A.C.D United only moved to the ground here at Ingatestone this season, but there are rumours they may be playing elsewhere next season, so I took the opportunity to visit today, just in case. I received a very quick reply from the home club via text message that the game was going ahead okay and apart from the usual 3 or 4 mile queue at Dartford Tunnel and a fifteen minute delay trying to exit the M25 onto the A12, I still arrived twenty five minutes before the scheduled kick off. Entering off New Road, there is a very small car park, with the changing room building to the right. The pitch is directly in front, running widthways and roped off along both sides.
The match was 4th versus 7th in the league table and was a decent contest from start to finish. ACD were ahead early, following in from close range after the ‘keeper had spilled a cross from wide on the left. They didn’t add their second goal until a minute before halftime, cutting 9n from the right, before finishing left footed into the bottom corner from just inside the 18 yard box. Manford Way pulled one back from the penalty spot, awarded for a handball, with just over twenty minutes left, but ACD made the game safe when they added a third goal twelve minutes from time, hitting an angled shot from 20 yards that gave the ‘keeper no chance.
Only the top two go up from this division and today’s win now sees ACD move up two places into third place, two points behind second placed Harold Hill, with Wakering Sports eight points clear at the top, although they’ve played three more games than the two chasers.
Finding a previously unvisited ground hosting a match on a Good Friday is getting harder as each year passes, with fewer leagues now scheduling games on this day, but rather surprisingly, I had a choice of three to pick from. One in North Wales, but at a soulless 3G cage with no spectator viewing area. Another in Warrington, also being played on 3G, but not the regular home venue of the host club, or the one here in St. Helens, which was my preferred choice, as it was on grass and also the one with the earlier kick off (brought forward from 3pm to avoid a clash with the St. Helens v Wigan Warriors RL game that was live on tv and being shown in the clubhouse)…. As well as re-completing the North West Counties League once again, it also had something on the game….a win would see the hosts clinch the league title!
Despite it being 1st versus 13th in the league table, it wasn’t as straightforward a win as it would seem. Runcorn had won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in September, before winning 3-1 in a league cup game when they met the following month. There was little between the two today, in a game that could have gone either way. Runcorn opened the scoring in the twenty seventh minute, breaking down the left before cutting inside to see a shot saved by the ‘keeper, but the rebound followed in. St. Helens levelled immediately, when a mix up between ‘keeper and defender saw the striker nip between the two. He was fouled by the ‘keeper, but managed to score from a tight angle before the Referee had a chance to award a penalty. Another defensive mix up, when not dealing with a diagonal through ball, saw St. Helens edge in front eight minutes later, but Runcorn made it 2-2 a couple of minutes into the second half, setting the game up perfectly and had a couple of really good chances to have gone back in front. With twelve minutes left, St. Helens got what turned out to be the winning goal, coolly dispatching a penalty which was awarded after the ‘keeper brought down a home player just inside the box. Any hope of a Runcorn comeback soon disappeared though, as they had a player sent off just three minutes later and St. Helens comfortably held out for the remainder, although it ended up 10 a side for the last few seconds of stoppage time, when the hosts had a player red carded as well, but too late to alter the outcome.
Traffic wasn’t as bad as I had feared and it was under four hours drive each way. Even the weather was kind. Although it rained all the way up the M40 and there was quite a downpour around Warrington on the way back, it remained dry and sunny for the match. A good job really, as there were a few soft looking areas around the centre of the pitch that may not have took too much more of the wet stuff.
Flansham Park Rangers 2 Holbrook Olympic 2, attendance 8
22’ 0-1
30’ 1-1
62’ 2-1
74’ 2-2
@ Ormiston Six Villages Academy
Lime Avenue
Westergate
PO20 3UE
No Admission or Programme.
I never got to see Flansham Park Rangers play a game here at Ormiston Six Villages Academy before they upped sticks and moved to groundshare at Southern Combination League Premier Division club Pagham at the start of this season. Their reserve team still play here in Westergate, but a fixture clash with their landlords meant I had a chance to finally see the first team host a game in the village. A very quick response to a text message sent to the club contact number on the league website confirmed both that the game was going ahead okay and indeed that it was here at OSVA. It’s nothing more than a couple of pitches in an open field, with the pitch to the right of the artificial cricket wicket (when walking from the changing rooms) being used today.
The match was 6th versus 1st in the league table and was much more of an even contest than I’d anticipated it being and the good news was, that despite the forecast showing a high possibility of heavy rain at some point, there was little more than a brief shower at the start of each half and plenty of sunshine throughout. Holbrook went ahead midway through the first half, forcing in from close range, after a couple of point blank saves had been made by the home ‘keeper as the ball pin balled around the six yard box, before he was beaten at the third attempt. Flansham soon levelled, when a quickly taken goal kick bounced well inside the Holbrook half and the striker shot first time into the bottom corner. Flansham went 2-1 up just after the hour mark, finishing off a diagonal free kick from near the centre circle with a stooping header at the far post. Holbrook made it 2-2 with sixteen minutes left, when a free kick was hooked back across the six yard box and finished from close range.
