Ambitious Shaw Lane agree deal to play their games at Athersley Recreation

Pic: Arthur Haigh/WhiteRosePhotos

SHAW LANE will kick off their debut Evo-Stik Premier campaign playing at Athersley Recreation after agreeing a groundshare with the Step 5 club.

The ambitious outfit won the Evo-Stik South last term with an impressive 102 points, earning promotion to Step 3 of the Non-League Pyramid for the first time in their history.

The Ducks had played their home games at Barnsley Rugby Union Club for the past two seasons but announced last month that they would have to move on.

Shaw Lane secretary Dave Exley at the time said that “as we rise up the leagues the agreement with Barnsley RUFC would be more difficult to maintain, therefore we must look elsewhere for a facility with potential to develop”.

With clubs back in pre-season training and with the start of the new campaign just a month away, the club have now confirmed they have agreed a deal with Northern Counties East League side Athersley Recreation.

The Ducks will play at Sheerien Park, just four miles from their previous home, and as they are in a higher division, their matches will have priority when it comes to the scheduling of fixtures.

Shaw Lane have been marching up the Non-League Pyramid in recent years, securing four promotions in the past five seasons.

The Northern Counties East Legue, meanwhile, have confirmed that groundshares like the one just signed between Shaw Lane and Athersley mean their fixtures won’t be released until later in the month.

A statement read: “NCEL anticipates that it will be releasing its fixture list in mid to late July after the leagues above us have released theirs due to ground sharing issues such as the one involving Athersley Recreation.”