Crowborough Athletic FC

Crowborough Athletic 2 Brimsdown Rovers 1

A sunlit Crowborough FC

The Chip inn - Crowborough

Plenty to Crow about

Crowborough Athletic 2 Brimsdown Rovers 1 aet

15/12/07

This report comes in two parts. On seeing the Vase draw & being particularly fond of Sussex grounds, I chose to visit Crowborough for the first time. When I set off from home, there was light rain falling and the forecast was not got. By the time I reached Crowborough. It was belting down. I gave the game only a 20% chance of being on. It’s easy to find the ground from the station. You basically turn right 3 times and then walk for about a mile and a half up a long road. The pavements are not overly wide and the road has a reasonably steep incline. As a walked up the road, the rainwater coming the other way was literally lapping over my feet. I discovered a chip shop ‘The Chip Inn’ & stopped for a sausage, chips & some respite from the rain. I ate my lunch in a bus shelter immediately over the road from the chippy. I continued on my way & found the ground easily. A steward was coming out of the turnstiles as I got there at 13:45. I asked him if the game was on & he said that it was, although the referee hadn’t looked keen to play it from the moment he arrived. Brimsdown turned up at 2pm. The referee inspected the pitch again. Both managers & players wanted to play but the referee eventually declared the pitch waterlogged and unplayable. There was a big puddle in the centre circle. The groundsman claimed he could fork it out, but to be honest, conditions were dreadful & the ref had no choice. Top marks to the friendly & welcoming Crowborough officials who kept apologising (Not your fault lads!) & gave me a free programme. I expected the game to be played the following Tuesday which I would not have been able to make. But to my surprise, it was re-arranged for the following Saturday. All I needed now, was for the weather to behave. The Thursday before the game, I looked out my window before turning in for the night & the road looked like Richmond skating rink. But cloud cover arrived and by the following morning, the frost had all gone and the game wasn’t in doubt at all. So off I went again, kind of nice not having to take any printed maps as the route was easy to remember. Highlight of the journey was on the Northern line. The driver announced over the PA that a beggar was on the train & not to encourage her by giving her any money. A guy sitting opposite me turned to his wife & yelled “There’s no point begging, you’ve already had everything I own” Not often that one comment reduced a tube character to simultaneous laughter (Nice line!).
I visited the ‘Chip inn’ again, this time having a pie & chips. This really is a superb chippy, run by a friendly couple with top draw nosh. The pie was piping hot, with generous meat & a rich gravy. The chips have been excellent on both weeks. I ate this meal again in the bus shelter for old times sake.
One of my favourite sights on reaching a ground is to find another match on. A game was taking place on a pitch just before the ground. I was informed that it was Crowborough’s third team & they were 1 nil up with about 10 minutes to go. By the time this game had finished, it was 4-2 after extra time with a red card shown to a Crowborough defender. Great to see 5 unexpected goals in a game, short on skill, but high on endeavour. Whilst watching, the Brimsdown coach arrived. One of the officials came over to chat & announced that they’d come all the way from Hertfordshire. I informed him that I was a ground hopper and had also come from Hertfordshire. He put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a complementary ticket to the game, patted me on the shoulder & said “Enjoy the game”. I must go back to Crowborough, people can’t stop giving me free stuff. I was very grateful for the ticket & it softened the blow of having to pay twice to visit this ground.
Crowborough have a well organised set-up which is not typical of most Sussex league clubs that often have stunning scenery. The bar is set about 50 yards from the ground, inside there is a good sized stand and a covered area behind one of the goals. There’s also a well run tea hatch serving drinks & hot food. The whole ground is surrounded by a large corrugated fence. The pitch slopes slightly end to end although you don’t notice it once the game gets under way.
This turned out to be a highly competitive match. Brimsdown were through 1 on 1 after only 10 seconds, the keeper saving what could have been the most dramatic of opening goals. Once the game settled, Crowborough scored after 10 minutes with a header powered home from a corner. Crowborough were well on top and could have had a healthier half time lead. On 62 minutes Brimsdown stunned everyone by equalising against the run of play. A 30 yard blockbuster from the right back thumped against the crossbar, could have gone anywhere but dropped straight down to a Brimsdown player who couldn’t miss! Suddenly, we had a full blooded even cup tie that could have gone either way. Extra time was no surprise & it looked like stalemate had been reached with neither side threatening. Then the Crowborough manager took centre stage. As they won a corner, he replaced his most lively striker with a mountain of a man obviously brought on for his height. This player won the header from this corner & his header dropped in the six yard box and was gleefully stabbed home. High drama that sent the home fans away happy. One slight oddity is that they start & end the game at Crowborough with steel band music over the PA, didn’t quite fit on a cold December day.
After two trips in a week, I feel that I know Crowborugh well. I wonder if I’ll be back there as the FA Vase reaches its climax?

