Date: 05.02.2019

Ground: 81

Match: 23 (2018/2019 season)

Venue: Meadows

Teams: Town V Smethwick Rangers

Competition: Regional League Premier Division

Admission: £3

Final Score: 5-0 (H/T 3-0)

Referee: Not Known

Attendance: 22 (Head Count)

Mileage to venue and return: 41.2 Miles

Programme: £1

Introduction

This game was the third time in a row that I had attempted to take in a midweek game of football. Two weeks ago, I arrived at the Aspray Arena to watch Dudley Town V Black Country Rangers, but the snow came down with force and the game was postponed with around half hour to go too kick off. Last Tuesday I had planned to visit Wellbeing Park for the ‘El Stonio’ between Stone Dominoes V Stone Old Alleynians, but that was postponed earlier in the day due to more bad weather. So, it goes without saying that I was very pleased to see an improvement in the weather and for this game at Ribbesford Meadows to go ahead.

As this was a midweek match, I went straight to the venue directly from my place of work in Atcham, . My route from work took me the usual way home too Much Wenlock but instead of turning right in Much Wenlock and towards my, HQ in South Shropshire I travelled towards the Shropshire Village of Morville. From Morville I travelled through more Shropshire Villages – Glazeley, Billingsley and Button Oak to name but a few before arriving in Bewdley. As is my usual practise, I found the location of the ground which is located in the Village of Ribbesford, 1.3 miles from Bewdley. I then headed back too Bewdley for a wonder around this beautiful town. I have visited the town in the past, so I was familiar of where to go. As I had plenty of time to spare before the 7:45pm kick-off, my intention was to treat myself too some fish and chips from the award winning Merchants Fish Bar located next too Bewdley Bridge…………………………………….. or so I thought! On approaching the Fish Bar, I was disappointed to discover that it was currently closed for refurbishment work and had to make do with a £3 meal deal from the Supermarket next door.

The next section of this report provides some information on the Town of Bewdley.

BEWDLEY

Picture Shows Bewdley town Centre looking towards Bewdley Bridge

Bewdley is a small riverside town and situated in the district of the county of Worcestershire, on the Shropshire border – 22 miles southwest of Birmingham.

Following the 2011 census the town was recorded as having 9,470 inhabitants. Bewdley lies on the River Severn, at the entrance of the Wyre Forest national nature reserve. Because of Bewdley’s superb picturesque location, the town is popular with tourists and is well known for the Bewdley Bridge designed by the famous engineer Thomas Telford.

The main section of Bewdley is located on the western bank of the River Severn with the majority of the towns shops and other amenities situated along Load Street. At the top of Load Street is St Anne’s Church which was constructed in the 18th century between 1745-1748.

St Anne’s Church with War Memorial Bewdley Bridge spanning over the River Severn was constructed in 1798 and as previously mentioned designed by Thomas Telford. The bridge was built to be used as a replacement for the 1483 medieval bridge which was destroyed due to intense flooding in 1795.

Bewdley Bridge pictured above

My view from the bridge whilst ‘tucking’ into my £3 meal deal. The Railway has a station in Bewdley, from here you can travel too, the nearby town of passing the West Midlands Safari Park.

Bewdley has a vibrant music scene and is well known for its numerous country music venues as well as being the host to several local festivals including Hop Fest and Bewdley Live.

Another notable attraction in the town is it’s museum, admission to the museum is free and is situated in the Guildhall a stones throw from the Tourist Information Centre.

Bewdley has three twin towns, two in Europe and one in the United States of America – the towns are as follows:

Fort-Mahon-Plage: France

Vellmar: Germany

Clarksville: USA

Stanley Baldwin (3rd August 1867-14th December 1947) who served three terms as prime minister between 1923 and 1937 was born in Bewdley at Lower Park House. As well as being prime minister Stanley Baldwin served as the MP for Bewdley from 1908 and latterly became Earl Baldwin of Bewdley.

A statue of Stanley Baldwin shown above adjacent to St Anne’s Church

BEWDLEY TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

Address: Ribbesford Meadows, Ribbesford, Bewdley, DY12 2TJ

Website: www.bewdleytownfc.co.uk

Twitter: @BewdleyTownFC

Club Officials: Dale Horton – President

Geoff Edwards – Chairman

Steve Godfrey – Secretary

Jo Payton – Treasurer

Media – Derry Thompson

Bewdley Town 1st Team:

Phil Mullen – Manager

Paul Davies – Manager

Chris Knight, Jeff Elloitt, Wayne Payton – Physios

Alex Kilgour, Wayne Payton – Coaching Staff

Chris Knight – Kit Man BEWDLEY TOWN FC – HISTORY

The following information has been obtained from Bewdley’s matchday programme.

