United Counties League Premier Division
Branch Bros Stadium, Peterborough
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 28
Match Rating: 3
At the conclusion of the FA Cup game at Peterborough Sports, I briskly walked the one and a half mile distance across northern Peterborough, to the Dogsthorpe area of the city, to take in my second game of the day. It promised to be an altogether more low-key affair, with no TV cameras or potential giantkilling to be seen.
To enter the Branch Bros Stadium, spectators pass through a surprisingly substantial and well decorated turnstile block, and then along a path to reach pitchside behind one of the goals. To the right, there is a covered standing area, and team line-ups are posted on a wall to one side. There is then a burger van close to the players' entrance and corner flag, beyond which there is a further standing area, although this one has a much lower roof and was ideally suited to a damp and breezy day like today. The rest of this length is just hard standing, closely line by conifer trees, with the hard standing stretching behind the other goal. Along the remaining length there are two small modern metallic all-seater stands. A second football pitch is immediately behind the stands, giving the ground quite an open feel to it. It's quite a neat facility, enhanced by club signage, but it does not have much soul to it. The 28 programme was rather impressive, very attractively designed, easy on the eye, plenty to read and the important stats and facts. It was certainly worth the above average charge at this level.
Peterborough Northern Star came into this game in seventh place in the table, following four wins and two defeats from their opening six league games, although those two defeats came in their opening league fixtures, and so had won their last four league games, scoring 10 goals and conceding just one in the process. Northampton ON Checks were in 14th place in the 20 team Division, following their two wins and a draw from five league games.
With the wet and cold conditions continuing throughout this game, this was a surprisingly one-sided game, all the more surprising that it was the lower ranked team who dominated, and racked up an unassailable lead by half time. On 8 minutes, they opened the scoring with a far post header from a corner, and they doubled their lead within a minute when a player took a couple of touches to steady himself before drilling the ball low across the keeper and into the net. On 21 minutes, only a defender's block prevented a goalbound shot making it 0-3, but the reprieve lasted barely a minute, when a corner was headed back at the far post and then nodded in. Northern Star had a glimmer of hope on 26 minutes, when they were awarded a penalty for a clear handball. Sansby struck the ball low into the bottom right corner despite the keeper getting a faint touch. But Northampton restored their three goal lead on 40 minutes with another header from a corner, and in first half added on time, the visitors made it 1-5 when a low cross from the right was tapped across the keeper and into the net.
So a pretty shocking first half for the hosts, and it got even worse eight minutes after the break, when a long range shot was inexplicably punched out by the keeper, only for the ball to headed into the net. That was as good as it got for the visitors as substitutions seemed to break up their rhythm, and the game was pretty even and uneventful for the remainder of the match. The hosts created a couple of decent chances, before they finally did score a second on 86 minutes. An initial shot was saved, but the rebound was struck into the net via a desperate lunge by a covering a defender who could only divert the goalbound shot.
This was a really bad day at the office for the hosts, and indeed it was a pretty shocking day for Peterborough's senior football teams - not only did the teams I watched suffer convincing home defeats, but Peterborough United, in second place in League One, suffered a 0-4 defeat at home to Barnsley. Following a 2 mile walk back to the train station, I reflected on an enjoyable day out, although the walking, rain and wind made it rather tiring.
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