The North Marston and Granborough Football Club
Fixtures for 2010-2011 season
| Saturday 4th September | v Wigginton FC (tbc) | at Wigginton Football Club |
| Sunday 5th September | v Wigginton FC (tbc) | at Wigginton Football Club |
| Sunday 19th September | v Wingrave FC | at Wingrave Football Club |
| Sunday 17th October | v Bierton FC | at Bierton Football Club |
| Sunday 21st November | v Ludgershall United FC | at Ludgershall United FC |
Return fixtures to be confirmed.
First home match
After three years of planning the Football Club finally played their first match on the new home ground at the Sportsfield on 17th July 2010.
Just-in-time management from the painting crew made sure that the pitch was marked out and ready for finest local talent to show their skills. This first game was an intra-club affair with twenty-one players turning out and squeezing into the elegant black and white strip (home) and all white strip (away).
This was a very proud moment for all those involved in the club and it was dedicated to the memory of Dean Easterbrook who was a keen footballer, an inspiration to us all and is sadly missed. Each year at the start of the season this fixture will be played in Dean's honour.
The two captains for the day were veterans of the club who will not be able to enjoy the full benefits of this new home ground as they are moving overseas, Trevor Calender (Gothenberg) and Roger Hall (Sydney). However, they will both remain connected to the club and we look forward to the away fixtures in their new home towns!
As was fitting the game itself was a thriller, ending 9-6 to Calender's home team. This sounds like a cricket score, but simply reflected the quality of finishing on display.
The first half was owned by the deadly striker Pete Williams (away team) who put on a stunning display of clinical finishing, scoring a hat trick in less than 30 minutes. There were a few other chances too that went begging but the guilty strikers will remain nameless. The home team were not overawed by the occasion and were never more than one goal adrift and they went into the break all level at 3-3.
A game of two halves
The second half was very different. An inspired team talk by Calender, added to the younger/fitter legs of the strikers made all the difference for the home team, with Arlen Easterbrook also bagging a hat trick. Rob Knight impressed with some fancy footwork and a beautifully curled shot into the top corner which left the keeper stranded.
But the game was not without controversy – always a risk when you are playing without a referee. When the home team was awarded a penalty, this was despatched comfortably by the captain. It was the turning point in the game and further goals followed making it 9-4. There were a couple of consolation goals from Jeff Scott and another dubious penalty taken calmly by the captain, Hall, but it was all too late.
Everyone was happy to hear the final whistle and move on to the pub and then the traditional barbeque for the prize giving ceremony.