Skinner Lane, home of Pontefract Collieries based in West Yorkshire. 18th September 2013 and 4 days before I make my move to Sheffield Hallam University, safe to say I was excited but I still wanted to fit in as much as possible before I moved and what better way than to tick off another ground in a League Cup tie with Shirebrook Town as the visitors.
We arrived and made our way to the clubhouse and I have to say, fantastic! With an hour before kick off, I had the chance to showcase my skill set on the dart board, but I won’t be entering the UK Open any time soon, 12 darts thrown with double top as the checkout won’t get you into the Preliminary Round never mind past it. On to the Football, £4 to get in, superb!
Kick Off! A fairly quiet start to the game with little to shout about, but as the game carried on the more open it became. Eventually a goal did come!!! But it was the home side that got it.. Sigh! Josh Corbett the scorer for Pontefract, and with little other chances, the first half came to a close with the score at 1-0.
The second half began and Shirebrook looked a lot more alert and started to look like a threat. 51 minutes on the clock and a free kick whipped in to the Pontefract box was poorly dealt with by the Pontefract defence and the ball fell to Shirebrook’s old fan favourite, Simon Johnson to knock in from close range, 1-1! Shirebrook’s momentum didn’t stop there as they continued to ask questions of Pontefract. A cross whipped in to the Pontefract box found Danny Wiltshire at the far post who chested the ball down and found the net, 1-2 the score now. Pontefract began to apply pressure in the final third but to no avail as in stoppage time, Shirebrook made a break from a Pontefract attack and Matthew Thompson made no mistake and put the game to bed and Shirebrook into the next round of the League Cup.
FT: Pontefract Collieries 1-3 Shirebrook Town
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 2/10 – No real singing or chanting from anyone in the ground but me and the rest of the traveling Shirebrook fans did have a laugh in the end.
- The Ground: 5/10 – It’s a decent little ground for this level of football and the clubhouse was great but nothing else to really memorize.
- Expense: 9/10 – £4 a great price for any game as always and a great win for Shirebrook, great value for a football match.
- Overall Experience: 5/10 – I enjoyed the match overall but it wasn’t a game to tell the grand-kids about but it was a decent trip overall.
21/40