Ely City 3rd 1

Grantham 2

After a two week snow-enforced break, Grantham travelled to Ely City, keen to do the double after a 4-2 win at home that also sidelined captain Oli Phillips with a broken leg.

On a cold and blustery afternoon, Grantham took to the field, keen to blow away any cobwebs that the two week lay-off had brought and using a revised 3-5-2 formation, made a good start, controlling the play and breaking down any attack Ely City could muster.

A centre midfield trio of Mark Gray, Sam McAllister and Joe Starks gave a firm foundation for a forward moving and progressive style of play, swiftly moving the ball from left to right and back.

On the odd occasion that Ely did break forward, the defence of Benjie Groom, Graham Johnson and Mark Richardson combined to let nothing through, indeed quickly passing to the midfield to turn defence back into attack.

A concerted period of Grantham pressure led to the opening goal and a deserved 1-0 lead. David Braunton cut in with the ball, reverse hitting across the top of the Ely circle and supplying it into the path of David Nix, who finished with aplomb with a carefully placed shot.

Grantham started the second half playing into the low winter sun. Ely started brightly and threw everything they could at the visitors. Eventually the home side secured a short corner, and from it made no mistake, a firmly struck shot beating Will Leadenham, who up until this point had very little to do.

Grantham managed to wrestle back control of the game through a series of short and long corners, and another reverse stick run across the top of the circle left the Ely defence bypassed, and a well-placed ball through to Nix gave him only the keeper to beat. After a couple of quick adjustments, he calmly slotted the ball into the empty goal.

Young Starks gave an accomplished performance to earn himself the Duncan & Toplis man of the match award.

The Body Shop in Grantham will close down in March because it is no longer financially viable, says the company.

In a statement the company said: “The Body Shop, Grantham, is due for closure on March 2, 2013, due to the store no longer being financially viable and to make way for a new The Body Shop Boutique in Nottingham planned for opening on May 25, 2013. The Body Shop will endeavour to relocate employees where possible.”

The store moved into the George Centre in 1997 from the High Street. The Grantham business employs one full-time employee and three part-time.

Last week it was announced another Grantham store, Thornton’s, in the Isaac Newton Centre, is to close in April. The chocolate store employs four people.

A slice of village life is on offer for under £150,000 from agents Winkworth of Grantham.

They are offering this ideally-located immaculate three-bedroom detached bungalow in Wilkinson Drive, a cul-de-sac in the popular village of Foston, just off the A1 north of Grantham for £147,950.

There is spacious living accommodation throughout with a lounge, fitted kitchen/breakfast room, garden room and a garage.

Wilkinson Drive is situated off Main Street in the village.

Entering through the frosted double glazed front door, there is an entrance hall which has loft access, a linen cupboard and doors leading to the rooms.

The lounge has a bow window to the front, living flame gas fire on a hearth and a television point.

There is a range of fitted wall and base units in the kitchen with inset display cabinets, roll edge work surfaces, basin, eight ring range-style cooker with extractor hoos and light, plumbing for washing machine and dishwasher, breakfast bar and recessed spot lights.

French doors lead through to the garden room, which has windows to side and rear and french doors to the garden. The room has wood laminate flooring, an electric wall heater and power points.

The master bedroom faces the front elevation. Bedroom two faces the back garden.

The third bedroom, which has wood laminate flooring, has double glazed patio doors leading through to the garden room.

The bathroom faces the rear garden and comprises a panelled bath with mixer tap and shower attachment over, low level toilet, wash basin, partially tiled splash backs and a chrome heated towel rail.

The front garden of the property is made up of hard standing pathways landscaped frontage with mature flowers and shrubs. A hard standing driveway provides off street parking. The integral garage has power and lighting.

The rear garden is split level with a sun terrace and lawned gardens housing mature flowers, shrubs and trees.

The on-going row between developer Larfleet Homes and South Kesteven District Council shows no sign of abating this week.

District and county councillor Ray Wootten wrote to the Journal last week vowing to fight Larkfleet Homes “tooth and nail” should they seek to build 1,000 homes at Manthorpe near Grantham.

In response, Larkfleet’s managing director Karl Hick has written to the Journal describing Coun Wootten’s comments as “absolutely reprehensible”.

