@ Paringdon Sports & Social Club, Top Field Pitch 2
Paringdon Road
Sumners
Harlow
CM19 4SG
No Admission or Programme.
Paringdon Sports & Social Club has five grass pitches, all of which are roped off through plastic posts. There are three pitches that run parallel in front of the changing room building, then up on a higher plateau, hence the name Top Field, are two more, today’s game taking place on Pitch 2, the furthest one from the entrance. Thankfully, there is plenty of on site parking, as the housing estate bordering the complex didn’t look like the kind of place you would want to leave your car.
On paper, this looked to be the perfect cup tie, as Division 2 (6th place) hosted Premier Division (9th place). In the end it didn’t meet expectations. Chipperfield should have been six goals up, before finally converting in stoppage time to lead 0-1 at the break. Two minutes into the second half it was 0-2 and game over. Despite an awful pitch, which was certainly a leveller as far as the gulf between the teams went, Broxbourne never looked like scoring. In fact, I think they only got the ball into the opposition box three times, twice wasting what can only be described as half chances, at best. Chipperfield finally made it 0-3 with five minutes left. They should really have hit double figures, but their finishing was woeful.
Despite the game not being great, I found it more disappointing that a team called Badgers didn’t play in black and white!
Above : Chipperfield substitute (extreme right) sends goal No.3 on its way into the top corner
Old Albanians S.A. 3 Old Kingstonians 0, attendance 4
16’ 1-0
28’ 2-0
44’ 3-0
@ Katherine Warington School Sports Centre
Common Lane
off Lower Luton Road
Batford
Harpenden
AL5 5FH
No Admission or Programme.
Today’s match saw 3rd in Division 4 host 4th in Division 5 South. Old Albanians S.A. had a comfortable start in their defence of the trophy they won by beating Old Cholmeleians II in last season’s final. They missed an early chance to go ahead from the penalty spot, but the kick was well saved. It wasn’t long before they broke the deadlock however, when a long ball was flicked on and the striker coolly lobbed the ’keeper. The same player doubled their lead, shooting through a crowded box from 16 yards, before the game was put beyond reach a minute before halftime, when a ball from out on the left hand touch line was totally misjudged by the ’keeper, ending up in the far corner after it bounced over his head. The second have drifted to a conclusion, with a few chances for the hosts,, but the goal tally never looked like being added to.
Above : Old Albanians see an early penalty saved.Above : Old Albanians open the scoring.
The 3G pitch here at Abertillery Sports Centre has hosted Welsh League games in the past. It is far better than most caged pitches, as there is full spectator access on all four sides, as well as a decent length of cover on one side. Rassau normally play on the 3G at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre, but double bookings of that facility led to the game being switched here.
This was my first taste of the North Gwent League, as 8th hosted 3rd in the league table. Rassau held a 1-0 lead at the break, scoring with a far post header, after a cross found it’s way across the box at the second attempt. Aberbargoed drew level midway through the second half, firing in from close range after the ’keeper failed to punch clear from a near post corner. The visitors looked to have won it eight minutes from time, scoring with a cracking finish that beat the ’keeper at his near post, to edge 1-2 ahead, but three minutes later Rassau made it 2-2, nodding in from close range, after a cross was headed back across the box. A fair result overall.
City University London 2 University Essex 3rds 1, attendance 6
8’ 1-0
38’ 1-1
63’ 2-1
@ Salisbury Hall Playing Fields, 3G Pitch
Walthamstow Avenue
Walthamstow
London
E4 8ST
No Admission or Programme.
This was 2nd versus 1st in the league table and what is now becoming an all too often occurrence at BUCS games, a colour clash meant the home team played in bibs.
City went ahead early, finishing a through ball with a shot through the ’keeper’s legs, with Essex drawing level shortly before halftime, when a quick break down the right, ended with a pass across the six yard box for a side foot finish at the far post. The hosts got the winner just after the hour mark with a 20 yard effort curled into the top corner. City cut the lead at the top to a single point with this win, whilst Westminster are third, a further point back, but having played a game more than the top two.
The ground is accessed via the car park of Sainsbury’s (it is also where you park, which is free for 3 hours), going through a gate to the right hand side of the store. Spectator access inside the cage is along half of one side, although the middle section of this has a high fence, so in effect the viewing section is only a quarter of the pitch length.
A.F.C. Wimbledon 2 Cheltenham Town 2, attendance 6,138 (277 away)
8’ 1-0
31’ 1-1
34’ 1-2 (pen)
80’ 2-2
@ The Cherry Red Records Stadium
Plough Lane
Wimbledon
London
SW17 0NR
£28 Admission*
£3 Programme, didn’t bother buying.
