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No.24 - Sat 17th December 2011; St Edmundsbury League Division 1; 2.00pm at Lamble Playing Fields, Beck Row, Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 8AF. |
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Matchday images (43) https://picasaweb.google.com/footballgroundsinfocus/BeckRowFC
Beck Row (0) 1 Mildenhall United (1) 3 United grab 'Hall points in local derby... After a week of pretty rough weather locally consisting of some heavy rain, sleet and snow it's not surprising that only two fixtures in the St Edmundsbury League Div 1 are still on today. I eventually decide to leave a visit to Ixworth for another day and instead choose a hop to Beck Row Football Club who are entertaining Mildenhall United in an important Division 1 local derby fixture. A mouth watering encounter is eagerly awaited for the thoroughbred hoppers from racing HQ. The tiny Suffolk village of Beck Row is located only a couple of miles (to the north west) of Mildenhall town centre. The ground is literally a stone's throw from the vast, sprawling and busy airbase at RAF Mildenhall. After driving alongside the northern perimeter fence which runs parallel to the runway (for about 1 mile) take the second turning on the right into Lamble Close. Follow the road around the right hand bend and take the left fork before proceeding through a small wooden 'farm' style gate and along a small unmade track which leads you to the main pitch. Set in a large expansive woodland location (part of a conservation site), the playing field is surrounded by trees on three sides. It must have one of the bumpiest surfaces I have seen in local non league football for some time. Despite this I am told that the club rarely has to postpone a game in the event of bad weather. Perhaps this is worth remembering for those more eastern-based hoppers looking for a convenient footy fix. Describing the ground as basic but homely would sum up facilities here at Lamble Close adequately. Although there's no dedicated car park locals tend to leave their vehicles on the grass some distance behind and parallel to the near side touchline. Pride of place must go to the quaint old wooden pavilion set back at an angle from the goal to the left. It's a real gem! There's no mistaking where you are as the club name is proudly painted over the door in white emulsion and printed in large black lettering on a contrasting yellow background inside the home changing rooms. A small adjacent kitchen area (powered courtesy of a mini generator placed outside) is manned cheerfully throughout the afternoon by Graham Rose the affable club chairman. If you look carefully you will spot a small sign hanging from a roof support which displays the legend: Rosies T Bar clearly on the front - a lovely touch! The goal nets and corner flags are decked out in yellow and black possibly in keeping with the club colours (I say this as the homesters wore an all-navy strip today!). As far as pitch furniture goes there's not a lot else here apart from is a small wooden bench seat positioned behind the goal at the right hand end and that's about it!! Since gaining promotion (with Garboldisham FC) from Division 2 at the end of last season the hosts have not found life in the top division as easy judging by their playing record to date. Indeed before play today Row find themselves at the foot of the table having won only one game so far. By sheer coincidence this was a 3-1 victory against Mildenhall United when the sides met at Tuddenham last month. With a point (or three) to prove it was going to be interesting to see if the mid table visitors could get one back (so to speak) on their local rivals. After a pretty even first half it was United who broke the deadlock moments before the break. Tricky winger Luke O'Neill laid the ball off perfectly for Chris Merchant (44) to drill home from just inside the box. Merchant (62) then added a second just after the hour mark with a stunning long range shot that saw the ball beat keeper Joey McGloughlin before rebounding off the bottom right hand post and into the net. Ten minutes later it was the diminuitive Jerome Singletary who played the ball through for O'Neill (73) to grab a third from close range. Although the game seemed to be over as a contest Row did manage to pull one back ten minutes before the end when Shane Howe (81) met Ben Rushes' free-kick, showing some neat control to carve out a low shot that beat keeper Matthew Knowells for pace and make the score 1-3. The hosts (missing three regular first teamers today) will feel a bit hard done by as they contributed fully into making this a terrific game of football which was expertly refereed by Stephen Davill (who kindly let me copy the official line ups onto my FGIF Match Stats card). The game played in bright but very cold conditions on a bumpy pitch (covered in part by wild hare droppings no less!) attracted only fourteen spectators. As you would expect the intense loud background noise of planes preparing for take-off from the American RAF air base is a constant feature and a bit of a distaction to the neutral observer. If you're not keen on aircraft it would be a god idea to bring your ear plugs with you just in case! I was indebted to club chairman Graham who not only greeted us both with a warm welcome upon arrival but also gave us a complimentary cuppa' from the well-stocked tea bar at half-time. Fran was most impressed! He is very keen to see neutrals at matches and explains that the club, interestingly one of the founder members of the original Bury St Edmunds Villages League (a fore-runner of today's current competition now sponsored by Glasswells furniture specialists), has played here for many post war years. The club also publishes its own website to provide prospective visitors with plenty of club information and statistics as well as outlining useful directions and interactive map. Links to the excellent and more 'home-spun' Bury Football League website which contains important contact numbers (land line and mobile) for every club in the league (both divisions) and the Full-Time website are also shown below. Incredibly the two sides meet once again over at Tuddenham in their next fixture, the first game of the New Year, a Bill Utting League Knock Out Cup tie!! A visit to Beck Row Football Club is recommended to all hoppers. The club, its committee members and supporters are all very welcoming and will definitely make your short stay most worthwhile. I have really enjoyed watching games in this competition over the last two seasons and always follow results closely with many sides taking part in both the Suffolk Junior and Primary Cups. The joys of local grass roots soccer continues. Have fun collecting those grounds wherever you go! Oh I almost forget - have a hopping great Christmas!! FGIF Match Stats Scorers: (H) S Howe (81) and (A) C Merchant (44; 62); L O'Neill (73) Attendance: 14; Admission and Progamme: N/A; Match rating: 3/5; Ground rating: 2/5. Links http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/beckrowfc01/Home http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?league=5981576 http://www.stedmundsburyfootballleague.co.uk/ |
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edited on 18/12/11 |
