A.V.A. are newly promoted into the Premier Division. They are a team made up entirely of Romanian players and take their name from the initials of the coach who founded them.
It was 8th versus 15th (bottom) in the league table and was a really good game to watch. It was A.V.A. who went in front, with a dipping shot from 25 yards that found it’s way into the bottom corner of the net. Stonewall levelled it up at 1-1 within three minutes, the ‘keeper fumbling the ball which was then put in from a tight angle. The second half saw both teams going for the win and it was the visitors who took all three points when they grabbed the winner with six minutes left. A cross from the left wasn’t cleared, and it fell nicely for their winger, who hit a first time shot that was deflected into the opposite side of the goal to which he was aiming, giving the ‘keeper no chance.
Overall, a draw would probably have been a fair result, but Stonewall have now won two games on the trot, and having started the day propping up the table, they have now climbed up five places with this win.
Old Millhillians 4 Old Merchant Taylors’ II 0, attendance 2
11’ 1-0 (pen)
12’ 2-0
41’ 3-0
82’ 4-0
@ Whitmore High School, 3G Pitch
Porlock Avenue
Harrow
HA2 0AD
No Admission or Programme.
Today’s match was only a couple of hundred yards from The Philathletic Ground which I had visited last Saturday morning. At least here there could be no confusion as to which match was being watched, even for the less intelligent of ‘hoppers amongst us, as this is the only pitch here! It is just a caged pitch, with no spectator area, but there was no problem standing inside the fence to watch. It also has the wires across the pitch, used to hold the netting to divide the area into smaller sections. Unusually, at no time did the ball hit either of them, which is not normally the case.
Old Millhillians have only restarted their team this season and have made a decent start, coming into this third in the league table, one place above the visitors. Two goals in the first twelve minutes had them well in command and it was quite obvious that they were going to win this comfortably. By halftime it was 3-0. During the match they also hit the post three times, as well as having another effort disallowed for offside. The goal of the game came eight minutes from time, making it 4-0, with an unstoppable 25 yarder into the top corner. The win now sees them go top of the table.
With the game done and dusted by 12.39 there was ample time to get to a second match. The other spectator was heading to Milton Keynes, but I was staying more local, ticking off another of the new clubs in the Premier Division of the Middlesex County League.
Llanrumney United 2 Blaenrhondda 1, attendance 94 (official 125)
24’ 1-0
59’ 2-0
90’+ 4, 2-1
@ Cardiff University Sports Field, 3G Pitch
Mendip Road
Llanrumney
CF3 4JN
No Admission or Programme.
I had visited Llanrumney United on 17th August 2017, when they beat Cardiff Cosmopolitan 3-1 in a South Wales Alliance League Division 2 match. That game was played at Riverside Park, but this season they have moved to the 3G Pitch at the Cardiff University Sports Field, over the hedge from their previous ground and where the visitors that day also play their matches.
I’d been to the university ground before, having seen Newport County U18 lose 1-2 to Plymouth Argyle U18 in a Football League Youth Alliance match on 29th January 2005, but that was played on a grass pitch, parallel to the 3G cage, but separated by a rugby pitch and still in use for football. Tonight’s match was brought forward to Friday night to enable a number of the back room team at Llanrumney to attend a scattering of ashes ceremony tomorrow afternoon.
The match was a mid table clash, with 10th hosting 8th. Llanrumney led 1-0 at the break, a cross from the left headed in from 6 yards. Just short of the hour mark it was 2-0. The winger turned the right back inside out, before rifling a left foot shot high into the net at the near post. The visitors scrambled one in from close range, to make it 2-1, but it was too late, the Referee blowing the full time whistle as soon as the game restarted.
London Tigers U19 0 Eastleigh Yellows U19 15, attendance 8
@ Spikes Bridge Park, 3G Pitch
West Avenue
Southall
UB1 2AR
No Admission or Programme.
This game was so typical of what you get in this league and is a reminder why I don’t bother with it very much. The only attraction today was that I wouldn’t have to waste a Saturday afternoon coming here to do a Middlesex County League match in a cage and the noon kick off meant the battle with traffic on the M25 coming home should be a little easier than if it was the normal 2 o’clock start.
