Where would one begin when reviewing 2021 for Ollerton Town Football Club? A good place to start, as they say, would be at the very beginning though it may be worth going back slightly further than that.

Saturday 26th December 2020; Ollerton Town beat Shirebrook Town 4-0 on Boxing Day to remain top of the East Midlands Counties League after moving laterally from the Northern Counties East League in the summer. But then, in the early days of 2021, came another national lockdown and another suspension of non-league football. That was initially meant to be for a month but in February, the curtailment of the season was announced with immediate effect.

That decision, once again, put Ollerton’s league future up in the air with months of uncertainty. The club had made no secret of its wish to move from the NCEL to the more local East Midlands Counties League in the past but in the end, they enjoyed just a dozen games before May’s decision that they would move back to the league in which they had spent the past several seasons.

In the meantime, the club were given the green light to get back on the field in April as they took on Belper United in a pre-season friendly. No spectators were allowed though so only a handful of match volunteers were there to see the Town go down by three goals to one.

May was a big month for the club, not only because of the decision regarding our league placing but also because of the announcement that long-serving manager Dave Winter had resigned from his post. Dave arrived back in 2011 and gave almost a decade of service to the club, guiding us to promotion back in 2016. In the end, Dave just felt that he had given his all and wanted what is a well-deserved rest from the game.

To not unsettle the ship too much, the club moved quickly to appoint Dave’s long-standing number two, Steve Bodle as the club’s new manager. Steve had been with Dave since day one and his promotion was a deserved reward for his years of commitment and hard work. Steve was to be assisted by Lee Needham, who remained at the club, and the pair would move to bring Dan Short on board later in the year.

Bodle’s first game in charge was a difficult looking friendly away at Carlton Town. In the end, it was one of those memorable days for Ollerton as they ran out 3-0 winners. It wasn’t all positive however; Carlton did go on to sign James Matthews, a goal scorer on the day for Ollerton, that very same weekend…

With competitive football not set to return until around August, clubs were looking for a way to fill their summer having spent the early months of the year sat round waiting for a ball to be kicked. As such, Ollerton were invited to take part in the Staton Mortgages Invitational Cup, a tournament organised by Sherwood Colliery with Pinxton and Selston making up the four competitors. In truth, it was a fairly disappointing experience for Bodle’s side as they tasted defeat four times in their six games, only beating Pinxton and Sherwood.

That tournament ended in early June and after a few weeks off, the players were back for pre-season with hopes of the club enjoying a successful, but also complete, league season. Pre-season games produced a mix bag with a 6-4 win over Newark FC a stand-out result.

After 217 days, Ollerton Town finally played a competitive game of football on July 31st when the 2021-2022 league season got underway with an away trip to Rossington Main. Despite going 2-1 up at half time thanks to goals by George Slack and Sam Stretton, the Town were defeated 4-2 and they followed that up with another defeat against Brigg Town in early August.

Ollerton’s first win of the season came in the League Cup with an away trip to Glasshoughton Welfare. Ollerton travelled back 4-1 winners with goals by Conor Higginson and Calum Littlejohn, adding to a brace by Sam Foulds.

A league defeat to Hall Road Rangers was to follow before Gav King’s last minute goal got the first point on the board after a 3-3 draw against Humber United at home. 152 people were in attendance to see Ollerton lose 2-0 away to Retford on the 21st August, meaning they were now winless in their opening five league games.

It had been a busy first few weeks of recruitment from Ollerton’s new look management team as they looked to build a competitive team and it’s safe to say that some signings settled and worked better than others, with the likes of Joe Turner and Joe Lumley both going on to be crucial members of the squad. Two other additions which made a big impact and helped to change Ollerton’s fortune arrived in mid-August in the shape of creative midfielder Ollie Grady and returning forward Ben Partridge.

Both featured in Ollerton’s first win of the league campaign which came away against Swallownest. King headed the Town into the lead before Partridge marked his return with an 81st minute penalty to secure a 2-1 win. Like London buses, Ollerton’s wait for a win brought two in quick succession as Parkgate were defeated 1-0 on the 1st of September.

Back-to-back defeats against Dronfield and Harrogate Railway were to follow but Ollerton would then go on a run of six games unbeaten which would revive their season. Two 2-0 win’s, at home to Worsbrough Bridge and away to Glasshoughton, added six points to Ollerton’s tally and three more points were added after one of the results of the year so far...

2-0 down after 21 minutes, Ollerton were starting down the barrel of defeat at home to Selby Town in early October. Partridge got one back but another Selby goal in the 55th minute looked to have secured the win for the visitors, especially when it remained 3-1 into the final twenty minutes. However, Slack reduced the deficit to one in the 72nd minute before a thunderous strike by Jacques Etia made it all level. The momentum was now with The Town and in the last minute of the game, Etia made himself more of a hero with a game-winning penalty that was as cool as you like.

A dramatic, last minute goal by Partridge saw Ollerton steal a point on the road against title-favourites North Ferriby before attention turned to the Notts Senior Cup, Ollerton progressing 1-0 against Retford thanks to a King penalty.

That unbeaten run came to an abrupt end when the Town suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat away to Armthorpe Welfare but they bounced back well, ending October with a 4-0 win against local rivals Clipstone after a dominant display.

October also marked the 10 year anniversary of Steve Bodle's time at the club and the recent upturn in fortune showed he was making his mark after stepping up to the top job.

Ollerton exited the League Cup at the hands of Premier Division side Penistone Church before a remarkable trip to Teversal saw King score all the goals in a comprehensive 5-0 rout. Three 1-1 draws against Nostell Miners Welfare, Shirebrook Town and Rainworth Miners Welfare left the Town frustrated and thinking they should have got more, though they were able to defeat Clipstone once again, this time winning 3-0 away in the Notts Senior Cup.

December pitted Ollerton against three promotion challengers and that run of games started with a 4-0 defeat at home to Hallam. There was concern another defeat could follow as Bodle’s charges travelled all the way to Brigg with a bare eleven but the players out there put in a heroic display and a stunning Joe Bayne free kick, added to by a goal from Partridge, gave Ollerton a 2-1 win. That was followed up by another fantastic result as the Town reversed the scoreline by which they lost on the opening day, defeating Rossington Main 4-2 with Grady stealing the headlines with a hat-trick.

With their next game against Humber United abandoned, and the scheduled visit of Retford called off, that Rossington game proved to be Ollerton’s last of the year and they exit 2021 in the top ten of the NCEL Division One, with a Points Per Game ratio of 1.52, considerably higher than Ollerton’s previous years in the division.

After a difficult first few weeks, Ollerton appear to have settled on a group of players and system of which they are now reaping the benefits. Safety in the division is all but confirmed and the club can now, for once, look up rather than down.

Bodle and his management team have put together a talented, ambitious group with a terrific team spirit and as this year draws to a close, it is hoped 2022 will be a successful one for the club as they try to finish as high as they possibly can in what is a very tough division.

Away from the field, the club has once again been greatly supported by our sponsors Fast Frame UK and Imperial Personnel and it is hoped this can be developed in 2022 whilst the early part of the New Year should bring positive news regarding Ollerton’s security of tenure at their Walesby Lane home, which would allow the club to secure the funding needed to undergo much needed renovation of the ground’s facilities.