Match Information
-
Grangetown Boys Club 2-3 Sunderland West End
-
When: Saturday 5th October 2024
-
Kick-off: 3pm
-
Where: B and W Lifting Ltd Stadium, Grange Farm Road, Grangetown, Middlesbrough TS6 7HP
-
Competition: Ebac Northern League Division 2
-
Attendance: 242
A personal milestone for me…my 2,600th football ground visited. Grangetown Boys Club are currently newcomers at Step 6 of our National League System this season in the Ebac Northern League Division 2.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘The Boysie’, they gained promotion as North Riding Football League runners-up in 2023/24. Grangetown itself houses 5,000 residents and sits four miles east of Middlesbrough. Accordingly, I set off early on the 450 mile round trip.
I made it in plenty of time which was a relief because my preceding trip to the North-East watching Washington FC took nearly six hours in light of severe traffic delays on the A1 and I only got there 10 minutes before kick-off.
Ground Description
It is situated behind the Grangetown Youth and Community Centre. I loved extensive tiger imagery around the place reflecting club colours of orange and black striped shirts.
A 50-seater prefab grandstand (‘The Kev “Larkboy” Larkin Memorial Stand) adjoins one touchline whilst a new home-made stand is being constructed opposite.
In addition, the ‘Tiger Bites Cafe’ does a roaring trade in refreshments and programme sales.
Programme Details
An excellent publication priced at £3 for 28 pages.
Contents included the club history & honours dating back to their formation in 1941, details of a Northern League groundhop weekend for Easter 2026, sponsorship news, junior team photos, boxing section profile, pen pics of both teams, reserves update, Sunderland West End FC history, Northern League Division 2 table, fixtures & results and the matchday line-ups.
The Match
On a sunny but breezy Teesside Riviera afternoon, it was 19th versus 16th in Northern League Division 2 standings.
Somewhat against the run of play, Grangetown raced in a 2-0 lead courtesy of two strikes by Liam Southall (24, 57 minutes). Going into the final half hour, anyone enjoying knowledge of football odds would’ve fancied a home victory.
Nevertheless sports betting is never easy and Sunderland West End dramatically rallied to win 3-2 through goals from Charlie Green (67, 90+1 mins) and Taylor Ford (72 mins). A truly pulsating game!
The People
Everyone I met at Grangetown Boys Club was extremely friendly. Chrissy on the entry gate had an envelope full of old programmes waiting for me when I arrived. And I spoke at length to the club’s enthusiastic head of media Conner Kacperski.
Conner told me: “I’ve always held an interest in sports media and previously spent five years at British Weight Lifting in Leeds and two seasons at Marske United FC.
“I joined Grangetown Boys Club towards the tail end of last season. I thought it was an exciting opportunity offering a blank canvas to really build something. Therefore I sat down with the manager and then the chairman to see what we could do.
“My role involves creating graphics and videos to promote the games as well as providing updates during matches themselves. I also design and edit the programme for every home fixture.
“On the admin side I sometimes assist on teamsheet writing, exchange and submissions. Throughout the summer, I ran sponsorship and season ticket sales. We’ve sold 200-plus season tickets and support from the fans is superb.
“A lot of work has gone into the Grangetown Boys Club ground over many years to bring it up to the required standard. The floodlights and installation of the seated stand were two main aspects.
“Yet even things like signage, hard-standing, fencing, toilets and a lick of paint have helped too. Week to week the facilities are getting better all the time. Our next big project is concreting and roofing a new covered stand that will look nice once finished.
“The 2024/25 campaign has been a bit of a rollercoaster. We possess one of the smallest budgets in the league so the sole target is to simply stay up in this division.
“It is a learning curve. However if we can establish ourselves in the Northern League then one of the aims would be trying to attain First Division status at some stage. There are several local teams at that level meaning travel costs should be similar to now.
“Overall, I believe sustainability is key. Good times are great but it is important to be here for the long-term. The club is more than 80 years old and it’ll be fascinating to see where we are at the centenary mark.”
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
