Sunday, March 25, 2012
Auckland keep Herne at Bay
Herne Bay 2 West Auckland 2
After attending the superbly organised and thoroughly enjoyable Central Midlands league hop the previous weekend, I had fully intended to make the long trawl up to Dunston. But at short notice, I couldn't find a reasonably cheap rail ticket and in this present climate, could not justify the expenses. So it was off to Herne Bay who funnily enough, I had visited in pre-season for the first time. I got my first view of the new concourse at Kings Cross station and what an excellent improvement it is. Nice shops, plenty of standing room with clear information on train departures adn queues for the photo opportunity with a shopping trolley disappearing into the wall at platform 9 & 3/4. The journey out to the north Kent coast doesn't look to be far when you look at a map, but seems to take a long time on the train considering that there's only a handful of stops. But the journey went without incident and I was in the happy position on arriving in Herne Bay of knowing exactly where I was going. Things were well Marshalled on arrival and I was soon in the ground. Small covered areas are on wither side and behind the far goal. There were four different places where you could buy food and this helped to keep the queues down. The cheeseburger was not at all bad but not a patch on the fabulous offering at Dronfield a week earlier. I also had a cold, hot cross bun which was on sale and thoroughly enjoyed this early Easter offering. Due to threats of 18-20 degree temperatures and not a cloud in the sky, I went without a coat. Idiotically, I forgotten that we would be right next to the coast and as pleasant as the sun was, it was remarkably chilly.
Sadly, this game will be remembered for the pathetic behaviour by a group of Herne Bay fans. They had assembled at least an hour before the game and immediately started hurling deeply unpleasant, homophobic chants at the West Auckland fans. After a long journey from the North, these followers deserved a warm welcome. The chanting continued all afternoon and there was a real tension around when a group of Auckland fans, probably sick of the abuse they'd been taking for the last hour, went and stood in the same covered area. The chanting was deeply unpleasant all afternoon, completely lacking in any humour or support for their team and purely based on insulting and winding up the opposing fans. It's such a shame that the biggest day in a clubs history should be hijacked by this pathetic, hooligan element. The stewards did a brilliant job under severe provocation and I'll never understand why the police did not enter the ground.
The game itself was excellent. Both teams played the game hard but fair. Respect was shown all around and it was expertly refereed. Auckland scored after only 5 mins. A nervy attempt at control by the Herne Bay centre half went wrong and Auckland broke clear to slot home. On 15 mins the lead was doubled with a well hit finish from just outside the box and it was all looking a bit one-sided. But Herne Bay fought back with the best goal of the afternoon as their nippy cwntre forward blasted a finish into the far corner after a run down the left. The equaliser came 5 mins into the second half as a 25 yard shot went in after catching a deflection of a defender. Herne Bay came closest to sealing a first league advantage, but the Auckland keeper made a great save at the death.
The game was very enjoyable but this is the second year running where I've encountered crowd incidents at the semi-final stage. I've got to the stage now where if this happens again, I'm going to go elsewhere on semi-final days and let the idiots spoil someone elses day.
No second leg for me as my wife is singing in a choir at Wembley stadium next Saturday and I'm off to watch.
I know - no cpmment!
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Peterborough slayed by Northern stars in extra time classic
Peterborough Northern Star 3 Dunston UTS 4 aet
Always nice to have a ground within reasonably easy reach that I haven't visited before for the Vase quarter finals.
The train journey to Peterborough passed without incident and I had 90 mins to find the ground. The hardest part was finding my way over the main road after exiting the station. After standing scratching my head for a couple of minutes, I suddenly noticed a covered footbridge about 200 yards away - Doh!!
I decided to walk to the ground and I'm not sure that I took the most direct route. But I always new where I was according to the map I had printed off, it would have helped however if Peterborough council could be bothered to put up road names to actually confirm where you are walking. It was quite a long walk though and took me about 45 mins. I have to say that Peterborough is not the nicest of areas. Youths hanging around every 100 yards or so, gangs of hoodies everywhere, people yelling obscenities from cars and you take your life in your hands every time to try to cross a road. Can't say I'll be any hurry to return.
The ground is quite neat when you enter although fairly basic. Two small covered seating areas on the far side. Strangely, fans stood in front of the far seated area during the came so most people under the cover also stood up. I felt a bit sorry for a couple of old timers sitting there as they couldn't have been able to see too much. There is also a small covered area on the near side and the quite large pitch is also railed off.
A red kite hovered overhead on my arrival which is always a pleasant sight.
Having had a large cooked breakfast, I wasn't too hungry. Earlier in the week, I was charged 60 pence for a two bar Kit-Kat which I considered outrageous. The £1 for a good pile of chips at the ground was more than good value.
The £6 admission including a good programme was also very fair value.
A large number of Dunston fans were at the game, some of whom had made a weekend of their trip. They were all in good humour, were very good company and extremely sporting towards the opposition whenever they did anything well. The whole came was played in a competitive but fair spirit which was a credit to both teams, I don't remember a bad tackle.
The game got off to a very slow start with seemingly nothing but throw-in's for the first ten minutes although the strong wind did make things difficult for the fans. Peterborough scored after 19 mins and Dunston equalised 10 mins later. The rest of the 90 mins was fairly mundane, Dunston had the better of the second half but italways looked like ending in a draw.
I didn't expect much from extra time & certainly didn't expect the drama that unfolded. Peterborough scored just a minute in only for Dunston to equalise again just before the break. Dunston then took the lead just into the second period but this time Peterborough came straight back to equalise. Almost inevitably, there was awinner right at the death and it came from Dunston, a soft shot that I'm not quite sure how it beat the keeper.
A marvelous finale, I celebrated by taking the bus back to the station.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Poppies left standing after battle with Royston
Bournemouth 2 Royston Town 1
After canceling my previous trip to Bornemouth due to rail closure, I was delighted to see that they were drawn at home again & off I set. As usual, I found myself sitting in front of a father with two noisy children. But for once, instead of being annoyed by them, I found myself silently joining in with his impromptu Railway children quiz. My moment of glory arrived as neither of the two young children or the father could remember the name of the station master. As I left the train, I leant over and casually announced that I thought it was Mr Potts. "Of course" replied the father, "Thank you". I happily strutted off. Only when I got home & checked on google, did I realise that it was actually Mr Perks. That's the last time that I butt in to a children' quiz.
