Stratford-Upon-Avon Alliance League

Statford Hospital Cup

2nd Round

Tuesday 8th August 2017

Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.24

F.C. Wickhamford 1 Shipston Excelsior Reserves 2,  attendance 30

6′ 0-1

15′ 1-1

68′ 1-2

@ Wickhamford Sports Club

Sally Close

Wickhamford

WR11 7RX

No admission or programme.

The visitors were well worth the win and could have won more comfortably had the Referee not changed his mind after first awarding them a penalty, before re-considering and instead giving a free kick on the edge of the box, which was not converted. Minutes later he disallowed a goal for offside, which from our position looked to be the wrong decision. Wickhamford ended the match a man short following a red card for a bad tackle on 81 minutes.

Central Midlands League

South Division

Saturday 5th August 2017

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.04

Hilton Harriers 5 Teversal Reserves 1,  attendance 56

21′ 0-1

45′ 1-1

55′ 2-1

68′ 3-1

73′ 4-1

77′ 5-1

@ The Mease Pavilion

The Mease

Hilton

DE65 5LS

No Admission

£2 Programme, 12 pages.

This was the first match Hilton Harriers have played in their new league, having moved from the Staffordshire County Senior League this season. They were being outplayed in all areas, but as soon as they equalised, the Teversal players seemed to drop their heads and it became pretty much one way traffic in the second half and the visitors were lucky to only concede five. Hilton also blasted a late penalty over the bar.

Belgium

West Vlaanderen Provincial Cup

Group B

Wednesday 2nd August 2017

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 19.02

K.V.C.S.V. Oostkamp 1 K. Zwevegem Sport 3,  attendance 57

7′ 0-1

51′ 1-1

53′ 1-2

90′ 1-3

@ Albrecht Rodenbachstraat

Domein ‘De Valkaart’

8020 Oostkamp

No admission*

Team Sheet, free.

This was Provincial 1 versus Provincial 2 and all very low key. The pay box at the ground entrance remained closed throughout and it was a bit of a surprise that no one came round to collect any money during the match, which can often be the case when there is a lower than normal crowd (there was a much bigger crowd for the youth match that was played on the same pitch beforehand). Anyway, it saved us €8, which was the advertised price on the gate.

Zwevegem were the better side throughout and always looked in control, despite only sealing the win in the last minute.

The Tunnel was once again suffering with high volumes of traffic on the way out, resulting in a 30 minute delay, They still hadn’t sorted things by the time we returned at 2200 (only 1 hour 9 minutes drive from Oostkamp) for our booked 2250 return, which meant a re-timed schedule and so we made it onto an earlier train which was running late, departing at 2225. This meant very little waiting time in Calais and back home for 2310 !

Pre Season Friendly

Tuesday 1st August 2017

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.49

Kings Hill 2 Kent Football United 2,  attendance 9

29′ 1-0

39′ 1-1

57′ 2-1

83′ 2-2

@ Kings Hill Sports Park, 3G Pitch

200 Beacons Avenue

Kings Hill

ME19 4QP

No admission or programme.

Kings Hill play in the Kent County League Division 1 Central and East. The visitors play two levels higher, in Southern Counties East League Division 1. Kings Hill don’t start their competitive fixtures for another three weeks, with KFU playing their opening league match this weekend, so it was a surprise that they had to come from behind twice, considering they should be more or less up to full fitness with their season opener just days away.

Peterborough & District League

Premier Division

Sunday 30th July 2017

Kick Off 14.00  Actual 14.02

Leverington Sports 2 Peterborough I.C.A. Sports 0,  attendance 304

52′ 1-0

90′ 2-0

@ Leverington Sports & Social Club

Church Road

Leverington

PE13 5DE

£4 Admission, including programme, 8 pages.

Another trip to The Fens, today’s game being just outside Wisbech. Sadly, another really poor match and the lack of quality in the three games watched in this league over the weekend do not reflect at all well on the league, especially as two of the matches were in the top division.

Peterborough & District League

Division 2

Saturday 29th July 2017

Kick Off 16.30 Actual 16.34

Spalding Town 2 Wisbech St. Mary Saints 1,   attendance 240

18′ 1-0

40′ 1-1

90′ 2-1

@ Pinchbeck United F.C.

Knight Street

Pinchbeck

PE11 3RB

??? Admission

£1 Programme (didn’t bother)

So, just six miles from the last game and on to the ground of Pinchbeck United, last seasons Peterborough & District League Premier Division champions. This very basic recreation ground would never meet the ground grading for the Step 6 United Counties League, which Pinchbeck have been promoted into, so they have moved to groundshare with Spalding United, which in turn, has enabled Spalding Town to move in here.

No idea how much the admission was here, as no one was interested in taking money, so the admission was as if it was any other league match……nothing !

