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One of us took the opportunity to take a trip down to Hampshire to visit Wessex League Premier Division side Andover New Street FC for their huge FA Vase quarter-final cup match and the biggest game in their history against Heanor Town in a game where both teams had never reached this far in the non-league cup competition for sides who play at step 5 & 6 of the National League system. After arriving at Andover train station it was time for a quick pint in the nearest pub and straight away you could sense the buzz in the town, one of the locals informed me his Godson was playing for The Street today! he then told me where to get the free minibus transfer to Foxcotte Park the home of Andover New Street which had been kindly put on by the club for the 3-mile journey. After paying the £7 to get in and picking up an excellent programme for £2, I met up with The Street's head of media, Kelly Wilson, who had kindly agreed to show me around even though she was super busy, which was much appreciated! The sun was out and it felt like the first day of spring! The DH Property Stadium was buzzing with hundreds of fans soaking up the atmosphere, taking advantage of the 2 separate food stalls and a burger bar, and quenching their thirsts in the busy clubhouse. You could see the local community had turned out in numbers and it was fantastic to see so many kids who play in the 50 junior sides playing impromptu games of football in their Andover New Street kits on any spare bit of grass they could find! The stadium is situated in a beautiful setting, and Foxcotte Park has been their home since 1992 with a grass pitch, a modern-looking seated stand on one side, and a covered small stand behind one goal; the previous record attendance was smashed on the day with a fantastic crowd of 953! It was great to meet Rufus, the dog, as well, who was wearing his Streets football kit! As I was mooching around the ground, I saw quite a few fans wearing face masks depicting The Streets manager Jamie Coleman, which obviously shows how well thought of he is at the club; I spoke to one of the fans called Steve, who only turned out to be Jamie's long lost brother! It was great to have a little chat with some of The Streets 'Green & Black Army' who were a lovely group of fellas who go home & away and create the atmosphere that no doubt inspires the lads on the pitch. Hats off to the 2 to 300 Heanor fans who had made the 150-mile trip down from Derbyshire for what was one of their biggest game for years and it was a pleasure to have a chat with some of them and was great to see the passion from their young fans who made plenty of noise throughout the game along with their drum. Before the match, one of The Streets players, Jake Rawkins, who was unfortunately cup-tied on the day, kindly gave his time for a short interview. The waiting was over and it was time for Kick-off! The young Heanor fans made sure to give the home side keeper a warm welcome with a rendition of 'Baldy give us a wave, baldy baldy give us a wave'! 😂 The first half was a close affair with nothing between the 2 sides, and the referee made his mark early on by booking a Heanor player after just 10 seconds! However, the deadlock was broken just before halftime with the home side taking the lead in the 43rd minute At half-time, I went and got a drink in the hospitality bar and started to talk to a lovely lady called Joy, who told me she would be turning 88 this week! And then went on to tell me about her late husband, Brian Waterman, who had played a big part in the club over many years, and how much this big day meant to her. Into the second half & The Green & Black Army were now in full voice and didn't hold back in poking fun at Heanor Town & Derby County! 😂 In the 58th minute, the referee had his cards out again, but this time, it was a straight Red 🟥 meaning the task for Heanor had just got a lot harder! Full credit to Heanor Town, though, as they kept pilling forward, looking for an equaliser, and the game was becoming end to end due to them leaving themselves open at the back. With minutes to go, I bumped into an old work colleague I hadn't seen for years, and he told me his son Scott Hassell was on the bench for the street and was just about to come on. Heanor was now throwing the kitchen sink at The Street, and in the 90+11th minute, they had a freekick in a very dangerous area! The referee finally blew the full-time whistle, and the amazing scenes followed with the players, staff and fans all celebrating together! The players were applauded off by the many youngsters as they made their way back to the dressing room. I caught a quick word with one of the Street players, forward Greg Peel who looked like he had given everything! The celebrations after the game continued in the bar with "Que sera sera" echoing around the clubhouse! During the day, I also spoke to Alex, who really highlighted all the great work the club do in the community with The Andover Streets Ahead project, who proudly support adults & children with additional needs to participate in community-based football. All I can say is what a fantastic day at a fantastic club! It was an absolute pleasure to be in attendance on such a historic day for The Street! A big thank you to Kelly for giving me her time and hats off to both sets of supporters who created a cracking atmosphere, you can clearly see this club is a hub for the community and feels like one big family from the board to the manager Jamie Coleman to the players and all the supporters of all ages. We sincerely hope Andover New Street go all the way to Wembley and creates a legacy for future generations to come and compounds all the great things they bring to the community already! My day out in Hampshire was truly a day of Proper Football! Best of luck in the semi-finals!

Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of visiting Leek Town Football Club after an invite from Mat Knight-Burton, the Staffordshire club's community engagement officer, and we couldn't wait to come and see what the club was all about and what it does in the community. Leek Town play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, which is step 3 of the National League pyramid, after gaining promotion last season from the Division One West as champions. At the start of play, The Blues sat in 18th position, one above the relegation zone, and today's opposition, Guiseley, were in 3rd place in the play-offs. Unfortunately, on the day, Mat couldn't be there due to a family birthday, but we were welcomed by Georgina Chandler, one of the club's directors, who couldn't do enough for us and was a credit to the club. Before the game, Georgina gave Dan a tour behind the scenes and told us how she got involved with the club. When arriving at the F. Ball community stadium - Harrison Park, our first impressions were WOW! What a cracking old-school stadium with a great-looking main stand that had a seated upper tier which seats 600 and terraced lower tier, and full-length terracing on the other three sides of the ground, 80% of which is covered, with a capacity of 3,600 now reduced to 3,200. All in all a fantastic little stadium. We are always amazed when visiting a club of the commitment and effort they put into their communities and Leek Town were no exception. Gary had the pleasure of chatting with Leeks under 8's coaches. What would football do without people like Wayne and Jamie? It was great to have our Proper Football Podcast resident ex-pro Nigel 'Cally' Callaghan with us on the day who joined Gary to interview one of Leek Towns' committed and loyal fans, there's no better way to capture the true essence of a club, so it was great that Damon agreed to have a chat with us before kick-off. Greg caught up with Guiseley supporter Andy before the match, one of the many away supporters who had made the 160-mile round trip down to today's game to find out how their season is going and his thoughts on today's fixture. It was now time for kick-off with a good crowd of 502 in attendance; the early rain had cleared, and the sun was out, ready for the match, with both teams looking for the 3 points at opposite ends of the table. We didn't have to wait long for the first goal of the day and it came from Leek Town's Hayden Campbell in the 3rd minute! Despite the low league position of Leek, they more than held their own and looked the better side for the first 25 minutes, but The Lions levelled things up in the 26th minute with a goal from Jack Emmett. Half-time rolled around with the game poised nicely at 1-1, and it was time to grab a beer and sample the food; the Blues bar and food cabin were situated behind the large outdoor open space right next to the pitch. We all agreed it was one of the best pies we had ever had at a non-league ground! And it was wonderful to hear it was supplied by the local butchers and another nod to the community feel about the club. The second half kicked off, and Leek struck early again with a 51st-minute goal from a Louis Potts header! Dan took the opportunity to have a quick chat with another friendly Leek supporter who told us why he comes down to watch The Blues. With Guiseley now needing to find an equaliser they made a double substitution in the 55th minute and it seemed to make a difference with The Lions now gaining control of the game and getting on the front foot but full credit to Leek as they were defending for their lives with the keeper making some good saves, but the prolonged pressure finally paid off in the 88th minute with a scrambled goal from close range by Gabriel Johnson following a corner! Guiseley were now looking for the winner, but Leek stood firm and hung on at the end. The referee blew the full-time whistle, bringing an end to what was an enthralling game with the spoils being shared and what could be a valuable point for the home side come the end of the season. Today's point moves Leek Town up a position to 17th, 2 points from the drop zone, and with 10 games to go before the season comes to a close, The Blues have their destiny in their own hands. The lads gave their summary and thoughts on the game after the match. We would all like to thank Leek Town for making us so welcome on the day and it was heartwarming to witness and hear about all the work they do in the community and being a hub for the young and old to get together, be it junior football, walking football or all the other great schemes they have going on 7 days a week. Non-league football clubs play such a pivotal role in bringing people together; it's not only about supporting a football club; it is about people's well-being, fitness, social gatherings, getting youngsters active and supporting the local economy, and it is something that needs championing, and Leek Town are a perfect example of this! A big thank you again to Mat for the invite, and we will be doing a separate interview with him very soon to go more in-depth about the role he plays at the club. We wish Leek Town and Guiseley all the best for the future, and if you would like to watch the highlights from the game here they are courtesy of Leek Towns' official YouTube channel.

