Train (Sheffield-Dronfield): £4-20
Entrance: £3
Chips: £1-50
Tea: 60p
Pasty & fruit: £3-48
Total: £12-78
After the somewhat dull game on Saturday, I was looking forward to tonight’s NCEL cup game at Stonelow Road. This was to be the first floodlit match at the ground, and appropriately it was between two teams in their debut NCEL seasons. Dronfield had been playing in the Central Midlands League, while Shaw Lane Aquaforce had been in the Sheffield & Hallamshire County – and as far as I am aware, had not met before tonight. Last season in April I saw an impressive game between Shaw Lane and Handsworth, which ended up being the home side’s near title parade.
Dronfield is a town just south of Sheffield (on the way to Chesterfield) and sits in Derbyshire rather than South Yorkshire. I travelled straight from work in Manchester, catching the Nottingham-bound service which took about 10 minutes. Rather foolishly, I hadn’t prepared any food, so ended up buying a Cornish pasty and fruit at Sheffield station, before being tempted by a chip shop outside Dronfield station. It was about a 15 minute walk to the ground, which is actually located on Shirebrook Road. Visitors to the ground should note that the entrance is through the car park and across a field (I made the mistake of walking all the way down the road, before realising the way in).
The entrance was past the club house and down some steps, where I parted with £3 for entry – probably the cheapest competitive game I’d been to this season. Sadly, on such a major night for Dronfield, there were no programmes (problems with the printers apparently), though the kind woman at the entrance did offer to post it on if I gave her my address. This was a friendly ground, where the locals did seem genuinely pleased to see new faces. In terms of set up, the ground was fairly standard for this level, with a small covered area of terracing on the halfway line (with DTFC painted on the back wall), and the standard metal rod round the pitch. There were quite a few here tonight – including a handful of groundhoppers, identifiable through their professional looking cameras, and umbrellas. I overheard a conversation next to me, and heard that one of the blokes was off to Bradford the next day, and regularly did tours of the country.
The first half was very eventful, far more so than the weekend game. On 7 minutes, Shaw Lane’s no 5 headed over, before Dronfield’s no 2 hit a shot over 15 minutes. Shaw Lane opened the scoring on 22 minutes with 5 making sure of his header this time. The game was fiercely contested, and the away side’s no 8 was booked for a rough and late challenge. Dronfield were holding their own against a strong Shaw Lane, and (in quick succession) hit the crossbar and forced a clearance off the line. They deservedly equalised just before half-time, when no 11 slotted in a free kick from just outside the box.
After a cup of tea (priced at 60p!), I took up my place for the second half. I was quietly hoping that today’s game didn’t go to extra time, as I had a train to catch at 22.07. As I hoped, Dronfield took the lead almost after half-time, with their 11 slotting a penalty in after a foul in the box. I still felt that Shaw Lane could score, and they continued to threaten when no 10 hit a shot just wide. The game had turned into a really feisty affair, and tackles were flying in from all angles. Yellow cards were flashed, and both sides were complaining to the referee about perceived injustices. The only real ‘chance’ of note was when Dronfield’s no 3 looked like he had handled the ball in the box – only for the appeals of Shaw Lane to be waved away by the referee. It finished 2-1 to Dronfield, who had done well to beat a strong and well-organised away team. I’d like to visit this ground again, probably worth seeing in the daylight to appreciate it more. Good luck to Dronfield in their maiden NCEL season – I’m sure I’ll be back, hopefully with a programme next time!
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