Mr Hick also continued to criticise the county council’s decision to offer “up-front funding” of £30m to ensure the relief road is built, as well as hit out at the district council for refusing to have any dialogue with the developer.

Here is Mr Hick’s letter in full:

I write with reference to recent articles in your paper regarding the proposed development at Manthorpe and the comments made by Coun Wootten.

It is disappointing to see that Cllrs Wootten’s comments continue SKDC’s previous stance of pre-determination against this site. Coun Wootten is quoted as vowing to “fight them tooth and nail” if Larkfleet Homes resubmit plans for major development on this site.

It is absolutely reprehensible that a District and County Councillor should state that he will fight against a planning application that he has not seen, indeed such a scheme has not been submitted, nor has it yet been prepared. Unfortunately this continues the attitude that we have met with proposals for this site – it is a case of “The answer is no – now what is the question!”

It is also very disappointing that the only form of communication that I can enjoy with the Council is through the pages of the Journal.

Coun Wootten refers to his surprise by my comments about the funding of the Southern Relief Road. It is probably worth reminding your readers of the history of this funding. Originally SKDC proposed to introduce a levy on all development in Grantham that would contribute to the Relief Road. However this proposal was dropped and the owners of the Southern Quadrant land stated as the Core Strategy EIP that the development would fund the Relief Road. Now we apparently have the situation that the development requires circa £30,000,000 of up front funding from the County Council to build this road (assuming that the necessary agreements are reached with third parties).

Would I be cynical if you assumed that the levy proposal was dropped because that would have allowed other developments to proceed knowing that the road was being financed? Would it also be cynical if you assumed that the current proposed funding arrangement has been arrived at purely to create a monopoly situation for new housing from the Southern Quadrant? Cynical or otherwise, that is the situation being created.

Coun Wootten comments upon the effect that the previous application at Manthorpe would have on traffic in Grantham, but he quotes figures with no reference to the analysis undertaken by experts on behalf of the applicant and the County Council. After swathes of analysis and conclusions had been analysed, and hours of evidence had been listened to and cross-questioned the Inspector and the Secretary of State concluded that the impact of the additional traffic from the proposals was not enough to refuse planning. The primary reason for not granting approval was the timing of the application in relation to the GAAP.

I am frustrated that the proposals did not receive planning approval because of the imminent GAAP, especially when this was found to be unsound. If the planning had been granted then the development could be underway and be producing much needed market and affordable housing, the proposed new primary school, doctor’s surgery, shops and a pub, together with providing some of the scheme’s potential £8,000,000 of New Homes Bonus and potential contributions towards the Southern Relief Road.

I am still trying to ascertain the method by which the loan from the County Council will be repaid. Will this be at the expense of other community benefits that would have been provided by the Southern Quadrant? Where has the funding been allocated from, is it at the expense of other County Council projects? Does it increase the burden on the ratepayer through District or County Council precepts?

Will the Council’s actions leave the residents of Grantham waiting for decades for promised improvements as they have waited for the Penine Way link? Nobody at the Council will discuss this with me – perhaps your readers know the answer?

Karl Hick

Managing Director

Larkfleet Homes

Pupils from three Grantham primary schools contested the Lincolnshire Schools Gymnastics Championships at Horncastle last Sunday.

Cliffedale narrowly took the under-11 girls’ team title with 64.90 points. Only 0.5 separated the next few schools across the county, with St Mary’s finishing in fifth place overall on 64.40

Highest placed individually were Scarlett Armstrong (St Mary’s), second in the Level One group scoring 16.3, and Phoebe Richards-Cole (Cliffedale) and Katie Hitchcock (National) who tied for fifth in the advanced Level Two group on 16.60. In the boys’ competition, Kaan Celik (Cliffedale) was third in Level One with 15.9

In the under-9 age group, Cliffedale managed to take second in the mixed team event, despite being hit by illness on the day. Alice Heaton (St Mary’s) took a surprising but well deserved first place individually in the Level One section with 16.40, and Tegan Bickmore (Cliffedale) finished third with 16.10.

Not to be outdone, Joseph Taylor (Cliffedale) also took third in the boys’ competition with 16.20, closely followed by fourth-placed Jack Barnes (St Mary’s) with 16.10.

Hot on the heels of the RotarySwimarathon at the weekend comes the Grantham-conceived RotaryGlobalSwimarathon.

