7.45pm 25 October 2023
Northern League, Division One
Boro Rangers 1 West Auckland Town 2 (att 124)
Back in 2015 I visited Trinity College in Middlesbrough for a game in what was then still called the Teesside League. That game was on a grass pitch, but now the nearby 3G has been turned into somewhere capable of hosting Northern League football.
Renamed Phoenix Park and now home to Boro Rangers, the ground, which only opened this season, is a far cry from the more traditional Northern League venues of old.
It ticks all the required boxes for for step five football, with seats and covered standing for spectators, and no one is going to build a brand new ground that includes crumbling terracing and stands far larger than needed.
It's a three-sided ground for those watching, with the far side of the artificial pitch out of bounds and where the dugouts are situated. After days of wet weather the surface at least meant little threat of a late postponement.
Boro Rangers have made made rapid progress on the pitch as well as off it in recent years. They made their debut in the league last season, winning division two, and have made a good start in division one.
They took an early lead against West Auckland, but the visitors were level about midway through the half thanks to a well-taken goal. There wasn't much between the sides but West Auckland deserved their second half winner.
Comments
Post a Comment