A Saturday at Church

Founded in 1906, Penistone Church FC celebrate both their past and the role of the South Yorkshire town in the development of the game with a superb history section on their website.

Plans are afoot to mark next year's 120th anniversary but, before then the club are trying to get 1,000 spectators through the turnstiles for the NCEL Premier Division game at home to Golcar United on Saturday 18th October.

The fixture is 'pay what you want' admission and there is plenty going on both before and after, with junior matches, entertainment and market stalls.

Penistone Station is served by hourly trains from Sheffield.

Moors the Merrier

A good value few days at Solihull Moors FC, starting this coming Saturday when born-again Morecambe are the visitors in the National League.

Ticket prices have been reduced to £12 for adults and over-65's with concessions available.

And for the National League Trophy visit of Burnley's U21s on Tuesday 16th (kick-off 7pm), tickets are completely free.

Easy Peasy

The UEFA Women's Europa Cup makes it debut this season, a new competition introduced to sit below the Champions League and open up European participation for more clubs across the continent.

Scottish club Glasgow City FC were the first names out of the hat when the draw for the First Qualifying Round was made and will face Ireland's Athlone Town over two legs for the right to progress onwards.

Ticket prices have been frozen in a bid to pack out Petershill Park (The Peasy) on Wednesday 10th September (7.35pm kick-off) with a Family Pass (2 adults and up to 4 youths) available for £20 and Mates Rates (four tickets of any kind) on sale for £25. 

Molineux Nights

Last December marked the 70th anniversary of the famous floodlit game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Honved of Hungary, the culmination of a series of matches under lights from September 1953 onwards that marked the Wolves out as pioneers in the game and set events in tow for the introduction of European club competitions.

An article on the official club website from last year tells the story.

The club's Under-21 side get their chance to play under the Molineux lights on Wednesday 10th September and there can be no greater opposition than Real Madrid, the visitors for a Premier League International Cup tie.

Tickets are free for season-ticket holders and under-17's with regular adult tickets priced at £5.

Highland Fling

 

The pre-match scene at Seafield Park, home of Strathspey Thistle FC, ahead of the Highland League fixture against Formartine United on Saturday.

A hard-fought game was decided with three second-half goals, two for the visitors from Aberdeenshire in between an excellent equaliser for the home side.

A beautiful setting at kick-off on what was (initially) a lovely day in Grantown-on-Spey, admission was £12 for adults and £6 for concessions.

Hawthorns History

Not a plug for an upcoming game but a nice touch all the same from West Bromwich Albion as they mark 125 years of The Hawthorns.

The doors of the famous old ground will be thrown open for a free event on Wednesday 3rd September, between 8am and 8pm, which includes the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the East Stand and a gallery of 125 specially chosen Hawthorns images. 

If you want to catch a game at the stadium, Friday evening (29th August) sees the Baggies U21s take on Crystal Palace in Premier League 2, tickets for non-season ticket holders £5/£1.

And WBA Women host Leicester City PGA in the FAWNL Cup on Sunday 7th September, 2pm, tickets priced £2-£6.

September Savers

Tuesday 2nd: Football for a Fiver at Kenilworth Road when Luton Town host Barnet in the Football League Trophy. Tickets are also £5 at Shrewsbury Town for their tie with Walsall and at Bradford City too.

Friday 5th: England Men's U20s take on Italy at the SMH Stadium, home of Chesterfield FC. Tickets are priced at £5 adults, £3 concessions and £1 for under-14's.

Saturday 6th: Cullompton Rangers celebrate their 80-year anniversary with a home game against Torridgeside, pay what you want admission and more.

Monday 8th: Online tickets purchased in advance for Cymru U21s against Denmark at Rodney Parade, Newport, are £4 adults, £2 juniors.

Wednesday 10th: Wolves U21s take on their Real Madrid counterparts in the Premier League International Cup. It's a 7pm kick-off at Molineux, ticket prices to follow but unlikely to be too hefty.

Sunday 14th: Carrow Road for Norwich City Women as they take on Luton Town in the FA WNL. Tickets are priced from £1.75 to £6.75.

Tuesday 16th: Rochdale AFC are offering free admission for all of their home fixtures in the National League Cup this season and they take on Blackburn Rovers U21's in September.

Slow and Steady

You don't hear a great deal about Harrogate Town in the footballing media, possibly because slow and steady progress isn't sexy. 

No big-name players taking their first steps in management, no new owners promising a revolution, no internet votes on which players should be bought and sold.

Just the day-to-day battle of keeping the team competitive in League Two, improving facilities for players and supporters and growing a fanbase with genuine engagement.

With Simon Weaver having been in charge on the playing side since 2009 and his father, Irving, having been chairman since 2011, stability is the watchword in North Yorkshire and although there hasn't yet been a top-half finish since promotion in 2020, many more illustrious names have slipped through the trapdoor into the National League.

A good BBC article from November 2024 sheds more light on the father/son dynamic while, off the field, the new Fan Engagement Plan shows the progress that has been made in that area.

The midweek match against Barrow on Tuesday 19th August is part of a Tenner Tuesdays initiative with tickets £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for U18's.

Happy Valley

I wrote a piece on Rochdale AFC and the National League Cup a short while, and similar arguments can be made about the Football League Trophy since the introduction of U21 teams into the competition.

But, as Bradford City have said this week, it is a tournament that offers a real chance of winning silverware and at Wembley to boot.

The Bantams have reduced prices to the lowest allowed level for their two home matches in the group stage, against Grimsby Town on Tuesday 2 September (7.30pm) and Everton U21s at a date to be announced.

That means adult tickets are £5 and it is £1 for everyone else. Interestingly, the local Telegraph & Argus newspaper believe the club would have made it just a pound for everyone but were prevented from doing so by the EFL.