Thankfully, I only needed the morning ground on the organised ‘hop, so decided to visit a club that was not visited by Groundhop U.K. when they had the South Wales Alliance League under their spell. St. Albans, along with Cardiff Cosmopolitan and STM Sports Old Boys were left as the three clubs that missed out on being visited, despite at least one other club in the league getting two matches during this time. Anyway, today was a perfect time to tick off one of the ‘missing three’…….
Tremorfa Park is shared with St. Albans R.U.F.C. with the pitches being side by side, but some 200 yards from the clubhouse/changing room building. There is certainly no question as to which is the most popular sport in this area, with the crowd at the football just hitting double figures, whilst there were over a hundred watching the egg chasers!
St. Albans came into this seventh in the league table, with Canton Rangers in fifth place, although they are now second following this win. The match kicked off nine minutes late, as the Referee realised he had forgotten his whistle as the handshakes were taking place, so had to make the long trek back to the changing rooms. He didn’t move much during the game though, as he never strayed more than five yards outside the centre circle unless he really had to!
It was far too hot for watching football, so it must have been dreadful playing in such heat. A pretty drab first half saw Canton lead 0-1 at the break and they doubled their lead two minutes into the second half with a deflected shot. St. Albans pulled one back when a right wing corner was headed in off a post, but two more goals in the last seven minutes by the visitors rounded off a good win for them.
Coed Eva Athletic 4 Newport Saints 3, attendance 227
4’ 0-1
9’ 1-1
10’ 1-2
36’ 2-2
50’ 2-3
62’ 3-3
64’ 4-3
@ The Birches
Pontnewydd
NP44 5LL
£3 Admission
Programme available, but I won’t buy one at any event organised by Groundhop U.K.
So, for the third time already this season, there was a Groundhop U.K. event taking place. The organisation of this ‘hop, or more to the point, lack of organisation, meant that the full schedule of matches, including teams involved, kick off times etc. wasn’t actually finalised until the day before the first match, when Cefn Fforest and Wattsville tweeted that their matches had been pushed back an hour. The reason for this was to accommodate a Bridgend Sunday League match, slotted in as an extra match for those desperate to get in an extra game on the weekend.. It was a late ‘replacement’ for a match that was called off about a week before, due to the away team not agreeing to play at 11 o’clock on a Bank Holiday Sunday morning, rather than the normal Saturday 3 o’clock standard kick off. Perfectly reasonable really, although perhaps the timing could have been better.
The lack of information on the ‘hop was pathetic, at least for those not on the ‘mailing list’ of the organisers, although at least people were posting bits and pieces on the most popular non-League forum and sharing the information with the entire ground hopping fraternity, so at least it meant that the clubs could get a decent pay day by welcoming those who travel independently (therefore giving all their money to the clubs hosting games) which is probably double the number on the organised trip.
As for the league website, you would be hard pushed to find a worse one. The fixtures on their website were still listed as all being played on Saturday, at the same time, rather than spread over 4 days and they didn’t even match the ones that took place in some cases. Even worse, they still call it the Gwent County League, but it has changed name to the Gwent Premier League from this season!
The first game of the day was at Coed Eva, which is a suburb of Cwmbran. There is a nice pitch with painted rail and posts and a small changing room building, but they can’t use that, as the pitch is deemed too small for adult football, so they play on a pitch beyond the far goal that is just railed off and has no other facilities.
Over the years I have done over 30 games in this league and it rarely disappoints as far as the entertainment value goes and this was no different. It was 2-2 by halftime and a cracking overhead kick saw Saints go 2-3 up early in the second half, before a blistering free kick levelled it up for Coed Eva just after the hour mark, then two minutes later their No.11 notched his hat trick to give them a 4-3 win, although Saints nearly levelled again when they hit the crossbar in stoppage time.
Orwell 6 Fulbourn Institute Reserves 0, attendance 27
19’ 1-0
29’ 2-0
45’+ 1, 3-0
70’ 4-0
83’ 5-0
89’ 6-0
@ Eddington Sports Centre
Eddington Avenue
Cambridge
CB3 1AA
No Admission or Programme.
Orwell are playing here at the newly opened Eddington Sports Centre for this season, but plan to move back home to their village ground when improvements are completed.
On arrival, there was no evidence that this was even a football ground at all. The modern changing room building doesn’t even have a name on it, so unless you were aware that you were ‘in the right place’ you would have no clue that this was a ground at all. About 45 minutes before kick off both teams were arriving, but no one was getting changed. It turned out that there was no key for the changing rooms! A few of the home players roped off the pitch down each side and Fulbourn then started changing into their kit outside the building, so it looked like they were going to play, whether the changing rooms were open or not. The key arrived just before 6 o’clock and when the two sets of goals were wheeled into place, we were good to go, eventually getting started 18 minutes late.
