Essex Senior League

Tuesday 4th March 2025

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.46

Benfleet 0 Barking 5, attendance 112

2’ 0-1

24’ 0-2

28’ 0-3

45’ + 1, 0-4

53’ 0-5

@ Woodside Park

Manor Road

New Thundersley

SS7 4PA

£6 Admission

Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

I came to a game here at Woodside Park back in July 2021, when I saw Benfleet play a friendly on the second pitch. At that time, the first team were ground sharing at Canvey Island, but they’ve since brought the main pitch up to Step 5 standard. It is now fully enclosed and obviously floodlit. Spectator access is limited to three sides, with the dugouts on the far side being the out of bounds area. The entrance side, which houses the clubhouse and changing rooms, has a seated kit stand, flanked by two covered standing areas.

The pitch here suffers horrendously from poor/no drainage, despite having a side to side slope that normally helps with such problems. This was their first home game they’ve managed to play here since December 28th and only the third going back to the third week of October. I’ve already had two failed attempts to get here already this season, both times where the games were postponed following pitch inspections that were being conducted too late to still have a chance of making it for kick off, even if they had been passed as ‘on’, due to having to battle M25 roadworks around Clacket Lane Services, let alone the usual Dartford Crossing shenanigans. Anyway, on such a dry sunny day, this looked a good bet to finally go ahead. The club had replied on Twitter that this was indeed the case, although I was told by a fellow ‘hopper at the game that the Referee only actually gave it the green light just before 7 o’clock!

The match was 16th versus 4th in the league table. Barking were very impressive and went ahead after just two minutes, shooting low through a crowd of players, following the award of an indirect free kick just outside the six yard box. Benfleet had a chance to level the scores after 20 minutes, but the penalty kick was well saved by the ‘keeper, then four minutes later Barking scored their second, heading in a left wing cross at the near post. Four minutes later it was 0-3, when a ball in from the right was swept in from 10 yards.

Any chance that Benfleet might have had of getting back into it disappeared minutes later, when a foul inside the centre circle resulted in a straight red card for one of their defenders. The Barking player on the receiving end lay motionless, clearly badly injured. An ambulance was called and the players and officials left the pitch. Meanwhile, a stretcher appeared and the player was loaded and removed, before the ambulance had arrived. After a quick warm up, following a break of just over half an hour, the match resumed and the final eleven minutes of the half were played to a conclusion, with Barking making it 0-4 in added time, heading in at the far post, from a corner on the left. A truncated halftime saw the second half back underway at 21.08 and eight minutes later Barking added their fifth goal of the night, tapping in a cross from the right at the near post. They then took their foot off the pedal, content that the points were safe and the nearest they came to grabbing a sixth goal was a shot that hit the post late on.

I was very pleased to finally get this ground ticked off and the completion of Steps 1 to 6 edges a little closer. Just Truro City (Step 2), Jersey Bulls (Step 5) and Darlington Town (Step 6) to go now. I’m unlikely to manage it this season now though, as I prefer to do floodlit grounds for midweek matches, so expect that number to increase by the start of next season.

France

Ligue 1

Sunday 2nd March 2025

Kick Off 15.00 On Time!

Olympique Lyonnais 2 Stade Brestois ‘29 1, attendance 47,804

15’ 0-1 (pen)

24’ 1-1

81’ 2-1

@ Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais)

10 Avenue Simone Veil

69150 Decines – Charpieu

€25 Admission + €1 Booking Fee, Print at Home Ticket

No Programme.

As we were staying in Lyon, getting to today’s game should have been more straightforward than it was. With work taking place on the most direct public transport route (had an e-mail from the club informing me of this!) from the city out to the stadium, to the east of the city, it meant an alternate route was required, taking the metro Line D to Grand Blanche and then tram T5 to Eurexpo, from where free shuttle busses ran to the stadium.