*Having only decided late this afternoon to come here, rather than buying a ticket online, I decided to buy one at the stadium. They were actually sold from a table under the main stand, accessed via a manned gate to the left of the entrance. The ticket seller was unable to get an internet connection, meaning I was unable to pay by card, but was given the ticket free of charge as ”its our system which is at fault. Enjoy the game.” A nice touch!
Tonight would once again see ’The 92’ recompleted and clubs with Wimbledon in their name have certainly come up trumps for me as far as ground visits for Football League clubs go. Back in February 1989 I saw Wimbledon beat Grimsby Town 3-1 in an F.A. Cup 5th Round match, played at the old Plough Lane ground (later seeing their reserves play a home game there in October 1994 and another in September 1995). On 7th September 1991, when they were ground sharing at Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace F.C, I saw them beat Luton Town 3-0 in a Division 1 match (what is now the Premier League) in front of just 3,231 spectators, and what was the lowest ever crowd for a top tier game in England at the time, although they went on to ’beat’ this figure with an even lower crowd later in the season. By the time I next watched them, the club had uprooted to Milton Keynes, where I saw them beat Bradford City 2-1 in a Division 1 match on 1st November 2003, which was played at the National Hockey Stadium, another ground no longer with us. The club were later rebranded and are now Milton Keynes Dons.
The next time I saw ’Wimbledon’ at home, it was for an A.F.C. Wimbledon game on 4th October 2011, in an Associate Members Cup game versus Stevenage, played at Kingsmeadow Stadium in Kingston upon Thames, where they won 4-3 on penalties, after drawing 2-2 at the end of normal time. This season they have moved into the brand new Cherry Red Records Stadium, built on what was formerly Wimbledon Stadium (Greyhounds/Speedway) and just a few hundred yards from the old Plough Lane. It is all seated (although the home end has a section of ’safe standing’) with a capacity of 9,215 which is perfectly adequate for the crowds they attract. It would certainly win no awards for it’s exterior looks. In fact, it looks more like a shopping centre than a football stadium. Once inside though, it is smart and modern, although the rake of seating is poor and unless you are near the back of the main stand (the other three sides are much lower in height) then the view is not great. My original seat was in row D, the furthest back from the pitch that was available,(thankfully there were plenty of empty seats to move to) and was great if you want to see the back of the substitutes warming up in front of you, or you like watching the action at the far end by peering through a gaggle of managers/coaches stood in the technical areas. I would certainly recommend sitting as near to the back of whichever stand you are in, unless actually ’watching the game’ isn’t a top priority.
I wasn’t expecting too much from tonight’s match, as both teams were hovering just above the relegation zone, as 20th hosted 17th in the league table, although when they met here in the F.A. Cup earlier in the season it had finished 4-3 to the hosts. A bright start by both teams, along with an early goal for Wimbledon, helped the game from a neutral point of view. Cheltenham responded to going behind by deciding to use a very, shall we say, physical approach. It certainly worked for them, although it wasn’t pretty to watch. They levelled just after the half hour, then went ahead from the penalty spot just three minutes later. Wimbledon didn’t make it 2-2 until ten minutes from time, but then absolutely battered Cheltenham right up until the final whistle, piling on the pressure, but just coming up short of nicking it. If only they had shown this spirit a little earlier, then they would have surely taken all three points. I thought the Referee had an absolute shocker, but he is one of the few officials that have actually managed to get the game started on time, which is a real rarity these days.
I had parked in Avondale Road, (could have parked even closer with hindsight) where the parking restrictions finish at 18.30, from where it was an easy twelve minute walk to the stadium. Despite the game not finishing until 21.43 I was still home for 22.32.
Fleckney Athletic have struggled somewhat since gaining promotion into this division. They were sitting second bottom in the league table last season, when Covid-19 caused the season to be brought to a premature halt, having won just one of their ten games played at the time. This season, they have made little improvement, sitting bottom of the table, with just two wins from their twenty matches played coming into this.
The visitors, starting the day fifth in the table, were just too strong. Fleckney competed well, but just lacked that little bit of quality in the final third. Blaby & Whetstone were good value for their 0-2 halftime lead and they put the game out of reach when they added a third goal eleven minutes into the second half.
Leicester Football Education Academy U21 2 A.F.C. Rushden & Diamonds U21 1, attendance 21
26’ 1-0
49’ 2-0
56’ 2-1
@ Jubilee Park
Barkby Thorpe Lane
Thurmaston
LE4 8GN
No Admission or Programme.
