Victoria Ground, Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove Rovers 2
Ravenhill 16
Mckenzie 21

Hednesford Town 2
Aiston 51
Dyer 71

Pre-season friendly
Tuesday 14th July 2009
Kick Off: 7.45pm
Attendance: 150 approx
Capacity: 4893
Admission: £5
Programme: £? - sold out! Free teamsheet
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Ratings (out of 5)

Value for money ****
Grub ** No pies!? What!?
Ground ****
Atmosphere **
Entertainment ****
Referee ***
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I found myself in the Birmingham area and a check of the pre-season fixtures pointed towards a trip to Bromsgrove Rover's Victoria Ground. I found the ground easily accessable exiting the M42 at Junction 1, travelling south along the A38 before taking the first right and parking up in the Somerfield opposite. The photographs below show the main entrance at Bromsgrove, with smart green gates for vehicles and the like to gain access to the pitch and allowing fans to exit afterwards.

I was pleased to see a club shop at the far end from here while turnstiles could be found in between.

Entry was a reasonable £5 however the last of a short run of programmes had unfortunately gone and the programme seller was just making her way from the booth as I got there. The grounds main feature is the fantastic Main Stand and as I made my way in it immediately caught my attention with it's very bold 'BROMSGROVE ROVERS' lettering booming out in bright green.

There is terracing behind both goals at the Victoria Ground one end covered and one open. Pictured below is the newly refurbished 'All for One' stand now named after after the engineering company that carried out the work. A brand new roof and sides have been added during the close season and it is all set for the new term.

Opposite this is neat concrete terracing with a very bold green and white striped wall behind also with the clubs name emblazoned across it. The fourth side brings us back to the grounds entrance and includes small areas of cover. There is also a club shop, office for enquiries, large social club, programme hut and food window.

Bromsgrove Rovers were formed in 1885 and after playing at a number of different home grounds, moved to the Victoria Ground in 1910. They competed locally in the Brimingham area until they joined the Southern Football League in 1972. At the end of the 1991/92 season 'The Rovers' won promotion to the Conference thanks in part to a 15 match winning run. This was to be the clubs golden era as they enjoyed life in the highest division in English non-league football until 1997. They even finished second in 1993 and reached the third of the FA Cup in the folowing season. The start of season 2009/10 sees the club a long way off these dizzy heights, three leagues below and with attendances at a fraction of what they were.

Tonight they opened up their pre-season programme with a run out against tough opposition, Hednesford Town who play a level above. It was to be a classic game of two halves and the home side were much the sharper in the first half. They had a real threat up front and pacy striker Josh Mckenzie was a large reason behind Bromsgrove leading 2-0 at the interval. He laid on the first for Dextor Ravenhill to chip over the keeper before going clean through minutes later and cooly finishing. It was really noticable how much earlier it gets dark down South and the lights were switched on after about 25 minutes. This highlighted some work to be done before the competetive stuff gets underway with a few of the lights not working.

I headed for the club shop at half time and it was very well stocked with a very friendly welcome. Thousands of old programmes were in stock and I even got myself a cut price home shirt for £5 from a season back. I just had time to get to a good spot in the new 'All for One' stand for the second half.

Hednesford had rang the changes and the introduction of five first team regulars changed the game. Sam Aiston fired in from 20 yards on 51 minutes to pull a goal back for the visitors before Ross Dyer equalised 20 minutes later. Hednesford had the bulk of the chances in the closing stages but I was pleased to see Bromsgrove hold on for a very credable draw against supposedly superior opposition.

I made my way back to the motor and stopped off at the 'Ideal' chip shop which was, well, ideal! Fish & Chips for £3.10 and I even got a free chip roll as I had to wait a few minutes. Must have heard the Scottish accent and knew I would enjoy a freebie. I left with a great impression of the club and I really hope that they can get back to somewhere near where the club should be. I have got a feeling they might have a good season as a number of their new signings seem to be impressive. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for their progress and might even give my new shirt an airing up here!

Club Websites:
Bromsgrove Rovers
Hednesford Town