The bad weather prevented the play at many games across the non-league board, but one that escaped postponement was Market Drayton Town vs. Sheffield FC. Coming off the back of a 2-1 victory against Kidsgrove Athletic on New Years Day, spirits would’ve been high leading into this one, and it was my job today to cast my eye over Drayton in particular.
I started my journey on the 101 bus from Stafford to Newcastle-under-Lyme. Very little to report on this part of the journey really, except for the three girls who got on a few stops after myself. It’s safe to say that they evidently need a proper sit down with their respective mothers to discuss the correct application of makeup, as they’ve not quite mastered it yet. Never mind girls, years ahead of you yet.
Once in Newcastle (it looks even worse in grey weather conditions than normal) I had a 20 minute wait for the 164 to Market Drayton and decided I’d check on the public toilets. A rarity here, as I didn’t actually have to pay to use them! Just as well, really, when you consider they were no better than the atrocities found at Southport’s ground. Someone had even artfully engraved “CELTIC” into the wall. I’m guessing it had something to do with the fact the wall was blue and this typically made the poor bloke feel insecure whilst draining the donkey, so he saw it a way of getting his own back. You renegade.
I returned to the bus “station” if that’s what you wish to call it, to be joined by an old fella. He was eager to point out that there was a Bentley driving past, this reminded me of my Grandad. What is it with old people and pointing out what’s right in front of them, with sheer delight and astonishment? Anyway, as nice a bloke as he was and as riveting a topic the weather is, I had a bus to hop on to. Which I must say, I managed with aplomb. Such grace and fluidity in my strides…
The second leg of my journey reminded me a lot of the trip from Banbury to Brackley; a lot of fields, tight little villages and more fields. It took around 45 minutes to get to Market Drayton in the end, and I quickly realised this really is the place you want to be if you’re one of these who actually cares about the rivalry between the likes of Morrison’s, Tesco etc. and take sides. There’s 3 or 4 supermarkets in close proximity to each other. I can already hear your saliva dripping on the floor with wild excitement.
You wouldn’t think a football ground is down the road, would you?
Greenfields Sports Ground is a 10 minute walk from the bus station. To get there, you must avoid getting mowed down by imbeciles darting over the bridge as you cross the road towards the area shown in the above picture. My guess is that this place is a lorry park, it’s hard to say for me personally, as I’m not an expert on lorries. My interests aren’t that diverse, I regret to announce, and there weren’t any other lorries for the decapitated one in the picture to befriend. Anyway, a little further down the road, you are met by a sign that points to either side of the road. To the left is Market Drayton Rugby Club, to the right is Market Drayton Town Football Club. After seconds of deliberation, I arrived at the conclusion that it’d probably be best I chose the latter.
I arrived at the ground, had a chat with the man on the turnstile (his name was also Nick) and from what I can work out from the £2 programme, he’s also the vice-chairman. A very welcoming gentleman, I handed him the £8 entry fee and we chatted about recent games, attendances, the squad and so on… club secretary Rod Pope briefly joined us too and was all too willing to hand me a teamsheet when I asked.
The pitch was in OK condition. The goalmouths were a bit of a state, but this is to be expected at a lot of grounds at this level, I suppose. The cheesy chips priced at £2 were top drawer and almost as nice as ours at Carlton Town (take some beating). On the whole, the staff I came into contact with at the club were really friendly and went some way toward making my journey even more worthwhile. The toilets were of a standard expected at this level also, but again, were better than Southport’s. For a start, they had running water.
The ground itself is a fairly basic setup, as you may be able to tell from the picture above. There’s a main stand, to the left of which are two training pitches and to the right of which is the food stand, toilets and the clubhouse/directors rooms. Opposite the main stand are the two dugouts and behind them, a large wooden fence which also goes a lot of the way around the ground as a whole. Sitting in the main stand, looking to your right, you can see a small terrace and behind the far corner flag a very small, completely open seating section.
