Written by Max
Ground #25
Grange Park – Long Eaton United FC
Saturday 30th October 2021 – UCL Prem North (Step 5)
Long Eaton United 3-0 Newark FC
Attendance: 166
Entry: £6
Long Eaton United were formed in 1956 and have played at Grange Park ever since. They have spent the majority of their recent history around their current Step 5 level but look in a very strong position to be fighting for promotion to step 4 this season for the first time in their history.
Today’s game saw them come up against our local side Newark FC and with the club homeless and seemingly stagnating at this current time we went into today’s game expecting a big score from the home side!
The game started evenly with both sides struggling to get any meaningful moves going on what was a horribly bobbly pitch. Long Eaton possess an incredibly long throw but the visitors managed to deal with this well early on.
By the half hour mark the hosts were beginning to show their superior quality and somehow managed to do everything but score with 3 goal line clearances in 10 seconds keeping them out. Just as we thought the visitors might be able to hold on until half time, former Newark midfielder Mitch Robinson scored a free header to put The Blues 1-0 up.
Long Eaton came out for the second 45 meaning business, and were showing their superior quality all over the pitch. Another free header made it 2-0 before we knew it it was 3! Newark were really struggling and were resorting to having 7 men behind the ball at all times. On the rare occasion they did manage to win the ball back they were forced to boot the ball aimlessly forward giving the 2 strikers no chance to control and keep the ball.
They did though have one huge chance with about 20 minute to go as a ball over the top left the forward through one on one with the keeper but he put his shot inches wide. After that the hosts continued to dominate and thought they had a 4th until it was disallowed for a very soft ‘foul’ on the Newark keeper.
With just over ten minutes to go Long Eaton were down to 10 men after their striker was sin binned for saying something to the ref. This meant the game then fizzled out with Long Eaton happy to sit on their lead and Newark not having enough quality to break them down even with the extra man.
Today was very obviously one team pushing for promotion versus a Newark team treading water in mid table as they wait for confirmation of a new ground back within the Town. The hosts will be happy with another win and 3 points, but the margin could and probably should have been much larger in the end!
Now to rate my day out at Grange Park:
Location: 6/10
Grange Park is located on the Eastern side of the Town of Long Eaton. Although the ground is just off Station Road, it is actually a 40 minute walk from Long Eaton Station and there didn’t seem to be any pubs in the area surrounding the ground.
The club did have a large car park though meaning plenty of space to park if getting there by car
Kit: 6/10
Long Eaton’s kit is dark blue and black stripes with all black shorts and socks. I am a fan of blue shirts but this kit was just a little bit basic. The sponsor stood out well in white but the basic design itself was a pretty simple Nike design and just looked like any you could buy from a shop.
Facilities: 8/10
The bar, toilets and catering at Grange Park are all housed in a smart looking building behind the main stand. The bar itself is a good size and had big screens showing the early kick off on Sky Sports. The bar was smartly decorated and we all commented on how this sort of set up is something Newark can only dream of when they hopefully move back to the Town when a new site is found. There was a decent crowd in for today’s game and the barman worked efficiently meaning queues were short and everyone got served quickly.
The club are obviously hoping to progress and the bar area is something that will be more than up to standard for the level above and more with plenty of space available to house more fans if needed in the future.
Look: 8/10
Just as with the bar above, the ground itself is just as smart. The main stand contains 8 rows of seating meaning a fantastic view can be had from a great height. By far the best stand we have come across at this level so far!
To the side of the stand is a small area of covered standing and on the opposite side is a smaller stand which contains 3 rows of seating and additional space for supporters to stand under cover. From the far side this stand pales in comparison to the bigger stand but when you get round to it it is actually a solid stand and does a job well which many of the fans on the far side will have been grateful of as the rain came down in the second half!
There is also some building work ongoing at Grange Park next to the Main stand. I’m not sure exactly what they are building but it’s great to see the club improving their ground for the future.
The railings around the pitch, aswell as the 3 stands, were all freshly painted in the clubs colours of dark blue and the entire complex was modern, clean and well looked after. Everything that is, apart from the pitch! The grass was long and bobbly and the pitch markings were difficult to see and this meant both teams really struggled to play the ball along the floor with passes bobbling and rolling unpredictably throughout the game. That though was the only downside of what is a wonderful facility and one that the Blues should be proud of.
Food and Drink: 7.5/10
The food at Grange Park was served from a hatch between the front of the stand and the bar. There was a slightly limited choice of Burgers or Hot Dogs so I went for a cheese burger which I was delighted to see came with onions! The burger wasn’t the biggest and could have been a bit hotter, but that was all forgotten once I took a bite. Out of all the burgers we have eaten so far on this blog this was up there with the tastiest!
The only downside being no pies or chips which would have added a bit more variety to the menu
Drinks wise the bar had a great selection including Birra Moretti and Amstel, but most importantly….THEY HAD DARK FRUITS, so bonus half point is added to the score!
TOTAL SCORE 35.5/50
Sadly Emma was unwell and couldn’t make it to this game, and she has missed a stunner. Luckily for her this ground is under an hour from us, and with the team looking for promotion and playing some good football I’m sure we will return before long!
You hear the phrase ‘they had a nice set up’ far too often in the Groundhopping world, but Grange Park really is a perfect set up. The brilliant main stand with the clubhouse behind it, alongside the brand new 4G community pitch and great parking it really is a complex that Long Eaton should and will be proud of. Long Eaton is a large Town and hopefully the locals begin to cotton onto how well the club are doing and crowds can continue to grow.
We look forward to seeing how they do this season and hope they get the promotion that the ground and the club deserve!
If you’d like to see where this puts Grange Park on our leader board click here: NON LEAGUE
And if you would like to see our Football League leader board click here: THE 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 