Another 2009 Saturday, another Saturday fixture list decimated by the weather. I was supposed to be heading to Clarence Road, the home of St. Albans for their game versus Wimbledon, and a trip which had been planned since November last year. There is no accounting for the bloody snow! Anyhow, because of said snow, it meant the choice was rather limited but there was one fixture that stood out and that was Leigh Genesis at home to Hednesford in their new Sports Village Stadium. This was purpose built to be shared with Leigh Centurians Rugby League Club, but if the rumours are true the costs are so high that the football club will not be able to afford to share there for any length of time, so it was a case of visit while you can!
The new ground was dead easy to find, with it being just off the main A579 Bolton road, so there was plenty of time to spare on arrival in Leigh, so that meant a chance to nip into town and go and take one last look at the old ground before it goes and joins the great housing development in the sky! Luckily some local vandals had wedged open a gate which even I could squeeze through...so here are the photo's I took of the gem that was Hilton Park....
It was then onto the new ground. There is not a lot I can say about new grounds. Yes, they are clean, Yes, they are comfortable BUT they are soulless and to me they make watching football a similar experience to going down the cinema. Unfortunately this seems to be the way forward and sadly most grounds will be like this in the future. If your team currently plays in what is deemed a rickety old stadium then don't listen to the heathens, they must be treasured and protected!!!
I was lucky that I managed to get some snaps of the ground, as the over zealous stewards clamped down on anyone with a camera.
Anyhow, onto the game itself and it wasn't that bad. Leigh had the better of the opening exchanges and should have been a couple of goals up but against the run of play Hednesford took the lead on the half hour though a Ross Dyer penalty (see below). This was after a needless foul in the area by a Leigh defender.
After this a rather young-ish Leigh folded like a pack of cards, Dyer scored his second with a powerful header on 36 minutes and then completed his hat-trick with a cool finish just after Half -time. It wasn't until the hour mark that Leigh got a goal back, a good finish by Phil Marsh, this lifted their confidence and they started to make a fight of it, however they could not force any more goals and Hednesford seen out the game to the delight of their travelling army of supporters.
Saturday 7th February 2009
Northern Premier League
Leigh Genesis 1-3 Hednesford Town
Attendance: 344
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