Last year’s RotaryGlobalSwimarathon set a new world record for the most people swimming in a 24-hour period.

The 2013 event will take place at 202 different locations around the world with clubs holding their own swimming event to raise funds to help Rotary International’s End Polio Campaign.

Paul Wilson, Worldwide Event Co-ordinator said: “Last year we captured the imagination of people worldwide and one of the legacies was to encourage Rotary Clubs to hold their own event in future years.

“February 23 is “Rotary Day” around the world and with the numbers registered it will hopefully live up to it’s name as “The Worlds Biggest Swim”.

Roger Graves, who founded the concept, hopes as many people as possible will come to The Meres and swim 100m where they will be joined by Fran Williamson, Commonwealth, Paralympic and World Record Holder.

Pre-registration is not required and there will be a minimum donation fee of £2.50 towards End Polio

ChromaSport United Counties League

Division One

Harrowby United 5

Burton Park Wanderers 0

Harrowby recorded a comfortable victory over basement club Burton Park Wanderers on a wet and windy tuesday night at Dickens Road.

The Arrows dominated play from the off and after forcing two quick corners, the pressure paid off when a ball into the box fell kindly for Martin Wormall who past Marc Mallard in the visitors’ goal.

It was one way traffic after that and only desperate defending and some decent keeping kept Harrowby at bay.

Luke Peberdy was unlucky after 15 minutes when a free kick from man-of-the-match Sam Kirton fell for him and he shot narrowly wide. On 22 minutes, a shot from Simon Bolland was blocked by Mallard and a follow-up effort from Jack Whyley was blocked on the line, with more than a hint of hand ball.

The second goal came after 26 minutes when a fine solo run from Lee Shaw saw him beat two defenders in the box and score with a cool finish past Mallard. The third arrived after half an hour when a shot from Sam Weatherstone was only cleared as far as Scott Webb who curled in a right footer.

Minutes later, the game was over as a contest when Bolland finished a sweeping Harrowby move with a right-foot drive from just inside the penalty area.

Wanderers, to their credit, started the second half on top and forced Harrowby on to the back foot. But the Arrows always looked dangerous on the counter-attack and on once such break a great run down the right from Wormall saw him lay the ball back to Jamie Preston whose snap shot was superbly saved by Mallard. On another break, Peberdy drove into the box and was unlucky to see his strike hit the side netting.

Getting back into their stride, Harrowby scored a fifth goal just after the hour mark when Bolland won the ball and found Wormall who slotted past the keeper with a composed finish.

Harrowby had a good shout for a penalty when Webb was tripped in the box after 70 minutes but their appeals were turned down by referee Mr Giles.

Wanderers prevented any more goals and were also denied a consolation when Sam Scothern came out well to smother the ball seven minutes from time. Wormall missed the chance of a hat trick when he miskicked only eight yards out after a poor defensive clearance.

Harrowby United: Scothern, Weatherstone (Hodgkin, 64), Preston, Hill, Whyley, Webb, Peberdy (Lee, 62), Kirton, Bolland (c) (Sheridan, 71), Wormall, Shaw. Subs not used: Harper, Michniew.

Grantham Swimming Club’s Leah Roughan delivered an outstanding performance to finish second at the ASA Central Zone Championships last weekend.

Qualifying times were tough, so just two swimmers represented Grantham Swimming Club in the 50m pool at Corby.

Leah proved she is one of the best breaststroke swimmers in the region. The 13-year-old finished runner-up in the girls’ 14 years 200m breaststroke and third in the 100m breaststroke. Both Leah’s times, (2:46.69 and 1:18.45) were not only great personal bests and ASA Age Group National Times, but also new ASA Lincolnshire County records. She also swam 400 IM and 200 IM, breaking the club record in both events.

Sophie Culpin also qualified to compete at the championship and swam well too. She set three club records in 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, with her highest placing in the 200m, finishing 13th.

Overall, with various 50m splits, Leah and Sophie set seven new club records and did Grantham proud.

Passengers can discuss rail services at Grantham station at a ‘meet the manager’ event tomorrow (Thursday).

Train operator East Coast is inviting customers to share their views about its rail services at Grantham station between 5pm and 6.30pm.

The event is part of East Coast’s ongoing customer engagement programme, enabling customers to meet management teams face-to-face and discuss what they like about the service and where East Coast can improve it still further.

