TT DECEMBER 2005 INDEX (149) - 30/12/05 from Barry Neighbour: Wokingham & Emmbrook v Binfield (Hellenic League Division 1 East) (148) - 29/12 from Barry Neighbour: Wellingborough Whiworths v Wellingborough 2004 and Irchester United v Blisworth (both UCL Div 1) (147) - 28/12 from Paul Roth: Herne Bay v Whitstable Town (Kent League Premier Division) (146) - 28/12 from Mike Latham: Llandudno v Llangefni (Cymru Alliance League) (145) - 27/12 from Mike Latham: Marske United (Northern League Div 2) and Whitby Town (Northern Premier League) (144) - 26/12 from Paul Roth: Wellingborough Whitworths v Wellingborough 2004 (United Counties League Div 1) (143) - 26/12 from Mike Latham: Gretna v Forfar Athletic (Scottish League Div 2) (142) - 26/12 from Mike Latham: Boston Town v Stewarts & Lloyds Corby (United Counties League Prem Div) (141) - 23/12 from Mike Latham: Barrow v Clitheroe (FA Trophy Round 1) (140) - 22/12 from Mike Latham: Darlington Railway Athletic v Guisborough Town (Northern League Div 2) (139) - 20/12 from Mike Latham: Great Harwood Town v Chadderton (NWCL2) at Accrington (138) - 19/12 from Ron Jones: Peterborough NS v Northampton Spencer (UCL Cup QF) & White Notley v Brache Sparta (AT3) (137) - 19/12 from Barry Neighbour: Evergreen v Codicote (Herts Senior County League Premier Division) (136) - 18/12 from Paul Roth: Maidstone Utd Res v Cray Wanderers Res (Kent Football League Div 1) (135) - 18/12 from Mike Latham: Holker Old Boys v FC Utd (NWCL2) at Craven Park Barrow (134) - 14/12 from Mike Latham: Northwich Victoria (NCN) v Woking (FA Cup 2nd round replay) (133) - 13/12 from Andy Sneddon: Florence v Norton (Staffordshire County Senior League Premier Division) (132) - 13/12 from Mick Burt: Crickhowell v Coed Eva Athletic (Gwent County League Cup Round 3) (131) - 13/12 from Paul Roth: Weston St.John's v Almondsbury (Western League Division 1) (130) - 13/12 from Mike Latham: Kilmarnock v Rangers (Scottish Premier League) (129) - 11/12 from Steve King: Wolverhampton Casuals v Wellington (West Midlands Regional League Premier Division) (128) - 10/12 from Mike Latham: Connahs Quay Nomads v Newi Cefn Druids (Welsh Premier League) (127) - 06/12 from Barry Neighbour: Cray Valley PM (KCLP) v Faversham (Kent Senior Trophy 2) (126) - 05/12 from Ron Jones: AFC Dunstable (SSML2) v AFC Kempston Rov (Beds Sen Trophy QF) and Bromley Green v Fleet (Kent County Lge Prem Div) (125) - 05/12 from Dave Reed: Chalfont Wasps (Hellenic League Division 1 East) v Risborough Rangers in Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup. (124) - 05/12 from Stephen Harris: Wimborne Town v Christchurch (Wessex League Division 1) (123) - 04/12 from Paul Roth: Newport (IOW) v Cray Wanderers (Ryman League Division 1) (122) - 01/12 from Rod Grubb: Friar Lane & Epworth v Stapenhill (Leicestershire Senior League) (121) - 01/12 from Barry Neighbour: Brentwood Town v AFC Hornchurch (Essex Senior League) REPORTS 30/12/05 TT No.149: Barry Neighbour - Wokingham & Emmbrook (Hellenic League Division 1 East) Tuesday 27th December 2005 - having shelved my original planned 'double' in Kent for Sevenoaks and Hythe due to the poor weather reports (Hythe was snowed off), I decided to stay local and head for Farnborough North End for a morning kick-off. Things did not look good due to the lack of cars in the car park and this was confirmed as the match was postponed because of a frozen pitch. A quick trip back home and then I went to watch Hellenic League side Wokingham & Emmbrook for their local derby with Binfield. No problems with the pitch here and an excellent 28 page programme was available for £2 including admission which also covered the game v Chalfont Wasps on 2nd January 2006 (anyone else got a 2006 programme yet?). After years of ground-sharing at a huge financial loss Wokingham returned to the area last year after a merger with local side Emmbrook Sports. The problem being that with new ground gradings the venue will not be up to standard as they have little chance of erecting floodlights. In addition there is only a rail down one side of the pitch with the rest being roped off, partly due to the proximity of the cricket pitch. Noises have been made of moving to a new venue but seeing the problems of the past 7 years I won't hold my breath and they may drop out of senior football altogether. The game itself was a lively affair watched by a crowd of around 200 (196 according to my mates head count!). With several ex-Binfield players in the home line up rivalry was tense. An early goal gave Wokingham the advantage but Binfield hit back midway through the half with an equaliser. Just as in the first-half Wokingham scored early to regain the advantage. Tackles and tempers were high and referee (and groundhopper) Jim Dunn did well to keep control. A 3rd goal for the home side killed off a lot of Binfield's aggression and the game calmed down as Wokingham played out time (even missing a penalty after the Binfield keeper made a fine save). 29/12/05 TT No.148: Barry Neighbour - Wellingborough Whitworths and Irchester (both United Counties League Division 1) On Saturday 24th December 2005 I took advantage of the staggered kick-off times due to it being Xmas Eve and managed a United Counties League 'double' starting with the morning game at Whitworths for their local derby with Wellingborough Town (see TT No. 144 by Paul Roth). I can confirm that the official crowd, according to the UCL Website, was 1150; this resembled a Mini Hop judging by the number of Groundhoppers in attendance. For our second game, we made a quick getaway and completed the relatively short journey to Irchester Utd who were playing Blisworth, also in a UCL Div 1 fixture. An 8 page programme costing £1 (including admission) was issued. Irchester have a nice clubhouse and a small covered structure behind the goal. The game was mostly forgettable as both sides squanded the few chances that were created and it was no surprise when the final whistle went to find the game was still goalless. FGIF Rating 2* 28/12/05 TT No. 147: Paul Roth - Herne Bay (Kent League Premier Division) Herne Bay vs. Whitstable Town; KL Premier Div; Tues 27/12/05; Res: 1-1; Admission: £5; Programme: £1 (32 pages); Att: 330. 28/12/05 TT No.146: Mike Latham - Llandudno (Cymru Alliance League) Tues 27 Dec 2005; Cymru With snow forecast for the east of the country and the M6 southbound resembling a car park the sensible option was to head to the west and the enticing prospect of seeing Cymru Alliance leaders Llandudno in action. The A55 was relatively quiet though the road leading into Llandudno was packed as misguided souls flocked to the sales. The more sensible ones headed to Equipped with good floodlights, two small seated stands either side of the dugouts on the halfway line and an office building and television gantry opposite, Maesdu Park also has a small social club and excellent tea bar inside the entrance at the nearside goal. The dressing rooms are also to be found here. The playing pitch was well grassed and in excellent condition. The far end, backing onto the sports centre is uncovered, flat standing and there are signs of further building work to the left of the gantry. There is plenty of space to develop further and everything is well maintained with plenty of advertising boards showing good support from the local business community. The ground’s elevated position, though, means it is a cold spot, especially on such a raw winter’s afternoon as this one. Though leading the league going into the Christmas period Llandudno’s recent home performances have apparently been less than convincing. But in a hard fought game they came out on top thanks to a scrambled goal from a corner with just eight minutes remaining from their experienced striker Deiniol Graham. With admission a mere £3 and a decent 32-page programme with striking black cover another £1 this was good value fare. The tea bar was excellent with a good range of drinks and snacks at reasonable prices. There is ample car parking near the entrance and the ground is a short walk from the town centre and railway station. Football aside, Llandudno is an interesting place to visit at any time with its interesting architecture, good range of shops, a couple of decent pubs and excellent sweeping bay for a seaside stroll. If the football team do get promotion they will prove an asset to the WPL for the friendliness of their welcome and rapidly developing facilities. Highly recommended. 27/12/05 TT No.145: Mike Latham - Marske United (Northern League Div 2) and Whitby Town (Northern Premier League) Mon 26 Dec 2005, Northern League Division 2: Marske United 2-0 The Northern League’s laudable policy of promoting Marske’s With admission only £2.50 it is hardly an expensive day out and the programme, all 84 pages, is an outstanding effort, full of features, statistics and information- just about the best value for money programme on the circuit. The extensive club news pages are particularly informative and do not spare home players’ blushes and the statistics are superb. It is a fantastic publication. Inside the ground the facilities are less impressive with just a small seated stand and covered shallow terrace on the club house side with the players’ entrance and home dug-out in-between. The rest of the ground is uncovered standing with the away dug-out on the far side where perhaps the best vantage point is to be had on a dry day. Slightly raised above the club house car park the playing pitch was in good condition. Several parts of the ground have netting to stop stray footballs disappearing into neighbouring gardens and behind one goal a hedgehog had sadly met a premature end entangled in the netting. It was a passionate derby game with supporters of both sides displaying good humour and excellently refereed. A most enjoyable visit. A short drive down the coast road and the Turnbull Ground of There is plenty of parking on near-by streets and a small club car park. The large social club was well frequented before the game and there was a friendly atmosphere inside. There is an excellent tea bar just inside the entrance with home made hot mince pies and port doing a roaring trade on a bitter afternoon. With an well stocked club shop as well there is plenty to while away the minutes before kick-off. The main stand aside the rest of the ground’s facilities are less impressive with two uncovered shallow terraced ends backed by huge netting to prevent stray shots disappearing into neighbouring gardens. On the far side is a shallow covered terrace with a few seats in the middle. The playing pitch was flat, well grassed and in excellent condition. A superb free-flowing game between two good footballing sides made for excellent Boxing Day fare and underlined what a good competition and standard of football is to be found in the Unibond Premier. 