No.37 - Sat. 20th March 2010; Essex and Suffolk Border League Division 1; 3pm at Kirby Playing Fields, Halstead Road, Kirby-le-Soken, Clacton, Essex.
Matchday images (14) >view> Kirby Athletic (2) 3 Bradfield Rovers (0) 1 Hop, white lines and a bit of a stinker!
Isn't groundhopping a wonderful hobby? I trust the answer is a resounding 'Yes'! For the vast majority of travellers I meet it's all about enjoying the experience of visiting a new ground, watching a decent game of football and meeting up with like-minded fans who share the same passion, perhaps obsession. In essence there are no hard and fast rules as to where you go and what you do - it's entirely up to you, isn't it? Having said that many of us probably have drawn up our own unwritten guidelines which we impose on ourselves as to what constitutes a proper 'tick' or not. I suppose this adds a bit of credibility to our own personal record keeping. Such criteria may vary from one hopper to another. For some this may relate to the status of league, club and game within the pyramid. For others the quality of stadia; standard of facilities and pitch used may be more important. For some even the availability of matchday programmes may be the overall determining factor in picking a game. Not long ago I ear-wigged, with incredulity, into a conversation between two 'hoppers' standing close by and was horrified to hear some of the critical comments made by the more senior of them during the game. He 'preached', in no uncertain terms, that you should never attend games involving clubs playing below level seven in the pyramid (as it is simply not be worth the effort); you shouldn't count any game played on a park pitch (presumably not a fit and proper ground) and finally he stated that you shouldn't consider going to a game unless the home club regularly issued a matchday programme. Unbelievable! Even though I am generally an easy-going person I could already feel my hackles starting to rise. What on earth was this poor deluded chap talking about? Oh dear. If I believed what he was saying then my hopping days were sadly over. No chance mate!! My own restrictions are two-fold and really quite simple to adhere to: (a) I must arrive at the ground before kick-off and (b) I must stay to watch the conclusion of the game. As you may readily appreciate yourselves this can be akin to masochism at times especially if the weather and/or game is awful! To be honest I am not too keen on watching friendly matches (what a misnomer - unless you don't count the goals there's no such thing as a friendly game of football is there?). As a fanatic of the game I am prepared to watch all levels of football in the pyramid and am not too worried about the standard of facilities or which pitch the game actually takes place on (providing it is officially sanctioned as a proper FA competition of course). Indeed in recent years many games I have watched have been contested on unroped pitches set in basic recreation grounds. And finally, as far as programmes go - if I get one it's a bonus but I certainly won't worry unduly if the club doesn't issue. After all it's a labour of love, a time consuming, usually unpaid activity for the majority of officials who work long hours to edit and print off a matchday magazine for our benefit. There's no way I would attack (not literally) a club or anyone connected to it for not issuing. So whatever hopping rules you choose to adopt, it's all up to you. I certainly wouldn't criticise anyone for their hopping habits and idiosyncracies. At the end of the day it's all about fulfillment and if we can spread the word then even better! Thankfully both boxes were successfully ticked today - in saying that I mean that we arrived in plenty of time and also managed to stay until the end of the game. I say thankfully because as you will find out later a goal was scored in the very first minute of the game and a change in the weather conditions provided a stiff wintry challenge for us to remain pitchside until the bitter end! Our attendance also made up for the disappointment of missing out on a fixture here when the Border League Division One match against Boxted Lodgers back in February was postponed after the local council had forgotten to mark out the pitch before the game (see www.footballgroundinfocus.R91031.htm to read more about this ghastly affair!). I don't know about you but its always nice to complete unfinished hopping business so to speak especially when your chosen match is postponed. I can't wait to get there again at the earliest hoppertunity if you get my drift...hmmm. Kirby Athletic Football Club play their home games at the Kirby Playing Fields in the village of Kirby-le-Soken, a small hamlet close to Clacton-on-Sea. It can be found off the Halstead Road and is reached by following a very bumpy and badly potholed track which leads to the ground entrance. The site which shares with both the local cricket and bowls clubs is enclosed on all sides by low fences, hedges and ditches. Invariably the ball ends up in the water quite often and needs to be retrieved using a special long handled scoop. Uniquely the driveway which borders three sides of the main pitch is neatly landscaped along its entire perimeter by a large number of wooden log posts and immature saplings of varying length to add a pleasing, aesthetic feeling about the place. Although the spectator facilities are fairly basic, the addition of a newly constructed changing room and pavilion at the end of the drive helps to create a favourable first impression. Funded by the Football Foundation the building houses several changing rooms, toilets and a kitchen area from where hot drinks are dispensed at half-time. From the far side of the ground fans can appreciate some spectacular views out towards the Hook of Holland; with a clear sky you can pick out tankers travelling to and from Harwich (some ten miles away) in the distance. More importantly the pitch markings were bright and clear. In fact the club have recently decided to add an extra line which runs outside and parallel to both touchlines saving the need to rope off the pitch. Is this ingenious or just plain laziness? Answers on a postcard to FGIF will be gratefully received! The game, which attracted almost twenty spectators to the Kirby Playing Fields for the visit of Badfield Rovers, wasn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination. They have experienced mixed fortunes this campaign having won half of their games and sit a few places and several points behind their hosts in mid table. As mentioned earlier the match started with a bang as the hosts scored within the first minute thanks to the tremendous in-swinging cross-come-shot when the ball, struck from the nearside touchline, curled viciously across the goalmouth to find its way inside the far post leaving Rovers' keeper Stuart Creek totally stranded. From where I was standing it looked more like a cross but no doubt young goalscorer Danny Saggers will tell you differently! I always get over excited on such occasions when a goal is scored so early in a game expecting that more will follow quickly thereafter. Today the strong cross winds and a heavily sanded pitch both combined to make flowing play difficult and the number of goal scoring chances were definitely at a premium. Athletic did manage to grab a second completely against the run of play when Glen Lilley (27) beat the offside trap (just) and lobbed the keeper from the edge of the area. Credit must be given to the club from Manningtree for getting back into the game when Terry Evans (75), wearing his lucky red boots, converted a corner taken by Shane Scott from the left. His beautifully placed header simply flew into the top corner escaping the acrobatics of keeper Rob Smith. With only four minutes left on the clock the hosts sealed all three points when Danny Saggers (86) netted his second of the game with a cheeky disguised lob that dropped perfectly over Rovers' custodian Stuart Creek. This win consolidates Athletic's encouraging start to their first season in the Border League since joining from the Colchester and Essex League. Club officials explained to me that since the club had completed the necessary building work to their new pavilion they had been invited to join the ES&BL. The decision to take a step up the pyramid has certainly paid off and a quick glimpse at the current Division One table shows the club are now sitting proudly in eighth place spot. Despite the earlier postponement here, I was more than pleased to tick off the ground and would recommend a visit to Kirby Athletic Football Club to all travellers. If your own hopping criteria doesn't prevent you from watching a game played in a basic recreation ground, on an unroped pitch and you don't need to get your hands on a matchday programme, then you will enjoy your journey to this little known footballing outpost near to the Essex coastline. The joys of hopping continue... Scorers: (H) D Saggers (1; 86); G Lilley (27) and (A) T Evans (75) Attendance: 18; Admission: N/A; Programme: N/A; Match rating: 2/5; Ground rating: 2/5 edited 02/04/10
