Kent County League

Division 2 East

Saturday 28th September 2024

Kick Off 14.45 Actual 14.51

Bocca Juniors 4 Gillingham Town 3, attendance 43

15’ 1-0

31’ 1-1

35’ 2-1

40’ 3-1

46’ 3-2

64’ 3-3

73’ 4-3

@ Pitchside, 3G Pitch

Stanhope Road

Stanhope

Ashford

TN23 5RN

No Admission or Programme.

The 19 mile drive south east from this mornings game took 38 minutes, all without motorways and along some very narrow lanes, arriving around twenty five minutes before the scheduled kick off, but as it kicked off six minutes late, there was plenty of time to spare. The ground here is as bad as it gets. It’s a 3G cage, but without a designated spectator area. There is a grass pitch running parallel, with the changing rooms beyond that, about 50 yards away. Quite how the F.A. or indeed any league in the country allow/want these set ups being used for competitive games is beyond me (this mornings visitors Skippers also play here). Anyway, it seemed no problem watching inside the fence. That is, until the second half was about to start. A member of staff had arrived during halftime and told everyone to get behind the fence, or the Police would be called to forcibly remove those not complying. It meant the first 15-20 minutes of the second half were spent peering through the mesh, but once she’d left, those who’d bothered to stay, slowly edged their way back inside, albeit limited to the area immediately adjacent to the gate.

Bocca Juniors had started the day top of the league table, having been replaced by Skippers, who’d won my earlier game, but knew a win here would see them return as leaders. Gillingham Town came into this in ninth place and for long periods never looked liked getting anything from the game. A speculative effort that sailed over the ‘keeper, dropping into the far corner, saw Bocca take the lead, but Gillingham hit back to level the scores just after the half hour mark, heading in a diagonal free kick at the far post. Bocca hit back with two goals in five minutes to lead 3-1 at the break. Within a minute of the restart the visitors pulled a goal back and having had another effort hit the post, made it 3-3 just after the hour, volleying in from close range after a ball was pulled back across the six yard box. Bocca managed to edge back in front with seventeen minutes left and although Gillingham did get an equaliser, the Referee failed to notice the ball had crossed the line before the ‘keeper got to it, so it wasn’t awarded.

Kent County League

Division 2 East

Saturday 28th September 2024

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.01

Len Valley 0 Skippers 3, attendance 17

43’ 0-1

50’ 0-2

65’ 0-3 (pen)

@ The Staxson Stadium, Pitch 2

Woodstock Park Sports & Social Club

Broadoak Road

Milstead

Sittingbourne

ME9 8AD

No Admission or Programme.

An early kick off here, meant the perfect opportunity to tick off the outside pitch here at The Staxson Stadium, home of Sittingbourne F.C. who were hosting Plymouth Parkway on the main pitch at 3 o’clock in an F.A. Cup match. I’d been to the main stadium back in March 2011, when I saw Norton Sports lose 1-2 to Herne Bay in a Kent League match.

Today’s game was 2nd versus 3rd in the league table and whatever the result, one of them would be top of the table at the end, with current leaders Bocca Juniors not kicking off until later in the afternoon. As it turned out, it was the visitors who grabbed top spot, courtesy of a 0-3 win that was closer than the scoreline suggests. They went ahead two minutes before halftime, cutting in from the right and finishing left footed into the bottom corner. Goal number two arrived five minutes into the second half, when a corner from the right was hooked back across the six yard box and nodded in from close range, with the third coming just after the hour mark, dispatched from the penalty spot by Ben Pilcher, to complete his hattrick.

As mentioned, this was played on the back pitch (confirmed to me via Twitter from the League, a question ignored by both clubs). The players got changed in the main stadium though, despite there being changing rooms for the outer pitch. Oddly, as the Sittingbourne players were arriving for their game, they appeared to be using the outer changing rooms. Entry is via a pathway leading behind the near goal end of the main stadium from the car park, where you pass the changing room building on the left. There are two pitches, end to end, running widthways in front of you, with this being on the left hand one, nearer to the building. It was roped along the near touchline, whilst the ‘benches’ occupied the far side.

It was quite surprising to only see four other ‘hoppers at the game, as there would have been quite a number of afternoon options available to double up with this one, especially with everyone having stayed out on the pitch at halftime and we were done and dusted by 13.38.