No.64 - Sat. 10th May 2008; Northants Combination Premier Division                   2.30pm at Brunting Road, Moulton, Northampton, Northants. (Att: 45; Admn & Prog: NA)

View matchday images  01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 Moulton (0) 1  Whitefield Norpol (3) 5  Tired Moulton falter as visitors turn up the heat  Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? It only seems like five minutes ago that we were travelling to the brand new and very impressive stadium:mk to attend our first game of the season, a Coca-Cola Football League Division 2 fixture between MK Dons and Bury. Nine months have passed since that glorious day but once again the sun is shining brightly as we reach Moulton Football Club situated on the outskirts of Northampton. This looks like it could be our final game of 2007-2008 unless...the beloved Tigers can provide us with an extra  ground tick. Can they do the unthinkable and beat Watford in the crucial forthcoming Championship Play-Off Semis so we can go to Wembley...I digress in hope.  It really makes me laugh when I hear people say that end of season games don't mean anything as there is 'nothing to play for'. Their words not mine. Before the game today the match referee had approached both sets of players in their respective dressing rooms. He suggested that because this was the last game of the current campaign and as there was very little resting on the result, it would be a good idea for them to take it easy. Oh dear. I couldn't believe my ears as I listened in to this drivel whilst reading the latest postings on the club noticeboard before kick-off. How can anyone involved in a game of football ever say that? Their heart can't be in it, surely? Before play Moulton presently occupied a top half of the league table position. Unfortunately the club had also been defeated 2-1 only a few days earlier by Harpole in the Northants Combination Premier Division Cup Final. They were, by their own admission, still smarting from the bitter disappointment of this latest result. In stark contrast visitors Whitefield had endured a dreadful campaign and were only a couple of points from finshing rock bottom. Both teams definitely had a point to prove today! And so it turned out. With pitchside temperatures rising quickly, players were, as expected, soon stuggling in the energy-sapping, unrelenting heat. Understandably some younger, more inexperienced, lads got a bit hot under the collar (pardon the pun) as tempers began to fray. The referee certainly had his work cut out and was kept a busy man adding several names to his black notebook throughout the game. Moulton dressed in the most gharish-looking black and white hooped shirts and matching socks looked weary-legged and appeared to be still suffering from their defeat at Sixfields on Tuesday. Whitefield (based at the Wootton Hall Police HQ, Mereway in Northampton) completely turned the form book upside down and took advantage of their opponents lethargy to score five times before Moulton nicked a very late consolation goal in the dying minutes. The game, played on a beautifully manicured pitch, attacted over forty spectators, the majority of whom wore attire more suited to sun bathing than watching football. Shades and shorts were definitely in! The football club is based at the sports fields off Brunting Road in Moulton village which is only a couple of miles from Northampton off the main A43 dual carriageway by-pass. The venue is fully enclosed by trees and hedges in a tidy, well maintained residential area just behind Moulton College. In fact the floodlights from the school all-weather multi use games area are clearly visible if you stand behind the goal at the far end. An impressive brick club house complete with bar and changing facilities is set at angle to the pitch in the corner to the left of the main entrance. The hot weather as you can imagine encouraged a brisk trade in the sale of beer and soft drinks! The pitch itself is surrounded by a metal post and rail fence with plenty of advertising boards attached to it on the far side side and behind both goals. The playing surface is a magnificent sight and great pride must be taken by the ground staff to keep it flat, well grassed and in such beautiful condition...without doubt it has to be one of the best in the league. The goaposts from a second pitch (which runs parallel) had already being taken down and were partly hidden by the leafy fast frowing hedgerow against which they had been propped until the action starts once again in September. We had a thoroughly enjoyable day out and a visit to this smashing little club comes highly recommended. Despite the fact that most, if not all, the clubs in this league do not issue matchday programmes, travellers should give the Northants Combination a try. The competition has a superb website with several links to match fixtures, results, club and ground addresses all of which are constantly updated providing the visitor with the latest details and information. The joys of hopping continue...                                                                FGIF Rating: 4*

edited on 11/05/08