Barcombe 3 Burgess Hill Albion Reserves 0, attendance 13
14’ 1-0
42’ 2-0
61’ 3-0
@ Barcombe Recreation Ground
School Gardens
off School Path
Barcombe Cross
BN8 5DR
No Admission or Programme.
This was an unusual time and day for two Saturday teams to play a match. What was more strange though, was the fact that these two are in Mid Sussex League Division 4 South (Step 12) and they open up their season with this exact fixture this coming Saturday!
Barcombe took the honours today, courtesy of being the more clinical with their chances. Come Saturday, it could be a totally different outcome.
Larkfield & New Hythe Wanderers 2 Eastbourne Town 4, attendance 83
12’ 0-1
33’ 0-2
40’ 0-3
66’ 0-4
75’ 1-4
87’ 2-4 (pen)
@ New Hythe Lane
Larkfield
ME20 6PU
No Admission or Programme.
I only made it here with a couple of minutes to spare. In fact, I was still giving in my Covid-19 track & trace details at the ground entrance when the game got underway a minute early. At least the pitch was in full view!
This match was only arranged on Friday, after both teams had been let down by their intended opposition pulling out at short notice, so it fitted the bill perfectly. Larkfield & New Hythe play in Division 1 Central & East of the Kent County League (Step 8) whilst Eastbourne Town play three levels higher, in the Premier Division of the Southern Combination League.
Eastbourne were well on top, although they were made to work hard. They were cruising towards a comfortable win, easing off towards the end, which enabled Larkfield & New Hythe to grab a couple of late goals that made the game look closer than it was.
So, the treble worked out fine in the end and the best ground of the day, as expected, was saved until last. To be fair, there can’t be too many grounds anywhere in the country better than this at Step 8.
I arrived from my morning match with four minutes to spare, although this became ten minutes due to the late kick off.
It was another match between two Sevenoaks & District League teams. Potters are in the Premier Division (Step 11) with Seal in Division 2 (Step 13). The two division gap was just too much to make it a real contest. Potters were clinical in front of goal and although Seal fought until the end, the result was never in doubt.
St. Lawrence 2 Blackham & Ashurst Saracens 2, attendance 8
3’ 1-0
17’ 2-0
32’ 2-1
82’ 2-2
@ Rooks Hill Road
Bitchets Green
Stone Street
TN15 0NB
No Admission or Programme.
I only noticed this match when I looked at twitter just after 09.30 this morning. Within five minutes I had received the kick off time and venue from the visitors, so instead of doing a double today, it would hopefully now be a treble instead.
This was between two teams who play in the Sevenoaks & District League Premier Division (Step 11). When last season was curtailed by Covid-19, St. Lawrence topped the league table having won eleven of their twelve matches, with the other game drawn. Blackham & Ashurst were second bottom.
St. Lawrence were very impressive early on, but seemed to run out of steam. The visitors came back well and in the end deserved more than a draw from a very strong performance. The only downside was that the game was played as 3 x 30 minutes. Instead of making ridiculous decisions, such as the recent banning of fans from attending friendly matches, it is about time the F.A. outlawed games that are not played as two halves!
At the end of last week Pulborough had tweeted that they were looking for opposition for tonight’s game. I tweeted them yesterday, then again today, about whether there was indeed a match, but they never bothered replying to either message. Then, just two hours before kick off, they tweeted that there was indeed a match tonight!
As I arrived at the ground there was a very heavy rain shower and the wind was blowing at a fair pace. With thick cloud overhead, combined with the match kicking off late, the Referee had stated it would be 2 x 40 minute halves, just to be on the safe side as far as the light, or lack of it, was concerned. However, the weather improved as the game went on and we had nice warm sunshine for most of the second half. There was never going to be a problem as far as the pitch was concerned. It was immaculate and as good as any I have seen on a local recreation ground.
The teams are both in the West Sussex League. Pulborough are in Championship North Division (Step 9), which is the second tier, whilst Newtown Villa are in the Premier Division. The visitors were the better side in the first half, but Pulborough had the better of the second period. The last two goals for the hosts were absolute screamers from 25-30 yards that gave the ‘keeper no chance.
Typically, having opted for a shortened match, it was still very light when the game finished at 19.53.
Above : Newtown Villa open the scoring.Above : No problem being socially distanced from the players here!
Greenways Aces Old Boys 3 Medway Rovers 2, attendance 18
5’ 1-0
32’ 2-0
34’ 2-1
55’ 2-2
69’ 3-2
@ Cascades Leisure Centre
Thong Lane
Gravesend
DA12 4LG
No Admission or Programme.
This was a clash of two teams from the Rochester & District League. Greenways are in Division 2 (Step 13) and Medway are Division 1.
I arrived a little earlier than the advertised 18.45 kick off, just in case they decided to start a bit earlier, as it seemed ambitious to kick off so late without the use of floodlights and it turned out to be the correct decision.
This was by far the most competitive match I have seen this pre-season and it certainly wasn’t very ‘friendly’. There seemed to be a nasty undercurrent and a couple of times it looked like it may get out of hand. The score line may have been different if Medway hadn’t missed two penalties. The first was saved by the ‘keeper, when it was 1-0, and the second was put wide when it was 3-2.
I had visited Cranleigh back in May 1997, when they lost 1-2 to Cobham in a Combined Counties League match. That was played at their Snoxhall Field ground, which is on the other side of Knowle Lane from tonight’s venue, with no more than 200 yards between the two pitches. Luckily, the club had tweeted the change in venue, apparently due to the council not allowing them to use the 1st team pitch as they are looking to carry out some work on it.
The match was between two Step 8 teams. Cranleigh play in the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) Premier Division, whilst the visitors are in the West Sussex League Premier Division. It was a pretty even contest and the draw was a fair result.
A couple of rain showers during the second half meant the light faded quite quickly. It was very windy for the entirety and the gloom had really set in by the time we finished at 20.13. It felt more like an Autumn evening than late Summer.
Liss have had pitch work carried out on their home ground, but a double whammy of the Covid-19 shutdown, combined with a lack of rain, has meant the pitch isn’t ready yet, hence them playing a couple of pre season matches here at West Liss Playing Field.
Liss are in the Hampshire Premier League Senior Division, which is Step 7, whilst the visitors are a Sunday team who play in the Meon Valley Sunday League. It was pretty one sided, especially in the first half, but Meon competed well after going 4-0 down so early on and the double figure score line never materialised, despite looking nailed on at one point.
This was Amateur Football Combination Senior Division 1 South (level 2) which is not part of the pyramid system, versus Surrey South Eastern Combination League Intermediate Division 1, which is Step 8. The score line was a fair reflection of the home teams dominance, although this was to be expected as they are further into their pre-season build up than Goldfingers.
With the early kick off it meant there was plenty of scope to head for a second match.
This was West Sussex League Championship Division (Step 9) versus Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) Premier Division (Step 8). Westcott competed well throughout, but lacked somewhat in the attacking third of the pitch. They had a man red carded in stoppage time for a two footed challenge.
