Ploughmen Claim Derby Win - Winslow United vs. Buckingham Athletic

Great derby day crowd at Elmfields Gate

Originally I was meant to be meeting friends last Saturday evening which would have severely limited my hopping options but when these plans fell through it allowed me to look a bit further afield. The one fixture that really stood out was The Spartan South Midlands Division One derby between Winslow United and Buckingham Athletic. I'd seen a bit of a derby between Lincoln United and Worksop Town on Boxing Day but today's teams were a lot closer with little over seven miles between the two grounds. There was a bit more distance between the two sides in the league. Winslow were in third position while Buckingham were back in thirteenth.

Kick off in the derby

The recent weather has made the pitch very heavy but both sides still try to play football. The best of chance of the half comes when the Winslow defender heads off the line to stop a header from a corner going in. The Winslow keeper then has to tip a low shot around the post after the Buckingham forward is able to turn in the box. Buckingham continue to have most of the ball but just lack the final pass.

Buckingham Athletic looking for the opener

Buckingham continue where they left off in the first half and the Winslow keeper makes another good low save as the Buckingham winger is able to cut inside. Buckingham are made to pay for not taking their chances as the Winslow forward beats the keeper to a ball forward and he slides the ball into the empty net. Winslow come close to a second with a free kick which forces the Buckingham keeper into a decent save. The goal knocked the stuffing out of Buckingham and Winslow claim the three points.

A Buckingham corner in the second half

To get to Winslow from London you first need to take a train to Aylesbury from Marylebone and then take the X60 from the bus station across the road from the train station. The buses are every half hour and take twenty minutes or so depending on traffic. There is a good choice of pubs in Winslow. Both The Nags Head and The Swan offering the sports channels and a couple of hand pulls. The George Inn had the most interesting selection of beers although it appeared the locals had been pretty thirsty over the Christmas period. Elmfields Gate is a short walk off the High Street and the bus stop. The clubhouse had the usual selection of drinks and the sports channels and was very busy with the 293 crowd. What was also interesting was that in every pub I went into their were people talking about the game.

Dugout side of the ground