International football in Shakespeare Country
As William Shakespeare once said when examining a pencil, “2B or not 2B”. Visitors to Townsend Meadow in Warwick might have wondered if they were ‘to be or not to be’ at an international football match. Racing Club of Argentina and Sporting Lisbon lined up to face each other. Or, more accurately, Racing Club Warwick faced Sporting Khalsa in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division. At half-time, Sporting Khalsa led 3-1, but it was soon 2-3
or not 2-3 (I think we’ve done that one – Ed) when Mills, playing without strike partner Boon, scored. Taylor and Mooney, however, sealed a win for Racing Club, making 4-3 or…
Evans above
From Racing Club and Sporting to Real. This time, it’s Real Bedford. After leading 1-0 at half-time in their Southern League Division One Central game against North Leigh, they pushed down the accelerator in the second half and won 8-0. Joey Evans scored three goals, adding to his first-half opener. Tom Hitchcock scored two to make it a horror afternoon for The Pirates. Newly promoted Real Bedford will now need to focus on keeping it real.
Eight to go
FC 41 have had a bumpy start in the Men Unite Staffs County Senior League Premier Division. After six games, they have shipped 33 goals, including ten last weekend against Leek CSOB. In fairness, Leek CSOB had a slightly leaky defence, conceding three in the 10-3 scoreline. If FC 41 let in eight goals next week, they will have conceded the same number of goals as their name. However, next up for FC 41 is Milton United, a club reeling from four more modest defeats at the start of the season. We will keep an eye on this one.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag
A club official from a senior non-league club has written to us about the clash of kits when Truro City faced Dorking Wanderers (see Review 113). He wishes to remain anonymous, but is unequivocal in where the blame lies. He tells us he always contacts the home club to check for potential colour clashes when playing away. “When playing away, it’s always best to get facts straight”, he tells us while advising philandering men. Anyway, he did congratulate us on the font colours used by Truro City, finding it ‘very amusing’. I’m wearing a navy blue T-shirt today, Ken. I mean Jim.
Not waving a white flag
At 23 years old, Josh Ferris is the youngest chairman in non-League football as far as we know. Josh, who was physio at White Ensign, a club in the Essex Senior League, has changed roles to become chairman. As he says himself, the manager now reports to him. The club groundshare with Great Wakering Rovers, but Josh is optimistic that the club, based near Southend, will thrive. Good luck to the Ferris Wheel of Fortune.
A load of cobblers
In the FA Vase First Round Qualifying, a local derby between Northampton Sileby Rangers and Northampton Old Northamptonians Chenecks on Saturday. It was the tie with the longest names. The unlikely name of Chenecks comes from the School’s Houses, Chipseys, Spencer, Beckett and St Crispins. You get the feeling that the four heads of each house spent too long in a pub choosing that name. The result was a 1-1 draw, but the Chenecks after winning 4-2 on penalties. As an aside, Sileby were previously known as Northampton Vanaid, which sounds like something Bob Geldof set up in his teenage years. Of course, the Sileby part of their name comes from the second letter of six animals – ocelot (they thought it was spelt ‘oselot’), lion, elk, meerkat, zebra (they miscounted and picked the third letter) and hyena. However, we should point out that there is some dispute over whether that last letter comes from hyena or lynx. In 1894, Northampton Vanaid drew 10-10 with Northampton Lynx in an unforgettable game in which Vanaid pulled back a 10-0 half-time deficit.
Not a home banker
When I spotted that there was a club called Slyne with Hest, I wanted to know more. The name is Olde English for a sly joke or jest. What we might now call a prank. I was hoping to report that Slyne with Hest were bossing the West Lancashire League Division One, but sadly, after their 9-1 home defeat to table-topping Hesketh Bank, they are nearer the wrong end of the table. Hesketh Bank is a small local bank which charges extortion fees for looking after the money of poor Lancastrians. Actually, none of this is true besides the 9-1 scoreline. But I can confirm that Slyne with Hest play at Bottomdale Road and like a pint in the local pub afterwards. I can also tell you that they were proud winners of the Reserves Houston Cup in 2014-15. We will follow this fine club’s fortunes this season.
