Southern League

Premier Division South

Tuesday 19th October 2021

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.32

Wimborne Town 0 Weston-super-Mare 3, attendance 250 est (abandoned 39 minutes, waterlogged)

18’ 0-1

28’ 0-2

32’ 0-3

@ New Cuthbury

Ainsley Road

Wimborne Minster

BH21 2FU

£12 Admission

£2.50 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

£1 Car Park. It is free to park in the road and no parking restrictions.

The ground here was far better than I was expecting. As well as the two seated kit stands, both ends are fully covered, with the end to the right when looking from the clubhouse having stepped terracing as well. The other end is smaller and flat standing only. It is an improvement on their old Cuthbury ground, at least as far as facilities go, but the pitch may become an issue for them. Yes, it was raining, but it wasn’t very heavy. It looked worse due to the wind, but there was already standing water on the pitch at kick off and it hadn’t started raining until after six o’clock. It soon became obvious that the game would struggle to finish and sadly, that turned out to be the case.

What action there was, before the Referee brought things to a premature halt, was pretty much one way traffic. Wimborne were very poor and WsM were by far the better side. The first goal came courtesy of a deflection, but goals two and three were real quality finishes. It wasn’t too long after the visitors made it 0-3 that the game was brought to an end. Apparently, there was an area of concern just outside the six yard box, at the end Wimborne were defending, where the ball was starting to hold up. It wouldn’t have been a problem in the second half, especially if Wimborne had continued the same way as they had so far, as they wouldn’t have got the ball that far forward anyway!

What was baffling about the decision to call it off though, was that at no time did anyone make an effort to do anything about it. No forks or brooms appeared, but then again, at 0-3 down, the hosts were hardly going to do anything that might see the match continue. If they had continued playing until halftime, they could then have worked on it during the break and the Referee could have made a decision then. Things would probably have been different if the home team had been in front.

At the end of the day, both Wimborne Town and the Referee would still get their money tonight, so it wont have bothered them in the slightest that the game was called off. WsM not only lost out on three points, but now face another trip here, which is an extra expense they will have to pay for themselves. Hopefully, when the game is finally played, WsM will get the three points and some justice will be done. Maybe Wimborne Town could donate the gate receipts to cover the transport costs….

I notice from my records that I went to the old ground on 27th August 1994, for a 2-2 draw versus Horndean in a Wessex League match and having come here tonight, I thought my visits to Wimborne Minster would be over. I’m in no hurry to return. It’s not as if they’re going anywhere soon.