Bewdley Town Football Club, as it is now known, was formed in 1978, following 90 years competing under various local names, one of which has been resurrected recently by the youth section as Bewdley Comrades.

The club was formed with the merger of two local teams, Bewdley Old Boys FC and Woodcolliers FC, the latter who played on a Sunday and both originally playing at Gardeners Meadow in Bewdley. The ground at Gardeners Meadow was sold for re-development which meant the club had to seek a new venue and moved temporarily to Kidderminster. A massive fundraising project commenced, which enabled the club to purchase land and return to Bewdley, to their home Ribbesford Meadows under the guidance of Robert Burns.

After playing in the Kidderminster and District Leagues, the main senior side under the management of Craig Payton and Chairman Geoff Edwards, joined in 1999, the West Midlands Regional League Division One South. Prior to this Ribbesford Meadows had been an on going project, providing football facilities for all ages, including youth football in the Stourport and District League and the Midlands Floodlit League, adult football in the Kidderminster and District League, and can boast being one of the first clubs in Worcestershire in 1993 under FA Coach Chris Middleton to start a Mini Soccer Centre. This centre is still in operation and draws children of all abilities from the age of 4, from all areas of the Wyre Forest region, under the expert tuition of FA Coach Wayne Payton and co- ordinator Jo Payton, and their team of qualified coaches.

In 2005, Bewdley Town finished runners up in Division One and gained promotion to the West Midlands Premier League, however in order for them to compete at this level, they had to rent the facilities of near rivals Stourport Swifts. In 2006 permission was granted to build stands and erect floodlights, and in their second season, finished third in the league, having lead for much of it, only being thwarted from possibly winning the league, by bad floods meaning them having to play a large number of games in a short period at the end of the season eventually having its toll on the players. If they had won the league however, they would not have been granted promotion due to the on going development of the ground not being completed.

In 2007-2008 the ground had been given a higher rating allowing them to compete in matches at a higher level and gain promotion if they finished in any of the top places. Bewdley Town FC also made history in this season, when they were allowed to enter the FA Vase for the first time, where they reached the third round proper, losing to higher ranked opposition Coventry Sphinx. The following season saw Bewdley make their appearance in the FA Cup, although short lived, when they lost at home to Midland Alliance side Alvechurch FC.

The last few seasons, have seen Bewdley Town under the guidance of joint managers Craig Payton and Brian Lacey, become one of the top sides in the West Midlands Regional League. Their attractive style of football has made them one of the hardest sides to beat, and one which has attracted supporters from all over the country.

Work is on going at Ribbesford Meadows, as the committee and loyal band of volunteers continue to develop the ground for higher levels of competition. Their hard work and achievement, was recently recognised by an award from “Groundtastic Magazine” for the best stand in the lower levels of non league football (I would certainly agree with this after seeing the stand for the first time) and narrowly missed winning best ground in the same category, they have recently attained the necessary grading to allow them to proceed up the non league ladder.

The 2008/09 season saw Bewdley Town reach the final of the Worcestershire Senior Urn, losing narrowly to Midland Football Alliance side Studley 3-2 at Aggborough, although many thought they were unlucky to do so. However, two years later in the 2010/11 season, they gained their revenge beating Studley 2-1 in front of a crowd of over 500.

The 2011/12 season saw Bewdley become a strong cup side, they again reached the final of the Worcestershire Senior Urn, where they retained the trophy, once again in front of a 500+ crowd beating Alvechurch FC from the Midland Football Alliance, coming from a goal down to win 3-2. They also nearly caused an upset in the FA Cup, where after progressing through to the 2nd qualifying round, they very nearly claimed the scalp of Evostick Southern Premier League side , leading 1-0 with 13 minutes of the game left, but eventually losing 2-1, their victor progressed through to the 2nd round proper.

The 2011/12 season saw Bewdley Town enter a team in the new Under 21 League of the Midland Combination, the first season saw them finish a creditable 4th place in a strong league with a number of academy sides. Season 2012/13 also begins a new chapter, with a new Under 18’s and our 14’s entering the Midland Junior Premier League, playing on Saturday mornings, where, very much like the Under 21’s, the competition will be against strong academy sides. The introduction of these teams bodes well for the future of Bewdley Town FC, with a direct route now through from youth to 1st XI football and beyond, which the club has continued to pursue since the introduction of the Mini Kickers.

