The Worksop Van Hire Stadium, home of Clipstone FC who were based on the outskirts of Mansfield. 6th November 2012 and the visit of Shirebrook to Clipstone. A bit of a local derby for Shirebrook which brought a large number of traveling fans for Shirebrook.
We arrived 15 minutes before kick off as this match was close by to Shirebrook. £4 entry! Fabulous! The flag was put up in the stand and the players walked out for the match. Kick Off! A poor game to start with and little to entertain the fans. Clipstone were beginning to take control of the match but lacked the creativity to break the deadlock. The score at half time 0-0.
Second half kicked off, Clipstone continued to apply pressure on the Shirebrook defence but were unsuccessful. 63 minutes gone and Shirebrook had hardly been out of their own half, but they found themselves in the Clipstone half and Tom Rowbotham had a shot straight at the keeper… Wait a minute… the ball rolled through the keeper and he scrambled back and grabbed the ball back to his body. “IT WAS IN!!” said the Shirebrook fans. “NO IT DIDN’T GO IN” said the Clipstone fans. The Referee consulted with the assistant Referee and the goal was given! 0-1 Shirebrook. Let’s all do the Poznan!!
2 minutes later and Shirebrook had sprung into life now, a through ball to Carlos Forbes and he ran into the Clipstone box, he shot… and SCORED! 0-2 against the run of play you have to say but we weren’t complaining! Clipstone would regain control of the game but lacked quality in the final third to break down this resilient Shirebrook defence. 1 minute of normal time to go and Clipstone were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Robert Austin stepped up and took advantage of the dangerous position, over the wall and in! 1-2. Stoppage time followed and some more late pressure from Clipstone, but they couldn’t find the equalizer and the game finished.
FT: Clipstone FC 1-2 Shirebrook Town
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 5/10 – A fair bit of singing from the Shirebrook Boot Boys but we’ve been louder and nothing much else from any other fans in the ground.
- The Ground: 3/10 – Not the best ground I’ve been to but it’s not to bad.
- Expense: 8/10 – A poor Shirebrook performance all in all, but a win and £4 entry will always add to that value!
- Overall Experience: 5/10 – A decent game but nothing really to take to my football memorabilia.
21/40