The Groupama Stadium, named Parc Olympique Lyonnais prior to the sponsorship deal, is the third largest stadium in France and was opened in January 2016, with an all seated capacity of 59,186 and hosted games in that year’s European Championships as well as the 2018 U.E.F.A. Europa League Final. It replaced their former Stade de Gerland home, which is still in use for rugby union, which I had visited back in December 2013 (1-1 versus Toulouse att. 29,152 in Ligue 1) on a 3 match train trip from my then home in Brussels, taking in F.C. Nantes on the Tuesday and Stade Rennais on the Wednesday, before rounding things off here on the Thursday, followed by a ridiculously early train back to Brussels the following morning, meaning I was back at our apartment before 10.30am!

Olympique Lyonnais only won their first Ligue 1 title in 2002, which triggered a remarkable run of seven consecutive titles, but they’ve yet to add to that since. They’ve also won the Coupe de France five times and have twice reached the semi-finals of the U.E.F.A. Champions League. Qualification for European football is a regular occurrence these days and they came into this sitting sixth in the league table, whilst Stade Brestois were three places below them, struggling to match their feat of last season, in which they qualified for the Champions League, but having made the play off round following the league stage, found themselves paired with fellow French side Paris Saint-Germain, who hammered them 10-0 on aggregate!

Brest got off to a perfect start today, scoring with a V.A.R. awarded penalty after fifteen minutes, although it only took Lyon nine minutes to draw level, when a through ball was dinked over the ‘keeper from the corner of the six yard box by Alexandre Lacazette (ex Arsenal). Brest thought they’d edged back in front in the final minute of the first half, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Both sides went for the win in the second half and following a build up of pressure, it finally went the way of the hosts with nine minutes left, when Lacazette scored his second goal of the game, touching in a cross from the right at the near post that found the far corner of the net. Unlike yesterday, where Nice appeared to have no supporters whatsoever at Saint-Etienne, at least there were 70 away supporters following Brest today, although they probably hadn’t travelled all the way from Normandy, some 430 miles to the west.

After the game, the organisation in queuing for the shuttle busses back to the tram connection was superbly run, and even better, our bus back to Eurexpo dropped us off with a wait of under five minutes for the next tram to depart (only three an hour according to the timetable) back towards the city.

France

Ligue 1

Saturday 1st March 2025

Kick Off 17.00 On Time!

Association Sportive Saint-Etienne 1 Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice 3, attendance 30,070

10’ 0-1

32’ 1-1

50’ 1-2

70’ 1-3

@ Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

14 Rue Paul et Pierre Guichard

42000 Saint-Etienne

€33 Admission + €1 Booking Fee, Print at Home Ticket.

No Programme.

A late decision, with flights and hotel not booked until Thursday evening, saw us on the 0820 EasyJet flight yesterday morning from London Gatwick to Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport, in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region of France, for a short break based in the city of Lyon. For today’s game it was a 55 minute train ride south-west from Lyon to Saint-Etienne Chateaucreux station, which cost €27.60 return, with a 25 minute walk to the stadium from there.

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, named after the founder of the Casino retail group, who purchased the land it occupies, was built in 1930, opening the following year, undergoing a number of renovations over the intervening years and now has an all seated capacity of 41,965. It has hosted games in the European Championships (1984 and 2016) and World Cup (1998), as well as games in the 2024 Summer Olympics football tournament and 2023 Rugby Union World Cup.

Saint-Etienne have won 10 Ligue 1 titles and are six times Coupe de France winners, but their glory days were back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a period that also saw them reach the 1976 European Cup Final, where they lost to Bayern Munchen. They are struggling to avoid relegation this season, coming into this third bottom in the league table, one above the automatic drop zone, whilst today’s visitors Nice are very much in the running for a Champions League place, sitting third in the table, just three points adrift of second placed Olympique Marseille, but both well adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Nice were ahead after just ten minutes, when a cross from the right was met with a first time shot, that was initially saved by the ‘keeper, but followed in with a header that went in off the underside of the crossbar. The goal was greeted by near silence. The visitors section of the stadium was completely empty and there was no evidence of them having any support in the home areas either. Saint-Etienne equalised just after the half hour mark, when the ball was worked in from the right, before being pulled back across the six yard box and easily finished from eight yards out. The home fans were absolutely superb, creating one of the best atmospheres I’ve witnessed anywhere, even after going behind so early and their backing for the team was relentless, despite them not having too much to cheer, as Nice looked far more dangerous and were producing the better goal scoring chances. Nice were back in front five minutes into the second half, when a corner from the right was touched in at the near post. Twenty minutes from the end they added a third goal, when a ball across the 18 yard box was finished first time into the bottom corner and they also hit the crossbar late on following a quick breakaway, as they cruised to an easy win, with the hosts never really looking like getting back into it. Even worse for them, Le Havre won tonight, which saw them climb out of the bottom two, leaving Saint-Etienne in their place.

