Match Preview

PREVIEW | GRAHAM STREET PRIMS(a)

BACK TO LEAGUE ACTION AND UNDER THE LIGHTS AT THE ASTERDALE

UP NEXT, after a convincing victory in the cup at the weekend, the Lions take the short trip to Spondon, where they face league leaders, Graham Street Prims.

After slipping to fourth spot, having played more matches than the teams around them, RBL now face the tough task of overcoming a side who have lost just once so far this season.

Prims are back under the lights at home after two successful matches away. With their only defeat of the season being at home under the lights two weeks ago, and their only other previous midweek home match abandoned, RBL will be hoping Prims’ midweek match luck continues this week.

RBL come into this match with a continued run of inconsistency, with three wins, a draw and a loss from their last five matches. Manager Garry Smith has had a frustrating time over the last few weeks, but a fantastic home thrashing over one of his old clubs will go a long way to starting a good run of form.

In their last match, RBL hosted Kilburn FC, from the Macron Store Nottingham Division One West. Three first half goals from Jordy Lee, Ben Rushby and Mason Booth-Davis wrapped up the games as a contest before Lee added his second as an icing on the cake in the second half.

Graham Street Prims’ last match was also in the cup, as they made the trip to Rowsley 86, where they were made to battle to a 4-3 victory against the lower league opposition. An Alex Seale hat trick and a goal from Max Bulmer were enough to edge them past the side sitting in mid-table in the division below.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

Graham Street Prims were originally founded in 1904, being formed from a primitive Methodist Church from which they derived the name “Prims”. Graham Street itself is actually situated off Osmaston Road in the city of Derby and is close to the Baseball Ground, the former home of Derby County F.C. until they moved to their new home at Pride Park.

The Prims were disbanded in 1914 due to the outbreak of the first world war, but in the ten year period until that time they boasted several players who went on to play league football, these included the Keetley brothers and Jimmy Bagshaw who eventually went on to play for Notts County and England.

Prims were reformed in 1953 and achieved many honours, mainly in the Central Alliance, the East Midlands League and the Derbyshire Senior League. The finest years came between 1971 and 1981 when they won no less than fifteen major honours including seven Derbyshire FA Cup wins and eight League titles. Again the Prims were disbanded in 1991, but reformed in 1995. Since reforming, they have been semi-finalists in the Derbyshire Senior Cup, beating Matlock Town on the way, losing to Belper Town 2 -0 in the semi final. They gained promotion from the Premier Division of the Central Midlands League to the Supreme Division, finishing fifth in their first season in the higher division. After suffering four years of continual vandalism at the Railway Ground in Longbridge Lane, Derby and having been relegated for not having floodlights, the club was on the verge of folding once more.

But a determined committee met with officials from Borrowash Victoria FC at the Asterdale Sports and Social Club, Borrowash Road, Spondon. Subsequently they also met with the owners of the land, The Heritage Pub Company and, as a result, a pitch and the promise of a lease was offered. Prims at last could look forward. Officials from the Central Midlands League, led by Mr Frank Harwood, gave the go-ahead to our new home and they started work on the ground.

In Season 2008/09 Prims began competing in the newly formed East Midlands Counties League, which is formed of teams from the Derby, Notts, and Leicester leagues and is a step up the Football League Pyramid System.

In the summer of 2012, Thanks to Mr Ray Garlick, RAES (Raygar Architectural & Engineering Supplies Limited) became the main club sponsor and their home ground was renamed the Raygar Arena.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The two sides last met in December last year, where Owen Brader and Jordy Lee scored to give RBL the points in a match that is better remembered for the Prims goalkeeper delaying the start of the second half by ten minutes due to a halftime “brown alert”.

Before that, the first meeting of the season was at the end of October, where a last minute header from Lee Hillier gave RBL a hard fought 1-0 win and a fourth win in a row. The result for Prims, however, was their last in a poor run of four defeats before embarking on their current good run of form.

ONTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT

We hope that you enjoy what is sure to be a good match. Thank you for the continued support and know that the lads will be giving their all to try to get the result.

See you then