Holbrook only have two games left now and have a healthy 13 point lead over second placed East Dean, who have 2 games in hand, but are still not guaranteed the title, or even promotion yet (top 2 go up) as third placed Goring by Sea are 14 points off the top, but have seven games left and Rudgwick Reserves are four points further back, but still have eight games to play.
With the full weekend closure of the M25 in both directions between J10 and J11 (first time this has happened since it opened in 1986), which would cause total gridlock in the area, I was left with the option of heading either south, or east (unless I left ridiculously early) for my game today. I opted for the former, heading to the outskirts of Worthing, where seventh in the league table A.F.C. Broadwater were hosting second placed Sompting, being played at the only ground I hadn’t yet seen a game on in this league. My choice was made easier by the fact that I had a 3G backup about 25 minutes away, but thankfully the pitch here was good to go, despite unbeknown to me, heavy rain having fallen overnight (wasn’t on the Met Office forecast). Northbrook Recreation Ground is a two pitch job, each running widthways when looking from the changing rooms/car park, with today’s game on the furthest one. Both pitches were suffering from mole hills, with our game on the less blighted of the two. It was unusual that both had square goal posts too. There was a soft area just outside the centre circle in one half of the pitch, but the Referee said “we’ll give it a go” and “see how it goes”.
Ovingdean look almost certain to win the league, but even A.F.C. Broadwater could still mathematically finish second (they have five games in hand) coming into this, although it is more likely to be between Sompting, St. Marys and Boys Brigade Old Boys for the runner up spot.
The game here started off as a very even contest. The only goal of the first half being a 25 yard free kick into the bottom corner after seventeen minutes that gave Sompting the lead, with the best of the other chances seeing them have a shot from just outside the box hit the crossbar. Goal number two came eight minutes into the second half, with an angled finish that the ‘keeper should really have kept out and they made it 0-3 a couple of minutes later, when a free kick from near the centre circle was headed over the ‘keeper from 15 yards as a number of players challenged for the ball as it dropped. The hosts notably tired from here and Sompting created chances at will, adding two more goals to round off a resounding win.
With Truro City currently not playing in Cornwall and their ground share pitch at Taunton Town being waterlogged, they came up with the ground of Gloucester City as the best alternative they could find (just a mere 194 miles from Truro) to get this game played. The reason for the evening kick off was that Gloucester City had been at home to Boston United (they lost 3-7) at three o’clock.
I’d seen Gloucester City here in December 1990, when they beat Weymouth 2-0 in an F.A. Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round Replay (att. 682), but major work has undergone here in the intervening years, resulting in Meadow Park (pre-sponsor name) now becoming ‘New’ Meadow Park. The ground is in close proximity to the River Severn and regularly suffered from flooding in it’s original form and after being hit by the weather once again in 2007, the club vacated their home of just 22 years, resulting in ground shares at Forest Green Rovers, Cirencester Town, Cheltenham Town and Evesham United, before returning to their own ground in 2020.
The pitch has been moved about 35-40 yards from its original position and raised considerably to combat the rising water levels that caused the flooding of the past. I believe the clubhouse is from the original set up, but the ground itself is all new. Two decent sized seated stands and cover behind each goal, whilst the far side is open to the elements and of course, there is now a 3G pitch. I’d arrived in plenty of time from my afternoon game at English Bicknor, with the gates here still open from the earlier game, so was able to venture inside and get a few photos whilst there was still some daylight. I’d also managed to park right outside the ground too, although it appeared that there was no problem parking in the car park at the entrance end of the stadium. There was also time to venture beyond the far goal end too, just to see to what extent the ground had actually been shifted, as the photos below show…..old terracing still remains and the new pitch is elevated well above it’s original height.
The match itself was 18th (out of 24) versus 2nd and was a decent game to watch as a neutral. An early penalty saw Chelmsford go in front, but Truro levelled the scores after eleven minutes, when an attempted clearance from the ‘keeper, following a back pass, was charged down, resulting in the ball rebounding into the far corner of the net. Chelmsford were totally dominant and if it wasn’t for a number of outstanding saves by the Truro ‘keeper, this game would have been decided much earlier than it was. Chelmsford saw a header come back off the post as well, but finally edged back in front after 33 minutes, when a free kick was swung in from the right and finished from close range, with possibly the final touch coming right on the line, just before the ball went in? Goal number three for the visitors came just before halftime, cutting in from the left before finishing right footed into the bottom corner from the edge of the D. Any chance of a comeback disappeared ten minutes into the second half, when Chelmsford made it 1-4, with their second penalty of the game, this time in off the underside of the crossbar. They nearly added a fifth late on, but a 20 yard curler came back off the post.
