|
Definitely a game of one half!
With friends visiting us in the early evening, I didn't want to travel too far to watch a match on Saturday. After quickly scanning the fixtures in the trusted TFT magazine, I eventually narrowed my choice down to three fairly local games: JM Sports v West Row Gunners (Cambs League); Gayton v St.Johns (Anglian Comb) and Heyford Athletic v Kislingbury (Northants Combination). I decided to go for the latter after the helpful club secretary not only confirmed that the match would kick-off at 2.30pm but also gave some excellent directions in locating the ground.
Heyford Athletic Football Club is based at the playing fields in Nether Heyford which is a small village close to Daventry. The Northants Combination Premier Division attracts a couple of other teams from this area (Harpole and Roade) with the rest coming from the larger towns of Northampton and Corby, giving a league of just fifteen teams.
It can be reached quite easily by using the Northampton Ring Road and following signs marked A45 Daventry. After leaving/crossing junction 16 of the M1 you soon arrive in Upper Heyford where a left turn (also marked Bugbrooke) takes you along a very winding road into Nether Heyford. Once you have gone over a small bridge a sign for the playing fields is clearly visible on the left hand side. The narrow driveway takes you to the ground where there is plenty of parking on site.
The setting is one of rural tranquility! You are definitely in the middle of open countryside here with acres of fields sprawling out as far as the eye can see. Facilities here are excellent and cater for other sports including cricket and tennis, as well as football. Unlike most of the grounds in this league, the main pitch is fully railed off and has some advertising hoardings affixed to the fence. The playing surface is immaculate and is without doubt one of the best I have seen this season. According to one of the locals the venue is often a favourite for hosting county and league cup finals. There is also a superb clubhouse building in the corner to the left. Apart from the changing rooms and toilets there is also a smart lounge, bar, tea room and popular sky TV. Next to this are some floodlit tennis courts. The cricket square and additional football pitches are marked behind the goal. The local bowls club with its lovingly maintained and beautifully manicured lawn is situated behind the opposite goal. A river runs parallel to the far side. As a result the club have wisely invested in a long handled fishing net to scoop the ball from the ditch. Thankfully this necessary piece of equipment was only used on three occasions during the entire afternoon.
For the second weekend in a row though strong winds conspired to spoil the game. At times it was sheer farce! The gusts, blowing from one end to the other, were so strong that play was almost confined to the same half of the pitch for most of the game. Yes you could literally call it a match of one half! For the first forty five minutes Heyford, lying fourth in the Combination, had all the chances and scored the only goal of the game after managing to beat the offside trap.
They could have added a second on the stroke of half-time but for a rather strange refereeing decision. A long ball was lobbed over the shaky defence which had been struggling all half to judge the flight of the ball. A clumsy, mis-timed challenge led to a rather harsh penalty. The resultant spot kick was saved by the visiting 'keeper and just as the rebounded shot was crossing the goaline the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the half. As predicted all mayhem ensued and the official red-carded one of the Heyford assistants before scurrying into his room. Bizarre!
The second period followed a similar pattern with the hosts this time camped in their own half of the pitch. Kislingbury, second in the league, wasted chance after chance and couldn't find the net. Hope came in the dying minutes when the man in black had another 'senior' moment. He adjudged that the home 'keeper had been guilty of time wasting and awarded a fee-kick right on the edge of the box. All twenty two players packed the area but the shot and five attempted rebounds were all blocked. Heyford managed to hang on to secure all three points in what was an 'uninspiring' game! As for Kislingbury, this was their last game of the season and they may have to settle for second place behind current leaders Moulton.
The match attracted almost forty spectators some of whom not surprisingly ventured back into the clubhouse to escape the bitterly cold wind. The club, like many in this league, don't issue programmes; in fact the last one I managed to obtain was at Weedon FC a couple of years ago (for the game against Stanwick Rovers on 06.03.04; result 2-1; att. 12). On the plus side much needed hot drinks were available from the tea bar in the clubhouse at half-time for a mere 20p. Brrrr!
FGIF Rating: 1* | 