I’ve
said many times in the past that I’m not a groundhopper, but a ground
collector. The essential semantic difference being that I don’t make the
pursuit of ticking off grounds the raison d’etre of my football
adventures. However, having opted out of Benfield’s trip to Guisborough where
we collected a welcome, deserved point, I’m glad to say I’ve been able to track
down and eliminate a previously unvisited treasure that means my Northern
Alliance Premier Division set is again complete. Scotswood Leisure Centre has
long been an Alliance ground, mainly as the home venue of Grainger Park Boys
Club. A few years ago, they quit the league and the ground lay fallow until one
of those baffling mergers, takeovers and renaming exercises that regularly
muddy the waters at Step 7 and below in our region.
Stepping
down even further, Hazlerigg Victory were the ultimate success stories of my
time involved with the Tyneside Amateur League. Reforming in 2007, initially as
a Sunday team, Mark Bullock’s side conquered all before them when they opened a
Saturday scion, enjoying 4 straight promotions until they hit the buffers in
summer 2018, as their Hazlerigg Welfare base was unsuited to top division
Alliance football, on account of the absence of such features as a permanent
rail round the pitch. The solution came in the shape of an offer to use the
Grainger Park ground, providing Hezzy changed their name to Blue Star. It was a
way to bring one of the most famous names in north east non-league football out
of an induced coma. The former Scottish & Newcastle Brewery works team, who
won the FA Vase in 1978 as a Wearside League club, joined the Northern League
in 1985, playing their home games at the Wheatsheaf Ground, now known as Druid
Park and used by West Allotment Celtic. They were a successful and
well-respected outfit, but it was a bolt from the blue when they moved to
nearby Kingston Park, home of the Falcons, and took promotion after being
invited to join the Northern Premier League in summer 2007. The move wasn’t a
success.
On
8 March 2008, Newcastle Blue Star asked the FA if they could take the place of
the relegated team in the league. The reason being that the costs of playing in
this division were unsustainable, because they were the only Newcastle based
team in the division. The Northern League said that they would welcome the team
back, but on 4 April it was announced that the league had allowed Blue Star to
stay in the Northern Premier League as they had withdrawn their request for
relegation. Despite massive overheads, Blue Star went from strength to strength
on the pitch. In 2008/09, NBS finished third in the Northern Premier League
Division One North and were promoted to the Northern Premier League Premier
Division after a 4–1 victory over Curzon Ashton at Kingston Park in the
Play-off final. The joy was short lived and illusory. On 11 May 2009, it was
announced that the club was facing the possibility of folding after being hit
with a demand to repay £65,000 of loans previously made by the Football Stadia
Improvement Fund to improve the club's former Wheatsheaf Ground, because the
club was no longer playing there. Although Blue Star were offered the option of
repaying the debt in instalments, the club chose to cease operations in June
2009.
And
that was where the story ended, until Hazlerigg’s privations provided the
chance to hitch a ride on a Trojan horse headed for a marriage of convenience.
Eighteen months later, Blue Star sit on top of the Alliance, fighting for the
title with other Alliance galacticos, such as New Fordley and Killingworth,
with Ponteland United and the revitalised Blyth Town also in the mix.
Undoubtedly, any one of these sides would massively improve the playing
standards of the largely dire Northern League second division. However, there’s
still a while to go until the season ends, so it’s a contest well worth keeping
your eye on.
As
I mentioned, Benfield’s trip to Guisborough granted me the opportunity to visit
Blue Star. Taking the #1 bus outside what used to be the Odeon, I seemed to
lose track of where we were once we passed the (closed) Villa Vitoria at
Rye Hill. Cruddas Park appears to have been remodelled and renovated;
affordable newbuilds stand side by side with streets of spruced up social
housing. South Benwell formerly a den of low-rent houses of multiple occupancy,
is now a distinctly shabby area of high-rent houses of multiple occupancy. From
Armstrong Road onwards, there isn’t anything down towards the river; brownfield
detoxing and second-generation slum clearances have resulted in a superabundance
of empty, unused land. Fit for redevelopment, this hasn’t happened yet, while
high wire fences and regular warnings about security patrols keep the bare
earth free from fly-tipped mattresses, furniture and garden waste that populate
every back lane and abandoned from garden in the entire NE15 area.