It wasn’t a great game to watch as a neutral, as Orwell were far too good for a Fulbourn side that were on the end of their second successive six goal hammering. Orwell at least kept going until the end, even though the game was over as a contest by halftime. Their No.9 completed a hat trick, as well as missing a second half penalty, which he fired wide of the target. I can’t remember Fulbourn having a single shot on target.
Above : Orwell score the final goal of the evening.
Greenhill Youth Council 5 Anstey Town 4, attendance 73
12’ 0-1
38’ 0-2
42’ 1-2
46’ 1-3
64’ 1-4
68’ 2-4
70’ 3-4
82’ 4-4
86’ 5-4
@ Greenhill Youth Centre
Cropston Drive
Coalville
LE67 4HS
No Admission or Programme.
Greenhill Youth Council are new into the Leicestershire Senior League this season and by virtue of having won the North Leicestershire League, it has seen them placed into Division 1, rather than Division 2, which would be the normal route for new entrants.
The area of Coalville that the ground is in is not the best. The shops have metal shutters, rather than windows and the local Co-Op went for the boarded up look, just to be a little different! The Youth Centre, which had no facilities, apart from a spectator toilet, fitted with the run down look of the area. From the car park, you walk past a small 3G cage and through a gate in the metal fencing, where behind the hedge are two pitches. Greenhill play on the one to the right, which they roped off on three sides for tonight’s match.
Anstey arrived here as league leaders, albeit after just the one match and Greenhill had opened their season with a 3-3 draw here on Saturday. Anstey led 1-2 at halftime and having increased their lead a minute into the second half, then making it 1-4 just after the hour mark, it looked all over. Greenhill lost quite a few players from their title winning team, moving on to other clubs who are paying them to play, but they still retain a good spirit. Two goals in as many minutes pulled it back to 3-4 with twenty minutes left to play. It only seemed a matter of time until they drew level, and sure enough, eight minutes from time, they scored with a header following a long throw in. Still time to get a winner and it duly arrived with four minutes left. Their young striker broke clear and smashed the ball into the bottom corner of the net giving the ‘keeper no chance. Anstey should have levelled it in stoppage time though, when a cross was somehow diverted wide of the open goal from a couple of yards out.
So, yet another Hampshire Premier League match being played on a temporary ground to the one the club call ‘home’. Chamberlayne Athletic are newly promoted from the Southampton League and are supposed to be playing at the ground of Netley Central Sports, but as that is unavailable until September, they are playing their home games elsewhere.
According to the F.A. Full Time website, today’s match and their next one would be played at Satchell Lane in Hamble-le-Rice. This was also where Sway had been told the match was, which I also confirmed with their Secretary just over an hour before kick off. On arrival there, at around 14.35, it soon became obvious that the match wasn’t being played here, as there was a youth tournament taking place. I rang the Sway Secretary back again to check that I was in the right place and he confirmed I was, although he also mentioned ‘College Fields’, but all he knew was that it was somewhere in Hamble, but had no postcode. I struck lucky by finding someone at the youth tournament who knew where it was and his directions were spot on……go into Hamble, pass the shops on your right and when you see the Fire Station, turn first left and the ground is at the end of that road…..
As I turned into Spitfire Way, which led to Baron Road, which was where the ground was, I noticed that the three cars I followed into the car park were full of what looked like footballers. A good sign, and even better, they were all changed in their red kits. It was Sway F.C. as were the next two car loads to arrive. At least I had found the right place, but there were no goals up, but at least the pitch was marked out. Within five minutes the Referee and Chamberlayne Athletic also arrived, also in full kit. Apparently they had got changed at ‘Hamble College’, wherever that was, and had then driven here. Sway were less than impressed and were enquiring as to whether they could be awarded the game.
By 14.50 two sets of goal posts were carried onto the pitch and then nets and corner flags appeared. It was looking like there would be a game after all, even if there was no chance of it kicking off on time!
Chamberlayne have struggled since their promotion, having lost their opening four games. Sway are certainly a team to watch if you like plenty of goals, although not necessarily all scored by them! I had seen them lose 0-6 at home to champions Bush Hill in midweek, which meant there have been 25 goals in their first 4 games!
Sway took an early lead, but the hosts were level within a minute. A run of the mill foul on the Chamberlayne No.9 shortly afterwards saw a totally unnecessary reaction from him which turned the feel of the game from competitive to having a very nasty undercurrent. The incident ended with the home Captain being booked for blasting the ball into a group of Sway players. The intimidation tactics from here worked, as Sway buckled under the pressure and by halftime it was 4-1. Sway then pulled it back to 4-2, when they scored a penalty five minutes into the second half and they were starting to get on top and looked like they might be able to turn things round, but in the sixty third minute, all hell broke loose……..
