I am venturing to the land of the 'Purple People'. No I'm not on an LSD trip but am referring to the colours of the Cadbury Athletic football team. Their reserve side are playing Birmingham AFA, Premier Division team, BT, who play in the district of Sheldon. It's a Quarter-Final tie of the Birmingham Saturday Amateur Cup, which used to be called the Minor Cup.
It's a cool, cloudy and very blustery day but with thankfully no rain. Due to the large amount of Christmas shoppers, I have had to stand up for all of my journey on the train today. After alighting at the University station I backtrack to Bournville station on the next Redditch bound train.
I have enough time to walk in to the centre of Bournville for a meal at a local Cafe. Bournville is a nice area with good architecture and a 'village' feel to it and independent shops.
It's only a ten minute walk to Cadbury's ground in Bournville Lane. The first team now ground share at Pilkington XXX's ground in nearby Kings Norton as they have floodlights, a requirement for First Division teams in the Midland Football League.
I have described the Cadbury Recreation Ground in an earlier post in November 2013. It's situated at the back of the companies factory, the pitch allegedly has the same turf that is used at Wembley and 'The Pavilion' which houses the changing rooms at the bottom, is a fine looking building.
Although Cadbury Athletic are a relatively new club (founded in 1984), I have found out on the internet that one Daniel Sturridge had started his early football career on this very ground, by playing in of the club's junior teams on Sundays some years ago.
With very few people around I talk to a guy who is standing by the dug-outs. He turns out to be a referee assessor, who is running the rule over today's man in the middle. Of course the assessor turns out to be an ex-referee himself.
The game starts at the early time of 1:30 pm and the 'chocolate men' of Cadbury are in their usual purple and white strip while BT are in yellow and black. It's the visitors who are dominant in the early stages of this game.
They force two early corners and after 15 minutes, their No.17 shoots wide when put through on goal. I reflect that he really should have scored.
After this Cadbury Athletic begin to get in to the game more and start to dominate possession, without really threatening their opponents goal but it's BT who take the lead in the 39th minute when under presure the Cadbury No.5 turns to chip back to his keeper,Fraser Oliver but unfortunately he has advanced to the edge of his area and the ball sails over his head and in to the net.
Cadbury do have a shot on goal in the fortieth minute but it goes well over the bar.
So it's 0-1 to the BT team at half-time and it's been a pretty unexciting game so far.
I go over to the Pavilion and along with another spectator and his wife, to find that the tea bar area is closed today, maybe because of the small amount of spectators. Shame, as I was looking forward to a nice hot cuppa.
After their sluggish start to the match, Cadbury Athletic are making up for it right from kick-off in the second half. Their sustained pressure pays off after 53 minutes, when No.9 Adrian Parkes bundles the ball home from a great in-swinging corner (as shown below)
In their very next attack, Cadbury's captain, Eddy Fogg puts through their No.7 to round the BT keeper and put his side in to the lead.
BT are still dangerous on the break and they have a shot turned on the post and out by keeper Oliver.
Cadbury score a third when their marauding No.2, Craig Brooks, is brought down for a penalty. The penalty is saved at the foot of the right hand post by the visitor's keeper but Brooks races in to hit the rebound home in to the left corner.
A few minutes later another Cadbury attack sees the BT keeper bring down an attacker but the ball runs loose for their No.11 to score in the unguarded net.
BT do reduce the arrears when their impressive No.10 shoots in off a post which rounds off a great run past some bemused defenders.
So Cadbury Athletic have won handsomely in the end after a great 2nd-half display and are now through to the semi-final in the new year, while BT have pushed them all the way today and will be looking to improve their league position in the lower half of the table.
Match entrance fee: free
Match programme: none available
Match attendance: 10-15 (estimated)
Match rating: 7.5/10
It's a fine sunny day for the official start of the football league season. I have come to the Kings Norton ground of Pilkington XXX, where Cadbury Athletic have entered in to a 3 year ground share deal after leaving their previous residency at Alvechurch FC.
They are hosting the phoenix, supporter owned club of Hinckley AFC from Leicestershire, formed in 2014 after the demise of Hinckley United. While speaking to one of the Hinckley supporters, I find out that their club will be looking for their own ground (they currently share at Heather St.Johns FC) as Leicester Road FC who own the former Hinckley Utd ground will not be vacating it in the near future. It's a ridiculous situation but it will be interesting to see the competition between both the Hinckley clubs this season after Leicester Road's promotion to Div 1.