Proper footballs, good friend Darren Ashley took his non-league Vlog down to Hendon for their clash against top of the table Dartford. Hendon probably more famous for its RAF museum and the training of Metropolitan police officers but is also home to Hendon FC . Find out more and see Darren‘s highlights of what looks to be a cracking game of football with plenty of goals by clicking the link below. https://youtu.be/iakJgPlq65Q

Catch up on our latest live Proper Football Podcast! On Mondays live show we looked back at the FA Cup 4th round and discussed all the talking points to come out of it, the lads also touch on a non-league football, VAR and lots more! Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Yes, our first ever live podcast on a Monday night and with all the FA Cup has thrown up this weekend what a podcast it will be so join me and the team . Stream will be live on our Facebook, YouTube and X platforms all accessible by links on this website, so we look forward to you joining us tomorrow and as always you can comment and ask questions and get involved.

To those with relevant interest, the name Nuneaton mentioned in a football context carries, in the eyes of some, a rather unsavoury reputation, with various examples of poor running and ill-intentioned ownership cited as the reasons behind this. The club’s ever loyal fanbase have seen their club hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the not-too-distant past, longing for stability and a club they can be proud of.   A New Regime in Town at Nuneaton!   Fast forward to the present day however and what we are now presented with is a club that bears no resemblance of the old regime, demonstrating that they are firmly on track and powering forwards in the right direction, providing fans with what they’d been longing for and more. Testament to the fans’ passion, dedication and unrivalled determination, a steering group was created and the wheels set in motion to bring football back to Nuneaton, which proved to be a huge contributor to the inception of Nuneaton Town FC.  As a result of the new set up and the club now having the right people in the right places (something I personally witnessed and experienced firsthand), coupled with a completely fresh outlook and a real determination to move this club in a positive direction, fans now have the opportunity to support their local club and turned out in decent numbers with a total attendance of 405 on the day of my visit.   Whilst what I am about to reference can be demonstrated at various clubs regardless of the level they play at, and something I find is not talked about and celebrated enough are those within clubs like Nuneaton dedicating their time on a voluntary basis, purely for the love and passion they hold for their club. Nobody that I have ever encountered epitomises this and provides a more existential example than Phil, a match day volunteer that I met during our visit to the home of Bedworth United, where Nuneaton currently play their home games.   What was clear to me from my very first interaction with Phil was how much he loves the club and how much his role within the club means to him, he spoke with pure passion and brimmed with excitement when providing me with his thoughts on the new regime and what he hopes the future holds for the club, a full interview on which can be found below and is well worth a watch. Something equally apparent to me from the early exchanges with the hierarchy at the club is how much people like Phil and roles that can sometimes go criminally unnoticed are spoken about with such appreciation and clearly valued immensely. It was a real pleasure and a privilege to meet a real-life grassroots hero! As many a football fan will attest to, you can’t beat a bit of good old fashioned footy fare, which is exactly what I managed to get my hands on and finding decent value in terms of the pricing to boot made it taste that little bit better. Value in football is an ever-dwindling commodity, demonstrated in no small part by those at the ‘top’ of the game, who are quite frankly ripping the heart and soul out of football for me with inflated prices to match the inflated egos that dominate topflight football in this country, thus creating a corporate style environment no longer aimed at your traditional football fan. Drop a bit further down the pyramid however (where the entertainment value is just as high might I add) and you can enjoy your football fix for a fraction of the price and contribute to organic growth of clubs deserving of your hard-earned money and time.  ‘ Chicken Balti Pie & Chips with Gravy – £7.50 Pint of Guinness - £4.65 What’s not to love about that!’ ‘Tickets – Adults £8 Concessions (65+) £6 Young Adults (16-18) £6 Children (5-15) £1 Children (Under 5) FREE   Value for money if I ever did see it, and in case you were worried about a lack of atmosphere, you need not!’     