Match 28. Egham Town v Potters Bar Town

Saturday 25^th January 2014 @3pm

Southern Football League Division 1 Central

EGHAM TOWN 6-0 POTTERS BAR TOWN

Runnymede Stadium, Wards Place, Egham

Admission: £6

Programme: £1

Attendance: 92

Refreshments: Guinness, £3.20. Cheeseburger, £3.00

 

After my chosen games were called off in the morning, I hunted around for a possible new tick and by the time I got myself into gear, I didn’t leave home until 1.15. I dropped the girls off at Windsor so arrived at the ground at 2.55.  The ground has a selection of cover on all 4 sides of the ground. The turnstiles are behind the near goal where there is also covered standing.  Behind the opposite goal line also has a section of standing cover. To the right touchline there are 3 separate sections of cover.  The left hand side has the main seated stand with the dugouts either side. The tea hut and toilets are to the side of the main stand.  The burger was burned crust on the outside and I only ate it as I was starving. The clubhouse is outside the ground and has a pool table, 2 dart boards and unusually about 8 sofas in front of the TV screen. The car park has several pot holes which turned into ponds during the match.

  

Egham went a goal up after just 3 minutes when a cross was knocked in by Anthony.  The match was mostly a midfield battle but the speed of the 3 attacking midfielders supporting the Egham no9 was the difference between the sides.  The second goal arrived on 20 minutes when a cross was only cleared to the edge of the area where Crossley was waiting to hit on the half volley into the net.  Thomas added Eghams third just after half an hour when he attacked down the left wing, cut inside the goal line and curled a beautiful shot into the far top corner.  Just before half time, Crossley found himself on the left hand side of the goal.  The keeper ran out to cut him off but got stranded, lost out in the tackle and Crossley in a copycat of the 3^rd goal, chipped into the far corner.

 

Potters Bar had hope as the Egham no3 got sent off in the first minute of the second half for a studs up challenge. This gave the visitors their best 15 minutes of the match and actually had a shot tipped over the bar.  With a couple of subs put on by Egham, they added to their lead on 68 minutes when a weaving run by no7 allowed Andrews to toe into the net.

 

The skies darkened and shortly after, at 4.25 we were met with torrential rain, hail, swirling winds, thunder and lightning. We all scurried to the back of the main stand to stay dry and the players and officials just carried on playing.  By the time the storm had passed there was 5 minutes remaining and all on the field were dripping wet. It was surreal watching the play with their heads down, hunched shoulders, trying to protect themselves from the hail and rain in an open field.  Fair play especially to the away side, being 5-0 down the visitors didn’t moan about the weather and just got on with it.  A penalty in the last minute just gave Egham a more flattering scoreline, as there wasn’t much between them apart from the attacking options.  I enjoyed this old fashioned ground, a bit rough around the edges but the pitch is in good condition.  Found my car via various deep puddles, likened to a game of hopscotch.

Match 27. Greenwich Borough v Erith Town

Saturday 18^th January 2014 @3pm

Southern Counties East League

GREENWICH BOROUGH 0-1 ERITH TOWN

Princes Park, Dartford

Admission: £7

Programme: free (£2 cover price)

Attendance: 162

Refreshments: Kent Best (bottle), £3. Mars bar, 70p. Vegetable cup-a-soup, £1

Greenwich Borough has shared Dartfords ground from the beginning of the season after a nomadic few years at Holmesdale FC. Before 2009 they played at Harrow Meadow in Eltham, a ground which now has housing on it. At Princes Park, Greenwich uses the near entrance near the car park and the small bar just to the right of the turnstile for hot and cold drinks and filled rolls.  Note there is no hot food available.  The usual facilities and bar for Dartford games are not available.

I have visited the ground several times with Dartford but a first with the tenants.  The Chairman has grand plans to eventually be on a par with their landlords and to have a similar ground and facilities back in their home borough in the foreseeable future.  I wait and see how far they get towards this vision.  The attendance was twice the season average due to the lack of games in North Kent and that Dartford fans can get in for £2, where around 30 took up this offer.

 

On the plus side, the capture of Ian Jenkins as new first team manager looks a good appointment; probably for next seasons promotion push and new recruits so far are coming from Step 4 clubs.  The match however, was a disappointment. A large covering of sand on the pitch and the touchline in front of the Main stand seemed to consist of several inches of dark sand from Sheppey! Greenwich certainly had more of the attacking play in the second half, after an instantly forgettable first 45 minutes.  Erith Town however, got the important goal 15 minutes from time. From a corner, the ball wasn’t cleared at the far post and it fell to Joe Nwoko, 10 yards from the centre of the goal to easily drill in past the keeper.

Match 26. Brantham Athletic v Norwich United

Saturday 11^th January 2014 @3pm

Thurlow Nunn Premier Division

BRANTHAM ATHLETIC 2-0 NORWICH UNITED

Brantham Leisure Centre, New Village, Brantham, Nr Manningtree

  

Admission: £7

Programme: £1.50

Attendance: 52

Refreshments: Guinness, £3.10. Hot dog, £2.

 

The ground is found off the A12, using the A1070 junction which crept up on me, unsighted so I had to turn at the next junction and come back.  The A1070 is about 5 miles from the ground on a winding road.  I could see the floodlights as I came up to the main junction in Brantham.

