Date: 28.11.2018 Ground: 74 Match: 15 (2018/2019 season) Venue: Queen Street Stadium Teams: Bilston Town V Darlaston Town (1874) Competition: JW Hunt Cup 2 nd Round Admission: 5 Final Score: 2-4 (H/T 0-2) Referee: Andy Ellis Attendance: 90 ( Official Attendance ) Mileage to venue and return: 59.6 Miles Programme: 1 Introduction My visit to the fantastic Queen Street Stadium was my first ground visit since my extremely enjoyable visit to Palmerston Park, home of Queen of the South. My visit to this brilliant Scottish stadium was in order to watch Heston Rovers V Lochmaben in the South of Scotland League, Heston who share the stadium with Queen of the South, won the game 3-1. This is a stadium that will live long in my memory. I have begun to write this report on Friday 30 th November, earlier this week I searched for a midweek game to attend that was local to Gareth s Football Travels HQ in South Shropshire, so that I could comfortably make a 7:45pm kick-off time following the end of my working day at 5:00pm. Bilston Town and their home of The Queen Street Stadium certainly fitted the bill, just over 29 miles away and a 55 minute drive from HQ. I arrived outside the ground 20 minutes before the start of this game between the hosts and their near neighbours, Darlaston Town (1874) More will follow regarding my impressions of the ground and the game itself, the next section of my report gives a brief guide and information on the town of Bilston. Bilston The town of Bilston is in the English Administrative county of West Midlands and historically the county of Staffordshire. Bilston is to be found in the South Eastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. The first reference too Bilston was made in AD 985 as Bilsatena when Wolverhampton was granted to Wulfrun. A year later the area was referred too, as Bilsetnatun in the grant charter of, St. Mary s Church. The Church is now known as St. Peter s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton. Bilston is also mentioned in the Domesday Book, the famous book completed in 1086 refers to what is now the town of Bilston as a village called Billestune.
The area was largely rural up until the 19 th Century, Bilsetnatun as it was known in AD 986 can be interpreted as meaning the following: The Settlement (Ton) or the folk (Saetan) of the ridge (Bill) During the early part of the last Century, the area was majorly developed for factories and the coal mining industry. During the period of, 1920-1966 the local council replaced the majority of the 19 th Century terraced houses with houses that were available too rent. Flats were also introduced on developments such as Stowlawn, The Lunt and Bunker s Hill. By 1964 there were more than 6,000 council houses in the area. In 1966 the Borough of Bilston was terminated, following this the majority of its territory was placed into the County Borough of Wolverhampton. Parts of Bradley situated in the Eastern part of Bilston were merged into the Walsall borough. Bilston has its own Town Hall dating back to 1872 The Town Hall now operates as a venue for a variety of events, conferences, performances and occasions. Bilston did have its own passenger railway station up until 1972, the passenger service being lost did not stop goods trains continuing to pass through the site of the station for a further decade. The British Steel Corporation did have a massive plant situated to the west of Bilston town centre, sadly the plant was closed in 1979 after a period of 199 years of steel being produced at the site. The closure meant the loss of nearly 2000 jobs. Following the closure of the site, it was later developed as the Sedgemoor Park Housing Estate between 1986 and 1989. In 1993 a B&Q superstore opened on a sperate part of the site, this formed the very first phase of a brand-new retail park and industrial estate which was developed further over the next ten years. Developments in the 21 st Century to occur in Bilston include the South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy and the adjoining Bert Williams Leisure Centre. This forms the centrepiece of Bilston s new Urban Village. The Bert Williams Leisure Centre is named after the legendry former Walsall, Wolves and England Goalkeeper Bert Frederick Williams MBE. Bert was born in Bradley, Staffordshire on 31 st January 1920 and first played competitive football as a young man when he was a member of The Boys Brigade (Bradley Methodist Church). After a while the young Bert was offered the chance of playing for Walsall reserves, whilst playing for Thompsons Football Club, the works team of the local factory he was working at. Bert was eventually taken on permanently and turned professional in April 1937. 