After the game it was an easy walk back to the station, in plenty of time to catch the 20.03 train back to Lyon.

Belgium

West Vlaanderen Provincial 2B

Sunday 23rd February 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.04

S.V. Moorslede 0 S.K. Nieuwkerke 1, attendance 109

67’ 0-1

@ Grimmertinge

Iepersestraat 52

8890 Moorslede

€6 Admission

No Programme.

Getting home from Wales at 02.50 this morning wasn’t the greatest preparation for an early start for a day trip to Belgium today. With prices on Eurotunnel coming out at around £250, we were travelling by ferry instead, opting for the 0815 P&O crossing from Dover to Calais, coming up at the much more reasonable price of £68, with crossing time around an hour longer than on the train.

The ground here has a 3G pitch, with spectator access on three sides only, with the far goal end from the clubhouse being out of bounds. As well as cover on the halfway line, there is also a four step covered area in the corner behind the near goal end, positioned in such a way that it doubles up for use on pitch 2 too, which runs parallel.

Today’s match was 13th versus 14th (out of 16). It was end to end, with plenty of chances created, but surprisingly remained goalless at halftime. The best chances early in the second half saw Moorslede have a shot that clipped the crossbar and Nieuwkerke saw a downward header flicked onto the crossbar by the home ‘keeper, before the visitors nicked the winner midway through the half, finishing into the bottom corner after a ball was played back across the six yard box. Moorslede lost any chance of getting back into it when they had a man sent off with nine minutes left, following a second yellow card.

It was only 65 miles back to Calais, where we were booked on the 2010 crossing, but were pleased to be given a place on the earlier boat instead, being the last car to be loaded, meaning arriving back home at a much more reasonable time of 21.30, which was about an hour earlier than expected.

West Wales Premier League

Saturday 22nd February 2025

Kick Off 17.00 Actual 17.03

Calsonic Kansei Swiss Valley 2 Dafen Welfare 0, attendance 73

18’ 1-0

62’ 2-0

@ Coleg Sir Gar, 3G Pitch

Sandy Road (A484)

Llanelli

SA15 4DN

No Admission or Programme.

It took just under half an hour to drive from Ragged School to Coleg Sir Gar, just west of Llanelli, arriving twenty minutes before the scheduled kick off time, where CKSV were staging their game tonight due to problems with the pitch at their own ground. Yet another dreadful caged pitch, that makes a mockery of the Welsh F.A. in allowing this venue to stage level 4 football. As with last night, there is no spectator access inside the cage, but unlike last night, no vantage points whatsoever. Rather oddly, there is a 6 yard wide strip of tarmac that runs the full length of one side of the pitch, but behind the high fence, whilst at the rear, separating it from the playing fields, is a full length waist high barrier. The cynical amongst us might suggest it was a mistake by the builders when installing it, putting the fences in the opposite way to what they should have gone…..although, once again, it just about sums up everything you’d expect in this league regarding ground grading requirements, or more the lack of! Quite why a club would bother to hire this venue, where they can’t take any money, is questionable, especially as we’re only five weeks away from the clocks changing and it could easily be played on a midweek evening at their own ground, despite it lacking floodlights.

Anyway, onto the match, where 12th hosted 13th in the league table. There was little between the two teams, with CKSV just edging it. They scored the opening goal after eighteen minutes, when a corner on the left was met with a glancing header that found the far corner of the net. Goal number two came just after the hour mark, when another corner from the left was headed back across the six yard box and nodded in from close range.

