Written by Max
Ground #2
29th August 2020 – Pre Season Friendly
Retford (Step 6 NCEL Div.1) 1-3 Staveley Miners Welfare (Step 5 NCEL Prem)
Attendance: 75
Entry £3
Retford FC are a relatively new team having been founded just 5 years ago in 2015. In their short life they have achieved one promotion into their current league.
Today they came up against a side expected to do well this season a division higher and as the game kicked off you could tell. Staveley came flying out of the blocks scoring 2 early goals and looking likely to run away with it. Luckily for Retford they settled into the game and by the 30 minute mark the game was a lot more even. They then got a goal back with the last kick of the half.
The second half began, and in awful conditions Staveley bossed possession without really troubling the Retford defence. If anything Retford looked more dangerous on the counter and were it not for 4 or 5 top saves from the Staveley number 1 could easily have got their equaliser. Staveley though put the game beyond doubt with around 3 minutes remaining to end the game 3-1. I think Retford will be happy with how they played after a slow start but Staveley will obviously be glad to come away with the win.
But now we go to the ratings:
Location: 5/10
The ground itself is very easy to find. As you will see from the photo below, you can’t miss it as it’s right next to the main road through Retford next door to the local Secondary School. It is also just a 20 minute walk from the station so if you are travelling by train this is a good ground for you. The downsides to the location though. First of all there are no pubs nearby and secondly, its not that obvious how to actually get into the ground! As you’ll see from the photo of Emma you have to park at the opposite side of the main road and walk through a tunnel alongside the railway track to get to the ground! It took us a while to figure out and wasn’t obviously signposted if you weren’t sure where you were going!
Kit: 7/10
Emma really liked Retford’s home strip. Although quite simple, the all blue design was classy and Emma especially liked the Adidas stripes on both the socks and shorts of the kit. A decent effort
Facilities: 2/10
As I said in the introduction, Retford are a new team and therefore to get the facilities up to where they are is commendable. In comparison to some other grounds around this level though, there is some more work to be done. For example there is no Bar or clubhouse area and the facilities they do have are in makeshift shipping containers turned into cabins. Especially on a day like today when the weather is atrocious, it’s always nice to have a warm clubhouse to run to at half time and sadly at this ground that isn’t an option!
We have returned to the ground multiple times since our initial visit back in 2020 and in the years since there have been some huge improvements made to the ground.
One major feature was, ahead of the 2024/25 season, the addition of a brand new state of the art clubhouse. This has been built with a very modern all wood design and contains a bar and seating inside with large screens showing sky sports. As well as this, the club have included a brilliant outside seating area behind the goal which is raised slightly above pitch level making for a fantastic view. We can’t wait to return to the ground for an early season game and make the most of this area with a few dark fruits!
Look: 6/10
The ground itself has 2 very unique features. The first, as mentioned above, the tunnel which leads under the main road to the ground. The second being where the ground gets its name. The East Coast Mainline runs right alongside the ground and makes for some fabulous photos during the match. Unfortunately due to the awful weather (it felt more like November than August bank holiday!) we didn’t dare leave the stand to get a better angle!
The ground itself has hard standing around all 4 sides and consists of a terrace behind each goal. Both contain space for both seating and standing. Although closed for spectators in todays game, there is also a large uncovered area of seats behind the goal. In a few years time and with a bit more work this could become a top ground for this level.
As mentioned above, the ground has had alot of work done to it since our initial visit, and aswell as improved pitch side fencing, 2 large covered standing areas have been added to the ground on the railway line side.
This has made a huge impact on the ground allowing a lot more spectators to shelter from the weather, which would have made a big difference on our initial visit!
Food: 2/10
Finally we come onto the food. Once again me and Emma were excited to have our first burger of the season! Unfortunately, and even though advertised on the sign, there were none available and we had the choice of a pasty or a sausage roll. 2 pasties and 2 hot chocolate’s it was as we ran back to the shelter of the stand! The pasty was alright although a little dry but the hot chocolate…..I’m trying to think of anything positive to say about it but I’m struggling. We may as well have been drinking luke warm water. Not nice! As with Ollerton, I assume the limited variety of food was due to it being only pre season and perhaps on another day they would have scored higher in this area.
TOTAL SCORE: 22/50
In the end we were glad to get back to the car and out of the rain! I suppose I shouldn’t grumble at £3 a ticket and it was another new ground ticked off for us both and another competitive game on the pitch. I’ll be interested to see the progress, both on and off the pitch of Retford FC and will maybe pay them another visit in the future.
Check out the league table to see where ‘The Rail’ places.
Emma’s Ground Guide 