The trip from Bournemouth station to my destination I made on one the town's yellow busses. Very cool they are to. A TV screen inside the bus showing live camera shots of the bus in motion & also shots of the passengers sitting in the bus. Very high tech!
On walking to the ground, I had two dogs come yapping around my ankles as their flustered owner shuffled over and exclaimed "Whatever next"?I wasn't quite sure how to reply to this, so just smiled and muttered something about having a face that made dogs bark and left her trying to untangle her leads.
The clubhouse at the ground was packed even from 2pm when I arrived. I passed no shops after leaving the bus, so purchased one of the clubs hot dogs. A small submarine roll, a few onions & a sausage from a tin. But I was so hungry, that it tasted as good as fine dining and the lady serving was as pleasant as can be.
I actually quite like the Wessex league for its grounds and this one was not a disappointment. A fair sized stand with seating right next to the clubhouse. The rest of the pitch is railed off with netting and advertising boards and hard standing.
The wind throughout the afternoon was ferocious and exactly came close to ruining the contest. Both sets of players also spent most of the afternoon complaining like crazy and sprinting towards the referee when a decision went against their team. As I discussed with a photographer sitting just inside the hoarding, "If they played football like they whinged, they would be World class.
But this game turned into a battle ground and I can't remember a game with so many late and bad tackles. Bournemouth got off to a terrific start, winning a penalty as the keeper took out a man that went past him even though the ball was never going to stay in play. The penalty was easily converted. A second came on 16 minutes. A break down the left resulted in the right back failing to win a tackle just inside the area, The ball fell kindly to the attacker who beat the keeper comfortably. Other some full blooded challenges and a couple of 20 man melees, Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men just before half time after a man got a deserved second yellow card for a late tackle. The second half was therefore always likely to be all Royston what with the extra man and the wind with them. They had loads of the ball but didn’t create as many chances as I expected. They did pull one back on 67 mins. A ball through the left saw an attacker let it run brilliantly, taking the keeper out of the game. He cut it back from the dead ball line and a substitute who had been on for no more than 30 seconds, stroked it in. After this Bournemouth had one hairy goalmouth scramble, but actually had the better of the chances and were probably worthy winners.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wisbech go racing to next round
Racing club Warwick 0 Wisbech Town 1
Glorious! An incident free journey with no delays, even the 30 deep queues for the ticket barriers at Kings Cross were for an area where I wasn't going. Before you get too excited, the reason I was in Warwick at all was because there was a replacement bus service between Southampton & Bournemouth. Bournemouth was my original choice of came & I quite frankly, couldn't be bothered with the hassle.
I had a sausage and chips at a chippy near Warwick station. Eatable, but not the greatest I've ever eaten. I was looking forward to seeing Warwick castle and imagined it would stand majestically at the top of a hill. Despite passing the entrance to the castle grounds, I never laid eyes on it. Some interesting arches and architecture throughout the town made up for this and every other shop seemed to be selling castle souvenirs.
Racing club Warwick's ground is unsurprisingly, right next to the racecourse. On a race day, the thunder of hooves are right behind you if you stand at the far side of the pitch. A model plane was buzzing around the sky, it's operator somewhere in the middle of the course. It's funny how a simple thing like that reminds you of something that you hadn't thought about for over 30 years. I went to school with a friend who built and flew model planes. He spent months and months getting one ready to fly. He went to the local playing fields and 10 minutes in to its maiden flight, flew it into a rugby post and the plane shattered into about 20 pieces. How I didn't laugh at the time, I'll never know!
A bit of a ramshackle ground with a boxing club backing on to it. The sea cadets and scouts also seem to have a presence. Cover along part of both sides with bits and pieces of seating within. The clubhouse was not at all bad with one of the better quality giant screens I've seen on my travels. There seems to be an ongoing dispute between the club and the council which is putting the future of the club in doubt - A sad but ever more common occurrence.
The programmes arrived about 2:30pm & the Wisbech fans were absolutely up in arm about a spelling error on the cover of the prograame calling them Wisbeach. A simple typo I suspect and not really worth all the clubhouse hysteria.
Wisbech started the stronger and the first half hour was reasonably entertaining. The goal came on 25 mins. A long kick down the left was collected, the cross reached the far post and was thumped into the roof of the net. The game deteriorated in the second half with several stoppages and the ball seeming to take an eternity to return when kicked out of play. Warwick were arguably on top during this period although Wisbech still had the better chances. No more goals or near misses and Wisbech just about deserved to win.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Not Fair on Ashton
Ashton & Backwell 0 Fairford Town 1
I had originally planned to visit Hengrove. But on closer examination of the draw, I noticed this club that I didn't know. On looking them up, I discovered that they were in the Somerset county league and this seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I tend to visit county league grounds at the fag end of the season & although they serve a purpose, it was nice to get in a competitive game at a small club.
My initial train was 13 minutes late this week with overhead cables the problem of the day. I probably take a train into London on about 30 occasions throughout the year. I think it probably leaves on time about 3 or 4 times. Every week you get an electronic voice apologising for the late running and hoping it doesn't cause an inconvenience. What's the point of apologising if you're then not ever going to improve things?
The journey from London to Bristol was fairly quiet until a pack of brownies got on at Swindon. They were full of beans and it was amazing listening to other women around me who wall started recounting memories of when they were in the Brownies themselves. I actually think that Brownies should run the country! The Governement decrees that mobile phones should not be used in cars and yet every day, you see several people blatantly ignoring this law. One Brownie suggests playing eye-spy and the whole carriage decides this is a great idea and about 20 different games were on the go within minutes.
I travelled to Nailsea station where it is about a 20 minute walk to the ground along a couple of straight, busy roads.
