It feels more like a decade has passed since Matlock Town’s perfect start to the 2019/20 campaign.
Cautious optimism hung over the Proctor Cars Stadium on a sun-drenched August day for the opening game of the season in the league against Bamber Bridge. This was, yet another, brand new Matlock Town side. The Gladiators had a brand new manager in Steve Kittrick and the summer of 2019 was littered with incomings and outgoings for Matlock. Very few players from the 2018/19 campaign remained in the squad for the start of the season and it was going to be intriguing to see how brand new management staff and practically a brand new squad built from scratch were going to fare for this season. Could Matlock put their disappointing campaign last season behind them and earn a top half finish this time around? Could they even secure a play-off spot which Kittrick would later confirm was his target when he interviewed for the Gladiators helm?
August could not have gone much better for the Gladiators and there was real optimism amongst fans that some lean years for the club were finally going to be forgotten about.
The Gladiators defeated Bamber Bridge 1-0 on the opening day of the season thanks to a close-range Marcus Marshall effort that beat the keeper. Just two days later, Matlock followed this victory up with an excellent 1-0 smash and grab victory over Basford United at their own turf. Basford were widely regarded as early promotion contenders and admittedly dominated most of the game but Matlock’s defence proved resilient and new signing Piteu Crouz’s absolutely outstanding long-range free-kick won the Gladiators the game with only ten minutes remaining. This was followed by another victory on the road. This time it was Stafford Rangers who were defeated 1-0 thanks to an opportunistic strike from Marcus Marshall to take advantage of some sloppy defending and goalkeeping late on in the game. Everything seemed to be going the way of the Gladiators at this early stage. It looked like Matlock’s 100% start to the season was about to end at home against Gainsborough Trinity. In an entertaining game, the score was level at 1-1 but deep into injury time an absolute howler of a goalkeeping error gifted Matlock Town the whole three points and to make it twelve points from twelve from the opening four league games. Matlock’s 100% run was finally ended in the last game of August when they drew 1-1 away at Ashton United who played far better than what their opening few games had suggested. Despite the two dropped points, Matlock Town ended August in pole position at the top of the Northern Premier League.
September began with an impressive fightback at the Proctor Cars Stadium to maintain Matlock’s unbeaten start to the season. The Gladiators went 2-0 down to Grantham Town but a late own goal and an injury time equaliser from Luke Hinsley in a spirited second half performance gave Matlock a share of the points and earned a rousing reception from the crowd as they walked off the pitch in appreciation of their determined fightback. The encouraging start was transferred to cup competitions as well. Matlock faced a tough draw for the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round when they were selected to come up against Basford United at home. For the second time within a month though, Basford were undone by the Gladiators and Matlock deservedly won the tie 2-1 thanks to a Spencer Harris penalty and a second half strike from Jordan Sinnott who had recently signed for the club from local rivals Alfreton Town. Kittrick’s first competitive defeat as Matlock Town manager came at the hands of an impressive South Shields side. The north-east side beat the Gladiators 2-1 in the league. Kittrick had no complaints saying after the game that they deserved the win and it was clear that South Shields would take some beating for them not to win the league title this season.
It was a defeat in the next game however that brought Kittrick’s honeymoon period at the club to an abrupt halt and the club never seemed to properly recover from this bringing about a drastic change in form for the remainder of the season. The Gladiators had been drawn at home once again for the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup against Kidsgrove Athletic who played a tier below Matlock. It was an excellent opportunity for the Gladiators to make the next round and earn a decent amount of prize money. A poor performance cost them dearly though and Kidsgrove shocked Matlock to win the tie 2-1. Despite the fact this was Matlock’s first bad performance of the season, some fans were very vocal in their demonstration of displeasure at what they had just watched. These feelings were made very clear to Kittrick who appeared pretty taken aback by how angry some of the post-match reaction was. For one reason or another, this cup shock was the first of many dominoes to fall from then on and it was to Kittrick’s huge frustration that he could never work out what that reason was.
