No.35 – Sat. 23rd December 2006; Anglian Combination League Division 2      2.00 at Allendale Road, Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk (att: 48; prog: No)  View matchday images  01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Caister United (0) 0  Corton (3) 4      Generous Caister provide visitors with plenty of Christmas cheer     With temperatures falling below zero and a thick blanket of fog descending upon the nation, things were not looking good for travellers at the weekend. It would need a massive change in the weather if the most ardent of hoppers were going to find a game. However a local weather bulletin late on Friday evening gave a glimmer of hope. The cheery forecaster revealed that milder air spreading in from the east coast would be arriving in the region by midday on Saturday to improve conditions. What a result! After a couple of successful phone calls to clubs in the Anglian Combination, the Wraymobile was soon chugging towards Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.  By one o'clock we had arrived at Caister-on-Sea, one of the region's most popular seaside holiday locations. Who would have thought a few days ago that we would be walking our Border Collie across the golden sands on this stretch of unspoilt beach? Madness. Remarkably the sky was turning blue and it was beginning to feel much milder. Somehow it seemed quite surreal. After a proper fish and chip lunch from a local greasy spoon we headed back to the Allendale Road Recreation Gound, home of Caister United Football Club. The club has recently received funding from the Football Aid Foundation to develop its facilities. As a result, a superb pavilion was built about six months ago; a poster on the wall proudly advertises this unique achievement. A small all weather play area complete with mini football goals and a basketball court is also close to the main entrance. The site, at the end of a cul-de-sac, is  bordered by houses to the right and behind the far goal, with open land, used for cricket in the summer, to the left. The pitch is roped off along this near side with two portable synthetic dug outs positioned next to the half-way line. Each contain the club name in big letters with respective 'Home' and 'Away' legends printed on the back. A nice touch! With the players already out on the field and just minutes to go before kick-off I noticed a weather vein on top of pavilion - it barely wavered in the gentle breeze - perfect conditions for playing football! The game was billed as a local derby with visitors Corton having travelled only about ten miles from their base on the outskirts of Lowestoft. And so with much local pride at stake the fact that Caister were curretly top of the league and the visitors struggling in the bottom half didn't really count for much. After a frantic opening fifteen minutes Corton were in full control, two up and cruising. They added a third for good measure just before the interval. Caister raised their game in the second half but were always second best to a strong, well organised Corton rearguard. It was no surprise then when they netted a fourth late on to complete a convincing victory over their rivals. The game was watched by nearly sixty spectators and a possibly a few helicopter pilots who hovered overhead as they patrolled the coastline throughout the afternoon. It was certainly a great advert for football in this Division of the League - in fact I had witnessed a decent game on the corresponding Saturday last season at Reepham. Although the club do not issue programmes there were refreshments on sale from the pavilion. We got a lovely 'cuppa and free heated mincepies at half-time. What wonderful hospitality! A visit to this friendly club comes highly recommended. We completed our journey from the A11 at Norwich using the A47 and then the A1064 from Acle to Filby picking up signs to Caister. As you arrive in the town continue along Beach Road and turn left into Allendale Road. There is plenty of parking on site and in the road leading up to the ground.  On this most bizarre footballing days we received a phone call from ace FGIF correspondent and traveller Paul Roth. Amazingly he had ventured up to watch a game in the Hertfordshire League at Codicote FC. Nothing remarkable about this you might think except this was Paul's FOURTH attempt at ticking off the club. Despite the foggy conditions, the game against Buntingford (2-3) went ahead and for a large part of the match he was the only spectator! Oh the joys of hopping!!                    FGIF Rating: 4*  Links - Map