26/12/05 TT No.144: Paul Roth - Wellingborough Whitworths (United Counties League Div 1) Wellingborough Whitworths vs. Wellingborough 2004, UCL Div 1, Sat 24/12/05, 11am ko, entry £3 including 24 page programme. Res: 1-2, Att: 1150 26/12/05 TT No.143: Mike Latham - Gretna (Scottish League Div 2) Sat 24 Dec 2005, Bells Scottish League Division Two: As part of the plans to make a 6,000 all-seated stadium compliant to SPL standards the far end of the ground, which last season boasted a temporary stand, the type of which is seen at the Open Golf tournament, is now being redeveloped. As a result home fans have few options- either a seat, if they are lucky in the small main stand, a standing pitch in front of the club bar to the left of the main stand or a place on the shallow covered terrace behind the near-side goal. At this end a well-stocked club shop and tea bar are also located though the lengths of queues at the latter must result in the club losing out on lots of potential income. The best vantage point is actually given to away fans, who occupy the shallow covered terrace along the far side. There are a few seats in the middle though everyone preferred to stand. A number of neutrals and perhaps a few home fans in the know joined the small band of visiting fans who had made the 340-mile return journey from Angus. The match turned out to be a surprising one with Despite dominating most of the game, including a frantic last twenty minutes, Gretna went down to a shock defeat though it may well prove to be a mere blip on another momentous campaign. They certainly impressed with their neat passing style and careful build-ups though on this occasion the much vaunted strike force trio of Deuchar, Bingham and Grady failed to fire. Easily reached from the motorway fifteen minutes or so from 26/12/05 TT No.142: Mike Latham - Boston Town (United Counties League Prem Div) Fri 23 Dec 2005, United Counties League Eagle Bitter Premiership: First impressions are often the lasting ones and that was certainly the case at Known now as the Poachers, though formerly as FC, the history of the club is set out in a highly readable style in the recently published 40-year history, ‘Come Sit with Us,’ written by Simon Ashberry. On sale at the superbly stocked club shop for £10 it is an excellent effort. If you are a programme collector then you will need at least half-an-hour to examine the varied stock. The Admission was only £3.50, a well written 44-page programme was a bargain at 50p and the tea bar was superb. A really friendly club, clearly with a group of stalwart supporters, As for the game, second placed Town were in for an upset though their opponents are apparently one of their bogey clubs. The referee was busy throughout a keenly contested game, handing out at least ten yellow cards and sending-off Town defender Kris Jones in the 33rd minute for a second yellow after a wild tackle. By then the visitors had recovered from conceding an early goal from a free-kick to score twice in four minutes and despite numerous chances the score-line then remained unaltered. Though a good walk from 23/12/05 TT No.141: Mike Latham - Barrow (Conference North) in FAT 1 Thurs 22 Dec 2005: FA Trophy First Round: Barrow 2-1 Clitheroe. Attendance: 897; Admission: £8; 36pp programme: £1.50; FGIF Rating: 3* The disappointment felt when this tie, scheduled for last Sunday, was postponed because of a frozen pitch gave way to keen anticipation when the re-arranged date became known. With apparently no coaches available in the Clitheroe area for either Tuesday or Wednesday because of Christmas bookings a Thursday date was agreed- a real bonus for the football traveller just before Christmas. With a smart new stand on one side, with neat blue and white plastic seats that spell out ‘Barrow’ and a covered terrace on the opposite side, here is a ground of some substance. Though both ends have fairly shallow terracing and are uncovered they do give good close-up views of play. Behind one goal, to the right of the main stand, is the social club and the supporters’ club is a short walk away. The club shop, situated in a hut to the right of the main stand, is a cut above the norm. The modest ground of Furness Rovers, with its excellent playing surface, members of the West Lancashire League adjoins Easily found off the main road that leads from Ulverston into Barrow, and close to the railway station, Clitheroe, two levels below their hosts, took an early lead after a defensive mix-up as Barrow lost one of their central defenders, who was stretchered off with a serious-looking leg injury. In an open game full of chances at both ends, Barrow started the second half brightly and clinched the tie with two goals in a three-minute spell though the issue was in doubt until the final whistle. It was a terrific cup-tie, played in a good spirit, with some good football from both sides. For a visit to an historic and authentic football ground, a trip to Holker Street comes highly recommended and don’t be put off by the town’s apparent isolation- the journey from J36 off the M6 is easily negotiated in three-quarters-of-an-hour stress-free driving and the train links aren’t bad either with the line across the top bit of Morecambe Bay simply stunning for the panoramic views. 22/12/05 TT No.140: Mike Latham - Darlington Railway Athletic (Northern League Div 2) Wed 21 Dec 2005, Northern League Division Two: The shortest day of the year was mercifully mild and dry and allowed a trouble-free journey up the A1 to the Northern League’s newest member. Exiting off J58 and taking the road into Darlington the Brinkburn Road ground of Darlington Railway Athletic is located to the left about one mile out of the town centre. Positioned in a quiet and decent residential area, the set-up is impressive with an adjoining cricket pitch and a second football pitch behind the far goal. A great deal of work went in by club officials, players and supporters to transform the ground fit for Northern League standards after they went up from the Wearside League in the summer of 2005. On each side of the excellent playing area four floodlight poles were erected each with two lights, a fence was put up to separate the soccer and cricket fields, a small seated stand was constructed behind the nearside goal and a small cover behind the far goal. With hard standing around a neatly painted red and white post and rail fence surrounding the playing area the whole ground looks neat and tidy and reflects the pride of the club’s supporters and officials in their enviable facility. There is another small covered standing area behind the dug-outs on the far side of the ground to the cricket pitch. Neatly painted in red, this proclaims: ‘Darlington Railway Athletic- members of the Northern League 1919-1925.’ Admission was only £2 with an informative 36 page programme with its distinctive red and white cover excellent value for a further £1. This also reveals that the club briefly enjoyed Northern League membership once before, until returning to the local league. The admission allows spectators day membership of the club house inside the ground which also doubles up as the cricket pavilion. There was a wide range of drinks on sale at cheap prices and a tea bar selling excellent big cups of coffee for only 50p and pie and peas for £1 did a roaring trade. A pleasant place to sit before the game. Early-comers were treated to the sight of the home players, smartly attired in club tracksuits gathering for their pre-match talk and club officials extended a warm welcome to the three travellers in attendance. Guisborough have undergone a rapid decline in the last couple of seasons but despite being bottom of the league put in a spirited display in a keenly contested game played in a good spirit. After hitting the woodwork twice, the home side clinched victory with a smartly taken goal midway through the first half. The behaviour of the players was excellent with none of the bad language that often mars non league games and the crowd of around 80 were kept on their toes to the end as Guisborough tried valiantly to equalise. After playing their first seven games of the season away from home, including a 5-0 win at Guisborough, this game was Railway Athletic’s seventh home game in succession and brought only their second home league win of the campaign. But with their excellent away record they are safely established in mid table. The team changes were announced clearly over the tannoy but the team line-ups in the programme were of little use. The home side had no less than nine changes to the starting eleven, while only the goalkeeper for the visiting team was unchanged from the Guisborough team listed. With the five subs on each side also different that made for 29 changes out of 32- surely a record? If only clubs followed the example of Ashton United and put up a team sheet by the entrance for those interested in noting down the players for their records. Despite that gripe it was a good evening’s entertainment- excellent facilities, a friendly welcome, a club clearly on the up and a good, competitive game. A trip to Darlington Railway Athletic comes highly recommended. 