I stopped at a chippy where I luckily arrived about 5 minutes before they closed. The pie and chips were spot on and they even gave you a plastic fork to make it easier to eat. Nice touch!
The football ground can be found off the main high street next to a recreation ground. On a glorious day, this was a nice spot and I had a quick walk round before entering the ground.
I was offered a pleasant welcome and also purchased a programme which was basically just a photocopied sheet. I never mind this as I know clubs like this cannot afford a huge expense and at least they went to the effort of creating something at all.
The ground itself was okay. Nice clubhouse buildings and the pitch is surrounded by hard blue wired fencing. A lot of foliage lying on the hard standing made it quite tricky to walk round.
Ashton were two levels below Fairford but rally took the game to them. They had an excellent, contrasting pair of forwards who both caused numerous problems and they were easily the better first half team without quite causing the chances that their play deserved. The second half became more even as Fairford’s strength and experience started to come through. In the last 15 mins, Fairford were right on top and the Ashton keeper made three superb saves. No breakthrough and extra time yet again for me in the vase. The first half of extra was a bit messy with tiredness and a couple of injury stoppages. Fairford made what was eventually an inevitable breakthrough with 7 minutes remaining.
A bold effort by a club that I hope climbs the ladder and an enjoyable day out.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The High life
Highgate United 3 Bewdley Town 1
This early round is where I ask my wife to select the club of her choice & off I go. Her choice was Crook Town, about as far away as you can get. On doing some preliminary research in July, this was actually feasible. But being intrinsically lazy, I put off buying the train tickets in July and when I got around to it in August, the cost had gone through the roof. So I chose this ground instead. Breaking the journey town and getting advance tickets on specific trains from Euston to Birmingham actually made this extremely affordable although the journey hme seemed never-ending.
On arrival at Euston, an announcement was coming over the loud speaker. 'Will inspecter Sands please report to the station control room'. Either Inspector Sands is the slowest inspector in history, or there was a fault with the P.A system. The announcement repeated itself for at least 15 minutes and I don't no how long it had been going before I got there. Not at all annoying!
I arrived at Birmingham New street and had to walk the 400 yards to Moor street for my connection. The amount of people milling around central Birmingham made London earlier in the day seemed deserted. There was a real buzz including an amusing beatbox busker who was actually very good, if you like that sort of thing.
The 20 minute journey took me to the Birmingham suburbs and the attractively named Whitlocks end FC. I had a quick nosy up the road on arrival in vane search of a chippy. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be areas growing Christmas trees. Obviously big business here!
There was a small cabin on arrival labeled a cafe. The extremely pleasant lady quickly knocked me up a bacon & tomato sandwich. Grilled bacon, micro-waved tinned tomatoes all placed between 2 slices of bread. Fabulous comfort food that didn't touch the sides.
My walk to the ground from the station took only 5 minutes and incredibly, I passed two other football grounds. Shirley Town which looked in good order and Leafield FC which although locked up, still looked okay.
Highgate have a very neat and quite reasonably sized clubhouse with a well stocked bar and giant TV screen. There is a minutes walk from the clubhouse to the pitch. The whole of the nearside touchline is covered, half of this area having seated. The rest of the pitch is surrounded by a white rail. The groundsman was loving caring for is pitch on my arrival. It's only his second year in the job and he was as keen as mustard. His pitch looked immaculate and I hope his planned works to include drainage etc. pay off.
Ground-hops often have little trends in my experience. This was my second week running where the game I was watching had a rugby field over the hedge with a game in progress. That also looked a nice facility and I love the cheers they give the opposition at the end of the game. For all the hand-shaking before each game that we see, these rugby boys genuinely show respect to their opponents and football could learn a lot from them.
A neat little programme and on reading, I learned the tragedy that hit this club many years ago when lightening struck down during a game, knocked several players over and one of these never regained consciousness. A local cup competition is named after him & still played.
This was an excellent game from beginning to end. Very even, well refereed with no cards shown. Not a trainer in sight and no histrionics from players. A little dissent only, this was a breath of fresh air. Highgate scored on 16 minutes following a lovely 1-2. Bewdley equalised on 43 mins only for Highgate to re-take the lead almost immediately with a 20 yard bullet. The final goal came 3 minutes from time with an outrageous 40 yard chip, wind assisted, that the back-pedalling keeper could only finger-tip in to the net.
A visit is highly recommended if you get the chance.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Same old same old as Whitley win again
I’ve got into a routine now for vase final day. My mate arrives from Somerset, car to Stanmore for a couple of pints in the ‘Moon’ pub, drive to Northwick Park for free on-street parking a minute from the tube station & then a 5 minute tube journey.
Well, the Moon in Stanmore was fairly busy but mostly with local punters having a Sunday lunch out. But due to Stanmore being within a certain radius of Wembley, no glasses were allowed for our beer. Instead we had to make do with dodgy plastic things that you felt could split down the centre at any second. I fully understand caution for really big, grudge matches but this really seemed like overkill.
My mate is now officially a west country resident despite his protestations, as regardless of him living in the Harrow area for 25 years as a kid, he took the wrong turning on the way to the pub.
Needless to say, the ticket machine at Northwick Park station swallowed my £10 & we had to call for assistance. The machine had to be re-booted and was taken out of action for 10 minutes. We were allowed through the barrier and told to pay at Wembley Park. Again, needless to say, there magically appeared three ticket collectors seconds after I got on the train. To be fair, they were fine about it. I asked why the lady who had re-booted the ticket machine could not sell us a ticket & was told that it was now policy in an attempt to reduce staff. Utterly ridiculous!!!
The two stop return fare cost £7.30!!! as you had to get a travelcard. Checking afterwards, it would have been £5 cheaper if I had an Oyster card. I must invest in one!
We decided to buy tickets for the Coalville end as I’d enjoyed seeing them twice in the earlier rounds and we got nice seats 9 rows from pitchside. A 5-a-side tournament was taking place on the nice carpeted courts just outside the stadium and we enjoyed watching these keenly contested games for a few minutes.
