Daily Archives: January 27, 2024

Other Sports

Hammersmith Hills Hoists v West Bowling

Rugby League

Challenge Cup 2nd Round

Saturday 27th January 2024

Kick Off 17.00

Hammersmith Hills Hoists 32 West Bowling 10, attendance 95

@ Chiswick R.U.F.C.

Don Mason Drive

Chiswick

London

W4 2SH

No Admission or Programme.

I arrived here about 50 minutes before kick off. Chiswick R.U.F.C.’s reserve team were in the last few minutes of their match, hence my game having a 5 o’clock start. I was surprised there was no admission charge or even a programme produced. Perhaps they couldn’t be bothered. It was a pretty poor turnout for such a big game, with about twenty of the crowd coming down from Yorkshire with the visitors. I had seen Hammersmith play a home game back in June 2011, when they played at Twyford Avenue Sports Ground, in Acton, West London, but they now appear to have relocated here to Chiswick. It’s a better facility, but I’m not really a fan of watching rugby on a synthetic surface.

Hammersmith Hills Hoists were formed in 2008 by Australian expats and play in the Southern Conference League, where they are the reigning champions, whilst West Bowling are in the National Conference League Premier Division. It was an excellent game, although it was spoiled by the constant fighting that occurred at far too regular intervals and it was hard to keep up with who was being sent off and who was just getting a ten minute sin bin, such was the frequency of mass brawls breaking out. It certainly didn’t help matters with the two kits being so similar either as it was hard to tell exactly who was hitting who! The game finished with yet another punch up in the centre circle and the Referee was brandishing red and yellow cards to both teams, but no idea who was getting what. Sadly, no match report has been posted anywhere by either side, which doesn’t help matters.

West Bowling had a man sent off after just twelve minutes and soon trailed 12-0. Hammersmith had a man sin binned after half an hour and within a minute West Bowling scored a try to pull it back to 12-4, but a converted try for Hammersmith saw them lead 18-4 by halftime. An early try, which was converted, saw West Bowling reduce the arrears to 18-10, but that was to be their last points of the day. Hammersmith ran in three more tries, but only converted one of them, to comfortably lead 32-10 and surprisingly there were no more points added in the final nineteen minutes.

Football

Horsell v Walton Hill

Surrey F.A. Junior Cup

2nd Preliminary Round

Saturday 27th January 2024

Kick Off 13.30 Actual 13.32

Horsell 4 Walton Hill 0, attendance 10

16’ 1-0 (pen)

83’ 2-0

85’ 3-0

90’ + 1, 4-0

@ Brockwood Recreation Ground

Sheets Heath Lane

Brockwood

GU24 0EH

No Admission or Programme.

I was planning on doing a rugby league match at 5pm in Chiswick, so this Surrey F.A. Junior Cup match fitted the bill perfectly, even if it went to extra time and/or penalties. The match was top of Guildford & Woking Alliance League Division 1 versus top of Surrey South Eastern Combination League Junior Division 2. It was a very hard fought game from start to finish, with the final score not reflecting how even the game had been, although the better side certainly ran out deserved winners on chances created, although a four goal defeat was harsh on Walton.

It looked like an early penalty was going to be enough to win it for Horsell, but they finally made the game safe when they got the all important second goal with just seven minutes left, when a long ball was miskicked by the Walton ‘keeper as he attempted to clear and the ball was walked into the empty net. Two minutes later it was three, when another ball over the top was controlled with one touch and fired low into the bottom corner and another ball over the top saw the striker win a race with the ‘keeper and a defender to lob the ball in for number four in stoppage time.

The ground is shared with cricket and the wooden changing room building is flanked by a tennis court on each side, whilst car parking is behind the near goal as you enter off Sheets Heath Lane.