Written by Emma
Ground #39
Marsh Lane – Barton Town FC
Saturday 23rd July 2022 – Pre season friendly
Barton Town FC (Step 5) 3-6 Gainsborough Trinity (Step 3)
Attendance: 219
Entry: £6
Barton Town Football Club are a relatively newly formed team being founded in 1995 as Barton Town Old Boys. The club were founded as a merger between the Old Boys and Barton Town, this was organised in the local pub called the White Swan and from there the clubs now current nickname ‘The Swans’ was born.
The club started out life in the Lincolnshire League but ended up playing in the central midlands league until 2006 when they were promoted into the NCEL Division 1. There they stayed for five seasons until a second place finish in 2010/11 won them promotion to their current Step 5 league. In 2017, the club resorted back to their former name of Barton Town FC which is what they are known as today.
Todays game saw them come up against Gainsborough Trinity who play two leagues higher in the Northern Premier League. We went to todays game with my Dad and Grandad, my Grandad was especially happy to go back to the town he grew up in, he even told us about how he used to go down and help his uncle cut the grass at the ground back when he was young. Max was particularly looking forward to seeing Trinity’s new signing, former Crewe player Clayton Donaldson, but unfortunately for todays game he seemed to be concentrating on coaching duties rather than playing.
The game started off pretty evenly with the hosts looking very good on the ball and passing it around nicely. Just as we commented on how you couldn’t tell which team was from a higher level, the visitors broke through and after a fortuitous ricochet the ball broke to the striker who took the ball round the keeper and tapped into an open net. In the 23rd minute the Gainsborough winger cut inside and produced a good finish from the edge of the area to double the lead.
Just five minutes later, a combination of poor closing down and good Gainsborough interplay made it 3-0 as the visitors really began to show the gap in ability between the two sides. There was almost an embarrassing moment for them though as a back pass looped over their keeper but luckily for them it bounced just wide of the post. Just as half time loomed, Gainsborough scored a fourth as a neat cut back was slotted home.
The second half continued much like the first had ended, with the visitors slotting away goals number five and six, it was becoming far too easy! Trinity then began to sub on a number of younger players and this gave the hosts much more of the ball and after a good 15 minute spell they managed to get a deserved goal back. There were two great saves from the young Gainsborough goalkeeper, but he could do nothing about the second goal which was scored by Barton player-manager, Nathan Jarman, against his former side.
Barton were really taking control now as the game is switched completely on its head. As the third Barton goal went in there were even whispers of an outrageous comeback for the hosts but sadly it wasn’t to be as the game ended 3-6.
Now to rate our day out at Marsh Lane, or as it is known for sponsorship reasons, The Easy Buy Stadium:
Location 7/10
Barton is a town in North Lincolnshire, which sits on the south bank of the Humber Estuary and can be found at the southern end of the Humber Bridge, here you can also find the start of the 147 mile long distance trail ‘The Viking Way’.
The ground is located on the northside of the town, around a 10 minute walk from the towns train station and also the most local pub, The White Swan, which as mentioned earlier was where the club was born. There is a car park located at the ground for those driving, which has recently been extended and has a decent amount of room for spectators.
Kit 7/10
The kit worn by Barton is a sky blue shirt, with a unique navy blue design on the sleeves. Paired well with navy blue shorts and socks (I may have to add this to the collection) with the Wrens Kitchen sponsor fitting in nicely.
A shout out to Gainsborough for their unique amber and black away kit, its a shame we weren’t also scoring this as it’s a fantastic kit!
Facilities 8/10
The bar at Marsh Lane was up there with the best we have seen so far on our travels, it was a decent size and had sky sports on multiple TVs. The brick design of the bar looked great and reminded us of one of our local clubs Collingham FC.
Look 8/10
Marsh Lane is a smart, well looked after ground with a seated stand on the far side which could house 240 people and two terraced stands behind one of the goals. On the near side is the bar and changing rooms with open standing for spectators. The wall surrounding the pitch is all freshly painted in the clubs colours which is always great to see. We also both liked seeing little details such as the swans painted onto the side of the pitch.
The first thing we noticed walking in is that the pitch is in great condition even after the ridiculous hot weather we have been having recently so respect to the groundsmen. Another thing we spotted was the hundreds of sponsor boards all around the ground, this is great to see that the local community is backing their team and the money raised from this will keep the club moving forward.
Food and Drink 7.5/10
Now the most important section of all! On offer from the snack bar (which of course had its own sponsor) today was the largest variety of food we have seen at any ground so far, from burgers, to pies, to pasties, to curries, to bacon sandwiches, you could turn up to Marsh Lane craving anything and they will probably have it available.
We both went for a cheeseburger and Max had chips as well. The chips were nicely cooked and the burger was of a decent quality compared to other grounds at this level. It was nothing special but we can only blame ourselves and on our next visit will definitely try the homemade curry or chilli. My Dad chose to go for a sausage cob and in his words “the bap was very fresh and light, it was buttered and had 3 halves of sausage in, enough to fill the bap and tasty. A good selection of condiments”.
On this very hot day, after a warm car journey there, we walked into the bar craving something to quench our thirst. Then we looked up at the bar and saw it……. STRONGBOW DARK FRUITS!!!!!! The famous half point has been awarded!
TOTAL 37.5/50
We both thoroughly enjoyed our Saturday afternoon visit to Marsh Lane and for me, taking my Grandad and my Dad made it all that more special. After the game it was great to get a tour of the town and see where my Grandad grew up.
As far as the game itself, 9 goals for and plenty of action for £6 each is just why we love non-league so much. The ground is one of the best we have come across at this level and we will definitely return in the future.
If you’d like to see where this score puts Barton Town on our Leader board of non league grounds click here: NON LEAGUE
And if you would like to see our Leaderboard of Football League grounds click here: THE 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 