20/12/05 TT No.139: Mike Latham - Great Harwood Town (NWCL2) at Accrington Mon 19 Dec 2005, NWCL Division 2, Accrington Stanley may be flying high at the top of the Conference but they are a terrific example of a club that looks after their neighbours in the non-league scene. When Great Harwood lost use of their ground due to an arson attack on the club house, Stanley Chairman Eric Whalley readily came up with the offer of his club’s ground while Colne and Nelson have used or will use the ground for games against FC United this season. Accrington have never forgotten the desolation of losing their league status over 40 years ago and when Bury were in financial difficulties a few years ago were the first club to arrange a fund raising friendly game. Great Harwood produce a fantastic programme for each and every home game. This issue, clearly a labour of love for its compiler, John Fenton, was a 52-pager for only £1 which included the tables and results updated for results in the NWCL two days previously. Entertaining pen pictures on the home players, a three-page account of their trip to Norton & Stockton Ancients and a superb round-up of recent happenings in the non league scene were among the other highlights. With admission at £5 adults and the clubhouse (situated inside the ground) open for refreshments and drinks, it was a good Monday evening out. With the pitch in superb condition the two sides showed that the NWCLD2 can produce a good quality passing game given a decent surface. Great Harwood boast a Cyprus U21 international in their ranks and looked a far better side than their league position indicates. Chadderton stayed in contention thanks to some fine saves by their goalkeeper but showed that they too could play some good football. Referee Stephen Foster had controlled the game superbly, with a good rapport with the players but the Chadderton number seven was hard work. The referee did his best and was told by one visiting player: “Don’t worry, he’d start an argument with himself.” With 15 minutes to go the number 7 gave away a free-kick just outside his own area with a wild tackle and compounded his error with a show of dissent that earned the game’s first yellow card. Harwood promptly scored from the free-kick and when the Chadderton player then ironically applauded the referee he was shown his second yellow. Down to ten men, Chadderton completely lost their discipline in the closing stages and incurred some more yellow cards while one player engaged in an unedifying heated exchange with home supporters behind the goal. The ‘home’ team rubbed salt in the wound with two more goals to earn their sixth win in their last seven games. It was convincing by the end. There was plenty of good entertainment to be had on a clear and fairly mild evening and the splendid surroundings of the IES (formerly Crown Ground) complimented the occasion. Situated up the After the experience of Barrow on Saturday it was refreshing to go back to grass roots football without a mobile police surveillance van waiting outside and there was no one around to photograph the crowd. 19/12/05 TT No.138: Ron Jones - Peterborough NS (UCL Div 1) in UCL Cup QF & White Notley (Essex Olympian League Div 1) in AT3 Saturday 17th December - after getting confirmation before I set out that the match was on, I dashed to Peterborough for the United Counties League Cup Quarter Final between Peterborough Northern Star and Northampton Spencer. Departing King’s Cross at noon, I was in the ground in just under the hour, having “cabbed it” from the station, in ample time for the 1.30 start. The Chestnut Avenue ground in Dogsthorpe is in a residential area and easily accessible by bus, with a 10 minute frequency service from the bus station taking around 15 minutes. The Peterborough FA ground is sited behind the “Focus” Youth centre, with the spectator entrance a pathway with a pay box at the entry point where a programme was included in the £2 admission. This entrance is behind the goal, turning right from here, the dressing rooms are set back while further along is a mobile refreshment van selling tea and the usual burgers, hot dogs etc. In this corner is an area of covered standing running from the corner flag to beyond the edge of the area. The rest of this side has paved standing with a “free standing” type of fence behind running the length of it with another pitch the other side. The pathway continues at the far end up to the goal, behind this is an area of grass with gardens further back. Along the other side, another railed off pitch runs parallel, with brick built dug outs at the halfway line. These are unusual in having tip up sears inside, with the home and away “benches” separated by three seats for officials. Hard standing runs along this side from the dugouts to the near corner and behind the goal at the entrance end. The programme is a smart 20 page production, with a cut out panel in the cover revealing the match details, and is enhanced by being typeset and printed throughout in colour on quality paper. Apart from the usual stats, club directory tables and line-ups, the written content is limited to a page introducing the host club and a visitor’s page, with no editorial as such. On a cold but sunny day, the visitors started strongly with an early lead, but the hosts were level midway through the half. At half-time, most spectators, as a brief respite from the cold, went into a hall behind the dressing rooms, which had tables and visitors refreshments: it seemed the club bar was booked for the afternoon. In the second half, the visitors went ahead on the hour but never really showed their divisional superiority as Northern Star pressed, and endured some nervy moments before booking their semi final place with a 2-1 win. The attendance of around 40 included a few travellers with probably half of the remainder supporting the visitors. Another quick bus and rail connection meant an arrival in London before the final whistle for those 3.00 kick offs following a trip that worked out really well. On Saturday 10th December I travelled to White Notley for a 3rd Round Anagram Records Trophy 3rd tie with Brache Sparta. The Essex Olympian league club’s Oak Farm ground is 20-25 minutes walk from White Notley station along the unpaved Braintree - Witham Road approaching Faulkbourne. As expected a rural setting here, with the modern clubhouse and dressing room block close to the entrance. The club bar was open before the match with a tea bar available at half time. Programmes were on sale at £1 from the bar. This 12 page issue included the usual stats and matchday info, plus an editorial and visitors history with colour printing used on the cover and adverts. However the club are no longer issuing on a regular basis for league fixtures. The pitch is railed off with paving in front of the clubhouse which is behind the goal. Further along at his end is a fenced in floodlit six a side pitch with a narrow pathway between this and the pitch barrier. Along the roadside is narrow standing area the length of the pitch with parking behind a low fence and hedges alongside. Behind the far goal is another roped off pitch with brick dugouts sited along the far side. There’s also grass standing along this side, with a low fence separating the ground from the adjoining farmland, which stretches into the distance. The scheduled kick off at 1.00pm was put back by around 20 minutes due to the referee’s late arrival, in the end an assistant took the whistle for the first half in which the hosts took a fifth minute lead before a spectacular cross cum shot from 40 yards ended up in the net for the equaliser. In bright, sunny conditions on a heavy pitch, White Notley dominated the second half while the higher ranked Spartan South Midlands Div 1 side never really got going, the home side scoring midway through the half and netting a third near the end, before their keeper saved an injury time penalty to round off a 3-1 win with the attendance being 20. I made my way back past the farms and through the village to the rather isolated station after another enjoyable visit to an Essex Olympian club in this competition. 19/12/05 TT No.137: Barry Neighbour - Evergreen (Herts Senior County League Premier Division) Saturday 17th December 2005, Evergreen 0 Codicote 1, Herts Senior County League Premier Division. Att: 16, Rating:3*, 28 page programme cover price £1 but none seemed to be on general sale. I managed to get an odd copy left behind the bar but my two travelling companions Alan Gulliford and Peter Franks were reduced to begging in the changing room area for copies left out for the players! Evergreen play at Abbotts Langley and have their own clubhouse with a bar and tea bar which was serving burgers and hot drinks. The pitch is on open parkland with a plastic rail around the pitch. There was temporary cover at the far end where a large gazebo had been erected. In addition tents were used as makeshift dug outs! The game wasn`t brilliant with the only goal coming in the first half. A static Evergreen defence allowed a cross to come in and, whilst waiting for an offside flag to go up, a Codicote forward stabbed the ball in at the far post. There was some interest for spectators when the Codicote full back got in a verbal confrontation with a spectator who was threatening to go onto the field to sort out their difference of opinion. Thankfully this never happened as Evergreen seem to have enough problems being rooted to the foot of the table. 