Following an exchange of words, the home club ‘Linesman’ walked onto the pitch and head butted the Sway No.10, who then returned the compliment and everyone piled in. Another Chamberlayne player then attempted a head butt on the Sway No.6, but he managed to grab the player by the throat with two hands to prevent it. When a bit of calm was restored, not helped by a couple of the Chamberlayne players suggesting that Sway ‘stay behind after the match and we can get this sorted properly in the car park once everyone else has gone’, we ended up with three red cards. Sway lost both No.10 and No.6, whilst Chamberlayne had their Captain dismissed for his second yellow card, issued for his involvement in the scuffle. The instigator of the whole thing got away with it though. As the ‘Linesman’ was not a named substitute on the team sheet, he couldn’t be sent off, although the Referee did relieve him of his duties for the remainder of the match.
With it now being 10 versus 9, the game became very stretched and the players were visibly struggling with the extra space to cover. Chamberlayne at least get their first points on the board, but it is not a very nice way to have done so and teams like this will do nothing to enhance the reputation of the league.
By the way, for those that may be interested…….F.A. Full Time website is still showing that the match was played at Satchell Lane.
There was no problem getting in at this one, but you are restricted to standing behind one goal end. Scouts etc. are in the near corner to the entrance, whilst all ordinary spectators are in the other corner.
Portsmouth had already had a penalty saved before they broke the deadlock after twenty minutes and they had also hit the post and crossbar with two further efforts. They added another goal before halftime and made it 3-0 just before the hour mark. Both sides hit the woodwork again and if it wasn’t for a couple of decent saves by the Argyle ‘keeper, then the score could have been much higher.
A trip to Norfolk on a Friday evening is not the best idea. A tedious journey, which took four and a half hours, is something that makes you wonder why you bother with midweek matches, as the roads are so clogged up nowadays that even local journeys are a pain. At least it only took 2 hours 35 minutes to get home!
Thankfully, the seven hours of heavy rain from lunchtime onwards, that was forecast for this area by the BBC Weather team, was inaccurate. It did rain a bit, but it was windy enough to move it on swiftly. The pitch certainly wasn’t troubled by the rain and was in superb condition.
Despite kicking off a minute ahead of schedule, the Referee decided to play 2 x 40 minute halves, due to it being a poor night weather wise, which didn’t impress the visitors Manager too much and they were still arguing about it at halftime. He played an additional minute in the first half and then three more at the end of the second and there was still plenty of light when the game finished at 20.04.
The game itself never really hit any heights. Plenty of effort, but not that many chances created. Freethorpe won it with the only goal of the game after 18 minutes, when their No.9 was played through and he slipped the ball into the corner of the net past the onrushing ‘keeper.
Above : The Freethorpe No.9 scores the only goal of the night.
Despite having rained for most of the day and a light drizzle falling for the majority of the match, the pitch here was perfect. Newly promoted Duxford opened and finished the night’s scoring, but in between, it was Thaxted that held the upper hand and they should have scored more than the five goals they did manage.
The Duxford ‘keeper twice handled the ball outside his 18 yard box, but each time it was punished with just a free kick and not even a yellow card. Both teams also had a player sin binned, in separate incidents, and a Thaxted player who was booked late on thought he had been sin binned as well, but it became apparent it was a ‘proper’ yellow card, which resulted in him sprinting back onto the pitch when he realised, much to the astonishment of his Manager!
This must be the away match that all clubs dread having to do for an early kick off in midweek, as the traffic getting through Lyndhurst during rush hour is horrendous. First to arrive at the ground was the Referee, just before 6 o’clock, then the players arrived over the next half hour or so. It was quite a surprise that we only kicked off eight minutes late in the end.
Bush Hill are the reigning champions and they came into this having won their opening three matches. Sway are very erratic, as far as their two previous home matches have gone, having lost 0-5 and won 8-2 so far, and they also lost their away match at Lyndhurst 1-3. The opening stages tonight were very even, but when Bush Hill opened the scoring after nineteen minutes it was very much one way traffic. They scored at will and were well in command by halftime. The second half just never got going, but the visitors did manage to make it 0-6, when a cut back on the right was turned into his own net by the ‘keeper to round off an easy win.
Having been at Meon Vale for my last match, the ‘Meon’ theme continued, as it was a trip to East Meon for today’s game, although the two villages concerned are over 100 miles apart. As with the match on Thursday, this is not the normal home venue for the club, with Clanfield playing this match, plus one other, here in East Meon as their own pitch recovers from damage caused by moles.
In very windy conditions, where the wind was blowing down the pitch, it was pretty even early on. Locks Heath went ahead with a penalty, but Clanfield were level within two minutes. With the wind in their favour for the second half, Clanfield totally dominated and were well worth their three goal winning margin, which gave them their first win of the season from the opening three games. Locks Heath are one of four teams that are yet to pick up a point.
