Sunday, December 09, 2012
Hert broken
Ampthill Town 1 Hertford Town 0
Due to my wife's 50 th birthday and turning up at Stony Stratford the previous Saturday to find the pitch resembling Lake Windermere, this was my first game since the last round of the Vase at Littlehampton.
Two weeks before Christmas is never the best time to travel by train into London. The platform was heaving, the train was heaving and yet First Capital Connect still make the decision to just send out a four carriage train. Why oh why do they never think of their customers comfort. Still, fares will increase well over the price of inflation again in the new year and absolutely nothing will change - Rant over!
st Pancras was also heaving, but the platform for my train was a little tranquil oasis with only me and a couple of other people daring to head out of London on this prime Saturday shopping day.
It was a straightforward trip to Flitwick station where I was challenged to a walk of between 2-3 miles to Ampthill's ground. I was hoping to bump into somewhere for lunch but could only spot a Martin's newsagent. I bought a bar of chocolat in case of emergencies but there was no sign of a chippy. I set off on my walk and after about 10 minutes, like a mirage, Flitwick fishery appeared like a mirage on the other side of the road. There were two people ahead of my in the queue. I anticipated a short wait but was in the shop for the best part of 15 minutes. Why do chip shops so often not have chips ready? This, along with the guy in front of me buying most of the food in the shop contributed to possibly the longest wait I've ever had for food on a hop. The guy in front of me actually drank a whole bottle of tango that he was buying and had finished it before he paid for it. Still, my jumbo sausage and chips were piping hot and really good.
The walk wasn't particularly enjoyable as it was constantly along busy roads with traffic roaring by. When I arrived in Ampthill, it was quite an attractive little place, larger than I had expected with a good selection of shops.
I used to be the tannoy announcer at Hertford Town as well as doing live, local radio reports. After these roles came to an end, I left the club to groundhop on a full time basis and this is the first time I had seen Hertford Town since. Needless to say, I entered the clubhouse and immediately bumped into a couple of people that I knew. I have to say that the collection of 30 or so Hertford fans sang without and did their club proud.
I really liked the ground. The clubhouse was neat, modern and well run. There was a covered area with some selected seating up a bank on the far side giving a great view of the action. A really nice backdrop of hills, a small wood and a striking church cross at the top of a mound. Hardstading all around with a pitch that played really well after the recent bad weather.
Sadly, the game didn't live up to much. It was slow, in fact laborious at times with long stoppages and seemingly aimless passes from both teams. Hertford's number 11 was injured after about 20 minutes and hobbled for the rest of the half. Why he wasn't substituted, I'll never know. He clearly couldn't run it off and yet was left labouring on the right wing for 25 mins. He even came out at half time for a fitness test after the physio had strapped him up, obviously he failed the test! Ampthill hit the underside of the bar in the first half and the Hertford keeper performed wonders to claw out the follow-up. Hertford hit the outside of the post, these were the only real moments of first half interest. The critical incident of the game happended midway through the second half. The Hertford keeper was caught by a forward in a 50-50 challenge, he writhed around in agony and after lengthy treatment was carried off. An outfide player took over between the sticks. Ampthill after a period of pressing, finally scored on 78 mins. A 15 yard pass was delightfully laid off in a 1-2 move and a toe poked finish gave the stand in keeper little chance. Hertford finally started to play some good football and looked threatening. if only they'd played like this when the scores were level! But Ampthill held on to reach the next round.
An enjoyable afternoon and nice to bump into some old friends.
Due to my wife's 50 th birthday and turning up at Stony Stratford the previous Saturday to find the pitch resembling Lake Windermere, this was my first game since the last round of the Vase at Littlehampton.
Two weeks before Christmas is never the best time to travel by train into London. The platform was heaving, the train was heaving and yet First Capital Connect still make the decision to just send out a four carriage train. Why oh why do they never think of their customers comfort. Still, fares will increase well over the price of inflation again in the new year and absolutely nothing will change - Rant over!
st Pancras was also heaving, but the platform for my train was a little tranquil oasis with only me and a couple of other people daring to head out of London on this prime Saturday shopping day.
