Written by Max
Ground #1
26th August 2020 – Pre-Season Friendly
Ollerton Town (Step 6 EMCL) 1-4 Skegness Town (Step 6 NCEL Div.1)
Attendance: 50 (Headcount)
Entry £2
172 days since the last time we were both able to watch a football match in the flesh, we finally got to a game! With Emma working on Saturday, then the Postponement of Newark’s game Versus Grantham on Tuesday the wait was finally over as we both ticked off a new ground.
From the off you could see Skegness were the stronger side as they hit the bar within the opening seconds of the game. They then took the lead not long after before a questionable penalty was dispatched by Ollerton to put them level after the game had evened out significantly. A second goal for Skegness came before the break although at that point it looked as though the game could have swung either way.
Into the second half though and Skegness really started to show their quality. They were dominant for most of the half and the final score was probably a fair reflection in the end. You can see why they are tipped for promotion this year and the 1 hour 45 minutes journey home would have been an enjoyable one after a good performance.
We returned to Ollerton on the 26th May 2021 in order to give them a competitive score. As you will see below, when we originally visited, certain areas of the ground were unusable due to covid restrictions and therefore a return visit was needed to give the ground a fair review. The game was part of a post season cup competition arranged by 4 local sides. This particular game saw step 6 Ollerton go up against step 5 Selston with the visitors coming away 4-0 winners after a clinical display. Any comments from our second visit to the ground will be written in bold.
Location 7/10
The ground itself is very easy to find and is nestled between two housing estates on the edge of the Town. Just a 5 minute walk from the ground is a pub called The Plough. Although not the greatest pub in the world, it served alcohol and that’s all that matters! Ollerton doesn’t have a train station so you would probably have to drive unless you lived within walking distance.
Home Team Kit 4/10
Ollerton’s kit is a nice shade of dark red with an ok looking sponsor that fits in well. The reason we are only giving it a 4 though is the fact it is obviously just an identikit bought from Nike with no special thought or planning gone into it at all. This lack of attention to detail was shown even more by the goalkeeper kit which was just a plain pink kit without even a number on it! Skegness on the other had were sporting a fantastic Yellow and green away kit. A shame they weren’t the home team!
Facilities 2/10
Unfortunately for Ollerton for this game there was no access to the clubhouse or food area. This is kind of understandable as it was their first game with fans back in the ground and they are obviously airing on the side of caution. Sadly though we can only rate the experience on how it was for us on the day and therefore we cannot give them any more that nil pois. The clubhouse itself from the outside looked well past its best with paint peeling off the walls and looks as though it certainly could do with some TLC.
On our return visit to the ground we were pleased to see the clubhouse was open and available for use. When I say clubhouse I’m being very generous towards what is a tiny portakabin building. As mentioned above it has seen better days both on the inside and out. Before the match it was throwing down with rain and sadly due to the size of the building, just like on our last visit, we had to rush to the pub up the road rather than squeezing into the bar area.
I am told the club are hopeful that a new clubhouse building is in the pipeline, so hopefully there should be a new improved bar area for use in the not too distance future.
Looks 6/10
Clubhouse aside, the ground itself was of a decent standard for the level in which Ollerton find themselves. The ground consisted of hard standing round 3 sides and 2 stands. One behind the goal which is a solid brick built structure, the other being a newer addition including seats. Unlike with a lot of new stands, I was pleased to see the new build was also a solid build including bricks in the base rather than some you see that look like they’ve just been wheeled in off the back of a lorry. The pitch was in nice condition as you would expect in pre season and overall a tidy looking ground.
Food and Drink 2/10
Finally, and unfortunately for Ollerton we move onto food and drink. Me and Emma were really looking forward to our first ‘football burger’ but as mentioned above this game was played with no access to the clubhouse or snack bar and therefore no food was available. We will more than likely revisit ‘The Lane’ at some point in the season as it is only a short journey for us and will therefore update the score accordingly once we get the chance to see the facilities in full use.
We were optimistic before we arrived that there was a great chance Ollerton could leap up our Leaderboard with a good burger or pie. Sadly though, as we got to the front of the queue we were told only chips or chip cobs available at tonight’s game! The cob itself, although a little on the small side was actually very good, although a few more options would have been nice! No dark fruits either with was a shame so no bonus point today!
TOTAL SCORE: 21/50
Overall though it was a very enjoyable evening. We got to visit a new town, a new ground, and saw two new teams battle it out in an exciting contest. Ollerton Town will now be the first team to be entered onto our league table although sadly for them I can’t see them staying top for long!
You can see where this score puts Ollerton on our League table, as well as seeing all the other grounds we have visited so far by clicking here: League Table
Emma’s Ground Guide 