Written by Emma
Ground #4
Maltby Main FC – Muglet Lane
12th September 2020 – FA Cup Prelim Round
Malty Main FC (Step 5 NCEL Prem) 0-4 Newark FC (Step 5 Midland Prem)
Attendance: 241
Entry: £5
Seeing as this blog is named after me, I thought it was only right that I try and do a post myself. So here goes nothing.
Maltby Main FC have been at step 5 since they were promoted into it in 2004, the last 3 seasons they have been battling in the top half at this level so todays game seemed like it would be a close contest between two good sides. In the first half it seemed as if Newark would have to take advantage as they were shooting downhill. I have never seen a pitch like it, from one end to another the goal line was probably level with the crossbar at the opposite end! Newark took the lead early and looked decent as they settled into the game,
Maltby’s best chance came as they hit a free kick onto the post. At half time the score was 0-1 and we wondered if Newark would hold on as Maltby were shooting downhill in the second half. The advantage must not have been as effective as we thought as Newark came out strong in the second half, scoring 3 goals and completely dominating in every way. They looked fantastic and go into the first qualifying round with two 4-0 wins under their belts. Who knows how far they can go this year with performances like today.
But now onto Maltby and their ground.
Location: 7/10
The ground is on the edge of the village, with plenty of free parking on the roads nearby and then you have a short walk down to the ground itself. It was easy to find for me and Max as it is not far from the A1 and with me giving directions, we will never get lost! There is also a shop down the road which Newark fans took advantage of as a supplier of cans for the game.
Kit: 8/10
Maltby Main FC play in a black and red striped kit, if I had personally made the kit myself this is what I would have gone for in design and colour, the numbers also stood out well on the back. Overall a very smart kit matched well with black shorts and a white stripe along the top of the shirt.
Facilities: 2/10
From looking at the ground on google maps it seemed there was a big club house building but seeing it in the flesh it is a cricket club house and changing rooms. Sadly, no bar with dark fruits on tap for me and no inside space to go into before the game. Despite this there was a nice refreshment/food kiosk and the ground itself was a great place as we will explain below.
Look: 7/10
The ground has hard standing round all four sides with two stands built of solid brick and painted in the home colours along one side of the pitch. Max said it reminded him of Barnsley’s brick wall and it is great to see a traditional stand. One of the stands where we stood had four rows of painted wooden benches and it was good to see a ground at this level where you can get an elevated view due to the stand having multiple levels of seats. The rest of the ground was railed off flat standing.
Food and Drink: 5/10
On arrival to the ground we were devastated to hear there was no bar, but our hopes were lifted when we realised they were selling cans from the refreshment kiosk. We had a cheeseburger each and couldn’t believe when two cans of Carling (although warm) along with the burgers were just £6.60 altogether. Got to love Yorkshire! Burgers were excellent with onions and cheese, but we were only able to get cans of beer that were warm. No dark fruits for me that day.
Overall a very enjoyable day out spent with some loud and proud Newark fans watching their team march onto the next round of this years FA Cup. We look forward to the draw for the next round. Fingers crossed its another local one and not too cold!
Total Score: 29/50
Emma’s Ground Guide 