1939 saw the outbreak of World War II thus halting Bert s fledgling professional football career. He joined the RAF and served as a Physical Training instructor, during the war years and in between his RAF duties, Bert found time to guest for both Nottingham Forrest and Chelsea in friendly matches. Following the end of the war, Bert Williams was able to resume his football career and did so by signing for first division Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 1945 for a fee of 3500. Williams was immediately made first choice Goalkeeper at the Molineux and made his official debut for the club on 31 st August 1946 when league football was resumed. His debut was a successful one, his new team beat Arsenal 6-1, the game also saw the debut of the great Johnny Hancocks. The Cat as he was affectionally known, won his first honours with Wolves in 1949 when they beat Leicester City in the FA Cup Final. Bert was rewarded with a first call up to the England International squad shortly after the cup final and made his debut for his country on 22 nd May 1949 when England beat France away from home 3-1. Williams was also the England Goalkeeper for the duration of the
1950 World Cup and played in England s famous surprise defeat to the USA. The Wolves Goalkeeper went onto win 24 full caps for England and 1 B international Cap. He won more domestic honours for Wolves when the club won the 1953/1954 league title and made a total of 420 appearances for the Molineux based club. Following the end of his football career, Bert Williams ran a sports shop in Bilston and a sporting centre, he lived near to the town of Shifnal in Shropshire. In 2010 he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to football and charity. Another name from footballs past and with connections to Bilston is, Reginald Reg Lewis. Reg Lewis was born in Bilston on 7 th March 1920 and was raised in South London, Lewis spent the entirety of his football career at Arsenal, from 1935-1953. The man from Bilston was a terrific goalscoring striker for Arsenal, scoring 116 goals in 176 matches throughout a career that was interrupted by World War II. His goalscoring record sees him placed in 12 th position on Arsenal s list of top goal scorers. Despite his fantastic goals to games ratio, Lewis only ever won 2 England International B Caps. After his career ended, he firstly ran a pub then worked in Insurance, Reg Lewis died in 1997. Bilston Town Football Club The club was founded as far back as 1894 following a merger between Bilston Rovers and Bilston Wanderers. Following the successful merger, the club was known as Bilston United, the club firstly joined the Walsall and District Junior League, finish 4 th in their debut season. The club won the league for the 1895-1896 football season, the league changed its name to the Walsall and District League in 1897, Bilston United finished as runners up in 1898/1899. The club again won the league in the 1900/1901 season before finishing as runners up in the 1902/1903 season. The 1906/1907 season saw the club finish in 3 rd position, the club then moved up to the Birmingham Combination and finished in 2 nd place in their first season. Bilston were to stay in the Birmingham Combination until the end of the 1920/1921 season and then joined the Birmingham and District League. The club finished as runners up to Shrewsbury Town in the 1922/1923 season, this was to be their greatest success at this level of football before departing the league at the end of the 1931/1932 season, dropping down the football ladder into the Walsall and District League. During the same period the club changed their name to Bilston Borough. Their first season back in the Walsall and District League saw the club grab the league championship, they again won the title in the 1935/1936 season. The club dispersed in 1939 due to the break out of World War II but reformed again in 1946 under the name of Bilston. The club joined the Walsall Senior League and became champions of the league in the 1947/1948 season. This latest success for the club saw, them again take part in the Birmingham Combination in 1948, finishing second from bottom in the 1950/1951 season. Better time were a to come though, Bilston finished as runners up in the 1953/1954 season, this particular season also happened to be the final season before the league merged into the Birmingham and District League. Bilston saw themselves placed into the Northern Division, an 8 th place finish in the 1954/1955 season saw the club placed in Division One the following season. Unfortunately, the club finished in the bottom four of the table and were subsequently relegated to Division Two.
