Match Information
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Ingles FC 1-2 Dunkirk FC
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When: Saturday 24th September 2022
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Kick-off: 3pm
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Where: Homestead Road, Thringstone, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 8LL
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Competition: The Isuzu FA Vase Second Round Qualifying
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Attendance: 85
I was looking around for a match to attend in the Isuzu FA Vase. Quite simply, this is definitely my favourite competition on the football calendar.
I just feel every team entering the Vase stands a chance of going all the way to the Final which is played at Wembley Stadium on Non-League Finals Day.
Ok, you might need a modicum of luck concerning the cup draws, pitches and weather conditions along the way, but that elusive dream of running out at the iconic national stadium is very much possible for all participants.
Therefore every side in the Vase approaches each tie as their biggest game of the season and plays their strongest starting X1 – unlike, for example, Premier League clubs that invariably rest a number of their key players in the FA Cup.
Result of my Isuzu FA Vase match in Leicestershire today :@Inglesfc 1@Dunkirk_FC 2
— Tony Incenzo - my 50th football season (@TonyIncenzo) September 24, 2022
Attendance 86, programmes £1. Football grounds visited - 2,469@IsuzuUKPR @Isuzuuk @NonLeagueCrowd @nonleagueshow @MidlandLeague @utdcos pic.twitter.com/cTTNAInhQc
Having avidly perused the fixtures, my chosen Vase tie was at Ingles FC because they have moved to a new home ground this season.
I also spotted the visitors were Dunkirk FC who I have fond memories of. They were one of the host clubs when I joined 250 other groundhoppers to create a fabled world record on Saturday 20th March 2004.
That was the occasion where we watched an unprecedented five matches at five different football grounds in one day in the Central Midlands League around the Nottingham and Derby area.
Needless to say I still have my Guinness Book of Records certificate. Anyway, with all this in mind I set off on a 200 mile round trip to Thringstone - a village of 4,300 inhabitants near Coalville in north-west Leicestershire.
Ground Description
Ingles spent the preceding eight seasons groundsharing at Shepshed Dynamo FC’s Dovecote Stadium.
But last year they identified an exciting opportunity to relocate four and a half miles down the road to take over the Homestead Road ground that had previously been used by now defunct team Thringstone Miners Welfare FC.
Ingles subsequently signed a long-term lease agreement with the Thringstone Miners Social Centre and started extensive work to upgrade the facilities to meet Non-League Step 6 grading requirements for 2022/23 in the Midland League Division One.
Before I arrived for my Vase match, I was expecting the place to be rather run-down since it is a few years since the miners’ team folded. But how wrong I was! It is a really impressive venue that is extremely neat and tidy.
For spectators, there is a refurbished 50 seater stand on the halfway line plus decent covered standing for more than 100 people behind one goal. A great deal of thought has gone into everything.
In particular, I liked the little attention to detail touches including Ingles’ club colours of red and white being displayed on the perimeter fencing and even on the goal nets.
There is ample parking whilst the clubhouse has been nicely renovated to provide inviting matchday hospitality.
I also noticed some of the floodlight pylons are so close to the pitch that their bases have been heavily padded up to protect players who might slide into them.
Programme Details
This was on sale at the main admission gate. It consisted of 12 pages incorporating decent use of colour and stats alongside an interesting welcome column from Ingles’ enthusiastic chairman Adam Smith.
The Match
There was a real buzz before the kick-off as the home club tweeted out a message of good luck from refereeing legend Mike Dean.
Cheers Mike 🤝 #UTI 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/jIFY7OpUUb
— Inglesfc (@Inglesfc) September 24, 2022
Apparently, one of the Ingles players was away on a foreign holiday and recognised Dean lying on the next sun lounger by the hotel swimming pool. So they recorded a short pre-match video together.
Unfortunately, the retired ref seemed to refer to “Dingles FC” rather than Ingles thereby causing great amusement amongst the home team when they were warming up!
With regard to the match, it turned out to be a highly competitive contest. Ingles opening the scoring through Kyle Fowkes on 19 minutes and led at half-time. However I felt that scoreline didn’t reflect the run of play.
Indeed, Nottingham-based Dunkirk of the United Counties League Division One eventually battled back with two quick-fire goals from Lamin Manneh (58 mins) and Sam Harbottle (60 mins) to progress forth on the road to Wembley.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 5th November 2022