By the time the teams take to the field, I can see that there is a fair sized crowd for this level, with at least half the contingent from Hinckley who have brought along a number of colourful flags and banners with them.
Cadbury are in the company colours of purple and white while Hinckley are in red and blue.
For the first 10 minutes, it's Hinckley who are doing all the attacking with their speedy forwards, Javia Roberts (seen above) and Marco Adaggio causing the home team lots of problems. It's good to see Mr.Adaggio again, as he had a spell at my home club of Worcester City a few years ago when I moved back to the city. He was one of the best players at the time, scoring some vital goals in what was a struggling team and he would always give 100%.
The Cadbury No.9, Stuart Butcher then drags a shot wide in a break away attack.
After 38 minutes, Hinckley's Nathan Walker goes close to breaking the deadlock with a chipped shot over keeper Shaun Hayes, only to see it hit the bar and out of play.
Hinckley are having a good spell of pressure at the end of this half, with their No.11 Luke Edwards having a shot from the left go just wide and then in injury time, a similar shot by Edwards (shown above) is parried by the keeper only for the ball to loop up obligingly and Adaggio leaps up to nod it home from close in.
A deserved lead for the visitors at half time but Cadbury Athletic are sure to come back strongly I think.
Edwards though is carrying on where he left off before the interval as he sees 2 of his shots go close in the early stages of the second half.
Cadbury Athletic begin to exert more pressure as the game progresses. Their diminutive No.11, Josh Harris-James, clatters in to a Hinckley player with his elbow raised and is lucky to get away with a booking, although to be fair it's been a pretty clean game. His team mate, No.10 Dean Lea gets involved by making a comment when some of the Hinckley players are crowding round and things get heated for a few seconds before settling down (as shown below).
With the increasing pressure for an equaliser by the home team, Hinckley keeper, Jack Hartopp manages to tip over a dangerous in-swinging corner and soon after makes a great save from close in to deny Cadbury's Ryan Spink a certain goal.
( Jack Hartopp catches a Cadbury Athletic corner )
That's the closest Cadbury get to scoring and it's the visitors who are victorious today. On this showing I think Hinckley will feature in the top 6 this season and Cadbury Athletic will be in the top half of the table.
Match attendance: 158
Match entrance fee: £4
Match programme: £1.50
Match entertainment: 6.5/10
I am travelling to the pleasant leafy 'village' of Bournville, in Birmingham today to see some Cup action. It's the 2nd Round of the Birmingham FA Saturday Vase, that sees Cadbury Athletic, of the Midland Combination Div 1, at home to the visiting team of Team Dudley, from the West Midlands League, Div 2.
This is a new ground and a new competition for me. I have had my eye on a visit here for a while now and with a 1:30 pm kick-off, it means I will be able to take photos in natural light for 90 minutes.
I arrive at the ground in Bournville Lane after leaving the nearby rail station.It's a cool,cloudy day and I arrive 15 minutes before the game starts, enough time for a cuppa in the refreshment area on the ground level of the magnificent Pavilion building that is also home to the cricket club. The changing rooms are just to the back of this area.
The teams come out with the Cadbury team in their usual colours of purple and white (the same as the company's) and Dudley are in all-red.
Cadbury Athletic are currently at the top of their League table while Team Dudley are also doing well in 2nd place in their's. Dudley ground share at Dudley Town's Dell Stadium and are the senior team of Dudley College.
Their are 2 main football fields at Bournville Lane along with 2 smaller pitches. There is also a Bowls Green in the corner and in the summer months cricket is played here too.
As the game kicks off there seems to be about 30 spectators around the pitch. Cadbury Athletic have started off brightly and the visiting keeper has to be on his toes.
( Cadbury's Cordell Jones, fends off the Team Dudley No.5)
Dudley though do get some attacks going and it's quite an even game. Cadbury though take the lead on 20 minutes when Cordell Jones, acrobatically volleys in from the edge of the penalty area, taking everybody by surprise.
(A kneeling Cordell Jones, watches the ball cross the line)
Within the next 11 minutes, Cadbury score another 3 goals and the tie as a contest is over. The Dudley coach is not a happy man and it looks as if the score is going to be 8 or 9-0 at this rate.
