As per Whitley Bay last week, my plan was to take my other half out and leave her to wander while I went to a Northern League game. I was going to go and see a match Newcastle way and drop her off in the city centre. However, I sensed exhaustion from yesterday’s trip to Hadrian’s Wall (Chesters fort, since you ask – a friend was visiting), plus the Olympics had reached its penultimate day, and she loves a bit of sport. So when Molly (based in South Yorkshire) asked where I was going today, I knew he fancied a trip out. I looked again at the fixtures and Redcar stood out, somewhere inbetween our locations. My partner jumped at the chance of staying in.
Redcar (the place) has always been one of the north-east’s main seaside venues, containing as it does miles of sandy beach. Back in the day it used to have a large (indoor) amusement park too, though that’s long since closed, along with the steelworks that once employed half the town. The latter has been of some debate as to its future, between historical conservationists who’d like to see some of its buildings saved for posterity, and local (Tory) politicians, who wanted it levelled and turned into yet another industrial estate / ‘job creation scheme’. The decision-makers won and demolition has started.
Back to the football, and today was a historic day for Redcar Athletic – their first ever fixture in the FA Cup. If that doesn’t sound impressive, they’ve had a steady rise since forming in 1993 and playing in the Teesside League. Having worked their way up through the Wearside League, their championship win of 2018 allowed them entrance to the Northern League. And thanks to their promotion to division 1 (based on a points-per-game basis over the last 2 incomplete seasons) they can finally join the country’s premier cup competition. On the up and up.
The stadium is a new-build on the edge of town. Indeed, it’s nearer Marske United than Northern League 2 Redcar Town. I’ve seen it before, and feared a it was a little characterless, but with a decent crowd inside (nearly 300) it had a certain charm. As you enter through the turnstile, there is standing room to the left behind the goal. Today it was slightly sullied by a couple of Dirty Leeds flags from the travelling fans, so I’m hopeful these don’t appear every week.
To the right as you enter are 2 identical stands holding 50 people each. How long did they take to put up? An afternoon? I’m not joking. I can imagine them arriving on the back of a big lorry, being plonked down and a couple of men with screwdrivers finishing it off. Still, very smart with its bright red seats and when the rain came down second half, it provided welcome temporary relief.
The rest of the stadium is neatly enclosed with a wooden fence and obligatory gates to enable someone to rescue the ball when it was skied over. Collecting the ball is no mean feat at this time of year, as two sides of the ground are bordered by farmer’s wheat fields. Good luck finding the ball in there. Behind the near goal are more pitches, while there is a snazzy social club behind the Main Stand(s), with the clever addition of half a dozen wooden ‘pods’ outside, where 6 or so fans could sit in each one and remain dry while enjoying their pint.
Going back to heritage, I’m pleased Hemsworth Miners Welfare have retained their traditional name despite the closure of the mines. It’s a small town inbetween Barnsley and Pontefract and today they brought a fair few, no doubt bolstered by the Premiership season not starting till next week. They also brought a mouthy, yet inept defence, who conceded a penalty after two minutes and gave Redcar two further goals from cock-ups leaving the poor keeper stranded. Hemsworth scored a comedy equaliser themselves as the Redcar keeper somehow fumbled a low cross into his own net. Thankfully, the one bit of quality was to be Redcar’s, a well taken 4th goal rounded it off as Owen Clarkson bamboozled a back-tracking defender before sidefooting the ball into the far corner. Athletic won’t have to wait quite as long for their second FA Cup game as they did their first.
The Damage:
£6 ent
£2 programme
£1 Coca-Cola
= £9
The Tunes:
Come on Feel the Illinois! (Sufjan Stevens)
BBC6 Music (Gilles Peterson / Craig Charles)
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