18/12/05 TT No.136: Paul Roth - Maidstone Utd Res (Kent Football League Division 1) Watching reserve team football is for sure something you don't want to end up doing on a precious Saturday and is usually not of enough noteworthy importance to report on these hallowed pages. But my trip to Larkfield, 3 miles west of Maidstone, to the Cobdown leisure centre, home of A P M Mears FC, was eventually what I ended up doing. An evening out necessitated an early return home so Mears vs. U K Paper FC in the Les Leckie Cup seemed a good idea (1.30 ko and all that) having never visited the club which I had driven past on the M20, hundreds of times. The ground boasts a big stand, sadly now cordoned off and deemed unsafe, full perimiter railing all around and is set in a magnificent leafy area geared to sporting pursuits of all types. The stupendous clubhouse is the focal point for all participating sportsmen and women and would not be out of place if it were the venue of Conference soccer. 18/12/05 TT No.135: Mike Latham - Holker Old Boys (NWCL 2) at Craven Park, Barrow Sat 17 Dec 2005, NWCL Division 2, Holker Old Boys 0-2 FC United (at Barrow Rugby League Club’s Home to the rugby league code since its opening in 1931 The record attendance at In many ways like a traditional soccer ground with cover on all four sides, including covered terracing on three, Holker Old Boys normally play in front of crowds of 50 or so at their friendly and well appointed ground. They have an enviable junior set-up with help from a great number of volunteers and are a shining example of a grass roots club. They made a big effort for the game, attracting a range of sponsorships and putting out a 36-page colour programme, priced at £2. Though containing 17 full pages of adverts and another four given over to the RL club there were some interesting articles, including a history of Craven Park, a piece on the Willie Horne stand and a well-written two-page welcome from the chairman. Though there were pen pictures of the home players there were, disappointingly, none on the opposition. Admission was £7 for the stand, £6 for the terracing with concessions available. FC United’s large, noisy and good humoured following made the occasion. They travelled in numbers and gave their side fantastic backing throughout. There was also a good turn-out of travellers, including some of the best known faces on the circuit, for what may well prove to be a “one-off” occasion. What the spirit of non-league football and the community feeling engendered by FC United does not deserve is the kind of aggressive policing in evidence on this occasion. With segregation in place the FC United fans were prevented from going behind the goals at the Despite the heavy handed police presence there was not a hint of trouble inside or outside the ground but the “in your face” style of policing took the gloss off what should have been a pleasant occasion. When one lady complained to a police officer that this would not take place in Bury, FC United’s home, she was told curtly: “Madame, this is Barrow not Bury.” If this was the norm for following FC United away from home it would certainly put off me and my fellow travellers for it is anathema to the spirit of football at this level. Clearly playing above themselves, considering their recent dismal performance at Daisy Hill witnessed by a trio of travellers present, Holker Old Boys had two great early chances but gradually the visitors exerted their influence on the game. Those travellers who have to see a goal to christen a new ground were put out of their misery in the 64th minute and with a second goal two minutes FC United clinched victory on an interesting occasion. A good day, but with reservations. 14/12/05 TT No.134: Mike Latham - Northwich Victoria (Nationwide Conference North) in FAC2 Round Replay Tue 13 Dec 2005, FA Cup 2nd Round Replay, Northwich Victoria 2-1 Woking; Admission: £10.50; 36pp programme: £2; FGIF Match Rating: 4*. With the prize of a third round trip to There is one road in and one road out of the Wincham industrial estate that houses Vics’ new ground- a stone’s throw from Witton Albion FC. Like any other industrial estate it is a soulless place but access from the M6 or M56 is relatively easy and the town centre of Northwich is avoided. With the club car park soon full to brimming various other car parks on the estate were used at a cost of £1. The kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to crowd congestion. The Victoria Stadium is far from finished but is developing the feel of an authentic football ground. The majority of Vics fans gathered on the Dane Bank stand terrace, transported from the old Drill Field, down the far side. With its steep terracing and cantilevered roof this part of the ground gives an excellent vantage point. The two ends are flat standing and uncovered at present, the far end being given over to the away fans. Behind this goal runs the Trent Mersey canal. The function rooms and offices of the main stand are not yet completed but the front part of the stand has been furnished with seats. There were a number of catering vans on site offering good value and tasty wares and an excellent 36-page programme full of interesting editorial was good value for £2. The section on forthcoming away trips was particularly useful and informative. Admission to the standing areas was £10.50- an unusual price. Vics dominated the first half and after taking the lead were denied time and again by 13/12/05 TT No.133: Andy Sneddon - Florence (Staffordshire County Senior League Premier Division) Florence 1 Norton 0; Staffordshire County Senior League Premier Division 13/12/05 TT No.132: Mick Burt - Crickhowell (Gwent County League Div 3) in GCL Cup rd 3 SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER - GWENT COUNTY LEAGUE CUP ROUND THREE At the scheduled kick-off time the referee asked for three more net pegs which were not forthcoming so he spent five minutes doing the job himself. The game kicked off but after just over a minute had been played a Coed Eva player remarked that the ball was soft! There were plenty of spherical objects on hand but they all needed a good injection of air (my wife said I should have blown into them when I got home!). So we used a football rota system of sorts in a stop-start first half that lasted 52 minutes and saw one of the home team's substitutes continually pumping air into ailing footballs. Crickhowell took the lead with a really strange goal in keeping with the afternoon. A good ball over the top of the home defence sent Andy Hammett clear and he touched it past the gargantuan Matt Edwards as the visiting 'keeper advanced. It was quite clear from the stand (yes, they have a 66 seated stand while the pitch is fully railed-off) that the ball had crossed the line. The excited striker followed the ball though as all strikers do, and we fully expected him to make the net bulge to make sure. Wrong! I really don't know what he was doing but Hammett somehow hooked the ball away towards the left touchline. This sewed some doubt in the minds of the Coed Eva defence as to whether it had actually crossed the line but the referee correctly allowed the strike to stand. 13/12/05 TT No.131: Paul Roth - Weston St.John's (Western League Division 1) Weston St John's Vs Almondsbury, Western Lge. Div 1, Sat 10th Dec 2005; Res: 5-1, Entry: £4; 16 page programme free with admission. 13/12/05 TT No.130: Mike Latham - Kilmarnock (Scottish Premier League) Sun On a mild December afternoon the visit of Rangers attracted a crowd of over 12,000 and it was straightforward to secure a prime seat in the main stand for £22. The locals were friendly and failed to comprehend someone had travelled from The playing pitch was in great condition and the two teams put on a rip-roaring game full of entertaining football often played at breakneck speed. A high class hat-trick by Peter Lovenkrands secured Rangers' first win in 11 games and saw them leapfrog their hosts into fourth place in the SPL. The Rangers fans occupied both ends of the ground and helped create a great atmosphere. An excellent programme, 40 pages crammed with reading material was a bargain £2 and the refreshments at the ground, including the famous Killie meat pie were good value. There is a good club shop that sold a wide range of merchandise including the excellent Scottish League annual, a bargain at £9.95. About 25 miles from J8 of the M74 Kilmarnock is an easy place to visit by road and certainly the atmosphere at the ground, warm welcome of the locals and excellent football on view made it a stress-free and enjoyable afternoon, good value for the price. Crammed full of locally produced players on a fraction of the budget of their opponents, Killie certainly contributed to a great game and never stopped trying to play good football though Lovenkrands' class deserved to decide the day. A trip to 11/12/05 TT No.129: Steve King - Wolverhampton Casuals (West Midlands Regional League Premier Division) WOLVERHAMPTON CASUALS Saturday 10th December 2005. I made the trip up to Wolverhampton on 10/12/05 for the match between Wolverhampton Casuals and Wellington. I travelled to Birmingham by train and then caught another train on to Wolverhampton. The bus station is just 3 minutes walk from the railway station where I caught the hourly 876 bus from stand P which leaves at 45 mins past each hour to Coven Heath journey time about 12 minutes - return fare £2.70. After the game the hourly bus leaves at 23 mins past each hour. When the bus leaves the