Luke Smith’s Most Memorable Non League Games

Former Bridlington Town, Brigg Town, Curzon Ashton, Gateshead and Glasshoughton Welfare left-back Luke Smith has shared some memories from his top four memorable games from his career.

Smith, who would have been a regular if the FA had produced their own version of Crimewatch during his playing days, remembers some of his managers including Alan Radford, Ash Berry, Steve Housham and Gary Lowe in his interview with Non League Yorkshire.

Brodsworth Welfare 6-0 Ossett Albion (29/3/03)

“We had a good side at Brodsworth at the time with people like Tim Whitehouse, Daz Utley and Phil Taylor. Ossett were a very good side with your Mick Norbury’s and your Danny Toronzcak’s. I remember it being a really hot day and we’d organised our night out so we were going into Barnsley that night. Everyone was joyful and on fire. They rocked up and we thought Ossett looked really good in the warm-up – really sharp and up for it.

“It was my first proper season in men’s football and from the first minute to the last minute we were unbelievable. We absolutely destroyed them. The actual stand-out story relates to the fact Mick Norbury was coming out with us Brodsworth lads because he was best mates with our manager Alan Radford. Norbs was obviously playing for Ossett.

“It got it to four or five-nil and the referee blew his whistle just as we were mid-attack. We turned round and Radders and Norbs who were best mates were going at it toe-to-toe on the touchline. An hour ago they had been arranging what time to meet in Barnsley for the night out! The game was stopped for five minutes while they had this barney. 

“It all calmed down and the game finished and we won 6-0. But in the tunnel they were at each other again after. You could hear Eric (Gilchrist) tearing into his players for getting beat 6-0 and we were all bouncing about. Norbs then came in and shook hands with everyone and went ‘I’ll see you at seven in The Orchard’!

“We had people like Terry Taylor with us when we went into Barnsley. Alan and Norbs used to play with someone called Gabe who ran a bar in Barnsley so they had an hour at that bar and we went off somewhere else. We went to the Orchard Brewery to meet up with them and it was like a scene out of a wild west film! It was like ‘what’s gone off here’? Basically some football hooligans had turned up and it turned into 20 of them against Norbs, Alan and the bouncers! So Alan and Norbs had gone through a range of emotions together in the space of six hours! They were going to kill each other only a few hours ago. But let’s just say that Alan, Norbs and the bouncers got the better of those 20 lads. I got home the following morning and my mum and dad asked me how the night out went and I went ‘you’ll not believe it.’ I left it there.”

Bridlington Town 3-3 Curzon Ashton

“There were loads of us going over from South and West Yorkshire to Bridlington when Ash Berry was the manager – myself, Dean Lackie, Craig Rouse and Tom Greaves to name just four. We used to travel over in Ash’s ‘converted’ red van. It was like an old big postal van. 

“I think I was working when it was my first training session in Brid and I met them at Ferrybridge. I jumped in the front expecting that it was just me, Ash and his lad Liam. But I opened the back sliding door and there was basically a full team in the back! I thought I was imagining things! It was very similar to Dumb and Dumber when they pick the Mexicans up and they’re all singing in the back. Everybody was rammed into this one van. You wouldn’t believe the back of that van because there was deck chairs instead of seats. Lads were sat on deck chairs and laid under deck chairs. There might have even been an old PE bench and people were sat on it like an old Marine film when they’re about to jump out of the plane. 

“I was thinking ‘we’re going to Bridlington, it is an hour and half away’. It wasn’t like we were just going five minutes down the road. I couldn’t believe it. It was alright until Ash tried to overtake an HGV on those windy roads to Brid.

“At first I’m thinking ‘why did I sign here’, but I had a great time with Ash at Brid and I was disappointed when he got sacked.

“I went in the van for three or four weeks until me, Dean Lackie and Rousey basically said we’d take turns to drive there from Barnsley. When we went in the van, we’d train in Brid and we’d have a pint, another pint and it was getting to 11pm and we needed to be up at five for training. 