A modest crowd of just over 8000 were in the stadium, the majority of them Coalville or neutral. I suppose the smaller Whitley Bay attendance is understandable due to the expense and distance required to travel and the fact that they’ve been in the final every year for the last 35 years (Or it seems like it!).
The game itself was a fabulous affair full of incident & chances. When one player miss-kicked halfway through the second half, I suddenly remembered that this was only non-league football that I was watching.
Excellent end to end stuff throughout although there was an inevitability that Whitley Bay would once again win the trophy. Although Coalville settled the quicker and had some good chances, the first goal came on 28 mins from Whitley Bay. The right winger comfortably beat his defender and the low cross saw CHOW completely unmarked and he scored easily. Coalville had two glaring misses in this final although when they did score it was a beauty. The best cross I’ve seen in a long time from the left was perfect for the forward who scored from 8 yards despite the keeper almost stopping it. But 4 mins later & Whitley Bay again went in front. A neat inside out turn of the defender resulted in a cross from the right that was met by a beautifully flicked header by KERR that the keeper had no chance with. But Coalville kept coming forward and on 80 mins, a cross from the right was well headed home from where it came from 8 yards. But again the lead didn’t last and on 85 mins a free kick was given 25 yards out. The shot came down off the bar, hit CHOW’s toe and rolled in.
Whitley Bay have now won it three years in a row and despite being given a real test here, seem to win this tournament almost at will. Yet they always fall just short of promotion. Strikers Lee Kerr & Paul Chow could play at a higher level with no problem at all, Kerr would not be out of place in a conference team and yet they seem more than happy not to test themselves at a higher level.
I’m not knocking their achievements or ability in any way, but it’s getting a bit like Man Utd entering the LDV vans trophy and winning at a canter. I really hope that their run ends now and that their tremendous achievement is applauded before people get utterly fed up with the monotony of their final appearances.
So another Vase campaign reaches its conclusion. Big clubs such as Kings Lynn, St Neots, Poole & Coalville threatened only to fall just short. Most deservedly got promotion & I’m sure they can’t wait to play at a higher level. I had glorious days at Raynes Park, Bustleholme & Kings Lynn. Miserable days at Wick, Stotfold & Coalville and classic games at Bloxwich & Wembley itself.
This tournament continues to intrigue and I love the fact that I never have any idea what direction the draw will lead me.
The draw for next years competition is in only 2 months. I can’t wait!
Well, the Moon in Stanmore was fairly busy but mostly with local punters having a Sunday lunch out. But due to Stanmore being within a certain radius of Wembley, no glasses were allowed for our beer. Instead we had to make do with dodgy plastic things that you felt could split down the centre at any second. I fully understand caution for really big, grudge matches but this really seemed like overkill.
My mate is now officially a west country resident despite his protestations, as regardless of him living in the Harrow area for 25 years as a kid, he took the wrong turning on the way to the pub.
Needless to say, the ticket machine at Northwick Park station swallowed my £10 & we had to call for assistance. The machine had to be re-booted and was taken out of action for 10 minutes. We were allowed through the barrier and told to pay at Wembley Park. Again, needless to say, there magically appeared three ticket collectors seconds after I got on the train. To be fair, they were fine about it. I asked why the lady who had re-booted the ticket machine could not sell us a ticket & was told that it was now policy in an attempt to reduce staff. Utterly ridiculous!!!
The two stop return fare cost £7.30!!! as you had to get a travelcard. Checking afterwards, it would have been £5 cheaper if I had an Oyster card. I must invest in one!
We decided to buy tickets for the Coalville end as I’d enjoyed seeing them twice in the earlier rounds and we got nice seats 9 rows from pitchside. A 5-a-side tournament was taking place on the nice carpeted courts just outside the stadium and we enjoyed watching these keenly contested games for a few minutes.
A modest crowd of just over 8000 were in the stadium, the majority of them Coalville or neutral. I suppose the smaller Whitley Bay attendance is understandable due to the expense and distance required to travel and the fact that they’ve been in the final every year for the last 35 years (Or it seems like it!).
The game itself was a fabulous affair full of incident & chances. When one player miss-kicked halfway through the second half, I suddenly remembered that this was only non-league football that I was watching.
Excellent end to end stuff throughout although there was an inevitability that Whitley Bay would once again win the trophy. Although Coalville settled the quicker and had some good chances, the first goal came on 28 mins from Whitley Bay. The right winger comfortably beat his defender and the low cross saw CHOW completely unmarked and he scored easily. Coalville had two glaring misses in this final although when they did score it was a beauty. The best cross I’ve seen in a long time from the left was perfect for the forward who scored from 8 yards despite the keeper almost stopping it. But 4 mins later & Whitley Bay again went in front. A neat inside out turn of the defender resulted in a cross from the right that was met by a beautifully flicked header by KERR that the keeper had no chance with. But Coalville kept coming forward and on 80 mins, a cross from the right was well headed home from where it came from 8 yards. But again the lead didn’t last and on 85 mins a free kick was given 25 yards out. The shot came down off the bar, hit CHOW’s toe and rolled in.
Whitley Bay have now won it three years in a row and despite being given a real test here, seem to win this tournament almost at will. Yet they always fall just short of promotion. Strikers Lee Kerr & Paul Chow could play at a higher level with no problem at all, Kerr would not be out of place in a conference team and yet they seem more than happy not to test themselves at a higher level.
I’m not knocking their achievements or ability in any way, but it’s getting a bit like Man Utd entering the LDV vans trophy and winning at a canter. I really hope that their run ends now and that their tremendous achievement is applauded before people get utterly fed up with the monotony of their final appearances.
So another Vase campaign reaches its conclusion. Big clubs such as Kings Lynn, St Neots, Poole & Coalville threatened only to fall just short. Most deservedly got promotion & I’m sure they can’t wait to play at a higher level. I had glorious days at Raynes Park, Bustleholme & Kings Lynn. Miserable days at Wick, Stotfold & Coalville and classic games at Bloxwich & Wembley itself.
This tournament continues to intrigue and I love the fact that I never have any idea what direction the draw will lead me.
