My Poison Is

Alfreton Town U19 1 v Sheffield United Futures  U19 3

North Midlands Development Football League, U19 North

Thursday 12 October 2017

SUFC 2017/18 Game 33

My 200th Ground watching a Sheffield United XI. All ages. All competitions. All surfaces. Helmet off. Kiss the badge. Wave to the dressing room. Knuckle down. Go big or go home.

And, otherwise, I'd be unlikely to get to superb MicroPubs like What's Your Poison Ale House, 33 High Street, Alfreton. Six on cask. Three keg. My “criticism” would be that some of those are from the bigger boys. But, you know me, nitpick owt. No fannying around that is a lovely, bright, welcoming place.

The Marlpool Brewing Co. Frank on cask at 4.5%. Brewed in honour of Frank Gallagher. Ireland's first elected Socialist Councillor outside Dublin. Salute Comrade. Here's to you….

Well balanced. A little bit “tinny”. But, overall, nice n malty. A dryness coming after the initial sweetness.

Castle Rock, Most Haunted, Pumpkin Spiced Porter on cask at 4.4%. I'll own up. I'm not too sure what Pumpkin tastes like. That one all feels a bit underpowered tastewise. But, pleasant enough. Just needs beefing up.

Enjoyable game against a strong & willing Alfreton side. Marcus Dewhurst has kept United in that one. More than once an’ all. That win puts the U19 Futures top of the table. With 10 points from five games. Worksop Town lead the chasing pack with three wins from three. A bit different at U21 Futures. Where the College Blades are 5th (second bottom). Just three draws in five games.

A great surface at Alfreton. Full on PA announcements. Teams read out. Scorers & substitutes announced. Great little football experience. They even announced the crowd as 83.

United left back, Jake Stevens catches the eye. Sorry pal, because he could do with a growth spurt. Fair play. He won a LOT of his headers. Very comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Donae Lawrence scored our first. Will Portman broke down the right. Squared it accurately & Lawrence knocked it home. Lawrence impressed at other times as well. On 55 minutes, he got out the full range of turns & flicks & shimmies. Piss poor finishing let him down, or it'd have been a belter. He was strong & lively throughout. Although the bench had a go at him for not holding the ball up enough.

To be fair, a lot of the Young Blades had good games. But, Alfreton were bang at it as well. For that reason, Marcus Dewhurst can have the fizzy Vimto for Man Of The Match.

550/1150