Matlock’s two game losing run was at least ended in the following game when Matlock drew 1-1 at home against Atherton Collieries in what was a fairly lack-lustre game. When looking back at the away trip to Whitby Town, Kittrick must wonder how on earth the Gladiators ended up being in the position that they found themselves in. Matlock executed a perfect away performance against a good footballing team and ended up winning the game 3-0 to remain in a play-off spot thanks to goals from Dan Bramall, Hinsley and Marshall. It was easily Matlock’s best performance of the season so far and showed exactly what the players were capable of. Unfortunately, this made the following months harder to swallow.
October was a very bad month for the club on and off the pitch. The club were deeply saddened by the death of record appearance maker Mick Fenoughty at the age of 72. Fenoughty passed away on October 3rd. There can be no argument that Mick was a legend at the club. Fenoughty made 673 competitive appearances for the Gladiators and scored exactly 100 goals. He played in the Matlock team that won the FA Trophy in 1975, the Northern Premier League Cup in 1978 and also won the Derbyshire Senior Cup twice while with the Gladiators.
On the pitch, Matlock began a poor run of results which took them quickly out of the play-off picture for good. After the victory at Whitby, Matlock lost three league games in a row: a 3-1 defeat at Nantwich Town, a 1-0 defeat at Lancaster City and a particularly disappointing 2-1 defeat at home to Scarborough Athletic. This particular result irked Kittrick due to the Seadogs being the previous club he managed before taking over at the Gladiators.
Matlock’s first Derbyshire derby of the season brought some relief with a much-needed victory at home against Mickleover Sports on Non-League Day in front of a healthy crowd of 729. The Gladiators turned in a much better performance than what they showed in their recent matches and won the game 3-1 after a really encouraging display. Much to Kittrick and the Matlock supporters’ annoyance, this did not spark a revival in form. Despite a promising start, Matlock were beaten at home 2-1 by Warrington Town in the league and this was followed by a derisory performance away at Radcliffe where the Gladiators were fortunate to lose by only one goal. The month did at least end on a brighter note when Matlock beat eighth-tier Carlton Town 2-1 away from home in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy.
The beginning of November was dominated by large parts of the country struggling with flooding. Matlock were one of the worst affected towns for this but groundsman Dave Reynolds did an incredible job to make sure the pitch was in an acceptable condition for the FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round tie against Ashton United to go ahead as scheduled. In an open game, Matlock clung on to defeat Ashton 1-0 and reach the final qualifying round of the FA Trophy where they were drawn at home against Redditch United.
The next game saw Matlock’s first involvement in this season’s Derbyshire Senior Cup after they were automatically given a bye straight through to the Third Round. For the Third Round, Matlock were given an interesting tie away from home against tenth-tier Borrowash Victoria. The Vics had remarkably lost all thirteen of their league games at this stage of the season. Kittrick’s men were not in a sympathetic mood though and on a bitterly cold evening they hammered Borrowash 7-1. It was a night to remember for recent signing Chib Chilaka who scored five goals in the match and could quite easily have scored another three. In the Quarter-Final draw, Matlock Town were pitted at home against sixth-tier Alfreton Town.
The following game saw a return to league action and unfortunately a return to another tame performance in where the Gladiators lost at home 1-0 to Stalybridge Celtic. A trend soon started to be noticed that the Gladiators seemed to be able to play much better in cup competitions compared to league matches. In the next game, Matlock comfortably dispatched Redditch United 2-0 at home to reach the 1st Round of the FA Trophy. The Gladiators were drawn at home against National League outfit Chorley two days later and there was a buzz that the Gladiators could claim a big scalp in this competition and kick-start their season. The month ended with yet another victory in a cup competition. This time it was progress to the 2nd Round of the Integro League Cup after a highly entertaining encounter against fellow Derbyshire outfit Belper Town. Matlock found themselves 2-0 down at half time but a fantastic second half performance saw the game end 2-2 after ninety minutes thanks to goals from Crouz and Chilaka. With no extra time in this competition, the tie went straight to a penalty shoot-out and Matlock held their nerve to win it 6-5 after it went to sudden death. Goalkeeper Dan Wallis was the hero of the hour making the crucial penalty save and this was his best moment of an impressive short stay at the club in where he came in to deputise between the sticks following Jon Stewart’s month long suspension from the game due to breaching betting regulations. More frustration followed however on November 30th. Matlock Town found themselves 2-1 up away from home against Grantham Town with just under half an hour remaining. With a huge three points on the horizon, this was cruelly taken out of sight by an unlikely source. Fog. Huge amounts of fog rolled in over the Lincolnshire flatlands as the first half progressed and by the time the second half had begun, it was genuinely impossible to see the opposite side of the pitch. The referee had no choice but to abandon the game which meant the match would have to be replayed from scratch at a later date. It was a bitter blow for Kittrick as it finally looked like some of their cup form was about to be transferred to their league form.
