Written By Emma
Ground #31
The Northolme – Gainsborough Trinity FC
Saturday 12th February 2022 – Northern Premier League Prem (Step 3)
Gainsborough Trinity FC 3 – 2 FC United of Manchester
Attendance: 969
Entry: £12
Ladies and gents, hello, it is me, Emma. Yes, I am back and this time to spread some romance on this Valentines Day! This weekend we fittingly returned to the very first ground we ever visited as a couple back in 2017. Who said romance was dead!
Gainsborough Trinity were founded back in 1873 and became members of the football league in 1893 making Gainsborough the smallest town to ever host a football league team. They have played at their current ground, The Northolme, since way back in 1884 making it the oldest ground in the world to be constantly used by one team. The club were created by Rev. George Langton Hodgkinson who was the vicar of the Holy Trinity Parish giving the club its name and nickname, The Holy Blues.
As with our previous visit in 2017, todays game also saw the blues come up against FC United of Manchester. A bumper crowd was in attendance with many of the Manchester based clubs supporters making the trip which meant for a great atmosphere between the two sets of fans.
The game started quite evenly until the 10th minute when the hosts took a surprise lead after a great move. The hosts began to control the game with a couple more good chances including a curling shot put just over the bar. From the resulting goal kick the visitors made a mistake and it was capitalised on for the hosts to double their lead.
The game then settled down with FC United getting themselves into the game and a fantastic curling effort got them back into it just before half time.
Into the second half we went and again both sides were showing their quality. FC United were having a lot more of the ball but Trinity were always looking dangerous on the counter. It was from one of these that the hosts looked to have secured 3 points with a deserved third goal.
A nervy finish was to be had with the visitors getting a second goal with around 10 minutes to go, but the hosts managed to hold on for a deserved and much needed 3 points as they look to pull away from the relegation places. As for FC United, we had expected more from them as they were on good form going into today’s game. In the end though they were outplayed and so they, aswell as their noisy travelling support went home with nothing.
Now to rate our experience at The Northolme:
Location: 8/10
Gainsborough is a market town and inland port (55 miles from the North Sea) in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire. The ground is located on the main road through the town and within walking distance of the two train stations. Although there is no car park at the ground, there is plenty of paying ones nearby, along with roadside parking outside the ground. There is a pub just around the corner from the ground, but we did not go there today as the ground has a nice supporters bar which you will see more about later.
Kit: 5/10
Gainsborough play in an all-blue kit with a faint checker pattern, the sponsor does stand out on the front, but it wouldn’t be one I would rush out to buy even if it did have a picture of a dog on the front!
Facilities: 7/10
The supporters bar at Gainsborough is like stepping into your local pub, with low ceilings and TVs scattered around it creates a good atmosphere before the game. Although it is small there is two sides to it with a fitted bar in the middle. For todays match it was filled with FC United fans who were making the most of Manchester United being the early kick off on the TV screens.
If we lived in Gainsborough we could see ourselves coming here on a non-match day as it had such a great pub feel.
Look: 9/10
If anyone wants to know what a “proper” non-league ground is like then you should come to Gainsborough. From the cramped turnstiles, to the old style terracing this is proper football.
The ground has two covered terraces and another stand with 504 covered seats which straddles the halfway line. Behind the far goal is an open terrace where we stood the first time we visited and where few braved the elements today. The terraces and a lot of the ground shows the teams colours of blue and since our last visit 4 years ago they have now added a digital screen showing the scores and half time adverts.
Food and Drink: 6/10
Food was needed on this cold and rainy day, so we joined the queue to the snack bar and waited our turn. As our time to order came closer I was between a pie and chips combo or a cheeseburger and chips combo. We were told the only pies they had were steak and so me not being a massive fan of steak pies went for the cheeseburger and chips.
As the girl was serving this up, she asked me the question every person wants to hear “do you want onions?” OF COURSE I DO! Put some on there and I will be on my way, Max you are paying. Once we had decided our location in the stands for the afternoon, I decided it was time to tuck in, the burger itself looked amazing! They had put grated cheese on which was not expected when you usually get a cheese slice but let’s be honest cheese no matter what, is great so happy days. I took a bite and although it was looking a great burger it was on the cold side, plus a little dry and so was a little disappointing. But the burger patty was homemade, so I salute them for that. Max did say his steak pie was good, but we all know, his opinion doesn’t matter. Sadly we were both so hungry we forgot to take a photo of the food at the game, so you’ll have to just take our word for it! Sorry!!!
Sadly, no bonus point as there was no dark fruit (if you are reading this and do get some in let me know and I will be more than happy to come sample) and the options in the bar were quite limited.
TOTAL SCORE 35/50
We can both agree that we enjoyed our afternoon at The Northolme and both commented after that if it was closer to where we live, we would probably attend games here a lot more. It was nice to go back to where it all began and see the same teams play each other that we did on our first date. So, guys, if you are wondering can football be romantic? The answer is no, but with a burger and a few pints I am sure you can convince her to stay with you forever. Maybe.
If you would like to see where this places Gainsborough in our Non League Leaderboard click here: NON LEAGUE
If you’d like to see the football league grounds we have visited click here: The 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 