Match 30. St Ives Town v Leighton Town

Saturday 21^st March 2015 @3pm

Southern League Division One Central

ST IVES TOWN 4-0 LEIGHTON TOWN

Pro Edge Stadium, Westwood Road, St Ives, Hunts.

Admission: £8

Programme: £1. Raffle £1.

Attendance: 229

Refreshments: Strongbow, £2. Sausage roll, £1. Chicken cup-a-soup, £1

I dropped off my Mrs and youngest daughter for retail therapy at Thurrock Lakeside and drove the 75 minute journey to Westwood Road to see mid-table versus strugglers Leighton. The parking at the ground is at a premium but the Leisure complex next door has free parking for up to 24 hours.  Turn left at the turnstiles to the club building which has a tea hut, changing rooms and clubhouse with overhang cover and 6 rows of terracing.  There is also a 2 row block of seating for the directors and officials only.  The dugouts are in front of this side. On the opposite touchline is the Main seated stand for around 250 with the rest of the ground having hard standing around the perimeter rail, infilled with mdf.  The locals are best described as ex-North London and many decide to stand right in front of the clubhouse door on the obviously yellow marked no standing area.

The first half was instantly forgettable as both sides struggled with the poor surface, content to argue with the ref at any opportunity. The game picked up in the second half as St Ives decided to concentrate on playing football and expose Leighton of their obvious weakness in midfield and at the back.

The first goal arrived early in the second half as a cross by the winger Seymour-Shove was met by the bearded captain to head strongly into the net. The second goal came from a penalty on 70 minutes as the player was unceremoniously dumped on the ground following a corner.  The 3^rd goal came as the winger again provided a good low cross for Hall to tap in from 6 yards. A 4^th goal arrived on 89^th minute when a long ball was headed down for my MOM Seymour-Shove to meet it and smash into the net from 6 yards. 

Match 29. Brighton & HA U21 v Newcastle United U21

Monday 16^th March 2015 @7pm

Barclays U21 Premier League Division 2

BRIGHTON & HA U21 3-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED U21

Amex Stadium, Village Way, Falmer.

Admission: £5 + £1.50 processing fee

Programme: none. Team sheet provided

Attendance: c450-500

Refreshments: Harvey’s Best Bitter, £3. Bovril, £2.10.

A rare weekday outing as my Mrs and youngest were going to the Brighton Centre and my eldest and Uni friend wanted to go to “Crèmes” café and generally doss in the City for the evening, so I volunteered driving duties and found this Under 21 fixture.  There was ample free parking at the Stadium but the only way to get in was to go to the North stand box office and queue for a ticket.  Entry was advertised as a fiver but the joys of modern technology meant a bar coded ticket is needed to scan at the only open turnstile in the West Stand.  This modern joy cost an extra £1.50 even with cash and asked for purchase history to update the database.  Each transaction took 3-4 minutes so lucky it was a small attendance.  I took it in a normal silent British way but the Geordie in front insisted on a 5 minute argument that it only costs £3 at home and no extra charges. He had a point.

My previous visit was in August 2011 against Peterborough and in this evening game the stadium is aesthetically lit up and pleasing on the eye, one of the better new build structures since the Taylor report.  The spare capacity since my first visit has now been filled in with seats and in this sparse crowd all situated in a section of the lower west stand a good view can be gleaned of the overall structure. Unfortunately there were no award winning meat pies on sale but the Bitter was on offer probably because there is no further 1^st team game until Easter. All other alcohol is £4.10 upwards.

