One of the advantages of watching football in the flat country of East Anglia is the large number of early evening fixture ‘hoppertunities that are available at the start of each football season. It really is hopping heaven in this part of the world. Travellers will find that several leagues, notably the Peterborough & District; Cambridgeshire County and Anglian Combination, regularly kick-off their new campaigns with a full programme of midweek games at the end of August and beginning of September. It was the latter competition that really caught my attention when arranging the first few trips of my forthcoming journey planner for 2010-11.

My destination tonight was the little village of Freethorpe, a small hamlet located only a few miles inland from the Norfolk coastal town of Great Yarmouth. With the main A47 carriageway unusually free from traffic it was a pleasure to travel the sixty or so miles to reach the local recreation ground. I decided to come off at Acle and cover the last part of the journey through some quiet back roads. I can safely say that it was a much less stressful journey than the one made exactly a week ago when a serious accident involving a car driver and a motor cyclist at Barton Mills (near Mildenhall) caused a massive five mile tail back and a enforced delay of almost an hour. Don’t you get wound up when this sort of thing happens?. Needless to say we didn’t make it to our chosen match (at Easton FC) and reluctantly decided to turn back in total frustration. Mind you on the plus side our weekly shopping at the Tescos food-fare emporium was brought forward by a couple of days much to the delight of my better half.

Freethorpe Football Club is based at the local recreation ground in School Road. It’s a most rural venue being surrounded on all sides by open countryside. Many of the fields at this time of the year are covered in round straw bales. From pitch side it’s quite an awesome view with dozens of these large straw cylinders stretching away into the distance aligned in perfect symmetry. Giant wind turbines from neighbouring Scrooby Marshes can be seen on the horizon. The pitch itself is also enclosed by rows of tall, thin evergreen trees which line the perimeter of the pitch. A most surreal setting to watch football.

The Freethorpe Community Pavilion, funded only a year ago by a Football Foundation grant, is found just inside the car park next to the main entrance. Opened by Stuart Pearce in 2009, this impressive modern building houses four players’ changing rooms, an officials’ changing room, a function room and viewing lounge as well as a small kitchen from where refreshments could be purchased during the evening. In adjacent land over to the right you will find the local bowls club and a floodlit MUGA (multi use games area) including some tennis courts.

The main football pitch, marked out on the far side of the field, has a pronounced end to end slope which drops down significantly towards the goal nearest to the car park. To reach this the players have to cross a much smaller football pitch which benefits from having a row of training lights positioned along one side. Although there is no dedicated cover here two dug outs are in the process of being constructed from breeze blocks close to half-way on the far touchline. Once the roofs are in place they should be completed and in full use by the end of the year.    

Tonight visitors Aylsham FC provided the opposition in this eagerly awaited Anglian Combination League Division 3 fixture. Upon arrival it was highly encouraging to see all the players going through their warm up routines a full thirty minutes before the scheduled kick-off time. Although it was a bright sunny evening, strong cross winds (always a feature here so I am told) made it very difficult for the players to contribute to a decent passing game.

Aylsham had the best chances in the opening half. Matt Henderson (14) was clean through on goal when home keeper Dan Pentney blocked his shot and, following a clumsy challenge, brought him down just inside the area. Instead of awarding a penalty referee Ian Gardner surprisingly decided that the attacker had dived and booked him for simulation! Andrew Rix (44) came closest for Freethorpe when his clever turn and shot from a tight angle was saved by Will Minns who tipped the ball over the bar to safety.

The deadlock was broken just after the interval when the visitors, dressed in an orange and blue kit, took the lead on the counter attack. It was a most controversial turning point in the game. As a long ball was cleared upfield the entire Freethorpe rearguard left it thinking that retreating attacker was Eddie Botwright was clearly standing in an offside position. It was a costly error as Aylsham’s Paul Kerrison (48) ran from his own half to control the ball and run virtually the whole half unmarked before cheekily lobbing keeper Pentney. Mayhem ensued as the referee was surrounded by most of the home players. The goal stood and Freethorpe were lucky not to have anyone sent off for their vehement protestations. Will Minns in the Aylsham goal was a real stalwart as he heroically pulled off three tremendous point blank saves to earn his side a well deserved 1-0 victory.

Freethorpe should take heart from their performance though. I was told by one of the home fans, a father who was watching his son play, that the 'Yellows' had lost lost several key players in pre-season to local rivals Acle. Incredibly only two lads remain on their books from last season. The politics of local football, eh? For the neutral though it was a superb advert for Anglian Combination League soccer.

The game attracted forty spectators, many of whom made the journey down the Norwich by-pass, coming from north-east Norfolk to cheer on their lads. The club, like many in the lower divisions of the Combination, does not issue a matchday programme. However a number of hot and cold drinks priced 50p were dispensed by a cheerful lady from the tea hatch in front of the Community Centre. A nice touch and much appreciated by a thirsty WebEd!

A visit to Freethorpe Football Club comes thoroughly recommended. I found everyone here to be extremely helpful (in providing team line ups, info about the club and ground etc) and welcoming. If you do decide to attend a game remember to bring a flask and some extra warm layers of clothing to combat the cold winds that blow in off the North Sea. I can't imagine what the temperature will be like in the winter months. Brrr.  

FGIF Match Stats

Scorers: (H) N/A and (A) P Kerrison (48)

Attendance: 40; Admission and Programme: N/A; Match rating: 4/5; Ground rating: 4/5.