Written by Max
Ground #42
Sandy Lane – Worksop Town FC
Tuesday 20th September 2022 – NPL Div.1 East (Step 4)
Worksop Town 1-0 Sheffield FC
Attendance: 503
Entry: £10
Worksop Town FC were formed in 1861 and claim to be the worlds fourth oldest club, although this is disputed as the club actually disbanded for a short time before reforming in 1930. The club, nicknamed the Tigers, have had a rollercoaster ride over the years with the club playing as high as the Conference North as recently as 2007. They moved into their Sandy Lane home in 1992 but over the years have had a number of financial difficulties meaning they have spent many years having to play away from the Town with groundshares at Gainsborough Trinity, Hucknall Town, Ilkeston Town and Retford United all in recent memory!
After recently dropping down to the 5th step of non league, the Tigers now find themselves in step 4. Now back at Sandy Lane, and seemingly under new more stable ownership, the club and fans will be hoping to move back up the pyramid.
Today the worlds fourth oldest club came up against the worlds oldest as the Tigers faced off against Sheffield FC who were formed back in 1857! The game started with the visitors on the front foot, but a few early corners came to nothing. The game was competitive but few chances were created by either side until a Worksop effort from the edge of the area was well saved. The resulting corner turned into a huge goal mouth scramble but somehow the ball ended up trickling wide of the post. The hosts were definetely the better side but we went into the half time interval goalless.
Into the second half we went and it was Worksop again on top. After a few half chances the breakthrough finally came in the 65th minute after a good through ball found the striker in acres of space and he slotted home to give the Tigers a deserved lead.
Straight from the kick off the hosts were coming forward again and really should have doubled their lead, but a header from just a few yards out was somehow put wide! As the game came towards an end some tasty challenges were going in and Sheffield finally started to put some attacks together. Worksop though were doing a good job of keeping the ball and it seemed as if they were going to see out the 1 goal win. That was until a huge moment in the 94th minute as a quick counter saw the visitors through on goal! The forward took the ball round the keeper and looked certain to equalise….but somehow the Worksop defender sprinted back and slid in to clear it off the line!
As soon as the ball left the defenders boot the full time whistle blew and the Sheffield players dropped to the ground exhausted! They thought they had snatched a point at the death but the wonderful defending had kept Worksop’s 5th clean sheet in a row in tact to claim their 6th win in a row!
Now to rate our evening at Sandy Lane, or to give it it’s catchy name due to sponsorship, ‘The Windsor Foodservice Stadium’:
Location: 8/10
The ground is located just a short 10 minute walk from Worksop train station. There don’t seem to be any pubs en route from the station but the Town centre is just a short walk in the other direction. The car park at the ground is very small so parking is limited, although we found some on street parking just a short walk from the ground.
Kit: 3/10
Worksop’s kit this season consists of a florescent yellow shirt with plain black shorts and socks. I must say we both weren’t really fans of this. The template was very basic and the colour was a bit much!
Looking back at some of Worksop’s previous kits they seem to usually play in an amber which matches the colours of the main stand and we both much prefer some of these!
Facilities: 9/10
Before coming to this game we had heard that since new ownership came in a few years ago some improvements had been made to the ground and these were most obvious in the clubhouse. Starting with the turnstiles, which I don’t think we have ever mentioned in our blogs before, but they were the most modern I have seen in any ground professional or non league. Now I think about it I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen an indoor turnstile!
The bar was just next door when entering the ground and was once again decorated in a really modern way. The leather seats made it look almost like you were in a premier league teams changing rooms rather than a step 4 clubs bar! The only negative we found was the bar was pretty small, which was made especially obvious with today’s big crowd. It was a bit of a squash pre match and during half time and I had to go back inside during the game to get a proper photo when it was empty.
The food was served from a hatch to the side of the clubhouse building and next to this was a nice area of seating and tables. This was a useful addition and was being used by plenty of people who were unable to get a seat inside the bar. On the far side of the main stand was what we originally thought was a food hatch, but when we got closer saw it was a treasure trove of matchday programmes, pin badges and memorabilia, a groundhoppers dream which I’m sure many readers of this will get very excited by!
Look: 8/10
As mentioned above the ground at Sandy Lane has had a bit of a transformation in recent years and the first most obvious of these is the change to a 4G pitch. Unlike alot of ‘plastic’ pitches though, this ground still manages to keep plenty of character. The most obvious of these is the main stand which contains the grounds only seating and fully covers one side of the pitch.
On the opposite side there is a big covered terrace which again spans the majority of the length of the pitch. Some of the view in this stand is restricted due to the dugouts being in front.
Behind the far goal is an older looking flat covered standing area. The club have cleverly added some steps to the front of the clubhouse to create another area for supporters to stand and during our visit another area was currently under construction. It’s great to see a ground at this level with covered areas on all 4 sides of the ground with plenty of options for spectators to choose from.
Food and Drink: 3/10
After a lap of the ground we decided to give the crowded bar a miss for now and head straight for the food hatch. We saw plenty of people wandering around with food and had high hopes as we joined the end of the queue. I decided to go for a cheeseburger and chips and Emma had a cheeseburger.
We were asked if we wanted onions which of course we both said yes to. Sadly our excitement turned to disappointment as a pre cooked burger was placed on a hot plate to reheat along with the onions. Before this the burger already looked like it has been over cooked so this additional cooking just made it even worse. This was such a shame as with grated cheese and fried onions on top this could have been a great burger. At £12.80 for a burger and chips, a burger and a bottle of coke we were expecting alot more!
The bar had a really good selection of drinks on offer and I decided on a Thatcher’s. sadly no Dark Fruits on offer so no bonus point today!
TOTAL SCORE: 31/50
Worksop are a club we had been meaning to visit for quite a while now so it was good to finally get this one ticked off! It was a shame the game wasn’t the most exciting we have seen but with it being the hosts 6th win on the bounce they certainly wont mind!
Sandy Lane was an impressive ground and one that I’m sure we will return to for a daytime match to make use of the nearby train station. Worksop are a club who have had a topsy turvy existence and I’m sure the fans will be glad that they seem to now be under solid ownership and will be looking to climb the pyramid to a place that the facilities and fanbase probably deserve to be at.
If you’d like to see where this score places Worksop in our Leaderboard of Non League grounds click here: NON LEAGUE
And to see our League Table of Football League grounds click here: THE 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 