Moors win in Lincoln: It could be a money spinner for Spenny!

Saturday the 15^th October 2016

FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round 

Lincoln United 0 Spennymoor Town 3

When I decided to embark on this ‘Road to Wembley from Scotland’ project in the summer I declared that if fate decreed it then it would be great to visit Lincolnshire as part of the journey. The draw for the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup was kind and when Lincoln United were drawn at home to Spennymoor Town this gave me the opportunity to re-visit the county where I lived and worked for 17 years between 1991 and 2008. What was absolutely fantastic about this match is that a good number of my Boston College Sunday FC team from the late 1990s travelled the short distance from Boston to Lincoln to join me at the match. More about this later in this report.

This is how the day panned out.

Pre Match Communications: It proved slightly more difficult to contact Lincoln United than it has been for other teams I have met on ‘The Road’ but we got there in the end. The Lincoln United web site does not have an email address in the contacts section and I did try the phone number but got no reply. However, both their twitter feed and their facebook page were responsive and I was able to explore the links between Lincoln United and Scotland through these routes. Scots Lincoln United fan Stuart McCallum Minto has been very helpful in that respect and it was great to meet him yesterday. As for the previous round Spennymoor were very keen to promote their club through this blog and it was great to meet up with their Scots secretary David Leitch at the match yesterday, Facebook also put me in contact with Liam Malloy who is also doing the Road to Wembley and our routes have now collided. Good to meet Liam and his pal Mel Pickup at Ashby Avenue yesterday too. 7/10

Liam Malloy and Mel Pickup - also on the Road to Wembley

Pre Match Pint: The nearest pub to the Sun Hat Villas Stadium is actually the Lincoln United Social Club about 30 yards away. That was handy! High marks for the pre-match pint because of the banter. With so many old pals in the bar it was a fun hour before kick off … then a fun 15 minutes at half time … and good fun in the bar after the match too! As well as the 1990s Boston College footballers, my pal Howard ‘Howie Baby’ Nimmo from Hull attended and he struggled manfully to squeeze in to the famous Road to Wembley from Scotland T shirt.

The T shirt stretches to accentuate the undulating curves of the Nimmo torso

After the match it was great to have a wee bevy with some of the Spennymoor fans and @SpennyfanChris from twitter and his pal David Dobbie. David actually did the Road to Wembley in 1999 with his Dad and has given me some tips regarding tickets for later rounds

Spenny Fan Chris and David Dobbie celebrating after the match

The wonderful thing about these club bars in non league settings is how egalitarian and democratic it all is. After the match I was also able to have a quick chat with the victorious Spennymoor Town manager Jason Ainslie. I can't imagine that I will be hob-nobbing with Mourinho or Wenger in later rounds.

Moors Manager Jason Ainsley enjoys a well earned pint after the match

 The Guinness was good too. 9/10

Programme: The match day magazine was priced at £1.50 and was very good value. The 40 page publication has been lovingly put together and has interesting articles by the Manager, the Chairman and the Secretary. The coverage of the visiting Spennymoor team is particularly impressive. The Moors club history straddles 3 pages and has loads of fascinating anecdotes from the past. Good match reports too from recent ‘Whites’ matches. I can’t seem to see in the mag who the Programme Editor is but he/she should be very proud of themselves. A great effort 9/10

Ground: This was my second visit to Ashby Avenue, now known as the Sunhat Villas Stadium, and I was very impressed. The ground has been improved considerably since my last visit about 20 years ago.  The main stand is trim and fit for purpose and the ground also has a small seating area opposite the main stand.

The Main Stand at Ashby Avenue: Well filled yesterday

The 'mini stand' - an interesting paddock

A covered terrace is behind one goal and at the other end the tarmac pathway is adjacent to the changing rooms. All areas well maintained and as with all the grounds I have visited on ‘The Road’ there is a real sense of the local community looking after one of its prize assets. I hesitate to make any criticism of facilities that are lovingly cared for by committee members and volunteers but I feel I must comment that the playing surface was not the best. It was bare in patches and a wee bit bobbly. This may have contributed to the concession by The Whites of the second goal.

