Written by Max
Ground #76
Saturday 17th January 2026
NPL Division 1 Midlands (Step 4)
St Neots Town 1-2 Carlton Town
Attendance: 258
Entry: £10
The Town of St Neots is home to around 33,000 people and the interesting name comes from a 9th century monk (Saint Neot) whose bones were brought to the area in 980 AD.
899 years later in 1879 the football club were formed, taking on their current name of St Neots Town FC in 1924. The club played near the town centre for 88 years before moving to their current site of Rowley Park in 1993. In 2008 the ground was completely redeveloped as part of the new Loves Farm housing development. As well as the building of over 1,200 houses, the developer built a brand new stadium for the club complete with a new clubhouse and 3G training pitch.
With this new ground came new ambition for the club and in the 2010/11 season The Saints broke many club records on the way to the UCL Premier Division title. They would then win the Southern Premier division 1 title at the first attempt catapulting the club to step 3 for the first time in their history.
They would stay at this level for 6 seasons before relegation back to step 4 in 2018. Just 4 years later and another relegation saw them drop back down to step 5 alongside fellow St Neots side Eynesbury Rovers. At the 2nd attempt the saints won the UCL title for the 3rd time in their history to move back up the ladder to where they find themselves today as they took on runaway league leaders Carlton Town.
We were at todays game with Emma’s brother Jamie who lives nearby and hoped to introduce him to the wonders of non league football
The game started evenly with very few clear cut chances and both sides struggling on a heavy pitch after the recent poor weather. On the half hour mark some persistent play on the left hand side from Carlton winger Lamin Manneh saw him win the ball and cross it in to former York City frontman Ash Chambers who found space in the box with a beautiful turn and finished into the roof of the net.
Into the second half and Carlton were dominating possession without really threatening the home goal. St Neots were looking dangerous themselves, mainly from a bullet long throw which even Rory Delap would have been jealous of, but the visitors held strong at the back to keep the chances to a minimum.
Around the hourmark Carlton brought on Ollie Clark, who would have an instant impact on the game. Within seconds of coming onto the pitch a free kick was pumped forward and the clearing header only found its way as far as Clark who chested down and volleyed home to double Carltons lead. Not a bad 1st and 2nd touch from the substitute who ran towards the ecstatic Carlton fans behind the goal to celebrate.
Just as it was looking likely that the visitors would ease to yet another 3 points away from home, the hosts had a lifeline as Rhys Thorpe got them back in it. That meant for a nervy final 10 minutes but The Millers would hold on for their 11th away win of the season and with results elsewhere going their way they would sit 14 points clear at the top of the table! No wonder spirits were high in the bar after the game!
So now to rate our day in St Neots:
Location: 9/10
As mentioned above, the ground was rebuilt as part of a new housing development and was opened in 2008. The ground is ideally located right next to, and therefore less than a 2 minute walk from, St Neots train station. It is also surrounded by many of the over 1000 houses which were built as part of the development and therefore is easily accessible for many locals.
The only negative is that, as with most new build estates, there are no pubs meaning a 25 minute walk to the town centre is required for a pre match drink.
Kit: 8/10
This seasons St Neots home kit consists of a sky blue shirt, with matching socks and navy shorts. The shirt has a unique pattern on the front which really stands out and the yellow sponsor fits in nicely too, It’s a shame the pattern doesn’t continue onto the back of the shirt as this would really complete a great design.
Facilities: 7/10
The clubhouse is located next to the main stand and consists of a large bar area with big round tables meaning there’s plenty of space to sit. The bar is itself is nicely finished with dark blue tiles although the rest of the room is starting to look a little tired and could maybe do with a bit of modernisation. This being said, we do like when clubs use their own colours in their clubhouses and this is very much the case here with blue carpet and chairs.
At the front of the room was a temporary stage area and there was a large dancefloor under the tables so we can imagine the club make a good amount of money renting this room out for parties away from matchdays. There was also a large projector screen on the wall showing the early kick off.
Look: 8/10
Rowley Park is a very impressive set up for the level St Neots find themselves at and wouldn’t look out of place higher in the pyramid. The main feature is the impressive 260 seater main stand which stradles the half way line
The opposite side of the ground is flat hard standing which runs alongside the trian line, but unfortunately, unlike at Retford’s Rail ground you can’t see passing trains during the match!
Behind each goal are covered terraced stands which are really impressive for the level. We stood behind the goal Carlton were attacking in both halves and it was great to get an elevated view of the action from each end.
Food and Drink: 5/10
Having eaten before the game in the town centre, we weren’t particularly hungry so at half time I joined the queue and wasn’t sure what I wanted. There was a limited menu of burgers and chips with a variety of sauces and toppings available. I went for the standard cheeseburger. This came with onions which is always a welcome bonus but unfortunately the burger was just incredibly average. It wasn’t the warmest and reminded me of a microwave rustlers burger.
In the bar there was a decent selection of beers available on draught and we liked the fact the drinks to take outside were served in pretty substantial plastic glasses rather than the usual thin ones you get at most places. Unfortunately no dark fruits on offer so no bonus point today!
TOTAL SCORE 37/50
This was our first new ground of 2026 and what a great way to start the year! We always enjoy catching up with the Carlton fans and it was great to spend the day showing Emma’s brother the delights of non league football. He agreed, that at £10 entry you can’t go wrong as we saw an entertaining game of football and 2 well taken goals from the visitors whilst enjoying a drink or 3 in view of the pitch.
Everything about the set up at St Neots is great and the ground really wouldn’t look out of place even 2 leagues higher.
The town itself is home to 2 other pyramid clubs in Eynesbury Rovers at step 5 and Eaton Socon at step 6 so I’m sure we will be back in the area again in the not too distant future!
If you would like to see where this places St Neots in our Non League Leaderboard click here: NON LEAGUE
If you’d like to see the football league grounds we have visited click here: The 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 