Typically there was the late kick off. They couldn’t get a Ref, so it was refereed by one of the London Tigers officials, and the home team only had 10 players at the start and their ‘keeper looked like he had never played in goal before. He was probably injured as well, as not one of his kicks from out of his hands managed to reach the centre circle in the entire match. Needless to say, we ended up with the obligatory mismatch. It is hard to see what Eastleigh would have got out of this apart from a place in the next round of the cup, but they were ruthless and didn’t even get out of second gear.
Surprisingly, after 40 minutes it was only 0-4 and Tigers even played the last few minutes of the half with a full compliment of eleven, a late arrival making up the numbers. By the hour mark it was 0-6 and Tigers were shortly back down to 10 men when they lost a player to injury. Double figures was hit with ten minutes left, before a further five goals came in the last eight minutes. Not a great watch, but at least the rain stayed away. Despite there being no official spectator area it was no problem standing inside the cage to watch.
Wimborne Town 0 Weston-super-Mare 3, attendance 250 est (abandoned 39 minutes, waterlogged)
18’ 0-1
28’ 0-2
32’ 0-3
@ New Cuthbury
Ainsley Road
Wimborne Minster
BH21 2FU
£12 Admission
£2.50 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.
£1 Car Park. It is free to park in the road and no parking restrictions.
The ground here was far better than I was expecting. As well as the two seated kit stands, both ends are fully covered, with the end to the right when looking from the clubhouse having stepped terracing as well. The other end is smaller and flat standing only. It is an improvement on their old Cuthbury ground, at least as far as facilities go, but the pitch may become an issue for them. Yes, it was raining, but it wasn’t very heavy. It looked worse due to the wind, but there was already standing water on the pitch at kick off and it hadn’t started raining until after six o’clock. It soon became obvious that the game would struggle to finish and sadly, that turned out to be the case.
What action there was, before the Referee brought things to a premature halt, was pretty much one way traffic. Wimborne were very poor and WsM were by far the better side. The first goal came courtesy of a deflection, but goals two and three were real quality finishes. It wasn’t too long after the visitors made it 0-3 that the game was brought to an end. Apparently, there was an area of concern just outside the six yard box, at the end Wimborne were defending, where the ball was starting to hold up. It wouldn’t have been a problem in the second half, especially if Wimborne had continued the same way as they had so far, as they wouldn’t have got the ball that far forward anyway!
What was baffling about the decision to call it off though, was that at no time did anyone make an effort to do anything about it. No forks or brooms appeared, but then again, at 0-3 down, the hosts were hardly going to do anything that might see the match continue. If they had continued playing until halftime, they could then have worked on it during the break and the Referee could have made a decision then. Things would probably have been different if the home team had been in front.
At the end of the day, both Wimborne Town and the Referee would still get their money tonight, so it wont have bothered them in the slightest that the game was called off. WsM not only lost out on three points, but now face another trip here, which is an extra expense they will have to pay for themselves. Hopefully, when the game is finally played, WsM will get the three points and some justice will be done. Maybe Wimborne Town could donate the gate receipts to cover the transport costs….
I notice from my records that I went to the old ground on 27th August 1994, for a 2-2 draw versus Horndean in a Wessex League match and having come here tonight, I thought my visits to Wimborne Minster would be over. I’m in no hurry to return. It’s not as if they’re going anywhere soon.
Larkspur Rovers 4 Pitshanger Dynamo 2, attendance 12
5’ 1-0
9’ 1-1
11’ 1-2
48’ 2-2
63’ 3-2
87’ 4-2 (pen)
@ Lord Halsbury Memorial Playing Fields
Priors Farm Lane
Northolt
UB5 5FE
No Admission or Programme.
Second game of the day saw 5th place in the league table host 7th. It was a match that was in the balance throughout and could have gone either way. The game actually kicked off ten minutes late, as neither team, nor the Referee, seemed interested in getting the game started and we also had a minutes silence before kick off as well.