For me, a day at the football isn’t just about the football itself, it’s the whole experience from the atmosphere to the food (and beer) on offer, your surroundings and the general feel within the stadium. A friendly, family, community feel around a club is immensely important to me and it would be an understatement to say that Nuneaton Town possesses all of this and more in abundance. There absolutely is a new regime in town and the fans have a club they can shout about once again. I cannot thank everyone at Nuneaton Town enough for their phenomenal hospitality or speak highly enough of their exemplary ownership model and vision for the future. It’s safe to say that I will be back, not just as part of the Proper Football team, but also as a fan!

Like thousands of other football fans on Saturday 25th March, we decided to take in a game at grassroots level on what was the annual Non-League Day. Our destination was Carlton Town FC a wonderful community club based in Nottingham, Carlton Town play in the NPL First Division East which is step 4 of the National League pyramid, the visitors were high-flying Stockton Town. We were honoured to be invited to the game by Mick Garton the chairman and Gary ‘Boatsy Clarke' the commercial and marketing manager of Carlton Town who made Proper Footballs' very own resident ex-pro Nigel ‘Cally' Callaghan a guest of honour and he held a Q & A with the supporters. [Cally and Mick Garton] We were lucky enough to speak to Forest legend Ian Storey-Moore, scorer of 105 league goals for the Reds through the 60s and early 70s who was at the game supporting Non-League Day. We also spoke to Jonny Owen from Talksport who was in attendance and got the views of the match from both managers and players. [Cally with Jonny Owen] According to one source, it's estimated that there was a cumulative attendance of 141,619 in Steps 1-4 on Saturday which is fantastic news when compared to previous weekends over the last month meaning there was an increase of 20-30%! The game itself finished 0-2 to the visitors and on reflection was a fair result and keeps Stockton Town on course for a playoff spot, but unfortunately put an end to a recent great run of form for the relegation-threatened Millers who had won their last four games on the road. We also see Non-League Day as a day to celebrate all the hard work the clubs, fans and volunteers put in all year round all over the country to keep these vital community hubs going and applaud every single one of them. [Boatsy and Proper Football's Gary Harris] If you haven't been to a Non-League game then don't wait for the next annual event, give it a go now! and you'll be pleasantly surprised. You can watch our Vlog of the day here;

It's that time of the season again when the Premier League and Championship take a week off for the international break but more importantly it's when Non-League football takes centre stage with the annual Non-League Day which celebrates semi-professional and grassroots football in the UK. The concept of Non-League Day was set up by James Doe in 2010 as a social media experiment, after being inspired by a pre-season trip to Devon to watch Queens Park Rangers play at Tavistock and has now grown to become an annual part of the football calendar. Non-League Day provides a platform for clubs to promote the importance of affordable volunteer-led community football while giving fans across the country the chance to show support for their local non-league side and hopefully see a much-needed cash injection come through the turnstiles to fund their youth set-ups, facilities and projects that ultimately help the local communities, and even better still, some supporters may enjoy the unique experience of Non-League Football that much they will come back every week after! Ourselves at Proper Football are off to a game at Carlton Town FC a Nottingham-based football club playing in the NPL First Division East for their game against Stockton Town. We will be doing a Vlog of the day and our resident ex-pro former Derby County and Watford star Nigel ‘Cally' Callaghan will be doing a Q&A with Chairman Mick Garton for the supporters in the Howard Mitchell Sportsbar before the 3 pm kick-off. Admission for the game at Carlton Towns Bill Stokeld Stadium is £9 for Adults, £7 for Concessions, £5 for Emergency workers and Students and £2 for Children (under 16s). Whether you’re a Premier League or Championship fan without a game, a League One or League Two supporter who can’t make an away trip, or just someone curious about what their local club has to offer then check out this easy-to-use match finder to see the local Non-League games on in your area. https://nonleagueday.co.uk/map/?per_page=25&form=1

