Saturday 21st December - local teams in action

NPP
Frickley Athletic 2-2 Worksop Town
Ilkeston FC 1-1 Trafford FC
Matlock Town 0-0 Marine FC

NP1S
Carlton Town 0-1 Kidsgrove Athletic
Market Drayton Town 2-2 Belper Town
Mickleover Sports 1-2 Lincoln Utd
Rainworth MW 0-0 Sutton Coldfield Town
Romulus FC 3-2 Eastwood Town
Scarborough Athletic 1-3 Loughborough Dynamo

MFA
Dunkirk FC 3-2 Gornal Athletic
Heather St. Johns 4-2 Shepshed Dynamo

NCELP
Basford Utd v4-1 Thackley FC
Lincoln MR 1-8 Heanor Town
Long Eaton Utd P-P Bridlington Town

NCEL1
Eccleshill Utd 0-2 Teversal FC
Shaw Lane Aquaforce 3-4 Clipstone FC
Shirebrook Town 3-2 Louth Town

EMCL
Anstey Nomads 0-8 Borrowash Victoria
Aylestone Park 5-1 Greenwood Meadows
Graham St Prims P-P Thurnby Nirvana
Radcliffe Olympic P-P Gedling MW
Radford FC 0-3 Blaby & Whetstone Athletic
St. Andrews FC 4-1 Arnold Town

CMLN
Brodsworth Welfare P-P AFC Mansfield
Glapwell FC P-P Newark Town
Phoenix FC 1-3 Thoresby CW
Sherwood Colliery 2-4 Bentley colliery
Welbeck FC P-P Clay Cross Town
Westella Hanson 4-1 Harworth CI

CMLS
Allenton Utd 4-3 Real Utd
Barrowby FC 4-0 Blidworth Welfare
Belper Utd P-P Mickleover Royals
Calverton MW 1-1 Swanwick PR
Clifton AW P-P South Normanton Athletic
Holbrook St. Michaels 1-1 Southwell City
Hucknall Town 1-1 Linby CW
Pinxton FC 1-3 Bulwell FC

NSL SENIOR DIVISION
Attenborough FC 1-5 Beeston AFC
Bilborough Town 0-1 Awsworth Villa
Boots Athletic P-P Selston FC
Cotgrave FC 2-1 Keyworth Utd
F.C. Cavalier P-P Burton Joyce
Hucknall RL 0-0 Wollaton FC
Kimberley MW 5-1 Nottingham Utd
Magdala Ams 9-0 Sandhurst

Midweek games - w/c 16th December

Tuesday 17th

NCELP
Liversedge FC 1-4 Heanor Town

EMCL CUP
Radcliffe Olympic 4-2 Bardon Hill

EMCL
Gedling MW 0-5 Blaby & Whetstone Athletic
Graham St Prims 4-2 St.Andrews

Wednesday 18th

NCELP
Long Eaton Utd 2-0 Winterton Rangers

Heanor Town 0-3 Basford Utd

Venue: The Town Ground, Heanor, Derbys.

Always enjoy visiting the Town Ground - we have many friends there and with Kev still unable to get to games, I'm "billy no-mates" at some grounds. 

Kev is my second pair of eyes and sees a lot of things that I miss. His pics are sorely missed as well - I'm not too good with a camera - and watching the action, taking notes and taking pictures is not easy!

Basford move up from 9th to 7th in the NCEL Premier division after this result, whilst Heanor slip the other way, down from 11th to 13th. 

Town lost the reverse fixture 5-1 back in September, so knew not to take their  opposition lightly. 

Teams:

Lions - Frost, Raven, Shaw, Hall, Peel, Blake, Webster, Moran, Benger, Holmes, Debrouwer.

United - Barcherini, Boafo, Fletcher, F. Smith, Holt, Craven, Hendrie, Green, Whitehurst, Nightingale, T. Smith. 

The pitch was very wet, and the wind very strong - not the correct ingredients for a classic. Both teams struggled to play football anything like they are capable of in the first half hour or so - the best chance falling to the home team on 32.  Nick Hall fired a tame effort at goal from the edge of the box that Kieran Debrouwer looked to have deflected past Ali Barcherini, but the keeper somehow managed to dive backwards and stretch out an arm to push the ball onto the bar. 

At the other end, Lions' keeper Mark Frost wasn't as lucky on 43 - his attempted clearance was blocked by THEO SMITH and the ball flew into the net to give United the lead.