The draw for next years competition is in only 2 months. I can’t wait!
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Coalmen deliver
Kings Lynn 2 Coalville Town 3
02/04/11
I had purposely left Kings Lynn alone in the quarter finals, my theory was that they were likely to beat Rye & I could pick up their ground in the semis.
I love it when a plan comes together, what could possibly go wrong? That would be the game being ticket only. I discovered this about a week before
the game. Cue frantic phone calls to the club, Emails & scouring of their internet site. I got hold of someone at about 3pm on the Monday before the game.
I couldn't attend the ticket office in person, there was no facility to use a credit card, so a postal application was my only route. I left work early, wrote
out a cheque (remember them?), knocked up a SAE & rushed to the post office. I then spent the rest of the week hovering around my letter box in hopeful anticipation.
The ticket arrived on Thursday, so once again I could relax.
A leisurely start on game day, a train to Cambridge, a 10 minute wait for the connection that went straight to Kings Lynn. Desperately easy & I was there in no time at all.
One of my pet loves when ground-hopping is to spot the ground from the train as you pull into the station. The pressure is then off. No scratching your head
wondering which way to go or searching for road names. About a 5 minute walk through a recreation ground and you're there.
A big crowd was expected so I decided to not explore the town and instead head straight for the ground. Lunch therefore turned out to be a cheeseburger from an
outside grill that wafted smoke across the pitch for the whole afternoon. Actually, it wasn't at all bad. Unfortunately, the other burger place went at an absolute snails pace &
I gave up waiting for a half-time cup of tea after only 5 people had been served in 15 minutes.
This ground almost looks out of place in the Vase, it's way to big. Obviously Kings Lynn's financial problems and folding are well documented and I hope they
quickly make their way up the pyramid. A huge, imposing stand that I loved towers over the pitch and the whole of the far side is also covered. The near end behind the goal has
terracing and rails, I couldn't get behind the far goal due to segregation. A smallish bar area is situated under the far end of the stand.
Fair play to Kings Lynn who made a real effort including face painting for kids and merchandise. The programme was okay but strangely basic for
this stage of the competition.
Coalville were 3-0 up after the 1st leg. However, not a single Kings Lynn fan I heard had any doubts that they would get back into this tie. I did laugh when
The great escape music was played over the tannoy at about 2:50. The programme also had details of the 10 greatest comebacks.
But Coalville were the better in this semi and have some superb strikers who could easily play at a higher level.
The wind was taken out of Kings Lynn sails when Coalville scored from a free kick on only 6 minutes. When the second came on 31 mins, it was no
surprise and was fully deserved. Incredibly, at half time, Kings Lynn fans were still talking about pulling the tie back.
When they scored 2 in 2 minutes I even got sucked into believing them for a minute and the place erupted. But then Lynn had a man sent off for two yellows
and the momentum was lost. Coalville scored again with a classic counter attack and it was all over.
Unfortunately, there were ugly scenes at this game which have no place in the FA Vase or any level of football. Crowd trouble on several occasions. Abuse
being hurled at players before the game even started. I twice witnessed the ball being thrown at Coalville players when it went out of play.
I can't comment on the Coalville supporters as i was up the other end. However, a minority of Kings Lynn fans were pathetic and don't deserve their club
to go anywhere near Wembley.
Disappointing scenes on an otherwise excellent occasion on a pleasingly warm afternoon.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Saturday, March 05, 2011
King Cole march on
Coleville Town 1 Leiston 0
Of the 8 clubs in the quarter finals, I had only visited Poole and therefore there were no nerves when the draw was made. Dunston would be too expensive, I was banking in Kings Lynn making the semis, so Coalville was my choice. I went online to book my train tickets and was stunned when the cheapest option on the outward journey was a first class seat from St Pancras. I was almost excited about this & eagerly rushed to my coach as the train pulled in. The joy did't last long as it became apparent that there was a mix up. The coach had G on the outside & J on the inside and there was mass confusion as multiple people were trying to sit on the same seat. I was lucky to reach my seat early as it turned out to be double booked. The guard looked at my reservation three times along with the other person with an identical piece of paper & rapidly had to improvise, finding seats in weird and wonderful places for disgruntled passengers. You couldn't make it up! Eventually the dust settled and I had a peaceful, comfortable journey although the complimentary coffeee tasted like dish water.
I decided to travel to Loughborough and catch the bus from there, this gave me the opportunity to tick off a pub from the Good pub guide. I didn't have too long so it was just a quick half. The 'Swan in the rushes' is a real ale pub on Loughborough high street with a fine selection of beers. I opted for a pale beer called Harvest pale which did not touch the sides. I learnt that this was named CAMRA champion beer of Britain last year and what a worthy winner.
I found my bus stop with ease and had a ten minute wait on a narrow strip of pavement. People queuing for the bus, mixed with mums with large pushchairs and people coming out of shops caused an almighty log-jam & I was bustled and jostled all over the place and it was a relief when the bus turned up. An elderly lady sat next to me and immediately sparked up a conversation. "I hate it when they start" was her opening remark. My natural sarcasm had to be restrained as I was on the verge of asking her what she expected a bus to do. It turned out that she was a lovely lady and good company. I chatted with her for a good 30 minutes. I hope I brightened her day as she certainly brightened mine.
The bus got caught in traffic when nearing its destination so I hopped off and walked the last 10 minutes. I only arrived with about 15 mins to spare which always irritates me slightly as I don't feel I get to know the ground as well as I might. You walk down a lengthy track with the ground appearing below you. This view reminded me very much of Hertford Town where I spent a few years as their P.A announcer.
The ground was quite nice. An open tented club shop selling scarves and programmes, a couple of refreshment places and a media room. Two seated areas, one on each side. The largest seating area was on the far side, the other cover was a corrugated shed behind the near goal. A huge embankment loomed above the far goal, a feature I loved. A couple of walkers stopped for a free view during the game. I had a bacon roll on arrival as I'd not had other time for lunch due to the length of journey. It really wasn't great despite the pleasant and quick service.