city centre, it goes along the busy A449 Stafford Road. Alight just past the M54 motorway which runs over it and you will see the ground on your right. Walk back and turn left down Brinsford Lane and the club are based about 100 yards down on the left hand side. As you enter, there is a board with the club name on, and a pay box where admission was £3 including a good 24 page programme with card cover and a liberal sprinkling of colour throughout containing match details, welcome, tables, results, line-ups, team photo in colour, player profile, club history etc. All in all a good effort. The pitch is fully railed off and there are 4 floodlight pylons along each side. Dug outs are along the far side but all the facilities are on the right as you enter. In the corner is the small but cosy clubhouse and a nice touch is the name of the club in their colours of green and white on the front. Cars can park behind the goal or you can drive behind the clubhouse. Next to the bar is a separate tearoom serving hot and cold drinks and food etc. And on the halfway line next to this is a small stand with several rows of bench seating. I suppose this would hold around 150 people. The struggling home club who were 3rd bottom at the start of play, were never really in it in the 1st half and it was no real surprise when mid-table Wellington went 2-0 up. An extraordinary incident happened after just 15 minutes of the game at about 3pm when I was standing behind the goal taking a few photos with my digital camera when suddenly the referee ran half the length of the field, looked at me, then ran to his linesman, came back to me and told me not to take any more photos - then ran over to the dugouts where I saw him talking to officials there, and pointing quite profusely in my direction. He then ran all the way back to me and said that the flash on my camera was putting off the players, even though it was still only 3pm and quite a bit of daylight evident. My camera automatically flashes if there is insufficient daylight but I thought this a bit of an over-the-top reaction and something that has never happened to me before in over 35 years of watching football. Quite bizarre. Even the Wellington goalkeeper laughed with me after the referee ran back to resume play, saying how ridiculous it all was!! There were no further goals in the 2nd half in a more evenly contested affair, and the club, despite obviously struggling with poor results and crowds, came over as very friendly - offering me additional programmes free of charge and insisting I go into the boardroom at half time for free tea in china cups. Pity the referee was not as friendly towards me and my camera!!! 10/12/05 TT No.128: Mike Latham - Connahs Quay Nomads (Welsh Premier League) Fri 9 Dec 2005, Welsh Premier League, Connah’s Quay Nomads 1-0 Newi Cefn Druids (att- 175); 40pp programme- £1; Admission- £6; FGIF Match rating: 2* With a sudden rush of form the Nomads look like rescuing a season that appeared to be going down the pan. Their third successive league win lifted them off the bottom of the WPL for the first time this season. After they had gained only two points from their opening eleven games, they now have eleven from fourteen. The Nomads play at the Deeside Stadium, a large athletics complex adjoined to Admission is £6 adults and a decent 40-page programme sold for only £1. Though dominated by adverts (which account for 23 full pages) there is a fair amount of editorial and interesting statistics and its compiler, David Rapson, deserves huge credit for the efforts he makes on slender resources. The ground is dominated by a large elevated main stand which gives a good view of the pitch. The rest of the ground is open standing apart from a small covered standing area to the left of the main stand. On the far side is a small metal building that appears to house the committee room and the television gantry. With an eight-lane running track round the pitch the atmosphere inevitably suffers and anyone standing in front of the main stand has their view spoiled by the two large dug-outs either side of the halfway line. The floodlights are excellent and the pitch, despite recent rain, was in good condition. There is a crackling tannoy system and only one attempt is made to give out at the team line-ups- at a breakneck speed that would test the best shorthand. Apart from a small refreshment kiosk that served a small variety of hot and old drinks and hot dogs there are no other facilities at the stadium and no obvious welcome to supporters. With so much discussion on the future of the WPL recently, highlighted by concerns by the On a dry and reasonably mild winter’s night the attendance was only 175, this for a local derby match with no obvious counter-attractions. And the frustrations of a league that continually changes its fixtures were there again. Already this season TNS, for example, have rescheduled back to Saturdays all the games they had earmarked for Sunday afternoon kick-offs frustrating travellers plans. And the programme showed that the Nomads’ visit to Cardiff Grange Quins, scheduled for Sun 18 Dec, will now be played on the Saturday even though the unofficial Welsh Premier League site still has the fixture in the old date. With some clubs still not having even a rudimentary website or keeping details up-to-date, trying to find out fixture news or find out if games are on or off can be a very frustrating business and probably not worth the effort. In short the WPL seems to a league going backwards. 06/12/05 TT No.127: Barry Neighbour - Cray Valley PM (Kent County League Premier Division) in KST2 Saturday 3rd December 2005 Cray Valley (PM) 5 Faversham Town 0 (AET) Kent Senior Trophy 2nd Round 3* Att: about 30; 16 page programme included in £3 admission. Cray's ground is easy to find by public transport. Coming out of Mottingham Station turn left and then left again into Middle Park Avenue where buses run every 12 minutes stopping right outside Badgers Sports Ground. There is a small clubhouse with big screen telly and a tea bar. On my visit bacon and burgers (a bit greasy!) were on sale. The ground itself just has a solid rail down one side with no access to the other three sides for spectators. Two other pitches are squeezed in on the far side. After a lively first-half where both teams had chances, it was Cray who come closest, hitting the bar. A half time downpour made conditions heavy going and the game deteriorated as a spectacle. Faversham seemed to gain the upper hand twice hitting the woodwork, the last came from being a goalmouth scramble in the final minute; the ball fell to an attacker some 3 yards out and with an open goal in front of him he completely missed the ball. Cray rode their luck and just managed to scramble the ball away as the final whistle went. Faversham were made to pay for this miss as Cray took the lead in the first period of extra-time. This seemed to knock all the fight out of Faversham and incredibly Cray ran in another 4 goals during the final period as the conditions worsened. A friendly club, certainly worth a visit. 05/12/05 TT No.126: Ron Jones - AFC Dunstable (SSML2) in Beds Sen Trophy QF and Bromley Green (Kent County League Prem Div) On Saturday 3rd December, I went to AFC DUNSTABLE for the Beds Senior Trophy quarter final v AFC Kempston Rovers. A direct bus from Luton passes the ground in Dunstable Road, Tottenhoe, at the edge of the village. Lancot Park is shared with cricket, in fact the sign at the entrance is titled Dunstable Cricket Club, and the spacious and plush clubhouse has several framed cricket photos on the walls. The bar and tea bar were open before the match with hot food at half time. A very well presented 32 programme was on sale here for £1. This had a blue glossy cover and included a club history and honours and visitors page as well as the usual fixtures (which included all the reserve and junior teams), tables and matchday info. From the clubhouse/dressing room building, players and spectators must walk around the perimeter of the cricket pitch, which is fully roped off, to reach the playing area. This is fully roped off and is bordered behind the near goal by trees and the fence separating the park from the main road. There are dug outs along the far touchline; along this side is a grass bank with the fence enclosing the park behind. Behind the far goal is another cricket pitch while along the side nearest the clubhouse are eight park benches at regular intervals, sited in the strip of land between the football and cricket pitches. Beyond the ground are fields into the distance. There is no cover or hardstanding, fortunately the rain had stopped an hour or so before kick off and it remained dry throughout the match The whole ground is very well maintained and unusual in that there are distinct areas for the two sports with no overlap of the cricket outfield. In a evenly matched cup tie, the home side, unbeaten in all competitions this season, marginally had the edge in a goalless first half, with the visitors having most of the play early in the second. AFC Dunstable finished stronger and an 88th minute winner extended their winning run to 16 matches, with the attendance being around 40. After the match I called in at Tottenhoe FC some 100 yards away along the same road who were at home to Arlesey Athletic in the same cup, to be told “we don’t have programmes here”. The bus stop for the journey back overlooks the Tottenhoe ground, and I easily made the 15.37 bus following the 1.30 kick off. Deciding to ‘play safe’ on Saturday 26th November I headed for Kent after receiving a “yes “ from BROMLEY GREEN that their Kent County League match with Fleet was frost free and on. The swan ground in Willenborough is around 15 minutes walk from