It was a straightforward trip to Flitwick station where I was challenged to a walk of between 2-3 miles to Ampthill's ground. I was hoping to bump into somewhere for lunch but could only spot a Martin's newsagent. I bought a bar of chocolat in case of emergencies but there was no sign of a chippy. I set off on my walk and after about 10 minutes, like a mirage, Flitwick fishery appeared like a mirage on the other side of the road. There were two people ahead of my in the queue. I anticipated a short wait but was in the shop for the best part of 15 minutes. Why do chip shops so often not have chips ready? This, along with the guy in front of me buying most of the food in the shop contributed to possibly the longest wait I've ever had for food on a hop. The guy in front of me actually drank a whole bottle of tango that he was buying and had finished it before he paid for it. Still, my jumbo sausage and chips were piping hot and really good.
The walk wasn't particularly enjoyable as it was constantly along busy roads with traffic roaring by. When I arrived in Ampthill, it was quite an attractive little place, larger than I had expected with a good selection of shops.
I used to be the tannoy announcer at Hertford Town as well as doing live, local radio reports. After these roles came to an end, I left the club to groundhop on a full time basis and this is the first time I had seen Hertford Town since. Needless to say, I entered the clubhouse and immediately bumped into a couple of people that I knew. I have to say that the collection of 30 or so Hertford fans sang without and did their club proud.
I really liked the ground. The clubhouse was neat, modern and well run. There was a covered area with some selected seating up a bank on the far side giving a great view of the action. A really nice backdrop of hills, a small wood and a striking church cross at the top of a mound. Hardstading all around with a pitch that played really well after the recent bad weather.
Sadly, the game didn't live up to much. It was slow, in fact laborious at times with long stoppages and seemingly aimless passes from both teams. Hertford's number 11 was injured after about 20 minutes and hobbled for the rest of the half. Why he wasn't substituted, I'll never know. He clearly couldn't run it off and yet was left labouring on the right wing for 25 mins. He even came out at half time for a fitness test after the physio had strapped him up, obviously he failed the test! Ampthill hit the underside of the bar in the first half and the Hertford keeper performed wonders to claw out the follow-up. Hertford hit the outside of the post, these were the only real moments of first half interest. The critical incident of the game happended midway through the second half. The Hertford keeper was caught by a forward in a 50-50 challenge, he writhed around in agony and after lengthy treatment was carried off. An outfide player took over between the sticks. Ampthill after a period of pressing, finally scored on 78 mins. A 15 yard pass was delightfully laid off in a 1-2 move and a toe poked finish gave the stand in keeper little chance. Hertford finally started to play some good football and looked threatening. if only they'd played like this when the scores were level! But Ampthill held on to reach the next round.
An enjoyable afternoon and nice to bump into some old friends.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Little in it
Littlehampton Town 1 Hanworth Villa 1 aet
The train to London was even more heaving than normal. There were fans going to the Arsenal v Spurs gam, fans going to see England v Australia at Twickenham, yet I seemed to be the only one going to Littlehampton in the vase - funny that!
I once again marvelled at modern technology. My daughter has gone travelling and whilst the person in front of me was trying without much success to arrange a lift from Heywards Heath, I was merrily chatting to my daughter in Malaysia by using 'Whatsapp'.
The journey went without incident although a young lady near me spent about an hour knitting. Made me think what a dying art that is, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw someone knitting on a train, it reminded me of the slightly dodgy home-made jumpers I used to be given as a kid.
I didn't really expect to like Littlehampton and was anticipating a slightly run-down, seaside town. I actually encountered a neat little town centre which had a nice feel to it and some lovely little shops. I opted for the South coast pasty shop for lunch which had 4 small tables to eat in. I ordered a giant Cornish pasty and ended up eating the nicest pasty that I have ever had outside of Cornwall. Lovely suety pastry and a tasty filling that didn't cheat on the meat. Absolutely fabulous and try it if you ever get a chance.
