No.50 - Sat 15th May 2010; Middlesex County League Premier Division; 3pm at the Memorial Park, Memorial Ave, West Ham, East London.
Matchday images (17) >view> Interwood (7) 9 Copland (0) 2 Surely the best team at Step 7? The joys of hopping in the Middlesex County Football League, I love it! This competition undoubtedly has everything a grounds' collector could ever want, and more besides. Covering a wide geographical area it even extends to other counties from Essex in the east over to Berkshire in the west. It has amongst it's ranks a vast array of clubs representing a wide spectrum of ethnicity: it offers a fixture list that perennially extends well beyond the end of each season and has the added bonus that all Premier Division clubs regularly issue those much sought after programmes for their home games. Well respected FGIF correspondents and fellow 'hoppers Paul Roth and Keith Aslan regularly sing the praises of this league through their superb TT reports and rightly so. Another FGIF favourite Tony Incenzo, pro-actively organises a mouth-watering selection of Saturday morning hops in the MCL providing an excellent service judging by the large number of travellers who attend these advertised games. With such a moving feast of football-watching hoppertunities on offer the appeal is great. There also appears to be a never ending list of new clubs and grounds (some using new 3G surfaces) to visit each season. Where do they come from? And to make things even more exciting you never know from one game to the next what you are going find, both on and off the pitch. It really is a hopper's dream!! Take this Saturday: a trip to Interwood FC (or Snaresbrook Interwood as the club is often referred to) has been on the cards for most of the season. Our original plan to watch a home game at their previous ground in Elmbridge (off Forest Road in Hainault) was scupperred at the last minute through a late call off due to a waterlogged pitch. Unfortunately by the time the next home game came around we missed out again because the club no longer played there, having moved to their new base at the Memorial Recreation ground in West Ham. This is just a stone's throw from the local West Ham tube station and offers those travellers standing pitchside some really terrific views of the not too distant, sky-scraping towers belonging to the HSBC and Barclays banks in Canary Wharf. It is also possible to pick out, through the surrounding trees, the domed roof and yellow roof supports from the O2 Arena at Greenwich, on the other side of the River Thames. The new 'greenfield site' is all part of a recent redevelopment project authorised by Newham Borough Council. At the forefront of the project is the Grassroots Centre (see link below). The building accommodates a healthy eating café; a multi purpose hall available for hire; a crèche for 20 children and a nursery for 40 as well as a Health Centre and GP. The Anti-Social Behaviour Team (officers from the London Borough of Newham Anti-Social Behaviour Unit) are based on site. As part of a wider strategic programme to provide access to improve the quality of life in what is a historically deprived area of East London, it is intended that a well designed, sustainable, energy efficient building would contribute positively both to the people who use them as well as the wider neighbourhood. The Park has a rich sporting history: it was the original home to West Ham United FC before they moved to their current location at Upton Park in 1904. A plaque and a cast iron sculpture consisting of a row of tall metal posts complete with rivets, chains and hammers designed by Theresa Smith commemorates the club as well as the local Ironworks when 38 lives were lost during the launch of HMS Albion at Bow Creek on the River Thames in 1898. Mrs W, an officiando of things to do with Art, was very complimentary about the scheme. Newham, with the assistance of the London FA, were awarded nearly £1 million from the Football Foundation towards developing the Memorial Park facilities. This includes a floodlit 3G (third generation) MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) synthetic turf pitch; two new changing pavilions and extensive improvements to the existing grass pitches. The facility has created a new home for football and rugby in Newham, shared by East London Rugby Football Club whose stylish pavilion can be seen away to the left. Former West Ham United player and sports commentator Sir Trevor Brooking, who is Director of Football Development at the FA, acknowledges that the facilities here are first class and a real asset to the area. With a full fixture list of Premier Division games kicking off today at different times (no doubt some starting earlier to accommodate fans wanting to watch the live televised FA Cup Final), the MCL was on the radar of many serious hoppers, all of whom were in search of some bonus ticks courtesy of an extended season. For some this match was the second part of a tasty 'double' having been elsewhere in the morning. I even chatted briefly to one intrepid traveller from Romford who had the luxury of nipping back home for a bite to eat after his first game, before coming here - a great strategy, I like it Geoff! Indeed the number of neutrals in evidence probably made up half the total unofficial matchday attendance. We were all quite relieved that the main gate had been unlocked just before the game started as the previous users had to climb over the outer fence to get in. Ouch!! The thought of watching a game on a 3G pitch may not be every hopper's cup of tea. Personally, I enjoy the experience and, on the plus side, can see the benefits it offers in terms of making control and passing easier. Having walked across the surface my first impression was a favourable one, although it seemed to be much softer than I had first imagined. I don't know about