It was nice to tidy this one up and do it with two other games in the area, saving me a 250 mile round trip, even though the match didn’t involve the actual home club and there probably haven’t been too many occasions where I’ve travelled fewer miles to watch a game than the two teams involved
English Bicknor 2 Tredworth Tigers 3, attendance 44
24’ 1-0
47’ 2-0
61’ 2-1
67’ 2-2 (pen)
85’ 2-3
@ Worral Hill Recreation Ground
Main Road
Worral Hill
GL17 9QF
No Admission or Programme.
I had only visited English Bicknor as recently as December 2021, when they played in the village itself, but they are now based at Worral Hill, no more than a couple of miles away as the crow flies, but just over four miles by road. I’d actually planned on coming here back in August, when they moved one of their fixtures to a Friday night, but unfortunately as I was thinking about setting off, the SatNav was showing over an hour of hold ups on the M25, let alone any problems on the M4, so I reluctantly gave up.
When heading south west along the A4136 from Gloucester, the ground is visible on the right, where you then turn in towards the village, with the entrance to the small car park about 100 yards along on the right. I’d made the 18 mile journey from Gloucester comfortably, arriving just under half an hour before kick off.
The clubhouse/changing rooms are in the near corner, next to the car park, with the pitch running lengthways away from here. The pitch is fully railed and has a set of dugouts on the right hand side, whilst opposite are two wooden dugouts, set back from the pitch slightly, which were used as seating for spectators. English Bicknor had seen their home game postponed last Saturday, but no such problems today, confirmed in a quick reply to a text message to the Secretary, sent during my earlier game.
The match affected both ends of the league table, as 14th (3rd bottom) hosted 2nd. If you’d turned up not knowing which team was in which position, you’d have assumed it was English Bicknor who were the team going for the title as they looked the better side from the off. They took the lead midway through the first half, finishing from close range, after a corner from the right wasn’t cleared and although Tredworth created a few chances, it remained 1-0 at the break. Rather oddly, considering the changing rooms are right by the pitch, both teams and Referee all stayed out at halftime. Even more strange was the fact that we had a rain shower for the entire duration and we were back underway by 15.53.
Within two minutes of the restart it was 2-0, when a ball down the right saw the striker just win the race against the ‘keeper, before hooking the ball across the face of the goal for an easy finish from another player in support. Tredworth pulled one back just after the hour, cutting in from the left before finishing into the bottom corner from 18 yards. Six minutes later it was 2-2, as the visitors converted a penalty, awarded for a foul just inside the box. Minutes later the Referee somehow failed to award another penalty to Tredworth, which looked absolutely nailed on! Neither side were settling for a point and both had chances to win it, but in the end it was Tredworth who grabbed the winner, with just five minutes left, when a through ball from inside the centre circle played a player clear and having had one touch to steady himself, he finished with a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
The defeat leaves English Bicknor three points from safety, whilst Tredworth leapfrog Longlevens Reserves at the top of the table, with the latter now two points behind, but with two games in hand. So, with Division 2 already completed, I’m left with just reigning Division 1 champions Chalford to complete all ground visits in this league now….hopefully on the main pitch this time, rather than the adjacent one they used on a Sunday morning kick off back in March 2004, when I saw them lose a Stroud Charity Cup Semi-Final on penalties to Brockworth Albion, after a 0-0 draw at ninety minutes.
First up today was a game in the Cheltenham League’s Senior Charity Cup and a Quarter Final tie between two teams in Division 1 (second of three divisions), with 7th hosting 2nd as far as league positions go. Montpellier are unbeaten in the league this season (12 wins, 1 draw) and are favourites to take the title, as they trail leaders Cheltenham United, the only team they didn’t win against, by just two points and have five games in hand, as well as a far superior goal difference. Today’s game went to form, but Kings certainly made them work hard for it, especially early on. Montpellier were 0-2 up at halftime, both goals coming from corners and finished from close range.
When the visitors made it 0-3 just before the hour mark, there was no way back for the hosts. Goal number four arrived shortly afterwards, following a quick break down the right and the scoring was rounded off eleven minutes from time, when a ball over the top sent the striker through on goal and he finished with a shot into the bottom corner.
The complex was very busy, as you’d expect on a Saturday morning, with car park spaces at a premium, although good to see there were no charges. There are three caged pitches here. The first one, on the left as you enter, was hosting hockey, with the next one, on the right, marked out for rugby, with the main football one being the furthest, behind the building and running the opposite way to the other two. It is a standard set up, with spectator viewing along three quarters of one side and a pair of dugouts on the other.
