Corby Town 1-2 Dover Athletic
Steel Park
Att: 1,387
09/11/13
After Aldershot's exit from the FAC at the hands of Shortwood, in the 4th qualifying round, I had a free pick of games to choose from. A glimpse at the fixture list showed that of the grounds left in the competition I'd done all those wlocal to me. I turned to the train websites and Corby came out on top with a return possible under £20. I was happy enough to go there, with it being a ground I's attempted to get to a couple of times before. There was also the fact that grounds like this are generally better for a cup game, and Dover usually have a decent away following.
On the morning the pitch passed an early inspection, and it was off down the station I went, quite excited for the day ahead. Before long I was pulling into Corby, affectionately known as 'Little Scotland" due to the amount of Scottish natives living in the town because of the steelworks. I was somewhat skeptical of the name, until I hopped into the taxi to be met by a Scottish accent. He was friendly enough, as we chatted about the game ahead, and dropped me outside the turnstiles. Here I had the customary bag search (stewards have an interest in Physics textbooks) before asking how much it was to get in. I was told £5 if I had ID. I did. Up I went, double checked, and was shocked. £10 (Checking when I got home I should have been charged £5). I begrudgingly handed him the money and made my way in to wait for a friend off Twitter who watches Corby.
After meeting him, and an MK/Liverpool fan, I wandered round getting some photos. Steel Park, opened for the 2011/12, has the potential to be a really smart ground, but it currently isn't. Two sides are hard standing, while at one end is a decent sized terrace housing around 1,600. Along a third of one side is the Main Stand, seating just shy of 600. The curved roof of this making it somewhat unique. Next to this was also the barmiest addition to a ground I've ever seen. An electronic car re-charger. Yes, you read that right. Not even in the Car Park where, you know, cars can use it. It was next to the Main Stand. The snack bar continued the Scottish theme with items such as Scotch Pies and Square Sausage Burgers available along with an abundance of Irn Bru. The old ground, Rockingham Triangle Sports Complex, backs onto the current ground. The changing rooms appear to still be in use.
After a well observed minutes silence the game got under way, one that will forever be part of FA Cup history, as Amy Fearn became the first ever woman to Referee a match in the proper rounds of the competition. For the majority of the first half the Steelmen kept the visitors under pressure. Around the 30 minute mark was the crucial turning point of the game, in my opinion. Corby had numerous corners and shots but the ball just wouldn't go in. The ball trickled agonisingly close a couple of times, but you have to give credit to Mitch Walker. He made two (at least) stunning saves to see the game through to half time. On today's showing he'll be snapped up by a bigger club (or at least a team at a higher level). Because of this the game went in to half time with the score 0-0.
The second half started and Dover came out a much stronger team. They only had to wait 10 minutes to take the lead, when a Tom Murphy cross from the left was met by the head of Nathan Elder to send the visitors into delirium. In the celebrations things on the terrace the other end turned sour, as there was some disorder. Being the other end I'm in no place to comment on what happened and who started, but from what I saw 3/4 Stewards were being tasked with the job of segregating the two fans. It was also obvious numerous items were being thrown, along with full on physical encounters. Not the scenes you want to see in a game that (up until that point) appeared rather good natured with a decent atmosphere, as you want in the FA Cup. As we became fixed watching these developments Dover went on to double their lead in the 65th minute when a Barry Cogan corner was met by the head of Chris Kinnear. While Dover fans we obviously overjoyed by this, it lead to more disruption as the violence became worse, with things only calmed down late on with the arrival of Police and more Stewards. It was a nervy finish, with Corby pulling one back in the 90th minute after Carruthers tapped home from a goal mouth scramble. They nearly had another shortly after, but for another smart Walker save.
After saying my goodbyes, I made the walk back to the station taking about 30 minutes. After a while waiting at the station I made my way back to London, with the Dover fans still in decent voice. As I sat there reflecting on the game ahead of this blog I couldn't help but feel disappointment that a game as enjoyable as this was marred by some idiots, who in all likelihood weren't supporters of either sides. After reading both teams forums I'm glad that the majority of supporters are in agreement, and I hope the names of both clubs aren't tarnished by this. I've watched Dover a couple of times now, and those that I were with are fairly regular at Steel Park, and have never seen hints of what we saw today. Aside from that I was glad to have made the effort on this fine winter's afternoon, at a decent ground with entertaining football in good company.
