TT No.23: Andrew Gallon - Monday, 20th August 2007; Leeds Met Carnegie v Dinnington Town;        Wilkinson Sword Trophy; Res: 2-5; Att: 32; Admission: £3; Programme (8pp): £1; FGIF Match Rating: **** 


The Northern Counties (East) League has welcomed a clutch of new clubs in the last couple of years, and Leeds Met Carnegie must be one of the more interesting recruits. Mets, founded in 1970 as Leeds and Carnegie College FC and later becoming Leeds Polytechnic FC, have made the step up to senior football after recent success in the West Yorkshire League. A formal link with Blue Square Premier outfit Farsley Celtic sees them based at the homely Throstle Nest for the 2007-08 campaign, with John Hall acting as full-time coach.

The early indications are that a young Mets side are in for a tough debut season at this level. This heavy defeat in the second round of the Wilkinson Sword Trophy came hard on the heels of setbacks against Gedling Town (0-5) and Scarborough Athletic (1-4) in their opening First Division fixtures. But the rookies should take heart. For long periods of this game, they were the better side, playing neat, controlled football and keeping their shape well. Poor defending, a goalkeeping howler and a tendency to over-elaborate in front of goal proved their downfall. Dinnington, fresh from a TV appearance in the FA Cup extra preliminary qualifying round and unbeaten in two games, really were flattered by their margin of victory in a sparkling, end-to-end encounter.
 
A goal avalanche looked likely as early as the third minute when Ant Lynam was given the time and space to pick his spot from 20 yards and put the visitors ahead. But Mets steadily came into it and tricky winger Paul Harrison (29) equalised from the spot after a clear trip by Jon Wragg. Dinno had the lead back within a minute, Ben Rosser flamboyantly beating the offside trap after a delicious Brad Elam pass to race round keeper James Earl and walk the ball into the net. Three minutes before the break, Earl dropped an apparently harmless Elam cross and Matt Wragg stabbed Town 3-1 up. Harsh.
 
Matt Griffin (50) made it 4-1 with a thumping header from a Michael Williams corner and this, oddly, sparked a long period of Mets domination. Neil Crosby (52) needed two attempts to prod a cross past Phil Rhodes to close the gap and the home team had a number of good chances before Matt Wragg (89) made space cleverly in the area amid a posse of defenders to fire Dinnington's fifth low and hard past Earl. Even harsher.
 
Throstle Nest, once a rather unkempt enclosure, is now spick and span, with its development matching the parent club's climb up the pyramid. The ground is buried deep in suburbia at the collision point of the outskirts of Leeds and Bradford. Exactly where Farsley begins and ends, only locals can know. To the casual observer, it appears merely to be a couple of streets sandwiched between Stanningley and Pudsey. Since my first visit about 20 years ago, new-builds have steadily encroached on the ground, whose entrance is between a sports centre, the smashing clubhouse and two training pitches. Inside, where once grassy banks stood - mud slides in bad weather - smart concrete terracing has been laid out. Liberal splashes of blue paint (Farsley's colours, not the lurid deep purple and pea green of Mets) tie all four sides together nicely.
 
The main stand, to the right as you come through the turnstiles, is a modern cantilever with blue, wooden tip-up seats and a caged players' tunnel at the far end. The view from the back row is of homes dotting the hillsides of desirable Horsforth and Headingley. Uncovered terracing curves round the far goal, with trees beyond, to the left-hand side, behind which are new houses. There is netting everywhere to keep down the cost of replacing lost balls. The only other area of cover, a venerable tin roof with an astonishing 20 supports, is behind the near goal. A few plastic, tip-up seats (presumably to meet the demands of the accursed ground grading inspectors) have been added in the middle. More ornament than use, I suspect.
 
As things stand, Mets are very much junior partners in their arrangement with Celtic but it could be highly beneficial to both parties. Mets, who won this year's FA Charter Standard Club of the Year award, get some decent facilities and Celtic a supply line of talented young players. I trust a sharp eye will be kept on goalscorer Harrison, who had a sweet left foot and an eye for a potshot. The match programme was small but beautifully formed. All the required information and stats within a bright cover, though an asking price of £1 for a wafer-thin eight pages struck me as being a bit steep.
 
It will be interesting to see how Mets progress. This time last year, I watched the new AFC Emley's first home game in this division and the Pewits looked very poor as Worsbrough Bridge Athletic dished out a real tonking at The Welfare ground. But things got better for them as the season lengthened and Mets, once they've acclimatised, may well see their campaign plotting a similar course. Here's hoping!
 

amended & contributed on 21/08/07