6.30pm 22 August 2017
Manchester League, Premier Division
Manchester Gregorians 2 Stockport Georgians 2 (att 26)
Last Tuesday I was at Bellevue Park in Wrexham, this week I was at another Belle Vue, in Manchester, for a fixture that is almost (but annoyingly not quite) an anagram derby - Gregorians v Georgians.
The new complex built around Belle Vue's speedway stadium is called, rather grandly, Belle Vue Sports Village. It's the new home of Manchester Gregorians, and when I arrived both teams were warming up on the artificial pitch inside the speedway track.
Flanked by a pair of huge stands I thought it was going to be a surprisingly impressive venue for a Manchester League game, but apparently the pitch is a little too small for senior football, and so after their warm ups the players headed to the more basic 3G pitch next door.
It's better than some caged 3G grounds, as it at least has proper area for spectators running the length of one touchline, but it's not an interesting ground to visit.
Luckily the game was good enough to compensate. Stockport Georgians took an early lead, conceded an equaliser but scored again to lead 2-1 at half time. The home side scored the only goal of the second half to earn a point, but as the visitors finished the game with 10 men, after a sending off, they'll have been frustrated not to win.
Manchester League, Premier Division
Manchester Gregorians 2 Stockport Georgians 2 (att 26)
Last Tuesday I was at Bellevue Park in Wrexham, this week I was at another Belle Vue, in Manchester, for a fixture that is almost (but annoyingly not quite) an anagram derby - Gregorians v Georgians.
The new complex built around Belle Vue's speedway stadium is called, rather grandly, Belle Vue Sports Village. It's the new home of Manchester Gregorians, and when I arrived both teams were warming up on the artificial pitch inside the speedway track.
Flanked by a pair of huge stands I thought it was going to be a surprisingly impressive venue for a Manchester League game, but apparently the pitch is a little too small for senior football, and so after their warm ups the players headed to the more basic 3G pitch next door.
It's better than some caged 3G grounds, as it at least has proper area for spectators running the length of one touchline, but it's not an interesting ground to visit.
Luckily the game was good enough to compensate. Stockport Georgians took an early lead, conceded an equaliser but scored again to lead 2-1 at half time. The home side scored the only goal of the second half to earn a point, but as the visitors finished the game with 10 men, after a sending off, they'll have been frustrated not to win.
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