Peterborough & District League
Premier Division
Tuesday 13th August 2024
Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.31
Sawtry 5 Chatteris Town 1, attendance 75
10’ 1-0
22’ 2-0
37’ 3-0
72’ 4-0
76’ 5-0
82’ 5-1
@ Greenfield Sports Pavilion
Straight Drove
off Old North Road (B1043)
Sawtry
PE28 5XN
No Admission or Programme.
I’d attempted to see a match here back in 2017 (7 years and 2 days ago to be precise), but despite both teams being there, the building was locked, there were no goal nets and the main pitch wasn’t even marked out (it got played on Pitch 2 in the end, apparently), so I bailed out and headed for Hedinghams United in the Cambridgeshire County League instead. No such problems tonight though. I arrived about an hour and a quarter before kick off, just in case I needed to divert elsewhere, but was pleased to see the nets up and corner flags out, as well as players starting to arrive.
The ground is to the east of the village, on the other side of the A1(M). The pitch, which is railed along one side and about 10 yards from the corners towards the goals, runs widthways in front of the changing room building, with a pair of dugouts on the halfway line at the same side. A tea bar was in operation throughout, selling hot and cold drinks and sweets and crisps.
Sawtry had lost their opening game 4-3 away at Stanground Cardea Sports on Saturday, whilst this was the first game of the season for Chatteris. It only took Sawtry ten minutes to break the deadlock, with a 20 yarder curled in off the far post and they added two more before halftime, both coming after beating an offside trap that the visitors still need to work on. In the last twenty minutes Sawtry added goals number four and five, heading in at the far post, before a one-two on the edge of the box was finished by rounding the ‘keeper and scoring from a tight angle. At least Chatteris rounded off the scoring for the night, when a ball in from the right was side footed in from close range.
It was a sweltering 28 degrees when I arrived at the ground, which meant a drinks break for the players in each half and it was still 21 degrees at the final whistle. At least the rain that was forecast to be heading east across the country never arrived.
