC for The Ambers latest NCEL Premier Division fixture. A combination of fixture schedules and a week's vacation in North Yorkshire meant this was our first view of the team since the epic 3-2 win at home to Hallam FC a couple of weeks ago.
The Barrett Steel stadium has a 3G pitch and is pretty well equipped with plenty of parking and spectator cover if it rains! A little disappointing that there was no printed match day programme, just a team sheet.
A modest attendance of 75 of which some 25% to 30% were Handsworth supporters. Maybe that's because Bottesford are having a bit of a rough season, having lost all 5 of their league games before this one and only scoring 2 goals in those matches.
Forecast was for thunderstorms around 4pm but apart from one huge bang and a flash of lightening late in the 2nd half, there was nothing more than a distant rumble.
However, we were amazed to find massive puddles and the obvious aftermath of heavy rain as we drove away from the ground to head home. It turns out the Scunthorpe v Buxton game in the National League North was abandoned late on because of thunderstorms and torrential rain. The two grounds are around 4 miles apart so I guess we got away with it a bit!!
The match itself was not a classic. In the first half, Handsworth played some excellent passing football and captain Mitch Dunne scored two real "poachers goals" to give The Ambers a 0-2 lead at half time.
As the second half went on, a combination of the heat and a referee who had apparently decided at half time that he needed to show who was in charge, meant the match became very stop-start. Frustration built amongst the players and the coaching staffs as the ref flashed his yellow card at every opportunity.
Both sides had chances to score but The Ambers held on to their lead fairly comfortably to make it 4 league wins on the bounce and move up to 6th in the League table.
Ian Robinson's excellent match report can be found on the Handsworth website. A good read and an accurate description of the game as ever from "Scoop". Click the link:
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/handsworthfc/teams/126071/match-centre/1-14094456/report
My Flickr photo album is here if you want a look (please!!):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62126085@N04/albums/72177720311089027
Next up is a tough home game against Penistone Church on Wednesday evening, September 13th. The current form table shows the teams have almost identical records so it will be a tight affair but then again, it usually is a close game when these two sides meet.
The games come thick and fast through September with another 6 fixtures to be played. Looking forward to it!
COYA!! 🧡🖤⚽👊
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