 

I entered the ground through the wooden turnstile hut and the clubhouse is immediately to the right, with the nearside goal on the left. There is a makeshift seated stand in the corner of the nearside goal, with a further covered wooden bench seated stand halfway down the far touchline.  The pitch is railed on 3 sides and has a roped 4^th side in front of the shared cricket pitch side.  Some Step 5 league ground committees would be moaning about the lack of hard standing and fenced off side, but 3 sides are perfectly adequate for Step 5 football.

 

The first goal arrived half way through the first half. An attack down the right hand side allowed no7 Cole to cross and find no9 Grimwood unmarked 10 yards out and drilled it to the near top corner of the net, wrong footing the keeper. Despite the lead, the forwards were getting nowhere up front so the manager changed the formation, with no10 and no9 swapping the target man duties which allowed Grimwood to be in the right place to intercept a pass that was not really his to win, he then poked the ball forward into the path of no11 Nobbs who was running in behind the right back and shot first time into the net. In the second half, both sides cancelled each other out, not helped by the constant stoppages by a whistle happy ref who liked a good chat with each player it seemed, meaning the match ended at 4.57!

Match 25. Ipswich Town v Preston North End

Saturday 4^th January 2014 @3pm

FA Cup 3^rd Round

IPSWICH TOWN 1-1 PRESTON NORTH END

Portman Road, Ipswich

Admission: £15

Programme: £2

Attendance: 13,534

Refreshments:  Adnams Southwold Bitter, £3.50. Bovril, £2

  

I played it safe today, going for a FA Cup game less likely to be postponed.  I hadn’t been to Portman Road for about a dozen years but always enjoyed going there, especially the victory against Brighton which relegated Albion but their supporters had good banter on the train journey home.

  

The ground had a cash turnstile open on each stand so I chose the Co-Op stand upper tier with a great view of the match.  Programmes were reduced to £2 as well as reduced admission.  The weather was ok until the last 30 minutes where is rained and got heavier towards the end and walking back to the car in the town got rather wet.

 

I gather Ipswich changed half the strongest first team and it showed throughout the match.  The passing was either negative or wayward for most part and gave Preston a chance of an upset.  The first chance after 20 minute went to Preston was a cross was diverted by Hume and Chambers headed off the goalline. Debutant Ebanks-Blake then limped off after half an hour, replaced by McGoldrick. 7 minutes before the break Preston conceded a penalty when from a corner Huntingdon of Preston raised his arm to clear the ball.  McGoldricks penalty was saved but he was first to the rebound to finish it off. Ipswich should have played the half out but Preston equalised just before the break when Berra instructed the defence to play off side trap even though Mings was down injured 8 yards out near the corner flag.  Veteran Kevin Davies pounced on the mistake and drove the ball away from Roach into the far corner.

  

The second half was a not event until the last 5 minutes. Tabb had been invisible throughout and was thankfully replaced by the lively Taylor after 65 minutes.  Just before the end Ipswich almost stole a victory when from a cross McGoldrick quickly struck goal bound and Rudd made a brilliant last ditch save.

Match 24. Ebbsfleet United v Bromley

Wednesday 1^st January 2014 @3pm

Skrill Conference South

EBBSFLEET UNITED 1-3 BROMLEY

Stonebridge Road, Northfleet

 

Admission: £10

Programme: £3

Attendance: 998

Refreshments: Guinness, £3.60.  Ham Ciabatta from home.

 

I had decided not to travel far with the weather already soaking most of the UK, so had a shortlist of Welling or Ebbsfleet. When I checked on Twitter that Welling was postponed and Stonebridge Road had passed the match referees inspection, I drove and parked up about 2.30.  I bumped into a friend who is a Bromley season ticket holder so had a good pre-match catch up.  The groundsman had made a tremendous effort to get the match on, as although there was some standing water as the match progressed, the ball didn’t hold up at all during the match.

 

Stonebridge Road is a gem of a ground, showing history of how a ground was fifty years ago.  A welcome change since my visit last year was the large covered terrace had a new roof, so no more leaky areas for around 700 under the roof at this game.  The clubhouse was busy before the match and I was a bit surprised by the cost of programme, but relieved to see a game.

Both Ebbsfleets main strikers were not fully fit and Steve Brown started with Ben May and put Thelassitis on the bench.  May only lasted 20 mins before being replaced. Both teams were struggling more with the high winds than the persistent rain but on the half hour, Bromley took the lead when a pass down the right wing was crossed over and Pierre J-D hammered it home from inside the box.  Fleet closed the half out in the ascendancy but failed to level despite several corners.

 

Fleet had more scoring chances in the second half but the absence of a fit goalscorer told as Bromley extended their lead just before the hour, when a deep cross from a free kick wasn’t cleared and  Jake Reid took a touch then placed it just inside the post. The weather now worsened as the winds picked up and driving rain making the game difficult for both teams. Bromley killed the match after 83 mins when son of boss Goldberg picked up a loose cross and drove it past keeper Edwards.  A late consolation from Ebbsfleet in the last minute of the 90 as a cross from the left was well received by Bricknell who fired into the net.