Once again the weather got in the way. Light drizzle turned to heavy drizzle followed by persistent light rain with a sharp, cold wind that slapped you round the cheeks before cutting right through you. My glasses needed windscreen wipers as I had to stand in it as all the covered places were taken. A truly miserable afternoon AGAIN!
The first half of the game was excellent with fast, good quality football and tons of commitment. Coalville hit the bar with a header when it was easier to score and had most of the attacking play. They scored 10 minutes into the second half with a scrambled goal. The game deteriorated badly after this with several lengthy injury stoppages and the ball seemingly constantly going miles out of play over the far touchline with never a spare ball to hand. Leiston had a man sent off for 2 yellows, the second for an elbow and despite a couple of near misses, they couldn't get back into it.
This will not go down as my favourite Vase trip ever. The miserable weather and poor second half the main reason, but this was a tricky ground to reach & I'm pleased to have got it ticked off.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dunston check in at Stansted
Stansted 0 Dunston UTS 2
A bit of a no brainer in choosing the game for this round. I’m not a great lover of the Essex league and therefore tend not to visit grounds as often as I should. But this North v South encounter at a ground in a league that I hadn’t visited this season ticked all the right boxes.
I always seem to moan about the rail service in this blog but yet again it was weekend carnage. This time, Finsbury Park was shut. All the trains into London were calling at all stops & because of the closure, I had to go into London and back out again. Fortunately, I was not affected by the replacement bus service further up the line from me but there were an awful lot of extremely disgruntled rugby fans having a tiresome journey travelling to Twikenham. One last train question. Why, wherever I sit, do I end up with someone sitting behind me bellowing into a mobile phone?
I examined the Good pub guide but there is no entry in Stansted Mountfitchet. But just one step up the line was ‘The Crown’ at Elsenham. This was only a 2 mile walk from Stansted so I headed off to get there early and would walk off my lunch afterwards. A nice little pub, not overcrowded but with a friendly atmosphere. There is a little restaurant area that is the life-blood of so many pubs these days. I was tempted by the blackboard offering homemade pizza. I asked how long that would take to arrive and was put off by the 30 minute wait until I heard that the dough for the base was all made by hand. 30 minutes it was, but my pepperoni pizza when it arrived was absolutely stunning & was washed down by a pint of London pride.
The walk to Stansted was a pleasure on a no over-busy B road on the most gorgeous of afternoons, a real touch of spring in the air. A mate of mine used to live in Stansted when I was a teenager & I enjoyed walking trough the high street, remembering haunts we used to frequent – Happy days!
The ground was very easy to find. A souvenir programme was produced in good numbers & all the volunteers had made a real effort to organise their big day, a credit to the club!
There is a covered, seating area on the near side & a huge mobile phone mast behind the near goal. The pitch encroaches onto the towns, summer cricket pitch but was fully railed off for this match. One small pet hate of mine is when you cannot walk round the whole pitch and this was the case here with the far corner impassable. All the hard standing was quite narrow and it got a bit congested, especially near the tea hut. There was a bar just outside the ground entrance which I didn’t visit as I didn’t spot it until I was inside.
The pitch was very bumpy and it seemed to affect the passing and shooting of all the players with balls constantly scuffed and otherwise mis-directed.
Stansted started the game quite brightly and brought a few useful early saves from the Dunston keeper.But there is a big, dark cloud with the same Vase itinerary as me & it spread over the ground midway through the half. The gloom seemed to descend on to the Stansted players as their energy and confidence sagged. As the half wore on, Dunston were the side on top although their opening goal came out of nothing. A ball was played into the area, the keeper and defender tripped over each other and the ball spat out to the right touchline. An early cross in caught the keeper in no mans land, I’m not sure if he thought it was going over or just couldn’t reach it, but he stood and watched it drop into an empty net. Dunston were the better second half team by a mile, playing with tenacity and enthusiasm. The second goal on 58 mins was also unusual. A ball through saw a defender just ahead of the attacker. He swung wildly at the ball and missed it completely, letting the striker in. This allowed the striker through and the defender pulled him back. This would have been a certain red card if the referee had not played a good advantage. The striker toed a shot at goal, the keeper made a fine save but it trickled over he line. Dunston saw the game out to win a surprisingly one-sided affair.
I enjoyed chatting with a couple of hoppers from Sussex & Worcestershire. One of them even knew of & reads this blog. This made me a happy man and certainly put the gloss on an enjoyable afternoon.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Bloxwich hopes Torn apart
Bloxwich United 2 Torpoint Athletic 3
Just occasionally, thinks come together. My wife and are are fans of the rock band Genesis & there is an extremely good tribute band called G2 who play about a dozen gigs a year. It's not far off listening to the real thing! Anyway, they were playing this Saturday in Bilston. Shall we go & stay over?" my wife asked. I wasn't sure what to do as it was FA Vase last 32 day. Too much to hope that there would be a game nearby. So I examined the draw & couldn't believe my luck as I spotted this game at Bloxwich, only a few miles from our evening venue. So off we all happily went. This was my first trip up the M1 for quite some time. It really does seem to have fallen behind many other motorways. It seemed narrow, busy and in a very poor state of repair. Thankfully, the traffic moved fairly freely all be it at about 50 mph. We had chosen a pub on route from the Good pub guide and ended up at The Pheasant in Withybrook. This place is clearly there for the food market & I've never been presented with so many choices in my life. I full menu on the tables, a specials board with about 20 options and a lunchtime menu with another dozen or so choices. I had no idea what to pick but eventually went for a pork chop with apple sauce & roast potatoes. The food was okay but a bit 'Beefeater' when it arrived & I never did get any apple sauce. Still a quiet little spot that I wouldn't have otherwise bumped into. We found the ground easily despite the seemingly never ending number of traffic lights around Walsall. I arrived at 2:20, paid my entrance and requested a programme only to be fed the line that they had sold out. I've no idea how many they printed but never saw anyone in the ground with a copy. There is cover behind the near goal, the clubhouse was bustling and well staffed with several TV screens. The rest of the ground was in a state of slight dis-repair, every now and then you came across piles of rubbish lying around. It is a proper enclosed football ground with a busy road on one side and a quiet side street on the other. This was a real pudding of a pitch with quite long grass, I'm sure the recent weather has made the groundsman's job almost impossible.
