Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Brocton storm through
Brocton 4 Wednesfield 1
I had planned to visit Westbury. Then the FA decided their previous tie should be replayed after an erroneous decision was made by the referee and they lost. So I ended up at Brocton which is located a couple of miles from Stafford.
I've taken up pilates on a Saturday morning and do an hours class at 07:30. It's an excellent work out but it does take it out of you. Therefore, when I dropped off on my train up to Stafford, i was as close as I've been in a long time to missing my stop. I woke as the train was slowing and frantically gathered my bits and pieces together and rushed up the carriage to the exit much to the bemusement of the ear-phoned teenager sitting next to me.
Storm Brian had hit the mainland. It had had all week, but decided to rock up at about 13:00 on a Saturday afternoon. The forecast was shocking with 45 mph winds and heavy rain predicted. Yes, it was windy, but apart from a couple of showers that lasted for only a minute or so, I totally got away with a dry afternoon.
I had checked in advance and had decided to lunch at the Wetherspoon's in Stafford that I was pretty much going to walk past anyway. What I found was an absolute delight. An old cinema that has been converted into a pub. Real theatre as you walk in to the appropriately named 'The Picture House' and see the bar way below you. You walk down steep stairs to reach the bar, exactly the sort of stairs you walk down in many a cinema. So unique!
There was a beer festival on and I selected a pint of St Erik's Midnight Sun which was incredibly pale and had the taste of grapefruit. I really liked it. I ordered a jacket potato and beans which oddly also came with salad and a pot of dressing. Lettuce and cucumber should never be on the same plate as a baked bean! Nice though and actually spreading some dressing on the potato was aa bit of a revelation.
It is about a 25 minute walk from the station to the ground pretty much along one road which flanks a large retail park.
The ground was very easy to find and I was offered a very warm welcome by a couple of officials on the gate. Everybody I spoke to in Stafford was really friendly, I would go back there in a heartbeat.
The ground itself is neat and is surrounded by a white rail. There are side by side, a covered seated area and a covered standing area that look very tandem. What I understand to be a new clubhouse is on the far side with a small bar and some tables and chairs. Two sets of dugouts in a row with half facing Brocton's pitch and the other pair facing the other way and adjoining pitch.
Oddly, the game kicked off 5 minutes early, made a pleasant change to the usual 5 minutes late.
The teams exchanged early goals and it was tight after this until Brocton scored three in the last 10 minutes. The goal that put them ahead came after the keeper threw it out to a full back only to find it intercepted and then curled home.
All in all, despite Storm Brian, I found a friendly club in a great town. Take a walk round the ground with me here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW7v-o8oXy0
I had planned to visit Westbury. Then the FA decided their previous tie should be replayed after an erroneous decision was made by the referee and they lost. So I ended up at Brocton which is located a couple of miles from Stafford.
I've taken up pilates on a Saturday morning and do an hours class at 07:30. It's an excellent work out but it does take it out of you. Therefore, when I dropped off on my train up to Stafford, i was as close as I've been in a long time to missing my stop. I woke as the train was slowing and frantically gathered my bits and pieces together and rushed up the carriage to the exit much to the bemusement of the ear-phoned teenager sitting next to me.
Storm Brian had hit the mainland. It had had all week, but decided to rock up at about 13:00 on a Saturday afternoon. The forecast was shocking with 45 mph winds and heavy rain predicted. Yes, it was windy, but apart from a couple of showers that lasted for only a minute or so, I totally got away with a dry afternoon.
I had checked in advance and had decided to lunch at the Wetherspoon's in Stafford that I was pretty much going to walk past anyway. What I found was an absolute delight. An old cinema that has been converted into a pub. Real theatre as you walk in to the appropriately named 'The Picture House' and see the bar way below you. You walk down steep stairs to reach the bar, exactly the sort of stairs you walk down in many a cinema. So unique!
There was a beer festival on and I selected a pint of St Erik's Midnight Sun which was incredibly pale and had the taste of grapefruit. I really liked it. I ordered a jacket potato and beans which oddly also came with salad and a pot of dressing. Lettuce and cucumber should never be on the same plate as a baked bean! Nice though and actually spreading some dressing on the potato was aa bit of a revelation.
It is about a 25 minute walk from the station to the ground pretty much along one road which flanks a large retail park.
The ground was very easy to find and I was offered a very warm welcome by a couple of officials on the gate. Everybody I spoke to in Stafford was really friendly, I would go back there in a heartbeat.
The ground itself is neat and is surrounded by a white rail. There are side by side, a covered seated area and a covered standing area that look very tandem. What I understand to be a new clubhouse is on the far side with a small bar and some tables and chairs. Two sets of dugouts in a row with half facing Brocton's pitch and the other pair facing the other way and adjoining pitch.
Oddly, the game kicked off 5 minutes early, made a pleasant change to the usual 5 minutes late.
The teams exchanged early goals and it was tight after this until Brocton scored three in the last 10 minutes. The goal that put them ahead came after the keeper threw it out to a full back only to find it intercepted and then curled home.
All in all, despite Storm Brian, I found a friendly club in a great town. Take a walk round the ground with me here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW7v-o8oXy0
Friday, October 06, 2017
USP Ease. through
Midhurst & Easebourne 0 United Services Portsmouth 2
I'm always away for the first round of Vase matches so good to be back on the road again.
Needless to say, Waterloo has track works going on, it was okay going out, but coming back had 30 minutes added to the journey as we had to take the Staines Loop. Who even knew there was such a thing?
After my now weekly, early morning, Saturday work-out, I was beyond hungry when reaching London. I couldn't wait to reach my destination nd bought a Beef, bacon and Guinness pasty which was lovely, a tub of mini pork pies which turned out to be too much and a large prezel that I ended up eating during the game. An interesting mix probably never to be repeated.
The journey to Haselmere station was without incident and I then had a 20 minute wait fro my bus. About 10 minutes in, a couple turned up and were all over each other, they were quite frankly old enough to know better- GET A ROOM!!
The bus turned up bang on time and we were soon passing a packed out food market. If I'd known, I would have got there earlier and had a nose round. You can't beat a good food market.
The bus apparently passes the ground I was told, indeed it does and in fact stops directly opposite it. I somehow missed this stop and ended up staying on the bus until it terminated in Midhurst. Not the end of the World as it was only a 5-10 minute walk back and it was a glorious afternoon. There were some interesting looking ruins that a steady flow of people were walking to and I then passed the entrance to Cowdrey Park Polo Field. I've never seen a game of polo in my life and although I'd heard of Cowdrey Park, I had no idea where it was. I was actually glad I missed my stop as it was a more than interesting stroll back.
I found the ground which had a small entrance with a gentleman sitting by his little hut. I was given a programme that had completely the wrong date of 21/5/17 on it and he asked me if I was a concession. I clearly wasn't looking my best!
This was a nice spot to visit on a sunny day. There is a small stand with benches within to sit on, the pitch undulates greatly and it is surrounded by a white rail. The clubhouse is about 100 metres from the pitch but is a reasonable size. There is also a dilapidated old cricket pavillion that I found quite fascinating, I would love to hear its story.
The game itself was not bad. This was Midhurst's debut in the FA Vase and they gave a good account of themselves. Portsmouth were always slightly on top though and they won the game with a flicked header on 28 minutes and a breakaway goal on 55 minutes.
Very pleasant spot and well worth a visit on a nice day.
I'm always away for the first round of Vase matches so good to be back on the road again.
Needless to say, Waterloo has track works going on, it was okay going out, but coming back had 30 minutes added to the journey as we had to take the Staines Loop. Who even knew there was such a thing?
After my now weekly, early morning, Saturday work-out, I was beyond hungry when reaching London. I couldn't wait to reach my destination nd bought a Beef, bacon and Guinness pasty which was lovely, a tub of mini pork pies which turned out to be too much and a large prezel that I ended up eating during the game. An interesting mix probably never to be repeated.
The journey to Haselmere station was without incident and I then had a 20 minute wait fro my bus. About 10 minutes in, a couple turned up and were all over each other, they were quite frankly old enough to know better- GET A ROOM!!
The bus turned up bang on time and we were soon passing a packed out food market. If I'd known, I would have got there earlier and had a nose round. You can't beat a good food market.
The bus apparently passes the ground I was told, indeed it does and in fact stops directly opposite it. I somehow missed this stop and ended up staying on the bus until it terminated in Midhurst. Not the end of the World as it was only a 5-10 minute walk back and it was a glorious afternoon. There were some interesting looking ruins that a steady flow of people were walking to and I then passed the entrance to Cowdrey Park Polo Field. I've never seen a game of polo in my life and although I'd heard of Cowdrey Park, I had no idea where it was. I was actually glad I missed my stop as it was a more than interesting stroll back.
