My Non League Day 2015

It was 10 years ago that I rediscovered Non League again after many years and one of the joys since it's inception in 2010 has been Non League day that I wrote about last week.

So this year it was down to Sporting Khalsa and the added bonus of it being an FA Cup 3rd qualifying round between Step 5 Midland League Khalsa and Step 4 NPL Northern League Spalding United, having beaten a step 4 side in the previous round Khalsa had every reason to feel confident.

This was my 4th visit to the Asprey Arena this season and I have to say it is one of the friendliest places to visit and you are always assured of a warm welcome,in addition to the Khalsa guys it was also good to meet up with fellow Non League aficionados Garry,Martin and Roger,in addition it was good to meet for the second time Paul Smithson and his fellow Windsor FC fans who are travelling all over the country following the FA Cup from round to round, true Non League fans

And so to the match and an immediate shock for Khalsa as Joe Moreman cut in from the left and fired home although the usually highly impressive Khalsa keeper James Pemberton may feel he could have got more on it

The rest of the game was finely balanced with neither side creating any clear cut chances but as the second half wore on Khalsa began to dominate and just when it looked like time had run out Marvin Nisbett   was brought down as he attempted to round the Spalding keeper and Khalsa had a penalty,should keeper Michael Duggan have been sent off rather than cautioned is open to debate However I personally wont criticise the ref for this because he had a superb game hardly getting a thing wrong and handling the couple of flashpoints really well

With leading scorer Craig Bannister having been substituted it fell to Dave Meese to secure the replay they so richly deserved and he was unerring from 12 yards

So both sides will be in the hat for Monday's draw as the big boys of the National League Premier enter the competition and I wouldn't like to call the result of the replay although Spalding with home advantage should start as favourites.

I'll finish on a real positive,Khalsa have never been the best supported club in the area but yesterday a record crowd for the Asprey Arena of over 400 watched the match,yes some of those will have been fans of Wolves,Blues the Baggies etc there because of the Non League Day publicity and hopefully they will return on days their own teams are playing away but i think there were others there who have no other affiliation,hopefully they will return and become regulars

Go On Give Non League Day A Chance

This Saturday October 10^th is Non League day a day celebrated each year to bring the Non League game to the attention of all football fans but especially those who support Football League and Premier League sides.

Why especially those you may ask, well let me take you back to a simpler time when to quote my daughters we had to fight off the Dinosaurs off on the way to the match,anyhow back in the 60’s and 70’s my dad and I were regulars at Molineux,never missed a match.

But on the other weeks when Wolves were away and we were unable to travel we went to follow our local Non League team,in our case Dudley Town and we met many who we also saw at Molineux doing exactly the same.

Sadly in the 21^st century this doesn’t seem to be the case and we all know the answer, SKY Sports, match after match on at all hours drawing people away from actually going to a match, but why? I mean I was a Wolves fan and if they were the live game back in the day and Sky were around then yes I would probably have been in the pub watching it,but Norwich v Crystal Palace why would I want to watch that live when  can see the highlights on numerous platforms later in the day

You will see many T shirts saying Keep Music Live but fewer saying Football Is Not A TV Programme yet the sentiment is the same,at the end of the day it’s not the same if you’re not actually there,now I won’t say that you will see the same quality as at The Emirates   but you will see some decent football and plenty of excitement,you will also in my experience meet some really nice people who have a great enthusiasm and love for the game.

So if your team aren’t playing this weekend (League 1 and 2 fans are exempt if you are going to your teams game) don’t go down the pub or let the Wife/Girlfriend /Husband/Civil Partner etc take you shopping (do that on Sunday) go to a Non League match, give it a chance and even if you come away saying load of rubbish never going back you will have made an informed decision,it’s also FA Cup 3^rd Qualifying round so you might see a minnow who actually gets to be on the TV in a few weeks time .