The students however manage to make it to the interval with no more goals conceded. Cadbury are a very good attacking team and should be in the Premier Division of their League on this showing.
Team Dudley seem to having more of the possession in the 2nd half although they are not troubling the Cadbury keeper in to action much.
( A rare Team Dudley free-kick )
Although Cadbury's score another goal, Dudley manage to score a consolation goal a few minutes before the end and they have certainly kept battling to the end, which does them credit.
(Cadbury striker, Stuart Butcher attacks the Dudley defence)
So Cadbury have booked their place to 3rd Round and it will be interesting to see who they play next in this competition.
Cadbury's Recreation Ground is well worth a visit even though there is not much in the way of cover, unless you can shelter under The Pavilion.
I am making my way to the historic city of Lichfield today as I have decided to watch the Midland Combination, Presidents Cup Final which is being held at Brownsfield Road, home of Lichfield City FC. This is a cup competition for Combination 1st Division clubs. This gives me an excuse to have a look round Lichfield too as I have not been there for about 4 years.
The weather forecast is not a good one for today so I travel prepared for this, wearing my Berghaus waterproof jacket and portable brolly stowed away in the rucksack.
Unfortunately I don't give myself a lot of time to look around the city centre, after having my dinner it only gives me about 45 minutes before setting off for the football ground. Lichfield has got many listed buildings so if you are a fan of historical architecture, it's worth taking a look!
(This is a view of the Cathedral from the banks of the lake called 'Stowe Pool')
So I make my way past Stowe Pool with views of the Cathedral and St Chad's church and Stowe House at the other end. Then it's about another 10-15 minutes walk to the ground, which is a new one for me.
I pay the £5 entrance fee (programme included) and make my way to the far side of the ground as that is where the sun is shining from although there are some ominous dark clouds approaching.
I have a quick chat with a Villa supporter who has travelled from Tamworth via Villa Park today but he tells me the sad news that they lost 1-2 to Chelsea.
Kick-off time arrives and I am surprised that neither team has decided to play in their away kit as Cadbury Athletic play in purple and Phoenix United play in a mainly dark blue kit, which look a bit similar to each other.
Cadbury start off very well and have the giant's share of possession in the opening stages.
However, in only their second attack, Phoenix have a player brought down in the penalty area when attacking down the right and the referee has no qualms in awarding a penalty. The United No.7 duly dispatches this and Cadbury's are 0-1 down.
Cadbury's best chance comes late on with the Phoenix goalie making a fine block and from the rebound the next shot is blocked by a defender.
Phoenix United have been penned back in their own half for long periods in the first 45 minutes and I think to myself that Cadbury Athletic will win this game if only they can score that first goal! During the first half I chatted a bit with the General Manager of Cadbury Athletic, Graham Thorn. He informs me that his team have failed to take a lot of their chances this season even though they have scored 100+ league goals.
He also tells me that plans are afoot to install floodlights at their Bournville ground although final planning permission is proving to be a problem.
For the first 15 minutes of the second half Phoenix press forward on the Cadbury goal trying to finish off their opponents.
Their attacks come to no avail however and one of their players gets booked for a robust challenge on a Cadbury defender. Play is stopped for several minutes while he gets treatment and the Cadbury goalkeeper is goading one of the Phoenix players. It takes two of his team mates to go over and calm him down before he causes any more trouble!
The weather is very variable today with brilliant sunshine interspersed with squally hail showers and about 3 times I have to take shelter in the nearest small stand.
Cadbury have the majority of play for the remainder of the match and their best chance falls to their No.7 who with only the goalkeeper to beat, steadies himself, takes aim and.....hits the right hand post!
Also a Phoenix player gets sent-off for a second yellow card but Cadbury's have blown it. Well into injury time, Phoenix break away and score a second goal!
(The Phoenix United players celebrate the decisive goal)
A few minutes later the final whistle is blown and the players are presented with their medals and then Phoenix United are given the trophy and proudly display it for their fans.
I'm glad I came for this match, which has seen mostly free flowing attacking football from both teams. Phoenix have taken their chances well and rode their luck which you need in games like this. The attendance today was officially 66.
This will probably be my last match this season although I might go to watch Birmingham Ladies play in the summer, who play at Stratford Town's ground.
