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No.17 - Wed 2nd November 2011; FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Replay; 7.45pm at Steel Park, Rockingham Road, Corby, Northants, NN17 2AE. |
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Matchday images (52) https://picasaweb.google.com/footballgroundsinfocus/CorbyTownFC04
Corby Town (0) 4 Kidderminster Harriers (1) 1 Steelmen forge ahead into next round... Since Corby Town Football Club moved into their new Steel Park ground at the start of the season I have been looking for a chance to take in a game at their impressive Rockingham Road base. So when the Blue Square North side came away from Aggborough with an impressive goalless draw against Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round on Saturday I just couldn't believe my luck! It was with eager anticipation that the Wraymobile headed into deepest Northamptonshire for rare midweek hoppertunity not just to tick off the new ground but to attend what would be an exciting, highly charged FA Cup replay. The prize for the winner would be a well deserved place in the First Round Proper against Football League Division Two outfit Bristol Rovers. Our hop tonight turned out to be a most memorable occasion, in more ways than one. By arriving early during the afternoon I was able to nip into the ground for a sneak preview and take a tour of Steel Park before darkness set in. For those who haven't been here yet I can confirm that the new stadium decked out fully in the club colours of black and white is an excellent football venue. It has some terrific facilities including a superb modern 577 seater cantilever stand situated along one side and a covered terrace with crush barriers which stretches the entire width behind the goal at the far end. This gives an overall capacity of 3893. The ground photographs in the new FGIF album gallery (see link above) will give the reader a much better idea and save the need for a lengthy description. Although I am a big fan of track and field I have no doubt that visitors to Steel Park will really enjoy watching games here and prefer being much closer to the action than they were at the Rockingham Triangle arena which incidentally backs onto the new site. And finally for those who deliberate about such things I would definitely count this as a completely separate ground. Honest! Tonight we decided, for a change, to stand at the 'home' end not only to get some much needed cover from the incessant drizzle sweeping over the ground but to enjoy the match atmosphere a bit more. We weren't to be disappointed either. The large number young fans dressed in their club colours standing alongside us were definitely in fine voice making themselves and their extra loud drum clearly heard throughout the entire game. Compared to our usual local football-watching fare in recent weeks this really (noisy) departure from the norm was an incredible experience for us. So onto the game itself. After coming away from Aggborough with a goalless draw on Saturday Corby Town fans must have felt confident of winning tonight's important replay. However they soon found themselves a goal down when Steve Guinan stunned Steel Park into silence after he opened the scoring for the Blue Square Premier visitors in the seventh minute, his pin-point accurate header enough to beat keeper Chris Mackenzie. Despite this the Steelmen showed tremendous resilience and came back into the game when Paul Mayo (57) evened the scores just under the hour mark when his thirty yard effort floated into the back of the net to draw Corby level. There was cause for more celebration just five minutes later, as new-boy Callum Reynolds (63)nodded in from close range following James Ozmen’s header across goal. But just when it looked as though Town would extend their lead the match was cruelly halted on sixty-six minutes. As two bulbs failed on one of the floodlights in the corner of the ground the referee gestured that play would be suspended. Moments later the players were called of the pitch as the lights were extinguished completely. It didn't look good. Surely the match wasn't going to be abandoned? You had to feel sympathy for the club. Within minutes two fire engines arrived and it soon became clear (or not) that the junction box at the bottom of the pylon had caught fire. After much frantic activity a tannoy announcement explained that the matter had been resolved and once the lights had been fired up again the match would re-start. Phew!! So after a forty-five minute delay with the lights back on again (but still only one bulb illuminated on the pylon in the corner) the referee was happy for the match to resume at approximately 9.45pm - much to the delight of the home fans. The Steelmen maintained their supremacy straight from the restart. Striker Matt Rhead’s snapped free-kick slipped just wide whilst Nick Rogan saw his ten-yard effort tipped off the line. Reynolds (72) went one better when he rifled home from the edge of the box for Corby’s third of the night. Andy Hall (80) demolished any hope of a Harrier fightback ten minutes before full-time curling a free-kick past flat-footed Dean Lyness, who could only look on as a spectator. The final whistled signalled great scenes of jubilation as both players and fans celebrated this fantastic victory with style having booked their place in the First Round Proper. A terrific crowd in excess of 1000 attended the game played mostly in rainy conditions on a superb surface. Several hoppers from all parts of the country had also turned up to tick off the new ground and enjoy the thrills of this pulsating FA Cup tie. It was great to meet up with ever-enthusiastic traveller Dave Hattersley who pulled up alongside us in the car park after his journey from Harlow. Nice to see you mate! The club issued a basic programme with 16 glossy pages for the match. For £1.50 the content includes pages devoted to: manger's notes; a welcome to the visitiors; photos from the last Blue Square North game at Hednesford Town; match stats (results and fixtures) and the team line ups on the back. Travellers can also access loads of information about the club and of course the new ground by logging onto the Corby Town FC website (see address link below). This is well laid out and is credit to webmaster Robbie Dunion. It had definitely been a night to remember for the thoroughbed hoppers from racing HQ. An exciting game, an unexpected but thoroughly well deserved result and a tremendous atmosphere contributed to a cracking hop. I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Steel Park to all ground collectors. The joys of ticking off new grounds... have fun when you go there! FGIF Match Stats Scorers: (H) Mayo (57); Reynolds (63); Reynolds (73); Hall (80) and (A) Guinan (7) Attendance: 1026; Admission: £11; Programme: £1.50; Match rating: 5/5; Ground rating: 5/5. Links http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup |
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edited on 04/11/11 |