On the morning the pitch passed an early inspection, and it was off down the station I went, quite excited for the day ahead. Before long I was pulling into Corby, affectionately known as 'Little Scotland" due to the amount of Scottish natives living in the town because of the steelworks. I was somewhat skeptical of the name, until I hopped into the taxi to be met by a Scottish accent. He was friendly enough, as we chatted about the game ahead, and dropped me outside the turnstiles. Here I had the customary bag search (stewards have an interest in Physics textbooks) before asking how much it was to get in. I was told £5 if I had ID. I did. Up I went, double checked, and was shocked. £10 (Checking when I got home I should have been charged £5). I begrudgingly handed him the money and made my way in to wait for a friend off Twitter who watches Corby.
After meeting him, and an MK/Liverpool fan, I wandered round getting some photos. Steel Park, opened for the 2011/12, has the potential to be a really smart ground, but it currently isn't. Two sides are hard standing, while at one end is a decent sized terrace housing around 1,600. Along a third of one side is the Main Stand, seating just shy of 600. The curved roof of this making it somewhat unique. Next to this was also the barmiest addition to a ground I've ever seen. An electronic car re-charger. Yes, you read that right. Not even in the Car Park where, you know, cars can use it. It was next to the Main Stand. The snack bar continued the Scottish theme with items such as Scotch Pies and Square Sausage Burgers available along with an abundance of Irn Bru. The old ground, Rockingham Triangle Sports Complex, backs onto the current ground. The changing rooms appear to still be in use.
After a well observed minutes silence the game got under way, one that will forever be part of FA Cup history, as Amy Fearn became the first ever woman to Referee a match in the proper rounds of the competition. For the majority of the first half the Steelmen kept the visitors under pressure. Around the 30 minute mark was the crucial turning point of the game, in my opinion. Corby had numerous corners and shots but the ball just wouldn't go in. The ball trickled agonisingly close a couple of times, but you have to give credit to Mitch Walker. He made two (at least) stunning saves to see the game through to half time. On today's showing he'll be snapped up by a bigger club (or at least a team at a higher level). Because of this the game went in to half time with the score 0-0.
The second half started and Dover came out a much stronger team. They only had to wait 10 minutes to take the lead, when a Tom Murphy cross from the left was met by the head of Nathan Elder to send the visitors into delirium. In the celebrations things on the terrace the other end turned sour, as there was some disorder. Being the other end I'm in no place to comment on what happened and who started, but from what I saw 3/4 Stewards were being tasked with the job of segregating the two fans. It was also obvious numerous items were being thrown, along with full on physical encounters. Not the scenes you want to see in a game that (up until that point) appeared rather good natured with a decent atmosphere, as you want in the FA Cup. As we became fixed watching these developments Dover went on to double their lead in the 65th minute when a Barry Cogan corner was met by the head of Chris Kinnear. While Dover fans we obviously overjoyed by this, it lead to more disruption as the violence became worse, with things only calmed down late on with the arrival of Police and more Stewards. It was a nervy finish, with Corby pulling one back in the 90th minute after Carruthers tapped home from a goal mouth scramble. They nearly had another shortly after, but for another smart Walker save.
After saying my goodbyes, I made the walk back to the station taking about 30 minutes. After a while waiting at the station I made my way back to London, with the Dover fans still in decent voice. As I sat there reflecting on the game ahead of this blog I couldn't help but feel disappointment that a game as enjoyable as this was marred by some idiots, who in all likelihood weren't supporters of either sides. After reading both teams forums I'm glad that the majority of supporters are in agreement, and I hope the names of both clubs aren't tarnished by this. I've watched Dover a couple of times now, and those that I were with are fairly regular at Steel Park, and have never seen hints of what we saw today. Aside from that I was glad to have made the effort on this fine winter's afternoon, at a decent ground with entertaining football in good company.