Thursday, October 11, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)