Hampshire Premier League

Senior Division

Saturday 17th August 2019

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.14

Chamberlayne Athletic 6 Sway 3, attendance 14

13’ 0-1

14’ 1-1

29’ 2-1

38’ 3-1

45’ 4-1

50’ 4-2 (pen)

68’ 5-2

75’ 5-3

84’ 6-3

@ College Playing Fields

Baron Road

Hamble-le-Rice

SO31 4RN

No Admission or Programme.

So, yet another Hampshire Premier League match being played on a temporary ground to the one the club call ‘home’. Chamberlayne Athletic are newly promoted from the Southampton League and are supposed to be playing at the ground of Netley Central Sports, but as that is unavailable until September, they are playing their home games elsewhere.

According to the F.A. Full Time website, today’s match and their next one would be played at Satchell Lane in Hamble-le-Rice. This was also where Sway had been told the match was, which I also confirmed with their Secretary just over an hour before kick off. On arrival there, at around 14.35, it soon became obvious that the match wasn’t being played here, as there was a youth tournament taking place. I rang the Sway Secretary back again to check that I was in the right place and he confirmed I was, although he also mentioned ‘College Fields’, but all he knew was that it was somewhere in Hamble, but had no postcode. I struck lucky by finding someone at the youth tournament who knew where it was and his directions were spot on……go into Hamble, pass the shops on your right and when you see the Fire Station, turn first left and the ground is at the end of that road…..

As I turned into Spitfire Way, which led to Baron Road, which was where the ground was, I noticed that the three cars I followed into the car park were full of what looked like footballers. A good sign, and even better, they were all changed in their red kits. It was Sway F.C. as were the next two car loads to arrive. At least I had found the right place, but there were no goals up, but at least the pitch was marked out. Within five minutes the Referee and Chamberlayne Athletic also arrived, also in full kit. Apparently they had got changed at ‘Hamble College’, wherever that was, and had then driven here. Sway were less than impressed and were enquiring as to whether they could be awarded the game.

By 14.50 two sets of goal posts were carried onto the pitch and then nets and corner flags appeared. It was looking like there would be a game after all, even if there was no chance of it kicking off on time!

Chamberlayne have struggled since their promotion, having lost their opening four games. Sway are certainly a team to watch if you like plenty of goals, although not necessarily all scored by them! I had seen them lose 0-6 at home to champions Bush Hill in midweek, which meant there have been 25 goals in their first 4 games!

Sway took an early lead, but the hosts were level within a minute. A run of the mill foul on the Chamberlayne No.9 shortly afterwards saw a totally unnecessary reaction from him which turned the feel of the game from competitive to having a very nasty undercurrent. The incident ended with the home Captain being booked for blasting the ball into a group of Sway players. The intimidation tactics from here worked, as Sway buckled under the pressure and by halftime it was 4-1. Sway then pulled it back to 4-2, when they scored a penalty five minutes into the second half and they were starting to get on top and looked like they might be able to turn things round, but in the sixty third minute, all hell broke loose……..

Following an exchange of words, the home club ‘Linesman’ walked onto the pitch and head butted the Sway No.10, who then returned the compliment and everyone piled in. Another Chamberlayne player then attempted a head butt on the Sway No.6, but he managed to grab the player by the throat with two hands to prevent it. When a bit of calm was restored, not helped by a couple of the Chamberlayne players suggesting that Sway ‘stay behind after the match and we can get this sorted properly in the car park once everyone else has gone’, we ended up with three red cards. Sway lost both No.10 and No.6, whilst Chamberlayne had their Captain dismissed for his second yellow card, issued for his involvement in the scuffle. The instigator of the whole thing got away with it though. As the ‘Linesman’ was not a named substitute on the team sheet, he couldn’t be sent off, although the Referee did relieve him of his duties for the remainder of the match.

With it now being 10 versus 9, the game became very stretched and the players were visibly struggling with the extra space to cover. Chamberlayne at least get their first points on the board, but it is not a very nice way to have done so and teams like this will do nothing to enhance the reputation of the league.

By the way, for those that may be interested…….F.A. Full Time website is still showing that the match was played at Satchell Lane.