The ground is about a 10-15 minute walk from the station and is pretty much a straight line walk. There are covered areas all along the near side and hard standing around all but 1/8 of the pitch. The clubhouse was positively buzzing and is up high necessitating the climb of some stairs. I wasn't expecting too many people but there was quite a crowd who were all up for the game and boisterous with it. Hanworth brought along quite a following. When the two sets of fans congregated in the same area and were all chanting, I anticipated some unpleasantness, but to be fair, the whole crowd were ib good spirits throughout and the match passed without obvious incident. Bizarely the Hanworth fans had two life sized cardboard cut-outs of Marilyn Monroe which they carried around with them, I never found out why.
The game itself was excellent. Littlehampton were from the lower level by one step but certainly matched their opponents. They had the better of the first half and scored after 32 minutes wih a fine diving header. The second half was even with Hanworth just about edging it. They equalised on 70 mins putting away a rebound that came off the far post. Both sides had chances to win it with great opportunities missed and the woodwork being hit. Tackles were flying in as this became a compelling, full-blooded cup-tie.
A winner couldn't be found though, so a replay will be taking place at Hanworth.
Thoroughly enjoyable game at a lively venue.
The train to London was even more heaving than normal. There were fans going to the Arsenal v Spurs gam, fans going to see England v Australia at Twickenham, yet I seemed to be the only one going to Littlehampton in the vase - funny that!
I once again marvelled at modern technology. My daughter has gone travelling and whilst the person in front of me was trying without much success to arrange a lift from Heywards Heath, I was merrily chatting to my daughter in Malaysia by using 'Whatsapp'.
The journey went without incident although a young lady near me spent about an hour knitting. Made me think what a dying art that is, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw someone knitting on a train, it reminded me of the slightly dodgy home-made jumpers I used to be given as a kid.
I didn't really expect to like Littlehampton and was anticipating a slightly run-down, seaside town. I actually encountered a neat little town centre which had a nice feel to it and some lovely little shops. I opted for the South coast pasty shop for lunch which had 4 small tables to eat in. I ordered a giant Cornish pasty and ended up eating the nicest pasty that I have ever had outside of Cornwall. Lovely suety pastry and a tasty filling that didn't cheat on the meat. Absolutely fabulous and try it if you ever get a chance.
The ground is about a 10-15 minute walk from the station and is pretty much a straight line walk. There are covered areas all along the near side and hard standing around all but 1/8 of the pitch. The clubhouse was positively buzzing and is up high necessitating the climb of some stairs. I wasn't expecting too many people but there was quite a crowd who were all up for the game and boisterous with it. Hanworth brought along quite a following. When the two sets of fans congregated in the same area and were all chanting, I anticipated some unpleasantness, but to be fair, the whole crowd were ib good spirits throughout and the match passed without obvious incident. Bizarely the Hanworth fans had two life sized cardboard cut-outs of Marilyn Monroe which they carried around with them, I never found out why.
The game itself was excellent. Littlehampton were from the lower level by one step but certainly matched their opponents. They had the better of the first half and scored after 32 minutes wih a fine diving header. The second half was even with Hanworth just about edging it. They equalised on 70 mins putting away a rebound that came off the far post. Both sides had chances to win it with great opportunities missed and the woodwork being hit. Tackles were flying in as this became a compelling, full-blooded cup-tie.
A winner couldn't be found though, so a replay will be taking place at Hanworth.
Thoroughly enjoyable game at a lively venue.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Barking un Dun in last quarter
Barking 0 Dunstable Town 3
I had originally planned to visit Rye in Sussex for this round. But then one of the amateur dramatic clubs that I belong to organised an evening that I really wanted to attend, so I found a game nearer to home. I would be able to make it back in time, unless there's extra time.....
I took pleasure in passing the olympic stadium at Stratford. Just a passing glimpse brought back happy memories. As it fades into history, it's almost as if it wasn't real. There's something about the Liverpool Street line to Shenfield. At two consecutive stations, we had been sitting there for about 15 seconds, when a passenger suddenly realised it was his stop, leapt from his seat and flew out the carriage just as the doors were closing. At Ilford station, a couple of kids got off the train and walked along the platform with balloon animals. People who create these things make it look so easy. I tried once, the balloon burst in my hands and I took a slap of deflated balloon on the cheek that left a red blotch for about a week. I tried a couple more times and just ended up with strange squeaking noises followed by a balloon that unravelled as quickly as I had folded it up.
