Tims 92

Pilkington XXX

The Triplex Sports Ground

Ground No. 195

Visited - Saturday 26th September 2009
Result - Pilkington XXX 1-1 Castle Vale
Competition - Midland Combination Premier Division
Attendance - 42

There are probably many people reading this who have travelled along the railway line between Birmingham and Bristol, or one of the local services out to Redditch or Bromsgrove, yet not many who traverse that route, even regularly, will perhaps have noticed the ground that stands adjacent to Kings Norton station. To be fair, whilst trains can be seen from within the ground running along the embankment that dominates one side, it’s a difficult spot even from the vantage point of the overhead footbridge at the station, but for those who do visit the ground, then they are in for a treat.

The Triplex Safety Glass Company was founded in 1923, and in 1931 they entered a team into the local works league, providing employees with the sports ground adjacent to its factory. The team enjoyed some early success, and in 1956 the ground was developed further with the pitch levelled off and banking erected around three sides (although after entering you do wonder what it must have been like with a large slope from side to side still evident!). Terracing was laid down at the same time and changing rooms and the social club built, with cricket also provided for. The ground has been used by many teams over the years, most notably Richmond Swifts who in 1996 built a stand on the far side to comply with ground grading regulations before subsequently leaving when they were refused permission to install floodlights, but when permission was finally granted some years later, another former works team, Burman Hi-ton decided to change their name to Pilkington XXX (Pilkington having long since taken over Triplex) and move into the vacant ground. Burman had entered the Midland Combination in 1998, winning the Division 3 and 2 titles in their early years, but the name change saw them move on to even greater success, achieving promotion to the Premier Division in 2004.

I’d seen them play recently, only a week before to be exact, away at GSA Sports where an epic 5-5 draw had been played out in a game as exciting as any I’ve seen in a long time. This weekend I hadn’t actually planned to go anywhere, but the thought of a Saturday with no football was too much to bear(!) so a rather late decision to rush over to Birmingham and visit this ground was hastily made.

Tucked in between the railway line and factories, then the immediate surroundings of the ground are somewhat industrial, but after entering, then the location feels far more pleasant with trees and the banking helping to give an enclosed feel. The man on the gate had recognised me from the week before and after a brief chat, glad to have got a programme and pin badge this time, then I made my way in. The cricket pitch is unused these days except for several kids kicking a ball around on it, and the brick built social club and changing rooms sit in the near corner, with a clock on its roof and some ornate railings only slightly spoiled the various health & safety signage on a large exit door. These doors are unused, instead the players coming around the side of the building and onto the pitch in a rather more low key entrance. The near side of the ground is undeveloped, whilst terracing runs around the other three sides, interrupted only opposite where the Main Stand sits on the near side of the halfway line providing cover with deeper terracing in one half and seats in the other. Further along the touchline are the dugouts, which themselves are slightly unusual with a section of seating for directors in between the home and away bench, all under one roof.

Castle Vale were the visitors, and going into the fixture only two points separated the sides, with both looking fairly even in a game that flowed from end-to-end in the first half. It looked like a mistake was what it was going to take to break the deadlock, and in the 19th minute it seemed to have come when a bit of clumsy defending and lack of communication between Vale’s number 3 and his goalkeeper let Danny Wakefield in for Pilks, only for the defender to hack him down before he had a chance to nick the ball and take advantage. With no one else back, then the inevitable red card followed, and Vale were down to 10, but there was some relief for the visitors when Kevin Brookes hit a poor spot-kick low and too close to the keeper, to keep the scores level. Despite being a man down, it was the visitors who took the game by the scruff of the neck, and with only seconds of the first half remaining they took the lead, with a fantastic finish from Clint Andrews, who fired home from all of 20 yards after the ball had come out to him on the edge of the area.

The second half continued in the same vein, Pilks not really making the most of their one man advantage until later on in the game when Vale started to visibly tire a bit. It took another penalty for the home side, this time for handball, to level the scores, Brookes stepping aside to let Brett Skinner smash it home with assurance. The hosts could have taken the lead shortly afterwards when Brendan Hicks hit the bar and the game saw a frantic finish with Vale forcing a number of saves from the home ‘keeper before the ref finally blew for full time with the points being shared.

After leaving, I made my way home with no problems, glad to have made the late decision to come. The ground is a classic, and if Pilkington can keep up the form shown in between visiting and writing this review, then it may well be hosting a higher level of football in the near future. In addition, it’s always worth noting when a club are friendly, and ‘Pilks’ are as welcoming as any I’ve come across, so for anyone looking for a ground to visit in the Birmingham area, you could do a lot worse than this one.