Not the most enjoyable game, totally down to the venue hosting it, but at least I’m down to just one ground yet to visit in this league now…..CKSV at their proper home. Good progress was being made on the drive home until the M4 ground to a halt just past Junction 20. Four and a half hours later we finally moved. The police had closed the motorway, due to body parts having been reported on the carriageway (according to reports on news outlets). The annoying thing was, it wasn’t even on our side of the motorway! I certainly didn’t think that a 5pm kick off in Wales would see me not arriving home until 02.50 the following morning….

Swansea Senior League

Premier Division

Saturday 22nd February 2025

Kick Off 14.30 Actual 14.29!

Ragged School 5 Clase Social 2, attendance 34

9’ 1-0

39’ 2-0

47’ 3-0

62’ 4-0 (pen)

85’ 4-1 (pen)

87’ 4-2 (pen)

90’ 5-2

@ Paradise Park

Powys Avenue

Townhill

Swansea

SA1 6PW

No Admission or Programme.

I’d seen Ragged School play home games twice before. In November 2005 I saw them beat Seven Sisters 3-1 in a West Wales F.A. Senior Cup tie, played at Plas Marl Sports & Social Club,in Beaufort Road, Swansea, then in September 2012 they beat Swansea Dockers 5-0 in a Swansea Senior League match played at Elba Playing Fields in Gowerton. They’re now based here at Paradise Park, in Townhill, which took just over two minutes to drive to from Rosehill Community and consists of two parallel pitches, today’s game being played on the furthest one from the changing rooms. The pitch runs alongside Townhill Road and is roped off along each side between the two 18 yard boxes. Both hot and cold refreshments are available from the cafe inside The Phoenix Centre, which also houses the changing rooms. Plenty of parking here, helped by the fact the player’s from the reserve game at noon were just leaving as I arrived.

The match was 11th (bottom) versus 8th, with Ragged School having won just one of their fourteen league games coming into this. It was far more evenly matched than I’d been expecting and the level of skill was a huge step up from this mornings game. A long ball over the top saw Ragged School break the deadlock after nine minutes, finishing one on one from the edge of the box. Seven minutes before halftime, the game turned hugely in their favour, when the Clase Social ‘keeper was red carded for a foul just outside the 18 yard box, followed by a second red card, issued for dissent, seeing the visitors reduced to nine men. From the resulting free kick Ragged School then scored to make it 2-0. Goal number three arrived two minutes into the second half, before a penalty just after the hour mark saw them make it 4-0. With five minutes left the nine men scored a penalty of their own, before then scoring from the penalty spot again a couple of minutes later, pulling it back 4-2, before Ragged School rounded off the scoring in the final minute, when a free kick from wide on the right was headed in at the near post to make it 5-2.

Swansea Senior League

Maes-y-Gollen Cup 3rd Round

Saturday 22nd February 2025

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.09

Rosehill Community 7 Sandfields 4, attendance 33

14’ 0-1

16’ 1-1

21’ 2-1

36’ 3-1

47’ 4-1

52’ 5-1

63’ 5-2

72’ 6-2

75’ 6-3 (pen)

78’ 6-4

82’ 7-4

@ The Ganges Field

Pentyla Road

Cockett

SA2 0YN

No Admission or Programme.

Having stayed overnight following the game at Rockspur last night, I decided to take in one of the noon kick offs in the Swansea Senior League. My original choice was at Penllergaer, but by 11.05, no one had arrived (it subsequently appeared as postponed on the Cymru App at 1 o’clock!) so I made the seventeen minute drive south towards Swansea, arriving at The Ganges Field, pleased to see players arriving and that the game was going ahead. Well, that’s what I thought. Unbeknown to me, there was no referee, despite one being assigned according to the app, but the game was actually reffed by a ‘home official’. According to one of the away team substitutes, this is perfectly normal for this league and he commented “we haven’t had a proper ref for about 8 weeks now”!

The ground is a ‘pitch in a large field’, very undulating and sloping towards one side. There is a small area for parking just inside the gate leading off Pentyla Road, but almost everyone parked roadside, whilst a couple of metal containers acted as changing rooms. This was a cup game, between two teams from Division 2, the lowest of the three tiers that make up the league. What it lacked in skill, it certainly made up for it with entertainment. It was the sort of game that looked like every attack would end with a goal. Neither defence were good, but that didn’t really matter, because the attacking players wasted chance after chance.

