Match Information
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Redcar Town 1-0 Sunderland West End
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When: Friday 28th July 2023
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Kick-off: 7.30pm
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Where: Mo Mowlam Memorial Park, Trunk Road, Redcar, North Yorkshire TS10 5BW
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Competition: Northern League Division Two
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Attendance: 193
It was the opening round of competitive Non-League fixtures and I wanted to visit a picturesque location. Housing 37,000 residents, Redcar provides enticing seaside vistas on the North Yorkshire coast.
I had previously driven through the town seven years ago but didn’t stop as there were no local football teams participating in the six steps of our National League System back then.
All of a sudden, two Redcar clubs later appeared which I now needed to tick on my groundhopping odyssey!
Redcar Athletic FC gained promotion to the Northern League Division Two from the Wearside League in 2018 and Redcar Town FC followed suit three seasons later via the North Riding League.
Updating the story, this Friday night game offered me a great opportunity to see Redcar Town in action.
Thus I set off early on the 230 mile journey. My wife and four year old daughter joined me and we booked accommodation for two nights away.
We arrived in mid-afternoon allowing a couple of hours on the seafront to enjoy ice creams and glimpses of Redcar’s unique ‘vertical pier’ ahead of devouring dinner in a restaurant.
Incidentally, I hold fond memories of attending Northern League action since the first ever specifically designated groundhopping weekend was staged on their parish in 1992 – the pioneering brainchild of league official Mike Amos.
I accordingly joined 150 other ‘hoppers’ witnessing matches at Peterlee Newtown, Billingham Town, Murton, Consett, Chester-le-Street Town, Brandon United and West Auckland Town during a hectic Easter period.
I recall a novel Hoppers’ Race at one of the early games whereby groundhoppers were amusingly invited to hop on one leg down the centre of the pitch.
One unfortunate chap toppled over and badly injured himself thereby watching the rest of the matches on crutches. I wasn’t well organised in those pre-internet days so I drove up to the North-East accompanied by my girlfriend of that time without booking a hotel in advance.
I figured there would be plenty of places available in the city of Durham. But I hadn’t anticipated a major religious festival was taking place attracting thousands of visitors.
Consequently, we spent four hours traipsing from one hotel to another whilst being repeatedly turned away because everywhere was fully booked.
Eventually, it reached one o’clock in the morning and we still had nowhere to stay. In total desperation, I sheepishly ventured into the main police station to seek advice.
A rather helpful officer asked us to follow him down the road before he loudly banged on the locked door of a particularly seedy-looking pub.
The landlord eventually appeared and a fascinating conversation ensued:
Landlord: “Sorry we’re closed.”
Policeman: “I want you to give this young couple from London a bed for the night.”
Landlord: “Sorry we are not a hotel.”
Policeman: “Look, I know you’ve got punters inside at the moment having an illegal lock-in drinking session. So either you either help out or I am going to raid the place!”
Landlord: “Oh I am sure I can find a room upstairs.”
Problem sorted!
Ground Description
The ground is named after former Redcar politician Mo Mowlam.
In view of the fact Redcar Town were only founded in 2014, I wasn’t expecting much spectator facilities. However I was pleasantly surprised.
There is extensive cover behind both goals allocating a good mix of terracing and seating. In addition, two prefab 50-seater grandstands were recently installed along one touchline.
Everyone I chatted to at Redcar Town was very friendly and spoke extremely proudly about their club’s progress.
I learned they worked hard to improve the ground by getting together (socially distanced!) throughout the Covid lockdowns.
Programme Details
On sale at the entry gate, priced £2. Packed with interesting reading material including the histories of both teams and stats collated around the Northern League plus abundant photos.
An award-winning 16 page full colour glossy production from FootiePrint who admirably supplied programmes to 23 clubs across the past week.
The Match
A truly physical encounter featuring multiple hard but fair tackles.
Redcar Town scored the only goal on 59 minutes courtesy of Sam Webster’s fierce low free-kick from the right hand side skipping into the far corner.
We were sitting directly behind the goal where I was really taken aback when my young daughter spontaneously leapt to her feet and started wildly clapping.
Therefore I asked her what she had just seen happen on the pitch. And I loved her fledgling football commentary skills in enthusiastically replying: “WHOOSH!”
*Credit for photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*
