Ground: The Lee Johnston Signage Stadium (capacity unknown)
Location: Castleford, England
Ticket price: £6 - cash only
A lof of games were called off today so I decided to make the trip down to the Lee Johnston Signage stadium to watch my local side Glasshoughton Welfare take on Hornsea Town AFC. There's very little information I could find on the club based on the East Yorkshire coast, other than that they play in the Humber Premier Division and that they got to the quarter finals of the Tanton Cup last season (the trophy won by Brandesburton AFC Firsts, who beat their reserve team, Brandesburton AFC Seconds, 5-0).
Glasshoughton, on the other hand, have been an NCEL mainstay for a number of years now, though they did come extremely close to relegation last season, surviving in a precarious 17th place on 40 points. You may have heard of the club as Bruce Grobbelaar once featured in a game for them, playing a role in a 2-1 win against Maltby Main at the grand old age of 49.
Given the torrid weather, I was surprised that the game was still going ahead, given similar conditions have seen games cancelled at this level. And to be fair, I do reckon that the rainy conditions put off potential match-goers as when I arrived at the ground with around 30 minutes to spare, there were as many guys in the stands as there were dogs!
The ground itself is in a convenient spot - around a 20 minute walk from Junction 32 retail park (or Freeport as the locals call it). A bus stop is located around a minute away from the ground and there is a social club and a couple of eateries dotted around the place too (something absent from Belle Vue, which is one thing I miss about Featherstone). The Lee Johnston Signage Stadium functions as a sports hall (The Glasshoughton Centre) and is also home to the local bowls and cricket teams.
Even with the generous £3 a ticket offer, I reckon there must have been at most 20 people in attendance, and I would suspect that not many of them travelled all the way from East Yorkshire either. Still, I did anticipate a good game and was eager to see how Hornsea would set up.
Glasshoughton Welfare were eager to take the game to their opponent early on and penetrated the left flank before firing over goalkeeper Luke Cotton's bar. Cotton then placed the ball down as his defenders instructed him to fire it long. The Hornsea Town keeper gave the ball a whack as his opposite number told his defenders to leave it. He came out to claim the ball, but a deceiving bounce caught him off guard and the ball looped over his head. He sprinted back, but despite his best efforts, all he could do was palm the ball into his own net. It got a good chuckle from the crowd as his teammates consoled the unfortunate man in net. That said, witnessing a goal scored by the keeper was worth the admission fee alone.
In my eyes the game felt quite even as both sides were knocking on each other's door. I was impressed with both defences. Both sides were highly communicative and were willing to get their bodies in the way to halt any progress. The slippery nature of the surface also caused a few slips, slides and loose touches of the ball. And given the wet conditions, it would only be fitting that Glasshoughton's number 9 would be sliding around like an electric eel would dart through seaweed to escape a predator. Three Hornsea barricaded the man like a fishing net but despite their best efforts, he wriggled free. Cotton's eyes were peeled firmly on the ball as he approached the keeper's near post. Hornsea’s number 8’s eyes were firmly on his ankles. A bludgeoning tackle ended the Glassy number 9's progress and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Glasshoughton's ever-reliable Nathan Perks stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake in sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-1!
Glasshoughton would knock on the door again - a good move orchestrated mainly by their 15 (who I was largely impressed with), saw the ball played into a dangerous position. The Glassy man shoots - the keeper makes a fantastic save to divert it away, but the ball finds its way to Nathan Perks, who made sure that the Welfare had the bragging rights going into half-time. 2-1.
Nothing much happened in the second half to tell you the truth, though there were some standout performances from both sides. Numbers 9 and 14 were both excellent for Glassy, with good close control and mazy dribbles. I was also impressed with Hornsea's 8 too, donning the James Collins look. Sure, he gave away the penalty in the first half, but his passing and vision were immense and I felt he screened his centre backs very well. As both sides pushed, a goal could have come from either side - and it did, with the last kick of the game. The ball found its way to the aforementioned Number 14, whose shot squirmed under the body of Luke Cotton to put his side 3-1 to the good. The referee pursed his lips and blew for full time as he sprinted towards the other match officials, high fiving each and every one of them.
I'm sure I'll be visiting the Lee Johnston Signage Stadium again at some point in the future, given it's only a short distance away
Glasshoughton Welfare AFC 3-1 Hornsea Town AFC 22/07/23
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