Written by Max
Ground #10
Retford United FC – Cannon Park
3rd November 2020 – Central Midlands League North Division (Step 7)
Retford United 2-1 Newark Town
Attendance: 128
Entry: £3
With the announcement of another monthlong lockdown starting on Thursday, we had to try and squeeze one more new ground in before at least 4 weeks without a game. Luckily for us the Central Midlands League arranged for this top of the table clash to be played on Tuesday night.
Retford United have had a rollercoaster ride since formation in 1987. In just over 30 years of existence they have gone from beginning in the 11th tier, gaining promotion up as high as the the NPL at tier 7. The club have since dropped back down to the 11th tier and back into the Central Midlands League and have been overtaken by the Towns other side Retford FC who we visited in pre season.
Tonight’s game promised to be a close encounter between 2 of the top sides in the league, both will be hoping to grab the 1 promotion spot available from this division. The match started evenly with both teams struggling to gain any momentum on a bobbly pitch which hadn’t been cut for a while! That was until the 17th minute when a Newark forward out of nowhere smashed the ball in from at least 25 yards. The crowd was stunned to silence but it wasn’t long before they had something to cheer about themselves as on 24 minutes ‘The Badgers’ hit back with a neat finish of their own. The home side then took control and were it not for a fantastic save from the Newark stopper would have gone into the half time break ahead.
The second half began as the first ended with Retford controlling the ball and looking far more likely to take the lead. This pressure paid off on the hour as they went 2-1 in front. From then on Retford continued to control the ball and limited Newark to chances few and far between on the counter and the visitors were getting more and more frustrated with a few late tackles going in and tempers rising.
In the end Retford held on for a huge victory and 3 valuable points to take into the month break and go level on points with Clay Cross at the top of the league.
Now to rate the ground:
As you’ll see later on, some areas of the ground could not be rated on our original visit due to Covid restrictions. Therefore we returned on the 14th July 2021 to update our scores and give the ground a fair overall review.
The game we visited was a Pre-Season Friendly between Retford United and League 2 Mansfield Town. The game was, as you’d expect a rather one sided contest ending 9-1 to the visitors. The hosts looked good in stages and had a few decent chances throughout the game but in the end the 7 division gap between the 2 sides was obvious. A crowd of over 900 was in attendance consisting of mainly Stags fans watching their team in the flesh for the first time since 2019 and I’m sure the money raised from the game will help the club hugely going forward.
Any additions to the original review will be added in bold to differentiate between the two visits.
Location: 3/10
The ground is located around a mile away from the eastern edge of the Town of Retford. A 40 minute walk from the train station and town centre and if you are walking to the ground there is no path along a dark country road between the edge of the town and the ground.
Kit: 8/10
There isn’t much you can do with a black and white striped kit but this is one of the most imaginative. A slightly different design to the usual stripes and the sponsor fits in well whilst still standing out. The white number on the back was easy to see too. A really nice kit.
Facilities: 8/10
Sadly due to the impending lockdown Retford were not able to open the clubhouse or bar area and therefore we were unable to rate these facilities. The Clubhouse was huge and the bar looked good so I’m sure when we return and are able to see the full potential of the ground a good score will be on its way
When we returned to Retford United the clubhouse and tea bar were both now allowed to open, much to the delight I’m sure of the club, with the bumper crowd all helping themselves to food and drinks and making the most of the clubs facilities. The clubhouse is a good size with plenty of seating inside and the bar staff coped really well with the much larger than usual crowd in attendance. Obviously this ground was made for a much higher level than the step 7 league they currently find themselves in, so compared to the other grounds at this level we have visited this is a top clubhouse.
Look: 8/10
As Retford have been in a league 4 divisions higher than their current position as recently as 2011, the ground is very impressive in comparison to others at this level. The ground includes a 300 seater stand along one side of the pitch with a covered terrace behind one goal. Hard standing around all 4 sides too which you don’t see very often at this level, with a lot of teams at step 7 of non league playing at grounds little more than a local park. This is certainly a facility befitting a higher ranked team. A little shabby in places but overall a great ground and Retford will be hoping to get promotion this season into a league more worthy of the ground they play in.
When we returned to Cannon Park in 2021 we found brand new LED floodlights had been installed at the ground. It’s great to see the club investing in all areas of the ground and hopefully soon they will begin to rise back up the divisions to where they belong.
Food and Drink: 6.5/10
As mentioned already, due to the current restrictions no food was available at tonight’s game. Instead we had to make our own burgers before the game which were a solid 10/10. Sadly my hot chocolate made before the game was poor and nothing in comparison to Pauline’s at Newark FC!
As mentioned earlier, on our second visit to the ground we were glad to see the clubhouse and tea bar open as usual. We decided on a cheeseburger at this game which was served quickly and efficiently by the ladies serving. Unfortunately when we opened the box it was a little dissapointing though. As you’ll see in the photo below the burger was tiny and the amount of cheese, well they might as well have not bothered! Not as good as the burgers we made at home on our first visit that’s for sure!
The club redeem themselves though as in their excellent bar they had both my favourite Carling Cider alongside Emma’s go to, Dark Fruits, so of course the bonus half point will be given! As well as the actual bar itself, the club also set up an outside table selling cans to people that wanted to avoid the queues inside. This was a great idea which Emma made the most of at Half Time!
TOTAL SCORE: 33.5/50
In the end, a very cold night lit up by 3 very good goals. Other than that a game in which both sides struggled to create anything on a bobbly pitch. Sadly this will be the last game we can watch in person for at least a month with the news coming out that all ‘non-elite’ football can’t be played until at least December. For now though we hope you have all enjoyed our first 10 ground guides and if you’d like to check out any others we have visited so far you can check out our League Table.
Emma’s Ground Guide 