With this being two levels lower than the last game, I wasn’t expecting much quality……and wasn’t disappointed….it was rubbish.

Peterborough & District League

Premier Division

Saturday 29th July 2017

Kick Off 13.45  On Time !

Moulton Harrox 3 Sutton Bridge United 0,  attendance 280

6′ 1-0

27′ 2-0

43′ 3-0

@ Moulton Harrox Sports Field

Broad Lane

Moulton

PE12 6PN

£4 Admission *

£1 Programme (didn’t bother as already ripped off on admission price)

Thankfully, there were only going to be three grounds being visited on this years ‘Peterborough Hop’ ( primarily organised  for a coach load of groundhoppers incapable of doing anything for themselves, but swelled by around 150-200 other ‘hoppers who travel by car and don’t need their hands held !) that I had not visited for a match, which if visited on any other day during the season would be free to enter, but here, it is an extortionate price for the level of football on offer.

Moulton were very impressive in the first half, but the second half was a total non event, which sadly, would be a recurring trend.

As always, yet another inflated attendance claimed, as at least 40 fewer here than the official figure.

Belgium

West Vlaanderen Provincial Cup

Group C

Wednesday 26th July 2017

Kick Off 19.30  Actual 19.29

K. E.G. Gistel 2 S.K. Eernegem 0,  attendance 62

58′ 1-0

74′ 2-0

@ Stadion De Kegge

Pol Gernaeystraat 1

8470 Gistel

€5 Admission

Team Sheet, free.

K. Eendracht Genootschap Gistel, to give them their full name, have played in the Belgian League, albeit some time ago, as have the visitors, although that was as recent as a couple of years ago. Nowadays they are back in the Provincial set up, this being level 2 versus level 1.

This was the first competitive game of the season in West Vlaanderen, brought forward from next weekend due to S.K. Eernegem having a match in the 1st Round of the Belgian Cup. It was a real slow burner, in which there were plenty of chances, but in the end probably a deserved win for the hosts.

The fact that Gistel is only an hours drive from The Tunnel meant we were on the 2250 crossing back, so despite numerous single lane sections on the M20, I was back home by 2340…..2 hours earlier than from Hull the night before ! Even better, the trip only cost us £20 each for Tunnel/Fuel.

Pre Season Friendly

Tuesday 25th July 2017

Kick Off 19.30. On Time !

Hull City 0 F.C. Nantes 0,  attendance 2,097

@ Hull Kingston Rovers R.L.F.C.

KCOM Craven Park

Poorhouse Lane

Kingston upon Hull

HU9 5HE

£12 Admission

£1.50 Programme, 16 pages.

Craven Park, which is also referred to as New Craven Park, as it takes the same name of the stadium it replaced in 1989 (old one was on Holderness Road) is home to Hull Kingston Rovers R.L.F.C. From 1995 to 2005 it also hosted the Hull Vikings Speedway team and during the 2015/16 season it played host to a handful of football matches when Hull United played here in the Northern Counties East League.

I was living abroad at the time, so never got to see football played here, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Hull City were carrying out work on the pitch at the KCOM Stadium, then this might have been a ground I would have missed out on, for football that is, as I had been here for rugby league on 14.10.1990, when 5,583 were present for Hull K.R. 22 Widnes 20 in a Division 1 match. The attendance tonight was never going to trouble the 12,225 capacity and only the East and West sides of the ground were open.

Having visited Boothferry park a few months earlier (16.4.90 Hull City 2 Wolves 0, Division 2, attendance 7,510) and then the brand new KC Stadium, as it was then known, (18.3.03 Hull City 1 Torquay United 1, Division 3, attendance 13,310 ) I never thought I would get to see a third venue stage a Hull City match.

This game never looked like producing a goal. That about sums it up. The only thing of note was the fact that it was the first game back in England for visiting manager Claudio Ranieri, following his sacking at the defending Premier League champions Leicester City.

Widnes Cup

Group 2

Saturday 22nd July 2017

Kick Off 15.00 On Time !

St. Michaels D.H.F.C. 3 Parklands 3,  attendance 70

14′ 1-0

19′ 1-1 (pen)

21′ 2-1

85′ 2-2

88′ 3-2

90′ 3-3

@ St. Michaels Parish Centre

St. Michaels Road

Widnes

WA8 8TF

No admission (a bucket collection was made for charity) or programme.

The Widnes Cup is now in its fifteenth season. It is played in two groups of four teams, the winners of each group contesting the final, with the two runners up playing off for third place.

Both these teams are in the Premier Division of the Warrington & District League. They were very evenly matched and put on a game of very good quality for the level, in what was my first competitive match this season after a number of friendlies in the last couple of weeks.