Just before the break, United went further ahead through RYAN WHITEHURST after a ball in from the left had found him unmarked in front of goal. The striker had plenty of time to control and pick his spot, firing the ball to Frost's right. H-T 0-2

The first minutes of the second half were again very scrappy, but Lee Hendrie began to show his obvious talents as the half wore on. His superb ball into the path of TJ Nightingale on 74 was so  accurate that the striker never had to break stride before unleashing a shot at goal that beat Frost all ends up. Luckily for the Heanor faithful, the effort fizzed just past the outside of the far post. 

With ten to play, Referee Thomas Harty made an bad error when he awarded a penalty to the visitors. Theo Smith had carried the ball into the box, and both Brett Peel and Josh Raven went to challenge the run, but only managed to tackle each other. Smith did go down, but the Heanor players weren't responsible. 

Anyhoo, FRANCIS GREEN stepped up to take the kick and made everyone chuckle after he muffed his shot and it trickled agonisingly slowly past Frost who had already committed to going the other way. 

                              

Josh Raven complained a little too much and received a second yellow card from Mr. Hardy, followed by the inevitable red. F-T 0-3

Attendance: £3 (concession) 

Programme: £1

Attendance: 143

Saturday 14th December - local teams in action

NPP

Stamford FC 0-2 Ilkeston FC

Stocksbridge PS 3-1 Matlock Town

Worksop Town 3-1 Grantham Town

NP1S

Carlton Town 1-2 Brigg Town

Eastwood Town 1-3 Scarborough Athletic

Goole AFC 3-2 Rainworth MW

Loughborough Dynamo 1-1 Romulus FC

Mickleover Sports 1-1 Coalville Town FC

MFA

Rocester FC 3-0 Dunkirk FC

Shepshed Dynamo 2-2 Stourport Swifts

NCELP

Heanor Town 0-3 Basford Utd

Retford Utd 0-1 Long Eaton Utd

NCEL1

Clipstone FC 2-4 Eccleshill Utd

Teversal FC 5-0 Yorkshire Ams

Worsbrorough Bridge Athletic 1-1 Shirebrook Town

EMCL

Arnold Town 4-1 Radcliffe Olympic

Blaby & Whetstone Athletic 0-1 Graham St Prims

Borrowash Victoria 4-0 Barrow Town

Gedling MW 0-2 Sutton Town AFC

Greenwood Meadows 0-5 Radford FC

CMLN

Clay Cross Town 2-0 Phoenix FC

Kinsley Boys 2-5 Glapwell FC

Ollerton Town 3-4 Newark Town

Sherwood Colliery 0-3 AFC Mansfield

Welbeck FC 2-3 Thoresby CW

CMLS

Bilborough Pelican 2-2 Pinxton FC

Blidworth Welfare 2-1 Calverton MW

Bulwell FC 2-1 Clifton AW

Linby CW 0-4 South Normanton Athletic
Real Utd 3-4 Mickleover RBL

Swanwick PR 0-1 Mickleover RBL

NSL SENIOR DIV

Beeston AFC 3-3 Hucknall RL

Burton Joyce 3-3 Selston

F.C. Cavaliers 1-6 Awsworth Villa

Kimberley MW 1-0 Bilborough Town

Magdala Ams 4-0 Cotgrave FC

Ruddington Village 5-2 Sandhurst FC

Wollaton FC 2-1 Keyworth Utd

Mansfield Town U19 1-0 Blidworth Welfare U19

Venue: The Worksop Van Hire Stadium,  Clipstone.

Billed as the title decider, so didn't want to miss this one. Unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointing game,  the quality of football from both teams leaving much to be desired. 

The result does actually mean that the Stags now need only one point form their final league game to clinch the league title - and that game is against the Division whipping boys Bilborough Town on the 18th December.  

Mansfield had beaten Blidworth at the Welfare Ground earlier in the season - a penalty scored for the young Stags after their hosts had failed to convert from the spot. They say history repeats itself and the same scenario decided the outcome of this game.  Welfare's Nathan Holmes crashed his 33rd minute penalty against the Mansfield bar, but Stags striker DAN FLETCHER made no mistake on 65, stroking the ball past the visiting keeper from 12 yards.

This was more of a social occasion really - plenty of familiar faces to keep me entertained when the football failed to!  Had a chat with Brett Marshall - mostly about the non-league radio  show on Manfield 103.2, on which he appears so regularly. He also asked me to ensure I mentioned that he bought a fiver's worth of raffle tickets and then generously donated three quids worth to me!  Didn't win though - unlike when I paid at Heanor last season and he walked away with a bottle of wine!!

Also at the game was Heanor Town General Manager Scott Ward  - he made his debut on the radio show on Wednesday and he has since had a bit of stick on social media sites apparently.. I thought he did okay for his first time. 