I found the ground which had a small entrance with a gentleman sitting by his little hut. I was given a programme that had completely the wrong date of 21/5/17 on it and he asked me if I was a concession. I clearly wasn't looking my best!
This was a nice spot to visit on a sunny day. There is a small stand with benches within to sit on, the pitch undulates greatly and it is surrounded by a white rail. The clubhouse is about 100 metres from the pitch but is a reasonable size. There is also a dilapidated old cricket pavillion that I found quite fascinating, I would love to hear its story.
The game itself was not bad. This was Midhurst's debut in the FA Vase and they gave a good account of themselves. Portsmouth were always slightly on top though and they won the game with a flicked header on 28 minutes and a breakaway goal on 55 minutes.
Very pleasant spot and well worth a visit on a nice day.
Monday, March 06, 2017
Easy Cleesy
Southall 2 Cleethorpes Town 5
18/2/17
Southall groundshare at Hanwell Town FC. I had planned to visit Hanwell on two previous occasiona and both times it was rained off. Absolutely no danger of this on the loveliest of February days with it almost feeling spring like as clouds parted and the sun came out. So easy to reach, train to London and then about half an hour on the tube to Perivale.
Needless to say, the one group of noisy guys on the entire train sat opposite me and just didn't stop all chattering at the same time until finally alighting two steps before mine.
My map told me to turn right down a road that I never did find and I found myself confronted with the horrendously busy A40. Fortunately, there is a massive footbridge, so I was easily able to cross over the road. I was presented with a small parade of shops, but none of them presented anything that looked like edible food.
I popped down a little side road to avoid the motorway like A40 and then had a short, tranquil walk to the ground that took under five minutes to reach.
In good time and with a surprisingly small crowd on my arrival, I went in the clubhouse and found a very nice lady offering burgers and chips. I waited a few minutes for the chips to cook and then sat at a table to eat. The burger was very nice, the chips not too bad although a couple more minutes in the fryer would have helped.
I then watched one of the most enjoyable 45 minutes of football on the TV I've seen in a long time as Lincoln turned over Burnley in the FA Cup. Oddly, the club were showing the game on Fox sports, meaning there was an American analyst at half time. There was also a two minute delay from actual proceedings and a guy watching the game on his phone announced that Lincoln had scored and won two minutes before we all saw it happen.
A reasonable ground with a small stand, cover at the near end and bizarrely, an electronic scoreboard.
The crowd never did really turn up and at about 350, was really disappointing for this stage of the competition.
Cleethorpes were four up at just after half time and close to embarrassing Southall. Southall then out of nowhere, started to play, scored twice and if they'd only played like that from the start, would have made a good game of it.
Still, on a glorius afternoon for football, you pretty much forgive the teams anything.
18/2/17
Southall groundshare at Hanwell Town FC. I had planned to visit Hanwell on two previous occasiona and both times it was rained off. Absolutely no danger of this on the loveliest of February days with it almost feeling spring like as clouds parted and the sun came out. So easy to reach, train to London and then about half an hour on the tube to Perivale.
Needless to say, the one group of noisy guys on the entire train sat opposite me and just didn't stop all chattering at the same time until finally alighting two steps before mine.
My map told me to turn right down a road that I never did find and I found myself confronted with the horrendously busy A40. Fortunately, there is a massive footbridge, so I was easily able to cross over the road. I was presented with a small parade of shops, but none of them presented anything that looked like edible food.
I popped down a little side road to avoid the motorway like A40 and then had a short, tranquil walk to the ground that took under five minutes to reach.
In good time and with a surprisingly small crowd on my arrival, I went in the clubhouse and found a very nice lady offering burgers and chips. I waited a few minutes for the chips to cook and then sat at a table to eat. The burger was very nice, the chips not too bad although a couple more minutes in the fryer would have helped.
I then watched one of the most enjoyable 45 minutes of football on the TV I've seen in a long time as Lincoln turned over Burnley in the FA Cup. Oddly, the club were showing the game on Fox sports, meaning there was an American analyst at half time. There was also a two minute delay from actual proceedings and a guy watching the game on his phone announced that Lincoln had scored and won two minutes before we all saw it happen.
A reasonable ground with a small stand, cover at the near end and bizarrely, an electronic scoreboard.
The crowd never did really turn up and at about 350, was really disappointing for this stage of the competition.
Cleethorpes were four up at just after half time and close to embarrassing Southall. Southall then out of nowhere, started to play, scored twice and if they'd only played like that from the start, would have made a good game of it.
Still, on a glorius afternoon for football, you pretty much forgive the teams anything.
Friday, February 03, 2017
Farm handled
Bromsgrove Sporting 2 Bristol Manor Farm 1
With the weather set surprisingly fair for January, I decided there was no risk in a fairly lengthy trip to Bromsgrove.
The train from London to Birmingham was really busy. There was the usual chaos of people sitting in other people’s reserved seats and then pleading ignorance and in one case, claiming they had reserved the same sets online but did not have the confirmation Email any more - Yeah right!
After everyone settled down, it became apparent that once again, I was sitting just across the aisle from the noisiest group in my carriage. Why does this always happen? I was completely unable to read due to the incessant, loud chatter. A group of four students, three guys and one girl. The girl was particularly irritating with a loud, whiney voice. If she said that one of the group had brought along a photocopy of their passport for i.d purposes once, she said it a dozen times. Needless to say, they stayed on the train for the whole journey.
The transfer to Bromsgrove was very simple and just two stops.
Bromsgrove station is in a sleepy little area with just a few taxis milling around, I got my bearings and set off on what turned out to be a 25 minute walk.
You soon hit traffic and the majority of the walk is alongside a reasonably busy road.
I stumbled across Bromsgrove town centre which had a fair array of shops and so I set me eye roving for lunch options.
The usual High Street suspects were available, but my eye was drawn to one of the outdoor market tents. On sale were pork pies, 50p for a small or £1 for a large. I bought a large and it turned out to be quite the most magnificent pork pie I’ve eaten in a very long time. Perfect pastry and a great meaty filling with only a little jelly. It was fantastic and quite frankly, made my afternoon.
Bromsgrove’s ground is quite an old fashioned looking place but had bags of character. A large stand, a whole end with covered terracing and also some cover on the near side. The largest amount of food outlets I’ve seen at this level for quite a while and lots of nooks and crannies.
The place was packed! Almost 1500 people were crammed in and it seemed like more. A great atmosphere.
This turned into a bit of a cup shock with Bromsgrove turning over Bristol Manor Farm who play in a step higher.
The first half was decidedly average with only a goal right on half time from Bromsgrove saving it from being a complete non-event.
The second half was excellent. Bromsgrove doubled their lead and were holding on comfortably until Bristol scored 7 minutes from time after a goalkeeper error. The rest of the game was nail-biting stuff with the ‘kitchen sink’ being thrown at Bromsgrove. They held on despite a disallowed goal for offside to reach the Vase quarter finals.
With the weather set surprisingly fair for January, I decided there was no risk in a fairly lengthy trip to Bromsgrove.
The train from London to Birmingham was really busy. There was the usual chaos of people sitting in other people’s reserved seats and then pleading ignorance and in one case, claiming they had reserved the same sets online but did not have the confirmation Email any more - Yeah right!
After everyone settled down, it became apparent that once again, I was sitting just across the aisle from the noisiest group in my carriage. Why does this always happen? I was completely unable to read due to the incessant, loud chatter. A group of four students, three guys and one girl. The girl was particularly irritating with a loud, whiney voice. If she said that one of the group had brought along a photocopy of their passport for i.d purposes once, she said it a dozen times. Needless to say, they stayed on the train for the whole journey.
The transfer to Bromsgrove was very simple and just two stops.
Bromsgrove station is in a sleepy little area with just a few taxis milling around, I got my bearings and set off on what turned out to be a 25 minute walk.
You soon hit traffic and the majority of the walk is alongside a reasonably busy road.
I stumbled across Bromsgrove town centre which had a fair array of shops and so I set me eye roving for lunch options.
The usual High Street suspects were available, but my eye was drawn to one of the outdoor market tents. On sale were pork pies, 50p for a small or £1 for a large. I bought a large and it turned out to be quite the most magnificent pork pie I’ve eaten in a very long time. Perfect pastry and a great meaty filling with only a little jelly. It was fantastic and quite frankly, made my afternoon.
Bromsgrove’s ground is quite an old fashioned looking place but had bags of character. A large stand, a whole end with covered terracing and also some cover on the near side. The largest amount of food outlets I’ve seen at this level for quite a while and lots of nooks and crannies.
