RAMBLINGS FOR MATCHES PLAYED IN FEBRUARY 2005


 

12.30pm; Sat.26th February 2005; Sussex County League Division 2 (Att.78; programme: 28 pages incl. £2 admn).

 

St.Francis Rangers (2) 4 Oakwood 0) 1

 

After a week of dodgy weather it was great just to get a game in let alone have the prospect ot seeing two! Bright sunshine welcomed both players and fans (including several travellers who had ventured from as far a field as Edinburgh, Crewe and the West Country) for this the first of a potential Sussex double. With the conversion of the old St.Francis hospital into new luxury apartments, the facade of the building in the distance still looks really impressive and provides a superb backdrop to the neat little ground tucked away behind it. Rangers dominated from the off and were well on top taking a two goal lead going into half time.

 

The second half was delayed when something quite unexpected happened. A Police helicopter had been called to the scene of an accident and the casualty had to be airlifted to the hospital. Spectators looked on in amazement as the chopper made an emergency landing only feet from the pitch on the designated helipad. Apparently it is not uncommon for a walker to come to grief on the nearby Downs and be flown in for urgent treatment. The pilot  was met by paramedics who stretchered the poor casuality into a waiting ambulance. Quite a surreal moment and not out of place in a James Bond epic..

It was soon back to reality though when Oakwood pulled one back at the start of the second half. The break in play had interrupted Rangers rhythm and it took longer than they had hoped to increase their lead. With two further strikes it ended 4-1 much to the satisfaction of home fans and stewards who had made us very welcome throughout our short stay. An excellent 28 page programme complete with photographs was issued priced 50p. A real bargain! 

 

The club is based at the rear of the Princess Royal Hospital off Lewes Road in Haywards Heath. The site was formerly known as the St.Francis asylum and now occupies a vast area of apartments costing anywhere between £200,000 and £300,000!!  The club is a merger of Anstey FC and St.Francis FC back in 2002.

 

Access is better by turning off the main roundabout down Colwell Road. After about 200 yards turn left into the site and follow the narrow road (on the right) which takes you around the grounds to the residents car park (stay clear!) and the main entrance marked by a small pay booth. The football car park is found at the bottom of a hill behind the clubhouse from where refreshments could be purchased at half-time. The pitch is surrounded by a neat post and rail fence and there is a small cover to the right running up the side from the corner to almost halfway. I reached the club from the M23 and A23 taking the A272 (near Bolney) through the town centre and on to the Lewes Road.

 

Click here for a map showing:  St.Francis Rangers FC.

----------------------------------------------------------------

3.00pm; Sat.26th February 2005; Sussex County League Division 3 (Att.43; programme: no).

 

Haywards Heath Town (2) 6 Ifield Edwards (0) 2

 

With expert navigation from fellow travellers Andy and John the Wraymobile made the relatively short journey on to Haywards Heath Town FC. Officials at St.Francis had earlier remarked on our choice of game and said that we would not be disappointed with our visit to the club. They were right and a collective 'wow' rang out after we had caught a glimpse of the main stand which soon opened up in front of us at the end of Allen Road. Hanbury Park Stadium must be one of the best venues in the Sussex League if not in the county. It is for this reason that many local finals are held here and this is not surprising. The large multi tiered stand is decked out in the club colours of blue and white and straddles the half-way line. It really does set the scene. A neat post and rail fence surrounds the pitch which has concrete standing behind the goal to the right and on the near side. The grass banking rises up on the far side to provide an elevated view of the proceedings. A small tea bar is found at the end of the main stand with access down some steps to a reception room, changing rooms and toliets.

 

Sadly the football club seem to be struggling and appear to be short of personnel to help run things. This possibly explained why the club are no longer issuing programmes; why no gate money was taken and why outside caterers are used to provide refreshments. To be fair though the 'Travelling Chef' was closed (as the proprietors were on holiday) and a couple of volunteers had been roped in for tea duty! 

After a pretty uneventful first half the game suddenly came to life within minutes of the restart. Edwards looked a stronger side and were hoping to build on their three goal lead. Play moved from end to end on a pitch which was cutting up and causing players to lose their balance. The Town kids 'stuck' at it and were rewarded with a penalty. It was missed. The play moved back down to the other end again and Ifield scored an absolute cracking goal which rattled the stanchion. The referee gave a goal kick and following the melee booked the visiting manager for dissent. Unlike the rest of us he hadn't see the ball go in! Back down to the other end. Another penalty and this time Town converted it. Our prediction for a final scoreline (which started at 0-3) had changed several times with each goal that followed! At full time with the score at 2-6, we all agreed it had been a great second half and credit to football in ths division. A most enjoyable day for the weary travellers who had seen two games and a total of 11 goals into the bargain.  

