Ground: Marra Falcons Stadium (capacity 2,500)
Location: Doncaster, England
Ticket price: £5 - Cash only
Armthorpe Welfare, located in a small village near Doncaster, have been a mainstay in the NCEL since the early 80’s. They face Wakefield AFC in what will be my second away match this season following my local club. Just 24 hours prior, I was in Osijek, eastern Croatia, gazing at the magnificent Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, which stood proudly in the town square. Just 5 minutes away, you could stroll across the Drava river and watching the birds and the boats sail by. The Marra Falcons Stadium, located at the back of a Morrisons, is a far cry from those picturesque views.
Armthorpe Welfare were formed in 1928 and competed mainly in the local Doncaster leagues, winning a number of titles between the mid 50’s and 60’s. However, their most recent silverware was winning the Division One Central in 1984-85. The club hold the record for the longest run of consecutive seasons in the NCEL Premier Division with 32; this run ending in the 2016/17 season when they were relegated to the NCEL Division One, where they remain to this day.
The Marra Falcons stadium is home to both Armthorpe Welfare and Doncaster City, as well as various ‘motivational quotes’ that are jotted around the ground.
Ashley Flynn opened the scoring for Wakefield, placing a shot into the bottom corner after Jack Durkin flicked on a cross. Robbie Miller put the side two to the good, again with a header which was met by a flick on, this time by Ollie Rodriguez. This was Miller's second goal for the club, his first, ironically, came in the same fixture at the same ground last season.
Wakefield scored their 3rd with a swooping shot from Danny Youell eventually finding its way past Armthorpe keeper Billy Hicks' near post. Jake Morrison then put the finishing touches on the victory by scoring the 4th, after Jayden Sandhu unselfishly laid the ball off to his teammate for him to score his 42nd goal in Wakefield colours. The scoreline did flatter Wakefield, as Armthorpe created quite a few quality chances of their own, with Wakefield keeper George Bristol equal to every single attempt; his most impressive save being a reaction save after a free kick was whipped through a crowd of players, curling like a Pedro Martinez pitch into his bottom corner.
It was this free kick that resulted in the game's main talking point. A fracas seemed to take place in the box between Robbie Miller and Armthorpe player Bruno Holden, with both men being sent off. I didn’t quite make out what happened as my eyes were following the ball, but I believe (and this is a view shared by other attendees) that Holden was the instigator and must have said something nasty to illicit the reaction he did from Miller. Both players were willing to juke it out there and then for a scrap, with players from both sides performing blockades to prevent the two men from fighting. Miller was sent to the dugout and Holden, to the dressing room, presumably to stop the two from breaking each other’s skulls in the locker room. Now that wouldn’t have been a fun evening for the caretaker. Holden’s reappearance minutes later, lurking and smiling behind Bristol’s goal wearing only a sports bib confirmed to me that this player was only there to cause trouble. Referee Wright, who handled the situation appallingly in my opinion as he allowed things to over-escalate, had to stop the game to usher the player away.
Armthorpe Welfare FC 0-4 Wakefield AFC 02/09/2023
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