East Sussex League

Premier Division

Saturday 5th November 2022

Kick Off 13.30 Actual 13.28

Bexhill Town 3 Rye Town 2, attendance 30

7’ 1-0

12’ 1-1

48’ 2-1

74’ 3-1

90’ + 3, 3-2

@ Bexhill College Sports Centre, 3G Pitch

Penland Road

Bexhill-on-Sea

TN40 2JG

No Admission or Programme.

With the amount of rain we’ve had in the South East over the last 24 hours or so, I played it safe and went for a 3G option today, completing the top division of the East Sussex League in the process. It was a decent game too, as 2nd (P6, W5, L1) in the league table hosted 1st (P5, W5). They also met in the Challenge Cup last week, which ended in a 2-0 win for Rye.

A flicked on header sent a striker clear to put Bexhill ahead with a one on one finish seven minutes in, but Rye levelled within five minutes, heading in at the near post from a cross on the right. Three minutes into the second half Bexhill went back in front, beating the offside trap before the cross was controlled and finished with a shot into the far corner of the net. The killer third goal for the hosts made it safe, when the ‘keeper was beaten by a 25 yard diagonal free kick that he appeared to think was going to go past the far post, as he made no attempt to react to it until it was too late. Three minutes into stoppage time Rye pulled a goal back, tapping in from close range after the ‘keeper spilled a cross, but it was too late to save their unbeaten start to the season.

Oddly, I need another Bexhill College ground to complete the entire league now, the Gunters Lane home of Division 2 side Bexhill Rovers.

Mid Sussex League

Division 2 North

Saturday 29th October 2022

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.58

Crawley United 0 A.F.C. Acorns 3, attendance 32

31’ 0-1

58’ 0-2

80’ 0-3

@ Three Bridges Playing Field

Three Bridges Road

Three Bridges

RH10 1LE

No Admission or Programme.

This was 1st versus 3rd in the league table, between the only two unbeaten teams in this division. Crawley United had 4 wins and 3 draws (+ 11 GD) so far, whilst Acorns had 2 wins and 3 draws (+ 7 GD) from their games. The reverse fixture resulted in a 1-1 draw, which was the second league game for both clubs and they meet again next Saturday in the Stubbins Cup.

Acorns were the better side throughout and they looked well in command once they went ahead half an hour in, finishing side footed at the far post. It was game over just before the hour. A striker chased down a pass and managed to prevent the ball from crossing the by-line before clipping a shot between ’keeper and near post to put the visitors two up. The third came ten minutes from time, when a diagonal cross to the far post was put in at the second attempt, after the ’keeper had saved the first effort from a header.

The win sees Acorns leapfrog Nutfield into second place in the table on goal difference, both trailing Crawley United by three points, but with two games in hand.

Gloucestershire F.A. Senior Amateur Cup (North)

2nd Round

Saturday 22nd October 2022

Kick Off 14.30 On Time!

Mushet & Coalway United 3 Hardwicke 3 (2-4 pens), attendance 46

30’ 0-1

38’ 0-2

43’ 1-2

46’ 2-2

71’ 3-2

90’ + 1, 3-3

@ Coalway Recreation Ground

Coalway Road

Coalway

GL16 7HL

No Admission or Programme.

A trip to The Forest of Dean today for the only ground I hadn’t previously visited in this league, as 7th in Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division 2 (Step 9) hosted 10th in Gloucestershire County League (Step 7).

The game looked to be going to form, as the visitors opened the scoring half an hour in, before doubling their lead eight minutes later, but two minutes before halftime Mushet & Coalway gave themselves a lifeline, scrambling in a right wing cross at the far post to pull it back to 1-2.

A minute in to the second half it was 2-2, when a cross from the left touchline went over the ’keeper and in to the net off the far post. Remarkably, the hosts went in front with nineteen minutes left, playing a striker clear before he finished with a shot through the keeper’s legs. A minute into stoppage time Hardwicke deservedly grabbed an equaliser, sliding in at the far post from a flicked on header.

No extra time, or replay, so straight to penalties. The first five were scored, before the hosts had their third kick saved. Hardwicke then netted again, before Mushet & Coalway saw their last one smash against the crossbar to give the visitors a 2-4 win in the shootout.

Brighton, Worthing & District League

Saturday 15th October 2022

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.04

Scape 0 Boys Brigade Old Boys 2, attendance 13

31’ 0-1 (pen)

72’ 0-2

@Brighton Aldridge Community Academy

Lewes Road

Falmer

BN1 9PW

No Admission or Programme.

I continued with my quest to see a game on every ground in Sussex that hosts first team Saturday football, with a venue that is certainly best visited when Brighton & Hove Albion are not at home, as the American Express Community Stadium is only half a mile to the east.

