R67061

Match Facts

No.61 - Wed. 11th April 2007; Peterborough & District League Prem Div   6.15pm at the HH Comm.Ctre, Beaumont Way, Hampton Hargrave, Peterborough, Cambs (att: 25; prog: No)

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Hampton Athletic (1) 4 Whittlesey United (0) 0

Well known travellers descend on Hampton Hargrave!

With the nights getting lighter and early evening kick-offs becoming more plentiful, the enthusiastic traveller is never short of new ground ‘hoppertunities this time of year. I decided to stay fairly close to home and chose to attend the Peterborough and District League Premier Division clash between Hampton Athletic and Whittlesey.

The journey up to Huntingdon on the A14 is always a fraught one especially during the early evening rush hour; the route is slow and bottlenecks are a frequent occurrence on this stretch of the dual carriageway where it joins the M11 motorway at Cambridge. I rate it as one of Britain's worst roads. Tonight the traffic problems occurred at the top end near to Godmanchester where a lorry had earlier burst into flames on a lay-by. The thick black smoke which could be seen for miles made driving difficult but luckily only added an extra fifteen minutes onto the journey time.

Hampton Athletic Football Club is a relative newcomer to the Peterborough and District League. It is based at the Beaumont Way Community Centre in the suburb of Hampton Hargrave, a huge housing and business development area situated on the southern fringes of the city (on land previously owned by the London Brick Company). It is only a couple of miles from the main A15 London Road. The recent pace in growth meant that my copy of the AtoZ of Peterborough printed in 1995 was soon made redundant as most of the roads hadn't been built! A bit of a chocolate fireguard!

It wasn't easy trying to find a way through this never ending maze I can tell you. So to save time I eventually asked for some directions; this didn't seem at all helpful as the first three people I chose had absolutely no idea whatsoever: "Sorry mate I am not from around here"; "I think there's a football stadium in the town" and "I have not heard that name before. You better ask someone else" - don't you just love it when this happens! However the bloke wearing a Peterborough United shirt came to the rescue with top notch instructions and the magical words: " It's not far from here". Within five minutes we had arrived safely at the playing fields..

The football pitch is truly an oasis of green in the middle of what is a massive sprawling concrete jungle A new link road provides access to the modern pavilion and car park. The players have to cross the road to reach the recreation ground and roped off pitch which is about 100 yards away to the right.

The match was played on a beautiful sunny spring evening on a well grassed pitch which was hard in some places. This did not bother the Hampton boys who continued their recent run of good form to win the game by four goals to nil (having already thrashed Great Paxton FC 9-0 in the Hunts Cup at the weekend). They certainly looked a half decent team with plenty of raw talent on show.

There is no cover for spectators. Like most clubs in this league Athletic do not issue programmes. Sadly there was no catering and so we had to resort to a McDonalds meal purchased from one of the many Golden Arches restaurants in the area. The match attracted a small number of well-known travellers namely Messrs Woodings, Buck and Earl (plus canine). Amazingly Richard Branson also made a fleeting appearance! Well maybe not in person but in spirit. A large red Virgin-sponsored hot air balloon had drifted closeby during the evening. It certainly made for a wonderful backdrop against the blue sky. I wonderded if the occupants in the wicker basket had managed to get a glimpse of the action? I somehow think not. Sadly the world of Peterborough League football was not for them. Oh the joys of hopping on warm sunny evenings!

FGIF Rating: 3*

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Match Facts	No.61 - Wed. 11th April 2007; Peterborough & District League Prem Div 6.15pm at the HH Comm.Ctre, Beaumont Way, Hampton Hargrave, Peterborough, Cambs (att: 25; prog: No)
Images	View matchday images 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
Report	Hampton Athletic (1) 4 Whittlesey United (0) 0 Well known travellers descend on Hampton Hargrave! With the nights getting lighter and early evening kick-offs becoming more plentiful, the enthusiastic traveller is never short of new ground ‘hoppertunities this time of year. I decided to stay fairly close to home and chose to attend the Peterborough and District League Premier Division clash between Hampton Athletic and Whittlesey. The journey up to Huntingdon on the A14 is always a fraught one especially during the early evening rush hour; the route is slow and bottlenecks are a frequent occurrence on this stretch of the dual carriageway where it joins the M11 motorway at Cambridge. I rate it as one of Britain's worst roads. Tonight the traffic problems occurred at the top end near to Godmanchester where a lorry had earlier burst into flames on a lay-by. The thick black smoke which could be seen for miles made driving difficult but luckily only added an extra fifteen minutes onto the journey time. Hampton Athletic Football Club is a relative newcomer to the Peterborough and District League. It is based at the Beaumont Way Community Centre in the suburb of Hampton Hargrave, a huge housing and business development area situated on the southern fringes of the city (on land previously owned by the London Brick Company). It is only a couple of miles from the main A15 London Road. The recent pace in growth meant that my copy of the AtoZ of Peterborough printed in 1995 was soon made redundant as most of the roads hadn't been built! A bit of a chocolate fireguard! It wasn't easy trying to find a way through this never ending maze I can tell you. So to save time I eventually asked for some directions; this didn't seem at all helpful as the first three people I chose had absolutely no idea whatsoever: "Sorry mate I am not from around here"; "I think there's a football stadium in the town" and "I have not heard that name before. You better ask someone else" - don't you just love it when this happens! However the bloke wearing a Peterborough United shirt came to the rescue with top notch instructions and the magical words: " It's not far from here". Within five minutes we had arrived safely at the playing fields.. The football pitch is truly an oasis of green in the middle of what is a massive sprawling concrete jungle A new link road provides access to the modern pavilion and car park. The players have to cross the road to reach the recreation ground and roped off pitch which is about 100 yards away to the right. The match was played on a beautiful sunny spring evening on a well grassed pitch which was hard in some places. This did not bother the Hampton boys who continued their recent run of good form to win the game by four goals to nil (having already thrashed Great Paxton FC 9-0 in the Hunts Cup at the weekend). They certainly looked a half decent team with plenty of raw talent on show. There is no cover for spectators. Like most clubs in this league Athletic do not issue programmes. Sadly there was no catering and so we had to resort to a McDonalds meal purchased from one of the many Golden Arches restaurants in the area. The match attracted a small number of well-known travellers namely Messrs Woodings, Buck and Earl (plus canine). Amazingly Richard Branson also made a fleeting appearance! Well maybe not in person but in spirit. A large red Virgin-sponsored hot air balloon had drifted closeby during the evening. It certainly made for a wonderful backdrop against the blue sky. I wonderded if the occupants in the wicker basket had managed to get a glimpse of the action? I somehow think not. Sadly the world of Peterborough League football was not for them. Oh the joys of hopping on warm sunny evenings! FGIF Rating: 3*
Links	Map