Due to rail replacement on the District line, I took he train to Goodmayes. I was pleased to see a Tesco extra as we pulled in and I felt lunch coming on. But their cafe was a huge let down. A few sorry looking chips, one lonesome pie that sat at an odd angle and a few pathetic looking pease. Rather disappointed, I headed off to scour the local shops for alternative food.
I can't remember the last time it took this long to get my sense of direction. I strolled up and down the high street several times trying to find a landmark on my map. I finally spotted the road that I was standing on in my map although it was kind of not facing the way I was expecting - maybe I'm losing my touch as I usually figure out my roue almost immediately.
After almost slelecting a dodgy pizza place and a Southern fried chicken joint, I selected a chippy just as I entered Lodge lane. I had a saveloy and chips. Surprise, surprise, the second I left the shop it started raining and uite hard. I ended up eating my food whilst sheltering under a tree as the rain belted down with the odd drop of rain water landing square on my meal. Oh, the glamerous life we hoppers sometimes lead.
The ground itself wasn't too bad. A covered standing and seating area up one side and cover behind the near goal.
The nicest touch was a bunch of kids and some ladies who were selling homemade cakes at half time for the Macmillan charity. apparently they were down to their last 25 plates of cakes having started with several hundred. The cakes were great and how nice to see a local football club encouraging charity work like this. A little thing like this made me feel good about the whole day.
The game was a real contrast in styles. Dunstable passed the ball really nicely and were incredibly patient, but particularly in the first half, they wouldn't put the ball into the box for love nor money. Barking played a more direct game but had a couple of lively strikers. For 70 minutes we were at stalemate and I was staring to get quite agitated as extra time was the last thing I wanted. Fortunately for me Dunstable scored three in the last 20 minutes as they finally wore a stubborn Barking team town. The last minute saw one of the most incredible double open goal misses I've ever seen. Because it was right at the end of the game & the result was not in doubt, it was kind of shrugged off but I'm not sure I'll ever know how Dunstable didn't score a fourth goal.
Hopefully it will be Sussex in the next round, but Barking was a nice venue to find when I was short of time.
I had originally planned to visit Rye in Sussex for this round. But then one of the amateur dramatic clubs that I belong to organised an evening that I really wanted to attend, so I found a game nearer to home. I would be able to make it back in time, unless there's extra time.....
I took pleasure in passing the olympic stadium at Stratford. Just a passing glimpse brought back happy memories. As it fades into history, it's almost as if it wasn't real. There's something about the Liverpool Street line to Shenfield. At two consecutive stations, we had been sitting there for about 15 seconds, when a passenger suddenly realised it was his stop, leapt from his seat and flew out the carriage just as the doors were closing. At Ilford station, a couple of kids got off the train and walked along the platform with balloon animals. People who create these things make it look so easy. I tried once, the balloon burst in my hands and I took a slap of deflated balloon on the cheek that left a red blotch for about a week. I tried a couple more times and just ended up with strange squeaking noises followed by a balloon that unravelled as quickly as I had folded it up.
Due to rail replacement on the District line, I took he train to Goodmayes. I was pleased to see a Tesco extra as we pulled in and I felt lunch coming on. But their cafe was a huge let down. A few sorry looking chips, one lonesome pie that sat at an odd angle and a few pathetic looking pease. Rather disappointed, I headed off to scour the local shops for alternative food.
I can't remember the last time it took this long to get my sense of direction. I strolled up and down the high street several times trying to find a landmark on my map. I finally spotted the road that I was standing on in my map although it was kind of not facing the way I was expecting - maybe I'm losing my touch as I usually figure out my roue almost immediately.