For yesterday’s Non League vlog, I took in another new ground thanks to a kind invite from Sporting Khalsa’s Jake (who is head of security), for their home match against high flying Anstey Nomads. Joined again by my best mate Thunder, Jake met us on arrival, took us in the ground and showed us around. We was told most things were accessible to us, and introduced to various people, some to potentially interview. During this, I realised I had been so happy chatting that I hadn’t actually done any filming, so, I needed to get my butt into gear! Walking around, what struck me was, what a lovely ground Sporting Khalsa has, very pleasing on the eye with the colours, and, there is a fair bit of raised level viewing which gives you an even better view of the action. So, all the filming I needed before kick off completed, I could relax again and chat to some more people before kick off. You may have got sick and tired of reading this, as every week, I say the same thing…I won’t spoil what happened in the game as hopefully you will watch the vlog which is found below… but, trust me, it was a very entertaining match with plenty of action. It’s also worth watching, for 2 interviews in particular, Nathan, who told me what Khalsa means to him after the passing of his father, and also Anstey Nomads FC fans Luke and Kai, who, despite having season tickets for Leicester City, watch and prefer to follow the Nomads. So, the match ends, I film the wrap up of the vlog and leave the ground… where, one of the Sporting Khalsa staff hurriedly catches me up, stops me to give me back my selfie stick which I hadn’t even realised I had dropped. It was the final classy act from a classy club, where Thunder and I were looked after brilliantly. I would love to read anybody’s comments about visiting Noose Lane to learn of their experience, and would also love to film a vlog at Anstey Nomads if they would have me. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the VLOG below! Once again a big thank you to Darren Ashley for sharing his VLOG with us and we very much look forward to his next one! You can subscribe to Darren's YouTube channel and watch some of his previous VLOGS by clicking the following link; https://www.youtube.com/@dash7148

After the early postponement of the match I was meant to attend (Winslow Utd v Buckingham) yesterday, I found a different one to VLOG that was almost certain to go ahead as it was to be played on a 3G surface. I turned up at Oxford City’s ground to take in bottom side Long Crendon’s home match with 13th placed Southam United in the Hellenic League Division One. In the quick research I had done, I discovered that Crendon hadn’t won since the beginning of September! I had visited Southam earlier in the season, and found them a super helpful club, so, I contacted chairman Michael Davis  to see if a interview with manager Richard Kay could be arranged… and of course, the answer was a yes, and, Richard was great with his time for me. What I wanted to really know when I arrived though was, why was Long Crendon, in step 6, ground sharing with a National League team? I found Tom Folley, the assistant manager, Director of football and a committee member at Long Crendon, who happily agreed to an interview on camera to give me the answer. Tom, like everyone connected with the club who I met yesterday, was fantastic, especially manger Waheed Ramzan, who, before the match, agreed to give me a full time interview, even though, realistically, it had the real potential to be another defeat for his team. About 15 minutes before kick off, still trying to decide where to film, I got talking to Ben, also part of the staff for the home team, who, unbelievably, told me I could go up on top of the stand, onto the camera balcony, to do match filming from there….honestly, you don’t know how happy that made me. Some of the Southam players who I had been talking to earlier whilst they were warming up, spotted me up there and gave me a bit of friendly banter! So, primed in an ideal spot, the match kicked off. Of course, I won’t tell you what happened, as I want you to watch the vlog at the bottom of this post, but, trust me, what I saw, I really didn't expect... there were goals and I thought the team of officials were excellent! At full time, I climbed down from my lofty perch, did the pre planned interview with Waheed, and headed into the clubhouse where Crendon chairman Gerald Reilly bought me a welcoming cup of very hot coffee. Once that was sunk, and final link filmed, I headed home, buzzing that I had had another brilliant day out at Non League! Huge thanks to Long Crendon and Southam United for the generosity they showed me, and also, to Winslow United for calling the game off early enough which gave me plenty of time to rearrange. Here's the VLOG, hope you enjoy it! Thank you to Darren Ashley for sharing another excellent informative VLOG with an insight into Non-League Football. Please make sure to subscribe to Darren's YouTube channel.

