HERE are my latest groundhops at Ivybridge Town and FC St Helens – two Step 5 clubs situated 275 miles apart…
Match Information
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Ivybridge Town 2-1 Paulton Rovers
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When: Saturday 8th February 2025
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Kick-off: 3pm
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Where: Erme Valley, Ermington Road, Ivybridge, Devon PL21 9ES
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Competition: Western Football League Premier Division
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Attendance: 89
Ivybridge Town are Step 5 newcomers this season having won promotion to the Western League Premier Division as champions of the South West Peninsula League Premier East racking up a massive 26 points cushion over second place.
Accordingly, I set off on my 520 mile round trip via the M25, M4, M5 and Devon Expressway A38. Ivybridge itself is a Devon town housing 12,000 residents located 11 miles east of Plymouth.
Ground Description
I must have unknowingly driven right past this ground numerous times in years gone by en route to Plymouth and on into Cornwall because Erme Valley lies less than half a mile from the A38 Ivybridge junction.
For football spectators, there is covered standing overhang from the clubhouse roof behind one goal plus a prefab 100 seater grandstand on one side. The River Erme runs alongside the other touchline in front of a picturesque tree-lined hill.
Further facilities feature a warm up area and a second un-railed pitch. Car parking provision is shared with the adjacent South Devon Tennis Centre.
Programme Details
A 20 page online edition. The contents offered joint managers’ notes, history of both clubs, league table, the Non-League Paper column, fixtures & results, player photos, a match report, action pics and the line-ups.
The People
Mark Mills gave me a really friendly welcome and I quickly realised he is one of Non-League football’s great army of club volunteers.
Specifically, Mark spent the entire afternoon frantically running up and down brandishing a fishing net on a long pole to retrieve stray footballs booted off the pitch into the adjoining River Erme.
The Match
It was 10th hosting 8th in Western League Premier Division rankings so anyone possessing good sports betting knowledge would’ve expected a close encounter. The two teams emerged with the distinctive Z-Cars theme tune playing on the public address system similar to pre-match rituals at Everton and Watford. After that, Ivbridge Town raced into a two goal lead through Jake Lane (22 minutes) and Sean Thomson (59 mins). Kitan Jaiyeoba converted a penalty for Paulton Rovers three minutes into added time at the very end.
Match Information
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FC St Helens 0-1 Cheadle Town
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When: Saturday 15th February 2025
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Kick-off: 3pm
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Where: SMS Pro Soccer Park, Windleshaw Sports Ground, Windleshaw Road, Saint Helens, Lancashire WA10 6TD
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Competition: North West Counties Football League Premier Division
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Attendance: 136
I had previously frequented the Rugby League stronghold of St Helens on three occasions for football including two Liverpool games at the past and present rugby stadiums:
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3-5-1999: Liverpool Reserves 1 Everton Reserves 0, Pontins Central League, attendance 4,026 at Knowsley Road, St Helens.
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14-3-2012: Liverpool Under-19’s 0 Ajax Under-19’s 6, NextGen Series Semi-Final, attendance 5,900 at Langtree Park, St Helens.
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31-3-2018: St Helens Town 1 Cammell Laird 1, North West Counties League First Division, attendance 147 at ArcOframe Stadium, St Helens.
It is interesting to note St Helens Town were traditionally the prominent team locally for many years until their relegation from the North West Counties League in 2022.
They are now playing at Step 9 in the Cheshire League Division Two.
By coincidence, FC St Helens gained promotion from the Cheshire League to the NWCL First Division North also in 2022 and clinched that division last season by a nine point margin to attain current Step 5 status.
FC St Helens were formed as recently as 2014 following a split from St Helens Town Reserves.
Bearing all this information in mind, I embarked on my 380 mile round trip mainly utilising the M1 and M6 motorways. St Helens is a large Merseyside town containing 183,000 residents.
Ground Description
The venue had been home to St Helens Cricket Club and St Helens Rugby League Club in the distant past.
Now solely staging football, there are two prefab 50 seater stands on one side complementing covered overhang from the clubhouse on the far touchline alongside a triple peaked white gazebo sheltered area.
The ‘La Lucca Terrace’ delivers more covered accommodation behind the top goal and takes the sponsorship name of a Liverpool-based Spanish cleaning products company.
Programme Details
A 20 page glossy production which additionally encompassed the forthcoming midweek game against Longridge Town. On sale at the main gate for £2
Articles incorporated ‘From The Dugout’, match preview, respective histories of visitors Cheadle Town & Longridge Town, match reports, fixtures & results, sponsorship particulars, league table and the squad lists.
The People
FC St Helens sporting director Mark Hayes afforded me a warm handshake on my arrival and filled me in on his club’s progress. Mark’s day job is head at SMS Pro Soccer who sponsor the stadium and specialise in football tours, trials and talent ID.
The Match
With 9th entertaining 13th, football betting aficionados would’ve been considering backing a home win.
Nevertheless, this tight affair was decided in Cheadle Town’s favour when Izac Khan’s low free-kick from the right appeared to take a deflection and drifted into the opposite corner two minutes into first half added time.
I felt it might be an own goal but Cheadle Town later messaged me on Twitter X to say: “Izac is claiming the goal, although I thought it was an OG and Edward our #9 is claiming it too. Dubious goal panel decision, and as I’m the Secretary I have the final decision and gave the goal to Izac.”
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