Shrivenham FC

Shrivenham 3 Dawlish 2

Shrivenham clubhouse

Octagon restaurant - Swindon

Shrivvy comeback stuns Dawlish

Shrivenham 3 Dawlish 2

Quite a gap between the last round & this, so plenty of time to arrange my trip. I decided to visit a Hellenic league team as for some reason, I have very few of these grounds ticked off. I decided on Hungerford Town and preliminary arrangements were made. A spanner was thrown in the works when my mate invited me down to Somerset for a few beers on the Saturday as his wife was away. Having a lot to do at home at the moment, I was wondering whether I had the time to go. That was, until he Emailed me to say that he’d just bought a Nintendo Wii. Needless to say, it would have been rude not to help him test it out. He loves football as much as me & suggested some games we might see in the afternoon. One of his suggestions was Shrivenham. So, Hungerford will have to wait for another day & off to Shrivenham I went.
I was meeting my mate at Swindon, got to Paddington in good time & waited for the platform to be announced for my train. It eventually came up on the departure board with only 5 minutes to spare. Now, I’m a reasonably fit bloke, so got to the platform in a couple of minutes. More than can be said for the poor pensioners who were struggling big time and boarded the train with seconds to spare, it took them until Reading to recover. Why can’t passengers be given more time to find the right platform? Not only that, but all the carriages were incorrectly labelled. The carriage that said it was B, was actually C and the carriage that said C, was actually D. This caused complete carnage with those of us who’d booked their tickets in advance, ending up going in all directions trying to find our allocated seats. I actually tripped over at one point and as I lay on the floor with anxious passengers stepping over me, I thought “This is why I love groundhopping”. Once everything calmed down, it was a straightforward journey to Swindon. I had 45 mins on arrival before I was due to meet my mate so I set off in search of food. I headed for the shopping centre & discovered a little restaurant/café called Octagon, so named as that is it’s shape. A nice relaxed atmosphere with ultra friendly staff. My sausage, chips & beans took a while to arrive put were piping hot and very tasty. They were washed down with tea served in the biggest & heaviest mug I’ve come across for a long time. The only down side was the piped Christmas music. Sorry, but November 17th is too early for all that. The drive from Swindon to Shrivenham took about 20 mins, mainly because a roundabout seemed to appear after every 100 yards. Thank God for sat. nav. It makes journeys like this so easy, although it almost takes a bit of the fun out of it. We found the ground easily, but struggled to locate the car park. Maybe if my mate had slowed down to 70mph, he’d have seen us go pasting past it. Basically, it’s just over the road and there were plenty of spaces. Getting there by public transport could be a struggle, although I did see a number 65 bus about a mile away from the ground, this can be caught from Swindon. You walk along a path to the ground where we were charged £3 admission including a programme. Considering the game we were presented with, this was outstanding value. The pitch slopes from end to end, has a low rail surrounding the playing surface with hard standing also all around. There is one stand that sits about 60, but is positioned near one of the corner flags, so doesn’t provide the greatest view. That is the only cover. The other side of the pitch has a raised bank, a feature I always like. Immediately behind this bank is a small wood with a few sparsely spaced trees, an interesting & unusual feature. Behind these trees are playing fields. In theory, people could walk across these fields and get in the ground for free. Happily, nobody chose to do this. The clubhouse was quite compact & packed out, so I never got to have a good look round. Hot food & drinks are sold separately by very friendly staff. My mate complained that it was the smallest hot dog he’d ever had, 3 bites taking care of it. The tea wasn’t great either but as I always say, you don’t go o football for the catering & at a small club like this, the effort was appreciated.
This game started off at a quick pace with both sides trying to attack; Little did we know what drama lay ahead. Dawlish were soon on top and scored after 11 mins when a header from a corner went in off a post. They doubled their lead on 24 mins sliding the ball home after a throw was flicked on. Dawlish were comfortably on top at the break. As the sides appeared for the second half, my mate said to me “Dawlish don’t look particularly fired up, do they?” I replied that “They probably thought they’d already got the game won”. They had several chances to increase their lead early in the second half & when Shrivenham put a golden opportunity over the bar, it looked like we’d see out a comfortable away win. The course of the game changed in a 5 minute period. Firstly, the Dawlish keeper gave away an unnecessary corner when he could have just picked the ball up. The corner was taken, bounced awkwardly & went straight in for a Shrivenham goal right against the run of play. A player from each side were then sent off for an off the ball incident, I was following the ball & didn’t see exactly what happened. Shrivenham adapted better to the loss of personnel & suddenly out of nowhere, were completely on top. The equaliser came on 75 mins as another attack down the right resulted in the low cross being slid home. Then 9 mins later, captain Mark Peters gleefully headed home the winner from a corner. An extraordinary comeback that surely even the most biased of home supporters didn’t see coming. A nice club to visit on the North Berkshire border.
As for Nintendo Wii. The Tiger Woods golf is great fun, as was a tennis game. The boxing is exhausting especially when alcohol assisted. I could well be writing more reports from the West country.