Bewdley Town were awarded the Charter Standard Adult Status in April 2012 and together with their successful Youth Section, are striving towards Community Club Status.

At the end of 2012/13 season, Bewdley added to the trophy cabinet by winning both the Worcestershire Infirmary Charity Senior and Junior Cups with the 1st team beating Malvern Town 4-3 and the under 21’s beating the same opponents 2-1.

May 2014 saw an era come to an end, when joint managers Craig Payton and Brian Lacey decided to retire. The position of 1st team manager was handed over to the vastly experienced Phil Mullen with former Kidderminster Harriers striker Paul “Ocker” Davies as his number 2.

The 2014/15 season was a struggle for the new look Town as, not only did the club have new managers, but also had a new team, with a number of “older heads” deciding to retire, leaving Phil no option but to look to youth. Town finished the season in 17th position, well clear of relegation, but the final game of the season saw them regain the Worcestershire Infirmary Charity Senior Cup with a 1-0 again at Malvern Town.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Bewdley Town are having a successful league campaign this current season, currently sitting in 7th place in the West Midlands Regional League Premier Division: Their league record reads as follows:

Played 27, Won 13, Drawn 6, Lost 8, Scored 60, Conceded 44, Points 45

Statistics correct at time of writing – Thursday 7th February and obtained from the excellent website www.nonleaguematters.co.uk

RIBBESFORD MEADOWS

I can quite happily and confidently say that Ribbesford Meadows is now amongst my favourite grounds that I have had the pleasure of visiting on my travels thus far. You enter the site turning off the main road travelling through the village of Ribbesford and driving down a lane into the main club car park. Before you enter the main car park, to the right is the Bewdley Town Club House. I took the opportunity to have a look around this facility and enjoyed a nice chat with Alan who was working behind the bar. Alan kindly showed me some old Bewdley Town programmes and said that I could take one, which I did – Bewdley Town V Kidderminster Harriers from July 2017. Before exiting the club house, I took the following picture which shows some of the Bewdley Town teams from yesteryear displayed on the wall.

The ground is just a very short walk away from the main car park, I gained entrance to the ground after passing a small pay hut which seems to be currently out of use and paying the gateman, Martin Westcott (of whom more later) who was stationed in the grounds snack hut.

The now seemingly out of use pay hut

Snack Bar I chatted to Martin for a short time and enjoyed a very welcome cup of coffee on this cold wet and wild evening in Worcestershire.

The first thing I noticed from entering the ground was the fantastic looking covered stand to the right of the entrance. On closer inspection I can easily see why the club won their award from the “Groundtastic Magazine” it is superbly set into the hillside surrounded by large trees and provides an excellent view for the spectators. The seating is all wooden with mats provided for the added comfort of the spectators.

Absolutely Beautiful

Above picture shows the seating provided in the stand The pitch is fully railed with either hard standing or astro turf type standing available. The changing rooms are situated in a wooden building in the far corner of the ground next to the toilets.

The Ribbesford Meadows Changing Rooms.

The dug outs for both teams are positioned directly opposite the stand and I don’t exaggerate by saying this probably only 20 to 30 yards in front of the River Seven, which in my opinion gives a uniqueness to the ground and meaning it must be one of the closest football grounds to a river in the country.

As is my usual practice when I visit a ground for the first time, I walked around the entire site and took many pictures, three of which I share with you as follows:

Picture taken to the left of the entrance too Ribbesford Meadows

Picture taken from the far end of the ground looking back towards the entrance

Another picture of the fantastic stand at Ribbesford Meadows TEAM LINE UP’S & STATISTICS