The place was packed! Almost 1500 people were crammed in and it seemed like more. A great atmosphere.
This turned into a bit of a cup shock with Bromsgrove turning over Bristol Manor Farm who play in a step higher.
The first half was decidedly average with only a goal right on half time from Bromsgrove saving it from being a complete non-event.
The second half was excellent. Bromsgrove doubled their lead and were holding on comfortably until Bristol scored 7 minutes from time after a goalkeeper error. The rest of the game was nail-biting stuff with the ‘kitchen sink’ being thrown at Bromsgrove. They held on despite a disallowed goal for offside to reach the Vase quarter finals.
Monday, January 09, 2017
Athletic Buck their ideas up
Chichester City 1 Buckland Athletic 3
I wasn't at all sure this was a wise idea. Undertaking a route which involves travelling on Southern Trains is never going to be an easy, comfortable experience. Their trains were running which is a minor miracle in itself, needless to say, planned engineering works made the journey more tricky than it needed to be.
I had to change at Barnham and there was an interesting moment when trains were on adjoining platforms, both going to Bognor and neither of two station staff knew which train was leaving first. Cue a member of public to unleash large amounts of sarcasm towards one of these staff members including thanking him for all his help over the last few months. Hard to have any sympathy for him when the public are continually held to ransom and are unable to earn a living for their families. Enough said!
I was in Chichester in good time, quite a large town centre or is it City centre? I decided to kill some time in a bookmakers and placed a bet on the 13:30 Wincanton, at least that's what I was told. I never actually saw the race due to an absurd amount of fog. The horses appeared on screen only three times and I heard my horse mentioned once. Not the greatest viewing experience I've ever had.
I bought a chicken and bacon pastie from The West Country Pastie Company, the server did warn me that it had just come out of the oven but dear God ,was it hot! I ended up with what felt like third degree burns on both my fingers and in my mouth. A nice pastie but way, way too hot.
This didn't turn out to be a ground that I loved, it is situated at the edge of a large City car park which gave it a bit of a soulless feel. There is a clubhouse with a little bar and this is situated on a building above the changing rooms. There is a small stand on the far side and a couple of covered standing areas, one on each side.
The game itself was played in front of a reasonable sized crowd and was pretty good. Buckland were always on top and had a 2-0 half time lead including a 25 yard outside of the foot rocket that was as good a finish as you will see at any level. Chichester good one back through their impressive centre forward and despite giving it a good go, couldn't get back on terms and the final goal wrapped the game up with 12 minutes to go.
Enjoyable contest in an interesting town.
I wasn't at all sure this was a wise idea. Undertaking a route which involves travelling on Southern Trains is never going to be an easy, comfortable experience. Their trains were running which is a minor miracle in itself, needless to say, planned engineering works made the journey more tricky than it needed to be.
I had to change at Barnham and there was an interesting moment when trains were on adjoining platforms, both going to Bognor and neither of two station staff knew which train was leaving first. Cue a member of public to unleash large amounts of sarcasm towards one of these staff members including thanking him for all his help over the last few months. Hard to have any sympathy for him when the public are continually held to ransom and are unable to earn a living for their families. Enough said!
I was in Chichester in good time, quite a large town centre or is it City centre? I decided to kill some time in a bookmakers and placed a bet on the 13:30 Wincanton, at least that's what I was told. I never actually saw the race due to an absurd amount of fog. The horses appeared on screen only three times and I heard my horse mentioned once. Not the greatest viewing experience I've ever had.
I bought a chicken and bacon pastie from The West Country Pastie Company, the server did warn me that it had just come out of the oven but dear God ,was it hot! I ended up with what felt like third degree burns on both my fingers and in my mouth. A nice pastie but way, way too hot.
This didn't turn out to be a ground that I loved, it is situated at the edge of a large City car park which gave it a bit of a soulless feel. There is a clubhouse with a little bar and this is situated on a building above the changing rooms. There is a small stand on the far side and a couple of covered standing areas, one on each side.
The game itself was played in front of a reasonable sized crowd and was pretty good. Buckland were always on top and had a 2-0 half time lead including a 25 yard outside of the foot rocket that was as good a finish as you will see at any level. Chichester good one back through their impressive centre forward and despite giving it a good go, couldn't get back on terms and the final goal wrapped the game up with 12 minutes to go.
Enjoyable contest in an interesting town.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
London's calling!
Newport Pagnell Town 3 London Colney 1
The more ticks that I get, the harder it becomes to find a suitable tie to visit. Fortunately this fitted the bill and a not too difficult journey is always a bonus.
The Mrs was singing with her Rock Choir at St Pancras station, this gave me the opportunity to be chief coat holder for half an hour and to watch the 20 minute set. I have to say that they were really good, certainly drew a crowd and it seemed to be well received all round.
I kind of new where I was going with this ground. I'd actually been past it a few years ago when I think I was traveling to Olney, made a mental note that it was easy to reach by bus from Milton Keynes station and parked it in the 'to be done' section of my brain.
I walked to Euston Station from St Pancras and the journey to Milton Keynes went without incident.
I only had 10 minutes until my bus was due and not knowing what I'd find food wise, I decided to buy a Coronation chicken sandwich from a supermarket next to the station. Big mistake, it was truly, truly horrible and will never be purchased again.
I had buckets of time and decided to stay on the bus to have a nose around the town of Newport Pagnell. I quite liked it really, a reasonable size and yet not too busy, I guess everyone shops in MK. I dropped into a Corals, placed a small each way bet on a 7/1 shot at Sandown and came out of the shop 15 minutes later, 40p better off. I bumped into a chippy and decided to buy a portion of chips to take away the taste of the sandwich, an excellent decision, they were fab!
The ground is only a 5-10 minute walk from the town and I found my way again with absolutely no trouble.
A small clubhouse was showing the Premiership game and I watched the last 25 minutes before venturing into the ground.
In the ground, there are two small stands, one on each side and a small tea bar.
I really liked the feel of this place, it came across as a family club and very good humoured. A lady went around the clubhouse individually selling programmes, there was banter galore amongst the locals and all very good humoured, at the end of the game, another lady went round the ground asking everyone individually who they thought their man of the match was, not sure I've ever had that before.
A kids penalty shoot-out on the pitch at half time is always an enjoyable edition and certainly passed that dead time quickly.
As for the game, Newport Pagnell scored early, but when London Colney equalised on 27 mins, you felt they would go forward and win comfortably. But they completely lost their way in the second half and Newport Pagnell were excellent in taking the game to them and won it with goals in the 73rd and 90th minutes.
A club that I had been 'waiting to do' and did not disappoint.
The more ticks that I get, the harder it becomes to find a suitable tie to visit. Fortunately this fitted the bill and a not too difficult journey is always a bonus.
The Mrs was singing with her Rock Choir at St Pancras station, this gave me the opportunity to be chief coat holder for half an hour and to watch the 20 minute set. I have to say that they were really good, certainly drew a crowd and it seemed to be well received all round.
I kind of new where I was going with this ground. I'd actually been past it a few years ago when I think I was traveling to Olney, made a mental note that it was easy to reach by bus from Milton Keynes station and parked it in the 'to be done' section of my brain.
I walked to Euston Station from St Pancras and the journey to Milton Keynes went without incident.
I only had 10 minutes until my bus was due and not knowing what I'd find food wise, I decided to buy a Coronation chicken sandwich from a supermarket next to the station. Big mistake, it was truly, truly horrible and will never be purchased again.
I had buckets of time and decided to stay on the bus to have a nose around the town of Newport Pagnell. I quite liked it really, a reasonable size and yet not too busy, I guess everyone shops in MK. I dropped into a Corals, placed a small each way bet on a 7/1 shot at Sandown and came out of the shop 15 minutes later, 40p better off. I bumped into a chippy and decided to buy a portion of chips to take away the taste of the sandwich, an excellent decision, they were fab!
The ground is only a 5-10 minute walk from the town and I found my way again with absolutely no trouble.
A small clubhouse was showing the Premiership game and I watched the last 25 minutes before venturing into the ground.
In the ground, there are two small stands, one on each side and a small tea bar.
I really liked the feel of this place, it came across as a family club and very good humoured. A lady went around the clubhouse individually selling programmes, there was banter galore amongst the locals and all very good humoured, at the end of the game, another lady went round the ground asking everyone individually who they thought their man of the match was, not sure I've ever had that before.
A kids penalty shoot-out on the pitch at half time is always an enjoyable edition and certainly passed that dead time quickly.
As for the game, Newport Pagnell scored early, but when London Colney equalised on 27 mins, you felt they would go forward and win comfortably. But they completely lost their way in the second half and Newport Pagnell were excellent in taking the game to them and won it with goals in the 73rd and 90th minutes.