December began with a comprehensive league defeat away at FC United of Manchester. After only twelve minutes, the Gladiators actually found themselves 2-1 up thanks to goals from Tomas Poole and Marshall but Matlock’s defence just could not cope with FC United’s firepower and the Gladiators ended up losing 5-2. Yet again though, performances markedly improved when it came to cup competitions. Matlock Town were desperately unfortunate to not see off Chorley in the FA Trophy 1st Round. Matlock lead the game 2-0 thanks to goals from Spencer Harris and Hinsley but a goal completely against the run of play and a dubious late equaliser when it looked clear that the Chorley attacker was in an offside position meant that the tie was forced into a replay. The Gladiators remarkably knocked out Chorley away from home in an epic encounter with a severely depleted squad due to several injuries. After ninety minutes, the teams still could not be separated with the score level at 1-1 after ninety minutes. Marshall looked to have given the Gladiators a famous cup win with a goal in extra time but Chorley agonisingly found a way back into a game in injury time of extra time via a penalty. The initial penalty was saved by Wallis but incredibly the penalty was retaken when it was adjudged that Wallis had gone too far in front of his line to make the save. The retaken penalty was scored and the tie ended with an extremely tense penalty shoot-out which the Gladiators somehow held their nerve to win 4-3. Matlock were handed an excellent draw for the FA Trophy 2nd Round when they were selected to play National League outfit Eastleigh away from home.
For once, Matlock followed up cup success with a league win. Goals from Marcus Marshall and Bramall gave the Gladiators a 2-1 win at Bamber Bridge and a much needed three points. From then on though, Matlock put in some truly dismal performances that infuriated and exasperated Kittrick. A big crowd of 922 watched Matlock’s Derbyshire derby at home against Buxton on Boxing Day. The Gladiators made a lightning start to go 2-0 up within the first ten minutes of the match. There was a long stoppage midway through the first half when the referee had to go off injured and a replacement assistant referee needed to be found from the crowd. Once the game finally got back under way, the Gladiators inexplicably stopped playing and feebly surrendered their lead. Buxton took full advantage and ended up cruising to a 4-2 win which left Kittrick utterly perplexed and absolutely seething. It also left him hanging onto his job with pressure increasing from fans day by day. Matlock were now sliding quickly down the table and were in real danger of going from the top of the league to a relegation battle.
2020 began just as poorly as 2019 ended. On New Year’s Day, Matlock put in a shocking performance and deservedly lost 2-1 to Gainsborough Trinity away from home in the league. This was quickly followed by a 1-0 league defeat at home against Basford United. Kittrick, even by his own admission, knew he was hanging on by a thread but would always say in his post-match interviews that he was not one for throwing the towel in and was adamant that if they could just scrap a couple of league wins together in a row then things would dramatically improve.
Next up was the big FA Trophy 2nd Round match away at Eastleigh. Backed by an excellent away following, Matlock played well before eventually going down 2-1. The Gladiators had a couple of excellent chances to have taken the lead and had they gone in their FA Trophy adventure could well have continued. With the FA Trophy run now over though, this meant there was even more of an emphasis on recovering their league form.
In the meantime, there was an odd moment of the season where Matlock appeared to (once again) enjoy playing in a competition with not much pressure on them. In the Integro League Cup 2nd Round, Matlock defeated Basford United for the third time of the season after wiping the floor with them 5-0 away from home. The Gladiators absolutely dominated their promotion-chasing opponents and the match will be chiefly remembered for an excellent virtuoso performance from central midfielderSinnott who fired in a hat-trick which included an outstanding long-range effort which went in off the bar. Kittrick was over the moon with Sinnott in his post-match interview and was clearly delighted that the midfielder was showing fans just how talented he was after facing criticism from some fans for previous performances.