Click here for a map showing:  Haywards Heath Town FC.


2.30pm; Sat.19th February 2005; Essex Intermediate League Division 2 (Att.12; programme: no).

 

Roydon FC (0) 0 Mountnessing (0) 1

 

After deciding to attend the Herts County League Division 1 fixture between Loughton and St.Peters I had just enough time to watch some of the BBC FA Cup coverage at Highbury before setting out. At 1.30pm the phone rang and kind Loughton secretary Keith Campen told me that the match had been called off as the visitors couldn't raise a team. A string of expletives folllowed (after putting the phone down). There was a bit of panic too. I had to think about another game and quickly. Back on the phone again! Mr Plume confirmed that his club Roydon had an Essex Intermediate League fixture against Mountnessing and it started at 2.30pm. One hour to cover 50+ miles! Crisis management was now in operation and by five past two I had managed to get as far as the Stansted turning on the M11. I reckoned that twenty miles remained from here to Roydon and making the kick-off was a possibility. 

 

At 2.28pm I turned into the club car park off Harlow Road. An ambulance pulled in behind. Apparently one of the visiting players had taken a turn for the worst and needed some urgent attention. To sort things out kick-off was delayed and the match started some ten minutes later! Blooming typical (or similar words sprang to mind).Mr Plume greeted me with a copy of the club programme which is edited (only on special occasions) by Plume junior. This one was from an Essex Premier Cup game against Mistley Utd played back in November.

 

Drained with the events of the last hour I could now focus on the game. By now the temperature had fallen and the wind chill started to bite. It became difficult to hold the camera and my hands looked almost athritic in the freezing conditions. Thankfully the clubhouse in the corner offered some shelter and made it a better vantage point to watch the match from. It was not a great spectacle. There had been few chances and both sides struggled against the stiif breeze. With two minutes left Mountnessing took advantage of a lucky break. The ball was on the edge of the Roydon box when it fell to the feet of young Jones (a hefty lad in the Mountnessing forwardline). Before he turned to face goal he had been brought down on the edge of the six yard box by clumsy keeper Smith. The stopper looked towards the ref for guidance. Jones didn't. He simply sat up, stuck out his boot and netted the only goal of the game! 

 

The club play at the Roydon playing fields in Harlow Road. This is a sloping grassed area with the use of two pitches beyond a central cricket square. The 1st XI use the roped off one nearest the pavilion. There is no cover. A tea bar operates at half-time to provide hot drinks. To reach the club from Harlow follow signs for Roydon using the A1169. After passing the Greyhound Stadium the ground is a couple of miles further along the Harlow Road opposite the junction with the High Street. A small single track takes you to the car park.    

 

 

 

Click here for a map showing:  Roydon FC.


3.00pm; Sat.12th February 2005; F A Vase 5th Round(Att.1031; programme: 96 pages £1.50).

 

Bridgwater Town (1984) (0) 0 AFC Sudbury (2) 4

 

 

 

 

In summing up the game, Bridgwater Town boss Trevor Senior admitted afterwards that: 'Sudbury deserved to win. Mind you the wind ruined it as a spectacle'. Fair comment. At one point midway through the first half (and with AFC leading 1-0) the players were struggling to keep the ball on the field of play as the elements confined the action to one side of the pitch. This led to a throw-in frenzy as the ball came into and then straight back out of play time after time. The referee's assistant looked like someone working in air traffic control waving his flag to the right and moments later to the left! Fans were seen clinging onto the perimeter railing with one hand and holding their hats with the other. The club flag too, suspended from its precarious position high above the ground, fought bravely against the strong gusts. Even the corner flag post on my right had adopted an unusual pose at a forty five degree angle with the pitch. Mixed in with all this was a brief shower of hail which produced a magnificent rainbow as it stretched out across the bright blue sky line. The Robins battled hard too but without luck; Sudbury had just netted a third as they lost Rice to a second booking. The ten Reds couldn't stop the fourth goal and the fans decked in blue and yellow broke out into full song. Thoughts of another Vase Final had seemingly taken their minds off a four hour motorway trip back into the depths of East Anglia.