A club that I had been 'waiting to do' and did not disappoint.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Wadham dis-lodged
Wadham Lodge 0 Ely City 3
Had a mate’s 50th birthday party in the evening, sci-fi themed and I was going dressed as a clanger. Had to stay fairly local then and I decided that Wadham Lodge nicely fitted the bill.
Needless to say, there were signal problems and the trains were running late. Beyond packed on the trip to London, people were actually unable to get on at the next two steps. Simply shocking service with absolutely no thought of the health and safety of customer’s.
Fortunately the Victoria line was fine and it was then a 5 minute overground train to Wood Street station.
I love discovering new parts of London and was delighted to be greeted by a selection of eating establishments. I chose one of those no thrills cafes that does a huge selection of meals at very reasonable prices. I selected spaghetti Bolognese with chips. In my ignorance, I expected chips to be covered by the bolognese sauce. But no, I got a complete portion of Spag. Bol. with chips to the side. Won’t win any awards for fine dining, but very nice on a miserable day.
An enjoyable walk through the High Street taking in the shops and generally having a nose around, the ground is about a 20 minute walk from the station but very easy to find.
Quite a useful complex with a handful of 5-a-side courts that I’m sure bring some revenue in. It really had been a miserable day, heavy rain in the morning and although it had eased off, it was still like somebody had left a tap dripping and there was a constant fine drizzle.
There is a good amount of cover at the ground with a seated stand on the near side and most of the far end and near end covered. The clubhouse is up a flight of stairs and looks out over the pitch. I have to say, the pitch was immaculate despite the rotten weather, the club had tweeted earlier in the day that the game was definitely on and to be fair, there was never a doubt.
Not a bad game, end to end from the start and lots of endeavour and effort. Ely won this by blitzing Wadham Lodge in a 10 minute spell just after the half hour.
A header from a corner, an angled shot and an unfortunate own goal did the damage. Wadham Lodge never quit to their credit and had the better of the second period. But it was not to be their day and luck wasn’t on their side.
Had a mate’s 50th birthday party in the evening, sci-fi themed and I was going dressed as a clanger. Had to stay fairly local then and I decided that Wadham Lodge nicely fitted the bill.
Needless to say, there were signal problems and the trains were running late. Beyond packed on the trip to London, people were actually unable to get on at the next two steps. Simply shocking service with absolutely no thought of the health and safety of customer’s.
Fortunately the Victoria line was fine and it was then a 5 minute overground train to Wood Street station.
I love discovering new parts of London and was delighted to be greeted by a selection of eating establishments. I chose one of those no thrills cafes that does a huge selection of meals at very reasonable prices. I selected spaghetti Bolognese with chips. In my ignorance, I expected chips to be covered by the bolognese sauce. But no, I got a complete portion of Spag. Bol. with chips to the side. Won’t win any awards for fine dining, but very nice on a miserable day.
An enjoyable walk through the High Street taking in the shops and generally having a nose around, the ground is about a 20 minute walk from the station but very easy to find.
Quite a useful complex with a handful of 5-a-side courts that I’m sure bring some revenue in. It really had been a miserable day, heavy rain in the morning and although it had eased off, it was still like somebody had left a tap dripping and there was a constant fine drizzle.
There is a good amount of cover at the ground with a seated stand on the near side and most of the far end and near end covered. The clubhouse is up a flight of stairs and looks out over the pitch. I have to say, the pitch was immaculate despite the rotten weather, the club had tweeted earlier in the day that the game was definitely on and to be fair, there was never a doubt.
Not a bad game, end to end from the start and lots of endeavour and effort. Ely won this by blitzing Wadham Lodge in a 10 minute spell just after the half hour.
A header from a corner, an angled shot and an unfortunate own goal did the damage. Wadham Lodge never quit to their credit and had the better of the second period. But it was not to be their day and luck wasn’t on their side.
Friday, November 04, 2016
Calne off 'point
Calne 0 Torpoint 2
It's always a long trek to this league and I don't visit as much as I should. But I decided to throw caution to the wind on a nice day and off I set.
My first train was actually a minute early, that happens about once a year if you're lucky. Thankfully, normal service was resumed with chaos at Kings Cross station due to various lines being closed on the Tube due to engineering works.
A distraught European lady rushed up to me looking for how she could now reach St Paul's. I walked her over to a tube map and plotted out a route. The look of concern in her face as she went on her way put me a little on edge, why are there never any staff about to help people like this?
Having reached Paddington, I made my way to the platform as it was indicated on the board and took my designated seat. I was one of the first on board, the next thing I know, frantic cleaning staff were rushing up and down the carriage yelling "You shouldn't have been let on, the train isn't clean."
In their World, this was probably their equivalent to a stock market crash, I did resist the temptation to point out that I'd never seen a clean train in 40 years and actually felt a little sorry for them.
The journey to Chippenham went without incident and I then had a pleasant 10 minute wait for the bus to Calne in warm sunshine. The bus journey only took about 25 minutes, it probably would have been 15 but the bus driver seemed to know every single passenger and insisted on having a little chat with every one of them.
I then proceeded to get horribly lost in Calne, I normally have a good sense of direction but I just couldn't get my bearings. I walked about five minutes down one road before realising that it was definitely the wrong way. I ended up staring at a map I found on five different occasions until I finally worked out the way to go.
It was actually a very simple ten minute walk along a straight road.
I quite liked the ground which had a small stand on the far side and was railed off. I soon met a fellow ground hopper and had an enjoyable five minute chat about places that we had both recently visited.
There was a strange bobble on the far touchline that on a couple of occasions, kept the ball in when it looked certain to go out of play.
The game itself was not bad although Torpoint were always the better side and looked most likely to score, Calne just seemed to be a bit flat throughout.
Torpoint scored on 29 mins when a forward stole in front of his defender to toe in a cross from the left.
The second came on 62 mins as a Calne substitute had a horrendous 15 minutes. First he put through his own net from the edge of the six yard area, then he was booked for dissent and finally, got a second yellow after starting a scuffle and was sent off. The own goal would be excused by his team mates, the two yellow cards were just plain foolish.
An enjoyable trip and always nice to get a Western league team ticked off.
It's always a long trek to this league and I don't visit as much as I should. But I decided to throw caution to the wind on a nice day and off I set.
My first train was actually a minute early, that happens about once a year if you're lucky. Thankfully, normal service was resumed with chaos at Kings Cross station due to various lines being closed on the Tube due to engineering works.
A distraught European lady rushed up to me looking for how she could now reach St Paul's. I walked her over to a tube map and plotted out a route. The look of concern in her face as she went on her way put me a little on edge, why are there never any staff about to help people like this?
Having reached Paddington, I made my way to the platform as it was indicated on the board and took my designated seat. I was one of the first on board, the next thing I know, frantic cleaning staff were rushing up and down the carriage yelling "You shouldn't have been let on, the train isn't clean."
In their World, this was probably their equivalent to a stock market crash, I did resist the temptation to point out that I'd never seen a clean train in 40 years and actually felt a little sorry for them.
The journey to Chippenham went without incident and I then had a pleasant 10 minute wait for the bus to Calne in warm sunshine. The bus journey only took about 25 minutes, it probably would have been 15 but the bus driver seemed to know every single passenger and insisted on having a little chat with every one of them.
I then proceeded to get horribly lost in Calne, I normally have a good sense of direction but I just couldn't get my bearings. I walked about five minutes down one road before realising that it was definitely the wrong way. I ended up staring at a map I found on five different occasions until I finally worked out the way to go.
It was actually a very simple ten minute walk along a straight road.
I quite liked the ground which had a small stand on the far side and was railed off. I soon met a fellow ground hopper and had an enjoyable five minute chat about places that we had both recently visited.
There was a strange bobble on the far touchline that on a couple of occasions, kept the ball in when it looked certain to go out of play.
The game itself was not bad although Torpoint were always the better side and looked most likely to score, Calne just seemed to be a bit flat throughout.
Torpoint scored on 29 mins when a forward stole in front of his defender to toe in a cross from the left.
The second came on 62 mins as a Calne substitute had a horrendous 15 minutes. First he put through his own net from the edge of the six yard area, then he was booked for dissent and finally, got a second yellow after starting a scuffle and was sent off. The own goal would be excused by his team mates, the two yellow cards were just plain foolish.
An enjoyable trip and always nice to get a Western league team ticked off.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Glebe must Deal again
Glebe 1 Deal Town 1
I had originally planned to visit Harefield but hadn’t realised they had been relegated. For reasons I won’t bore you with, I looked at the draw again and decided to visit Glebe from the Kent Invicta league.