Holmer Green FC

Holmer Green 0 Brockenhurst 4

One for the Reacord books

Holmer Green 0 Brockenhurst 4

Families, we all love them, but do they have to have emergencies on a Saturday? I had spent the whole week researching a trip to Deeping & had all my train and bus timetables at the ready. Then the call came and I had to attend a family event on the Saturday morning which politically, I couldn’t get out of. This threw me into an obvious quandary. I would be free from 1pm, Deeping was now out of the question, so I studied the draw trying to find a game that I could reach. Just when Leverstock Green was looking to be my only option, my wife gave me a most unexpected lifeline by offering to drive me to a game. Back to the draw to hopefully find a ground I hadn’t visited. We agreed on Holmer Green, a trip of about 35 miles which she was happy to do. Now, at this point I must point out that my wife has never, ever, been to football before & I’m very grateful to her for putting herself out. My only concern was the M25, would it be the usual Saturday afternoon gridlock? My luck was definitely in this afternoon, as it was completely clear and we found the ground with an hour to spare. We decided to find a pub, which proved to be surprisingly difficult. We must have driven about 3 miles up long residential streets and bizarrely, couldn’t find one. I eventually spotted one up a side street in Widmer End. The Royal Standard turned out to be a locals pub, not particularly welcoming and an outrageous £6.50 for a pint of Guinness, a coke & a bag of crisps. Not going back there in a hurry! We sat outside whilst the locals sat in silence watching England beat Australia in the rugby. We returned to the ground after the game and ‘er indoors opted to stay in the car working on her laptop whilst I watched the game. The Double Decker I bought her seemed to keep her happy. There’s a good clubhouse at Holmer Green which judging by all the posters inside, is heavily used. There’s a well stocked bar, good sized halls and a selection of pool tables. There is a hatch serving food & drinks although my tea was only luke warm when served. Players walk along a path from this complex to the pitch which is behind a large hedge. The old boy on the gate was very welcoming & claimed he was falling asleep due to the lack of spectators arriving, maybe the rugby had kept people away? The crowd eventually reached about 40 in numbers and this season attendances seem to be falling round by round for me. The ground itself was a little disappointing. One stand that has 2 large wooden benches which would seat about 20 with room for people to stand behind & to the side of these. This is a white rail ground with wire fencing below the rail, hard standing on 3 sides and an unremarkable pitch. This is a typical South Midlands ground that lacks a bit of character, probably due to the uninteresting backdrop.
The ground was livened up by a pair of red kites that kept flying over the ground. The most majestic looking birds with a huge wingspan and so graceful in flight. I’ve seen them along the M40 corridor before but never this near London.
I keep bumping into Brockenhurst on my travels & I’m starting to recognise 1 or 2 of their fans. The first half was an even contest played at a quick pace with end to end action & some nice skilful play. Kevin Reacord, apparently making his full debut, scored a hattrick and looked a great player. Last season of course he reached the final with AFC Totton. He scored his first on 16 minutes with a slightly lucky cross which flew in over the keeper, his second was thumped home right on half time, a goal that knocked the stuffing out of Holmer Green. Full marks to Brockenhurst keeper Vine who caught everything & made some great first half saves to preserve their lead. Reacord completed his hattrick on 69 minutes, squeezing a shot home from a tight angle at the far post. Young completed the scoring 2 minutes later, slotting home after a neat 1-2. At about this time, the fellow next to me pointed into the sky and said “There’s the second half entertainment” as 3 hot air balloons flew by. “Just about sums Holmer Green up” he said, “Their balloon’s gone up”
There was still time for the miss of the season as a Brockenhurst substitute was presented with a wide open goal 10 yards out, yet somehow managed to shoot the ball sideways. He spent the next 2 minutes standing in the middle of the pitch with his hands on his head.
This won’t go down as a favourite ground of mine, but at short notice, it was there when I needed it.