Ashford International station. The club’s facilities are set back in the near corner of the ground, comprising dressing rooms and adjacent “ no airs and graces” clubroom where tea, rolls and canned and bottled drinks are sold, and programmes are usually sold here. The pitch is fairly close by, and is roped off on three sides, the exception being the near side where a pathway runs from level with the edge of the area to the halfway line. A car park is set back from here while further along this side, trees and bushes are very close to the touchline, these providing limited protection from the elements. There’s open grass beyond the far goal and another pitch is set back at right angles some distance beyond the far touchline, with portable perspex dug outs sited either side of the halfway line on this side. Behind the near goal is an expanse of grass before the ground is bordered by a small stream with housing beyond. All in all a pretty exposed venue on a cold day, more so as the bright sunshine at the start gave way to heavy rain midway through the half which stopped during half time, while the second half was punctuated by another heavy 10 minute burst. The attendance just edged double figures as bottom of the table Fleet had the better of the early stages before Bromley Green began to dominate and took the lead on the half hour. Two more followed in the second half for a comfortable 3-0 scoreline. I picked up some back issues of the programme before the game although the day’s issue never arrived. The following day, I tracked down the elusive programme and got through to the editor who apologised that the weren’t available due to a printer breakdown and helpfully offered to email the file for a 4 page 20p issue in green and black with match details on the front, home line ups, a detailed club history, and details of club personnel on the back. A much appreciated gesture. The back copies I picked up varied from 4-8 pages as they also include line-ups for reserve and Sunday matches. 05/12/05 No.125: Dave Reed - Chalfont Wasps (Hellenic League Division 1 East) in Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup Friend Ken and I had a good day out on Saturday as we visited Chalfont Wasps who entertained Risborough Rangers in the Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup. The ground is located at the end of Crossleys, off Bowstridge Lane and appears to be part of the village playing fields. There is a small clubhouse at the end of the car park and here we obtained a programme for £2 from behind the bar. This consisted of a 24 page shell (with the line ups on the back) and a 16 page insert which had all the relevant details including pen pictures of both sides. o get to the railed off pitch, you have to go round the tennis courts which proved to be a very muddy walk today! The pitch however was in good condition. There is an area of cover on the left hand side which is raised above the dug outs which are situated in front. 05/12/05 No.124: Stephen Harris - Wimborne Town (Wessex League Division 1) Saturday 3 December 2005; Wimborne Town 1-2 Christchurch; Wessex Div 1; att 184, programme issued, admission £5 Wimborne turns out to be an easy place to get to, lying midway along a half-hourly bus service between Poole and Bournemouth. It’s also a very nice place, with the feel of a cathedral town in miniature. The Cuthbury ground is ten minutes off the town centre and has the facilities of a ground from a higher level. A smart modern clubhouse lies just outside the ground, which is entered through a turnstile block into a covered terrace. This extends almost to the halfway line, where there are two tiny seated stands beside each other, accommodating officials and a handful of regulars. Beyond these, the narrow cover extends to the corner flag and then around the corner and along the full length of this end. Directly behind the goal, the club name has been painted in large white letters at the back of the terrace. Unusually, the cover at this end contains a single row of wooden bench seats. The remaining side and end are open to the elements, with hard standing behind a high, white, breeze-block wall. A busy tea bar revealed that we were sufficiently far west to obtain some decent pasties. The game was of a good standard and pretty competitive without being dirty, and I got the impression that there was a bit of needle between the two clubs. Wimborne got off to the better start but struggled to create real goalmouth chances. Christchurch in contrast made the most of the chances which came their way and took a 2-0 lead before the home side nicked one right at the end. Quite an enjoyable game. The handful of Christchurch supporters I met seemed a pleasant lot and I think that a visit there after Christmas might need to go in the diary. A standard match programme was issued and a Dec/Jan club Newsletter was also available. Match Rating 3*. 04/12/05 No.123: Paul Roth - Newport (IOW) (Ryman League Division 1) Newport IOW v Cray Wanderers; Sat 3/12/05 Ryman League 1; Res: 2-6; Entry: £6; Programme: 28 pages, £1.50 01/12/05 TT No.122: Rod Grubb - Friar Lane & Epworth (Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division) FRIARS LANE AND EPWORTH 3 STAPENHILL 3 Saturday 26th November saw me at Leicester Railway Station from where, after a drink in the nearby packed Wetherspoons, I trailed a posse of Police escorting Sheffield United fans to the nearby Leicester City ground. Branching left I then walked down Welford Road and some twenty minutes later I was passing through the car park of the Friars Lane and Epworth F.C. Social Club in Knighton Lane East. Admission to the ground was £3 which included a twenty page programme. The floodlights were on from kick-off as the bitterly cold wind brought in sleet showers and most of the sixty strong crowd huddled under the small stand on the half-way line. Hard-standing covered most of that side and behind one goal where a long tea-bar building offered some shelter from the wind and warmth for the insides and was well patronised throughout. The game itself was superb. The home side kicked against the wind first -half and had swept into a 2-0 lead by half-time with some flowing football with Stapenhill struggling to string two passes together. It was easy to pick out the Lane players as they stay faithful to a squad system of numbering and you just look for the appropriate number in the programme to find the player’s name. Whatever was said at half-time did the trick for the visitors as they looked a different team and they cut through the league-leaders with ease with Shailes on the left flank looking unstoppable. Soon it was 2-2 with the home side struggling to stay in the game and then came the goal of the season with Shailes once more going past two tackles on the left touchline before delivering a swinging cross past the far post where it was vollied back into the far corner. I think the scorer was Marshall but whoever it was disappeared under a sea of bodies as the whole ground erupted. Friars came back into the game as they threw on their subs and they snat ched an equalizer with a close-in header from one of their many free-kicks. Near the end Stapenhill should have won the match when Davies found himself clear in front of goal but as he hammered in a shot past Blowfield the goalkeeper somehow kicked back and the ball rebounded out off his leg. It was a remarkable save and probably brought the right result but no doubt Stapenhill would point to a rousing second-half performance as being worthy of all three points. Certainly it kept the crowd warm! 01/12/05 TT No.121: Barry Neighbour - Brentwood Town (Essex Senior League) Saturday 26th November 2005 Brentwood Town 0 AFC Hornchurch 3 Essex Senior League 3 * 28 Page Programme £1 - Mostly Match reports. I caught the train to Brentwood via London and apart from being evacuated at Bank and having to fork out £1.20 for a bus to Liverpool Street it was a pleasent journey. Having sought refreshments at Murphys Sports Bar just outside the station we proceeded to Brentwood Leisure Centre, opting to take a taxi for the estimated 1 mile trip. What a mistake as we were charged £5.40 for the trip, a bus back stopped outside the station and cost £1.10 - travellers beware. Brentwood's ground is by the Leisure Centre and is open on 3 sides; they have a small stand with 4 rows of seats but the front two were rendered useless on the day as a larger than normal crowd congretated in front of the seats making it impossibe to see whilst sitting in the front two rows. Table toppers AFC Hornchurch scored with their first attack when ace marksman Billy Holland unleashed an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area. The predicted hammering never materalised however as Brentwood put up a spirited display to claw their way back into the game. Hornchurch eventually increased their lead 15 minutes from time when the full back sprang the Brentwood offside trap to beat the keeper with a well taken finish. The game was wrapped up in the closing minutes when a short back pass forced the Brentwood keeper to make a hasty clearance only to see the ball fall to the deadly feet of Billy Holland who rolled the ball into an empty net from fully 40 yards for his 2nd of the match. Brentwood have a number of ground improvements including a new stand in the pipeline which will only go to enhance the status of a friendly club. End
With heavy snow settling further up the line in the west of the county a trip just along the coast from my Margate base to take in this local derby at Herne Bay's Winches field seemed an ideal choice. Arriving just after 2 o'clock, the first problem was gaining entry as the ref was still inspecting the pitch; luckily for me he deemed it playable.