No more than five minutes from my house and a lady rushed over to me seemingly in a great flap, only to ask me when the grey bins were collected. I politely replied and also pointed out that the bin was actually black but to be fair, had seen better days and went on my way.
The train in to London was made more entertaining by the guy sitting opposite me playing games with an 8 year old lad he was travelling with.
“Okay, he said. I’ll say a word and you then have to say another word that starts with the last letter of my word.” The boy nodded his head.
“Sunny” Said the man
“Bummy” replied the boy.
I actually laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of their games.
I caught the tube to London Bridge which has suddenly been changed beyond recognition. I found myself outside, was directed up an escalator and eventually found what appears to be a new station entrance. Being in good time, I sat on a wall only to be immediately approached by a European gentleman.
“Do you know the way to Tower Bridge?” he asked.
“I’m not the best person to ask, it’s taken me 10 minutes to find platform 7” I replied.
He took a second to compute, smiled kindly at me and went off to ask someone else. I’m not sure our British sense of humour always translates.
It was a short journey to Chiselhurst station and for once I had remembered to do a street view before I left so knew exactly where I was going.
What I didn’t know was that the pavement had been dug up for at least half a mile. I had to walk on compacted mud with bits of concrete at odd angles, loose stones, assorted cones and trip hazard twigs. It’s not the worst walk to a ground I’ve ever had (Yes, Milton United, I’m talking about you), but it was less than pleasant. The A222 was horrendous, nose to tail for the entire mile and a bit I walked along and hardly seemed to be moving at all.
I eventually turned off on to Foxbury Avenue which was like a tranquil paradise after the main road, it’s a reasonably long path that takes a few minutes until I turned a corner and reached the ground. I was about 90 minutes early and was delighted to bump into another match on an alternate pitch.
It’s fair to say that the players were at the later end of their playing lives, in the 35 minutes I watched, the goalkeeper went off with a calf strain, there were various other substitutions and players were constantly grabbing runs and sprays from the touchline. When the referee blew his whistle, I was shocked to see that it was only half time. I couldn’t bare to watch the second half, it would almost have been a case of last man standing.
The clubhouse at Glebe is really nice, loads of TV screens showing the midday match and a nice bar. I never spotted any hot food but having had a cooked breakfast, I settled for a pack of Roast Ox crisps.
The ground itself is in great nick. I well prepared, flat pitch, a small stand on the near side and a very new looking fence surrounding three quarters of the ground. You could not walk behind the far end or on the far side was my only quibble, I guess it’s because it has no hardstanding. The club are making real efforts to continually improve the ground and they should be commended, it’s a really neat little set-up.
The game itself was no classic, Deal were from a step higher and when they scored on 24 minutes, I expected them to pull away and win comfortably. But Glebe equalised out of the blue on 37 minutes and it was deadlock after this with very few chances.
Extra time came and only exploded into life in the last 5 minutes. Glebe should surely have been awarded a penalty when the Deal keeper flattened a striker but neither a penalty or a booking for simulation was given, it had to be one or the other! Then Deal hit the underside of the bar and claimed that the ball had bounced over the line, didn’t look like it to me!
A draw was a fair result.
It really is worth a visit to Glebe, a club on the up with some really nice, hard-working people driving the club forward.
I wish them well!
I had originally planned to visit Harefield but hadn’t realised they had been relegated. For reasons I won’t bore you with, I looked at the draw again and decided to visit Glebe from the Kent Invicta league.
No more than five minutes from my house and a lady rushed over to me seemingly in a great flap, only to ask me when the grey bins were collected. I politely replied and also pointed out that the bin was actually black but to be fair, had seen better days and went on my way.
The train in to London was made more entertaining by the guy sitting opposite me playing games with an 8 year old lad he was travelling with.
“Okay, he said. I’ll say a word and you then have to say another word that starts with the last letter of my word.” The boy nodded his head.
“Sunny” Said the man
“Bummy” replied the boy.
I actually laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of their games.
I caught the tube to London Bridge which has suddenly been changed beyond recognition. I found myself outside, was directed up an escalator and eventually found what appears to be a new station entrance. Being in good time, I sat on a wall only to be immediately approached by a European gentleman.
“Do you know the way to Tower Bridge?” he asked.
“I’m not the best person to ask, it’s taken me 10 minutes to find platform 7” I replied.
He took a second to compute, smiled kindly at me and went off to ask someone else. I’m not sure our British sense of humour always translates.
It was a short journey to Chiselhurst station and for once I had remembered to do a street view before I left so knew exactly where I was going.
What I didn’t know was that the pavement had been dug up for at least half a mile. I had to walk on compacted mud with bits of concrete at odd angles, loose stones, assorted cones and trip hazard twigs. It’s not the worst walk to a ground I’ve ever had (Yes, Milton United, I’m talking about you), but it was less than pleasant. The A222 was horrendous, nose to tail for the entire mile and a bit I walked along and hardly seemed to be moving at all.
I eventually turned off on to Foxbury Avenue which was like a tranquil paradise after the main road, it’s a reasonably long path that takes a few minutes until I turned a corner and reached the ground. I was about 90 minutes early and was delighted to bump into another match on an alternate pitch.
It’s fair to say that the players were at the later end of their playing lives, in the 35 minutes I watched, the goalkeeper went off with a calf strain, there were various other substitutions and players were constantly grabbing runs and sprays from the touchline. When the referee blew his whistle, I was shocked to see that it was only half time. I couldn’t bare to watch the second half, it would almost have been a case of last man standing.
The clubhouse at Glebe is really nice, loads of TV screens showing the midday match and a nice bar. I never spotted any hot food but having had a cooked breakfast, I settled for a pack of Roast Ox crisps.
The ground itself is in great nick. I well prepared, flat pitch, a small stand on the near side and a very new looking fence surrounding three quarters of the ground. You could not walk behind the far end or on the far side was my only quibble, I guess it’s because it has no hardstanding. The club are making real efforts to continually improve the ground and they should be commended, it’s a really neat little set-up.
The game itself was no classic, Deal were from a step higher and when they scored on 24 minutes, I expected them to pull away and win comfortably. But Glebe equalised out of the blue on 37 minutes and it was deadlock after this with very few chances.
Extra time came and only exploded into life in the last 5 minutes. Glebe should surely have been awarded a penalty when the Deal keeper flattened a striker but neither a penalty or a booking for simulation was given, it had to be one or the other! Then Deal hit the underside of the bar and claimed that the ball had bounced over the line, didn’t look like it to me!
A draw was a fair result.
It really is worth a visit to Glebe, a club on the up with some really nice, hard-working people driving the club forward.
I wish them well!
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Hartley WINtney
Hartley Wintney 3 Bradford Town 1
I’ve had literally three months with either heavy rain, fierce 40mph winds or games postponed due to waterlogged pitches. Finally, a lovely sunny day with no wind and although cold, a perfect day for football.
Apart from the train stopping for 5 minutes just beyond Clapham Junction, with the only information being the driver saying “We don’t normally stop here”, I had an incident free journey and got off the train at Fleet with close to a spring in my step.
That was soon knocked out of me as I discovered that the Internet had been incorrect and the bus that I needed to take to get from Fleet to Hartley Wintney didn’t run on a Saturday. I guess I could have walked from Winchfield station but the bus from Fleet seemed to be the easier route. But I was damned if I was going to be stopped on a lovely day and I decided to cut my losses and take a taxi. I was in good time so I watched a few taxis pull into the station, wrote down their numbers and then gave them a call. The first company had no availability but my next call got a positive result from Hart cabs. I have to say I was hugely impressed with them. Both there and pack I only had to wait about five minutes and I even got a football enthusiast driver on the return journey who was fascinated with the whole groundhopping concept.
Hartley Wintney is a nice little village with plenty of green areas and a variety of shops, it seems particularly big on barbers. Three red and white barber signs on a High street only about 100 yards long. No apparent chippy was the only downer for me.
Whilst mooching about, I needed to use the public convenience. Whilst doing my thing, a workman came in, unzipped and did his thing, all the time continuing a conversation on a mobile phone. Is it just me, but who would do that?? I attempted to piss really loudly to make my point, I discovered that this isn’t really possible!
The ground is a simple five minute walk from the village. A small stand on the far side and a large clubhouse with the lunchtime game being projected for all to see.
I had my lunch here. Cheeseburger and chips served by a very nice lady. Halfway through serving me, she announced that the price was wrong on the blackboard and should be 50p higher than shown. She still charged me the original price which made me feel like I was getting a bit of a bargain. She toasted a burger bun, put half of it in front of me and then about 30 seconds later, came and through it in the bin. Not sure why as it looked perfectly okay to me. Anyway the burger and chips was actually very nice.