Leverstock Green FC

Leverstock Green 3 Halstead 0

Leverstock Green village green

Leverstock Green play onnnnnnnnnn into next round

Leverstock Green 3 Halstead 0

22/9/07

Due to an evening engagement, I could only manage to reach a local club for this round. I chose Leverstock Green, a club I’ve visited several times before, but a ground where the sun always seems to shine. This day was no exception. Not the easiest ground to visit by public transport. From London, I would suggest the Thameslink to St Albans station & then a 300 or 301 bus to Leverstock Green. This journey takes about 15 minutes and the ground is only a 5 minute walk from the village. One of the pleasures of Leverstock Green is the village green. I often take in a pre season friendly due to the fact that I can catch some cricket on the green before the match. I journeyed to the green today hoping to catch some late season action. Sadly, the pitch had been mown and the only cricket was two guys practising in the nets. I say practising. The batsman seemed fine but the bowler steamed in like Bob Willis only to bowl like Bruce Willis. Balls were flying out of his hand at the strangest angle, one in three of them somehow missed the net altogether. I decided that watching was a dangerous occupation so went for a gentle walk around the green on the way to the ground. The green is full of horse chestnuts and there were conkers as far as the eye could see. Now, when I was a kid, if you found a conker on the ground it was rarer than gold dust. I still can’t walk past a horse chestnut tree without an overwhelming desire to throw up a stick to knock the fruit down. In my day, they’d barely hit the ground before they were boiled in vinegar and had a hole drilled through the middle. I’m sure I’ve still got my 129er somewhere. I reached the ground in good time. It’s fairly basic. A small clubhouse with a bar & a tea hut serving hot and cold food and drinks are available although the toilets are decidedly dodgy. There is a small covered seating area along one side, other than that it’s a white rail affair. The pitch however was immaculate and fairly wide. Players warming up kept hoofing balls into a neighbouring field. One of the lads was about to retrieve them when a club official came running over claiming that you couldn’t enter the field due as it was shut due to mad cow disease. After that, whenever a ball went over there, everyone cried out mad cow disease and made mooing noises. About midway through the half, a real cow from that field made one of the oddest bovine noises I’ve ever heard. All the substitutes warming up, stopped in their tracks before cracking up laughing, Amusing, if slightly disturbing. The game itself was livened up by the Geordie referee. He chattered constantly to players from both sides and his extravagant cries of ‘Play onnnnnnnn’ as he waved his arms about in a frenzied fashion could probably be heard throughout the village. The game was closer than the final score suggests although Leverstock Green were worthy winners. The first goal cm early when a speedy winger beat his man and hit a pinpoint cross headed home by the centre forward. Halstead thought the Leverstock keeper should have been sent off for handball outside the area. The ball did hit his hand although I’m sure he knew precious little about I & no way was it deliberate. No offence was given. The second goal came on the half our. A corner from the left bounced at the near post, caught a deflection and went in, players going off at half time claimed it was an og. Halstead never seriously threatened the goal all afternoon despite some nice football. The final goal came near the end. A throw on the right was misjudged by a defender. The substitute forward lobbed the keeper from an angle to make the game safe.An enjoyable, open game in a nice little Hertfordshire village

Rothley Imperials FC

Rothley Imperials 1 Goodrich 5

The Riverside bar - Barrow upon Sour

Barrow Upon Soar

Goodrich cover all the corners

Rothley Imperials 1 Goodrich 5

08/09/07

I normally miss this first preliminary round of the Vase due to an annual golfing weekend. Due to a date change, I had a rare opportunity o fit in a game from this round. I have a happy evening when the cup draws are made in July pouring over the fixtures, searching for games that take my fancy. I like to visit a new ground from as many different leagues as I can throughout the season. The only Leicestershire senior side I’d visited before was Friar Lane & Epworth, they then had the audacity to get promoted. I chose Rothley Imperials so that I could get a ground once again ticked in this league. I chose to go via London as a frequent service runs from St Pancras with Leicester as the first stop. St Pancras is very well run for a London terminus with covered walkways, good facilities & escalators. The hardest job is finding the platform and trains. On boarding my train, I took a seat only to notice that the LED showed it as reserved from London to Nottingham, this was the same for about 75% of the seats, I eventually found an unreserved seat. When the train departed, there were only about 20 people on the carriage, why were all these seats showing as reserved? I was feeling a bit peckish having reached Leicester, so I went into Smiths to buy a kitkat. 65p they were charging and I’m sorry, but these chains should not take advantage of having a captive audience by charging way over the odds for a standard chocolate bar. Needless to say, they ended up getting nothing from me.
I arrived at Barrow upon Soar, a delightful village. No eating places in the village centre, so I set off on my route. I quickly came across a canal with a couple of riverside pubs. I chose the Riverside inn, an inspired choice. I had to wait a while for my bacon & mushroom baguette, but it was gorgeous. Well cooked, lean bacon. Plump, tasty mushrooms and bread as fresh as could be. It came with chips cooked in fresh oil that were piping hot and just dissolved in your mouth. Visit this pub if you get the chance! I washed it down with a bottle of Magners, the brand that has made cider trendy again and is on a mission to take over the World. Nice as it is, why has this drink become so popular? I watched some of the rugby World cup over lunch as the All blacks took apart Italy. I’m not a great watcher of rugby. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but the game seemed to be twice as fast from when I last saw it & was quite entertaining. I set off for the ground following my walkit.com directions. Thanks to whoever sent me along the side of the A6 for a mile, talk about taking your life in your hands. I arrived eventually at the destination according to the postcode in the Cherry red handbook, no sign of a ground. I asked a couple of people who had no idea what I was talking about, so I rang the club. The call went to voicemail & I had that sinking feeling. Not knowing what to do, I was about to ask again in a farm shop when my mobile went. A lady from the club had just missed my call, had dialled 1471 & called me back. It turned out I was a 20 minute walk away from the club although on the right road. Many thanks to that lady for taking the effort to call me, I’m not sure I would have got there without her assistance & precise directions. I arrived with 3 minutes to spare before kick-off.
I received a warm welcome at this club which was already in my good books. There is an end to end slope on the pitch which is surrounded by a white rail. The one downside is the hedges surrounding the pitch in which balls were frequently being lost although there’s not a lot you can do about that. The clubhouse is a good size with a nice bar and halftime tea quaintly served from a table in mugs looking suspiciously like they’d come from ICEA. Not that I’m knocking them, the tea was top draw.
The game itself was certainly watchable. Rothley were as keen as mustard but Goodrich were always in cruise mode. They were 3-0 up by halftime, all goals coming from corners, 2 from headers and one that went straight in. A couple of tap ins in the second half gave Goodrich a more than comfortable lead before Rothley scored a consolation on 90 mins with a bullet header by Wignall. Rothley, with a bit of composure in front of goal, could have made this a tighter game.
I decided to call for a taxi back to the station but of course, there were non available. I decided to chance walking into Silesby, an inspired ide which only took about 30 mins. A train delayed by 20 mins arrived almost straight away & they were serving complimentary coffee on the train back to London.
Certainly not a dull start to my Vase journey & I’ve made a mental note to visit Barrow Town & Silesby FC in the not too distant future.
What I love about this competition, is that it will finish in front of thousands of people at Wembley stadium and started for me, behind a kindergarten in front of about 50 people, in deepest Leicestershire.