After almost slelecting a dodgy pizza place and a Southern fried chicken joint, I selected a chippy just as I entered Lodge lane. I had a saveloy and chips. Surprise, surprise, the second I left the shop it started raining and uite hard. I ended up eating my food whilst sheltering under a tree as the rain belted down with the odd drop of rain water landing square on my meal. Oh, the glamerous life we hoppers sometimes lead.
The ground itself wasn't too bad. A covered standing and seating area up one side and cover behind the near goal.
The nicest touch was a bunch of kids and some ladies who were selling homemade cakes at half time for the Macmillan charity. apparently they were down to their last 25 plates of cakes having started with several hundred. The cakes were great and how nice to see a local football club encouraging charity work like this. A little thing like this made me feel good about the whole day.
The game was a real contrast in styles. Dunstable passed the ball really nicely and were incredibly patient, but particularly in the first half, they wouldn't put the ball into the box for love nor money. Barking played a more direct game but had a couple of lively strikers. For 70 minutes we were at stalemate and I was staring to get quite agitated as extra time was the last thing I wanted. Fortunately for me Dunstable scored three in the last 20 minutes as they finally wore a stubborn Barking team town. The last minute saw one of the most incredible double open goal misses I've ever seen. Because it was right at the end of the game & the result was not in doubt, it was kind of shrugged off but I'm not sure I'll ever know how Dunstable didn't score a fourth goal.
Hopefully it will be Sussex in the next round, but Barking was a nice venue to find when I was short of time.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Keeping errors see Spencer home
Downham Town 0 Northampton Spencer 2
I decided that it was time to the Eastern league division 1 and Downham Market fitted the brief. I always have a spring in my step when I have a journey that avoids London and with a glorious early autumn day, all was set fair. Cambridge station has been re-vamped, two new platforms have been created. There's now less of a wait for trains to have an avaiable platform, but before everything was up and down once are, now you have to go up stairs, across a walkway, down stairs and then find which platform your connection is coming in to. All a little stressful when you have a tight connection for time, but I found where I was going with a couple of minutes to spare.
At Ely, a handful of schoolboys got on the train. Although they looked cheerful enough, I always feel terribly sorry for kids that have to go to school on a Saturday and I'm never exactly sure what the purpose is other than possibly enabling teachers to have longer holidays!
As well as Twitter, I've now been talked into joining facebook. It has to be said that most of the journey now consists of reading Email, reading texts, answering tweets, BBM's, Whatsapp messages and facebook messages. It sure makes the journey go quicker - What did we ever do before having these devices?
On leaving Downham Market station, I had to wait for a level crossing barrier to lift, I think that may be a groundhop first for me, but with loads of time, I actually quite enjoyed the little wait.
First job was finding lunch. I bypassed a couple of pubs that didn't look up to much, almost went into a sit down fish and chip shop but was distracted by a sign that said 'Downham cafe'. Just my type of place! I love cafe's that do English food with no frills. Affectionally known as 'greasy spoons', this was a classic case. It was really busy which is always a good sign. Sure, it didn't do fine dining, but the service was polite, the food came quickly and was piping hot and it was reasonably priced. I selected a burger, egg, chips and beans and for a quick bite to eat, I couldn't fault it. Others around me were having shepherds pie, fish and chips, omlettes, sausage sandwiches and the guy next to me just had scrambled egg on toast that looked great. The sort of place tha I find all too infrequently.
I wandered up to the ground which was easy to find. I generally find Eastern grounds really nicely set up. No fault of the club, but this was a little disappointing. It's actually set in a recreation ground and the club had erected temporary fences so that they could charge admission. On first glance, I actually thought it was a training pitch. As I say, it's no criticism as you can only work with the facilities you have and the money you have available. There is cover on the far side and a few benches to sit on. A good clubhouse with a tea point and bar. A tennis court and cricket nets or on the same complex. It's actually quite a short pitch and has an end to end slope. Leaves are starting to fall which also doesn't help the pitch look its best.