I sat outside for 30 minutes, in the sun it was really pleasant and enjoyed watching the ballboys kicking a ball around. I love the way that they accept a newcomer immediately and within minutes, this new lad was rushing around as if he’d known these boys all his life.
Bowie tunes were being proudly played from the P.A system, absolutely right in the week that the great man died.
Both the Bradford fans and the Hartley Wintney officials I spoke to were really friendly with a good sense of humour. Everything that attracts me to non-league football was on show at this game.
A really enjoyable game, Bradford scored on about 10 minutes and Hartley Wintney equalised just over 5 minutes later. Really even after this, the game could have gone either way until Hartley Winteney scored twice in the last 15 minutes with a suspiciously offside looking goal and an injury time bonus.
A most enjoyable day, a lovely club who now have Hereford in the next round. I will be looking on with interest.
I’ve had literally three months with either heavy rain, fierce 40mph winds or games postponed due to waterlogged pitches. Finally, a lovely sunny day with no wind and although cold, a perfect day for football.
Apart from the train stopping for 5 minutes just beyond Clapham Junction, with the only information being the driver saying “We don’t normally stop here”, I had an incident free journey and got off the train at Fleet with close to a spring in my step.
That was soon knocked out of me as I discovered that the Internet had been incorrect and the bus that I needed to take to get from Fleet to Hartley Wintney didn’t run on a Saturday. I guess I could have walked from Winchfield station but the bus from Fleet seemed to be the easier route. But I was damned if I was going to be stopped on a lovely day and I decided to cut my losses and take a taxi. I was in good time so I watched a few taxis pull into the station, wrote down their numbers and then gave them a call. The first company had no availability but my next call got a positive result from Hart cabs. I have to say I was hugely impressed with them. Both there and pack I only had to wait about five minutes and I even got a football enthusiast driver on the return journey who was fascinated with the whole groundhopping concept.
Hartley Wintney is a nice little village with plenty of green areas and a variety of shops, it seems particularly big on barbers. Three red and white barber signs on a High street only about 100 yards long. No apparent chippy was the only downer for me.
Whilst mooching about, I needed to use the public convenience. Whilst doing my thing, a workman came in, unzipped and did his thing, all the time continuing a conversation on a mobile phone. Is it just me, but who would do that?? I attempted to piss really loudly to make my point, I discovered that this isn’t really possible!
The ground is a simple five minute walk from the village. A small stand on the far side and a large clubhouse with the lunchtime game being projected for all to see.
I had my lunch here. Cheeseburger and chips served by a very nice lady. Halfway through serving me, she announced that the price was wrong on the blackboard and should be 50p higher than shown. She still charged me the original price which made me feel like I was getting a bit of a bargain. She toasted a burger bun, put half of it in front of me and then about 30 seconds later, came and through it in the bin. Not sure why as it looked perfectly okay to me. Anyway the burger and chips was actually very nice.
I sat outside for 30 minutes, in the sun it was really pleasant and enjoyed watching the ballboys kicking a ball around. I love the way that they accept a newcomer immediately and within minutes, this new lad was rushing around as if he’d known these boys all his life.
Bowie tunes were being proudly played from the P.A system, absolutely right in the week that the great man died.
Both the Bradford fans and the Hartley Wintney officials I spoke to were really friendly with a good sense of humour. Everything that attracts me to non-league football was on show at this game.
A really enjoyable game, Bradford scored on about 10 minutes and Hartley Wintney equalised just over 5 minutes later. Really even after this, the game could have gone either way until Hartley Winteney scored twice in the last 15 minutes with a suspiciously offside looking goal and an injury time bonus.
A most enjoyable day, a lovely club who now have Hereford in the next round. I will be looking on with interest.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Blown Money
Moneyfields 0 Brimscome & Thrupp 0 aet
12-12-15
I picked this tie mainly due to the fact that I don’t know Portsmouth very well. I’ve passed through and visited the tourist attractions, but I’ve never been to football there. A lengthy journey but fortunately we had been spared the hellish conditions endured by folk in the north of the country.
London was always going to be busy a couple of weeks before Christmas, I did particularly like the dozen or so people fully dressed in Santa suits with tattoo’s plastered all over their bodies. I never actually discovered why they were hanging around Waterloo station but needless to say, nobody gave them a second glance.
The rest of the train journey went without incident, I did pass a non-league grounds about 5 minutes before arriving in Portsmouth and made a mental note to look up where it was only to later discover that it was the ground I was going to.
For once, I fell out of the station and immediately saw the street that I was looking for. I never once came close to getting lost.
The obligatory market was situated all away along the middle of the pedestrian walkway near all the major shops. This made it an absolute nightmare to walk anywhere, you took about two steps and had to step aside for a pram, group of people, walking frame or dog coming the other way. Even when I finally got off this walk-way, there were still plenty of different shops littered all over the place and I saw very few boarded up shop fronts - Good to see.
I was confident I would stumble across a chip shop and indeed I did. I just ordered a portion of chips and asked for them to be left open. Clearly in Portsmouth, asking for them to be left open involves putting them in a polystyrene tray and then wrapping them in three large pieces of paper. I spent the next few minutes walking along the street trying to keep them unwrapped, every now and then actually finding a chip and managing to navigate it to my mouth. I eventually came across a bus stop with a bench and bin, managed to unwrap all the paper and actually found a lunch that I could get at.
The street leading to the ground reminded me a bit of Coronation Street. A long straight road with similar looking houses but nothing else of any interest to see.
The ground is actually next to a footbridge that may have saved me a few minutes if I’d used it but it looked a bit secluded and dodgy so I decided to give it a miss.
A bunch of kids were playing football on an outside 5 a-side court on my arrival supervised by a couple of adults. Both teams were shooting into the same goal and I wasn’t quite sure how this worked, turned out to be the only goals I saw all afternoon.
There is a stand by one of the nearside corner flags and also a covered standing area on the near side. The pitch is also right next to the railway line as previously mentioned and trains went past at regular intervals and occasionally stopped for a while at signals giving the passengers a free view of the game.
A large number of away fans were in attendance and certainly made the most noise. Quite a nice atmosphere all in all, the tea hut did great business and was staffed by three cheerful and really hard working ladies.
For the fourth Saturday in a row, I was subjected to winds of over 40mph. It’s now got beyond tedious. Playing a match of any quality is near on impossible as the ball constantly flies out of play at warp factor nine. The first half was actually fairly interesting with Brimscombe and Thrupp having a few great chances which they somehow didn’t take. As the came went on, the chances became fewer and fewer and virtually nothing happened in extra time despite a large amount of endeavour from both sides.
My first 0-0 of the season, not a terrible game but to quote a cliche, the only winner was the weather.
12-12-15
I picked this tie mainly due to the fact that I don’t know Portsmouth very well. I’ve passed through and visited the tourist attractions, but I’ve never been to football there. A lengthy journey but fortunately we had been spared the hellish conditions endured by folk in the north of the country.
London was always going to be busy a couple of weeks before Christmas, I did particularly like the dozen or so people fully dressed in Santa suits with tattoo’s plastered all over their bodies. I never actually discovered why they were hanging around Waterloo station but needless to say, nobody gave them a second glance.
The rest of the train journey went without incident, I did pass a non-league grounds about 5 minutes before arriving in Portsmouth and made a mental note to look up where it was only to later discover that it was the ground I was going to.
For once, I fell out of the station and immediately saw the street that I was looking for. I never once came close to getting lost.
The obligatory market was situated all away along the middle of the pedestrian walkway near all the major shops. This made it an absolute nightmare to walk anywhere, you took about two steps and had to step aside for a pram, group of people, walking frame or dog coming the other way. Even when I finally got off this walk-way, there were still plenty of different shops littered all over the place and I saw very few boarded up shop fronts - Good to see.
I was confident I would stumble across a chip shop and indeed I did. I just ordered a portion of chips and asked for them to be left open. Clearly in Portsmouth, asking for them to be left open involves putting them in a polystyrene tray and then wrapping them in three large pieces of paper. I spent the next few minutes walking along the street trying to keep them unwrapped, every now and then actually finding a chip and managing to navigate it to my mouth. I eventually came across a bus stop with a bench and bin, managed to unwrap all the paper and actually found a lunch that I could get at.
The street leading to the ground reminded me a bit of Coronation Street. A long straight road with similar looking houses but nothing else of any interest to see.
The ground is actually next to a footbridge that may have saved me a few minutes if I’d used it but it looked a bit secluded and dodgy so I decided to give it a miss.
A bunch of kids were playing football on an outside 5 a-side court on my arrival supervised by a couple of adults. Both teams were shooting into the same goal and I wasn’t quite sure how this worked, turned out to be the only goals I saw all afternoon.