Yesterday the attendance was 578 and I suspect this may have been the biggest crowd at Ashby Avenue for a few seasons. 7/10

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was excellent. There was something like a 50 50 split between the Lincoln United fans and The Moors aficionados. There was not even a hint of any animosity between the fans. They were drinking in the same bar before and after and the craic was excellent. Some of the Boston College FC team from the 1990s who joined me yesterday now have kids, who they brought along with them yesterday. The young uns clearly enjoyed the experience in what was a family friendly ambience. One of our party, Steve Langford, took his son Ruben to his first ever football match and the young man had a whale of a time

Proud Dad: Steve Langford takes his son Ruben to his first football match

 The Moors fans sang more or less continuously throughout the game offering their side generous encouragement. The highlight was after they had scored the third goal and they must have twigged they were going to be in round one and potentially on the telly … so … they started singing the Match of the Day Theme Tune.

Moors fans in full voice: Thanks to Michael Kitching for this photo

Even the heckling was slightly more polite than I am used to. No four letter words or C words. The best one I heard was when the red headed Moors centre back James Curtis had been tangling on the deck with a Lincoln United sub and they both got up with the Spennymoor man laughing: “Keep smiling Ginger we know you are an ugly twat!” was the cry from the terracing. Quality.  8/10

Scottishness: It took a while for the links with Bella Caledonia to emerge but if you keep digging you can always find some Scots coal and black bun.  The main current link between Spennymoor Town and Bonnie Scotland is Scotsman David Leitch, the Moors Secretary. David was kind enough to pose for a snap while the game was going on yesterday.

David Leitch: Proud of his Scots heritage and proud of The Moors

 In advance of the game I discovered that Lincoln United have at least two Scots fans. Take a bow Stuart McCallum Minto and Ross Frisby. It was great to meet up with them both yesterday.

 

Two Scots Whites fans: Stuart McCallum Minto (left) and Ross Frisby (right)

Finally an unexpected link that I only discovered yesterday. The snack bar is staffed by a team of volunteers that includes Katrina from Kilmarnock.

Katrina and the Faves (i.e. pies and pasties!)

Katrina told me that she has been in Lincolnshire for about 15 years. She has clearly not lost any of her strong Ayrshire accent. The reason for the move south was connected with her husband’s employment. Her husband is English but she does not hold that against him!  7/10

Entertainment:

In truth this was not the best match I have seen so far on The Road to Wembley from Scotland. I think that there was perhaps just too much at stake, with the glittering prize of a place in the 1^st round draw shimmering in the distance, for the protagonists to show their best football. Having said that there were some excellent individual performances. My man of the match was the aforementioned Moors centre back James Curtis. Curtis is a huge guy and uses his height and strength to great advantage to head everything that comes into the penalty area clear. He is also good on the ground and tackles well. Alongside him at the back is captain Joe Tait who is also rock solid and great in the air. The big skipper also strode forward to convert the penalty that opened the scoring. For Lincoln United wide men Matt Cotton and Kallum Smith both looked inventive and dangerous in the first half and prolific goal scorer ‘Jock’ McGovern was a threat all afternoon.

The Moors defend a corner kick

The match was fairly even in the first period. However football is all about goals and The Whites gifted The Moors a two goal lead. After 11 minutes the United keeper had a clearance blocked by the alert Shane Henry and the ball ballooned up into the air in a very odd trajectory. There was spin on this ball too. As the ball came down it spun and seemed to be presenting Henry with a gilt edged opportunity – so the keeper impeded him. A penalty was awarded and it could be argued that the keeper was lucky to escape with a booking. Joe Tait coolly tucked away the spot kick. Moors number 9 David Dowson scored after 26 minutes to make it 2-0. He was making a perfunctory run to close down the keeper when chasing a Whites back pass to their keeper Ziccardi who had all the time in the world to kick the ball upfield. Ziccardi then demonstrated a classic fresh air shot and he watched in horror as the ball skipped past him with Dowson running on to tap the ball into an empty net. Was the barren pitch responsible for this mishap? Not a match to remember for the unfortunate Whites custodian. Despite the fact that at the other end of the pitch Lincoln United had been playing some good passing football, they found themselves 2-0 down at the interval.