Bloxwich started the better and scored after 12 mins. They looked the more dangerous side although Torpoint were always easy on the eye with their style of play. It looked all over when Bloxwich scored again on 64 mins. But always felt Torpoint would score and that happened on 77 mins when Bloxwich cheaply gave he ball away. Suddenly it was all Torpoint and they won an uncontested penalty for handball on 85 mins and then sent the healthy Cornish contingent home happy by completing a remarkable comeback on 89 mins.
Not my favourite ground by any means but memorable for the fabulous finish this game produced.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Beggars can't be chosers
Stotfold 0 Long Buckby 3
04/12/10
I examined the draw for this round of the Vase & for once made an instant decision. I’d go to Cadbury Heath in Bristol. Yeah right! The cold weather arrived, followed by frost, followed by ice, followed by snow, followed by more snow and with ridiculously low temperatures, I didn’t stand a chance. The one saving grace was that the game was called off on the Friday. To be honest, I’d given up finding anywhere that was on & I wasn’t far wrong. Matches fell on the Friday & Saturday morning left, right & centre. The Saturday itself was a lot warmer than it had been with a balmy 4 degrees rumoured and a gentle thaw was in place. And then a miracle occurred. At about 10:30, a Vase match passed a pitch inspection and the ground in question was Stotfold, a mere 18 miles from home. This turned out to be the only game that beat the freeze. My wife had suggested we go to see Harry Potter & I got the “Oh, for God’s sake” look when I asked who he played for. But to be fair, she kindly offered to drive me if there was a pub lunch in it for her. I looked out the Good pub guide before she had finished her sentence & found the nearest pub we had yet to visit. This turned out to be the Three horseshoes in the village of Hinxworth about 5 miles from the ground. This was a charming place with thatched roof, roaring open fire and a nice selection of food & beer. The welcome could not have been bettered and I started to worry that I’d be late for the game as the barman was so chatty. I had a superb ultimate BLT club sandwich which also had cooked chicken & mayonnaise on the freshest bread I think I’ve ever tasted and all held together with a kebab skewer. It seemed apt to choose a pint of ‘Fireside’ which slipped down very nicely. I highly recommend this pub if you ever get a chance to visit.
Thr ground was easy to find with the lights visible from over a mile away. There is a medium sized stand and another covered standing area. A good clubhouse which was very warming at half time with hot drinks available from the tea hut. It was nice to see a photographer friend of mine who had been re-directed from Vicarage Road to cover this match, clearly the game of the day then!
Gentle drizzle gave way to heavy rain and murk on a desperate afternoon for football. Puddles in the centre circle took me back to the 1970’s., difficult to play in but it’s always amusing when the ball sticks in the water.A reasonably even start and it stayed that way until Long Buckby scored. The first came on 19 mins. A ball over the top through the right channel saw a striker get there just in front of the defender and lob the ball over the keeper. The second came on the half hour and was a nice goal. A nifty one-two on the edge of the area freed the initial passer to niftily loft a finish over the diving keeper. The last goal came on 38 mins as a shot from the right of the area caught a deflection, popped up and was headed into an empty net. The pitch deteriorated in the second half, both sides did well to keep coming although the quality was understandably all over the place and only a couple of handy saves by the two keepers kept the score as it was.
No classic and a ground I’ve visited before but with the conditions we were experiencing, I was grateful for anything.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Old Boys Bustled out.
Bustleholme 2 Barton Town Old Boys 0
I took a leaf out of my wife’s book when choosing the game for this round. I often give her a list of FA cup fixtures at the beginning of the season & ask her to select a game. She always picks a name that she likes. That’s kind of why I selected Bustleholme. An unusual name in a league that I rarely seem to visit. So off I set and encountered a different variety of train woes on the way. Firstly the ticket barriers at Kings Cross were about 25 deep. Honestly, the rail network for a major city in the World is plain embarrassing at weekends. Then on boarding my Virgin train at Euston, we were informed that the computer had stuck and seat reservations had not downloaded. Absolute chaos as people were obviously sitting anywhere & those that had booked seats were not happy to find others in their seats. It didn’t come to blows but there were a couple of near misses. My attempts to read on the journey to Wolverhampton were thwarted by the constant chatter from the couple behind me. I can’t really complain as they were only talking but their conversation was dull beyond belief. The only amusing moment came when we pulled into Coventry & the man stated that he’d been there before. “Oh yes” said the lady. “Yes” said the man, “Melissa sent me to Coventry, Angela sent me to Coventry & Rosie sent me to Coventry”. There was a pause and the lady said, “Why do you always bring Angela into the conversation?” Finally we had an awkward silence for about 5 minutes.
I reached Coseley station and from there it is a straightforward 25 minute walk to the ground initially along some pleasant, quiet roads. On reaching the high street I soon bumped into ‘Frydays chippy & diner’ and had an excellent pie and chips sitting inside and on a proper plate – An excellent lunch. Amusingly there is a newsagents opposite called ‘Fags and mags’, I love bumping into places like this on my travels.
Bustleholme share grounds with Tipton and play at the local leisure complex. It has a running track around the pitch which I hate as it is so difficult to find a good viewing spot. But the facility is fabulous with an excellent building housing a bar and function rooms, several synthetic football pitches and tennis courts and seemingly plenty more besides. This club does everything the right way. They are family/community based and were set up by a group of people who wanted a local team. Their roots are still firmly in the community and a new team has started up every year with the Bustleholme name since its inception. The kids team that warmed up on a separate part of the pitch to the main team before the game had a great time playing on the huge mound behind the far goal during the game & another group of youngsters made excellent ballboys. The PA announcer interviewed both chairman on the pitch before the game with a roaming mic. I think I’ve only seen this sort of thing at Conference level before.
