Written by Max
Ground #13
Watnall Road – Hucknall Town FC
Tuesday 18th May 2021 – Post Season Friendly
Hucknall Town FC (Step 6 EMCL) 1-4 Ilkeston Town U23s (Step 7 – NSL)
Attendance: 140 (approx.)
Entry: FREE!
Hucknall Town are a club that could certainly be described as a ‘sleeping giant’ with the club playing all the way up at step 2 in the Conference North as recently as 2008. Sadly though financial struggles have meant the club have dropped all the way to their current step 6 level. Their ground at Watnall Road is soon to be taken over by Lidl and they are due to move across the Road to Aerial Way soon (although this has been planned since 2017 so who knows when they will actually move!) Before todays game we popped across the road to have a look at where the new ground will be located and as you can see there are already floodlights and barriers in place. We look forward to comparing the new ground with the current when they finally move!
Today’s game saw the return of fans after 4 months of restrictions in place and as a result this match was quickly organised and ‘The yellows’ offered Free entry for all which was fantastic to see! We have enjoyed watching some local grassroots matches at Aslockton & Orston and Cotgrave recently, but it was great to be back at a proper non league ground again for the first time this year! The visitors were Step 4 side Ilkeston Town’s youth side who themselves play in the step 7 Notts Senior League. Tonight’s game also marked a year to the day we launched the website, so happy anniversary to Emma’s ground guide! All gifts will be gratefully accepted!
The game kicked off and the youngsters from Ilkeston struggled to settle as the much more physical Hucknall players out muscled them to every ball and an early goal for the home side was more than deserved. As the half went on though the visitors began to show their class playing some good football, playing it out from the back and creating multiple chances with some crisp passing. 2 great moves and suddenly the score was turned on its head! 2-1 to the visitors!
The Ilkeston keeper, who had been hobbling after an earlier collision, made a fantastic save in the dying seconds to keep his side ahead at the break.
The second half began and throughout the fluent passing style of Ilkeston was too much for the hosts as they carved them open on multiple occasions. Hucknall really struggled to cope and in the end the 4 goals didn’t flatter the youngsters who looked a class above. They look to have been taught to play the right way and it was interesting to see the clash of 2 completely opposite styles in this game. This time the fast paced short passing came out on top over the traditional non league long ball. If this is how good the youth team are we are really excited to see what the first team can do and will hopefully get to see them at some point next season!
Now to rate Hucknall Town’s Watnall Road ground…
Location: 6/10
The ground is located to the West of the Town of Hucknall around a 30 minute walk from the Train station. Sadly no pubs nearby but as you’ll see later on, luckily, there are 2 shops and some take aways just up the road.
Kit: 7/10
As you’d imagine, ‘The yellows’ play in a yellow shirt with black detail, black shorts and yellow socks. The sponsor fits in nicely with the rest of the kit and the black number on the back stands out well. Not a bad effort.
Facilities: 4/10
Unfortunately for this game the bar wasn’t open which meant we couldn’t use the clubhouse. We managed to get in and take a photo though of what was a good sized bar area with plenty of tables. The bar itself was slightly aged which you’ll notice is a running theme with the ground as a whole!
Look: 6/10
As we mentioned earlier, Hucknall have played at a much higher level than they do currently very recently and therefore the ground has some fantastic features for the level they currently play at. 2 very large roofed terraces as well as a large seated stand along one side. This stand though has seen better days with many of the seats unusable. You can tell that in its day this was a fantastic ground, but with the move planned for over 5 years now it’s obvious the club have begun to put resources and time towards the new ground and neglected certain areas of their current home.
Food and Drink: 1.5/10
As mentioned earlier, the bar area was out of action for todays game so there was a very limited amount of refreshments available from a table in one of the stands. Only crisps available which was a shame as we had arrived earlier hoping for some food before the game. Luckily just up the road there were a couple of take aways to choose from and we went for the modern looking ‘pizza town’. The pizza we had was amazing and we would recommend for a pre match meal.
Luckily for Emma there were cans of dark fruits available from a fridge at the snack bar so the extra half point will be given! (still awaiting that sponsorship deal Strongbow!! It’s been a year now!)
TOTAL SCORE 24.5/50
We really enjoyed our visit to Watnall Road! Finally being able to go to grounds again after all this time is fantastic and we can’t wait to get to many more over the coming months and hope next season will be finished in full and we can get to as many games as possible.
If you want to see where this places Hucknall on our Leaderboard as well as seeing the other grounds we have visited so far, Click here: LEAGUE TABLE
Emma’s Ground Guide 