Station manager Simon Pashley said: “We hope that customers will take a break from their journeys and use the opportunity to share their views with us.

“We really value the feedback we get from our customers about East Coast’s train services, our timetable and customer service.”

The Journal reported last week that the Charles Read Academy would be closing and the pupils and staff would be moving to St Hugh’s.

Why are they being moved from a school with 38 per cent pass rate to a school with a 39 per cent pass rate? It can’t be due to poor performance; 1 per cent is not that much of a difference!

Additionally, I feel that moving pupils to a different school would impact on their educations negatively. Not only will they have to suffer the experience of settling into a new school, they may well have to travel further in order to get there. An extension of an already tiresome day for many children will surely be a negative thing.

If the government is changing the way it allocates funding, then perhaps the West Grantham Academies Trust should look at using its funding more efficiently rather than angering parents and pupils by forcing them into a move to a school they don’t want to move to. You only have to look at the outraged comments online to realise that it is not what people want.

And furthermore, wouldn’t the addition of 240 children in a school that already isn’t really doing well by Government standards only decrease their chances of a good education? Surely it would put pressure on the resources they already have, possibly result in larger class sizes and put stress on teachers that really do not need to be under any more pressure?

I hope the West Grantham Academies Trust listen to parents, pupils and staff and reconsider their decision to close the school.

* Do you agree with Alison’s points? Should Charles Read Academy remain open? Or do you believe the best option for pupils is to close the Corby Glen school and move them to St Hugh’s in Grantham? Write in to us or e-mail: comment@granthamjournal.co.uk

In this world of multi-national and national retailers the independent retailer is becoming a rarity.

Grantham’s success story is jeweller John Cussell’s, which is still going strong by offering a unique and first-class service.

There is no other jeweller/silversmith in Grantham or the surrounding area that can match the level of service (including repairs and commissions) that John Cussell’s offers in Grantham.

With Valentine’s Day in mind, the jewellers has a variety of hearts in silver and the colourful Italian Morano glass. There is also an extensive range of earings, pendants, chains,brooches, bracelets and rings, both in silver, gold and platinum.

For the man in your life there is a range of men’s jewellery by ‘Unique’ in stainless steel, titanium and leather.

With such a vast range to choose from, John Cussell’s can suit most pockets.

So for your Valentine’s Day gift look no further than John Cussell’s. And if you really can’t make up your mind, the shop has gift vouchers available in amounts of £5, £10, £20 and £50.

Happy Valentines Day from John Cussell’s.

In the week when Robert Francis’ report on the appalling catalogue of neglect at Stafford Hospital was published, the future of the National Health Service and our own much cherished hospital in Grantham are rightly at the front of people’s minds.

Twenty years ago Grantham Hospital suffered its own dark days at the brutal hands of Beverley Allitt - and it took a long time for it to recover from that awful episode. In more recent years, the hospital has faced the threat of substantial cuts in services - and even the possibility of closure.

But the people of Grantham organised a powerful campaign with the strong support of the Grantham Journal and managed to fight it off. We are in a much better place now.

The consultation document Shaping Health for Mid-Kesteven sees Grantham Hospital retaining its accident and emergency centre and acute medical facilities, and developing as a centre for planned surgery to meet the needs of our ageing population.

It also proposes the creation of an integrated children’s service to provide a one-stop shop for the most vulnerable children with complex needs.

I believe that most local people will understand why the midwife-led birthing unit cannot be sustained when these days almost all mums want to have their babies in a hospital with the consultants and equipment that might be needed in an emergency.

What matters most is that Grantham Hospital continues to provide high quality ante and post-natal care - and, as the Conservative county councillors are recommending, that the local health service invests more money in supporting the travel costs of families who now have to travel into Lincoln to have their babies.

I am sure that some readers will have concerns about the proposals for the future of Grantham Hospital and I would be very happy to meet with anyone who does at one of my regular surgeries. But I believe that, here in Grantham, we can be proud of a hospital whose doctors, nurses, managers and administrative staff put patients first and where the local NHS wants to invest in new services to meet the changing needs of our community.

With no frontage you could be forgiven for not knowing the Guildhall coffee shop is there. Yet when I paid it visit for lunch this week it was bustling.

