National League South
Tuesday 18th January 2022
Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.48
Hampton & Richmond Borough 2 Braintree Town 4, attendance 657
20’ 1-0 (pen)
22’ 1-1
30’ 1-2
37’ 1-3
81’ 2-3
88’ 2-4
@ The Beveree Stadium
Beaver Close
off Station Road
Hampton
TW12 2BX
Free Admission (normally £14)
£1 minimum donation for Programme (from original date) Didn’t bother buying.
With no new grounds available to me tonight, I had whittled down to a couple of choices for revisits. Here, or nearby Molesey, who were hosting Jersey Bulls. I went for this as it was free admission (still had to book a ticket online, but just counted in by a hand clicker on arrival, so didn’t need it) which came about due to the original game being abandoned (with Braintree leading 0-1 at the time) before the rescheduled match was postponed not long before kick off. So they were hoping it would be third time lucky. My only other visit here was to see Hampton 0 Brentford 8 in a pre season friendly back on 19th July 1995 and I remembered nothing whatsoever about the ground. It is a bit of a hotch potch of six separate bits of cover and tightly hemmed in. In those days Hampton were only in Isthmian League Division 2, whilst Brentford were in the ‘old’ Second Division, so quite a rise for the two clubs in the intervening 27 years.
Tonight’s match was 15th versus 21st (bottom). Braintree started off much the better side, but H&RB went in front from the penalty spot, totally against the run of play. By halftime the visitors had turned it round, to lead 1-3, but they could easily have doubled this, such was their dominance. The second half never matched the free flowing, end to end, nature of the first. A late goal for the hosts, making it 2-3 with nine minutes left, livened it up though. Braintree didn’t sit back and try to hang on, but instead replied with a fourth goal two minutes from time, breaking down the right and playing the ball across the box, where the ‘keeper was beaten emphatically to make it 2-4. Braintree deservedly took all three points and climb off the bottom of the table as a result.