The game was played in the right manner with good passing and movement, but without as much diving around or crunching tackles.  It reminded me of a game on 3G. Brighton were by far the better side and the Newcastle youngsters are coached by a Mr P Beardsley!  All the goals came in the first half. On 10 minutes a free kick on the right side was curled in left footed by Jesse Starkey onto the head of centre half Pappoe to direct into the net.  A near carbon copy for the 2^nd goal by both players, this time a free kick near the corner flag but with the same result. A defensive short back pass was pounced on by no9 Rob Dean to run unchallenged and slot the ball beyond the advancing keeper.  The second half as dominated by Brighton and they hit the post near the end. The best thing I recall from the away side is to name and shame the no4 who sported a chicken haircut. Short black hair with a yellow dyed chicken barnet. Macaulay Gillesphey ran about midfield like a headless version though.

Match 28. Holmer Green v London Colney

Saturday   14^th March 2015 @3pm

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division

HOLMER GREEN 1-2 LONDON COLNEY

Airedale Park, Watchet Lane, Holmer Green, High Wycombe

Admission: £5

Programme: free with admission

Attendance: 45 h/c

Refreshments: Guinness, £3.95. Small hot dog, £2. Cheese savouries 70p

I have been meaning to go to Watchet Lane for a few seasons now and finally the opportunity came with no other family plans and the hop mobile full of petrol and time on my side.  A relatively short drive (78 miles) on a well behaved M25/M40 and I arrived just after 2pm.  After parking in the ample sized car park, there was no gateman and the away trainer was setting out cones for his side who were still getting changed.  I went to the club building which has a kitchen, clubhouse and several dressing rooms.  I believe there is a squash court on site and I spotted a cricket square and 3 football pitches.  One next to the cricket square and the main and reserve pitches further away. The main pitch has trees and bushes on 3 sides with the dugouts on the open side where the reserve pitch is adjacent and also has built dugouts.  There is a gatehouse at the entrance which is occupied by an 82 year old who has just celebrated 50 years with the club.  Be sure to say hello as he a hospitable chap. Just the kind of welcome a visitor enjoys.  Behind the goal is a 3 step terrace with an area of cover on the back row in the style of scaffold and metal roofing.  The main stand straddles the half way line and is brick built with 3 rows of wooden benches offering a good view of proceedings.

Holmer Green are languishing next to bottom of the table whereas Colney are in sixth and on a good run of form.  The first half however was quite even but with no goals.  The visitors had more possession but the hosts had clearer chances.  Their best effort came on half hour when the Colney keeper botched a clearance, leaving his goal open with the ball near the touchline 35 yards out. Andy Shed hooked the ball but the bounce on the hard pitch make it hit the crossbar and go over.  London Colney had a great chance 5 minutes before the break when a free kick rebounded off the defence to Fitzgerald who shot across the keeper but it hit the post.

Holmer started the second half on the attack but were not getting the rub of the green together with some dubious refereeing decisions. After about an hour the home sides drive went cold as well as the cold wind arriving to make the spectator find somewhere to stand to stay warm. The Green came under pressure and conceded a goal on 75 minutes. The defence didn’t deal with a through ball and Collins slotted past the keeper unchallenged.  The Green had a good penalty shout ignored on 83 minutes but got their equaliser 5 minutes later when a thundering 25 yard shot by Mealings flew beyond the despairing keeper.   Cruel blow in stoppage time when Fitzgerald got the ball and run onto the retreating defence and curled a shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

A friendly club who I hope avoid relegation and should do if they play like today for the rest of the season.

Match 27. M&B Club v Harold Wood Athletic

Saturday 7th March 2015 @2.30pm
EOFL Premier Division
M&B CLUB 0-0 HAROLD WOOD ATHLETIC
May & Baker Social Club, Dagenham Road. RM7 0QX

Admission: Nil
Programme: None
Attendance: 13 h/c
Refreshments: Guinness, £3.35

Needed a cheap day out so chose this fixture as I had heard good things about the club and the expectation of a programme.  I drove from home in under an hour and after driving the 250yds from the road entrance before arriving at the large car park. As well as the well maintained clubhouse, there are changing rooms for several sports. There are squash courts, a cricket square and scoreboard, a rugby game in progress on the right sports pitch and the football pitch had a rope and post for all 4 sides although only the 2 touchlines were roped off.  The clubhouse had the Bradford v Reading FA Cup match on TV and there is an impressive eatery called Jo's Kitchen with hot drinks and meals available until 5pm. I had brought my own lunch with me so didn't partake.  There was no sign of a programme and the barmaid had no idea either. It transpires that the MK Publication sponsored programme for 10 EOFL clubs has ceased from lack of interest and feedback.