Wembley Stadium

AFC Totton 1 Truro City 3

The Bobby Moore statue

First view of Wembley Stadium

Truro write their place in history

AFC Totton 1 Truro City 3

For the last few seasons, I’ve started my FA Vase journey dreaming of a trip to the new Wembley stadium. I don’t need to document the whole Wembley saga other than to say that, when I started my Vase journey this season at Frimley Green, I was expecting the final to once again be held at a mid-table premiership club. The intensity of this competition increased hugely once Wembley was confirmed as the final venue & Billingham Synthonia fans and players were inconsolable when they fell at the cruelist of hurdles.
But off I went leaving myself loads of time to soak up the atmosphere. I was surrounded by Chelsea fans whilst travelling to London all bemoaning what a lousy season they’d had, I wonder if AFC Totton fans will now talk the same way?
A special mention to the gentleman on the tube playing loud rap music to which he sung along, sucked through his teeth & flicked his fingers. I know we all have different tastes in music but did he have to have it playing at full blast? I suppose I did learn some new swear words.
Wembley Park station has been revamped. You now descend a large concrete staircase to Wembley way. There were several station staff with megaphones telling people not to take photographs. It hadn’t entered my head until they started screaming this out, I must confess that this brought to my attention what a good photo it would make, so I sneaked a quick photo in whilst nobody was looking. It’s only when you get about 100 yards away that you actually notice any effect that the megaphones were having.
I wondered whether I’d still get the buzz when walking down Wembley Way. Fear not, it actually sent a shiver up my spine. I’ll always be a twin turret rather than an arch man, but the place looked magnificent.
A focal point just outside the stadium is the statue of Bobby Moore, an extremely good likeness despite a friend telling me to look out for the statue of Booby Charlton! A good meeting point & photo opportunity.
My only complaint for this trip was that the loos on the exterior of the stadium were flooded, meaning you had to wade ankle high through water if you needed to use these, not a great first impression.
The fountains below the stadium concourse are a nice touch, there are loads of catering outlets all grossly overpriced but subsequently, the queues were short.
About 90 minutes before kick-off, we were treated to an almighty thunderstorm, the thunder seemingly rocking the foundations, the heavy rain did nothing to improve the smell coming off the ridiculous number of police horses in attendance.
On entering the stadium, you go up an escalator. If like me, you’re in the top tier, you go up 3 escalators, a unique almost eerie sensation inside a football stadium. You then reach the main interior of the ground where there are ample facilities and a good amount of space. I headed straight for the inside of the ground. I have to say, it took my breath away. IT IS HUGE! Loads of leg room, terrific views and a great atmosphere. I cannot put into words what it is truly like, but I cannot recommend it highly enough, well worth the wait. A slightly strange atmosphere as you cannot hear the players shouting being so far away, instead you just have the constant sound of those horns which are readily available down Wembley way.
The game after a cautious start, lived up to all expectations. An open attacking game with loads of chances and excitement. Truro to be honest, were clearly the better side and nobody could begrudge their victory.
Totton scored first when Potter spun and hit a nice finish into the top corner after the Truro keeper spilt a cross. Truro equalised on halftime as Wills brilliantly brought down a high ball, beat 2 men and drilled a low shot home. Wills scored again on 56 mins hitting a low shot under the keepers outstretched arm. There were a couple of almighty goalmouth scrambles which Truro were lucky to clear but they wrapped it up on 84 minutes when Broad exchanged passes with a team-mate and finished well.A far cry from the sunny start I made to this competition this season in front of about 30 people at Frimley Green. I guess that’s half the joy of it.

Billingham Synthonia FC

Action from the second leg

View of Billingham Synthonia.

Totton - Pretty in pink!

