No.38 – Mon. 1st January 2007; Midland Combination Football League Division 1  2.00 at Illey Lane, Halesowen, West Midlands (att: 76; prog: 24 pp £1) 

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Bartley Green (1) 1  Northfield Town (3) 3

       

Hoppers find that clouds do have a silver lining!     

Hoppers turned out in force for this New Years Day derby fixture. After a night of heavy rain in the West Midlands many local matches had already been postponed. Despite several puddles on the pitch the referee decided to get the game underway and then judge how the players adapted to the very wet playing surface - this was not good for the old ticker but at least it was game on. The visitors from Northfield were in bouyant mood (forgive the pun) and by half-time were three up on league leaders; the third from the penalty spot was awarded after a rather harsh infringement for hand ball. By half-time large black clouds had gathered over the Illey Lane ground and rain was starting to fall once again. Many felt that the game was going to be called off.

After the break both teams and the officials returned to the field and the game resumed; the pitch was by now very boggy and the players had difficulty in keeping their feet. The visiting keeper looked like he had been taking part in a mud wrestling contest. Even his cap was lost in the thick brown stuff after it had been dislodged whilst defending a corner. Like a true sportsman it was quickly found, wrung out and placed back on his head. Great stuff!! 

The weather worsened and a strong wind added to the dreadful conditions which were of monsoon proportions. Spectators made their move from the perimeter fence and dashed for cover. Bartley Green managed to pull a goal back during the closing minutes to the half but it was too little too late. Thankfully the match ended at ninety minutes as we had all hoped and the referee's whistle was greeted by a huge sigh of relief!

Bartley Green are without doubt a very friendly and well organised football club. We were made to feel most welcome by all the committee members we spoke to. It is credit to these hard working people who had apparently arrived at the ground early in the morning to get the pitch playable and ensure that the game would go ahead. Well done fellas!

A smart 24 page programme with a yellow card cover was issued for the game. Sadly by the time we had arrived all the copies had been snapped up by the travelling contingent who made up a large percentage of the attendance. A busy tea bar was in operation before and during the game with the bacon, sausage and egg sandwiches been quite a popular item on the menu. It was definitely a thumbs up from daughter Jo.

The ground is located on the outskirts of Halesowen in open countryside and is close to the village of Illey. The main entrance is signposted with plenty of car parking space next to the changing rooms and tea bar. The pitch beyond  runs lengthways and is found on a raised plateau of land which is accessed by using some concrete steps on the grass embankment. A large section of string netting is placed behind the goal to prevent the ball running back down the hill! The playing area is fully railed off with dug outs to the left on the far side. Adjacent is a narrow covered stand which provides adequate shelter but doesn't allow for a good posture! A smart new stand on the opposite side has several rows of seats marked in the club colours of black and yellow. The area behind the far end is open and also elevated; this affords some spectacular views of the Black Country which stretches out into the distance beyond.

According to one of the locals, the club have completed several recent ground improvements. Some of the work was necessary to bring the facilities up to the required standard for membership of the Midland Combination League. The club also invested in some drainage work on the pitch which was apparently causing a problem up until about twelve months ago. It has certainly been money well spent!

We completed our journey by following the M42 west and then driving north up the M5. Leave at junction 3 and follow signs for Halesowen; by-pass the town using the A456 (Manor Way) and then the Bromsgrove Road (B4551) before turning left along Illey Lane. 

A visit to Bartley Green FC comes highly recommended to all travellers. We certainly enjoyed our short stay at the club!                    

FGIF Rating: 4* 

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