THE GAME
The game started off at a good pace and Market Drayton immediately took the game to the visitors. They pressed well from the front and after just 6 minutes they had the lead. The ball found itself at the feet of midfielder Rob Stevenson, who smashed in an effort from about 20 yards beyond Rob Poulter’s reach in the Sheffield goal. Although it was still early doors, Market Drayton deserved the goal thanks to the relentless nature they started the game with.
Drayton’s centre half Paul McMullen impressed me immensely throughout the first half. A man of colossal strength, he won everything in the air and was incredibly well organised. He covered his defensive partners very well and wasn’t afraid to stick his head in where it hurts. What impressed me was the fact that he knew how to communicate well. Anyone can shout their gob off at fellow players, it doesn’t make you a good communicator. He knew what to say and when to say it. Adding all of his qualities together, I don’t think he’d look out of place at a slightly higher level.
Another player who impressed was striker Yannick Makota. He plays the role of trequartista very well and with the ball at his feet, he looks very dangerous. Makota was adept at finding/creating pockets of space for himself and although he didn’t snatch a goal today, I fancy that he wouldn’t look out of place in any team in this league.
We’d have to wait until the second half for any further goals. Sheffield were abysmal in the first half, but came out in the second with a little more impetus. They made the game a lot more scrappy and seemed to wrestle control away from their hosts. Makota for Drayton seemed to be content with attempting flicks instead of simple control of the ball or simple and effective efforts on goal. He’d squandered one or two half-chances and Sheffield almost landed a suckerpunch in the 54th minute as a shot from the edge of the box looked destined for the back of the net, only for McMullen to clear the effort off the line and thump it to safety.
Market Drayton had a real quality for breaking play up in midfield but eventually they got sucked into long ball play which didn’t suit them; they lost their shape and control. This was capitalised on by the visitors as forayed down the left-hand side though Purkiss, Steve Woolley then left the Drayton backline stood like statues before finding Andy Gascoigne who slotted beyond Tom Hunt to make it 1-1. The ascendancy was now with Sheffield and they continued to nudge the play away from the “Gingerbread Men”.
The game continued to get scrappier and a free kick just outside the penalty area resulted in Sheffield taking a deserved lead. Joel Purkiss picked his spot brilliantly, drifting his effort over the wall and into the ‘keeper’s bottom right-hand corner from about 20 yards.
Market Drayton’s response was to bring on Martyn Davies for the final 10 minutes or so. He used his body well against the Sheffield defence and offered a contrasting style to that of Makota’s.
The final few minutes showed football’s true colours, as Market Drayton fought themselves free from the jaws of defeat. Firstly, a corner whipped into the box was only partially cleared and it found its way to James Askey around 14 yards out, who flicked the ball at just the right height to escape the clutches of Rob Poulter in the Sheffield goal. A matter of seconds later, decent work down the right by Rob Stevenson resulted in a wonderful cross, who met it? Martyn Davies. The man off the bench thumped home his header to raise what little roof there actually was in the ground.
Teams:
Market Drayton:
Tom Hunt; Josh Green, Sam Westray, Paul McMullen, James Askey; Jake Bennett, Nick Porter, Kyle Blake, Rob Stevenson; Yannick Makota, Will Whieldon.
Subs: Martyn Davies, Delroy Fox, Sean Jones, Jordan Hall, Tom Gee.
Sheffield:
Rob Poulter; Ben Turner, Jack Waddle, Jamie Hadfield, Brandon Cardwell; Steve Woolley, Warren Burrell, Andrew Gascoigne, Joel Purkiss, James Gregory; Zeph Thomas.
Subs: Stuart Ludlam, Mark Fereday, Max Pemberton, Connor Shirley, Matt Roney.
Match Officials:
Referee: Mark Billingham
Assistant (red): Matthew Perry
Assistant (yellow): Antony Garrard
Under The Floodlights 