 

The hosts had made a special effort to mark their memorable day. A superb souvenir edition programme bulged with 96 pages on offer. Complete with red and white striped front cover the weighty tome sold for a reasonable £1.50; it was a real labour of love containing a mass of information and articles about the Vase, Western League football and the visitors from Suffolk. On entering the ground spectators were met by an array of officials competing to sell merchandise, raffle and 50-50 tickets. By 2.20pm the refreshment bar was well doing a brisk trade and the double sausage and bacon baguette smothered in tomato sauce slid down very nicely for an astonishingly cheap  £2. Had the petrol money been less I may have dipped into my pocket again and sampled a few more culinary delights on offer at half-time. The lady behind the counter looked like she had been scratched on the face by a rather large feline with very sharp claws - she hadn't though. My mistake! Thankfully it was only the thin lines of red face paint adorned to mark the occasion and complement her crusty weather beaten complexion!

 

The club is based in Fairfax Road, just off the main A39 Bath Road; it is a large sporting complex between the motorway and the town centre. From the main car park/driveway you can see the striking main stand of Bridgwatrer Albion RFC on the right. The football club is on the left and is well appointed with standing cover behind both goals and a 250 seater main stand on the half-way line behind the dug outs.The Bristol rail line is close by and the sound of express trains whistling past was a regular feature during the game. A small clubhouse with bar and toilets is hemmed in near the main entrance in the corner of the ground.

To reach the club involved a lot of motorway driving. I travelled most of the 460 mile round trip using the M11; M25; M4 and finally M5. Come off the latter at junction 23 and follow signs for the town centre on the A38 (Bristol Road) before turning left at the lights onto the A39. Cross over the road bridge and the ground can be seen on your right hand side.


2.15pm; Sat.05th February 2005; Kent County League - Inter Regional Challenge Cup QF; (Att.33; programme: 12 pages/donation).

 

 

Stansfeld Oxford & Bermondsey FC (2) 4 Lewisham Borough (0) 1

 

 

Over the years I have often wondered where the club name originated from. Looking at my A to Z I know it must have had some historical link with the local area of Bermondsey in South London. So for the hitherto uninformed I quote from the programme text: ‘Stansfeld, Oxford & Bermondsey Club was formed in 1897, when Dr. John Stansfeld an Oxford graduate visited Bermondsey and seeing the poverty, decided to form the club to keep the waifs and strays off the streets. At one time, the organisation ran five Clubs in the Docklands, Southwark and Bermondsey areas, when the population was far greater than it is today. Thankfully, the need is not as great today. The Club’s headquarters are now to be found in Webb Street, Bermondsey, where over two hundred members enjoy various sections, i.e. football, golf, snooker, athletics, circuit training and drinking! Currently the club fields three football teams on a Saturday, two in the Kent County League and the other one in the Bromley and District League’.

 

Based in Kidbrooke Lane, the club play at the Greenwich University Sports Ground. The site comprises a large brick building inside the main entrance and five football pitches; the main one is roped off and runs parallel to a main stand. In reality this is not the case except for the three high steps of terracing, a back wall covered in graffiti and the bare roof supports which still remain. Although this was once a proud cover it still is used by the die hards who watch play from a more elevated position. In the distance you can see traffic rumbling along the A2 and London – Kent bound trains on a busy rail line.

 

The game was keenly contested by two sides who are doing well in the league; before the game Lewisham were second in the table with Stansfeld two places behind. It is amazing how many matches can revolve around one key moment in the game. At the start of the second half the hosts were leading 2-1 but were under enormous pressure as Lewisham threw everything into attack in the hope of equaliser. Fiery tempered teenage forward Smith was losing it and despite requests to cool it from his own players continued to lash out at anyone who came near him. Within minutes he was cautioned and saw red at the yellow card that came his way! He now blew a gasket and walked off towards the changing rooms. The Stansfeld manager acted quickly and brought on a sub. to replace his headstrong attacker. This was a decision that was to change the game. The blues regained their composure, snuffed out the opposition and went on to score two more goals to progress into the semi final.

 

Hot food and drinks were on sale from a function room on the upper floor of the clubhouse at half –time. A four paged programme containing welcome, line-ups and a league table (inside an eight page static shell) was available from the bubbly club secretary Colin Lush who eventually got on as a sub with five minutes to go. His first touch was received with great cheers and applause from the vociferous band of home fans who had congregated next to the home dug out!

 

I travelled by car using the Blackwall Tunnel to cross the Thames. Follow the A102 and A2 before coming off at the A205 Well Hall Road junction.The ground is visible on the right and there is plenty of parking at pitchside. For travellers relying on public transport, Eltham station is within half a mile of the venue.

 

Click here for a map showing:  Stansfeld O & B FC