In all my years of football travelling, I honestly can’t ever remember anything like this. The rain just hasn’t stopped pouring. For the first time this season I really am on the verge of throwing in the soggy hopping towel! It’s been chucking it down all week and I don’t fancy driving through a monsoon only to find out that my chosen game has been called off. Even if I do manage to find a game somewhere (you must be joking?) the prospect of standing on a wet touchline in the middle of nowhere with the wind whipping against your back doesn’t really seem that appealing either. But like the proverbial oasis in the desert there is always glimmer of hope and this weekend, by a quirk of fate, it’s right on my own doorstep.

I love the Tony Kempster Forum on the Non League Matters website. Have you seen it? Although I don’t post messages on it myself (due to time constraints), I have found the excellent Message Board to be a terrific football resource for all things to do with our great hobby. I do confess to reading most of the threads on a daily basis. These are invaluable especially when it comes to finding out, amongst other things, regularly updated information about clubs, planning games and programme collecting. It’s top notch stuff!

It’s Friday night and, whilst taking yet another break from checking the latest weather bulletin (more in hope that something favourable was going to happen rather than expectation), I decide to log onto the essential ‘Where Are You Going?’ tab on the NLM site. It is without doubt the best place to find all the latest updates especially when needs must and, believe me, they do!

One particular message grabs my attention. To my utter astonishment a poster named Runwell advertises that this weekend’s Essex & Suffolk Border League Division 1 fixture at Tiptree Jobserve (v Tollesbury) has been moved and will now be played on the 3G artificial pitch at Tiptree Sports Centre. Based at Thurstable School on Maypole Road it’s all but a stone’s throw from their previous ground, the Warriors Rest in Tiptree. It’s looking like 3G could be coming to the rescue. What a result!

I get confirmation that the game is starting at 2pm and surprise, surprise, by midday I'm setting set off towards Tiptree covering familiar ground passing the market towns of Haverhill, Halstead and Earls Colne en route. The rain is getting heavy and roads are starting to flood making them impassable in some places. An extra bit of concentration, careful steering and luck negotiating all the puddles is called for to cover what is a treacherous journey. My missus Fran thinks I must be mad. I agree!

The ground is easily reached from the outskirts of Tiptree by turning left down Maypole Road at the mini roundabout and then right down a narrow driveway leading to the Thurstable School entrance (it’s about 100 yards past a local Shell petrol station and garage). By bearing left you follow the signs leading towards the new Sports Centre and car park which is located behind some of the main buildings. Apparently this was built with the support of Colchester United FC chairman Robbie Cowling - who lives locally. Access to the changing room building, grass pitches and the main mesh cage with marked floodlit 3G pitch, is along a narrow walkway by the side of the Centre. Despite the heavy rain there was no sign of water on its entire black crumbed surface. Phew! As Runwell rightly states: ‘It’s a pretty basic set-up but it does the job no problem’.

Today’s game sees the visit of Tollesbury FC to the Sports Centre. It’s going to be a tough game for Jobserve. After recent back to back titles in the Colchester & East Essex League - including an incredible 42 game league unbeaten run which only ended in their final game last season, the visitors are unsurprisingly having a decent season at the higher level and currently sit in second spot, some five places above the hosts.

The visitors go ahead through Ryan Hull (18) who after purposeful run into the box curls a delightful shot into the top corner. The hosts soon draw level in bizarre fashion when, even after the ball has appeared to cross the goal line, play is brought back for a previous foul and a penalty is awarded. Ben Lewis (28) duly converts the resultant spot kick leaving the score 1-1 at the break.

Tollesbury regain the lead moments after the interval when Simon King (47) scores from a well taken direct free-kick which fizzes into the far corner. The visitors’ luck seems to be in when a re-taken spot kick (for encroaching) is successfully put away at the second attempt by Ryan Hull (60). With barely ten minutes left Tiptree pull one back when Anthony Mills (78) meets a Ryan Scillitoe free kick with a fine diving header that finds the back of the net. Despite a few nervy moments Tollesbury chalk up a deserved victory and keep alive their promotion hopes.

A sizeable crowd approaching almost fifty fans attend the game. This includes some of East Anglia’s finest hoppers with familiar Kempster-ite posters well represented by Youngster, BCD (thanks for the line ups Gyles), AndyFTN, UK Punk, Chorley 2002, and of course Runwell who arrives late after being diverted through the local flooding on his way here. I hope I’ve not missed anyone out. Nice to meet up with you all fellas! As expected neither a match day programme nor refreshments are available for the game but that is totally irrelevant today.

Despite a rather tricky journey back though further heavy showers, the rain finally stops by the time I get to Racing HQ. On a day when I almost gave up hope of finding a game, it had been a real bonus to attend the Tiptree Leisure Centre along with fellow ground collectors. I must also thank Runwell and his mates for flagging up the crucial fixture on the NLM forum. Without them I doubt very much that I would have found a game today. The virtues of plastic pitches cannot be extolled highly enough...now that would make a great posting, wouldn’t it. Have fun wherever you go!