Tweedmouth Rangers vs Stirling University was the plan for today until I found out that they’ve been playing their games on the main pitch at Shielfield Park for a while now. I’ve been there a few times, and I was only really interested in going if they were playing at Old Shielfield. I could have asked them for a definite answer I suppose. Given I was unsure, I wasn’t going to go. I looked at both the York League and West Yorkshire League but there both quite far to go for step 7 or below. I decided it would be a Northern Alliance game, and then it was either Rothbury or Gosforth Bohemians at Bullocksteads. Although I’m not 100% sure, Bullocksteads looked like a hub like Ford or Downhill, and that meant it wouldn’t be very interesting. I’ve seen pictures of Rothbury a few times, and it looked a pleasant setting for football.
It turns out it is a very pleasant setting for a game of football. It’s just a pitch and some recently installed dugouts, but it’s got a lovely surrounding, and on a warm sunny day like today, there aren’t many better places to watch a game of football. It was an hour and a minute or two for me to drive up to Rothbury.
Both sides had good chances in the opening five minutes, and the deadlock was broken in the 15th minute though a good Willington Quay strike from the edge of the area.
On the hour mark, Rothbury had a player sin binned, and it was poor from the referee in truth. Firstly, there was a foul on a Willington Quay player who was shielding the ball out, but the referee hasn’t given it. The ball has been knocked out of play by the off balance defender for a corner, but the referee has given a free kick. So now both teams feel aggrieved. The defender has gone down injured off the pitch, got back up soon after and walked back on the pitch where he’s been told to leave at the nearest point as he was being subbed. He’s just ignored the referee who hasn’t enforced anything. Then a Rothbury player shouts “He can’t ******* walk across the pitch,” and the referee has sin binned him. Just a series of errors from the referee in my opinion.
Two minutes later, the referee has awarded a very dubious penalty and been on the receiving end of arguments worse than what he sin binned a player for, but no one has been sin binned this time. The penalty was fired high down the middle to make it one-one.
In the 71st minute, still a man down, Rothbury took the lead.
Willington Quay searched for a way back into it, but there was no route, and Rothbury took the three points.
Full-time: Rothbury 2-1 Willington Quay Saints
Next up for me is maybe a trip to FC United of Newcastle on either Monday or Wednesday.
Admission: Free
Programme: No
Attendance: 44
Referee: Scott Pilley
Raffle ticket: £1
Connor's Football Travels 