Adventures in Football #103: Garden Walk (Gornal Athletic) 

 

April 30, 2024 

 

GORNAL ATHLETIC vs. TIPTON TOWN (West Midlands Regional Division 1) 

 

I was checking out fixtures on Futbology the other day, and up flashed the fabled PURPLE fixture. Yes, friends, the final match at a stadium. It must have caught the eye of a fair few hoppers because around ten percent of today’s attendees checked in on the Futbology app. The largest percentage I’ve ever seen.  

 

Desperate to claim said badge, I arranged with my brother Andy to meet me and we headed up to darkest Dudley to check out the final game at Garden Walk. Driving up to the ground, we discovered it lived in a dense area of housing. One so dense, I got confused on our way out and started walking in the wrong direction. Which is weird, because inside the ground it didn’t feel hemmed in by housing. Even if one fella was watching from over his garden fence. That must be the garden in the Garden Walk.  

We arrived 45 minutes before kick-off and had to queue to get through the turnstiles. You love to see this level of attendance in non-league. It often takes a special occasion to get this number of punters to turn up but I’m sure Gornal will be delighted with their numbers.  

After paying £5 each and getting stuck in the turnstile because some old geezer couldn’t wait for me to move through like EVERYBODY ELSE, we headed into the ground. Gornal Athletic is moving from here to the kind of 4G pitch place that seems to plague non-league now. Multi-purpose, blah, blah, 4G, blah, blah, all weather, blah, blah. No thanks.  

I’ll take this any day of the week, sirs. Ramshackle corrugated iron cover, terracing all cracked and covered in grass, weather destroyed concrete. This is what a proper football ground looks like. And the oil money Man City fans will never understand it. This, ladies and gentlemen, this is football.  

I check in on Futbology and score the “Final match” badge. A badge of honour among badge hunters. One of those “I was there” moments in time, captured in Futbology blue for all eternity. The end of an era. 

And what an era it’s been. You can see the cruel advance of time in this ground. 75 years of abuse from Mother Earth and Father Time. The never-ending advance of nature. Those flimsy corrugated fence panels won’t hold up to those trees without human supervision. It looks like the kind of exterior fence you would have in a video game about the zombie apocalypse.  

The corner flag is one of the sorriest I’ve ever seen. It’s full on lost a battle with the elements. It’s far tattier than this photograph can do justice. In the background is the shed for standing/seating out of the rain. A much smaller place to watch the game from than the enormous terrace but still a popular spot with punters. That’s where we’re heading.  

The terrace is starting to fill up. By the time we get to kick off it’ll be heaving over there. Behind the goal, we see how the grass isn’t cut properly around the posts. Someone has done this on a ride-on mower and couldn’t be arsed to go around with a weed-eater afterwards. The posts on my old school field used to look like this. It takes me back.  

This is our view for tonight. From one side of the shed. Housing off in the background. Another small field off in the distance there containing a play area for kids (a fierce five a side took place during the match) and the customary pile of crap. I have rarely ever regretted coming to a football game and this is the opposite of that. I’m high on life. It’s a shame we’re surrounded by hundreds of tiny flies, insistent of ruining the atmosphere for me.  

The players make their way out and you can see how full the terrace is now. Kick off was unfortunately delayed by 5 minutes while some youths were moved on from behind the Tipton goal. Apparently, they were throwing bricks at the keeper. Non-league and Dudley collide! What a tremendous night out. I’m taken aback by how rotund the linesman is too. The beanpole referee is a remarkable contrast. Please note the Tipton #6, partnered by a midget/home mascot here. He looked to be my age, if not older.  

This is one of those moments. The kind you remember forever. Two teams, going at it one final time in an coliseum of former glories, a sea of locals behind them, ready for war. The game kicks off and immediately it’s evident the pitch has seen better days. There are frequent bobbles. The game is scrappy, vehemently contested, fast-paced and fierce. It’s a joy to watch.  

The lino, whose waistline initially comes under some mockery, ends up being a highlight of the game. Able and willing to explain his decisions to the players after the fact. Or even the fans, if they ask loud enough. Despite his spare tire, he kept up with play and got everything right (apart from once, maybe). Also, how have I captured the glory of non-league in not one but two photos here. Marvellous! 

 

After about 30’ played Gornal take the lead. It’s a nicely worked goal with a cut back and a slotted finish. 1-0. Gornal deserved it and broke through Tipton’s lines beautifully. A mere three minutes later, Tipton were level. The old geezer (#6) fired a free kick straight under the wall and bested the home stopper. No draught excluder at this level. It cost them. The heavens open just before half time but we’re just under cover. Although, the roof doesn’t provide total coverage.  

At half time a fella cuts across the pitch with an armful of Carlings for his mates in the shed. I try hard to stifle a chuckle. You don’t get that in the Premier League. What are they going to do? Ban him? It’s the last game here! The second half is an unfortunate example of how football goes sometimes. The football gods did not smile on Gornal. Despite dominating the entire 45’, they somehow conspired to ship two goals.  

 

The first a sensational curling effort from the Tipton #7 from the edge of the box. A top tier goal at any level. The keeper had no chance. Later on, with Gornal chasing an equaliser, a long ball catches out the keeper. This time he could have done better but he’s slow out, attempts a header and gets rounded. The ball ends up in the empty net and Tipton lead 3-1. Game over and Gornal Athletic leave their wonderful old ground in defeat, applauded off by the 725 fans who’ve attended this game. A remarkable crowd for the level and a wet Tuesday evening in April. 

 

FINAL SCORE: GORNAL ATHLETIC 1 TIPTON TOWN 3

 

 

On my way out I feel more than a little emotional. How many of these great relics of days gone by are slowly being lost by the footballing world? I would rather watch a hundred games here than on some goddamn 4G surrounded by a black metal cage. I’m glad some 700+ of my new friends got to see it one last time.  

 

ATMOSPHERE: 

There was a pleasing buzz in the air from the moment I got there. The sound of hundreds of people muttering and grumbling about the beautiful game. **½ 

 

COST: 

Paying a fiver to get in this felt like me ripping the club off. I would have paid double it for the pleasure, easily. ****½ 

 

QUALITY: 

Sure, there were quite a few long balls and dubious tackles but that’s what non-league should be about. Especially at this level. The enthusiasm and work rate from all concerned was awesome. **** 

 

EASE OF ACCESS: 

The streets around the ground were a bit of a bugger to drive down but I get the feeling that’s because it’s a community club and they weren’t expecting anyone to actually drive here. The nearest train station is in TIPTON, which is where the AWAY fans came from, 3.5 miles walk from here. So, that’s probably not ideal. * 

 

MISC: 

I felt very at home here, despite all the Black Country accents. It was a friendly and welcoming club, and it was odd having several people start unsolicited conversations with us. The chats with the linesman were brilliant. The view of a terrace full of people, in the rain, watching these two teams do battle is one of the coolest fucking things I’ve seen in football, and I’ve been to Wembley, the San Siro and Old Trafford. **** 

 

OVERALL: 16 

A truly wonderful footballing experience. One you will sadly never get to replicate yourselves. Gornal Athletic and the Garden Walk will always hold a special place in my heart because of this fine evening. Capped off by an errant pass, from Tipton’s ginger left back, going straight to me and being able to deftly control it back to the Gornal player taking a throw-in. The best touch I’ve ever had on a football pitch. Truly, the Garden Walk was a place of miracles.  

 

A few days later, I was at a dinner for my brother’s wedding anniversary, and it turns out my dad played football at Garden Walk back in the early 1950s. That would explain my excellent touch. It’s in the blood.