Joined Richard Lane and Rob Hornby under the stand to watch the game. This was Rob's first U19 game and I don't reckon he was too impressed.  Referee was local legend Mick Leslie - the players from both teams gave him a hard time - but he managed to get the game finished with 11 v 11 somehow.  

Admission: £2 (inc programme)

Attendance: didn't count, but I reckon there must have been about 50 -60 present

Teversal FC 4-3 Dronfield Town

Venue: Carnarvon Street, Teversal.

This was an NCEL Div 1 league game that pitched 14th placed Teversal against 16th placed Dronfield Town. Wasn't going to be a classic, but I've not been to Tevvie for a while so chose this game, as the other local scheduled games were mostly cup ties. I'll take in a league match over a cup match any day of the week.

Always great to get a team sheet - at Teversal they put them on the gate,  stick one on the gatehouse window and they also hang a framed one in the snap shed. 

The game itself was a strange one - even though it finished 4-3, it wasn't really an exciting affair, to say the least! 

Great to see both Management teams having a laugh and a joke throughout the game - mind you some of Referee Paul Matthewson's decisions went a long way in uniting the benches - against him! 

The first goal came in the 5th minute, scored from the spot by Dronfield's RICHIE MARPLES, after Danny Wood was tripped as he raced into the Teversal box.

The lead lasted only two minutes though, DANNY WILLIAMS powering home from close range after Dave Cockerill's 25 yard free-kick was parried by visiting keeper Nick Siddons straight to the no. 11's feet. 

On 36, Lewis Naylor had two great scoring opportunities blocked as Dronfield took control of the game, but there were no further goals in the first half and it was off to the warmth of the tea bar - it was a bit nippy! H-T 1-1  

Teversal took the lead 5 minutes into the second period when DAVE COCKERILL glanced home a header at the far post after Siddons had failed to collect Jacob Ashley's free-kick.

Danny Wilson had replaced Lewis Weaver at half time, and the sub was unlucky when he connected with a 56th minute Cockerill corner only to see his effort crash off the bar with Siddons well beaten.

Dronfield drew level on the hour mark, LEWIS NAYLOR on hand at the far stick to prod home after a shot was blocked and the ball fell kindly at his feet. 

Naylor had a shot blocked on the line on 71, then Wood had a great chance to put Dronfield ahead when he was played in one-on-one with Brooks. Unfortunately for the winger he failed to get the ball past the home keeper, who blocked well.

A burst of speed and some neat ball control by Ashley Rawson caught out the home defence seconds later, and when the skipper played the ball across the goal, Wood had the simple task of tapping home. Again the no. 11 was foiled by a great block by Brooks and the chance went begging.

Teversal went back in front after sub JOSH RADFORD fired a cross in from the goal line on 83 that looked harmless enough - but Siddons misjudged the flight of the ball and palmed it into the back of the net.  The dubious goals panel will have to decide whether the goal should be credited to Radford, or should be deemed an O.G.

Siddon also contributed to the Tevie fourth goal on 89, dropping a Cockerill free-kick, allowing OLIVER WOOD to the chance to bundle home.  

The visitors had the final say though, DAN WOOD hitting a hopeful effort from the edge of the box that beat Brooks all ends up. F-T 4-3

Admission: £5

Programme: £1 (usual excellent publication)

Attendance: 51

Midweek games - w/c 9th December

Monday 9th

U19 DIV II
Ollerton Town 4-1 Southwell City

Tuesday 10th 

NPP
Kings Lynn Town 1-3 Worksop Town

NP1S
Loughborough Dynamo 4-0 Eastwood Town
Newcastle Town 2-0 Carlton Town

MFA
Shepshed Dynamo 3-2 Alvechurch FC

NCEL1
Teversal FC 4-3 Dronfield Town *

Notts F.A. Senior Cup
Clifton AW 2-5 F.C. Cavaliers (at Dunkirk FC according to FA website)

Derbys Senior Cup
Alfreton Town 0-1 Heanor Town (AET)
Belper Town 1-2 Borrowash Victoria
Glossop North End 3-2 Matlock Town
Graham St Prims 3-1 Holbrook St. Michaels
Ilkeston FC 1-0 Gresley FC
Mickleover Sports 0-2 Shirebrook Town

U19 League Cup
Hallam FC 5-0 Arnold Town

Wednesday 11th

CML CUP
Mickleover Royals 1-4 AFC Mansfield

U19 DIV III
Bilborough Town P-P Radford FC

Thursday 12th

U19 DIV I
Handsworth FC 3-2 Basford Utd
Worksop Town P-P Sheffield FC

U19 DIV III
Mansfield Town 1-0 Blidworth Welfare
Mickleover Sports 4-2 AFC Mansfield