University Greenwich 3 University Essex 2nds 4, attendance 8
13’ 0-1
19’ 1-1
29’ 1-2
53’ 1-3
57’ 1-4
74’ 2-4
77’ 3-4 (pen)
@ University of Greenwich Avery Hill Campus, 3G Pitch
Avery Hill Road
Avery Hill
London
SE9 2UG
No Admission or Programme.
Despite being a 3G cage, it didn’t feel like one. Perhaps it was due to it also having a rugby pitch also marked out, so there was a fair gap between the goal ends and the fences. There was also around 6 yards from the near touch line to the spectator barrier and coupled with the fact that the spare goals were put away into areas behind the barrier, then it actually gave good sight lines along the full pitch length. If only all caged pitches were designed like this.
Essex were the better side throughout and two late goals for Greenwich made it look far closer than it really was. After going 1-2 up, Essex hit both the post and crossbar, and once 1-4 ahead, had another effort off the woodwork
A mass brawl three minutes into stoppage time saw Greenwich end the game with ten men (both teams could easily have lost two players each) and three minutes later Essex also had a man sent off, this time for picking up a second yellow card.
Burscough 2 Northwich Victoria 0, attendance 131 (official)
37’ 1-0
87’ 2-0
@ The Community Ground
Bobby Langton Way
Burscough
L40 0SW
£6 Admission
£2 Programme, 28 pages.
I had visited Victoria Park, the former home of Burscough, back on 28th November 1994, when I saw them lose 1-4 to Atherton Laburnum Rovers in a Lancashire F.A. Trophy 1st Round match. The ground was in Mart Lane, only one hundred yards from the new ground and already replaced by a new housing estate. I don’t remember much about the ground, but it couldn’t have been anything like the soulless place that they now call home.
The new ground is dreadful. To say it is basic, considering it hosts Step 5 football, is an understatement, but this is the type of ground synonymous with the North West Counties League these days. There is just a kit stand, oddly offset from the halfway line, and a few portacabins. The other three sides are just mounds of mud. I suppose you could say it’s a work in progress, evidenced by the JCB digger in the corner of the ground. The only catering is from a mobile food wagon, which was quite slow for service, but of decent quality and was reasonably priced.
The game itself was a good contest, between two mid table teams, as 8th hosted 11th in the league table. Burscough went ahead eight minutes before halftime, somewhat against the run of play, a shot on the turn from the angle of the box finding the bottom corner of the net. The second half wasn’t as good as the first and Northwich never looked like getting an equaliser. When they had a player red carded with thirteen minutes left, their chances of getting anything from the game were gone. Burscough pushed forward trying to kill the game off. They had two efforts, one off each post, that could have sealed it, before finally making it 2-0 with three minutes left, an angled shot that the ‘keeper got a hand to, but couldn’t keep it out.
It was good to see another accurate attendance declared. My headcount being just one fewer than the official total.
Above : whose idea was it to have a ‘no go’ area to prevent spectators using the rail.
A.F.C. Oakley 3 Queens Park Crescents 2 (abandoned 59 mins, player injury), attendance 94
18’ 0-1
23’ 1-1
41’ 1-2
54’ 2-2
59’ 3-2
@ Oakley Sports & Social Club
Church Lane
Oakley
MK43 7RJ
No Admission
Programme free, 32 pages.
There are three Step 7 leagues I rarely bother with, apart from the odd midweek game, when there is little choice to go at, these being the Northants Combination, the Peterborough & District League and the Bedfordshire County League. However, the latter of these three had thrown up a decent looking tie in the Bedfordshire F.A. Senior Trophy, where an all Premier Division clash would see 2nd in the league table host 3rd.
Oakley are unbeaten so far this season and will go top of the table if they win their game in hand over leaders Caldecote. QPC have only lost once themselves and if it wasn’t for a point being deducted from their total, then they would be level on points with Oakley, albeit having played one match more. The two looked evenly matched and that was just how it turned out.
