Clipstone 2 v Chesterfield XI 2 - PSF

Thursday 16th July 2015
PSF at the Worksop Van Hire Stadium
(formerly the Lido Ground)
Clipstone (0) 2
Adam Somes 75, 88
Chesterfield XI (1) 2
Brad Holmes 25, George Milner 83
Admission £5. Programme £1.50. Attendance 107

I wouldn't usually go to the lengths of commenting on the culinary fayre on offer at any non league football grounds on this blog, as it it usually all pretty much of a muchness. But having arrived at 'the Lido' just before kick off, sans any sustenance of any kind whatsoever all day, due to having been stuck in the most boring and over running meeting in the history of mankind; I was suffering from a state of advanced malnutrition and borderline caffeine addiction. So I abandoned my usual salad, white meat and pasta dieting principles (a slight fib) and headed for the 'Cobras Cafe'.

If you are passing by Clipstone FC this season, might I recommended that you also skip lunch and purchase one of the excellent pasties they sell here instead. 

They're excellent! 

I almost couldn't eat all of mine, but just about managed to find somewhere to squeeze it all in. 

If I visit 'Clipo' as often as I usually do over the forthcoming season, I'm going to become a right bloater at this rate.

The Chesterfield Academy lads who accounted for most of the Spireites line up, looked very fit as they moved the ball around slickly and quickly, they gave the home side a good workout and would have given the Cobras coaching staff a good indication of the current fitness levels of their own squad.
Clipstone certainly have a luxury of riches in their midfield department and that is evidently going to be their main strength this season.
James Ashmore, who in my opinion was one if the best midfielders and dead ball specialists in the NCEL last season, if not the best, has signed on for 'Clipo' this term.
He would be an asset for any club at this level and those around him will benefit no end from playing in close proximity to such a disciplined and proven performer.

James Ashmore

Initially, the visitors came out of the blocks, intent on pegging 'Clipo' back in their own half , but despite them having more of the play early on, the lively Spiteites were repelled by the home side's rearguard until Brad Holmes netted directly from free kick, from some 20 yards out. in the 26th minute. It was a quality strike. You don't stop those.

"This bloody new keeper should've got down to that!" groaned a disgruntled local. 

Give over! 

It was a ferocious and unstoppable drive and if Steve Hernandez couldn't keep it out, then I'd be very hard pushed to think of any other local keeper who would've done. 

Lord Barry of Clipo

The Spireites looked good value for their half time lead, but a reshuffling of the Cobras pack after the break by their management team of  'old thingy and whatisname' saw a substantial change in the shape of Clipo's game-plan... and the introduction of a young ginger bloke called Bradley Jones, led to them having more options out wide as they began to make some inroads into the last third down the right flank.
If only this Jones character had started the game, I would've been very tempted to have given him 'man of the match', but he didn't!

Bradley Jones

Former Mansfield Town youngster Adam Somes was also introduced into the fray.
When he was with the Stags, I saw him play on quite a regular basis and was very surprised when he didn't make the transition through to the first team, but that was mainly due to the way he was treated by the manager at Field Mill at the time, rather than because he lacked any ability (he runs his own football training camps) or was lacking the knack and nous to know when to time his runs and be in the right place at the right time to be a prolific goalscorer, which he certainly was with the Mansfield development teams.
I hear told that Adam Murray, the current Stags boss, intends to give some of the emerging youngsters a fair crack of the whip this season. So maybe it was just a case of the timing being all wrong for Somes. Either way, you wouldn't want to be a promising youngster at Torquay United these days.

Low and behold, Somes arrived right on queue, at the near post to force Clipstone's equaliser on 75 minutes. It looked as though the tide was turning and the Cobras were upping the ante and looking to finish the game on a high.
But the young Spireites passed their way through the heart of the midfield and when George Milner was released through the right channel, he made no mistake of smashing home an angled shot just inside the right upright. Decent build up on the break from defence to attack and an assured finish, but my religious beliefs prevented me from applauding a Chesterfield goal.
But Adam Somes had not just entered the fray to make up the numbers, he was here to make a point and in the dying stages of the game, he latched onto a through ball from the Jones guy, that fell right into his path and he swapped feet before crashing home a late equaliser.
The draw was a fair result in my opinion, with both sides having had their moments.
As always, the staff at Clipstone were friendly and welcoming, as were their new arrivals who didn't half look familiar from somewhere.
FT: Clipstone 2 v Chesterfield 2