Tims 92

Wolverhampton Casuals

Brinsford Stadium

Ground No. 188

Visited - Tuesday 11th August 2009
Result - Wolverhampton Casuals 1-5 Bloxwich United
Competition - West Midlands Regional League, Premier Division
Attendance - 60

To the unsuspecting Scot then one might think a review on Wolverhampton Casuals is going to discuss a branch of the infamous Subway Army, but far from it! Competing in the West Midlands Premier, the club have been going in various forms right back to the nineteenth century, having been founded as Wolverhampton Old Church in 1899. Starting life in the Fighting Cocks area of the city, then it would be interesting to know if they ever played at Wolves’ former Dudley Road ground, however it isn’t mentioned in the programme, but in their 110 years of existence, they have played at many of the city’s non-league venues, including Bantock Park, Aldersley Stadium, Codsall, and finally Brinsford Stadium, just over the border in Staffordshire. Ironically, it was after moving here that they renamed themselves to their current moniker from the previous Staffordshire Casuals name, mainly because of league rules after entering the Birmingham League in 1982. Since then, they’ve enjoyed moderate success, being mainstays of the top flight for the last 14 years, and with a new season underway, then I was looking forward to getting along there and ticking one of the closest grounds left for me to visit.

Not far from neighbours Goodrich, then the ground sits just the other side of the M54 which defines the northern boundary of Wolverhampton/Staffordshire. The ground itself is tucked back from the main A449 road, just off Brinsford Lane and boasts two pitches, with the main one just as you walk in. Most of the facilities are situated on the far side, sandwiched in between the two pitches, and this is where the Main Stand sits, adjacent to the clubhouse and dressing rooms. It features four rows of bench seating and is just off the halfway line, with hard standing running the rest of this side, whilst the near end and first half of the near side also have hard standing. The far end and other bit of the near side beyond the dugouts is inaccessible to supporters, despite being railed off, but with tall trees on these two sides, then it provides a nice backdrop and helps make the ground feel quite enclosed.

The visitors for the evening were Bloxwich United, who having finished as runners-up in the league last season were looking to go one better this year, but they got off to a disastrous start, falling behind in the second minute to a rather soft penalty. The opening 20 minutes after that were fairly even, but the visitors gradually took hold of the game, and come half-time had reversed the scores, going into the break 2-1 in the lead thanks to a headed goal from a corner, plus a penalty of their own. The second half was more one way traffic, and they notched another three goals to give what on paper looked an easy victory, but in truth, that wasn’t so much the case, with the Casuals looking a decent side. Unfortunately though for the hosts, they didn’t have the visitors cutting edge and menace. With barely a player under 6 foot, Bloxwich may have been described as bruisers on initial glance, but throughout the game they played some really good football and ran out deserving winners, although the game ended on a sour note after some handbags in injury time saw the Bloxwich’s Mitchell Tolley sent-off for a punch, shortly followed by their striker and fourth goalscorer Karl Edwards who also got involved, receiving a second yellow for bad language, which seemed so pointless given that the game was long over and hadn’t had a bad challenge in it, but they only had themselves to blame and the three points ultimately came at a bigger cost than needed.

After leaving, then I made my way home, getting back with no problems, glad to have come. The ground doesn’t have anything of particular note, such as a gable, barrel roof, big stand or cottage, etc. but it is remarkably well kept, looking as smart as any ground I’ve been to, and with a friendly welcome from club officials, then it’s definitely a place worth visiting.