Written by Emma
Ground #21
Station Road – Collingham FC
Wednesday 15th September 2021 – Central Midlands League Prem North (Step 7)
Collingham FC 2-6 Glapwell FC
Attendance: 85
Entry: £3
The better half of Emma’s Ground Guide is back!
Collingham football club have been around since 1887 and over the years they have always had a thriving youth setup. In 1995 they created a Senior Saturday team which only lasted for a few years and was disbanded in 2002. In the 2015/16 season they once again entered a Saturday side into the Central Midlands League where they have remained ever since.
The sad passing of former manager Paul Hyde’s wife meant he had to step down and last seasons under 18s squad have stepped up into men’s football early to fill the gap. Today’s game saw the youngsters come up against Glapwell FC from Derbyshire.
As we walked through the gate, we received an extremely warm welcome with the Collingham manager, Gary, coming over for a chat and it was great to hear he had heard of our blog and read it before. So, we hope you enjoy this one Gary! Also, before the game we were greeted by Gerry who is the clubs long-serving former groundsman, who proudly spoke about the club and how they are engrained in the local community. Gerry is the sort of great character that is vital at a grassroots clubs like Collingham and it was great to hear his stories and passion for the club.
The youngsters of Collingham flew out the blocks scoring twice in the first 10 minutes, Glapwell were stunned as the second goal was a wonderful lob over the keeper after he came out of his goal to try and head clear. Straight from the kick-off the visitors got one straight back with a bullet of a finish that cannoned in off the bar, what a start!
Collingham continued to look dangerous themselves forcing a great save from the Glapwell keeper. From the resulting corner we thought they had a third but sadly it was disallowed as the corner had gone out of play. As the half wore on the visitors started to get on top, forcing a few good saves from the Collingham stopper, the pressure then paid off as they made it 2-2.
In the second half the hosts once again flew out the blocks but couldn’t find the third goal. After a quick break and a good save from the Collingham goalkeeper the ball was tapped into an open net and the come back was complete. A few minutes later the home keeper was once again unlucky after making a fantastic save but sadly the first to react was the striker who again slotted the ball home. As the game wore on the pace of adult football got to the youngsters as Glapwell started to run riot scoring twice more and coming away 6-2 winners in the end.
An enjoyable game, but now time to rate Collingham’s Station Road ground.
Location: 8/10
Collingham is a small village located on the banks of the River Trent, just off the A46. The ground itself is set back from the main road behind the co-op, just a stone’s throw from the local community pub, and as the ground name suggests it is right near the train station.
The car park used belongs to the co-op and you will find the ground down the alley just to the left of the shop. Once in the car park itself the entrance to the ground is hard to find and so guess work led us to the gates. If possible it would be great if the club could put a sign in the car park to make it easier to find. This would be especially helpful for Groundhoppers and first time visitors like us!
Kit: 7/10
Collingham looked like they’d just come from the zoo after coming out in their black and orange tiger striped kit, paired with matching orange and black socks and black shorts. It was a kit that certainly caught your eye. Very different to the majority of kits you see and we both really liked it!
Facilities: 9/10
The clubhouse at Station Road included a stand-out bar with plenty of beers on tap. It was nicely decorated in a modern style, its main feature however, was the names of past and present players, fans and club members engraved onto the bricks of the bar itself. This was a great feature and a nice extra touch that shows just how much the club means to their community. The clubhouse also had plenty of tables with TVs showing sky sports up on the walls.
Much to Max’s delight, the clubhouse even had a pool table so we will have to come back just for a day of me thrashing Max at pool.
Look: 5/10
Station Road was pretty standard for a Step 7 club, there was hard standing around two sides and there was a small area of covered standing on the clubhouse side. We did like how the goal nets were the colours to match the team strip and you could get a heightened view from behind the goal as the pitch was on a slight slope.
We have returned to Station Road a number of times since writing this blog, including 5 visits while local side Newark & Sherwood United were ground sharing here between 2022 and 2024.
As part of the groundshare agreement the ground was upgraded to step 5 standard with hard standing being added along the far side of the pitch as well as the addition of a 100 seater stand which was brought from Newark’s former Lowfields home.
Food and Drink: 1/10
I had been saving myself all day for that football burger we all know and love, so I showed up very hungry to find out they sadly do not do food (Gerry did let us know food is served on Saturdays so now we must go back!)
With no food on offer we left the ground at half time for a battered sausage and chips each from the fish shop on the main road, Max opted for curry sauce on his but me being the food connoisseur I had gravy YUMMY! As mentioned above Collingham did have plenty of alcohol and soft drinks on offer from their wonderful bar so you won’t be going thirsty, but sadly there was no Dark Fruits on offer!
TOTAL SCORE 30/50
We both really enjoyed our first visit to Station Road and we both agreed that it was the friendliest welcome we have received at a club so far! This alongside the fact we got to witness a great game including 8 goals for just £3 entry show that you definitely can’t argue that non-league is more value for your money than any league ground you will go to. You can’t beat non league!
If we we’re rating Collingham on the welcome we recieved they would definitely be a 10/10 in my books! With Newark FC now playing out of town at Basford, I’m sure we will be back at Station Road very soon!
If you’d like to see where this puts Station Road on our Non-League Leaderboard click here: NON LEAGUE
And if you would like to see our Football League leader board click here: The 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 