Yet again though, the team’s performance as a whole dropped massively when league action returned. It was a painful trip back to Scarborough for Kittrick as the Seadogs easily beat the Gladiators 2-1 and should really have won by more. Kittrick was at a complete loss as to why the team’s league performances were so poor compared to their cup performances. After their defeat up in North Yorkshire, the Gladiators were now firmly involved in a relegation battle and the manager knew that time was running out. Matlock’s last game of January turned out to be Kittrick’s last game as Matlock’s manager. Bizarrely, Matlock put in a really encouraging performance considering this was the last game before the board decided to remove Kittrick from his position. Ironically, it was yet another cup game where Matlock managed to find a win. The Gladiators put in an impressive performance to stun Alfreton Town 3-1 at home to reach the Semi-Final of the Derbyshire Senior Cup. After the game, I asked Kittrick why his team couldn’t produce performances like this on a regular basis when it came to the league. Kittrick’s response was the wryest of wry smiles. Followed by a little chuckle. Followed by a simple shake of the head. He genuinely had no answer and it would prove to be his undoing. Less than twenty-four hours after the end of the game, Steve Kittrick was removed from his position by the club’s board and Matlock Town were yet again looking for a new manager. In all honesty, I felt sorry for Steve Kittrick who was clearly trying his best and has a long list of successes in his managerial career. A lot of Matlock Town fans never really warmed to him though. Kittrick was criticised by a number of fans who said that he relied too heavily on very direct, long-ball tactics. His persistence in playing club favourite Adam Yates at right-back rather than centre-half also appeared to annoy many as did his tendency to resort to a string of clichés whenever he was interviewed after a game.
The new manager came in the form of Paul Phillips. Phillips was an interesting appointment from the board considering his last managerial role was with local rivals Buxton who he resigned from in November of this season. Following that, he became Mossley’s assistant manager to work alongside Dave Wild. Roles would now be reversed as Phillips soon hired Wild to be Matlock Town’s new joint assistant manager alongside Brian Wilson. Matlock Town’s next scheduled game was a huge Derbyshire derby away at Mickleover Sports. It was decided though that goalkeeping coach Steve Shuttleworth and physio Mark Mullins would take joint temporary charge just for this game before Phillips officially started his reign in the league match away at Grantham Town the following Tuesday night.
The scheduled match between Mickleover Sports and Matlock Town at the Don Amott Arena never took place and never will.
Just over an hour before the game was due to kick off, I was made aware that I may need to check with Mickleover Sports that the game was still going ahead. I was told that some very nasty rumours were flying around but was not told the nature of those rumours. I logged onto Twitter and the first thing that popped up on my timeline was a brand new tweet from Mickleover Sports announcing that the game was postponed. No reason was given but they did state that more details would follow. I was confused. The weather hadn’t been fantastic recently but I felt sure that there can’t have been enough rain to have warranted a waterlogged pitch. I then received a call from Matlock Town and within a matter of seconds I wished more than anything that it had been an unexpected weather postponement.
I was informed that Jordan Sinnott had been involved in a fight the previous evening and he had been extremely badly beaten up. I was informed that he was on life support and that his family were currently on their way to hospital to see him as it was looking like his life support machine was going to have to be switched off as there was nothing more that the doctors could do for him.
It is an unfortunate fact of life these days that some people can’t help themselves from rushing out news. Due to a football club in the National League reporting the news online that Jordan Sinnott had died before he had actually passed away, there was an avalanche of misinformation on social media regarding what had happened in regards to Sinnott and it was deeply upsetting to read through it. This could probably warrant its own article in itself but media organisations (no matter how large or how small they are) must ensure the accuracy of what they are reporting and make sure, particularly with such sensitive stories, that they have got their facts right before publishing it. It was deeply unfortunate that misinformation had seeped out and multiplied before an official statement from Sinnott’s family was made via either Nottinghamshire Police or Matlock Town. One can only hope that from terrible situations such as this one, the same mistakes will not be made in future.