Bilston won the Division Two title at the first time of asking and were promoted immediately back to Division One. The league was reduced to a single division format in 1960 and Bilston won the League Championship in the 1960/1961 season. In 1962 the league went under a name transformation and became known as the West Midlands (Regional) League, the newly named league gained a second division in 1965, Bilston were subsequently placed into the Premier Division. The club saw great cup success in the 1968/1969 season by reaching the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time. In reaching the First Round they were drawn against Halifax Town, with the tie played at Queen Street. The Steelmen gave a good account of themselves and were eventually defeated by 3 goals to 1. The 1972/1973 saw Bilston go one better in the FA Cup than they did in the 1968/1969 season. The club beat Barnstaple Town 2-0 in the first round, before losing 1-0 at Queen Street to Barnet in a Second-Round replay. Bilston finished as runners up in The West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division the following season and runners up again in the 1975/1976 season. The club avoided relegation too Division One despite finishing bottom of the league in the 1979/1980 season. Three years later, the club were renamed as Bilston Town, the newly named club at Queen Street finished as Premier Division runners up in the 1984/1985 season. This latest 2 nd place league finish earned them promotion to the Midland Division of the Southern League. The division was renamed the Western Division in 1999. Bilston narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier Division in the 2000/2001 season, by just two points. The following was not as successful with Bilston Town finishing in 17 th position in the table. The club then took the decision to resign from the league, dropping into Division One North of the West Midlands Regional League. The 2002/2003 season saw the club finish as runners up in in Division One North, this latest 2 nd place finish saw Bilston being placed to Division one South for the 2003/2004 campaign. Another league replacement for the 2004/2005 season saw the club moving to the newly reorganised Division One. Following a 7 th place finish for the 2006/2007 season, the club resigned from the league. The club reformed and took the name of, Bilston Town (2007) the newly named club were readmitted to the West Midlands League setup being placed in Division Two. The club finished as Division Two runners up in the 2007/2008 season and were subsequently promoted to Division One. The club finished the 2012/2013 Division One campaign as runners up, this meant a promotion and a return too the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division. The Club are still at this level today and currently (2 nd December 2018 as I write this section of the report) sit in 14 th position in the 20 team Premier Division table. Their league record reads as: Played 21, Won 7, Drawn 3, Lost 11. The club play at the magnificent Queen Street Stadium in Bilston, the Stadium forms the next segment of my report. Queen Street Quite simply, the Queen Street Stadium is a real gem of a football ground and would not look out of place much higher up the non-league pyramid.
I arrived in Bilston at 7:20pm, leaving 25 minutes until the 7:45pm kick off time. I parked my car easily on Queen Street itself and directly outside the ground. A soon as I got out of my car, I could see from the outside of the ground that the Queen Street Stadium smacks of fantastic character. Any visitor to the ground cannot fail to notice the wording Bilston Town Football Club displayed on the outside of the main stand, coloured in orange the same colour as the club s home kit. I can quite honestly say that just by seeing this, I knew that this visit was going to be a most enjoyable one and that the ground aesthetics would be a real pleaser to this ground hopper. As I walked towards the entrance to the ground there was another sign, this time at eye level on the wall, this one read The Steelmen which is the club s nickname. Just above this sign was a traditional sign advertising the nights fixtures against Bilston s near neighbours, Darlaston Town (1874). I walked though the large gate and paid my entrance fee of 5 at the pay hut, a ticket was given to me as conformation of payment. I was pleased with this as I can add it to my ever-growing collection of ground hopping memorabilia, I also obtained the match programme from the pay hut. Th first thing I noted as I walked into the ground was the large cube like fencing that goes approximately two thirds of the way around the ground, the fencing acts brilliant as a barrier between the pitch and the road behind the ground to prevent the ball from exiting the ground. To my right I noticed a bright orange bricked wall with various signs attached to it, the one that I liked was The Steelmen Pride of Bilston Town Right next to this was the main stand, complete with cover and seating available for I would say around 100-150 spectators. I watched the first 20-25 minutes of the game from this position which provided a good view of the on-going action on the pitch. The impressive tea bar and club house come next, the club house is large and equipped with a decent sized bar, toilets are also available within the club house. Moving further along, there is some