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TT No.240: Andrew Gallon - Sat 26th April 2008; Forest Town v Dunkirk; Central Midlands League Supreme Div; Res: 0-1; Att: 65 (h/c); Admission: £3; Programme: £1 (36pp); FGIF Match Rating: ** |
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This defeat, a second in successive Saturdays, may have ended Forest Town's outside Central Midlands League Supreme Division title hopes but exciting times lie ahead for the Mansfield men. They are about to join the new step six East Midlands Counties League*, which kicks off in August. This will comprise 16 clubs, drawn from the top eight eligible finishers this season in the Central Midlands and Leicestershire Senior Leagues. The catchment area covers Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire so, once again, poor old Lincolnshire has been ignored. Forest Town, who were formed in 1981 and started out as members of the Mansfield and District Sunday League, have some ground grading issues to resolve. But, because they were in the Central Midlands League's second-tier Premier Division just 12 months ago, they are being allowed extra time to get their house in order. The main requirement they are lacking is floodlights. Council planners have given the go-ahead and work will begin shortly on erecting four corner pylons. Forest Town, and its neighbour, fellow former pit village Clipstone, is considerably greener since the demise of the coal industry. The Vicar Water Country Park, just down the road, was created out of reclaimed colliery spoil heaps and from its gorse-topped heights remnants of the once mighty Sherwood Forest stretch as far as the eye can see. Fields of oil seed rape fill the broad valley below and its shimmering yellow blooms positively dazzle on the warmest day of the year. Also visible are the towering headstocks of the defunct Clipstone Colliery, which is in the process of demolition. A local told me the villagers, who have painful memories of death, injury and redundancy, want the winding gear removed to help the community make a fresh start. People from outside Clipstone would like them to stay as a memorial. Agreement cannot be reached and talks about the twin giants' fate rumble on. The football club, based at the Academy Ground, a short distance to the west at a former miners' welfare, has made huge strides since moving from the 'bottom' to the 'top' pitch at an impressive little sporting complex. Anyone who visited Forest Town when they played on the 'bottom' pitch will recall readily how basic the facilities were, especially in inclement weather. No cover, no lights, limited hardstanding, dugouts and a sloping playing surface surrounded by a railing fence. It's all still there and used by junior teams - Forest Town Tigers were strutting their not terribly well co-ordinated stuff when I arrived. The 'top' pitch is an altogether different proposition - and most unusual. It was laid out originally for cricket and, as a result, is virtually square rather than rectangular. The flat grass is surrounded by a tarmac cycle track, which is banked in each corner velodrome style. Happily, the owner of the welfare is football oriented and soon found a way of winkling out the cricketers and getting Forest Town FC on to the best part of the set-up. The access route to the metalled car park is not immediately obvious and necessitates turning off Clipstone Road West and down Main Avenue and then right on First Avenue. The welfare, characteristic of the species, is a utililitarian red-brick block, low slung with a flat roof. Inside, parts of it have been tastefully refurbished. There is a bowling green to the right and, to the left, a children's play area beyond which the pay box is located. A tarmac path leads to the main facilities, which are positioned above and on a grassy slope. An area of decking, complete with al fresco seats, provides an excellent vantage point and has a wood and plastic verandah cover at its near end. Below are eight broad steps of concrete terracing. The left side offers four rows of red plastic tip-up seats, which came from the McCain Stadium at Scarborough. The right side has been left as terrace, with a couple of rows of metal crush barriers painted black. There is a set of steps to each side of a section about 40 yards in width. This whole area is due to be covered as part of improvements for entry to the East Midlands Counties League. An apron of concrete leads to the cycle track, which is some 10 yards wide and surrounded by a wire mesh barrier with kickboards, similar to the safety fences seen in speedway. Beyond are two modern perspex dugouts, either side of the halfway line. The west end is dominated by what used to be the cricket pavilion, a whitewashed structure with two roof levels and a rather nice cupola. It contains the changing rooms, a dark, clammy cubby hole serving refreshments and housing the tannoy announcer, and toilets. To the left are three portable buildings, painted dark green and used by the club's junior players. To the right, in the south-west corner, is the redundant cricket scorebox. The intriguingly named Pump Hollow Road runs immediately behind. Beyond is an estate of semis. The hardstanding stops before you reach the east end, which has a narrow grass path running alongside the track fence. The rudimentary lights, on low posts dotted around the velodrome, are of use only to the cyclists. The new lights for football will be located outside the track fence. Behind this end, on the other side of a band of conifers, is row upon row of terraced houses, presumably once occupied by miners and their families. An oblong - and very worn - training area is positioned adjacent to the pitch on the south side, which means anyone watching from the path behind the track fence is a very long way from the action. A line of mature trees tops a pockmarked, grassy slope leading down to the 'bottom' pitch. Beyond this, at the foot of the shallow valley, are allotments and factory units. On paper, this looked a potentially decent game. Forest Town, surprisingly beaten 2-0 at home by Holbrook Miners' Welfare last weekend, needed a win to stay on the heels of leaders Askern Miners' Welfare, whom they had defeated (4-0 and 4-3) in both league meetings. Dunkirk, fourth but out of the running for the championship, had lost 3-0 to Forest Town 11 days previously but were able to recall striker Joel Wilson, the league's joint top scorer. It was, however, extremely poor stuff. A keen breeze blowing from the Mansfield direction, a bumpy pitch which has seen too many matches of late and relatively unskilled players proved anything but a winning combination. It really was a bit of a yawn. Forest Town should have secured the three points they so desperately needed but their finishing was wasteful and, just when a goalless stalemate looked inevitable, Dunkirk sank them with an 86th-minute clincher. Just two incidents of note in the first half to keep awake the beer-fuelled few dozing in the pleasantly warm sun. Gareth Shatwell's throw caught out Cyrus Richards-O'Connor and home skipper James McCann did well to make room for a shot Ross McCaughey almost deflected into his own net. Forest Town were even closer when an unmarked Dominic Elliott sent a glancing header fractionally wide having been picked out by a free-kick from ex-pro and player-manager Gary Castledine. Three minutes after the break, Ryan Gregory rose highest to meet a Castledine corner, only for a Dunkirk player to clear off the goalline acrobatically. Castledine, a cut above this level, almost broke the deadlock with a flashing 16-yarder on the turn before team-mate Elliott volleyed a great chance high and wide at the back post - and was relieved to see an offside flag spare his blushes. With time running out, the tricky Elliott beat a couple of defenders to put one on a plate for Sam Bailey at the back post but the unmarked substitute miscued grotesquely. I'll be generous. Perhaps it was the pitch. Just as thoughts were starting to turn towards home, Dunkirk, wearing an all-white Nottingham Forest replica strip, stole the points. Substitute Paul McCaughey chipped in a free-kick from the left edge of the box and, when the ball came off a clutch of back-post jumpers, Scott Pratt reacted quickest to ram a half-volley into the roof of the net from five yards. After the final whistle, Forest Town stayed out on the pitch for some warm down work. Their title hopes in tatters, they looked utterly dejected. But, as the cliche goes, there's always next season - and that promises to be an interesting adventure for all concerned. * Membership for the East Midlands Counties League in 2008-09: Central Midlands League (eight from): Blackwell MW, Dunkirk, Forest Town, Gedling MW, Graham St Prims, Greenwood Meadows, Heanor Town, Holbrook MW, Radford.
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contributed & amended on 28/04/08 |