Billingham Synthonia 1 AFC Totton 2 aet

Totton won 5-4 on pens.

I thought long and hard about going to this game as it was a hell of a long journey. In the end, my lack of Northern clubs visited and the fact that I love this competition won me over, I took a deep breath and went for it. The hardestt hing was getting to Stevenage, the annual 2 months of weekend work on the rails have arrived again & it's replacement bus service time yet again. Fortunately, the wife took pity & probably because she wanted to watch Paint your wagon in the afternoon, gave me a lift. The journey then went like clockwork and I was more than pleased when the first train turned up 6 mins early. The coach I got a seat on was right next to the buffet area, convenient, but extremely noisy. A group of Geordies decided to camp out there for the whole journey and basically treated it like a bar. It did add a bit of colour to that leg of the journey and the train had a real buzz about it with always something going on. The connection to Thornaby from Darlington was fine. I then had to spend 35 minutes waiting for my final train at Thornaby. Never have a been to a place with so little to do & so little going on. I went and asked the ticket office clerk what platform to stand on just for the company. Desperately boring. The final leg was only two stops, the train stopped at signals for a minute conveniently right next to Billingham Towns ground, strangely they were also at home. If they'd bought their kick-off forward by three hours, they probably would have had a good sized crowd, I'd have certainly gone to both. The one positive thing to come out of Thornaby was when I heard two guys talking about the game. I discretely followed them from Billingham station therefore not having to worry about finding the way. They never sussed me, maybe I should go into detective work. The ground is only about a 10 minute walk and on a main road. I queued at the only burger van & was fascinated to see that it had cooked an actual beef & pork joint. I selected a meat sandwich which was a load of beef & gravy piled into a roll. Fantastic! as a well known TV programme says, Northern boys love gravy. The ground at Billingham is just spectacular for this level. A huge, huge stand along 1 side which must have had about 1500 fans into it. very imposing & extraordinary for this level although when all the fans cheered it made a thunderous sound. There's also raised grass banks around the rest of the pitch. There were 2300 people there and everyone had a good view. I don't normally like running tracks around football grounds, this ground has a dirt track around it but it works due to the height of the viewing areas. A special mention to the ballboys who all stayed as keen as mustard throughout despite the biting wind. A request to however is in charge of weather, Could we place have semi finals next year without 30mph winds. It came very close to spoiling both legs of this tie. I'm not sure how many times the ball went out for a throw over the far side but it must have been around 40! Totton appeared sporting shocking pink shrts much to Billingham fans merriment. It was Totton who were smiling though as Osman headed home after only 2 mins to level the tie. Aftert his, the team kicking with the wind were well on top in both halves. There were several near misses until Stevens converted a low cross with only 9 mins to go. You knew that wouldn't be the end of it & Wells chipped in deep into stoppage time to take us into extra time. Billingham won a penalty for a trip on the substitute which was brilliantly saved by the legs of McCormack. Billingham thought the tackler should have been red carded as last man, they had a fair point but it would have been desperately hard on the Totton defender who had been immense all afternoon. Both keepers made spectacular saves as the game went to penalties. It's never fair to state who scored and missed, Totton though came out 5-4 winners. A fabulous two-legged tie that had just about everything and was a credit to both teams. Synthonia have a ground to be proud of & it was a fitting setting for the conclusion of this contest.

AFC Totton 1 Billingham Synthonia 2

All still to play for

AFC Totton 1 Billingham Synthonia 2

I won't dwell too long on this match. A return trip to the ground I'd visited only three weeks earlier as I like to try and do both legs of a semi final.. Only difference was a replacement bus service from Southampton Central to Totton, only a 10 minute ride. Nice to know where a ground is without pouring over maps. I also ate from the food van in the ground. GREAT CHIPS!!!! I had the first batch cooked in fresh oil, worth the trip alone. Similar sized crowd from the last match and a pretty similar game. Both sides were clearly nervous but up for it and the tie was even throughout. Billingham scored on 14 mins when a flicked header gave the keeper no chance from a free kick. Osman equalised for Totton latching onto a through ball, avoiding the keeper on the way out and slipping it into an empty net. Billingham deserved the winner if anyone did and it came on 86 minutes when their striker just got his head to the ball before the keeper could collect and the ball crept in, a real goal from nothing. Replacement bus service was 25 minutes late arriving on the way home and the train to Waterloo crawled all the way arriving 45 minutes late. But all still to play for in the second leg. Am I going to Billingham next week? Well, I'm going to try.

Yours truely with the FA Vase

AFC Totton FC

AFC Totton 2 Wimborne 1

Oh yay! Oh Yay, AFC Totton are in the Vase semi finals.