There is a stand by one of the nearside corner flags and also a covered standing area on the near side. The pitch is also right next to the railway line as previously mentioned and trains went past at regular intervals and occasionally stopped for a while at signals giving the passengers a free view of the game.
A large number of away fans were in attendance and certainly made the most noise. Quite a nice atmosphere all in all, the tea hut did great business and was staffed by three cheerful and really hard working ladies.
For the fourth Saturday in a row, I was subjected to winds of over 40mph. It’s now got beyond tedious. Playing a match of any quality is near on impossible as the ball constantly flies out of play at warp factor nine. The first half was actually fairly interesting with Brimscombe and Thrupp having a few great chances which they somehow didn’t take. As the came went on, the chances became fewer and fewer and virtually nothing happened in extra time despite a large amount of endeavour from both sides.
My first 0-0 of the season, not a terrible game but to quote a cliche, the only winner was the weather.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Worth. the trip
Worthing United 0 Suton Common Rovers 1
October 31st 2015
When the draw was published, I chose my home team (Welwyn Garden City) away at Cricklewood Wanderers. I then discovered that they played at Wembley FC, a ground that I have visited on many occasions, so those plans were scrapped and I instead chose to visit Sussex for the first time this season.
Now don’t fall off your chair, my first train of the day was actually two minutes early. Never, ever, has this happened before!
All a bit bizarre around London, being Halloween, people were wandering around with fake bloody faces, in masks and with pretend knives through their heads, nobody even batted an eyelid.
The trip to Worthing was easy enough, I had never appreciated just how big a town this is. The entire 30 minute walk to the ground was along a selection of busy A roads with cars constantly flying by. Not a town I loved to be honest.
I soon found a chippy but something told me not to use that one and keep going, always a dangerous move when you don’t know what’s ahead of you. But luck was with me and opposite a Toby Carvery just 5 minutes walk from the ground was The Real Fishandchips Company. I was served by a delightful young lady, the portion of chips was generous and really tasty. Well worth a visit.
I was very well aware of the awful tragedy just a few weeks earlier when Worthing players Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt lost their lives tragically in the Shoreham air crash. I was very moved by the collection of signed football shirts on the fencing outside the ground, all contributed as a tribute to these young men. It certainly made me stop and think and consider myself lucky for what I have....R.I.P gentlemen.
A motorcycle school was being briefed as I arrived at the ground entrance and were shortly to be let loose on the surrounding roads, you could see the fear in their eyes!
After not particularly liking the town, the view from the ground itself is simply stunning. Miles of rolling downs, horses happily munching grass in nearby fields and lots of ariel activity to catch the eye.
Steep steps lead up to the pitch from the clubhouse and changing room and there is a medium sized stand which I’m sure is more than sufficient for the normal attendance that Worthing get. High banks also surround one side and the far end, a feature I always love and gives you some great camera shots.
The game wasn’t the greatest but was always interesting. Sutton Common always looked the slightly livelier of the two teams and won it with a 49th minute goal.
Absolutely glorious late October day with wall to wall sunshine and surprising warmth. A lovely ground to visit.
October 31st 2015
When the draw was published, I chose my home team (Welwyn Garden City) away at Cricklewood Wanderers. I then discovered that they played at Wembley FC, a ground that I have visited on many occasions, so those plans were scrapped and I instead chose to visit Sussex for the first time this season.
Now don’t fall off your chair, my first train of the day was actually two minutes early. Never, ever, has this happened before!
All a bit bizarre around London, being Halloween, people were wandering around with fake bloody faces, in masks and with pretend knives through their heads, nobody even batted an eyelid.
The trip to Worthing was easy enough, I had never appreciated just how big a town this is. The entire 30 minute walk to the ground was along a selection of busy A roads with cars constantly flying by. Not a town I loved to be honest.
I soon found a chippy but something told me not to use that one and keep going, always a dangerous move when you don’t know what’s ahead of you. But luck was with me and opposite a Toby Carvery just 5 minutes walk from the ground was The Real Fishandchips Company. I was served by a delightful young lady, the portion of chips was generous and really tasty. Well worth a visit.
I was very well aware of the awful tragedy just a few weeks earlier when Worthing players Matthew Grimstone and Jacob Schilt lost their lives tragically in the Shoreham air crash. I was very moved by the collection of signed football shirts on the fencing outside the ground, all contributed as a tribute to these young men. It certainly made me stop and think and consider myself lucky for what I have....R.I.P gentlemen.
A motorcycle school was being briefed as I arrived at the ground entrance and were shortly to be let loose on the surrounding roads, you could see the fear in their eyes!
After not particularly liking the town, the view from the ground itself is simply stunning. Miles of rolling downs, horses happily munching grass in nearby fields and lots of ariel activity to catch the eye.
Steep steps lead up to the pitch from the clubhouse and changing room and there is a medium sized stand which I’m sure is more than sufficient for the normal attendance that Worthing get. High banks also surround one side and the far end, a feature I always love and gives you some great camera shots.
The game wasn’t the greatest but was always interesting. Sutton Common always looked the slightly livelier of the two teams and won it with a 49th minute goal.
Absolutely glorious late October day with wall to wall sunshine and surprising warmth. A lovely ground to visit.
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Coton ripped apart
Coton Green 1 Nuneaton Griff 8
3rd October 2015
Due to other commitments and the close season, it has been 7 months since I was last at a Vase match, great to be back.
When the draw was made at the beginning of July, I went through the fixtures and decided upon Barrow Town v Quorn. I have walked past Barrow’s ground on my way to Rothley Imperials and made a mental note that I must return. So that was that and I forgot about it for the best part of three months.
Then last Sunday, I bought a Non-league paper, glanced through the fixtures again and spotted Coton Green. It’s rare these days to see a team that I haven’t heard of, intrigued, I looked up where they are. Now I hate Tamworth, I was chased down the street there about 30 years ago whilst following Wealdstone and haven’t been back since. For reasons that I can’t really explain, I changed my mind and decided upon Coton Green as my venue.
At Euston station, the place was packed with rugby fans slowly making their way towards Twickenham, when my train platform was announced, it was like a rolling maul as people all herded towards the platform, quite amusing to see the look of fear in three people’s eyes as their slow walk up a ramp was suddenly interrupted by a couple of hundred people all walking towards them at the same time. On reaching the train, the doors hadn’t been ulocked and when they finally were, it was like a scrum as people charged on attempting to secure a favourable seat.
The journey to Tamworth went without incident, Tamworth station itself is most unusual. I saw two platforms as I left my train and yet my connection left from platform four. I eventually found it up some stairs where the platform is directly above where I had just been at a 45 degree angle.
Two young girls were standing on the platform just along from me, dressed to the nines. One of them started playing music on her phone and started performing slightly odd movements on the platform.
To her friend she said “Chelsea, we need to find a party, I have to get these moves out”
I’m not sure that 2000 volts would have got those particular moves out!
Wilnecote was only a three minute journey from Tamworth. Having initially set off the wrong way down the road (I must remember to check out Google maps - Streetview before my journey), I put myself right and almost immediately found a chippy.
Eating pie and chips whi;st walking is not easy but there was nowhere to sit for 5 minutes. I did receive some insult from a group of youths driving by that I didn’t quite make out, good to know that Tamworth hasn’t changed too much.
I had arrived in good time, so spent half an hour in the Corals in Fazeley. Big shout out to the guy in the shop, he came and asked if I was okay and needed any assistance, he later came and offered me a cup of tea, what a nice bloke and a credit to Corals. I got a place in the 13:50 at Redcar and left the shop 10p down. A fair price for 30 minutes entertainment.
The ground is just 5 minutes from there. Walking down the approach road, there was no traffic at all that slightly unnerved me, but I soon heard that unmistakable noise of players warming up.
The first thing to hit me was that there are no floodlights. Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted that Coton Green got to play in the Vase, but aren’t clubs in FA competitons supposed to have floodlights? Please tweet me @YT40 if you have any information on this.
A basic ground which is railed off and a tiny amount of cover in a sort of shed on the far side. A reasonable clubhouse with a very friendly lady behind the bar, there seemed to be enough pasta with cheese to feed the whole of the crowd.
There was a lovely feel to the place, kids were happily playing football with endless energy and were also the mascots for the game.
This was Coton Green’s first FA Vase game ever, it was nice to be present to witness this little bit of the club’s history.
Sadly, the game was no classic and Coton Green were simply outclassed. They did keep a clean sheet for the first quarter of the match and were only two down at half time.
Unfortunately, in the last quarter, they let in four with a catalogue of defensive howlers although they did manage to get a consolation themselves.
