THE MAGICAL BUSH, ONCE HOME FOR PELSALL VILLA FC... (Matches against Littleton & Coventry United...)

 The Magical Bush, Once Home For Pelsall Villa FC…

Through a turnstile I stumbled at Uncle Tom’s Cabin 

And into an unforgettable arena which needed some care.

Twice I drove to Pelsall to witness a loss and a win

But each time at the Bush there was wonder in my stare.

Apart from a pile of broken plastic chairs, crass

At one end of a shelter, daubed with red paint,

A discarded beer keg lay like a roller in long grass,

Whilst bird droppings decorated one seat, numbered 088.

A blackened corrugated metal fence hung awry and loose,

Bolstered by the tops of tables, their legs protruding like threats;

A goal-frame leaned backwards at an angle obtuse

And the home dugout reclined sideways, cursed with regrets.  

A hand painted sign where to warm up was displayed.

Two arrows pointed downwards with a warning which

Informed players in scrawled letters, black and splayed

That no pre-game shuttles were allowed on the pitch.  

With its wobbly white lines, its bushes and trees,

The Bush was a place which intrigued and fascinated

But it now lies in ruin, forlorn and rotting by degrees,

Its proud history torn asunder and cruelly desecrated…  

Pete Ray

5th March 2023     

My first visit was to see Villa beat Littleton 1-0 in 2012 and the home players deserved plaudits for their efforts. Pelsall defended heroically, Hughes starred in goal and although Littleton’s finishing was poor, certainly Manouchehri was a danger and Slevin creative for the visitors, who would rue losing a game they ought to have won.

BATTISON WINS THE GAME v LITTLETON WITH A MUDDY SPOT-KICK...

Pelsall’s Battison, who had worked hard without looking outstanding, dug the winning spot-kick out of the muck and his effort rolled into the left corner of the net, as visiting goalie Haywood slid the opposite way, coating his yellow back with a wide, vertical, black stripe. Nice kit… 

Substitutes Kai ‘The Hustler’ Williams, Brian ‘The Messiah’ Ndlovu and Muzi ‘The Enlightenment’ Nduna had injected the necessary guile, pace and trickery to guide Coventry United over the finish line to a 0-3 victory at Villa in 2016. Brown, Williams and Rickhuss netted the all important goals for the Cagemen…  

BROWN (9) HAS SCORED FOR COVENTRY UNITED...

WILLIAMS, RIGHT, LASHES IN GOAL 2 FOR COVENTRY UNITED AT PELSALL...

The incline of the Bush’s pitch with its leaning goal-frames and isolated, abandoned collectables strewn about, made it one of the most interesting and likeable non-league grounds in the West Midlands…

THE BODGING LOVED IT THERE...