Most of the tables were full, showing it is clearly a popular place to eat out. And I’m not surprised, given that the seating area is open yet cosy.

The fact that the cafe forms part of Grantham’s Guildhall is advantageous, better than it being a little cafe tucked away.

Had I had time, I would have had a look at the brochures advertising what is coming up at the Guildhall and also browsed the artwork on show in the Newton Room. It is these services all tied together in the Guildhall that give the coffee shop a little something extra, and special.

I sat at a little table with my paper and browsed the menu. It is largely made up of sandwiches, baguettes and salads, but diners can also choose jacket potatoes, soups and lasagne.

I decided on a farmhouse cheddar and tomato chutney baguette, which came with a side salad and crisps. When it arrived I instantly thought that the presentation was great, not just thrown on the plate.

And the baguette was lovely. The chutney was delicious, sweet and really tasty. It complimented the cheddar well. Although the salad might have benefited from a dressing, it was fresh and the leaves crispy.

The service was fine, not overly friendly, but fine. My food was delivered very quickly but it would have been good to have been offered sauces as many eateries do.

The usual selection of hot and cold drinks are available, and I went for a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, and it was the nicest hot choc I’ve had.

It was a great alternative to a dessert, which was good as the choice was small. There were chocolate chip muffins and a single slice of carrot cake by the till, plus a selection of chocolate bars and the like. It would have been great to see a larger selection of cakes.

All in all I enjoyed my lunch at the Guildhall coffee shop and would recommend it. And at just £4.25 for my meal, without the hot choc, it was very reasonable.

****

Tune in to community radio station Gravity FM at 2.30pm on Friday to hear a question session about the future of Grantham Hospital.

Presenter Dennis Kay will interview Allan Kitt, the chief operating officer of the South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group, about the proposed changes at the hospital. These include closing the maternity unit, joining A&E and out of hours to create an A&E Care Centre, and increasing the provision of planned care.

Tune in to 97.2FM or online at www.gravityfm.net

Well over 1,000 people have already signed a petition against proposed changes to services at Grantham Hospital, including the scrapping of the town’s Maternity Unit.

Members of SOS Grantham Hospital have been in the Isaac Newton Centre today asking people to sign the petition.

Charmaine Morgan of SOS Grantham Hospital said NHS Lincolnshire must recognise the strength of feeling of people in the town.

She said: “It’s absolutely crucial in a democratic country that the commissioning group listens to the people of Grantham - we pay them, they work for us.

“If the people of Grantham are telling them what services they want then they must listen to us.”

Charmaine estimates there has been around 1,300 signatures so far with 2,000 names the goal.

The deadline for signatures is February 20 so people are asked to sign up quickly.

The SOS Grantham Hospital petition calls for:

1) The return of a fully operational A&E Unit with only exceptional cases being transferred.

The loss of support for the A&E unit has led to an increase in risk to patient safety, and delay in receipt of emergency care, where surgery is required, or may be required. Medical skills and training can be shared across the group of hospitals.

2) A Consultant led team to return to our Midwifery Unit.

We oppose its closure, especially given more than 2,000 babies were born in this area last year. Local mothers are being denied a real choice and forced to travel long distances in labour, risking their life and their baby’s life.

3) The provision of an Acute Stroke Unit so we have parity with Boston and Lincoln residents.

4) Return patient and carer transport should be provided where it is necessary to transfer patients for initial and follow up treatment.

You can sign the petition at:

Mark Jarvis Betting Shop

Empire

Munch Cafe

Scope

Costa Coffee (on their noticeboard)

The Journal

Thomas Cook

Hatton Goldsmiths

Wilkinsons

Scotts Newsagent

Cheque Centre

The Extracare Charitable Trust

Foxes Music

Paninis

Co-op Store (Harrowby Estate)

You can also sign in the following villages...

Harlaxton Post Office

Croxton Kerrial, Peacock Inn

Long Bennington Post Office

Great Gonerby Post Office

Great Gonerby Social Club

Ancaster Post Office

Wilsford Post Office

You can take part in the Shaping Health for Mid Kesteven consultation which, among other proposals, calls for Grantham to lose it maternity unit.

Find out more and take part in the consultation by logging on to www.lincolnshire.nhs.uk

Lincolnshire Sunday County Cup

Semi-final

Cleethorpes Town 1

Ropsley Fox 3

Ropsley Fox took on the mighty Cleethorpes in a bid to become the first team from Grantham to win the highly competitive Sunday County Cup which started with more than 100 clubs in the hat back in August.