Defeat, a kick in the face for Wimborne

AFC Totton 2 Wimborne Town 1 aet

3rd March 2007

When you get to the quarter finals of a National competiton & have two grounds you haven't visited within reasonable distance, you know that it's not all going wrong. It was between Whitehawk & AFC Totton, I'd visited a Sussex league side earlier in the competition at Ringmer, so decided on Totton. Yet another heavy nights rain meant that I was concerned that the game would still be on, it must be about 12 weeks in a row this has happened and I've been mostly lucky to find games still on. The journey is remarkably easy, about 85 minutes from Waterloo on a train with loads of space. The only confusing thing is why they announce that you'll be fined if caught travelling on this train without a ticket, this announcement is made about 2 minutes after the train has pulled out from the station. The journey went without incident through some delightful countryside. Totton was a little larger than I'd expected and I eagerly hit the town in search of lunch. I was a little disappointed, loads of chinese takeaways and the odd Indian, but not the little cafe or chippy I was hoping for. I ended up in Asda looking for a supermarket cafe but could only find a MacDonalds in Asda, it took about 15 minutes to reach the front of the queue & with hindsight and local knowledge, I would have eated in the ground. The ground is only about a 10 minute walk from the station and very easy to find. The crowds were flocking up the street and I was hugely impressed when I got through the gate. Loads of programmes (Hillingdon & Causeway take note), two well staffed fast food outlets, a pick n' mix van for the kids, cheerleaders, a town crier and a wacking great marquee selling beer. Great to see a club making this effort and it certainly paid off, I kept hearing guys ringing their mates and telling them to come down. FA officials had also brought the Vase trophy to show off and I'm grateful to the official who took my picture with the trophy, very splendid and would look good on my mantlepiece. I've never seen a town crier at a game of football before but he gave it a brave shot as did the cheerleaders who were never going to be able to compete with the enthusiastic Wimborne fans. There's a small stand and another covered standing area set back from the other side. Surprisingly, the pitch was quite bumpy although it soon softened up when the inevitible downpour arrived. There was a great crowd of over 1300, this had a real cup tie feel. My favourite comment of the day came from a guy standing next to me with his son. Dad was receiving updates of premiership scores on his mobile. When he announced that Arsenal had scored twice, his son asked who had scored. " I don't know!" replied Dad, "Oh yes, there you are...Samsung & Cancel" Went way over his sons head but made me laugh.
This was a game of two halves. Totton never showed up ntil half time, Wimborne scoring first after 35 mins when a shot from just inside the box caught a wicked deflection and gave the keeper no chance. Once Totton started playing, they were much the better side and equalised on 54 mins. A cross was curled to the far post, usually with this type of ball ,the player coming in just can't reach it, this time he did and managed to steer it in from a tight angle. The game was considerably delayed due to two nasty Wimborne injuries. First a player was stretchered off with a leg injury and then the keeper was down for about 15 minutes after accidently being kicked John Terry like in the face. The keeper looked decidely dodgy after this and you wonder what effect that knock had on the final outcome, you cannot fault his bravery though. The winner came 8 minutes into extra time, a free kick was hit to the far post, an unmarked man headed for goal, the keeper could only palm it across the 6 yard box to Stevens who blasted into an empty net from only 2 yards out.
I'm delighted for Totton, the club made such an effort which was greatly appreciated, wimborne played their part and will look back and feel that luck was not on their side.

Causeway FC

Causeway 0 Curzon Ashton 5

Approach to Tividale FC - Home of Causeway

Giant win at Causeway

Causeway 0 Curzon Ashton 5

17/2/07

Every now and again, the weather works in your favour. I had been unable to attend Vase matches the previous weekend due to an evening engagement. But thanks to heavy snow & rain, 3 of the matches were postponed to this Saturday. I'd visited VCD previously so had to choose between Leamington or Causeway. I decided on Causeway with a mental flip of the coin & prepared maps and timetables for the lengthy journey. I flicked to the Causeway website just before leaving home and discovered that there was a 9:30 pitch inspection, not good when my train left at 9.50. I went to the station and telephoned the club at 9.40 who informed me the game was on. I was greatful to whoever answered the phone, another 10 minutes & I couldn't have taken the risk and would have returned to VCD. It amused me to hear Arsenal fans on my first train discussing who might score their first goal. If only they knew where I was going, I couldn't name a single player at this point, let alone one who might score. The Virgin train from Euston was very busy but stayed on time, I did have one mild panic when the 'train manager' informed us that we were approaching Crewe...He meant Rugby! The train between Birmingham & Dudley Port is the first ever train I've been on which has TV's in each carriage showing Sky News/weather/sport etc. Quite nice actually as everyone else was attracted to the screen whilst I stayed up the other end of the carriage watching the World go by or in this case, watching the Industrial estates go by, not an attractive journey for scenery. I arrived at Dudley Port station, had a 50% chance of turning the right way and got it wrong, fortunately I soon realised. This mis-direction did take me past a chippy so I called in for lunch. I selected Saveloy and chips. I've never seen such yellow looking chips in my life and they were disgusting, I wished I'd taken the assistant up on her offer of curry sauce. Fortunately, the saveloy was OK, but those chips!! I was miffed when 5 minutes later, I passed a perfectly good looking 'Subway'. The ground is about a 2 mile walk from the station along very busy roads but easy enough to find. The clubhouse was packed so I waited outside for the gate to open. this happened about 2:30. I was fourth in the queue and couldn't believe my ears when I was told that there were no programmes. They'd only printed off about40 which had all been sold in the clubhouse. Several travellors mingled inside trying to purchase a programme from somewhere. An official promissed to print off some more and bring them round to us. I waited until kick-off but the programmes never appeared, very disppointing. I was actually buying a cup of tea at the tea hut which also offered curry sauce with chips, does this happen everywhere in the Midlands? Norton comfortable put away the early chance for Curzon. 3 minutes later Curzon won a penalty when Moore was decked in the box. He was pushed in the chest and threw himself to the ground holding his face, disgusting! I try to remain neutral but was delighted when the keeper saved his spot kick. 3 goals in 6 minutes started on 24 mins when Norton scored again when a stray shot inadvertantly put him through. Another penalty was awarded on 26 mins, hard luck on the defender as a flick hit his hand. It was a definite case of ball to hand. Moore this time took a good penalty. On 30 mins, Moore dribbled into the area, changed feet and hit a beauty across goal and in off the inside of the far post, a lovely finished. A shell shocked Causeway tried to lift it in the second half but Curzon killed the game. Curzon still created all the good chances and Norton was so unlucky when a 40 yard chip hit the bar with the keeper ending up caught up in his net. The final goal came on 71 mins when substitute Holt scored easily from a Norton pass.
This victory was as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.
A lengthy trip but well worth the effort.
Next stop, AFC Totton.