“I do think sometimes I’d been better in the van. Have you been in a car with Rousey? It was frightening. Him and Lackie thought it was Le Mans coming back from Brid. It was in, out, vroom vroom.

“One of the best signings Ash made was Ash Dexter. He was very young and he’d only been playing local for Hornsea. He’s a great kid and his party trick was being able to put his mouth right round a pint glass and just tilt it back and swallow the pint in one. 

“In terms of the Curzon game, we were struggling in the league and we didn’t get many wins. The game had a bit of everything. I ended up scoring two penalties.

“It was one of the days I went in the red van and Ash had told us that we were going to get to Brid for 11.30am. I was like ’11.30am, we’re at home, what’s happening here’? The club were putting on scrambled egg and beans on toast. You’re already trying to explain to the missus that you’re going to Brid and you’ll back late. It had to be a 9-30am set off from Ferrybridge for a home game.

“Gary Lowe was the Curzon manager and he’s very similar to Ash and they were at each other on the touchline. I think Ash wasn’t keen on them because he’s a big Leeds United fan and he doesn’t like Manchester teams. Ash gets people fired up anyway, but that he said all sorts of things that day. You should have heard his speech before the FC United game. That was unbelievable because he treated it like a cup final.

“Going back to the game, I had scored two and I was having a great game. But a ball came over to the left and I turned to shield it out. Next thing I see is Mike Norton on the floor. The linesman flagged and gave Curzon a penalty. He claimed that as I shielded the ball out, I’d clipped his ankle. Me being very pleasant with the officials over the years, I politely gave my feedback to the linesman and I got a booking.

“The game was end-to-end and it was 2-2 at half-time. It was hammer and tong and when it was 3-3 with five minutes to go, a cross was put in from the left-hand-side and the forward who had come on ran across and forearm smashed me. As I turned to the linesman, he went ‘no I’ve not seen it’. I went ‘not seen it, it was b****** assault.’ I went off on one and the linesman waved his flag and I was off, two yellows. I had scored two and been sent off.

“I got into the changing room fuming and I was looking for things to volley. The captain Pete Naylor then walked in and I don’t know if he had sent off or had been subbed in the last minute. We were both fuming anyway and we heard the full-time whistle go. We looked at each other and we both said ‘we’re having them’. We lost the plot and we wedged ourselves in the door as the Curzon players were coming in. We both ended up getting lamped because we couldn’t move our arms! You had big Wayne Harratt running in to sort it out, Rousey was in. All you could hear was the ref whistling like he was at a 1990s rave. He was just blowing and blowing. It all calmed down and the referee bought our story that we were just trying to get out to shake everyone’s hand. He didn’t report it so we got away with it.”

Sheffield FC 0-1 Brigg Town (20/4/2010)

“I put it in because it was the best ever season I had as a Non League player. It was Ash Berry who got me over there. I don’t know what the link between them was, but I got a phone call off Steve Housham. “Ash Berry says I have to sign you on,” said this voice after I answered the phone. “Alright, who are you,” was my response!

“So he went ‘Steve Housham, Brigg Town manager’ and I told him I’d go over for pre-season because it was only down the M180. From the first minute it felt like a brilliant club from top to bottom. They were some great lads and we must have had eight or nine nights out during the season which culminated in 16 of them coming over to Barnsley for the end of the season night out. Everyone of them stayed in my house – that might be why my ex-missus is my ex! There were two on a rug, one on one settee, one on another. There were three in one bed, four in another. I’d borrowed blow-up beds the lot to get them in. It was like the Leeds Fest, but under a roof. There were bodies everywhere.

“The reason I’ve chosen the Sheff Club game is because they were flying and they were up near the play-offs. I remember us getting there and it might have been a rearranged game, but it was definitely the last away game. Sheffield had an air of arrogance about them and they were sort of saying ‘you’re going to get hammered today’. 

“I remember doing a little speech because I was the captain and I just said ‘it has been brilliant, I’ve enjoyed the season, let’s go out and cause an upset’. 

