Manse Lane, home of Knaresborough Town based in North Yorkshire. 13th April 2013 and Shirebrook Town were the visitors today, Shirebrook’s recent poor run of form had all but ended their hopes of promotion to the NCEL Premier Division and were looking to restore some pride come the end of the season.
Arriving at the ground we headed to the clubhouse and believe it or not, Paul Robinson, England’s No.1 Goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup in Germany was in attendance at this match. Always nice to meet an ex-professional. £5 to get though the turnstiles! Sweet! We put the red and black flag up in the stand and were greeted by some friendly Knaresborough fans and chatted about each others seasons, always nice to have a friendly football chat with other football fans.
Kick Off! A fiery start to the game with early chances for both teams. 5 minutes in and a penalty was given to Shirebrook! Tom Mullen stepped up and tucked it away! 0-1! What a start! The Shirebrook Boot Boys in fine voice once again but then a chance for Knaresborough as their main striker Craig Heard was found in space in the box and struck the ball home making it 1-1 after 12 minutes. “You’re not singing anymore!” the Knaresborough fans were having their say now but in a friendly manner thankfully. The game was a very open affair, I felt that a goal was coming soon but for anyone. A free kick for Shirebrook in a crossing position, the ball was delivered and found Adam Burton who headed the ball against the defender in front of him and the ball landed in the net!! 1-2 Shirebrook regained the lead! Half time soon followed with the score at 1-2.
Second half began, Knaresborough enjoyed a good spell of possession but Shirebrook posed a big danger winning the ball and trying to catch the Knaresborough defence on the break. 15 minutes to go and with Shirebrook fans visibly nervous of the constant Knaresborough pressure, Jordan Lemon found himself with the ball at his chest, 30 yards out, why not? First time volley… WHAT ABOUT THAT!!! WHAT A GOAL!!!! 1-3! And one of the best goals I’ve seen live at a football match to this day! Volley from 30 yards dipped over the keeper and into the net! There’s the nerve settler for Shirebrook and 2 minutes later with the Knaresborugh defence punch drunk, Mitcham Husbands latched onto a through ball and dinked the ball over the keeper and found the net! 1-4! Shirebrook are in dream land now!! What a result this could be! Knaresborough in total shock had no answer and failed to respond. If only Shirebrook had played like this in the last few games, they could have really been on for promotion!
FT: Knaresborough Town 1-4 Shirebrook Town
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 7/10 – A good day for everyone in the ground with noise and a friendly atmosphere at the ground.
- The Ground: 5/10 – It’s a nice little ground but with no access behind one side of the goal, I’m going down the middle on this one.
- Expense: 10/10 – £5 to get in and see Shirebrook win, 5 goals and one goal of the season contender. No other rating for that!
- Overall Experience: 9/10 – A great day overall, a good performance, a nice set of fans and a glimpse of Paul Robinson, great day all around but with the ground not quite there for me, it’s a 9.
31/40