Floodlit Pitch

  Clinical Belper hit New Mills for Six. New Mills Adam Stuart stops the run of Belper's Luke Crosby Following my visit to see Belper United beat South Normanton Athletic in round 1 I decided to follow the tie and visit New Mills for Belper’s Derbyshire Senior Cup 2 nd Round fixture. An evening car journey after the clocks have been changed for the coming winter months isn’t the nicest trip in to the Peak District but an hour after leaving work I was in New Mills. Unfortunately the pubs that were open weren’t selling food though that did turn out to be a blessing in disguise as I chose the cuisine at Church Lane home of the said New Mills. A very pleasant surprise was the production of a programme, not the usual fare, apparently, but at a reduced price of £1.50 it was still a pretty good showing containing most of the essentials. A lengthy managers notes, a bit on Belper United, extensive fixtures and results and a really interesting historic look at this day in 2003. It was m

After a Covid inspired absence of 3 years the Derbyshire Senior Cup kicked off with 4 first round ties drawn out. Unfortunately, Clay Cross Town have withdrawn from the competition so opponents New Mills go through to Round 2, leaving 3 ties to be played. South Normanton defend. Joining New Mills are Belper United of the United Counties League Premier Division (Step 5) 2-1 winners over a resilient South Normanton Athletic of the Central Midlands League South (Step 7). When Covid originally interrupted football South Normanton Athletic were looking forward to a final against Belper Town having beaten Matlock Town in the Derbyshire Senior Cup Semi-Final. By co-incidence their next game in the competition is at the home of Belper Town but against tenants Belper United. Belper get a shot at goal. The Game A full moon helped set the mood on a chilly evening at the Raygar Stadium, though most of us long standing local football fans will always know it as Christchurch Meadow. As expected

  Clitheroe.  The Footballing Pioneers from Tramps Paradise. Shawbridge. Clitheroe is a ground I’ve wanted to visit for a while particularly after seeing their inclusion in Mike Bayly’s superb “British Football’s Greatest Grounds” book. Their FA Cup 3Q Round tie against a reformed Bury AFC was my game of choice. The town is a pleasant combination of the more modern shops and independents. In “Around Clitheroe” bought from one of the book shops, the town was known as “Tramps Paradise” around the time of the football clubs formation in 1877. This was due to the cheap supper on offer by Mr Martin. The wealthier people in Clitheroe were able to afford the more salubrious hostelries the town had to offer such as the Swan, where the present club were formed following a meeting there and Clitheroe Central came into being. The Swan Hotel where Clitheroe Central were formed. Reference was made in the club’s programme about those early forays into the FA Cup but it seemed to “dis” the achiev