The taxi ride from the earlier game saw us arrive here at the Tony Bezzina Stadium around ten minutes before kick off, dropped off about 50 yards from the ground. We went to the first ticket booth we saw, on the corner nearest that car park, which turned out to be the Gudja United section. No problem choosing a seat once inside as the number in this end just about reached 30. The ‘home’ end looked quite full, with plenty of flags being waved and singing and chanting for the majority of the game.
Yet again it was a one sided ground, with 11 rows of seats, which are fully covered and has a capacity just short of 3,000. It was opened in 1986 and was originally known as The Hibernians Football Ground, as it is home to Hibernians and was the first time a club had owned their own ground in Malta.
The match was 2nd versus 14th (bottom) in the league table. From a neutral point of view, it was good to see Gudja take the lead after twenty six minutes, when a cross from wide on the right touchline saw the ball sail high over the ‘keeper from around 35-40 yards and nestle in the far corner. It only took Floriana seven minutes to equalise, converting a penalty and three minutes later they were in front, curling into the far corner from just inside the angle of the 18 yard box.
Two minutes into the second half it was 3-1, finishing at the far post from a cross from the right and eight minutes later it was 4-1 and game over. The scoring was rounded off when they made it 5-1 with just over twenty minutes left, finishing one on one against the ‘keeper having been played through on goal.
The win sees Floriana close the gap on leaders Hamrun Spartans to a single point, with a seven point cushion over third placed Sliema Wanderers, whilst Gudja United remain bottom, still winless after 19 games, three points adrift of second bottom Sirens and a further ten points behind third bottom Valletta.
Another Uber picked us up after the game and soon had us back at our Valletta hotel. So, a successful first trip to Malta had gone as planned. All five grounds used in the ‘professional’ levels had been visited (1 on Gozo, 4 on Malta) and the weather had been very favourable. Even our return flight with Air Malta back to London Gatwick on Monday morning left within a few minutes of its scheduled departure time.
Today started off with another Challenge League match in the fight for promotion to the Premier League, as 5th hosted 2nd in the league table. It was played at Victor Tedesco Stadium, which is home to Hamrun Spartans, who host all their non Premier League club games here. It is another one sided ground as far as spectator access goes. There are 1,800 uncovered seats, set out in 11 rows and once again each team were allocated half of the stand and we were in the Marsa section. There is a 3G pitch and again there are blind spots due to the pitch being tightly hemmed in and the front rows require viewing through the Perspex screen.
The match went to form in the end, but Melita only led 0-1 at the break courtesy of a goal in the opening quarter of an hour. Goal number two arrived twenty minutes into the second half and Marsa totally collapsed from this point, with a quick break down the right that was finished with an angled shot into the far corner to make it 0-3, soon followed by a cross from the right that was finished from close range to make it 0-4. The last fifteen minutes saw plenty of time wasting and needless rolling about after tackles.
The game finished at 15.51 and we were outside and in our Uber just minutes later, heading for another game that was due to kick off at 16.15. It was only across the other side of the harbour, with the floodlights clearly visible to our left as we walked down to this game from our hotel in Valletta, but it was nearly four miles by road.
It took no more than five minutes to do the short walk from National Stadium to the adjacent Centenary Stadium, even via the longer route exiting the former on the far side from where we needed to be. It was opened in 1999 and is a 3G surface with a capacity of 3,000 seats, all on one side, with each club once again allocated half of the stand each. Despite being relatively new, the sight lines are poor, with a low glass screen at the front and the near touchline can’t be seen wherever you sit as it is too tight to the seats.
The match was in the Challenge League, which is tier two in Malta and was a Top 6 match, where the teams that finished in the top half of the table play each other again, retaining their points already gained to date, in order to see who gains promotion to the Premier League at the end of it, with this being 2nd versus 6th in the table.
It was a crazy start to proceedings as Zabbar St. Patrick had a man sent off after just three minutes, bringing down an opposition player who would have been through on goal had he not been fouled. Six minutes later it was 10 a side, as Zurrieq had a man sent off for blocking a goal bound shot with his hand. The penalty was missed though, with the ‘keeper easily saving low to his right. Zabbar did break the deadlock just after the half hour mark, when a ball pulled back from the left was well saved by the ‘keeper, but put in on the rebound by the player who’d seen his penalty saved earlier on.
The second half was played at a much slower pace and Zabbar grabbed the all important second goal with eight minutes left, when a speculative effort from 25 yards out found the bottom corner and should really have been stopped by the ‘keeper. The win sees Zabbar now top the group, although second in the table Melita will regain the lead if they win their game tomorrow.
With the problem of where the bus would be running from after the game, we decided to order an Uber back in to Valletta instead and were picked up less than five minutes after the final whistle.
