Altrincham versus Ashton United

Moss Lane, or the J Davidson Stadium, ahead of Saturday's National League North game against Ashton United, a match that never quite flowed but where the home side did enough to secure a 3-0 victory that keeps the Robins handily in mid-table in their first season back at this level.

On the right of the picture above is the Community Sports Hall which opened in 2015. A busy bar on matchdays, the hall is a thriving multi-use venue throughout the week and has cemented the club's place as a key part of the local community.

The ground itself offers a number of different vantage points to watch the action from, especially when the game is unsegregated and you can wander around at leisure.

And it is a busy ground in the run-up to Christmas with Manchester United 17's and Women's Development team both in action there.

Altrincham host Nuneaton Town in the National League North on Tuesday evening before an FA Youth Cup tie against Oldham Athletic on Thursday at 7.45pm for which admission is priced at £3 Adults and £1 Concessions.

The Week Ahead

Sunday 4th November sees the SSE Scottish Women's Cup Final take place at Firhill, kick-off 4.10pm.

Hibs Ladies will be favourites to retain the cup when they take on Motherwell. Tickets for the game are priced at just £5 Adults, £2 Concessions and free for Under 16's.

There is quite a bit of Under-23 action with free admission to Leigh Sports Village on Friday 2nd for Manchester United against Newcastle United in Premier League 2 at 7pm and a Vicarage Road outing for Watford against QPR on Monday 29th October at 2pm (£3/£1 general admission with free entry for season ticket holders.

The fixtures section of the Premier League website has a good guide to all of the upcoming matches in the various Under-23 leagues.

It is the Second Round Proper stage of the FA Vase, win this one and Wembley will begin to feel within touching distance.

There was an excellent atmosphere at Hallam FC in the last round and two coachloads of Hebburn Town supporters are on the way to Sandygate on Saturday 3rd which should ensure another big occasion, especially when it is Football for a Fiver at the World's oldest ground.

64 ties in total will be taking place across the weekend with a very handy £900 available for all winning sides. 

Elsewhere on the Non-League front, Basford United have some special offers in place for the visit of North Ferriby United on Saturday 3rd November, including Family admission for £10 and four Adults for £25.

Sites You Might Like

The following sites have been invaluable to me in writing this blog and are well worth a visit.

The London Football Guide - James Doe is the man behind Non-League Day and set up TLFG to provide a comprehensive guide to football (at all levels) in the capital and its suburbs. On a weekly basis he runs through all of the fixtures of note and is also happy to answer queries from anyone coming to London and looking to catch a match.

With its focus on a similar patch geographically, The Cold End combines news and match previews with reports, highlights and some great photographs of Non-League football in London, Hertfordshire & Beyond.

If there is anything you need to know about football in Oxfordshire then the Oxon Football blog covers everything from Oxford United downwards while Football in Bracknell is an excellent not for profit site that doesn't leave a stone unturned when reporting on football at all levels in the Berkshire town.

Women’s football features regularly on these pages and the excellent She Kicks website has features, stats and regular fixture updates covering all levels of the game in the UK with Scottish Women's Football performing a similar function in its area.

The official FA WSL site also has an easy-to-navigate fixture list with ticket info and links.

Non-League Matters is a good resource for fixtures, tables and stats from all levels of the game below the Football League and the Forum part of the site has a section where special ticket offers, free and reduced admission and ‘Pay What You Want’ fixtures can be publicised.

The Northern Counties East Football League is my local Step 5 league and the home of Hallam FC who have featured regularly on the site. The NCEFL website is an excellent resource for results and fixtures while many of the clubs in the league feature on the Non League Yorkshire website which has a wealth of news, match reports and opinion from across the county.

North of the border, Scottish Football Fixtures does exactly what it says in the title with day-by-day fixtures from all levels of the Scottish game and regular Twitter updates while The Fitba Nomad has some great pieces on days out at Scottish grounds big and small.

I've always enjoyed Neil Jensen's writings in the Non-League Paper (the print edition of which is a great source for upcoming fixtures) but they are just the tip of the iceberg of his wonderful Game of the People website which has features and views on football in all corners of the globe.

More Than Football For Your Fiver!

In week where there are a reported 87 live matches legally being televised or streamed in the UK there is plenty to debate as to whether the constant bombardment of small screen action is having a detrimental effect on attendances.

The focus so far has mainly been on the Championship and Leagues One and Two but the loss of even a small number of people coming through the turnstiles lower down can be more keenly felt when the takings are added up at the end of the 90 minutes.

That so many lower level clubs continue to offer such a welcoming environment, acting as a hub for the local community in many ways, is testament to the continuing efforts of people behind the scenes at every ground, manning the turnstiles, selling the raffle tickets and (ever more crucially given the increasing demands on their time) completing all of the paperwork required for the respective leagues and the FA.

