12noon 4 July 2026
Pre-season friendly
Newport Pagnell Town 2 Northampton Sileby Rangers 3 (att 48)
Not for the first time I began a new season by watching a pre-season friendly played on an unusual ground.
The Leah Williamson pitch, named after the Arsenal and England player, is a 3G at the Willen Road Sports Ground, where Newport Pagnell Town are based. I visited the main ground back in 1989, long before Leah was even born.
The pitch that bears her name is just beyond Town's regular ground. It's a typical facility, with a spectator area that runs about three-quarters of one side.
Friendlies are rarely games I'll travel far for. This lunchtime kick off at least allowed me to combine it with a nearby afternoon game, and was a relatively short detour from a journey between Manchester and Surrey that I was making anyway.
The home side scored inside the first ten seconds, for what is probably the quickest opening goal to a season that I've ever seen. They looked the better side early on, but Northampton Sileby Rangers got back into the game.
A flurry of goals just before half time saw the visitors equalise, concede and then equalise again.
Newport Pagnell brought on fresh legs at half time, 22 of them as they changed their entire side. Sileby had a fewer subs, and with a more settled side they won the match thanks the second half's only goal.
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