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Matchday images (32) http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/footballgroundsinfocus/WhattonUnitedFC02
THE PLACE: The rather posh village of Orston, marooned between Nottingham and Grantham on the broad, flat floor of the Vale of Belvoir. Whatton had to move here over the summer because their own ground three miles away could not be improved, for various reasons, to meet Central Midlands League requirements. Orston is the sort of community in which the houses have names, the cars boast vanity plates, the children own little ponies and most of the residents are retired. Hardly fertile football territory. Tellingly, the only shop in the village is a swanky deli. You can’t beat knowing your market, eh? However, the deli did advertise in the programme, which made me wish I’d purchased from (rather than merely drooled over) its bewildering selection of olives. There isn’t much to see here, though the whitewashed cottages grouped round the parish church of St Mary (a hotch-potch of styles starting from the twelfth century) and the Durham Ox pub is very attractive. Manual workers lived here in the days when Orston had a plaster factory and a gypsum quarry. Strictly white collar country now. On the basis of the attendance at this game, taking into account hoppers and visiting supporters, Orston has virtually no interest in Whatton United. Indeed, the club didn’t rate a mention on the village noticeboard by the church.
THE CLUB: A family affair. Example One: Manager Simon Daws’s wife Sandra runs the tea room. Example Two: Star striker Jay Kirkby is too talented to be playing at this level, but sticks with Whatton because he likes being in the same team as his uncle, Gaz. Example Three: Chairman and assistant manager Martin Hallam’s son, James, is a member of the squad. United’s shirts are sponsored by Blackpool’s former Nottingham Forest player Marlon Harewood. Perhaps he lived in this neck of the woods (and he’d need a footballer’s wages to do so) when he was at the City Ground. Whatton, formed in 1932, spent 60 years in the Nottingham Spartan League before switching to the Grantham League. Second place last season gave the Griffins the opportunity to step up to the Central Mids. Whatton have forged strong links with Aslockton Cramners Juniors, who share the facilities at Orston.
THE GROUND: A venue of considerable charm. Orston Recreation Ground is half a mile out of the village, along Spa Lane. A temporary sign stuck in the grass verge helps visitors unearth this hidden gem. This spacious site, fringed with trees and surrounded by fields, is big enough to accommodate pitches for football and cricket. The cricket square, used only by an occasional team from Long Bennington, is adjacent to the gravel car park as you enter via a gap in a hedge. A wonderfully archaic wooden pavilion, complete with gable and a ‘clock’ whose hands are painted at two minutes to three, is located in the north corner, about 100 yards from the football pitch. This structure was semi-derelict when Whatton came here in the summer, but it has been renovated, partitioned and repainted. It houses the dressing rooms for players and officials. Thanks to the chap on the gate for the guided tour. I was told the pavilion featured in the mid-1990s TV comedy ‘Outside Edge’, starring Josie Lawrence, Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall. There’s no mains electricity at this remote site, so the Griffins have to rely on a generator for power. All a bit Heath Robinson, but you’ve got to start somewhere. A portable building - nearby, but closer to the football pitch - serves refreshments. A squat little stand, capable of holding maybe 50, is positioned to one side of the goal at the north-east end, there are dug-outs on the south-east touchline and the pitch is partially railed off. A rope barrier suffices along the common border with the cricket square, and there is hardstanding on three sides. All this work, along with new drains to improve what was regarded as a notoriously heavy pitch, was done in the summer. Orston Rec still lacks floodlights, but then so do many grounds in the Premier Division of this league. Belvoir Castle, with its ornate towers, can be seen on the hilltop to the south. On a sunny autumn afternoon, with the leaves on the trees all russet and gold, it was a lovely place to be. As Rupert Brooke might have put it: Stands the pavilion clock at two minutes to three; and is there honey still for tea? It’s comforting to know there’ll always be an England.
THE GAME: An unexpectedly rip-roaring tussle between two sides in mid-table. Whatton had the chances in the opening half-hour to wrap up the points, didn’t take them and ended up losing a five-goal thriller in the last 10 minutes. Unmarked centre-back Paul Ward (a 45-year-old birthday boy and an ever-present at Sleaford Town last season) looped a header over keeper Jonathon Parker in the third minute to give the Griffins a flying start. Top scorer Jay Kirkby went closest to doubling the lead with a close-range prod which found the top of the crossbar as Whatton squandered several opportunities to net again. Wouldn't you know it, Kiveton Park then scored twice in six minutes straddling half-time. Jake Lee (41min) climbed well to glance in David Gribben's inswinging corner and Jordan Cocks (47min) capitalised on an awful attempted clearance by Whatton skipper Anthony Snellgrove to poke in the second. Home keeper Andy Cole used his legs to block superbly a Cocks effort when a goal looked inevitable. Back came Whatton, and in the 66th minute Kirkby stole in to head over the stranded Parker after a blunder by centre-back Robert Jones. Parker brilliantly turned a 30-yard Joe Braithwaite drive onto the crossbar, and Whatton were reduced to 10 men in the 80th minute as hot-head Jamie Simpson picked up two yellow cards in the space of 120 seconds. With eight minutes to go, left-back Lee won it for the visitors, hooking a 10-yard shot into the roof of the net after Whatton had failed to deal with a corner to the near post. Jones redeemed himself for his earlier blunder by clearing a Harry Stannard lob off the line before the final whistle sounded on a thoroughly entertaining encounter.
THE PROGRAMME: A few words of warning: Whatton, understandably I suppose, print very few. There were, judging by the thickness of the pile, less than 10 on sale for this match. By the time the Kiveton Park contingent arrived at ten past two, the paper had gone. Unless you can persuade Whatton to reserve one (and I couldn’t), you need to get to the ground ludicrously early. In my case, before even the players. Still, it was a nice day and watching the pre-match preparations take place was something of an eye-opener. So much to do; so few people to do it. The prep included hitching a heavy roller to a four-wheel drive truck and giving the pitch a good ‘iron’ after a morning junior fixture had roughed it up. At least the early bird caught a worm in the shape of a 12-page programme. This was basic, but contained most of the more important elements. I’ve seen plenty worse at this level.
THE VERDICT: Excellent game at a hopper-friendly club well worth visiting. Though clearly rather bemused by the distances some hoppers have travelled to reach Orston this season, Whatton officials are happy to meet and greet strangers, then skip through the background to the club’s arrival in the Central Midlands League. It’s a real shame the Griffins don’t get better support from the locals. |