VCD Athletic FC

VCD Athletic 2 West Auckland 1

West Auckland coach - A welcome sight!

VCD storm through

VCD Athletic 2 West Auckland 1

When the draw was made for this round, I decided on VCD as I hadn't yet visited a Kent league club this season. I consulted my Cherry red directory & saw that they ground shared with Lordswood. This ground is a fair treck from Chatham station & I was starting to have a few doubts. On visiting their web site, I noticed that they'd actually moved back to their home in Crayford and my enthusiasm returned. Now, two days before this game, Britain had experienced the worst storms for 20 years along with vast amounts of rain. I half expected the game to be cancelled but set off in the hope that my luck was in. About 10 minutes outside London Bridge, I saw a sight to warm the cockles of any grounhoppers heart....2 games of park football being played. This gave me hope that the rain had only been a mild monsoon in Crayford and I left the train with a positive spring in my step. The ground is a simple 10 minute walk from the station, normally at this point I would comment on my choice of lunch, but I was so keen to find the ground, that I flew straight past MacDonalds, KFC & various other assorted pubs, kebab shops & cafes. As I turned the final corner before the ground, I was once again greeted with a marvelous sight, this time the West Auckland coach. Since they'd come all the way from Durham, they surely wouldn't arrive to find the match off. The gateman confirmed that the game was on & I was a very happy man. For some reason, Kent league grounds often verge on the quirky, Greenwich Borough for instance is the only ground I've visited where you pay on the door. I'm happy to report that VCD is a definite exception. I loved this ground, you enter through the turnstile and see a steepish path which leads down to the ground. This high ground gives a great ariel view of the game to those interested. There's a stand that sits about 150, the rest of the ground is uncovered with hardstanding around a white rail. The pitch looked and indeed played fabulous and for a change, was dead flat. There's a fair sized clubhouse with at least 3 TV's showing the lunchtime premiership match. I was slighlt perturbed when there was a sudden power cut behind the bar, I had visions of floodlight failure, but the locals took it all in their stride & this is clearly a common occurence. Lunch was a burger from the van inside the ground, not exactly fine cuisine but was pleasant enough. I learnt that there had been a morning pitch inspection, but I've seen games playd on 10 times worse a surface. So to the game. The first half hour was extremely scrappy with the blustery wind causing a few problems. West Auckland took the lead on 28 mins. A free kick was given centrally 25 yards out. Whilst the wall was being set, Fairhurst asked the referee if he could take it quickly, the ref. blew his whistle & Fairhurst side footed a shot into the bottom corner whilst the keeper was still miles out of position setting his wall. West Auckland were suddenly well on top and VCD will be glad that halftime came when it did. VCD's halftime talk did the trick and they equalised on 48 mins. A corner from the left was half cleared and played back out to the corner taker. He whipped in another cross that Peneny met with his head, his effort at goal squirming in under the keepers body. We suddenly had a wonderfully competitive, evenly matched cup tie played in a marvelous spirit. West Aucklands keeper made a great double save from a VCD forward, but just as extra time was loomig, VCD scored again on 87 mins. A Forward was bundled over on the right edge of the area. I was very close to this incident, sure, it was a foul, but I have to say that it looked suspicously like it was just outside the box. Anyhow, the referee pointed to the spot and Probets put away a neat penalty. And that was that, an unexpected gem of a match at a ground where so many things are done well.
Unfortunately, I'm away for the next round..Roll on the quarter finals.