terracing, before one walk s behind the goal in front of the Turners End. This delightful little structure provides shelter for around 40 spectators and gives a good view of the whole pitch. The next part of the ground is open standing area all the way along the touchline in front of the cube like fencing. This area of the ground is where, Bilston Town s number one supporter ( I believe his name is Frank) positions himself to watch his beloved Bilston Town play. This amazing supporter is dressed in an all, Orange Suit, Orange Hat and a whole host of other Bilston Town related items. Even when the weather took a turn for a worse in the second half with high winds and driving rain, he was still out there, cheering his team on Non-League football at it s very best. I also noticed that on the barrier and in more than one spot there were some artificial birds attached to the barrier I wonder what the meaning of this could be? The last part of the ground behind the goal and opposite the Turners End is open standing area, this then leads you onto the exit of the ground. Queen Street really is brilliant, please if you haven t visited before, please do so in the meantime enjoy the pictures:
JW Hunt Cup Before I go on to give details of match statistics and the details of an entertaining game of football, I will provide some information with regards to the JW Hunt Cup. The JW Hunt Cup is a charity football competition which was formed back in 1926. It was organised to raise funds for local people who were suffering from Blindness. The competition is named after and in memory of, John William Hunt a local businessman and helper. John William Hunt was the founder of the local Chillington Tool Company and was a big supporter of a whole host of charities in the local area. Football clubs from across the associations of Birmingham, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire compete in the annual competition. The first JW Hunt Cup final was contested at the end of the 1926/1927 season, the first two finalists were, Short Heath United and Cannon Iron. The final, played at the Molineux was won by Short Heath United. Since this first final a fantastic sum of over 350,000 has been raised for charitable organisations. Last season the final was played at the home of AFC Wulfrunians on Tuesday 22 nd May 2018. Atherstone Town came out on top beating their opponents in the final that day, Sporting Khalsa by 1 goal to 0 Match Statistics Bilston Town Darlaston Town (1874) Goal Log: 61, 84 Goal Log: 9, 15, 50, 72 Attempts at Goal: 6 Attempts at Goal: 13 On Target: 4 On Target: 9 Corners: 6 Corners: 9 Offsides: 5 Offsides: 1 Yellows: 0 Yellows: 0 Reds: 0 Reds: 0 Match Report An entertaining cup tie for the spectators resulted in West Midlands (Regional) League Division One, Darlaston coming out on top in this local Derby against Hosts Bilston who sit One League higher in the non-league pyramid. A quiet opening to the game saw little in the way of goal mouth action, however, that all changed in the 9 th minute. Darlaston were awarded a corner, the resulting set-piece saw the ball floated too the far post from the right-hand side. The ball was headed back across goal, Bilston failed too clear the ball sufficiently, the Darlaston number 10 latched onto the ball and fired home from ten yards out.
It was 2-0 in the 15 th minute, this time it was the Darlaston number 9 with the finishing touch, which followed some superb build up play. Bilston almost pulled a goal back seven minutes later, their number 9 found himself clean though on goal but he thwarted by the visiting goalkeeper. From this moment on it was all Darlaston for the rest of the first half, a number of good chances were created but good defending by The Steelmen prevented their visitors from grabbing a third goal of the opening period. Bilston made a positive start to the second half with some decent possession, however, Darlaston made the game 3-0. The impressive number 10 for Darlaston scored his second of the night with a powerful shot across the goalkeeper, the ball nestling in the far corner. Full credit must be given to Bilston as they never let their heads drop which was shown by their work rate. Their efforts were rewarded with a goal on 61 minutes, number 15 who was brought on as a half time substitute grabbed the goal with a smart right footed finish. The weather took a turn for the worse mid-way through the second half, which in turn, made good football difficult. Darlaston regained their three-goal advantage with a fourth of the night on 72 minutes. The Bilston Goalkeeper cleared his lines, unfortunately for him the ball only found the Darlaston number 10, 35-40 yards from goal. He shot at goal, first time with the ball finding the net, a fantastic finish which gave the Darlaston man a well-deserved hat trick. The home side grabbed a consolation goal on 84 minutes, a corner from the right found another substitute (number 14) he powered a free head into the goal giving the Darlaston goalkeeper no chance. Darlaston saw out the remaining few minutes without being put under too much pressure to claim a deserved derby day victory. Second Half match action, picture taken from the comfort of the stand.
Conclusion Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant! A really enjoyable night of ground hopping at this fantastic football ground, the ground was matched with a very watchable game of football.