Match Information
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Studley 2-2 Darlaston Town (1874)
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When: Saturday 10th December 2022
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Kick-off: 3pm
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Where: Finance 4 Business Community Arena, Studley Sports Centre, Abbeyfields Drive, Studley, Warwickshire B80 7BF
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Competition: Midland League Premier Division
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Attendance: 50
Once again, I passionately studied the Non-League fixtures to find a game I could watch on Saturday.
I was interested in the very first match at Hucknall Town’s new stadium near Nottingham but the weather forecast was for overnight frost and sub-zero conditions so I didn’t think much football would be taking place on grass pitches.
Therefore my best bet was to head for a club using an artificial playing surface and Studley FC captured my attention. I had been there before in 2003 when the ground was known as ‘The Beehive’.
But the whole site has been renovated in the last couple of years resulting in Studley moving over to the very far side on a new 3G pitch.
Yes it is all part of the same complex but under my personal groundhopping rules this is a now a new ground – particularly as there is no overlap on the original playing area.
I was also attracted by the visiting club Darlaston Town (1874), who I have a great deal of respect for.
My admiration comes from the fact that they were inaugurated as a phoenix team by their loyal supporters eight years ago after the original Darlaston Town – who dated back to 1874 – disbanded.
I have often noticed when a football club folds for whatever reason, it is always the fans who suffer most but they dutifully rally round to launch a new team.
Anyway with the 3G surface ensuring that this Midland League encounter would not be postponed, I set off on a 250 mile round trip to Studley which is a Warwickshire village housing just under 6,000 people.
By the way, I subsequently learned that the historic encounter at Hucknall had indeed been called off so I made the correct decision for my matchday choice.
Ground Description
In August 2020, ambitious National League members Solihull Moors FC started using the site as their training ground.
They made major investments into the facilities during lockdown to cement a long-term partnership with Studley FC and it was rebranded as the Studley Sports Centre.
Improvements include two new full-size grass pitches, a 3G pitch, a new players’ lounge, a conference and function room for 120 guests, a state-of-the-art gym and players’ changing rooms.
The clubhouse bar also received a major makeover. On arrival, I parked up in the spacious car park and entered via the clubhouse to reach the football hub.
An unusual 100 yard long caged walkway avenue is shared by the players and spectators. This leads to Studley FC’s floodlit 3G pitch which is named the Finance 4 Business Community Arena.
There is hard-standing spectator access around all four sides and a 100-seater grandstand on the halfway line plus dug outs.
The old Studley grass pitch still exists in front of the clubhouse and is now used by Solihull Moors for training although the original stand has been removed.
Programme Details
A nice colour production that sold at the entry point for £1 alongside matchday raffle tickets.
The Match
Despite a severe layer of frost and ice covering the country, this 3G pitch was perfectly playable. It was extremely cold at -1 degrees but there was very little wind so I was quite happy watching the action in my trusty thermals.
Studley were mid-table with Darlaston pushing for a second consecutive promotion. The visitors forged ahead against the run of play on 42 minutes when a defensive mix-up allowed Rivel Mardenborough an easy tap-in.
However, Studley rallied in the second half and turned things around by virtue of well-worked close range strikes from Daniel Carter (52 mins) and Finlay Barker (66 mins).
These goals featured twinkle-toed assists by Kian Riley on the left hand side. Darlaston stepped up their play after that and Harry Higginson produced a truly emphatic finish to make it 2-2 with 17 minutes to go.
Both sides had chances to score in the dying embers but overall the draw was a fair result.
The People
A word of praise for Studley’s secretary/fixtures secretary/press officer/webmaster Bob Fletcher.
He was very helpful in confirming in advance that the game would definitely go ahead and also gave me a warm welcome on the day when he manned the admission gate and sold the programmes.
I can’t stress enough how enthusiastic multi-tasking volunteers like Bob keep our wonderful Non-League clubs ticking along to great effect.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 14th December 2022