you but each pitch seems to have its own unique 'feel'. Anyway, as is my custom, I couldn't resist rubbing my forehead over the rubber crumb several times to fully appreciate its special properties: you should try it! Now if you are puzzled by this rather bizarre behaviour and think that I have completely lost my marbles, don't worry, it's something suggested to me by Paul Roth when he visited Hayes Gate FC at Rosedale College last season. The lure of the green carpet can prove to be too much! Coincidentally my latest correspondence with Paul came via an E-Mail (including some terrific matchday photos) sent just over a week ago. He had just attended a midweek MCL fixture at basement club Vallance FC (another 3G facility at the West Ham Community Centre in Beckton). He was suitably impressed by the performance of visitors Interwood as they chalked up a comfortable 8-0 victory. It seemed that they could have scored more but took their foot of the gas in the later stages of the game. It sounded like we could be in for a possible goal feast ourselves this afternoon - however no one could have predicted what was about to happen! It didn't take long for the hosts to settle into a rhythm. It was terrific stuff and a wonderful lesson in how to play the beautiful game. Interwood looked a class act as they ran their opponents, from West London, completely ragged. I can honestly say at this point that the standard of football, particularly the passing play and running off the ball, was without doubt the best I have seen at Step 7 for many seasons. You could count, on one hand, the number of times the ball reached head height during open play. By half-time the score was a staggering 7-0. That's right SEVEN - nil! Skilful front-runner Lawrence Yiga had already bagged four goals for himself, his best coming on 12 minutes from a breathtaking shot close to the right touchline that sent the ball torpedo fashion into the far side of the net. Wow! My own selfish thoughts quickly turned to beating my all-time record-breaking match score, a total of 12 goals (seen on five separate occasions with scorelines of 12-0; 11-1; 4-8; 6-6 and 9-3 providing the vital stats). It would only need another six goals to achieve this: did I really say that? I felt a bit guilty though when Chris Arthur (voted man of the match) added his third and Interwood's eighth, within a minute of the re-start. You don't want to see any team get hammered (pardon the pun) do you? Despite adding two more goals and hitting the woodwork three times, the hosts, dressed in a green and white strip, predictably eased up. In fact it was all credit to Copland who were rewarded for their tireless efforts by scoring twice themselves through the relentless running of Anton Anderson who put his bright yellow boots to good effort by grabbing a brace, the first on the hour mark and the second with ten minutes to go. So with the score standing at an incredible 9-2, we had all just witnessed a magnificent game of football. It was a superb advert for the league too. I must also give some praise to the match referee Mr Yahiaoui who had a tremendous game, maintaining a strong calming influence on the players at all times. As we crossed the car park afterwards Karen McCrystal, the club secretary, remarked: 'I bet you lot enjoyed that!'. You can say that again: the Memorial ground is certainly a well-named venue. The game, played in sunny but cloudy conditions, attracted almost forty spectators. We decided, like many others, to sit inside the confines of one of the many recessed sections (used to store the portable mini goals) built into the side of the cage. Encouragingly, a smart, full colour 16 page programme was available free from the changing rooms before kick-off. The four page outer shell covered the match details; current league table and leading goalscorers in the division. No doubt after today's fine performance Mr Yiga will now be promoted to top spot with 23 goals in 18 games. Our copies were given to us by affable first team coach Trevor Bailey (ex- Southend United). With only a handful of matchday magazines left when I got there it seemed that some travellers may have missed out. If you did, drop me a line and I can send you a photocopy of mine in the post! In a pre-match conversation with Trevor he explained to me that Interwood FC started life back in 1970 through the guidance of Terry Gibson (ex Tottenham Hotspur) and later himself running soccer schools coaching sessions in Hoxton, East London. There's a bit of heritage as many ex-pros started their careers with the ongoing Interwood Soccer Academy. Some of the more well known players include: Terry Hurlock (Millwall); the late Les Sealey (Coventry City); Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbache); Gary Hooper (Scunthorpe nited) and Lloyd Owusu (Cheltenham Town). Trevor also adds that his players really enjoy playing for the club, particularly on the new 3G surface at the Memorial Park: 'It suits their game...they love passing and keeping the ball down'. He says that many of his squad could play at at higher level but choose not to. And what of the future? Trevor does not count his promotion chickens yet and despite leading the pack won't get complacent about his side winning the league title this season. He acknowledges that his lads would like play at a higher level and hinted that they could be moving up the pyramid possibly with the help of a local club who have offered a groundshare arrangement from next season if necessary. Watch this space as they say! FGIF Match Stats Scorers: (H) Lawrence Yiga (4; 12; 26; 41); Chris Arthur (11; 21; 46); Ashley Harris (22); Ryan Hervel (77) and (A) Anton Anderson (61; 80) Attendance: 36; Admission: N/A; Programme: 16pp, Free; Match rating: 5/5; Ground rating: 3/5. http://www.ndfc.co.uk/resourcecentres.php?selected_centre=grassroots edited 17/05/10