The visitors took the lead with a 35 yarder that sailed over the ‘keeper and it set the tone for what was to come. Rosehill equalised within minutes, quickly followed by a second goal and by halftime they’d made it 3-1. Halftime was just five minutes, with everyone staying out on the pitch and within two minutes of the restart it was 4-1, scored with a superb bicycle kick and five minutes later a 25 yarder saw their lead increase to 5-1. Sandfields did pull one back, but a header from a corner soon made it 6-2. A penalty, then a corner from the right, scrambled in at the far post, unbelievably saw the visitors pull it back to 6-4 and a comeback looked on the cards, but Rosehill put the game beyond doubt when they added a seventh goal with eight minutes left, courtesy of a volley from the edge of the 18 yard box.

So, despite not getting to my first choice game, this was certainly a great backup and for anyone thinking of coming along to a Rosehill game in the future, I’d recommend bringing along an abacus!

West Wales Premier League

Friday 21st February 2024

Kick Off 19.15 Actual 19.14!

Rockspur 3 St. Joseph’s (Swansea) 1, attendance 270 (official 224)

20’ 1-0

35’ 2-0

72’ 3-0

90’ + 2, 3-1

@ Penyrheol Leisure Centre, 3G Pitch

Pontardulais Road

Penyrheol

Gorseinon

SA4 4FG

£3 Admission

No Programme.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m a completest when it comes to finishing off leagues, I wouldn’t have bothered making the effort to venture here for a match, especially with the usual dreadful Friday traffic meaning it took almost 6 hours to get here. The ‘ground’ is as bad as it gets, especially when you consider this is the fourth level of football in Wales. It’s just a caged pitch, with no spectator area inside the fence. The only plus point here though, is due to high grass banking along one side, you can at least watch the game with the fence being a minor distraction.

The match was a top of the table clash, with leaders Rockspur coming into this 8 points clear of second placed St. Joseph’s, as well as a better goal difference, but having played three games more than their chasers. Although it wasn’t a title decider as such, it certainly felt like it, with a huge crowd (I counted 26 more than the official attendance) present and both teams going at it 100% from start to finish. Rockspur went ahead after twenty minutes, when a long throw in was flicked in from just inside the 6 yard box. Goal number two, their 100th in the league this season, came ten minutes before halftime, when another long throw was cleared from the box, but only as far as the taker, who returned it with a first time cross that was swept high into the roof of the net from 5 yards. Their third goal came eighteen minutes from time, when yet another long throw was finished with a powerful header into the bottom corner from close range. St. Joseph’s rounded off the scoring in stoppage time, poking in a through ball from the edge of the 18 yard box to pull it back to 3-1, but Rockspur were well deserved winners. They now lead the table by 11 points and look odds on to now go on and win it. If they do, they’ll be looking for a new home, as surely, even the Welsh F.A. won’t allow such a dreadful ground as this to host level 3 football, but you never know…..

Spain

R.F.E.F. Primera Division

Grupo 3

Sunday 16th February 2025

Kick Off 17.30 Actual 17.31

Villarreal C.F. ‘B’ 3 Club Deportivo Alcoyano 0, attendance 530

13’ 1-0

32’ 2-0 (pen)

88’ 3-0

@ Ciutat Esportiva Villarreal ‘Mini Estadi’

Carrer Miralcamp 128

12540 Vila-real

€15 Admission

No Programme.

It was a 50 mile drive back north from Torrent to Villarreal. Unfortunately, we stopped at a service station en route for food, during which time we had our bags stolen from the boot of the car, although it was only when we went to go in the boot after arriving in Villarreal that it came to our attention that it had happened. We decided it was best to still do the game and report the theft afterwards, rather than let it ruin the trip, but it did really take the shine off it.