Larkspur went in front within five minutes of the start, but it was 1-1 just four minutes later. The blistering start continued and two minutes later Pitshanger edged in front, with what turned out to be the goal of the game. A diagonal cross field ball was chested down on the corner of the 18 yard box and hammered high into the top corner of the net, giving the ‘keeper no chance at his near post. It was a goal worthy of a far higher standard of football than Step 7. It was quite surprising that there were no more goals in the first half, as both teams attacked at every opportunity.
Larkspur were out of the blocks quickly in the second half as well, levelling it up at 2-2 within three minutes, with a clever lob from just inside the box. Just after the hour mark it was 3-2, when an angled shot found the far corner of the net and the game was finally killed off when a penalty made it 4-2 in the dying minutes. I thought Pitshanger were well worth a draw.
I suppose it was going to happen one day. I finally did a match on a Saturday where I was the only spectator (it’s happened before at a midweek University match I think?). Apart from the Old Wykehamists ‘manager’, that was it, although oddly, there is a post on the Non League Matters forum by someone claiming that they were also at the match. Even the III’s had a ‘crowd’ of 2 for their game versus Old Shirburnians, played on a pitch the other side of the trees, down on a lower plateau to the main pitch. One of them did have the look of a ‘hopper, watching from behind the far goal on the III’s pitch, about 70 yards away. Perhaps it was him? (Edit ; Yes it was him. He has since posted a photo of the III,s match that he watched, plus one of the 1sts match, which was taken from the position where he watched the other game from. In a huge sports field like that, with just three spectators present, it is not hard to work out who is watching which match. Perhaps it takes a little more intelligence to work out which match is being played on which pitch?)
Anyway, as for the match, it was 10th (bottom) versus 3rd in the league table. Old Harrovians had lost all four of their matches so far, failing to score, whilst conceding twenty four goals. Old Wykehamists had two wins and two draws from their four matches.
Despite going behind, Old Harrovians soon levelled the score and were competing very well and were making a real game of it. They were unfortunate to trail 1-2 at the break, but Old Wykehamists had gone close on numerous times in the half, so it perhaps wasn’t too surprising. Eight minutes into the second half it was 1-3, with the OW No.7 completing his hat trick. Ten minutes later he added a fourth to make it 1-4. Twelve minutes from time OW lost a player to injury and with the substitute having already come off injured, had to continue with 10 men. Six minutes later they picked up another injury, which left them with just nine players. It didn’t affect them too much though. Their No.7 broke clear to curl in his fifth goal of the day to make it 1-5 in the first minute of stoppage time. Old Harrovians then volleyed in from a corner to pull it back to 2-5 and there was still time for OW to make it 2-6 in the fourth minute of stoppage time. No prizes for guessing who scored it. Yes, the No.7 to complete his double hat trick. He could easily have scored ten, as he also forced a number of saves from the home ‘keeper and had hit the crossbar with an effort in the first half.
With the game over at 12.45 it left ample time to head off for a second match.
South Liverpool 5 Pilkington 1, attendance 241 (Official 204)
13’ 1-0
16’ 2-0
46’ 3-0
50’ 4-0
62’ 5-0
80’ 5-1
@ Jericho Lane Sports Hub, 3G Pitch 1
Otterspool Drive
Liverpool
L17 5AR
£5 Admission
£1 Programme, 24 pages.
The journey north had been horrendous. With the M6 closed at Junction 16 it meant there were reports of thirteen mile tailbacks and subsequently all the surrounding routes were gridlocked. It had taken just under six hours driving time. You do question whether it is worth the effort, for yet another of these dreadful 3G caged grounds, but if you want to visit every ground in the league, then these are the sort of places you end up at, and as each season goes by, more and more of the clubs being promoted into Step 6 play on them. Yet another of those cages that are only accessible on three sides, but as well as covered standing there is a small seated stand behind the near goal. Unfortunately, the pitch has the multi coloured markings for smaller size matches as well.
I never made it to Holly Park, home of South Liverpool from 1935 until 1990, but did make it to The North Field, in Jericho Lane, seeing them beat Waterloo Dock 1-0 in a Liverpool County Combination League match on 2nd September 2003. They played there from 1999 up until 2018, when they moved a few hundred yards to the current ground and this season sees them begin life in the North West Counties League, having been promoted from the West Cheshire League.