Scotswood
Sports Centre springs up out of nowhere behind a clump of trees at the bottom
of Denton Road. I get off the bus, straight into the teeth of Storm Dennis for
the second Saturday running. Only 4 Northern League games have survived the wet
weather, while half a dozen 4G pitches host Alliance games; this is the only
one on grass. At a higher level, the squelching pitch wouldn’t be deemed
playable. However, we’re in the Best End and nothing makes a Westender cry off,
other than an Eastender of course.
I
nip into the Bobby Robson lounge for a quick coffee before kick-off. The place
is rammed and it’s clear the regulars all know each other. There’s a vibe about
the place, as shown by the prevalence of Blue Star hats and scarves to keep the
chill out. Slaloming down the hill to the newly enclosed ground, for which many
exciting plans are proposed, I see a queue to get in. This is a rare occurrence
in the Alliance, as is the entry fee (£3) and programme. With a reported record
crowd of 470, this is a club ready to go places, though I would counsel
patience as floodlights, drainage and a combined stand and changing rooms
should be prioritised, rather than earmarked for simultaneous installation.
Hard standing would be my immediate suggestion as the ankle-deep, touchline mud
is taking its toll on many pairs of expensive trainers.
Snug
in my Jack Wolfskin walking boots, I take a vantage point at the top
right corner in the company of the man with the hardest left foot in the West,
Gouldy, so as to assess the Blue Star style of play. After an opening whirlwind
of rash challenges, overhit crosses and poor short balls on a difficult
surface, the opposition come right in to the game. Winlaton Vulcans, formerly known
as Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Reserves, are another ex-Tyneside Amateur side
who’ve climbed the divisions, quietly and efficiently. Despite the big names
and bigger egos in black and white, the modest club from Shibdon Park are by
far the more composed side. They are
regularly gifted possession by a panicking home side, who look to clear first
and scream recriminations later. Therefore, it is against the run of play when
Blue Star take the lead with a looping back post header by Euan Henderson from
a corner that drops in over the stranded, shortish Winlaton keeper on 27
minutes. It is the only time the home side properly threaten all afternoon.
After
the break, having waded back to the entrance to use the facilities, I decided
not to repeat the journey and settled for a spot behind the goal, where Blue
Star were attacking. Within 5 minutes, my companion for the rest of the game
joined me; Mr Peter Beardsley, the greatest player I have ever seen in a black
and white shirt. Of course, the fall-out
and repercussions from his departure from Newcastle United mean he is currently
unable to work in the game he loves and where he distinguished himself for so
long. Having been in Peter’s company many times in the past, as well as working
with his daughter Stacey a few years ago, I wouldn’t claim to know him, but we
have been acquainted. I simply would not, and could not, break his confidence
by revealing what we talked about, but suffice to say, he knows more about
football than everyone else I’ve ever talked to about the game. His razor-sharp
recollection of the smallest details of Newcastle United’s fortunes during his
time, regarding games, goals, team mates and opponents, is mind boggling. It’s
not often you come away from a game feeling honoured, but I did today.
Sadly,
Peter’s old colleague Kenny Wharton probably didn’t enjoy the day as much as I
did, on account of an effective and efficient game plan by Winlaton that saw
them score 3 well-taken short-range finishes; one on 63 minutes and 2 in extra
time as the westerly rain came in horizontally, like sharpened glass bullets.
Full time and Winlaton had progressed to the final of the Bill Gardner Cup,
where they’ll play Chemfica who knocked out Percy Main. Frozen to the bone, I
took the bus back into town, bought a Michel Houellebecq novel, then Metroed back
to Tynemouth, thawing out with news of Benfield’s impressive draw. This was
another good day in the company of good people. I wish Blue Star every success
for the future.
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