The visitors who came out of the blocks firing. A poor kick from Miles Fenty in the Cleethorpes goal put his backline under pressure and Nick Hardy pounced, dispossessed the defender and drilled the ball into the net with only only seconds on the clock.

Foxes kept the pressure on the hosts and some good flowing football found Hardy in space. He fed Steven Young down the right, who picked out Joe Clarke with a pinpoint cross and he struck an unstoppable half-volley into the net from the edge of the box to put the Foxes two up at the break.

Ropsley started the second half on the front foot again with the lively Barry Payne hitting the post and the strikeforce of Hardy and Young causing havoc. They looked to have sealed the tie when a long thrown-in from Clarke was headed in by man-of-the-match Barry Payne with 25 minutes remaining.

The third goal forced Cleethorpes to up their game. They got their reward with 15 minutes remaining when they beat the offside trap, but it was too little, too late.

Foxes will meet Lincoln Premier Division side Ivy Tavern in the final at Sincil Bank.

Ropsley Foxes: Davies, Currall (c), Watson, Stubbs, Spearink, Clarke, B. Payne, Warner, Glencros, Hardy, Young. Subs: Lewis, Robinson, Brown,Winters, Collins.

Grantham & District Saturday League

Division One

AFC Three Gables 3

AFC Croxton 4

Croxton were quick to apply pressure to the hosts from the off. With the Gables struggling to make any early breaks, the visitors finally made the pressure pay when Tommy Ayton found the net.

The home side immediately came back and put the Croxton defence under enough pressure to allow Shane Munton to slot home from the spot.

James Frost managed to keep the Gables at bay with a string of fine saves, until a deflected shot from James Loveridge left him wrong-footed and put the home side in front.

Croxton refused to go down and consistent pressure finally allowed Tom Boyfield to level the scores, before Tommy Ayton and Marc Clowes gave a two goal cushion to the travellers before the half time whistle had blown.

Second half sub, and manager, Gianni Angeloni did help Gables set up a tense finale with a precision lob, but Croxton were able to hold out to maintain their second place in the league.

Grantham & District Sunday League

Division One

Ropsley 6

Caythorpe 0

Ropsley avenged a defeat suffered at Caythorpe earlier this season by scoring six times in the club’s first game in two months.

Both teams observed a minute-long silence in memory of former Grantham Town player Benny O’Meara prior to kick-off.

Ropsley, kicking into the wind first half, started well and took the lead early in the game through Ryan Wilson-Law.

Man-of-the-match Wilson-Law turned provider for the second, linking up with Loz Fiorentino before Rich Healey rounded the keeper to make it 2-0.

Chris Greenaway extended Ropsley’s lead early in the second half with a well placed free-kick before Healey grabbed his second with a deft chip over the on-rushing Caythorpe keeper.

Healey was felled in the box for a penalty mid-way through the second-half. Despite being on a hat-trick the Ropsley striker stepped aside for Glenn O’Meara to score the spot-kick.

Tom Parrish grabbed the final goal, smashing a 20-yard shot into the roof of the net.

A young boy is “over the moon” to be reunited with his treasured mountain bike, following an appeal in last week’s Journal.

The father of nine-year-old Alfie Fairbairn made a plea through the newspaper for the thief who took his son’s bike from the shed at Belton Lane Primary School to return it.

Instead, a parent of a boy at another school called the headteacher at Belton Lane to say the bike has been found abandoned.

This week, Alfie, of Sunningdale in Grantham, said he was happy to have his bike back.

He added: “I was devastated when it was stolen. It was one of the best bikes that I’ve ever had.”

His mother, Sabrina, 33, said: “He came running in from school on Friday saying ‘I’ve had the best day ever!’ He had a bit of paper with a phone nuumber of who had the bike.”

Luckily, it was not damaged and just needed a wipe down.

Alfie said: “It’s good to get it back.”

Mid Lincs League

Under-16

Gonerby Yellows 6

Greenbank 0

Gonerby continued their winning ways and were in control from the kick-off.

Matt Eyre scored a brace within 15 minutes and Harry Hutton, the creator, also got on the scoresheet. James Ladd followed up a Luke Bond shot to give Yellows a 4-0 half time lead.