Tonight’s match certainly didn’t go to form. It was 12th versus 2nd in the league table, but you would have thought the two teams were in opposite places. South Liverpool were two up after just sixteen minutes and never allowed Pilkington to get into the game. It was still 2-0 at halftime, but three goals in the first seventeen minutes of the second half saw the hosts go 5-0 up. Pilkington did get a late consolation goal to pull it back to 5-1, but a bad night was compounded for them when they had a player sent off in the last minute.
I assume that the announced crowd of 204 was for tickets sold, rather than actual spectators present, as it was thirty seven fewer than my head count.
Ilkley Town 1 F.C. Halifax Town 3, attendance 227 (official)
10’ 0-1
36’ 0-2
40’ 0-3 (pen)
87’ 1-3
@ Ben Rhydding Sports Club, 3G Pitch
Coutances Way (A65)
Ben Rhydding
LS29 8AW
£6 Admission
£2 Programme, 16 pages.
The North West Counties League, which Ilkley Town are newly promoted into this season, is sadly becoming synonymous with clubs joining the league who play on these dreadful 3G caged ‘grounds’. In the last few years I have visited such places as St. Helens Town and Lower Breck and as well as Ilkley Town, I also have the delights of South Liverpool and Steeton to look forward to. If that isn’t bad enough, Burscough have also moved to a new 3G ground, although I don’t think that is a caged pitch.
The ground here is awful for Step 6 football. It is only accessible on three sides to spectators, with the far side, where the dugouts are situated, being reserved for club officials. The only cover is for around 25-30 people, unless you are tall enough to see over those stood against the rail, as it is flat standing only. There didn’t even appear to be electricity in the pay hut, as all transactions were carried out under torch light. Not very impressive for a new build.
This is the first game Ilkley Town have played in this competition, as they are now eligible for the Senior Cup, since their elevation to Step 6. They have struggled somewhat at the higher level, currently sitting 16th in Division 1 North. The visitors are the complete opposite. They are riding high in the National League, which is five levels above the hosts, sitting third in the table, just three points behind leaders Grimsby Town.
To say there was a gulf in class is a total understatement. According to Twitter there were 5 first team players named, with the rest being made up of the youth team. Even with this being the case, it was a total mismatch and the first half was as one sided a game as you’re likely to see. It was a surprise that it was only 0-3 at the break, but Halifax had got the game won by then. The second half was all Ilkley, but the visitors had long taken the foot off the pedal by then. Ilkley had a couple of efforts hit the post and at least they got a consolation goal in the dying minutes, a left foot shot through the legs of the ‘keeper as he tried to narrow the angle at his near post.
It was a good crowd tonight and my head count was only two fewer than the official attendance.
Killingworth 3 Winlaton Community 1, attendance 62
14’ 1-0
28’ 2-0
37’ 3-0
86’ 3-1
@ Amberley Playing Fields
Garth 21
Killingworth
NE12 6PJ
£3 Admission
£1 Programme, 12 pages.
Having watched the team second in the league table last night, today it was a visit to the home of the league leaders. Killingworth (now minus the A.F.C. prefix this season) had a 100% winning record from their opening ten matches, whilst Winlaton Community arrived here in fourth place.
As with last night, this was all over as a contest well before halftime. The opening goal was stabbed in at the far post after the ball was cut back from the right, before a ball over the top was lobbed over the ‘keeper to make it 2-0 just before the half hour mark. The third goal was less clear cut. A corner from the right was headed goal wards but blocked on the line before being cleared. It looked like a hand had been used to stop the ball, but the linesman signalled it had already crossed the line, so the hosts went into the break 3-0 up. Winlaton had the better of the second half, but failed to capitalise. They did get a consolation goal four minutes from time though, when a shot came back off the crossbar and fell kindly for them to give an easy tap in.
The win sees Killingworth re-establish their eight point lead over second in the table Newcastle Blue Star.
Above : The white board could do with a spell checker!
