Matlock Town 4-1 Stourbridge
Causeway Lane
Att: 246
18/10/14
Sometimes you turn up to a place and are immediately thankful you made the effort to go there. It happened at Uerdingen, it happened at Bath and it happened as I walked along Causeway lane to get to this ground. Initial plans for the day had been to head over to Greenwood Meadows, and tick this Tuesday night for the FC United game, but Matthew had contacted me mid-week to say he wanted to visit for a game. Plans were changed and soon we were making the short (for me) trip to Matlock, dogs in tow - Yes, I got them to bring the dogs.
Driving through Matlock Bath into Matlock it was hard to not compare the setting to that of villages in Devon that we'd visited. I'm not one to make a fuss over stuff like this, but it was very scenic. I'd wondered if we'd gone back in time as we drove into the car park at the station when a steam train was pulling out. Alas, the old-time nature of the town didn't stretch to pubs, so instead we sat outside a deli for our lunch. A slight disappointment, I'm sure you'll agree.
All was forgiven though as we walked up to the ground. It's not often Matthew stops and goes 'wow', but it was hard not to. This place has it all. Along one is a ramshackle stand split halfway between seating and standing. It's corrugated iron was rusted slightly, but the 'Matlock Town' painted on the rear wall is in pristine condition. Tucked away in the corner is the club shop, while if you follow the ground round there's a decent sized terrace of about thirteen steps behind the goal. More impressive is the town looming on the hill above. Continue round and you get to more modern developments, which thankfully compliment the rest of the ground. Straddling half way is another decent sized stand, with clubhouse to the side. The final end is fenced off due to being shared with the cricket ground. Normally I'd say this detracts from a ground, but on this occasion it adds to it. You can see the little pavilion, but more impressive is the castle/stately home (we couldn't decide which) perched on top of a rather large hill.
In terms of the game, it's one of those that both Matt and I stood there and thought 'how did this happen?' The first half was equal, with the score at half time being 1-1. The only sour note was a Stourbridge player being whisked away to hospital with a broken leg. There was no way I could have predicted that by the end Matlock would be 4-1 up and Stourbridge would finish with 8 men on the pitch. I can't even say it was a particularly feisty game either. Certainly one of those rare occasions when I'll genuinely remember what happened in a months time!
All this added to making a memorable ground more memorable though! Get here.
Driving through Matlock Bath into Matlock it was hard to not compare the setting to that of villages in Devon that we'd visited. I'm not one to make a fuss over stuff like this, but it was very scenic. I'd wondered if we'd gone back in time as we drove into the car park at the station when a steam train was pulling out. Alas, the old-time nature of the town didn't stretch to pubs, so instead we sat outside a deli for our lunch. A slight disappointment, I'm sure you'll agree.
All was forgiven though as we walked up to the ground. It's not often Matthew stops and goes 'wow', but it was hard not to. This place has it all. Along one is a ramshackle stand split halfway between seating and standing. It's corrugated iron was rusted slightly, but the 'Matlock Town' painted on the rear wall is in pristine condition. Tucked away in the corner is the club shop, while if you follow the ground round there's a decent sized terrace of about thirteen steps behind the goal. More impressive is the town looming on the hill above. Continue round and you get to more modern developments, which thankfully compliment the rest of the ground. Straddling half way is another decent sized stand, with clubhouse to the side. The final end is fenced off due to being shared with the cricket ground. Normally I'd say this detracts from a ground, but on this occasion it adds to it. You can see the little pavilion, but more impressive is the castle/stately home (we couldn't decide which) perched on top of a rather large hill.
In terms of the game, it's one of those that both Matt and I stood there and thought 'how did this happen?' The first half was equal, with the score at half time being 1-1. The only sour note was a Stourbridge player being whisked away to hospital with a broken leg. There was no way I could have predicted that by the end Matlock would be 4-1 up and Stourbridge would finish with 8 men on the pitch. I can't even say it was a particularly feisty game either. Certainly one of those rare occasions when I'll genuinely remember what happened in a months time!
All this added to making a memorable ground more memorable though! Get here.