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
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