I hope the result doesn’t put Coton Green off entering again, I was lucky with a dry day and it is a nice spot to visit.
3rd October 2015
Due to other commitments and the close season, it has been 7 months since I was last at a Vase match, great to be back.
When the draw was made at the beginning of July, I went through the fixtures and decided upon Barrow Town v Quorn. I have walked past Barrow’s ground on my way to Rothley Imperials and made a mental note that I must return. So that was that and I forgot about it for the best part of three months.
Then last Sunday, I bought a Non-league paper, glanced through the fixtures again and spotted Coton Green. It’s rare these days to see a team that I haven’t heard of, intrigued, I looked up where they are. Now I hate Tamworth, I was chased down the street there about 30 years ago whilst following Wealdstone and haven’t been back since. For reasons that I can’t really explain, I changed my mind and decided upon Coton Green as my venue.
At Euston station, the place was packed with rugby fans slowly making their way towards Twickenham, when my train platform was announced, it was like a rolling maul as people all herded towards the platform, quite amusing to see the look of fear in three people’s eyes as their slow walk up a ramp was suddenly interrupted by a couple of hundred people all walking towards them at the same time. On reaching the train, the doors hadn’t been ulocked and when they finally were, it was like a scrum as people charged on attempting to secure a favourable seat.
The journey to Tamworth went without incident, Tamworth station itself is most unusual. I saw two platforms as I left my train and yet my connection left from platform four. I eventually found it up some stairs where the platform is directly above where I had just been at a 45 degree angle.
Two young girls were standing on the platform just along from me, dressed to the nines. One of them started playing music on her phone and started performing slightly odd movements on the platform.
To her friend she said “Chelsea, we need to find a party, I have to get these moves out”
I’m not sure that 2000 volts would have got those particular moves out!
Wilnecote was only a three minute journey from Tamworth. Having initially set off the wrong way down the road (I must remember to check out Google maps - Streetview before my journey), I put myself right and almost immediately found a chippy.
Eating pie and chips whi;st walking is not easy but there was nowhere to sit for 5 minutes. I did receive some insult from a group of youths driving by that I didn’t quite make out, good to know that Tamworth hasn’t changed too much.
I had arrived in good time, so spent half an hour in the Corals in Fazeley. Big shout out to the guy in the shop, he came and asked if I was okay and needed any assistance, he later came and offered me a cup of tea, what a nice bloke and a credit to Corals. I got a place in the 13:50 at Redcar and left the shop 10p down. A fair price for 30 minutes entertainment.
The ground is just 5 minutes from there. Walking down the approach road, there was no traffic at all that slightly unnerved me, but I soon heard that unmistakable noise of players warming up.
The first thing to hit me was that there are no floodlights. Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted that Coton Green got to play in the Vase, but aren’t clubs in FA competitons supposed to have floodlights? Please tweet me @YT40 if you have any information on this.
A basic ground which is railed off and a tiny amount of cover in a sort of shed on the far side. A reasonable clubhouse with a very friendly lady behind the bar, there seemed to be enough pasta with cheese to feed the whole of the crowd.
There was a lovely feel to the place, kids were happily playing football with endless energy and were also the mascots for the game.
This was Coton Green’s first FA Vase game ever, it was nice to be present to witness this little bit of the club’s history.
Sadly, the game was no classic and Coton Green were simply outclassed. They did keep a clean sheet for the first quarter of the match and were only two down at half time.
Unfortunately, in the last quarter, they let in four with a catalogue of defensive howlers although they did manage to get a consolation themselves.
I hope the result doesn’t put Coton Green off entering again, I was lucky with a dry day and it is a nice spot to visit.
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Shields put Erith to the sword
Erith & Belvedere 0 North Shields 2
Always nice to have a reachable ground in the Vase quarter finals that you haven't visited before.
Note to fellow ground hoppers, not the greatest idea to try out new mattresses at John Lewis with 'er indoors before leaving for the game. Not exactly an onerous task but I couldn't stop yawning for about the next 2 hours.
A relatively stress free journey, interesting to take the route from Victoria to Welling although there seemed to be construction works going on everywhere you looked. There seemed to be complete carnage with buses, taxis and cars outside Lewisham station.
When printing my Google map, I noticed that there was a Pie n mash shop just off the Welling road. What a little beauty this is, no thrills, certainly not fine dining, but a mince beef pie, mash and parsley liquer served to you in seconds. Jellied eels are also on the menu, you just don't find many cafes like this any more. Absolutely loved it.
Now I had loads of time to spare so decided to visit the bookies, lots to chose from in the High street and I ended up in a Corals. Having failed miserably on a few dog races, I decided to take a punt in the 13:45 from Newbury. At least, I would have if some old fella hadn't stood directly in front of the Racing post form for at least 10 minutes. Instead I diverted to a free area of wall where the Kelso fixtures were listed. After checking out form for the 13:55, I ended up taking an each way punt on a 66/1 outsider. It would have been well out of the places until one of the leading horses suddenly went lame and in the end I nabbed third place and left the shop well in profit and no longer noticing the strong winds and constant drizzle.
Eirth share with Welling United from the conference. An interesting set-up and a ground share done the proper way. Both clubs have their own entrance, both clubs have their own stand and their own catering huts. It does mean that you can't really walk around the whole ground but the set-up clearly works. A billiard table of a pitch, old fashined concrete terracing and in fact, set bang on the High street, the whole place seems like something from the 1970's with the odd modern addition.
I normally like fans from Northern clubs when they come south on their travels but these North Shields fans did grate on the nerves a bit. One guy when the subs were warming up kept the ball behind his back following a wayward shot and eventually held it out in his hands for one of the subs to come and collect. They ignored him for a considerable time but the guy (Apparently some of them had been drinking since 5m) persevered and wouldn't throw it back. When the sub eventually walked over to get the ball, the guy then there it away. Apparently this was hilarious.
The first half was a fairly poor affair, quite even with only one shot on target the entire half. Shields pulled away in the second half getting stronger as the game progressed, scoring on 49 & 59 mins.
Not quite sure how long the journey will take if they get drawn away to St Austell. They're probably the side to avoid in the semis.
Interesting ground, I will return one day to tick off Welling FC.
Always nice to have a reachable ground in the Vase quarter finals that you haven't visited before.
Note to fellow ground hoppers, not the greatest idea to try out new mattresses at John Lewis with 'er indoors before leaving for the game. Not exactly an onerous task but I couldn't stop yawning for about the next 2 hours.
A relatively stress free journey, interesting to take the route from Victoria to Welling although there seemed to be construction works going on everywhere you looked. There seemed to be complete carnage with buses, taxis and cars outside Lewisham station.
When printing my Google map, I noticed that there was a Pie n mash shop just off the Welling road. What a little beauty this is, no thrills, certainly not fine dining, but a mince beef pie, mash and parsley liquer served to you in seconds. Jellied eels are also on the menu, you just don't find many cafes like this any more. Absolutely loved it.
Now I had loads of time to spare so decided to visit the bookies, lots to chose from in the High street and I ended up in a Corals. Having failed miserably on a few dog races, I decided to take a punt in the 13:45 from Newbury. At least, I would have if some old fella hadn't stood directly in front of the Racing post form for at least 10 minutes. Instead I diverted to a free area of wall where the Kelso fixtures were listed. After checking out form for the 13:55, I ended up taking an each way punt on a 66/1 outsider. It would have been well out of the places until one of the leading horses suddenly went lame and in the end I nabbed third place and left the shop well in profit and no longer noticing the strong winds and constant drizzle.
Eirth share with Welling United from the conference. An interesting set-up and a ground share done the proper way. Both clubs have their own entrance, both clubs have their own stand and their own catering huts. It does mean that you can't really walk around the whole ground but the set-up clearly works. A billiard table of a pitch, old fashined concrete terracing and in fact, set bang on the High street, the whole place seems like something from the 1970's with the odd modern addition.
I normally like fans from Northern clubs when they come south on their travels but these North Shields fans did grate on the nerves a bit. One guy when the subs were warming up kept the ball behind his back following a wayward shot and eventually held it out in his hands for one of the subs to come and collect. They ignored him for a considerable time but the guy (Apparently some of them had been drinking since 5m) persevered and wouldn't throw it back. When the sub eventually walked over to get the ball, the guy then there it away. Apparently this was hilarious.
The first half was a fairly poor affair, quite even with only one shot on target the entire half. Shields pulled away in the second half getting stronger as the game progressed, scoring on 49 & 59 mins.
Not quite sure how long the journey will take if they get drawn away to St Austell. They're probably the side to avoid in the semis.
Interesting ground, I will return one day to tick off Welling FC.
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