We had a very pleasant day out down in West Sussex to watch Chichester City on Saturday for their home game against Sevenoaks Football Club at Step 4 in the Isthmian League South East Division. The first thing to say... what a beautiful Cathedral City it is with plenty of old pubs to wet the appetite before and after the game. After sampling a few of the local establishments en route to the ground from the train station we arrived at Oaklands Park in plenty of time and received a very friendly welcome from the man on the turnstile and paid the reasonably priced £10 to get in and was happy to see a match day programme on sale for £2! So, Into the ground we went and bought the obligatory 50/50 half-time raffle ticket off another friendly club volunteer who happily pointed out where all the facilities were. As always the first impression of a club is the most important one and Chichester passed this test with flying colours! We made our way upstairs to the impressive bar area and had another pre-pre-match pint lol. The ground and facilities looked quite new and I believe it was redeveloped around 2008. There was plenty of covered stands which were located on 3 sides of the pitch along with a seated stand which holds 100 people and there was a decent crowd in attendance of 188. On to the game, my first thought was Chichester had a slight advantage having the choice of seven different goals to shoot at but I soon realised the cider consumption was playing with my eyes lol. The game finally kicked off after the referee had tested his whistle and it was a very close match and nip and tuck with not much between the two sides and in typical fashion I missed the first goal of the game in the 36th minute scored by Jimmy Wild whilst having a slash, which was clearly down to the pre-pre-pre match beverages! Half-time rolled around with the score at 1-0 to the home side so it was time for some food and it didn't disappoint! The snack bar on site had loads of hot food to choose from and was very reasonably priced served up by the friendly ladies behind the counter! In fact, the bacon cheese burger was that nice a second one soon followed! Just had enough time to grab another cider and get ready for the second half. The second half continued in the same vain as the first with not much between the two sides and their was some good old banter from the home fans including cries of "what the ****inhell was that in response to a couple of misplaced passes and shots from the away side and giving the well built centre forward some stick. A rain shower soon cleared up and the sun was back out with a rainbow setting the scene as Sevenoaks pushed for an equaliser but they just couldn't break down a well drilled Chichester defence with the home side also having a few chances to extend their lead. Chichester held on and ran out 1-0 winners which continued their good run of form and they now sit just one place off the playoffs. All in all it was great day out at a fantastic welcoming club that is well worth a visit. We headed back into town and picked off a few pubs we didn't get to before the game and plotted up in front of an open fire and looked back on a thoroughly enjoyable day out watching non-league football in the delightful historical City of Chichester! Best wishes to both clubs for the rest of the season!

