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No.51 - Tues 1st May 2012; St Edmundsbury League Division 1; 6.30pm at Great Barton Village Hall; Elms Close; Great Barton; Bury St Edmunds; Sufolk; IP312NR |
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Matchday images (32) https://picasaweb.google.com/footballgroundsinfocus/WestburyUnitedFC
It's seven heaven as Bartons clinch title... For the second week in a row I decided to head along the A14 towards Bury St Edmunds for another eagerly awaited match in the local St Edmundsbury League. My destination tonight was the Great Barton Village Hall in Elms Close (found only a couple of miles from junction 43 along the A143 towards Diss) where hosts Westbury United Football Club welcomed Bartons FC to their basic but homely recreation ground for this crucial Division One encounter. With the season now reaching its exciting climax there was plenty resting on this game featuring the two sides found at opposite ends of the table to whet the hopping appetite. Bring it on! A draw for high-flying Bartons FC (playing their final league match) over bottom placed Westbury would be enough for them to clinch the title over second placed Glad Abbott FC. A quick glance at the league's home stats page on the excellent Full-Time site (see link below) made interesting reading and revealed the difference in fortune between the two sides over the last campaign. The scoring prowess of the visitors has been impressive having notched up some sixty three goals so far giving them an average of just over four per game. By contrast United have really struggled to score all season and only found the net only eighteen times in all matches. It was not surprising when I arrived a good thirty minutes ahead of kick-off to see the away squad dressed in their Liverpool FC look-a-like kit aleady out on the field going through their warm up routine (I counted eighteen players). By the time the nets and flags had been put in place the United players had finally arrived (in dribs and drabs) and taken to the pitch, match referee James Tebbitt started the game promptly at 6.30pm. After so much rainfall it was a real treat to stand pitchside with the sun shing brightly for the first time in days. Bartons FC came into the game on the back of an impressive 10-0 victory over Mildenhall United at Northumberland Avenue just three days earlier. It didn't take them long to find the net once again tonight when Carl Hills (15) opened the scoring with a header from close range. Scott Rutterford (21) notched a second soon after when his sublime direct free-kick from 25 yards saw the ball bend around the wall beating the keeper at his right hand post. Hills (24) added a third (and his second) moments later following some great work down the left by the influential Cordell Jackson who supplied a perfect cross for him to score from six yards out. Callum Brown then set up Jackson (33) who rifled home from a tight angle making it 0-4 at half-time. Bartons made it five shortly after the re-start when Hills supplied a low cross into the area for unmarked Brown (48) to convert with an acrobatic diving header at the far post. The tall Jackson (50) quickly grabbed his second heading the ball into the roof of the net after rising first to meet Craig Defew's inswinging corner from the left taking the score to 0-6. As the visitors seemingly started to 'showboat' this allowed Westbury to get back into the game midway through the half. Young Max Wilshire (70) was on hand to score from a well-taken inswinging direct free-kick taken from just outside the box leaving keeper James Curtis totally flat-footed. Wilshire (74) added a second when he pounced on a loose ball tapping in from close range after following up an uncleared free-kick to make it 2-6. But with just over ten minutes to go it was Bartons who wrapped things up when Jackson dragged the ball back for Jack Deal to side foot the final goal of the game. As the final whistle sounded the visitors celebrated their victory. This title-winning performance made up for the disappointment of finshing third a year ago. However their season is not quite over yet with the small matter of both a Division One Knock-out Cup Final (v Glad Abbott) at Ram Meadow, Bury Town FC (on 08/05) and the Suffolk Junior Cup Final (v Westerfield) at Portman Road, Ipswich (on 15/05) still to come. Watch this space for confirmation of more silverware! Visitors here will find that the recreation ground off Elms Close is tucked away at the end of a narrow driveway behind the Village Hall (the entrance is opposite the Total petrol station). This venue provides a wide range of local community activities (tonight it was dog training class) as well as being the HQ of the Great Barton Scout movement who have their own building at the opposite end of the car park. A groundsman's equipment storage container; regulation-size basketball post with practise area; climbing frames and a children's playground are also found around the fields which are bordered by some local housing as well as the village bowls club which is segregated by a tall privet hedge in the far right hand corner. The players make use of separate changing facilities with a couple of rooms located at the back of the hall. Although the main (and only pitch) is not roped off, a couple of wooden benches are placed close to the half-way line for use by both playing squads. And that's it! Travellers will be interested to know that the St Edmundsbury League (sponsored by Glasswells World of Furniture) provides plenty of up to date information for those looking for games (particulary early evening midweek fixtures). Apart from the Full-Time site the competition operates its own dedicated league site (see additional link below) which gives a most useful club directory listing all the important ground addresses and contact numbers. If you are in the area why not take in one of the games in this league? You certainly won't be disappointed. The joys of watching (very) local grass roots midweek footy at the end of the season continues... have fun wherever you go! FGIF Match Stats Scorers: (H) M Wilshire (70; 74) and (A) C Hills (15; 24); S Rutterford (21); C Jackson (33; 50); C Brown (48); J Deal (77) Attendance: 26; Admission and Programme: None; Match rating: 4/5; Ground rating: 3/5. Links http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?league=5981576 http://www.stedmundsburyfootballleague.co.uk/ |
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edited on 02/05/12 |
