Peterborough & District League

Premier Division

Sunday 30th July 2017

Kick Off 14.00  Actual 14.02

Leverington Sports 2 Peterborough I.C.A. Sports 0,  attendance 304

52′ 1-0

90′ 2-0

@ Leverington Sports & Social Club

Church Road

Leverington

PE13 5DE

£4 Admission, including programme, 8 pages.

Another trip to The Fens, today’s game being just outside Wisbech. Sadly, another really poor match and the lack of quality in the three games watched in this league over the weekend do not reflect at all well on the league, especially as two of the matches were in the top division.

Peterborough & District League

Division 2

Saturday 29th July 2017

Kick Off 16.30 Actual 16.34

Spalding Town 2 Wisbech St. Mary Saints 1,   attendance 240

18′ 1-0

40′ 1-1

90′ 2-1

@ Pinchbeck United F.C.

Knight Street

Pinchbeck

PE11 3RB

??? Admission

£1 Programme (didn’t bother)

So, just six miles from the last game and on to the ground of Pinchbeck United, last seasons Peterborough & District League Premier Division champions. This very basic recreation ground would never meet the ground grading for the Step 6 United Counties League, which Pinchbeck have been promoted into, so they have moved to groundshare with Spalding United, which in turn, has enabled Spalding Town to move in here.

No idea how much the admission was here, as no one was interested in taking money, so the admission was as if it was any other league match……nothing !

With this being two levels lower than the last game, I wasn’t expecting much quality……and wasn’t disappointed….it was rubbish.

Peterborough & District League

Premier Division

Saturday 29th July 2017

Kick Off 13.45  On Time !

Moulton Harrox 3 Sutton Bridge United 0,  attendance 280

6′ 1-0

27′ 2-0

43′ 3-0

@ Moulton Harrox Sports Field

Broad Lane

Moulton

PE12 6PN

£4 Admission *

£1 Programme (didn’t bother as already ripped off on admission price)

Thankfully, there were only going to be three grounds being visited on this years ‘Peterborough Hop’ ( primarily organised  for a coach load of groundhoppers incapable of doing anything for themselves, but swelled by around 150-200 other ‘hoppers who travel by car and don’t need their hands held !) that I had not visited for a match, which if visited on any other day during the season would be free to enter, but here, it is an extortionate price for the level of football on offer.

Moulton were very impressive in the first half, but the second half was a total non event, which sadly, would be a recurring trend.

As always, yet another inflated attendance claimed, as at least 40 fewer here than the official figure.

Belgium

West Vlaanderen Provincial Cup

Group C

Wednesday 26th July 2017

Kick Off 19.30  Actual 19.29

K. E.G. Gistel 2 S.K. Eernegem 0,  attendance 62

58′ 1-0

74′ 2-0

@ Stadion De Kegge

Pol Gernaeystraat 1

8470 Gistel

€5 Admission

Team Sheet, free.

K. Eendracht Genootschap Gistel, to give them their full name, have played in the Belgian League, albeit some time ago, as have the visitors, although that was as recent as a couple of years ago. Nowadays they are back in the Provincial set up, this being level 2 versus level 1.

This was the first competitive game of the season in West Vlaanderen, brought forward from next weekend due to S.K. Eernegem having a match in the 1st Round of the Belgian Cup. It was a real slow burner, in which there were plenty of chances, but in the end probably a deserved win for the hosts.

The fact that Gistel is only an hours drive from The Tunnel meant we were on the 2250 crossing back, so despite numerous single lane sections on the M20, I was back home by 2340…..2 hours earlier than from Hull the night before ! Even better, the trip only cost us £20 each for Tunnel/Fuel.

Pre Season Friendly

Tuesday 25th July 2017

Kick Off 19.30. On Time !

Hull City 0 F.C. Nantes 0,  attendance 2,097

@ Hull Kingston Rovers R.L.F.C.

KCOM Craven Park

Poorhouse Lane

Kingston upon Hull

HU9 5HE

£12 Admission

£1.50 Programme, 16 pages.

Craven Park, which is also referred to as New Craven Park, as it takes the same name of the stadium it replaced in 1989 (old one was on Holderness Road) is home to Hull Kingston Rovers R.L.F.C. From 1995 to 2005 it also hosted the Hull Vikings Speedway team and during the 2015/16 season it played host to a handful of football matches when Hull United played here in the Northern Counties East League.

I was living abroad at the time, so never got to see football played here, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Hull City were carrying out work on the pitch at the KCOM Stadium, then this might have been a ground I would have missed out on, for football that is, as I had been here for rugby league on 14.10.1990, when 5,583 were present for Hull K.R. 22 Widnes 20 in a Division 1 match. The attendance tonight was never going to trouble the 12,225 capacity and only the East and West sides of the ground were open.

Having visited Boothferry park a few months earlier (16.4.90 Hull City 2 Wolves 0, Division 2, attendance 7,510) and then the brand new KC Stadium, as it was then known, (18.3.03 Hull City 1 Torquay United 1, Division 3, attendance 13,310 ) I never thought I would get to see a third venue stage a Hull City match.

This game never looked like producing a goal. That about sums it up. The only thing of note was the fact that it was the first game back in England for visiting manager Claudio Ranieri, following his sacking at the defending Premier League champions Leicester City.

Widnes Cup

Group 2

Saturday 22nd July 2017

Kick Off 15.00 On Time !

St. Michaels D.H.F.C. 3 Parklands 3,  attendance 70

14′ 1-0

19′ 1-1 (pen)

21′ 2-1

85′ 2-2

88′ 3-2

90′ 3-3

@ St. Michaels Parish Centre

St. Michaels Road

Widnes

WA8 8TF

No admission (a bucket collection was made for charity) or programme.

The Widnes Cup is now in its fifteenth season. It is played in two groups of four teams, the winners of each group contesting the final, with the two runners up playing off for third place.

Both these teams are in the Premier Division of the Warrington & District League. They were very evenly matched and put on a game of very good quality for the level, in what was my first competitive match this season after a number of friendlies in the last couple of weeks.

Pre Season Friendly

Wednesday 19th July 2017

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 18.58

Fordingbridge Turks 2 Fawley 7,  attendance 25

@ Fordingbridge Recreation Ground

Ringwood Road

SP6 1AN

No Admission

£1.50 Programme, 16 pages, covering all pre season matches.

Fordingbridge Turks are the oldest club in Hampshire, having been formed in 1868 ! They take their name from the renowned fighting spirit of the Turkish forces who faced the mighty Russian Army in the Crimean War. They play in Division 1 of the Bournemouth League, which is the second tier. Fawley play two levels higher, in Division 1 of the Wessex League.

It took a while for the deadlock to be broken, but it was pretty much one way traffic from that point. Fawley scored after 33, 37, 52, 56, 61, 64 and 69 minutes to lead 0-7. Turks scored twice the in the last ten minutes, giving me a second 2-7 score line in my last 3 matches.

Pre Season Friendly

Tuesday 18th July 2017

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.32

F.C. Elmstead 4 Hildenborough Athletic 1,  attendance 22

@ Coney Hall Recreation Ground

Church Drive

Coney Hall

BR4 9JJ

No admission or programme.

Elmstead, who play in the Southern Counties League Division 1, were far too strong for the visitors, who last season finished second bottom in the Premier Division of the Kent County League. Goals on 19, 21 and 52 minutes put them well in command. Hildenborough got a consolation goal on 76 minutes before Elmstead added their fourth two minutes later.

With a ridiculously late scheduled kick off time, considering there were no floodlights, it was no surprise that the Referee blew for full time eight minutes early, when it began to rain and visibility was becoming very poor.