I've decided to do a pilgrimage to visit a selection of Lincolnshire clubs across the county and I am starting at the most northerly of them all, Scunthorpe United FC. I don't know what you think when you hear the name Scunthorpe, perhaps it is not the prettiest name, perhaps you think of a gritty steel town struggling with hard times and really no one in their right mind would call it 'The Riviera of the Humber' but the town has honesty and a long footballing tradition and a historic club. A little bit of history, Scunthorpe were founded in 1899 as Scunthorpe and Lindsey United, now just Scunthorpe United, and for most of their history have been in the third and fourth tier (current League 1 and 2) with occasional seasons in the old Division 2 and the Championship. In the last few years their fortunes have tumbled and they have found themselves in the sixth tier, National League North. They are currently in second place in the table, 9 points behind leaders Tamworth. Scunthorpe's stadium is pretty recent, built in 1988 in the industrial unit style. It has a capacity of 9088 and could be described as compact, it has a range of facilities, its not luxurious but perfectly functional. It is located in a retail park so if you fancy a little shopping before or after the game you have everything from a supermarket to Kwik Fit to choose from! As a first time home supporter I was a little confused about which turnstile I should use as there is either no signage or the names of the stands have been recently changed but the stewards were helpful and once in it was easy to find my seat. The fans seemed amiable and as the seats are pretty close to the pitch you get a good view of the action despite the fact that there are steel roof supports which do obscure some of the pitch. The pitch is pretty good, maintained well and a good surface for football although it does have one wet corner where a number of players slipped. The Scunthorpe squad has a good mix of players with Football League experience, some who have spent time in the USA or Spain with highlights being Jacob Butterfield a midfielder, ex Barnsley with Championship experience and Callum Roberts a winger signed from Aberdeen. The opposition Curzon Ashton are a north Manchester team sitting 7th in the table most of their players 's experience is in the fifth tier with highlights being ex Scunthorpe player Harry Jessop as striker and Will Hayhurst a winger who had 50 appearances for Preston North End. The atmosphere was pretty good even though the stadium was only a third full, it was a good crowd for this level of football, we had a range of songs and a drummer to keep everyone boisterous and we started the match full of optimism. I always like to keep the football crazy members of my family around the country up to date with the action through live texting and here is a description of the match from those texts: Well here we are, kick off at Glanford Park The 78 Curzon Ashton supporters huddling together, needing the mutual support, a crowd of 3519, a good pitch, no sun but mild at 10 degrees, a great afternoon for football Curzon playing in a fetching shade of pink Scunthorpe of course in West Ham colours, they are nicknamed Iron like the Hammers Scunthorpe all over Curzon, loads of shots, corners, free kicks then Curzon get their first corner and score. Not going to script this one Scunthorpe going close, hit the post now Half time report.   We have Scunthorpe playing football, playing out from the back, making runs, looking for each other, looking like a side a league above - except for set piece defending. They have some tidy players, some really big ones at the back, nippy and skilful on the flanks but Curzon are very well organised even if they struggle to get the ball. Second half will be interesting Second half.   Curzon are on for a Bafta, some excellent acting going on! Hayhurst their ex league player is having some unfriendly banter with the crowd, he looks easily wound up! Comedy moment as the assistant referee falls backwards into the pitchside sand trap, a novel feature of the ground Curzon now playing some football, (it lasted literally minutes) when they aren't time-wasting!! Curzon enjoying their role as villains now, some cynical play to go with the acting  Scunthorpe just can't get it in the net, last few minutes Keeper is up for a corner... Final whistle, 0-1 So my reflections on the experience. It was a good match, very competitive, Scunthorpe look a good side, they work hard, they like to attack but unfortunately I didn't bring them the luck they needed to win the match. After the final whistle there was some booing by the home supporters but I think it must have been for the ref who didn't award any of the good penalty shouts, the Curzon supporters were also giving him a bit of stick, poor bloke! The football was very physical, almost like rugby in the boxes at set pieces, but it was good to watch and apart from the result I enjoyed the afternoon. If you are up this way try and get to see Scunthorpe play, it is well worth the £14 it costs for a seat. Big thank you to Steve Boatright for sharing his day out at Scunthorpe United and we look forward to his next adventure in Lincolnshire!