In the early evening of this day, January 25th, it was confirmed that Jordan Sinnott had passed away from his injuries.
Matlock Town’s community, Derbyshire’s community, the non-league community, English football’s community and world football’s community stood alongside one another in unison to grieve a player’s untimely death.
Jordan Sinnott was only 25 years old when he was murdered. Everyone associated with Matlock Town was deeply, deeply upset at the cruel loss of not just a talented player but more importantly a dazzling personality off the pitch that had clearly won him many friends. Jordan Sinnott was a much loved person and it was incredibly hard to accept for everyone that knew him and had played with him that he was gone. The players at Matlock Town were hit extremely hard by this terrible news. As well as the postponement of the Mickleover Sports game, the following match away at Grantham Town was also postponed on compassionate grounds.
Matlock Town’s next game ended up taking place on February 1st when the Gladiators played Hyde United in the league at the Proctor Cars Stadium. It was an extremely emotional and strange game to attend for everyone there. Football was, of course, secondary on this day. The result did not matter. It was all about making Jordan Sinnott proud and the club did just that. The match day was a great example of just how successful the ‘Shirts For Jordan’ campaign had been and it was reassuring that even through an awful situation such as this one, humanity at its best will always shine through. Football clubs all over the world were invited to print their own ‘Sinnott 25’ strips and to send them to Matlock Town where these would then be sent off to charity. Considering the exceptionally difficult circumstances, the Gladiators played well and the club did Jordan proud on the pitch. Despite falling behind early on, Crouz struck home early on in the second half for an equaliser sparking a goal celebration that involved everyone on the team stood together while Crouz held aloft a ‘Sinnott 25’ shirt to the crowd in what was the defining image of Matlock’s season. The match was also paused in the 25th minute for a full sixty seconds while everyone on the pitch stood where they were and applauded in tribute to Jordan along with everyone else at the game. The Gladiators were denied the chance of a deeply emotional victory right at the end of the game when Matlock were not awarded what was blatantly a penalty right at the end of injury time and the game ended 1-1.
My defining moment of Matlock’s season took place in the Shorts Lounge bar after this game. With Jordan’s fiancée by her side, Jordan’s mother gave a superb and beautiful speech to a packed bar in tribute to her son. There was not a dry eye in the building and there was a huge round of applause that could have been heard all over Matlock after the speech ended.
Phillips’s first win as Matlock’s manager arrived just three days later when the Gladiators convincingly beat Radcliffe 4-0 in the league. It was a rare case of Matlock actually putting teams to the sword and the Gladiators easily beat a Radcliffe team who were in appalling form at this stage of the season. This victory was followed by a hard-fought 2-1 win over eighth-tier Worksop Town away from home in the 3rd Round of the Integro League Cup. It was nowhere near the same level of performance displayed in the previous match against Radcliffe but it was a positive sign that the Gladiators still managed to grind out a win and book a Quarter-Final match against eighth-tier Newcastle Town away from home.
Remarkably, the February 12th game against Worksop Town would prove to be Matlock’s last victory of the 2019/20 campaign.
A big problem that many teams were encountering at this stage of the season was coping with enormous fixture congestion. Teams like Morpeth Town and Atherton Collieries as well as Matlock Town were legitimately seven games behind other teams in the Northern Premier League and were also still involved in multiple cup competitions. The final day of the season would not be amended and remained at April 25th which left teams like the Gladiators having to play an astronomical amount of games in the space of just over two months. The reason for the ridiculous fixture congestion was down to the sheer amount of games postponed after one of the wettest winters the country has ever seen. However, it also does not help one iota when the Northern Premier League starts its season far later than the Premier League, Football League and National League. With extremely wet winters now an annual occurrence in the UK rather than just a freak unforeseen event, it would be helpful if the Northern Premier League could have a look at starting their domestic seasons earlier in future (obviously once normal circumstances in the world have been resumed) to avoid this huge issue of fixture congestion having such a large, negative impact on several teams.