We were treated to a lovely, sunny day although the temperature plummeted when the sun went down. The ground has a reasonable sized stand and an imposing mound towers over the whole far side of the pitch. There was a small portakabin where tea drinks were sold and the ladies did an excellent job. The promised burger van didn’t arrive as it crashed on route & the PA announcer wittily announced that there was plenty of hot food on the M6 if required. To be fair to Bustleholme, they quickly arranged burgers etc to be available in the leisure club on order. Nothing seems to face the officials here!
The game itself was okay without being outstanding. Bustleholme scored on 15 mins when a player was tripped running to meet a low cross but he fell on the ball and it trickled over the line. Barton got more into it and had a lot of possession without looking particularly dangerous. They threw the kitchen sink at Butleholme in the last 15 minutes but fell to the sucker punch counter attack as Bustleholme doubled their lead with literally the last kick of the game.
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to a club that seems to do everything the right way.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Vick beat Wick
Wick 0 VCD Athletic 2 aet
The Sussex county league is one of my favourites with scenic views and interesting countryside never too far away. So when this draw came out at the beginning of July, I was keen to choose a new ground in the area. Now I may sound like a stuck record, but once again a simple journey across London was turned into a mad rush as the whole Victoria line was closed for maintenance. When is this weekend disruption ever going to end? There was a direct train from Victoria to Littlehampton although you had to be careful as it split at Haywards Heath and I could have ended up in Portsmouth. The most enjoyable part of the journey was a young lad with his Dad sitting behind me with the boy testing his father’s football knowledge with a quiz from a book. Needless to say, I sat there & tried to answer the questions myself- I have to say I didn’t do too badly. The ground is a 20-25 minute walk from Littlehampton station but is very straightforward. I have recently become the proud owner of the Good pub & Good beer guides and was pleased to tick off the ‘Dew drop inn’ with a pint of Seafarers that barely touched the sides. It amused me that I was drinking Seafarers served by a barman who looked remarkably similar TO Captain Birdseye. The pub was a little ‘homely’ with only a handful of locals playing bar billiards. I was getting slightly concerned as the rain had started to fall. It had rained all day Wednesday & was torrential on the Friday before the game. But the game was on and the pitch was absolutely fine although there was standing water on the goal line. The ground was nice enough although it didn’t have the stunning views of some Sussex grounds. There was a covered area on both sides with some bench style seating on the near side. Fir trees stand behind the near goal and there is a good sized kitchen/tea hatch. You have to go up a flight of stairs in the clubhouse to reach a bar that overlooked the pitch. This set-up reminded me a little of Newark Town. The game itself was extremely even although scrappy early on. The tie improved once the Wick manager was sent off for dissent. Both sides had great chances to score with both keepers equipping themselves well. So extra time arrived & VCD finally broke the deadlock in the second period of extra time, a second was added with the last kick if the game.
A bit of a damp squib but any new ground ticked off cannot be bad.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Raynes Park send opponents West
Raynes Park Vale 3 Westfield 0
I have a history with Raynes Park having almost got there once before, but not quite. The story goes like this. I had planned to visit Chessington & Hook only on arrival at the ground to discover that the match had been rained off. A couple of other hoppers were there & one suggested we re-rout to Raines Park as he knew the way. We hurried to the station & caught a train with just enough time to make the game. We left the station at Raynes Park and our leader led the way with a purposeful stride. After about 10 mins, he ground to a halt and announced that we had gone the wrong way. We re-traced our steps and set off down another road. A recreation ground loomed with just 2 minutes before kick-off but once again proved to be the wrong location. I trudged home despondent at having a wasted Saturday. On getting home, I discovered that the match had been called off anyway. Only on this trip did I realise how we Had Gone wrong. The Londonbound platform & Surreybound platform are about 200 yards apart and have different exits. I’m guessing that our leader set off to find the ground thinking he was at the exit he had used before, but he wasn’t! Anyway, I have had a bee in my bonnet ever since wanting to get this ground ticked off. As I was due at a silver wedding party in the evening, I couldn’t go far & Raynes Park fitted the bill perfectly.
On leaving my station, I was standing next to a hen party group with the bride fitted with a veil, L plates & badges. I was tempted to follow to them to see what they got up to but the bridesmaids & bride only looked about 14 years old. There was the usual bundle for seats on the train & I boarded a carriage with a first class section in the middle. This was deserted as usual apart from one person. At the next stop, a bunch of people got on and many of them sat in the first class area. Needless to say a ticket inspector arrived just as many of those seated were leaving the train. It left an Asian couple & another Asian lady. The inspector checked the tickets and promptly fined the couple for having the wrong ticket much to their disgust. The lady spent most of the time ignoring the fact that she was in the wrong & instead, asking why nobody else was fined. She pointed at the lady sitting alone who was then also fined. What a classy act – Not!!
On arrival at Raynes Park, I went on the hunt for food. I was on the verge of selecting a chippy, when I spotted an arch through to more shops. I decided to have a look and came face to face with the Raynes Park Tavern. I went in to check-out the menu and immediately saw a blackboard advertising a 5oz rump steak with chips, tomato & peas for £3.25. I ordered this before having second thoughts and it arrived promptly and was great. Washed down with an IPA, I took an immediate liking to this place. I found the entrance to the ground easily enough which is next to an enormous playing field. I counted nine football pitches which all had games going on. When one game finished on a pitch, another started. I sat there on a warm day for about 45 mins thinking that I was probably entitled to tick off 9 new grounds!
Raynes Park Vale’s ground itself is looking a little in need of repair. There are broken hoardings, ripped netting & hoes lying around all over the place. Despite all this, I kind of liked the place. There is a covered stand with bench style seating, a clubhouse in a portakabin with a bar and tea, coffee & filled rolls that had been poured and prepared in advance of half time. Brilliant! The pitch has an end to end slope but looked in quite good condition.
The game itself was Premier against first division as two Combined counties teams clashed. Raynes Park were always the better side despite looking potentially vulnerable to a counter attack in the first half. Raynes Park got a goal after 15 mins and then another two in the second half that killed the game off.
I went home delighted to have got the Raynes Park monkey off my back and what a great day I had.
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