QPC went in front, when an angled shot across the ‘keeper found the far corner of the net, but Oakley were level within five minutes, stabbing in from close range after a cross wasn’t cleared. QPC regained the lead four minutes before halftime, their No.9 grabbing his second goal, superbly controlling a cross from the left with one touch, before smashing it past the ‘keeper.
Oakley piled on the pressure from the start of the second half and drew level nine minutes in. The winger beat two men and pulled back a cross that was headed in at the near post. Five minutes later they went in front, the ball finding it’s way into the net following a scramble in the 6 yard box. Unfortunately, the scorer, Matt Barnes, remained on the ground, clutching his leg. From the reaction of the players in the vicinity, it was obvious it was a bad injury.
An ambulance was called and amazingly it arrived just ten minutes after the injury occurred. The Referee had abandoned the game a few minutes earlier, but I don’t think either team wanted to continue anyway, such was the severity of the injury. Hopefully the player will make a full recovery and from the club Twitter feed, it appears he has already undergone a first operation and is ‘doing well’.
Old Merchant Taylors’ 1 Old Shirburnians 2, attendance 3
26’ 0-1
39’ 1-1 (pen)
83’ 1-2
@ Merchant Taylors’ School
O.M.T. Colts Cricket Club Pitch
East Drive
off Sandy Lodge Lane
Northwood
HA6 2HT
No Admission or Programme.
Considering this is the most prestigious cup competition played for by the Arthurian League clubs, this was very low key. It was played on a pitch as far away from the changing rooms as it could possibly be, hemmed in by three cricket squares. The home team only had the bare eleven players and we kicked off fourteen minutes late, due to the Referee only arriving pitch side six minutes after we should have got underway. It didn’t attract much of a crowd either, with two of the three spectators being ground hoppers. There were 35 watching a schools match on another pitch, and as far as I could tell, none of them appeared to think they were watching the 1st team match, but with the goings on of recent weeks at Arthurian League matches I’ve attended, you never know.
The match itself produced something of an upset, at least as far as league positions go. Old Merchant Taylors’ are second in Division 2, whilst Old Shirburnians are top of Division 4. The visitors were well worth the win and should really have won more comfortably. They took the lead just past the midway point of the half, finishing one on one with the ‘keeper having been played clear. O.M.T. levelled from the penalty spot shortly before halftime.
The second half remained evenly contested. O.M.T. did hit the post, but that was as close as they came to edging ahead. The tie looked to be heading for extra time, but a one-two in the box was finished with a shot under the ‘keeper, to win it for O.S. with seven minutes left.
Despite the late kick off, the game was still over by 12.52, which left ample time to take in a second match.
Cambridge University 2 University East Anglia 2, attendance 9
32’ 1-0
42’ 1-1
50’ 1-2
84’ 2-2 (pen)
@ King’s College & Selwyn College Sports Ground
Fulbrooke Road
Cambridge
CB3 9EE
No Admission or Programme.
U.E.A. were the better side in the first half, but it was Cambridge who went in front, a through ball finished one on one with the ‘keeper. Just before halftime U.E.A. drew level with a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. When they went in front five minutes into the second half, it looked like they would comfortably go on to win it, but they only had a couple of half chances after the goal. Cambridge pressed hard for an equaliser. They had a penalty saved, with nineteen minutes left, but when they were awarded a second one late on, they made no mistake this time, levelling it up at 2-2.
Boston United 2 York City 1, attendance 2,018 (220 in awayend)
10’ 1-0 (pen)
17’ 1-1
83’ 2-1 (pen)
@ The Jakemans Community Stadium
Pilgrim Way
Wyberton
PE21 7NE
£14 Admission (contactless card payment at turnstile)
Programme available, didn’t bother buying as £3 is scandalous for tier 2 non-League.
