Tims 92

Nuneaton Town

Liberty Way

Ground No. 145 (return visit)

Visited - Monday 25^th April 2011

Result - Nuneaton Town 1-1 Boston United

Competition - Blue Square North

Attendance - 1525

When Nuneaton Borough left their historic Manor Park ground in 2007, it was supposed to be the start of a bright new future, the funds raised from selling the ground clearing the clubs debts, and them starting afresh in a shiny new stadium looking to step back up to the Conference. Fast forward 12 months from that sunny day in April when I’d attended the grounds final match, and… bankruptcy. The club had gone into liquidation, been forced to drop several divisions and as they were effectively starting again, made to change their name from the defunct Borough club, opting for Nuneaton Town instead. It was a slap in the face for supporters, albeit not one older fans weren’t used to.

Formed in 1889 as Nuneaton St. Nicholas, the club first adopted the name Nuneaton Town in 1894. Playing mostly in local leagues, in 1937, they voluntarily disbanded after the directors had sold Manor Park to the local council, but undeterred, using the Borough name the club was reformed a mere two days later. Under this title, they climbed up the non-league pyramid, entering the Southern League in 1958, and becoming founder members of the Alliance Premier (the Conference) in 1979. They came close to a football league place after finishing runners-up in both 1984 and 1985, but these were the days before automatic promotion, with even the title winners those years (Maidstone and Wealdstone), being denied entry. The late 80s and then the 90s found the club on a downwards slope, reforming again in 1991 after financial irregularities, and other than two promotions back to the Southern League Premier, the only thing during this decade to shout about was a second round FA Cup appearance, when they took Bournemouth to a replay, before narrowly losing 1-0. 1999 however proved to be a significant year, when they regained what many might see as their rightful place back at the top of the non-league ladder after storming to the Southern League title by a massive 23 points over second placed Boston. Two years later, and their nemesis from the south coast again would stop them from progressing to the third round of the FA Cup, when they met Bournemouth once more in the second round of the FA Cup, a 3-0 scoreline being more convincing for the Cherries this time, not that Borough would have been disappointed with that years cup campaign, having notably knocked out Stoke in the first round. Five years on, and it was the cup again that the club came to national prominence for when they took Premier League Middlesbrough to a replay in the third round after holding a team that contained the likes of Mendietta, Yakubu, Mark Viduka and Gareth Southgate to a 1-1 draw at Manor Park before losing in the replay. After reforming again in 2008, it’s been up and up for the new club, gaining promotion from the Southern League Midland division as play-off winners in their first season after finishing runners-up, and in 2009/10 they repeated the feat, finishing second in the Premier Division, before beating Chippenham in the play-off final to clinch a swift return to the Conference North. 2010/11 had been another good season, with the club once more claiming a play-off spot with the hope of making it a hat-trick of promotions..

Easter Monday usually throws up the chance of some doubles, and whilst I wasn’t especially looking for any, I was planning on visiting Bedworth United’s Oval ground when Duncan (of the fantastic Football Ground Guide) suggested coming here first with Nuneaton’s match against Boston kicking off at 1pm. Whilst I’d been to Liberty Way before, Duncan hadn’t, so ironically as with my first visit here, it would form the first of two games in the same day.

Setting off not too early, then I met Duncan just the other side of Birmingham, before driving to Nuneaton and parking up by the ground. Situated on the edge of an industrial estate, whilst Manor Park wasn’t exactly central either, this ground had been a real pain to get to when I first came, so driving this time was a much better experience, and after going in we headed to the clubhouse on the far side. Despite only being three years old, there had been a surprising number of changes since last time, with notably on the far side, a permanent Main Stand having been built, where before was a temporary structure. In addition, segregation had come into force at the West end, with the far end of the South Terrace shut off to home fans, restricting visiting supporters to the West Stand and no access to the clubhouse, which was a shame to see. Still, not a lot else had changed otherwise. The open South Terrace runs along one side, with six rows of terracing in front of the Rugby clubhouse, whilst both ends are covered terraces, unusually constructed of metal instead of concrete, the East Stand being about twice as high as the West Stand opposite. The club shop and entrance to the clubhouse sit in the far corner, and only recently opened, the Main Stand sits to the far end of the halfway line, providing 500 seats, which is supposed to be extended to double in size in the near future. Strangely, instead of being built in the same spot as the previous stand, it’s now the other side of the halfway line, still leaving the ground feeling a little undeveloped on this side.

Going into the game, both sides had confirmed that they’d be in the play-offs, albeit with the final finishing positions still up for grabs. The hosts started the brighter, and had a chance cleared off the line early on, before they took the lead in the seventh minute through Guy Hadland, when he got on to the end of a knock-on to smash the ball home. This put Town above Boston in the table, but they nearly saw their advantage thrown away when midfielder Kyle Storer elbowed Adam Boyes in the face halfway through the first half, only to escape any punishment after lots of arguing from both sides interrupted the game for a good five minutes. After this, it turned into a bit of a fiery afternoon, with Boston going close a couple of times before the break, the home side grateful for the half time whistle.

In the second half, the visitors started to dominate after the opening proceedings, and drew level in the 61^st minute when Lee Canoville headed home from a free kick to make it 1-1. After that, both sides had chances, with neither coming close enough to increase the lead, the draw confirming that Boston would be at home in the second leg of the play-offs, whilst Nuneaton would have to make the most of home advantage in the first leg, with the possibility of having to play the Pilgrims again dependent on results to come.

After leaving, we quickly made our way away for the short drive to Bedworth, passing a couple of people on their way to the ground who had assumed it was a 3 o’clock kick-off and were wondering why everyone was walking in the opposite direction!

Whilst it isn’t quite as attractive a venue to visit as Manor Park, location aside, the ground isn’t all that bad, and if the Main Stand can be extended as planned, and perhaps the South Terrace either extended or a roof put on it, then it will be a good venue that should see the club good for promotion back to the Conference at some point in the future.