Written by Emma
Ground #75
Saturday 27th December 2025
NCEL Division 1 (Step 6)
Winterton Rangers 3-3 Doncaster City
Attendance: 160
Entry: £7
Winterton Rangers were formed in 1934 and started life in the local Scunthorpe and District League. In 1950 the club purchased a piece of land on West Street and have played on that site ever since.
In 1982 the club became a founder member of the newly formed Northern Counties East League and have spent the majority of the years since in and around these leagues. In the 2022/23 season, Rangers finished 2nd in the NCEL Premier Division winning promotion to step 4 of non league for the first time. Unfortunately their time in the NPL would be short lived as they were relegated straight back into the NCEL before another poor season saw the club demoted for a 2nd season in a row.
Now back at step 6, Winterton have had another poor start and will need to improve in the 2nd half of the season if they are to avoid a dreaded 3rd relegation in a row and a drop into the Lincolnshire League.
Today they came up against a team who have just come up from step 7 in Doncaster City and with both teams in the lower reaches of the table at this stage this was a chance for both to move away from the bottom 3.
We decided to make todays game a family affair with my Mum and Dad coming along, with Millie (the dog) getting to her third ground!
The game kicked off and straight away the visitors should have taken the lead, but the shot 10 seconds in was blazed over the bar. Straight after this a long throw caused chaos in the Winterton box but once again the shot was put over.
Seven minutes in and another Doncaster attack saw them take a deserved lead and at this point you wondered whether Winterton were still getting over their Christmas hangovers. Luckily, after this the game settled down although both teams were struggling to play any proper football with the long bobbly grass making things difficult.
Twenty minutes in and Winterton have their first real chance of the game which they score. Five minutes later a quick counter attack saw the hosts take the lead very much against the run of play.
Just before half time Doncaster thought they had equalised but much to their dismay the linesman’s flag was up.
Into the second half and once again it was Doncaster who were quickest out of the blocks. Firstly, they put a big one on one chance just wide before on 57 minutes a goal line scramble is put home as they deservedly pull level.
Then 3 minutes later, the visitors capitalise on a poor Winterton throw in taking the lead with a dangerous counter attack.
The game had really come to life now and was proper end to end stuff. Just 6 minutes later and Winterton were back level with the pick of the goals as the ball was perfectly struck on the half volley into the top corner.
That would be it for the goals in what turned out to be a very entertaining Christmas cracker of a game. On the balance of play Doncaster probably deserved to take all 3 points but to be fair to the hosts they came back strong after a poor start to earn the draw.
Now to rate our visit to the MKM:
Location: 7/10
Winterton is a small town located about 5 miles north-east of my hometown, Scunthorpe. The ground is located centrally within the town just a short walk from the main street where you can also find the towns two pubs. There is no train station but if you are travelling by public transport there is a bus that runs from Scunthorpe if you got the train there. A small car park can also be used at the ground itself if driving, with plenty of on street parking around the ground as well.
Kit: 4/10
The team play in an all blue kit which has a faint pattern on the front if you look closely. The kit as well as the ground is sponsored by MKM which we found the garish yellow logo ruined the kits look slightly.
Facilities: 7/10
The bar at West Street had a very homely feel with mismatch furniture, this time of year there were even Christmas decorations out and festive tunes playing. It was a good size with plenty of space with us all there today, the other side of the bar was the kitchen. This room was smaller with the half time queue snaking out of the door but as you will see it was well worth it.
There is also a small outdoor area which was looking a bit sad in the gloomy December weather, but I’m sure would be a great addition during the warmer summer months.
Look: 8/10
As mentioned above Winterton have recently played 2 divisions higher than where they currently find themselves and this is shown by the look of the ground itself. A very tidy all round set up with hard standing around all 4 sides, the main feature of the ground is the main stand which straddles the half way line and includes all of the grounds 245 seats.
Opposite this is a smaller covered standing terrace. Just like the seated stand this was a solid permanent stand which looks so much better than the usual drop in arena style stands which most clubs opt for these days.
The pitch itself is on a very obvious slope from one side to the other. This means on the seated stand side you have a heightened view of the action. A good feature on the opposite side is the addition of a raised area all along the side of the pitch. A small feature but something that allows for a better view for spectators on all sides. Sadly though this step wasn’t enough to allow Millie to see over the brick wall without a helping hand from my Dad!
Food and Drink: 8.5/10
When were in the bar before the game we noticed the staff were all in chef attire which made us joke that the food must be good. As it came to half time we joined the queue and saw some potatoes getting hand cut into chips and soon realised the chef attire was very apt with the quality we were about to be served.
As we got to the front a few things had sold out, such as burgers, so we decided to order a sausage bap with some of the homemade chips. These were all freshly cooked to order so we had to wait around 10 minutes but oh my god it was worth it! Some of the best food we have had so far on our travels and we would recommend anyone visiting Winterton to give it a go!
The bar had a good selection of drinks and for the first time in a while (a Christmas miracle) dark fruits was available so they get the extra half point.
TOTAL SCORE: 34.5/50
It was great to get to game with my parents today and tick off another team in the Scunthorpe area, having tried to get to Winterton for a while it was about time we ticked it off. Six goals for £7 entry is something you cannot complain about and one of the best things about this blog is going to a completely random game like this and being rewarded with a fantastic game of football.
This is our final blog of 2025 and hopefully next year, with more free time, there will be many more days out and weekends away at the football to come!
If you would like to see where this places Winterton 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 