Dunkirk FC

Dunkirk 3 Lincoln Moorlands Railway 1

Far touchline

Home team win Dunkirk battle

Dunkirk 3 Lincoln Moorlands Railway 1

14/11/09

When the draw for this round was made, I printed it off, passed it to my colleague at work & said "Where should I go then?" She humoured me by giving the draw a respectful viewing & then announced "Dunkirk". So off I set, albeit nervously after 48 hours of almost continual rain and winds of 80 mph predicted to be hitting the country. On reaching Nottingham, I called the club and was happy to hear that the game wasn't in any danger and I was invited to make my way there. The first issue was finding the correct bus stop. I know Nottingham is a large city, but there seemed to be busses pinging al over the place. After a few minutes aimless wandering, I spotted a bus station and eagerly made my way over. I spotted an information room, went in and was pointed in the right direction by a very helpful chap. I thanked him, turned to leave and walked into the door that didn't budge an inch. "You have to pay to get out" he jested before pointing out that I had to push a button to open the door. I found my bus stop which has a frequent service on the number 48. I alighted at a retail park and set off to find the ground. On approaching a flyover, I was approached by 3 continental young ladies armed with a bus map who asked me if they were at the right stop to reach the castle. I'm not quite sure how they got there in the first place and I'm sure they weren't in the right place at all, but I suggested they flag down the next bus that came along to ask. It was a bit surreal talking to these girls with cars buzzing around our heads at all levels on the flyover and approach like some futuristic sci-fi movie. I headed off down the subway in search of Lenton Lane. I found it easily & set off walking down there in search of the ground past row upon row of industrial units. After about 10 minutes it became apparent that I was not going the right way. Just my luck, the road was in two parts, one either side of the A52 & I'd gone down the wrong section. I eventually found my way & reached the ground in good time. For future reference, I would take the number 1 park & ride bus from the station & just walk under the flyover at the busses destination & you're in Lenton Lane. Interestingly, you pass the entrance to Greenwood Meadows FC on this lane, so looks like I'm going to have to come back another time to tick off that ground. A very welcoming clubhouse greeted me with a bar, TV & food serving hatch. I find that the further North I go, the cheaper the food & usually it's of a better quality. I thoroughly enjoyed my sausage cob (With 4 sausage halves) & chips. I enjoyed bumping into a fellow ground hopper who I'd met the previous year at Kimberley Town. He writes his own reports and sometimes a poem, and creates his own little programme as a memento of his trip. He was very good company. The ground was surrounded by corrugated fencing & had a small covered area on one side and behind the near goal. A few white plastic seats were littered about for use. The pitch was in good shape and although it was very windy, this match never came close to being called off.

We were treated to a minor giant killing with Lincoln in the league above Dunkirk. The game had a great tempo and I'm not quite sure how it was goalless at half time. Dunkirk played some lovely attacking football and deservedly ended up winners. Three second half goals were well taken, the pick being a 25 yard effort into the top corner by substitute White. Lincoln scored a consolation on 90 minutes but were well beaten.

With so many games called off around the country, I definitely ended up for a change at the right place.