It was certainly the late late show at School Lane in Benhall Green today. After scoring three first half goals, the hosts looked to be coasting to a comfortable home win and had seemingly done enough to earn themselves three valuable points against AFC Crowley when the game took an unexpected twist. It was in the space of seven added minutes of second half stoppage time that fans were treated to an exciting finale in this highly entertaining Suffolk & Ipswich League Second Division encounter.

Benhall, dressed in their traditional black and white striped shirts, scored the opening goal within the first ten minutes of play. A low cross into the box saw the unfortunate Lee Upson (7) overstretch and accidentally toe poke the ball home past his own keeper Daley Youngs. The homesters second though, which came five minutes later after some neat build up play down the left hand side, was no fluke. It was a perfect cross from Shane Hambling that set up his brother Luke (12) who volleyed the ball home at the far post. The favour was returned midway through the half when Luke slipped the ball through to Shane (26) and after skilfully rounding a couple of defenders, drilled the ball past Youngs from ten yards out.

After half-time visitors AFC Crowley got back into the game and enjoyed a much greater share of 

possession. Their best chance came midway through the half when Kieron Morley (77) saw his long range effort clip the top of the crossbar. The lanky forward made amends for this though in the dying seconds after toe poking the ball home (90) through a melee of players following a corner. With little stoppage time to speak of many felt that the visitors at least deserved a consolation goal for their efforts. Just when we all expected the referee to blow his whistle for full-time, the official allowed play to continue. The lads from Stowmarket were given a lifeline when they were awarded a very late (and highly dubious) penalty after Morley was innocuously pulled down in the area. Kevin Folkard (90+5) stepped up and calmly sent Darren Warner the wrong way to make the score 3-2. Annoyed by the penalty decision, defender Leigh Bailey was immediately cautioned for his comments, leaving the locals in a state of panic. Incredibly straight after the restart and with almost the last kick of the game Shane Hambling (90+6) astonished everyone by beating two defenders and sliding the ball under the advancing keeper Youngs, allaying the fears of home fans. No one knew where the stoppage time had come from but it definitely made for a terrific finish!             

The game, played on a bumpy, unroped but well-grassed pitch in bright but windy conditions, attracted just seven fans. Apart from the two hoppers from the home of thoroughbred horseracing, the other five were all home supporters who had come down to School Lane to cheer on their heroes. Whilst taking some photos during the second half I got into conversation with a couple of fans who were watching the game from inside the much warmer confines of their vehicle. I was amazed to learn that the elderly gentleman, sitting in the passenger's seat, was a former Benhall player...having played for the club no less than sixty years ago. It was back in the 1950's that Bob Smith first took to the field as a centre half for the village side. He recollected, with great affection, how he had played in the Suffolk Primary Cup winning side back in 1952 during an illustrious career spanning twenty-one years at the club. Bob later went on to play for Leiston in the Norfolk and Suffolk league. He also pointed out where the pitch used to be on the field, before being moved through ninety degrees in more recent times. Without doubt he's a lovely fella and one who's obviously still passionate about his village club! 

So what's the ground like? As you can imagine the club is based in a most rural location with the neighbouring towns of Saxmundham (< 2 miles); Leiston (6 miles) and Aldeburgh (8 miles) all within close proximity. It is situated next door to the tiny St Mary's Primary School, a mixed junior school with only 45 pupils on its roll. Access to the enclosed ground is in School Lane, a rather narrow road bordered by hedges, that leads the visitor to a small car park running parallel to the nearest touchline. Just inside the entrance is the impressive Benhall and Sternfield Ex-Servicemens clubhouse. This cream colour painted building has a smart bar, lounge with Sky TV and separate snooker room with its own full size table. Mrs W thought the loo facilities were top notch! Although there is no veranda it may be possible to watch the game from here, albeit only as a last resort, perhaps in the event of poor weather. To the right (and parallel with the road) are the unique, 'antiquated' and dilapidated wooden changing huts. They must be, without shadow of a doubt, the oldest changing facilities to be still used in the county! 

The main (and only) pitch on site benefits from having a number of training lights in situ around the perimeter -three thin metal poles support mini spot lamps along the near touchline side whilst two further lights are fastened to a couple of the wooden (telegraph style) posts erected behind the goal at the far end. These are amongst six masts used to support some high netting which spans almosts the entire width of the goal line in order to prevent stray balls from entering the adjacent gardens that back on to the ground. Unusually there's a small (but perfectly mown) croquet lawn positioned behind the nearside. How bijou! Another quirky touch is a second white line that is painted parallel to this touchline as a reminder to players; managers; fans and hoppers taking photos to allow room for the referee's assistants to move freely along the side of the pitch. From here the visitor will appreciate some terrific views opposite the rolling countryside which leads up to the A12 carriageway. Don't be worried if you hear the sound of gunfire in the air - the locals frequently partake in organised weekend shooting events in the distant fields. With no other dedicated spectator cover or dug-outs at pitchside at the moment, that's about it. It's certainly a basic but homely venue!!

In order to reach the club, give yourself plenty of time to find the ground. Being in the sticks it is not as easy to find as we first thought it would be. We eventually decided to take a cross country route after coming off the A14 at Stowupland and following the A1120 through Stonham Aspal, Earl Soham and Saxstead. After a short stop in Framlingham to survey the historical 12th century flint castle and grounds we then continued picking up the B1119 towards Saxmundham before turning off to Benhall Green taking the B1121. As the road splits into two take the right fork and immediately bear left into School Lane. For the second week in a row we had to ask for help in order to cover the final two miles. After many years of berrating drivers of slow moving agricultural vehicles, I was most grateful to the local farmer who got out of his tractor to give us some much needed assistance. Top marks to the guy wearing a flat cap, checked shirt and green wellies for getting us out of the muck we were in and saving us from a bout of apoplexy today!! Ironically just when we thought our planning could have been better we soon discovered that today's opponents AFC Crowley (from Stowmarket) had also got lost en route and so the referee rightly decided to put the kick-off back (to 2.15pm) to give the players time to warm up properly. Phew! 

A visit to Benhall St Mary Football Club is to be recommended. All travellers will be given a warm welcome when they take in a game at School Lane. Club secretary Keith Brown was extremely helpful when I phoned him at midday to check the game was still on. After his initial surprise as to why I would want to travel from one side of Suffolk to the other to watch his team play, he obviously liked the sound of our hobby and was very keen to provide me with the essential matchday information and some superb travel directions. Although he was away with the Reserves side (at Aldeburgh Town FC*) today, his son Steven (coincidentally the first team manager) greeted us when we arrived before kick-off. He also kindly gave us a team list so we could copy the line-ups on our FGIF Match Stats Card. What great service! No doubt everyone at the club will be looking forward to the visit of Bacton United 83 FC for the important Suffolk Primary Cup Quarter Final tie to be played here this coming Saturday...it will definitely be a trip down memory lane for one their proudest supporters...ace club legend Bob Smith...ah the joys of football hopping in remote Suffolk outposts continue...

FGIF Match Stats

                   Scorers: (H) L Upson (7og); Luke Hambling (12); Shane Hambling (26; 90+6) and                  (A) K Morley (90); K Folkard (90+5pen)

Attendance: 7; Admission and Programme: None; Match rating: 4/5; Ground rating: 3/5.

* as the game entered its final stages the Reserve team players returned from their game played earlier at rivals Aldebugh Town Reserves... news quickly spread around that they had won 3-1, making it a very successful day for everyone at the football club.