Written by Max
Ground #5
Newark Town FC – The YMCA
16th September 2020 – Central Midlands League North (Step 7)
Newark Town 7-1 Renishaw FC
Attendance: 68
Entry: £3
Wednesday night brought us not only to the blogs first step 7 ground, but also to our first league game of the 2020/21 season at the Newark and Sherwood YMCA Activity Village. Catchy name! The home side Newark Town moved into this brand new facility at the start of last season following 15 years groundsharing with nearby Collingham. They have been playing at their current level since 2004 although with the move back to Newark came renewed ambition for the club. Last season they were well clear at the top of the league and unbeaten when the league was ended early due to Covid-19. They will be hoping for similar this season and will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the other Newark side Newark FC who achieved back to back promotion up to step 5.
After a disappointing opening day draw away at Phoenix, Newark showed the form of last season here with a huge win. They cruised to a 4-0 lead within 30 minutes and could have had more as they looked dangerous throughout. Funnily enough the best goal of the game came with Renishaw’s only shot of the half with a skilful volley over the Newark keeper as they switched off following their 4th goal. Sadly that was as good as it got for them as Newark went into the break 5-1 up. The second half was rather an anti climax in comparison as Renishaw sat deeper and defended resolutely. In the end any more than 7 goals would have been harsh on the reds, but Newark proved once again that they are a class above and probably too good for this league. They will have a tough fight for the one and only promotion spot though as this season the league contains Dinnington and Clay Cross who will also be looking to be playing at step 6 this time next year.
Location: 5/10
The ground itself is within the brand new YMCA sports Village on the edge of Newark itself. A 30 minute walk from the town centre and no pubs nearby, although it is situated near a large residential area so will be walkable for many locals. Just a 5 minute drive for us so always an easy option if we are looking for a local game midweek.
Kit: 6/10
The ‘Peaceful Warriors’ play in a light blue top with navy shorts and light blue socks. It’s a smart looking kit with front and back sponsorship fitting in nicely. The only downside is it could be seen as a little plain, but is smart nonetheless.
Facilities: 1/10
The ground itself doesn’t have a lot to shout about. You park in the Leisure centre car park and walk through into the ground. In front of you is a small burger van selling food and drink, although sadly this is about all there is. No bar or clubhouse within the ground means no reason to get to the ground early for a drink as we usually would. As the ground is within the leisure centre I’m unsure how or if the club will be able to rectify this as they are limited with what they can do.
Five years on from our initial visit to the YMCA and a lot has changed! Not only are the club now two divisions higher in step 5, the ground is almost unrecognisable.
A brand new pitchside building has been added including a cafe and bar facilities on match days.
This area is modern inside although isn’t the biggest with a limited amount of seating. It is also very much a YMCA building rather than a Newark Town one so still doesn’t really feel like you’re at a football club when you are in the bar
Look: 4/10
The ground itself is incredibly clean and shiny as you would expect from a brand new facility. The 4G pitch looked beautiful under the lights, and talking of the lights, I’ve never seen any so bright! The ground only has one ‘stand’ if you can call it that, which is a tiny covered area on the halfway line. Sadly, the only way you could tell this is the home of Newark Town was a small laminated sign on the way in. Obviously Newark have only been playing here for just over a year so there’s plenty of time for improvements to be made and if they do get promotion they will have to add a seated stand to pass ground grading. Therefore hopefully in a couple of years the place will seem more like ‘home’ and less like they are just renting a local astroturf pitch.
Within the ground itself there have also been big changes with the addition of 2 brand new seated stands.
The tiny bus shelter stand has been moved behind one of the goals and has been replaced with a large seated stand which spans half of the pitch. On the clubhouse side is another smaller stand. Together this has vastly improved the look of the place making it look much more like a proper football ground.
Food & Drink: 6/10
The food, as stated earlier was available from a burger van. As far as burger vans go the food was of very good standard with plenty of variety on offer. I had a cheese burger and Emma had Chips. The burger was very good and the chips were crispy and tasty. We both had a hot chocolate during the second half and connoisseur of the chocolatey delight Emma was very impressed. We have rated them down slightly as the food was from a burger van and therefore not from the club itself. There was also no alcohol available as there’s no bar on site
TOTAL SCORE: 22/50
Overall a decent evening, even if the game was all over as a contest within the first half hour. Just like their Newark neighbours they are an incredibly ambitious club and we look forward to seeing them grow both on and off the pitch over the next few years. The YMCA ground may not be the most exciting but after so long without a ground in the town itself, The Blues will be glad to be back where they belong. They will be disappointed with the crowd from this game as last season they had many 3 figure attendances including a bumper 752 for a County cup game against a Notts County XI. This is proof of the appetite for local football in Newark and they will be hoping for more days like that in the near future.
Emma’s Ground Guide 