Herne Bay have a super stadium that would not be out of place further up the pyramid with covered terracing behind both goals and an old fashioned cantilevered seating area on the far side of the playing area. The clubhouse...a warm haven today, lies opposite. The only downside to the whole place is the tiny car park which, if wet, becomes a morass of water and mud filled potholes. Sitting in the warmth of the clubroom for half an hour before the start, I read the reliably good 32 page programme, full of statistics and interesting comment adorned on the front cover by a super action photo.
As the game started so down came the snow and, at one point, midway through the first half, there was a real danger the match would be abondoned, so thick the white stuff was that the linesmen were having a job seeing across the field. Credit to the ref and he stuck at it and the 330 fans present were treated to an excellent game of end to end soccer. Whitstable opened the scoring after 20 mins only for Bay to hit back 10 mins later with a well taken half chance that squeezed into the bottom of the net. Half-time offered respite from the weather and to a man every supporter present crammed into the clubhouse for soup and tea. Some hardy souls even plumped for ice cold beer!!
The restart saw the visitors piling on the pressure but woeful finishing let them down and they had to be content with a draw, when in truth they should have extended their winning run to eight games. By the time the final whistle had blown everybody was glad to scurry off into the warmth as the darkness was inducing the temperature to plummet, despite the snow having abated.
All in all a very enjoyable if somewhat chilly afternoon, but a great opportunity for me to premier my new thermal bobble hat left by Santa on Christmas eve. FGIF 4*
Standing on the touchline for this UCL match I realised I was witnessing something I had not seen all season....a huge crowd ! I had e-mailed the Whitworth secretary earlier in the week and he had advised me to arrive early as interest in this local derby was huge. Whitworths ground stands behind Wellingborough's well appointed stadium, itself standing behind the Dog & Duck pub on the London road at the southernmost edge of the town. Paying my £3 admission I was handed the excellent 24 page programme.....a glossy covered tome this, full of up-to-date info and and the league's latest news bulletin....and retreated to the car to digest its contents with a coffe bought from a huge burger van brought in just for this fixture, I would guess.
The ground is an old fashioned affair with a tiny stand to the left as one enters and an atmospheric covered area behind and to the right of the far goal. The pitch is completely railed off but there is only a small piece of hard standing adjoining the small stand on the left.
The match itself got off to an exciting start as the visitors scored after 45 seconds and added another 20 mins later via a tap in following a good run down the righthand wing. Against the run of play Whitworths pulled one back through that rarest of occurences......a goal scored direct from an inswinging corner. That is in fact how the match ended but Whitworths could count themselves unfortunate not to come away with a point, as they had nearly all the play in the second half but couldn't find their range with either shots or headers and, in truth, the Town goalkeeper was untroubled.
With Wellingborough reforming in 2004 and with lofty ambitions to attain their former status, spice was added to the fixture as a member of the home board told me they (Wellingborough 2004) wanted the two clubs to merge and hopefully that way become a major force within soccer in Northamptonshire once more. Whitworths think such a merger would be the end of their club and in no way want to be part of it. I don't blame them but it does seem a little daft having two senior clubs so close to each other. It all reminded me of the sagas of Margate and Ramsgate football clubs when there was mention of amalgamations back in the 1980's. None of the local fans here wanted that.
Sitting in the car after the final whistle, waiting to get away, I was immobilised as the crowd funnelled past me for a good 10 mins and it was then I realised what a massive attendance there had been for this local derby.
The early ko enabled me to get back to Margate in time to stuff the goose and await the arrival of the fat fella and his reindeer. A highly enjoyable day out in the glorious Northants sunshine.
God bless you all and happy 'hopping in 2006.
Getting into position for the 1.30pm ko alarm bells started ringing when teams passed me by and entered the adjoining field. The game I had come to see was to be played there in a soulless park! With goal nets up on the main pitch I soon gleaned Maidstone Utd Reserves were to play Cray Wanderers Reserves (KFL1) on the railed pitch. Being much more enamoured with this atmospheric arena I plumped to watch my Saturday fix here. A good choice as a cracking 2-2 draw ensued.
This truly is a lovely place to watch football and is steeped in history. It is the sports club and social facility to the paper mill across the motorway and from the few people I spoke to, I was unlucky that Mears didn't play this particular cup match there. This is normally where all home matches are played by the club. It is such a super footballing venue that sharing my experience seems a must.
Obviously no admission was charged and no programme produced. FGIF rating 4*
Att: 36; Programme: £1 incl admission
This was very much a day of surprises, ultimately pleasant ones. We got to the ground far too early (2 hours early!) to be met with the news that the lad who does the programmes has "broken his fingers playing rugby". Not sounding promising....ever the opimist we headed off for our chosen pub from the GBG, only to find it shut on Saturday lunchtimes (can't remember the name but it's the one in Fulford, not far from Meir KA/Stone Doms in case anyone has similar ideas). A quick phone call later and we're going further away from ground to the village of Oulton (near Stone) and had a very pleasant pint in a lovely unspoilt village local.
It was with some relief then to find that when we got back to ground just after 1-30 that the programmes had turned up. Things were looking up.
Florence are a former Colliery Welfare side, very much on the up off the field, and the amount of improvements done at the complex are admirable. You enter into a car park off the A5005 with a new floodlight all weather pitch to one side and a mightily impressive two-tier dressing room block overlooking the pitch. Top dressing rooms for the all waether pitch, lower for the main arena. To the right of this on the lower level is the old Colliery Welfare club, which has had £300,000 spent on it and it looks like it has too (inside anyway - the outside could do with a facelift!). The main pitch has been re-railed, and the old stand completely renovated, providing good, elevated, covered terracing for 50-100 people. Next to this a good view can be had from a grass bank that runs most of the rest of this side.
The game itself just lacked more goals than the one we got. There were chances a plenty at both ends, but some great saves in the first half from the visiting 'keeper kept them in the game. The second half was a little more even, but Florence had the best of the chances.
The enthusiasm of the people at the club is there for all to see and I sincerely wish them well. A very enjoyable day out.
Match rating 3*
CRICKHOWELL (1) 1 COED EVA ATHLETIC (2) 3
Attendance: 17 PROGRAMME: 4 pages - free
On Saturday, Andy Molden and myself along with four other travellers spent a rather bizarre day at "Elvicta", home of Gwent County League Third Division outfit Crickhowell. This is a delightful little town, and on an idyllic day we decided to take in the League Cup Third Round tie against First Division Coed Eva Athletic.