This was the first game I had watched in this league, with 7th hosting 5th (out of 10) in the table. LFEA went ahead after twenty six minutes, with a shot from the edge of the box that found the bottom corner and they looked to be coasting to a comfortable win when they doubled their lead four minutes into the second half. R&D pulled it back to 2-1 within seven minutes, before going down to 10 men following a sin bin a few minutes later. They survived with a man light, and once back to the full compliment, pushed hard for an equaliser, but just couldn’t beat the home ’keeper, who put in a man of the match performance to keep them out.
Richmond Town 1 Shildon Reserves 1, attendance 155
52’ 1-0
70’ 1-1
@ The Dave Clark Arena
Richmond School
Darlington Road
Richmond
DL10 7BQ
£3 Admission
No Programme.
The Dave Clark Arena is actually just a 3G cage with a spectator area along three quarters of one side of the pitch. Despite tonight’s match only being 10th versus 13th in the league table, it attracted a superb crowd of 155, although it means many get a poor view, such is the layout at these awful set ups, that are not really fit for purpose when more than one man and his dog turn up. It is certainly not a patch on their old ground, but then again, not many grounds are, although it was more about the backdrop of the imposing Richmond Castle towering above it, rather than the ground itself. I saw Richmond Town lose 2-4 to Cleator Moor Celtic in the Shipowners Charity Cup Final there on 27th May 2017, in front of 349 spectators.
Above :Their former Earls Orchard ground.
The two sides were evenly matched and although both teams hit the crossbar, it was still goalless at the break. Richmond broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half, when former Middlesbrough Youth team player Nathan Fisher (also played in Scottish League for Gretna and at Chester-le-Street Town and Gateshead amongst a handful of North East clubs) fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Shildon levelled when a through ball was touched past the on rushing ’keeper with twenty minutes left. Richmond had an effort clip the outside of the post in stoppage time, but the draw was a fair result.
Photo opportunities were limited tonight, because if you moved from your viewing point, then you wouldn’t get your place back.
Enfield Town U19 0 Barking Whites U19 1, attendance 7
92’+ 2, 0-1
@ Peter May Sports Centre, 3G Pitch
Wadham Road
Walthamstow
London
E17 4HR
No Admission or Programme.
This was 4th versus 1st in the league table. Both teams had great defensive records coming into this. Enfield had conceded just seven goals in their eight matches, whilst Barking had let in just 8 in their 12 games. It soon became obvious that they were very evenly matched and that it would take either a mistake, or piece of magic, for either team to make the breakthrough. In the end, it took a brilliant curling shot from the angle of the 18 yard box, to win it for Barking in stoppage time. Excellent game.
The cage has a spectator area along the entire length of one side, which extends about 10 yards behind the goal end at the entrance.
Chippenham Town 3 St. Albans City 1, attendance 449
17’ 1-0
41’ 2-0
65’ 3-0
72’ 3-1
@ Hardenhuish Park
Bristol Road
Chippenham
SN14 6LR
£13 Admission
£3 Programme, didn’t bother buying.
Having been in Somerset this afternoon, it seemed the ideal time to revisit a ground I hadn’t been to since 1st January 1993, when I saw Chippenham Town draw 2-2 with Frome Town in a Western League Premier Division match. The club had been using social media to push the fact that you could buy tickets online in advance, up until 5 o’clock this evening, but it was actually more expensive than paying at the turnstile, so I can’t see why anyone would bother, especially as it was possible to pay by cash or card on the gate. I remembered very little about the ground. It has certainly got character a plenty, along with it’s end to end sloping pitch, but it is not great for actually getting a decent view of the game. There are just too many pillars and it doesn’t help that the floodlight pylons on one side of the ground are inside the pitch surround.
The match was between two teams just outside the play off places, as 9th hosted 8th in the league table. If they were to win their games in hand, St. Albans could go within two points of leaders Dorking Wanderers. Chippenham have played more games than all the clubs above them, so are less likely to be in the mix come season’s end.
Chippenham went ahead after seventeen minutes, a shot across the ’keeper finding the far corner of the net. They doubled their lead four minutes before halftime when a blocked tackle saw the ball break for a left footed finish from the edge of the box. Midway through the second half it was 3-0, when a cracking 25 yarder looped over the ’keeper into the top corner. St. Albans did pull one back, but never threatened to take a share of the points.
Had I known beforehand that my route home would see the M4 being closed from Junction 17-16 and then Junction 12-11, as well as the M3 from Junction 3-2, then I may have headed straight home from Bristol City U23’s and done something more local instead.