The Whites apply the pressure bu The moors stand firm

If the first half was close in terms of possession and chances, the second half was dominated by the visitors from County Durham. In 62 minutes Dowson passed up the chance to grab a brace when he had a golden opportunity but shot straight at the keeper. The Moors did increase their advantage on 76 minutes. Graeme Armstrong powered home a header from a Spennymoor corner. Full time Lincoln United 0 Spennymoor Town 3. 7/10

Match Day Catering: As reported previously the Dunston catering will not be beaten on the Road to Wembley from Scotland. This contest is now closed as Dunston UTS pies are simply perfection. However the fare on offer at the Sunhat Villas Stadium was more than acceptable. As well as pies and pasties there were also hot dogs and burgers on offer. I started with a pre match pie and mushy peas (excellent) and then progressed to a Cornish pasty early in the second half. The Boston entourage were all waxing lyrical about the quality of the catering and my mate Howard Nimmo managed two pies and a pasty –so that speaks for itself!  9/10

Value for Money: The admission price of £9 was fair for an important FA Cup tie. It was great to see that all juniors were admitted for £1 each.  8/10

The je ne sais quoi factor: The unique feature of this stop on the Road to Wembley from Scotland is that I was joined at the match by 11 old friends from Lincolnshire – plus their kids. Some of these guys I had not seen for many years and I must admit the years have been kind – to them!

Stalwarts from the 1990s Boston College Sunday FC team join me for a pre match pint and a catch up

In the picture above we have from left to right: Rachel Frisby, Ross Frisby (ex midfield dynamo for Boston College Sunday FC), Gail Blanchard Rivett, Jiminio Morrison (ex goal-poacher for Boston College Staff FC and emergency sub for Boston College Sunday), Mark Locking (ex central defender for Boston College Sunday FC), Boz (ex utility player for Boston College Sunday FC), Phil Moses, Howard ‘Howie Baby’ Nimmo, Simon Moses (ex midfield general for Boston College Sunday FC), Steve Langford (ex central defender for Boston College Sunday FC), and Koran Darrigan (ex utility defender / midfielder and all round good guy for Boston College Sunday FC). In the foreground are the young Frisbys, Darrigans and Langford. At some of the matches on ‘The Road’ I have been on my tod. I feel privileged to have been joined by this entourage for this match. We had a good bevvy before the match and a good craic after the match. A very special day … and Jim Morrison’s partner the lovely Gail won the raffle!

Gail wins the raffle: Wine and chocolates for the lady!

It may well be that this will be the only stop on The Road in Lincolnshire … but you never know maybe we will do it all again in three weeks time if the draw comes up trumps. Thanks guys - yesterday was great. 10/10

Overall Road to Wembley from Scotland Rating 81/100 (equal highest so far)

At this point I have to say goodbye to new friends who I have met from the vanquished team. My stay with Lincoln United was all too brief and I thank their Secretary Mark Cowling for the information about his team supplied via the facebook dialogue. I offer special and sincere thanks to Lincoln United fan Stuart McCallum Minto for all of his help in advance of this tie. It was great to meet Stuart yesterday. I wish the very friendly Lincoln United the very best of luck for the rest of the season.

So, I stick with The Moors for at least one more round and I must admit I am enjoying being a very small part of their successful FA Cup campaign. The Universe is quite clearly with Spennymoor and I wonder is it written in the stars that they will be paired with a big club and a money spinning tie in round one when the draw is made on BBC2 tomorrow evening? Visit this blog on Tuesday morning to find out.

Miles on the clock for this match 550

Total Miles on the Road to Wembley from Scotland so far 2480