A couple of examples from this coming weekend where the game on the pitch will just be part of a wider day of activities take place in the North West Counties Football League.

Whitchurch Alport host Charnock Richard on Saturday in the Premier Division at Yockings Park and £5 will not only get you into that game but also into the club's Spooktacular Beer Festival with a host of activities lined up throughout the day.

And Wythenshawe Town have a race night taking place after Saturday's clash with Vauxhall Motors with £5 again the Adult price for both events.

Coming Up In November

There is free admission to Leigh Sports Village when Manchester United Under 23's take on Newcastle in a 7pm kick-off on Friday 2nd. 

At the same venue it is also free to watch the UEFA Youth League game between United's Under 19's and Young Boys at 1pm on Tuesday 27th and there are also two matches scheduled during the month for Manchester United Women, against Tottenham on Sunday 4th at noon and against Millwall on Sunday 25th at noon. Tickets for these matches are priced at £5 Adults and £2.50 for Under 16's and Over 65's.

The Scottish Women's Cup Final will be played at Firhill on Sunday 4th, with tickets priced at £5 Adults, £2 Concessions and free for Under 16's. 

Hibs Ladies will be the favourites as they look to win the competition for a third successive year when they take on Motherwell, Hibs having beaten perennial rivals Glasgow City in the semi-finals.

The British Army Football Association take on their German counterparts in a Game of Remembrance at Nottingham Forest on Thursday 8th. Two Adults and two Children can watch the game for £10 and Concession tickets are available for £2.50.

First Round ties in the FA Cup take place over the weekend of 9/10/11th. League One and Two clubs come into the competition at this stage and many of those drawn at home are likely to reduce their usual admission prices

England Women continue their World Cup preparations with a friendly against Sweden at the New York Stadium, home of Rotherham United on Sunday 11th. Adult tickets are priced at £10 with Concessions just £1.

Package tickets for the 2019 Women's World Cup are on sale now, starting at €25 for three matches in one stadium.

Leyton Orient have their second 'Football for a Fiver' match of the season on Saturday 17th when Bromley are the visitors in the National League.

Hallam FC Versus Charnock Richard

A bright, but extremely breezy, day at Sandygate on Saturday afternoon as over 400 people watched the FA Vase tie between Hallam FC and Charnock Richard on Non-League Day.

Kick-off was delayed by around 30 minutes as the visitors from Lancashire were delayed by an accident on the Snake Pass road, the North West Counties League side shaking the coach ride out of their legs with a warm-up on the pitch before going on to have the better of the first-half.

Playing down the slope but with the wind against them, Charnock got themselves into a number of good positions in and around the penalty area but would have been disappointed to head into half-time with just a single goal advantage although they did appear to have a good shout for a handball off the line turned down following a goalmouth scramble.

Located high above Sheffield in the Crosspool district, Sandygate is a ground where the seasons feel amplified. I was here the night before England's World Cup semi-final for the friendly against a Sheffield Wednesday Under-23 side when the summer seemed as if it would go on for ever.

On Saturday, although surprisingly warm, it was most definitely Autumn with the leaves falling on to the pitch and the wind swirling around.

Hallam bombed down the slope with renewed purpose after the break, benefitting from the wind dropping slightly and conjuring a well-worked equaliser just after the hour mark.

With the crowd behind them there was no stopping the hosts and two further goals earned them a second successive scalp from Step 5 of the pyramid, a very handy £825 from the prize fund and a place in Monday's Second Round draw where they were handed another home tie, this time against Hebburn Town, which will be played on Saturday 3rd November and where I'm sure you will get good value for your £5 admission fee.

Something Different At The City Ground

Good times on the banks of the River Trent and not just because Nottingham Forest have been moving purposely up the Championship table in recent weeks.

Season tickets were very competitively priced in the summer, with a new price band introduced for 18-23 year-olds of just £100, and attendances have been very healthy indeed.

The City Ground will also host two other matches in the next few weeks, both with an admirable purpose but which should be competitive on the pitch.

On Sunday 28th October Nottingham Forest Ladies will take on the senior Jamaican national team, the Reggae Girlz, in a 3pm kick-off which is intended to celebrate the Windrush generation and of Caribbean culture in Nottingham and the Midlands.

Tickets are priced at £5 for Adults and free for Under 16's.

On Thursday 8th November, at 7pm, the British Army Football Association will meet the German Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) in a Game of Remembrance to mark the centenary of Armistice Day.

Entry for two Adults and two Children costs £10 with Concessions tickets priced at £2.50.

Full details for both matches are available on the official NFFC website.