Northampton Spencer are a level above Downham. Thhey took the initiative on 8 mins when the Downham keeper collided with a defender and the attacker literally walked the ball in. This keeper had a bad day, he had two shocking kick-outs that could easily have led to other goals and was also lucky to get away with it when he was caught in posession outside the box. He was actually substituted later in the half, I think because he picked up a knock when this first goal was scored. Downham should have equalised soon after this goal but when clean through, shot tamely at the keeper.
The second goal came on 40 mins. It was direct from a 25 yard free kick that the substitute keeper could only turn onto the post and it went in, he probably should have kept it out!
The second half was quite frenetic but there were not a lot of clear cut chances apart from one Downham effort that the keeper saved which again probably should have been scored.
Not a bad crowd and good to see quite a few young people including quite a surprising number of young ladies.
Not my favourite ever place to visit, but nobody could complain about being outside on such a glorious afternoon.
I decided that it was time to the Eastern league division 1 and Downham Market fitted the brief. I always have a spring in my step when I have a journey that avoids London and with a glorious early autumn day, all was set fair. Cambridge station has been re-vamped, two new platforms have been created. There's now less of a wait for trains to have an avaiable platform, but before everything was up and down once are, now you have to go up stairs, across a walkway, down stairs and then find which platform your connection is coming in to. All a little stressful when you have a tight connection for time, but I found where I was going with a couple of minutes to spare.
At Ely, a handful of schoolboys got on the train. Although they looked cheerful enough, I always feel terribly sorry for kids that have to go to school on a Saturday and I'm never exactly sure what the purpose is other than possibly enabling teachers to have longer holidays!
As well as Twitter, I've now been talked into joining facebook. It has to be said that most of the journey now consists of reading Email, reading texts, answering tweets, BBM's, Whatsapp messages and facebook messages. It sure makes the journey go quicker - What did we ever do before having these devices?
On leaving Downham Market station, I had to wait for a level crossing barrier to lift, I think that may be a groundhop first for me, but with loads of time, I actually quite enjoyed the little wait.
First job was finding lunch. I bypassed a couple of pubs that didn't look up to much, almost went into a sit down fish and chip shop but was distracted by a sign that said 'Downham cafe'. Just my type of place! I love cafe's that do English food with no frills. Affectionally known as 'greasy spoons', this was a classic case. It was really busy which is always a good sign. Sure, it didn't do fine dining, but the service was polite, the food came quickly and was piping hot and it was reasonably priced. I selected a burger, egg, chips and beans and for a quick bite to eat, I couldn't fault it. Others around me were having shepherds pie, fish and chips, omlettes, sausage sandwiches and the guy next to me just had scrambled egg on toast that looked great. The sort of place tha I find all too infrequently.
I wandered up to the ground which was easy to find. I generally find Eastern grounds really nicely set up. No fault of the club, but this was a little disappointing. It's actually set in a recreation ground and the club had erected temporary fences so that they could charge admission. On first glance, I actually thought it was a training pitch. As I say, it's no criticism as you can only work with the facilities you have and the money you have available. There is cover on the far side and a few benches to sit on. A good clubhouse with a tea point and bar. A tennis court and cricket nets or on the same complex. It's actually quite a short pitch and has an end to end slope. Leaves are starting to fall which also doesn't help the pitch look its best.
Northampton Spencer are a level above Downham. Thhey took the initiative on 8 mins when the Downham keeper collided with a defender and the attacker literally walked the ball in. This keeper had a bad day, he had two shocking kick-outs that could easily have led to other goals and was also lucky to get away with it when he was caught in posession outside the box. He was actually substituted later in the half, I think because he picked up a knock when this first goal was scored. Downham should have equalised soon after this goal but when clean through, shot tamely at the keeper.
The second goal came on 40 mins. It was direct from a 25 yard free kick that the substitute keeper could only turn onto the post and it went in, he probably should have kept it out!
The second half was quite frenetic but there were not a lot of clear cut chances apart from one Downham effort that the keeper saved which again probably should have been scored.
Not a bad crowd and good to see quite a few young people including quite a surprising number of young ladies.
Not my favourite ever place to visit, but nobody could complain about being outside on such a glorious afternoon.
Sunday, September 02, 2012
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