Anyway, the B team of Villarreal play in the third level of Spanish football, playing home games at the ‘Mini Estadi’, the main pitch at their training complex, on the western fringes of the town. It has seats on all four sides, with the only cover being in the centre of the main stand. We just went to the ticket office and bought a ticket, which turned out to be in the away section. Not a problem, as there were only 54 others in with us and you could sit wherever you wanted.

It was hard to really concentrate on the game, which was a shame, as Villarreal were really good. Even though it was 12th versus 13th in the league table, the hosts had the upper hand throughout and coasted to an easy win. They opened the scoring after thirteen minutes, when an angled shot from the corner of the 18 yard box was saved by the ‘keeper, but easily tucked away after being followed in. Goal number two came just after the half hour mark, courtesy of a penalty and despite creating plenty more chances, it took them until two minutes from the end to get their third goal, cutting inside from the right before hitting an unstoppable shot into the far corner.

After the game we headed into Villarreal to report the theft of our bags. Unfortunately, the Police computer was down with a technical problem, so we were advised to return later “when it may be back up and running?”. We checked in at our hotel on the edge of town and they telephoned the police station for us, confirming the computer was now back in use, so we headed off to obtain a crime number for the insurance claim. My co traveller had lost his spare phone and coat, which annoyingly had his passport in. I’d got off lightly by comparison, losing just a few tee shirts, boxer shorts and socks, which had all been worn, but crucially they’d taken my medication to cover the following day and a spare amount in case of flight delays.

We were due to fly back at 1425 on Monday from Barcelona. It was a near 3 hour drive north, but we dropped off the hire car and then took a taxi to the British Consulate (absolutely superb service considering they say 2-3 working days to issue emergency passports) in the city, where we’d managed to book an appointment for 11.15. In a matter of minutes the temporary passport was issued and we were back in a taxi heading back to the airport. Our return flight with Vueling left just a few minutes late and it was certainly good to arrive back in Blighty without further incident.

Apart from the theft, which could have been far worse, especially if we were actually present when it occurred, it had been a successful trip. We managed to get in 5 games as we had hoped, covering just over 600 miles in the process and it now takes my Spanish grounds visited up to 62.

Spain

R.F.E.F. Segunda Division

Grupo 3

Sunday 16th February 2025

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.03

Torrent C.F. 1 Club Esportiu Europa 1, attendance 4,520

25’ 0-1

72’ 1-1

@ Estadi San Gregorio

Avinguda de Perez Galdos 15

46900 Torrent

€15 Admission

No Programme.

This morning started with a 30 minute drive to the town of Torrent, just south west of Valencia. Parking near the stadium was non existent, due to clashing with Sunday morning church services, but we eventually found an area of wasteland, which doubled as a car park, which was maybe ten minutes walk from the ground. We arrived at the stadium about 10.45 and the queue outside the ground was already starting to build. Tickets were available from a window next to the entrance and as it was a gorgeous day, reaching 23 degrees at the peak, we opted for general admission tickets, rather than the main 1,000 seat stand, which meant we’d be in the open, but without shade. Not something you normally have to worry about in February. The stand is on the entrance side of the ground, with the other three sides having four steps of concrete steps, where everybody sat down, with standing on the back row only, apart from a couple of ignorant supporters who seemed totally oblivious to the fact that standing on the front row wasn’t really the done thing.

The match was 4th versus 1st, in what is level 4 here, with Torrent just four points behind the leaders. I thought there might be a decent crowd here, but certainly didn’t expect it to be this big and it seemed to have caught out many locals, as it was a good twenty minutes into the game before the queue at the entrance finally disappeared. There were quite a few fans here supporting Europa too, despite it being a four hour drive from their base in Barcelona and it bucked the trend of the top levels in Spain where very few away fans bother travelling. The two teams were well matched and goal scoring chances were at a premium. Europa broke the deadlock after twenty minutes five minutes, cutting in from the left before beating the ‘keeper into the near top corner of the net. The equaliser came with eighteen minutes left, cutting in from the right side of the box before lobbing the ball over the ‘keeper, enabling an easy tap in at the far post. Europa will probably feel it was a game they should have won, but at least the point keeps them top, whilst Torrent drop a place to fifth. The game finished at 13.54, so ample time to head off to a second match.