Bewdley Town Smethwick Rangers

1. Joe Sidaway 1. Joshua Morgan

2. Steve Clarke 2. Kieran Smith

3. Aaron Stubbins ( c ) 3. Alex Reid

4. Sam Parmenter 4. Luke Walker

5. Sam Prescot 5. Jordon McGovern

6. Simon Rudd 6. Matthew Baker

7. Tom Smith 7. Ryan Jones

8. Callum Martin 8. Daniel Wright ( c )

9. Luke Sidaway 9. Josh Cooke

10. Dylan Hart 10. Ottis Reynolds

11. Chris Seekings 11. Jake Brigdale

12. Ben Priest 12. Dominic Constable

14. Tom Pepperall 14. Sanjeev S Johal

15. Morgan Carpenter 15. Luke Dixon

16. Sam Lester 16. Shaikul Islam

17. Gavin Knight 17. Jordon Thomas

Goal Log: No.10 4, 24, Goal Log: N/A

No.6 10,

No.9 63,

No.11 90+1,

Attempts at Goal: 18 Attempts: 10

On Target: 10 On Target: 5

Corners: 9 Corners: 1

Offsides: 5 Offsides: 3

Yellows: 1 Yellows: 1

Reds: 0 Reds: 0

MATCH REPORT

I think that it is fair to say that the home team dominated this encounter, roaring into a three-goal lead inside the first 25 minutes. Their opponents to their immense credit worked hard throughout the 90 plus minutes and never let their heads drop.

Bewdley almost took the lead in the opening seconds of the game, their winger Tom Smith produced a cross from the right flank which almost dropped into the net, however, a Smethwick defender cleared the ball off the line.

Bewdley opened the scoring in the 4th minute of the game, a ball was played down the left, finding Dylan Hart who dribbled the ball at pace into the Smethwick penalty area before placing the ball past Joshua Morgan, high into the net.

It was 2-0 to Bewdley six minutes later, a shot from the left was well saved by Morgan but unfortunately for him the ball fell too the feet of Simon Rudd who made no mistake from close range.

Smethwick produced their first strike on goal in the 11th minute, a long range shot by Josh Cooke which was well held by Joe Sidaway in the Bewdley goal.

Three minutes later, Cooke created a chance for himself and shot just wide of the far post.

Bewdley took a three-goal advantage in the 24th minute, Hart with his second of the game, this time with a great shot from 20 yards giving Morgan no chance.

The home side went close to extending their lead further during the first half but a mixture of good goalkeeping and a strike from distance striking the woodwork denied them twice.

Half-Time 3-0

First Half action Second Half

Bewdley started the second half as they finished the first half and went on the attack in the 49th minute – good work on the left by Chris Seekings saw the number 11 finding Hart in the penalty area but the Bewdley striker failed to grab a hat-trick, seeing his shot coming back off the cross bar.

Seekings produced some more fine work in the 57th minute, creating a chance for himself before shooting wide of the target.

Bewdley took a four-goal lead in the 63rd minute, a cross from the right flank was headed home from close range by Luke Sidaway.

Smethwick responded to this set-back by almost getting a goal back two minutes later, Ottis Reynolds with a fine which was well saved by goalkeeper Sidaway.

The following 25 minutes saw some good chances come and go for both teams, Bewdley shooting wide of the target on two occasions whilst their opponents made Sidaway work with two telling efforts of their own.

The scoring was ended for the night in the first minute of time added on – substitute Sam Lester found Seekings in space in the Smethwick penalty area, the Bewdley man keeping his composure to score from close range.

Final Score: 5-0

Second Half action

CONCLUSION

This was an extremely enjoyable first visit to Ribbesford Meadows and I would highly recommend any groundhopper thinking of going to this part of Worcestershire to so.

I would now like to share an ironic set events and a chance meeting that I made at Ribbesford Meadows on Tuesday.

You may remember earlier in my report that I mentioned a man by the name of Martin Westcott who was working on the gate for Bewdley Town on Tuesday. After I paid my £3 entry fee and obtained the programme for the match, Martin and I got talking. During our conversation Martin asked if I had ever played football in the past – I told him that I had, having played for Shifnal Town from the mid 90’s to the early 2000’s, representing the youth and reserve teams as a goalkeeper. Ironically it turned out that Martin had also played for Shifnal Town during the 1980’s. Now, this was ironic enough, but I was left astonished by the next part of our conversation. Martin also mentioned that he had once been the manager of a team called – I told him that the name of the team rang a bell and we both discovered why. I remembered that I had played against Chaddesley Corbett for Shifnal Town in a league cup game in the late 90’s, Martin added that this was when he was the manager of Chaddesley Corbett and we both agreed that we (Shifnal) went onto win the game after extra time.

I really enjoyed our chat and reminiscing and to prove what I am saying is true, here are a couple of pictures of the programme from the game.

So there we have it excellent first trip to Ribbesford Meadow and a fantastic story to take home with me.