Ground: Cannon Park (capacity 2,000)
Location: Retford (Nottinghamshire), England
Ticket price: £5 - cash only
It was finally here. The moment Wakefield AFC fans had been waiting for since that fateful playoff semi-final defeat at the hands of Rossington Main. Saturday 29th July – the opening day of the NCEL Premier League and Division One, and for fans of Wakefield, our opponents Retford United, heck anyone who follows the NCEL closely, this was certainly a tie worth salivating over.
Wakefield’s pre-season is a case of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. For an outsider, you’d laugh at Wakefield’s ambitions of title success based on results alone. 2-1 loss to Hallam and then a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Albion Sports – two sides who finished mid-table in the NCEL Premier Division last season does not make for good reading when you can argue that the difference in quality between the two divisions is marginal (just ask North Ferriby). And on the topic of the Villagers, we were 3-1 down to them at one point too. However, as most fans say, results don’t matter, all that matters is fitness and performance, and I felt that Wakefield looked in good nick in each of their pre-season games, with the side growing in confidence and synergy as each game passed. Retford United, on the other hand, had a pretty dismal pre-season that included an 8-0 mauling to Mansfield Town. They did win their last fixture against Winterton Rangers, but all that matters is the here and now – July 29th, the opening day of the season.
Retford United have an interesting history. Founded in 1987 by local resident Brian Jackson to give Retford a football representative in the area after Retford Town had gone bust. The side competed in the Gainsborough & District League up until 2001, where they joined the Central Midlands League.
If you mention the name Dean Vivian to any senior Badger, they may become misty-eyed as he played a key role in Retford United’s most successful period in their history; first by gaining entry into the NCEL, then earning promotion up the leagues until they reached the Premier Division (tier 7) in 2009. They had in-fact won the league the season prior but were unable to promote due to failing a ground inspection. They had a decent run in the FA Vase, reaching the last 16 in the 2006/07 season before losing 3-1 to Alfreton Town, and have featured in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup. In total, Retford United had won 6 championships of various divisions in 9 years.
In the 2010/11 season, Retford United would finish bottom of the Premier Division and were subsequently relegated to the Northern Premier League Division One South, however the club opted to resign from the league due to financial constraints, opting to play in the NCEL.
The club have since been taken over by the One Call Insurance Group, who funded the clubhouse, changing rooms and outside areas of the ground, and witnessed their side winning the Chairman’s Cup in 2021 and then the Notts Senior Trophy in 2022, before winning promotion to the NCEL again last season. Former player Ryan Hindley leads the charge and, together with One Call Group, has ambitions of taking the team back to the glory days they experienced under the stewardship of Dean Vivian.
The town of Retford itself sits pretty in Nottinghamshire; a county known for their trees, magpies and their rolls. Yes, they actually call their sandwiches 'rolls', even though they probably can't roll very far on a flat surface. I did try a chicken mayo roll from one of the local roll eateries there, which was lathered in butter and parcelled up in doughy thick white bread. Not my thing.
Then again, judging by the local cuisine, perhaps the roll is something to die for...
There’s a few nice pubs dotted around the area and the St. Swithuns Cathedral stands tall and proud in the town’s centre, with the Sebastopol Cannon standing surly nearby to ward off any potential miscreants loitering around the town.
Perhaps we'll be seeing some of these hair-raising shenanigans at play at 3pm...
The journey itself to Cannon Park once you arrive at Retford isn’t really suitable for foot journeys, so if you’ve got a car or have a mate who’s offering to take you up there in his, then take him up on it. There’s a 10 minute straight road, with the pathway covered by overgrown grass and some rather nefarious botany, alongside cans of ale and god knows what else, all whilst cars are whizzing and trending on each side of the road. Getting there is like playing Frogger really.
Cannon Park itself is a nice little ground with a great pitch - ideal for playing nice, attractive football. There’s a small stand on the east side and plenty of standing and seating areas (picnic tables) dotted around the place too. The Retford United clubhouse displays some of the clubs history, including a signed shirt from their 2001/02 season, team photos from various seasons and even a signed Blackburn Rovers kit from Matt Jansen. Not sure what the story is with that one.
Due to a kit clash, Retford United came out wearing red, whereas Wakefield were donning their usual white. On the other hand, Jimmy Eyles for Retford United was causing us all sorts of issues, with Hawkhead and McGahan struggling to contain Retford’s number 11. I watched him many a time keep a close eye on the two Wakefield men, glancing back towards his teammates in their blood red kits and also providing good runs off the ball once Retford had won the ball back in the transition phase.
Their game plan was simple – pack the midfield, man-mark players, be aggressive in the press and play quick long balls to Eyles on the counter. On some occasions, the pass was so loose that Retford could win the ball in dangerous areas, but even in those cases, Eyles was still clearly the man they were looking to get the ball to. In the 24th minute, Retford won the ball back and charged towards goal. Eyles was in a good position and, as expected, the ball eventually worked its way up to him. He took a shot and a defender slid in to try and block the ball. However, his attempt was in vain as the ball flicked onto his thigh and over the dive of keeper Kendrick to open the scoring. 1-0 and you could argue that it was a deserved lead for the home side.
The second half kicked off and Wakefield would immediately receive a gut-punch that would wind even a silverback gorilla. Retford persisted with their long ball tactic, playing the ball down the flank before a looping ball found Jimmy Eyles unmarked at the far post, who made no mistake looping a first time volley over the stretch of Henry Kendrick. It’s the kind of goal that would deflate and demoralise most sides, but this is a side who came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 against North Ferriby just a couple of weeks ago, so they do have some recent history to draw on in terms of coming back from a 2 goal deficit.
However, Retford were in no mood to let Wakefield put even a speck on Crosby’s clean sheet and defended compactly to repel each and every attack that came their way.
Retford United though were determined to rub more salt in the wounds. Aaron Pilkington lost the ball in a dangerous position to substitute Charlie Baird, who worked his way into the box and laid the ball past the onrushing Kendrick to another man who came on, Igor Mlynarski, who made no mistake in smashing the ball home. I couldn’t quite see what happened, but at the time I thought it was a foul on Pilkington by Baird. The others in the crowd didn’t seem to kick up much of a fuss about the legitimacy of the goal though so I assume it was a fair tackle. The referee then proceeded to blow for full time shortly after.
There were allegedly some comments made by Retford United’s manager Ryan Hindley in the direction of Gabe Mozzini after the game, referencing a video released by Wakefield AFC where the Brazilian gaffer said that he had, “the best players in the league.” His comments were in relation to the squad he had when he first took over when we were still in the Sheffield and Hallamshire League, a league in which we won, so his comments were justified. Either Hindley misremembered the context of the video or he was being intentionally incendiary. Either way, if he did make those comments, is there really any need? Your team’s just won the game.
Both teams will likely be up there come the end of the season and the return clash at Belle Vue will surely be a mouthwatering tie.
Retford United 3-0 Wakefield AFC 29/07/23
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