Worksop Parramore 2 v Dronfield Town 2 - Friendly

Wednesday 20th July 2011 - Friendly
at the Windsor Food Service Stadium, Sandy Lane, Worksop
Worksop Parramore (1) 2 (OG 32, Andy Rodger 88)
Dronfield Town (2) 2
Admission £5, no programme, Attendance 49
The Windsor Food Service Stadium, a new name for the ground on Sandy Lane, Worksop, or Babbage Way, off Sandy Lane, Worksop, if you are one of those pedantic tarts who cream yourself over such minuscule detail.
To be honest, I never thought I'd step foot inside this ground again let alone ever watch another game of football here, given the political baggage connected to the place in recent times ... but here I am!

Worksop Parramore run out onto the WFSS pitch for the first time ever

There have been two matches played here already, whereby Worksop Town, who are renting the ground from the current leaseholders Worksop Parramore FC for the foreseeable future, have entertained Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday in pre season friendlies.
The Blades and Owls both won.
However the results of those games weren't important ... but the revenue and the challenge of getting the local population back through the turnstiles after three seasons of the Tigers being exiled away in Hucknall, Ilkeston and Retford were.
A lot of them would only have turned up to see the glamour clubs in action (ha, ha, glamour ... United and Wednesday! I'm even funnier than Eric Morecambe me), but a lot of others will start to drift back now their home town club are playing just round the corner.
But I didn't attend either of those games, I went to Frickley Athletic, Harworth Colliery U19's and Retford United instead.
Worksop Parramore's opening pre season game saw them beat Parkhouse 3-1 in Clay Cross.

Dronfield open the scoring from the penalty spot.
Photograph taken from the upstairs bar balcony.

Tonight marked the beginning of a new chapter in local football, the dawning of a new era, as a new local club (AKA a relocated and renamed old one) played their first ever match on home soil.
Welcome to Worksop and the North Nottinghamshire hotbed of football ... Worksop Parramore FC.
It's a shame that there were no programmes to mark the momentous occasion and that only 49 people turned up for the party, but good luck to everybody involved with the Parramore club.
On Monday I went to Dronfield to see a team called Sheffield play a team from Worksop.
Tonight I'm watching a team who used to be called Sheffield, playing a team from Dronfield, in Worksop.
Perfect symmetry isn't it!?

Max Cross, WPFC Secretary and nice bloke

The game itself was an open and entertaining enough affair, with both sides enjoying playing on the lush new pitch. I know most pitches are in fine fettle at the start of a new season, but there's been a lot of money invested in this playing surface and it looked perfect. Something of a miracle given the state the previous tenants of the ground had left the pitch in.
But they're dead and gone now.
Shit happens, eh!?
The Central Midlands League consists of a north and south section this coming year, Dronfield Town will play in the North Division.
Last season there was a Premier and Supreme Division (just to be different) ... Sheffield Parramore (previously Parramore Sports) won the Supreme Division and will be playing in the NCEL Divsion One this year.
I'm at a slight disadvantage writing up anything about this game tonight, because I don't have a bleedin' clue who any of the Dronfield players are.
But I recognise a few of the home side, including a couple of ex Tigers players and young Greg Taylor who plays in defence for Worksop Town Under 19's too.

On 11 minutes, the Parramore keeper Mark Clements upended a Dronfield attacker in the box and was beaten by the resultant penalty kick.
And on 20 minutes the Dronfield right winger put over a cross that was headed home by yet another player I didn't know the name of either to put Worksop two ahead.
From then on in Clements barely put a foot wrong for the remainder of the game.
I suppose I could've gone and badgered the Dronfield Town secretary for the names of the goal scorers, but I don't want to go getting myself a reputation for being one of those note scribbling, list making, photo snapping, anally retentive, ground hopper cum blogger geek types, so I resisted the temptation ... And I zipped up my Millets kagoul and poured myself a warm cup of soup from my Thermos flask to keep out the evening chill instead.
On 32 minutes Parramore's Andy Dawson launched a long throw in into the visitors box and I surveyed the forward line to see which one of them might score his team's first goal at their new home. Alas, another Dronfield player got in the way and sliced his attempted clearance into the net to make the scoreline 1-2.
In the second half both teams gave it a real go, but the home side had their tails up and didn't want to be beaten on their first appearance on home turf.
On 88 minutes their persistence finally paid off.
Lee Thompson, probably not every Worksop Town fans favourite ex player given certain things he'd said when he left the club, floated a corner across from the right hand side that Andy Rodger headed home for the equaliser.
So officially Andy Rodger is the first Worksop Parramore player to score at their new ground.
Full time 2-2
Out of the Parramore ranks, Callum Littlejohn impressed me a lot, Greg Taylor put in a steady 45 minutes (often covering as the last line of defence) holding the back line ... and that young Scott Lowe looks to have a promising career behind him ;-)
Peter Whitehead's team try to play the game the right way, keeping the ball down, passing and pressing ... and though they weren't at full strength tonight they were still good to watch. The visitors Dronfield Town gave a good account of themselves too it must be said.
It'll be good to have another club nearby when the winter sets in and I don't feel the urge to travel too far this season.

FORZA BASSETLAW!