I stood on the halfway line opposite the 2 benches and there are fences on 2 sides of the pitch to semi enclose the pitch.  Next to me was an old 'un with his early teen grandnephew. He is an Essex groundhopper now and the conversation flowed nicely throughout the match.  The game however was poor, and the language from both sides, especially the home side was appalling.  One player was booked for calling the 18 year old linesman an f*king spotty c*nt.  I can't see 3 officials in this league for much longer if the referee and linesmen have to deal with this abuse every week. There was a couple of bright points in the second half when a shot heading for the top corner was superbly saved by the home keeper and another shot pushed beyond the post. The play in general on a bumpy dry pitch was difficult to maintain ball control and too much whinging puts this down as the worst game so far this season for me.

Match 26. Highworth Town v Tadcaster Albion

Saturday 28^th February 2015 @3pm

FA Vase Quarter Final

HIGHWORTH TOWN 1-1(aet) TADCASTER ALBION

The Elms, A361, Highworth, Swindon

Admission: £7 (special increase for FA Vase. Usually £5)

Programme: £1

Attendance: 771

Refreshments: King Brain Cider, £1.50 (1/2). Guinness, £3.20. Burger, £2.40. Mini Cheddars & Mars bar, £1.30

I wasn’t sure if I was going to attend this match as the family were making noises about shopping in Southampton, but their mind was changed with a little persuasion so I dropped them off at Reading just after 1pm and drove to Highworth, arriving about 2.15 and parked to the south of the ground and trekked across some junior pitches to the gap in the fence known as the 2^nd turnstile.  The main entrance is to the north corner but parking that end was at a premium. Still I had paid my £7 and got a programme and walked around to the clubhouse the opposite end. This a basically a 3 sided railed pitch with a wooden fence and dugouts on the open 4^th side where the cricket pitch is beyond.  The hard standing is available behind both goals and the 3 covered areas are on the east touchline. Two are seated and one is standing.  Nearly 800 crammed into this tiny ground for the biggest match in Highworth Town history.  About 220-250 fans arrived from Yorkshire and all behaved themselves throughout despite copious amounts of alcohol consumed.

The teams lined up and Highworth decided to kick down the obvious slope in the first half.  The away side certainly were all broad shouldered and mostly 6 foot plus so would have a physical presence and would not have looked out of place as a Rugby League side (-2). Indeed the pitch and windy conditions favoured the egg chasing but both sides put on a tense but thrilling show. The Tadcaster style was to mainly pump long balls to the strikers and wingers to stretch the home defence whereas Highworth preferred using the midfield and shorter balls unless necessary.  The first big chance fell to Tadcaster but with the striker one on one with the keeper, the ball was smothered at his feet. Highworth scored just before half time when a powerful shot was saved by the keeper and rebound slotted in but the flag was raised for offside.

The clubhouse and hot drinks queue was packed at half time so I and about 25 others sloped out next door to the Rose & Crown for half time refreshments.

Highworth were given a penalty on the hour when No10 Parsons got to the ball between defender and keeper and was illegally sandwiched in the area.  No9 Bohane scored from the spot.  Tadcaster got back in it about 25 minutes into the half when they were awarded their own penalty for handball and Ward converted to level the score. The rain started to fall and 2 goalmouth scrambles couldn’t add to the score and the game entered into extra time.  Highworth had more chances in the extra 30 minutes but Tadcaster had the best chance right at the end when a cross was backheaded onto the cross bar.  Battle resumes in Yorkshire next Saturday.