“We were hammering them for a good 20 minutes, but the game just turned and we had to put our tin hats on. They were absolutely tearing us to pieces, but we were defending like trojans. The game swung and I remember it like yesterday. Matty Outram, he loved a tackle didn’t he? He went into a 50/50 with one of our lads. As he got up, Matty jumped off floor and stamped on our lad. To be fair to the ref he was straight over and showed the red card. I still see Matt now and then and I still laugh at him over it and say ‘remember that day you let us win’? He’s like ‘don’t you start’.

“I remember a little lad called Robbie Clark who was on loan from Doncaster – a great player. The ball just dropped to him 20 yards out and he smacked it like Paul Scholes’ goal against Bradford City in 2000 and it just flew in. It was one of those great performances with a great set of lads that stood out. Sheffield took it badly and it was one of those days when you bang on their dressing room door and shout ‘I hope you lose Saturday and don’t get in the play-offs’.”

Curzon Ashton 0-4 Manchester United (2010)

“I actually got offered the Brigg job after Housh left, but I was only 29 and I felt it was too early. Housh rang me and told me to take the job because he thought I’d keep the lads together and would do alright. But I also felt I couldn’t commit to managing in an area I didn’t know. If the job had been on the doorstep and I could have pulled some lads I know locally then it might have been different.

“So I only had that one season with Brigg and when it came to that summer I had Gary Lowe ringing me and Wayne Hallcro ringing me wanting to go to Grantham. Grantham were offering stupid amounts of money and I thought ‘no I can’t do it’. So I chose Curzon over Grantham because I didn’t want to play against Brigg. As Shane Kelsey touched on, Curzon were offering stupid money as well.

“I don’t know why Gary Lowe signed me? I played against them twice, once for Brid and once for Brigg and I got sent off in both games. We played away at Curzon with Brigg and beat them 2-1 in the Trophy and I got sent off after 30 minutes for two stupid bookings. I remember coming out for the second half to sit in the stand and Gary Lowe pulled me in the tunnel and went ‘what’s your problem with us’? He’d remembered me from the Brid game. I went ‘it is one of those things, I get fired up for all games, all us Barnsley lads are like it’. He replied ‘Barnsley? What are you doing playing for Bridlington and Brigg? You’re coming to sign for me.’ I thought he was joking, but I told him I would see the season out with Brigg and that he could ring me in the summer.

“He talked like one of the Gallagher’s ‘aye, kid you’ll come and sign for us’. I remember going to meet to him and it was red hot. He asked, ‘who else are in for you’? It was just Grantham and when I told him what they were offering, he went ‘well, I’m not offering you that’. The deal-maker was the pre-season schedule. They were playing Sheffield United U23s, Glossop North End, Altrincham, Bolton and Manchester United. The Man U game swung it because I would never have had another opportunity to play against Man United ever again – whether that was kids or first team.

“Because we were playing some big sides, I didn’t get a kick in pre-season. I said ‘it is alright playing these Gary, but we’re not touching the ball’. 

“It was a proud moment to play Man U. It was their reserves and Solskjaer was their manager. It was a 7.45pm kick off and I got there early. The amount of people who were already there at 6pm was unbelievable. The Man U team coach turned up and Solskjaer got off and it took him 30 minutes to get into the stadium because he was signing autographs and posing for photos. 

“There must have been 1600 there officially, there were probably more. Being on that pitch with the class of players Manchester United brought was brilliant. It is not until you look back at the side that played that day that you think ‘that’s why we never got a kick’. We were playing against 16 or 17-year-olds, but they took the mick out of us because of how good they were. I might have touched the ball four times and three of them were throw-ins. It is a good job it wasn’t the first team as it would have been double figures.

“Even though it was the reserves, just to have said that I have played against Manchester United means a lot to me. It was a real highlight. My mum and dad came and it was a proud moment because it gave something back to them for all those times they ferried me all over the country.”

Luke Smith was interviewed by James Grayson