On arriving, I was rather dismayed to see around thirty molehills on the pitch which my driver assured me would present no problems. The other "niggle" I had was that the line markings were rather faint to say the least. "The Mold" was right - I needn't have worried and things began to come together when the home players and official (singular) turned up in the spacious car park an hour before the scheduled 2pm kick-off. Said official sorted out the molehills and carted off the excess earth in a wheelbarrow while one of the players reinforced the pitch markings. The four page programme duly arrived with the home team's player/manager so with everyone present by 1.30pm we could all relax I thought, but no!
The visitors gained parity courtesy of the home goalkeeper (and player/manager) who allowed a soft cross to go underneath him leaving Lee Manley a simple task from six inches, and to prove it wasn't his day, the luckless custodian was flattened going for a right wing corner by a combination of players from both sides and James Bowen's looping header put the visitors in front with my watch (which I stop for injuries and ball pressure nonsense) showing 52:33.
Even the interval produced drama as the referee went onto the pitch without a ball to start the second half saying that none of them were any good. We still had the joker to play I thought as there were two seemingly good ones nestling in the Coed Eva dugout, but the one home club official (who also ran the line) pumped enough air into one of the "flat" ones to send this disjointed affair on its merry way. Extra time may have been difficult to squeeze in but thankfully it wasn't needed - I say thankfully as the second half took another 51 minutes out of our lives. The luckless Alwyn Jones in the home goal injured his left arm as he flung himself at the feet of an oncoming forward and spent the last two minutes as an outfield player with left back Alex Ravetta going in goal. Coed Eva substitute Gareth Pinch then put us all out of our misery with a neat 89th (103rd) minute lob and it was all done and dusted a minute later.
One can't help but feel sorry for the young lads carrying the Crickhowell flag in the Gwent County League. Football stopped in the town for two years after the Foot & Mouth Epidemic of 2001, but they have got a team together and earned promotion via the Gwent Central (or North Gwent?) League into the Gwent County League. Unfortunately, they have no help from the town's "middle age" fraternity to run the show. The basis is there for a decent club - a nice ground in a superb setting, a refreshment lounge which has potential and a degree of enthusiasm (sandwiches were brought to the ground along with cans of beer and platefuls of chips at the final whistle). But these young lads need help with the day to day tasks like supplying decent footballs, a proper first aid kit (the visitors didn't have one at all!), and a supply of those blue plastic drink bottles which all teams seem to have these days but neither of these outfits did. I realise the lower down the scale you go there is more likelihood of these instances happening, but when all is said and done, a football is a rather important ingredient for a football match wouldn't you say?
Staying down in rural Somerset with my old footballing oppo Bob, I persuaded him he might like to watch some Western league soccer. My old pal really only ever watches league football nowadays, as he is a Palace fan, and even then it is only once in a blue moon. With that in mind there was no surprise in his comment as our train came into Weston-Super-Mare and passed within 400 yards of the ground. Weston don't have floodlights and you would sail past in the train if you didn't know it was there, so when I pointed out that there was the ground Bob's exclaim was ......"no,surely not, we can't be going f****** there".
The town of Weston has a bit of a run down feeling but I suppose a seaside town never looks it's best in winter time. I should know, living in Margate! With the GBG pubs polished off I managed to prize my mate out of the excellent pub on the railway station and into a cab for the 10 min trip down to the ground in Coleridge Road, at the southen end of the town.....this would be a good half hour if walking. The ground is situated at the back of a rather depressing council estate but dont be put off by this as it is a pleasant venue. A large car park leads into the ground which is completely surrounded by a 10 foot high slab concrete wall, a gap in this gleans entry. Two tiny bus shelter stands offer a modicum of cover and there is hard standing all around. Outside the "wall" is an excellent clubhouse and is obviously the focal point for the estate behind. In here we read the 16 page programme; not the best I've seen this season but certainly by no means the worst either.
The match was highly entertaining with the visitors from Bristol having much the better of things until Weston took an undeserved lead with a deft header and quickly added a second before half time. After the break and another pint of Guinness...for us, not the players I must stress....the game continued to flow from end to end with the home side eventually running out easy 5-1 winners and Weston's centre forward bagging a hat trick. Some good football was played during this latter 45 mins.
At full time we walked over the railway footbridge that adjoins the club's car park (this offers a super view back across the ground) and walked the 600 yards to Weston-Super-Mare's new stadium to take in the second half of their Conference South fixture against St.Albans City....and no, I don't count this as having been there. The floodlights of this new arena are easily visible from Weston Saint John's pitch.
A bus back into town, a couple more pints in the "Off The Rails" bar on the station and the train back to Taunton. A lovely evening being driven to some cracking country pubs in the Blackdown Hills by Bob's wife rounded off another fun-packed Saturday. I think even my old mate was impressed by it all. He's off to watch the Palace at Plymouth next Saturday...yuk !!!
FGIF rating 5*. A truly fabulous day out.
Match: Wolverhampton Casuals v. Wellington - West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division - Res: 0-2 Att: 31 A£3 incl. programme.
We were treated to a highly entertaining afternoon's football where the home side, despite having much the better of possession throughout, struggled to overcome their visitors from the South Midlands League. Risborough took an early lead which Chalfont equalised after 34 minutes only to fall behind again three minutes later. The home side scored three times in the second half to look well in command with eight minutes to go but Risborough got a third two minutes later and then had two further chances to score, missing an open goal and hitting the bar.
We had a friendly welcome from a home official who knew what we were about as he offered to provide the team changes. One word of warning if you are intending to visit, the programmes appeared to be in short supply so get there early.
Much as I would have liked to have been at Rushden & Diamonds for the big FA Cup match, Saturday morning found me in deepest, darkest Dorset looking for a game to survive the extreme weather situation that was occurring there. I picked out Wimborne Town from the fixture list; although with the River Stour having burst its banks and filled its floodplain almost up to the ground’s perimeter wall, and heavy rain falling throughout, I felt quite lucky to have got a game in at all.
A back up is always a good idea when the weather is looking dodgy and in most cases you don't need to fall back on it. But today was to be an exception. I was on the train gliding through the lovely Hampshire countryside when a phone call to Brading Town, my intented destination, confimed their match had just been called off. Quickly I was on the blower to Newport IOW where a most helpful lady said the game was probably on but that it was bucketing down with rain....umm. As the song goes, I carried on regardless and arriving at the ferry terminal took the Fast Cat (not our Ben I hasten to add) over to Ryde. Walking down the pier, in now brilliant sunshine, and into the town to "do" the GBG pubs I committed myself by taking the bus to Newport. The trip took about half an hour and drops you right in the town centre next to the Prince of Wales, also listed in this years GBG.
Fearing that the game may well be off, nervously I strolled up to St George's Park which is only 5 mins from the town. Hoorah,the game was on! Only vaguely can I remember the old ground at Church Litten which I visited in 1980 but I do recall falling over in thick mud there and being caked from head to toe in it. No such problem today. The new(!) ground is a nice place with a super clubhouse and covering on all four sides with the main stand backing onto the social club and hard standing all round. The usual tea and hot food outlet is directly on the right hand side as one enters through the turnstiles.
The game was to be a real cracker with Cray steaming into a quick 2-0 lead......an article in the programme, a goodish 28 page effort, pointed out that Gary Abbott had a knack of scoring against the "Port" and he would get special attention today; inevitably the man opened the scoring. End to end football ensued with the visitors going into the break 3-1 to the good. The second-half continued in the same fashion with the rain again teeming down and if this had come before k o the match certainly wouldn't have started. Cray made it four within 30 seconds of the restart and a spectacular og made it five. Finally a goal for each side ended the scoring fest with the homesters feeling relieved that it was over and only a 2-6 home defeat, as Cray could and should have scored many more.
The long, convoluted journey to get back to Margate started at 5pm and got me indoors just after midnight, with the realisation that I had just about got away with it and that the "back up" had worked.
8452 steps.
FGIF rating : 4* and very very wet !
Walking back I tagged onto the Sheffield supporters and Police escort and had the luxury of walking straight down the middle of the road and across a busy junction to the Station where our paths parted, a very civilized way to travel!