The home side continued to dominate after the break. Hutton added two more goals to seal victory, earning himself and Matt Eyre man of the match.

Gonerby: Hibbert, A. McIntosh, Smith, C. McIntosh, Clater, Pickering, Bond, Crane, Baker, Hutton, Eyres. Subs: Ladds, Hotchin.

Under-13B

Gonerby 7

St Helens 1

Gonerby ran out convincing winners but the visitors took the lead from the spot.

Robert McNulty brought the scores level before half time and Gonerby went in front after the break when George Corden rifled home a Luke Gorman corner. Gorman netted himself, before Sam Brown notched two neat goals in quick succession.

Gorman converted a spot kick for Gonerby’s sixth and Brown completed his hat trick late on to cap a great all-round display.

Gonerby: Eardley (c), Gullick, Burton, Corden, Boyle, Davidson, Gorman, Taggart, Atkinson, McNulty, Brown, Sellars, Swain.

Under-12 County Cup

Grantham Town 4

Park Tigers 3

Grantham went through to the semi-finals and went in front early on when Lewis Brady struck home.

Park Tigers equalised but Tom Anderson restored Town’s lead from the spot. The home side extended their advantage when Brady doubled his tally.

Anderson headed his second before Tigers replied to make it 4-2 at half time.

Grantham’s defence kept the visitors at bay until they pulled a third goal back, to set up a tense final 10 minutes.

Man of the match was Archie Ablewhite.

Grantham Youth League

Under-11

Long Bennington 1

Barrowby Lions 6

Bennington went close but it was Barrowby who took the lead through Max Federson.

Lions took control in the second half, with Oliver Hands headed home a second from a well-worked corner. Sam Wright added a third and Kyle Cooper scored his first for the Lions.

Joe Down bagged the visitors’ fifth with a low finish and defender Brad Johnson’s 30-yard screamer flew past the Bennington keeper.

The home side scored a consolation goal when Rowley slotted in after a run from halfway.

Barrowby: Dodwell, Tonge, French, Cooper, Johnson, Evans, Federson, Mayfield, Wright, Down, Hands.

Leasingham 0

Gonerby 2

Gonerby started the stronger but the Leasingham defence held firm until Meffen scored with a fine strike from the edge of the box.

The visitors continued to press after the break with close efforts from Hardy, Baker and Coates. A last-ditch tackle from man-of-the-match Grieh prevented a Leasingham equaliser.

Meffen wrapped up the points with his second goal.

Gonerby: Meffen, McNulty, Baker, Nowak, Coates, Hardy, Grieh, Burridge, Scott, Jefferson.

Great Ponton 10

Grantham Flames 0

An outstanding team performance saw little for Ponton’s keeper to do, with defence tight and midfield immense.

Ponton destroyed Flames on nearly every attack, with Kye Hull netting five times and man-of-the-match Bartek Gorzejewski scoring twice with four assists.

Goals from Marshall Bancroft (2) and Declan Naylor completed the rout.

Ponton: Musgrove, Price, Short, Hare, Gorzejewski, Lima, Mendham, Bancroft, Hull, Bowen, Naylor.

Under-9

Cranwell 0

Great Ponton 14

Ponton played fluent, passing football throughout and were ruthless in front of goal.

Man-of-the-match scored from a well-worked free kick from the edge of the box. Scofield bagged five goals, Yellup scored four and Collingwood, Carter, Hodgkinson and Pearce claimed one apiece.

l Great Ponton under-11s are already on the lookout for new players for the 2013-14 season.

The team trains at Great Ponton playing fields on Saturdays from 10am till 11.45am. Matches are played on Sundays from 10am.

If interested, call coach Danny on 07513 885423.

A group of parents is expected to stage a protest this afternoon (Thursday) against plans to close Charles Read Academy in Corby Glen.

Parents say they will gather outside the school to make their voice heard, but the school says it does not give its support to the protest.

CEO of the West Grantham Academies Trust Trudy Brothwell said: “Parents are rightly upset at the prospect of losing their local school. During the consultation all views are being considered and it will be for the Minister to make the decision. In the meantime I think we all have a responsibility to support Mrs Story (Charles Read head teacher) in maintaining a calm and positive atmosphere in the academy.”