Much like Kittrick’s reign, Phillips’s honeymoon period as Matlock’s manager came to an abrupt end from an unlikely source. The Gladiators were embarrassed 2-1 at home by ninth-tier South Normanton Athletic in the Derbyshire Senior Cup semi-final. Whilst avoiding relegation was still the absolute priority, this was still a bitterly disappointing defeat and further illustrated the problems the side were having overall. This defeat was followed by another at the hands of Whitby Town in the league. The North Yorkshire side comfortably beat the Gladiators 2-0 at the Proctor Cars Stadium and Matlock had now fallen into the relegation zone.
The Gladiators moved up to 20th position in the table following a much more encouraging performance in a 1-1 draw at home against Morpeth Town in the league. This wasn’t the big talking point though at this stage of the season. The football season, no matter what league you were in, was now in genuine jeopardy of being suspended due to a terrible virus called COVID-19 which was beginning to spread all over the world with Europe becoming increasingly affected. While doubts began to mount, the season continued cautiously. What followed was arguably Matlock Town’s worst performance of this campaign. The Gladiators put in a dismal performance as they were defeated 3-1 at Hyde United in the league. Joint assistant manager Dave Wild held nothing back with some scathing criticism of the players in his post-match interview labelling the team’s performance as “gutless” and “soulless”. Wild also apologised to the vast majority of Matlock Town’s away support in person after the game had ended. The next game was another crushing defeat in a different kind of way. The Gladiators found themselves 2-0 in front away from home in the league at promotion hopefuls Warrington Town thanks to goals from recent loan signing Jude Oyibo and new addition Dan Turner. Unfortunately, fatigue set in and the Gladiators cruelly ended up conceding three goals in the last fifteen minutes of the match to lose the game 3-2. Paul Phillips would have a huge job on his hands to pick his team up and get them motivated for the next game.
At the time of writing, nobody knows when Matlock Town’s next game will actually take place. In fact, for the vast majority of teams across the globe, nobody knows when their next game will take place.
Astonishingly, Matlock’s 3-2 defeat to Warrington Town ended up being their last game of the 2019/20 campaign. The Northern Premier League 2019/20 season technically did not even take place and none of the results I have written about in this article are official.
Around the time of the game against Warrington, the COVID-19 virus was officially classed as a global pandemic and several countries started to go in lockdown and enforced social distancing measures to protect as many people as possible from catching this illness. League matches against Nantwich Town and Ashton United at home were postponed due to multiple players and staff in the Matlock Town squad having to self-isolate after displaying symptoms of this virus.
The Northern Premier League attempted to carry on with the season for a short while even after the Premier League and EFL had suspended their seasons. It’s fair to say that this was ill-advised from the Northern Premier League but then again I do sympathise with league structures like the NPL who were basically left to fend for themselves by the FA to try and run their own crisis management policy while the world’s biggest challenge since World War Two was escalating.
Common sense eventually prevailed and the Northern Premier League, along with all other non-league divisions that were still attempting to plough on, was officially suspended while the UK (for all intents and purposes) went into lockdown soon afterwards.
A week later, with it being obvious that lockdown measures could be in place for several months, the Northern Premier League season was officially cancelled and the season was declared null and void. This meant that Matlock Town, like every other team in the league, had no final league position and there would be no promotions or relegations. The season was over. The season technically never even began. Nobody knows when the 2020/21 season will even start.
Matlock Town did not have a good nor a bad season. It was simply an extremely sad one that nobody will look back on fondly but nobody will ever forget about.
We are genuinely living through historic and extraordinary times.
What we can take though from the terrible events of the season that never was for Matlock Town and the challenges that we all now face is the importance of community.
Football isn’t just a sport. It is a community, especially when it comes to non-league level. It is a unique emotional, social and communal outlet for many, many people and this is why the game is so important.
After Jordan Sinnott passed away, the game against Hyde United acted as an extraordinary release of compassion, togetherness and solidarity and was a dignified celebration of a life that was taken far too soon.
Every non-league team at the seventh tier and below now face unprecedented and extremely tough challenges to keep going as nobody knows when the game will return.
When it does though, the importance of community will never be more apparent. The creak of the turnstile, the crowd’s roar at a last-minute winner, the post-match drink at the Shorts Lounge bar. All will be relished with more vigour than it ever has been before.
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