When it comes to non-League grounds, as far as I’m concerned, there will never be one to beat Boston United’s former York Street home. It was (still is, as it’s still there, currently used by a Sunday league team) superb, right down to the four corner floodlights. I first went there on 13th January 1990, seeing them draw 0-0 versus fellow Conference club Macclesfield Town, in an F.A. Trophy 1st Round match in front of 1,924 spectators. By the time I made my second visit, on 19th March 2003, they were a Football League Division 3 (4th level) club. They beat Darlington 1-0 that night in front of a 2,186 crowd.
This season has seen them move into their new stadium, built to the south of Boston, just off the A16, in the village of Wyberton. It is very impressive for a club playing at the second level of the football pyramid, but will look better once they build a stand at the south end of the stadium, as the ground is currently three sided. Tickets were on sale at the stadium, where it was cash sales only in the club shop, or the much more convenient contactless card payment at the turnstiles. Car parking is not available on site to the casual visitor, but there is free parking in the new housing estate on the other side of the A16 from the stadium, maybe a five minute walk away. The whole feel to the night had ‘Football League’ written all over it. It helped that York City are also an ex-League club. They also have a new ground this season, so a trip there beckons.
The two clubs came into this separated only by goal difference, as 8th hosted 7th in the league table, the visitors occupying the final place for the promotion play offs. Boston went ahead with a penalty after ten minutes, but York were level seven minutes later, a long throw flicked on and volleyed in at the far post. It was still 1-1 at the break. It looked more likely that if there was to be a winner, then it would be the visitors that would get it, as they made the better chances in the second half. Having created very little, against the run of play, Boston won it when they scored their second penalty of the night late on.
Tonight’s crowd was the biggest so far at the new stadium, but with tonight’s win lifting them up to fifth in the table, it won’t be long before that figure is beaten.
I had seen Radnor Valley play at home before, which was also a Radnorshire Cup 2nd Round match played on a Sunday, when they beat Presteigne St. Andrews 3-1 (AET) back on 10th November 2002. In those days they played at a ground in School Lane, but having lost the use of it, they have now moved to a new ground to the north of the A44, about half a mile east of the village. In a very short space of time they have turned it from being a field growing crops, into a somewhat typical ground found in Mid Wales at this level. It is still a work in progress. The new changing rooms are not completed yet, so the players get changed at the old ground, then drive in full kit to the new one.
Radnor Valley are in the Mid Wales League East Division (Tier 4 in Wales), currently in fifth (out of 15) place in the league table, following a 2-1 win away at Llansantffraid Village yesterday. Brecon play one level lower, in the Mid Wales League (South). They are third in the table, having won all three of their matches so far, including a 2-1 win this weekend away at Presteigne St. Andrews, which was moved to Friday night, to enable them to have a recovery day before playing today’s match.
The first half was a reasonable contest, with Radnor Valley looking the better of the two teams. They opened the scoring midway through the half, when a cross from the left was finished off with a diving header at the far post. On the half hour mark they added a second, finishing from close range, after a free kick into the box wasn’t cleared. A side foot finish at the far post saw them increase their lead ten minutes into the second half, but a quick reply from Brecon pulled it back to 3-1. The next goal would be decisive, and when it went the way of the hosts, it was game over. The last twenty minutes was one way traffic. Brecon gave up and 4-1 soon became 8-1. Radnor Valley didn’t even bother celebrating the goals. They certainly didn’t have to work for them.
It was a late decision to head to this match. I left home without being able to confirm the game was definitely going ahead. The home club did reply via Twitter that everything was okay, but I was already 100 miles into the journey by then! The SatNav took me two different routes. It was M40, M42, Droitwich, Tenbury Wells and Presteigne going, then back via the shorter route of Hereford, Gloucester, Swindon, M4, then Bracknell and onto the M3 coming back.
It wasn’t until I was adding my weekend matches to my spreadsheet that I realised that this was my 400th ground I’ve seen a match on in Wales.
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.