The match was 6th versus 4th in the league table and was pretty even throughout. A first half penalty saw the visitors go ahead and they made the game safe eighteen minutes from time, coolly finishing from the corner of the 18 yard box, with a shot into the far corner of the net, after a striker had been played through on goal.

Surrey County Intermediate League (Western)

Premier Division

Saturday 8th October 2022

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.05

Merrow 1 Worplesdon Phoenix 1, attendance 35

42’ 0-1

90’ + 5, 1-1

@ Albury Sports Club

Sandy Lane

Albury Heath

GU5 9DB

No Admission or Programme.

I last saw a Merrow home game back on 29th August 2005, played at The Urnfield, when they lost 1-5 to A.F.C. Wallingford in a Combined Counties League Division 1 match, during a five year spell playing at Step 6 and where the crowd was just 13. They have since moved to Albury Sports Club and are now playing two levels lower again, at Step 8, having spent life at Step 7 (Surrey Elite Intermediate League) from 2013-2021.

They came into this game bottom of the league table (previous incumbents Wrecclesham pulled out of the league yesterday), having lost their opening four games, whilst the visitors were sitting fifth, having won 2 and lost 2 of their four matches. It was a scrappy game, with very few clear cut chances. The visitors went ahead just before halftime, when a long throw was flicked on at the near post and possibly put across the line by a defender trying to clear, although it was hard to tell who got the final touch. The equaliser came five minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game, when the ball was played back in from the right and finished from close range.

Perhaps a sign of how Merrow have struggled this season, was the fact that one of their Centre Backs played in an old Tottenham Hotspur away shirt, minus a number, as there wasn’t a proper shirt to fit him, although to be fair, he didn’t perform as bad as he looked!

Apart from the football, there are a couple of interesting features within yards of the pitch. A WW2 plaque and a totem pole!

West Sussex League

Division 3 South

Saturday 1st October 2022

Kick Off 15.00 On Time !

Ambassadors 2 A.F.C. Fernhurst 3, attendance 10

6’ 1-0

14’ 2-0

78’ 2-1

82’ 2-2

86’ 2-3

@ Boxgrove Village Hall & Community Centre

The Street

Boxgrove

PO18 0EE

No Admission or Programme.

The attraction of this game, apart from the fact that it was 2nd versus 3rd in the league table, was that it was played at Boxgrove, rather than Sherborne Road, in Chichester, which is the normal home venue for Ambassadors, although I gather a move here may become more permanent at some stage during the season.

Ambassadors started brightly, opening the scoring when sweeping in a diagonal free kick at the far post after six minutes, before doubling their lead eight minutes later, when following a poor goal kick, the ball was shot against a post, before being put into his own net by a visiting defender as he tried to clear the danger.

The game looked to be heading for a comfortable home win, but the game was turned on it’s head when the visitors pulled a goal back with twelve minutes left, before a long ball was finished off with the striker cutting inside and shooting into the far corner, to level it up at 2-2, just four minutes later. Fernhurst were certainly not settling for a point and inside the last five minutes a long clearance ended with the ball being lobbed over the home ’keeper and it bounced up and went in off the underside of the crossbar, to give the visitors all three points.

West Sussex League

Premier Division

Saturday 24th September 2022

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 14.57

Fishbourne 2 Lavant 0, attendance 41

28’ 1-0 (pen)

70’ 2-0

@ Fishbourne Playing Fields

46 Blackboy Lane

Fishbourne

PO18 8BE

No Admission or Programme.

7th hosted 5th in the league table, with very little between the two teams. A first half penalty saw Fishbourne go ahead and a cracking 30 yard shot, that went over the top of the ’keeper, saw them make the game safe when they made it 2-0 with twenty minutes left. This re-completes visits to all the grounds in this division.

Cambridgeshire County League

Division 4A

Tuesday 20th September 2022

Kick Off 19.45 On Time !

F.C. Kennett 4 Sawston United Reserves 2, attendance 36

24’ 1-0

51’ 2-0

61’ 3-0

66’ 4-0

70’ 4-1

84’ 4-2

@ Kentford & Kennett Village Hall & MacLaren Playing Fields

Station Road

Kennett

CB8 7QF

No Admission or Programme.

This was a rare chance to tick off a game here under the lights, as 9th in the league table (Drawn 1, Lost 1) hosted 5th (Won 1). Kennett opened the scoring midway through the first half, with a 25 yarder that went over the ’keeper. Their job was made a little easier when the visitors had a player sin binned seven minutes before the break, but it wasn’t until six minutes into the second half that they made it 2-0, when a long through ball was finished into the bottom corner. Two goals in four minutes saw it become 4-0, before an own goal, followed by a header from a corner saw the visitors pull it back to 4-2 late on, but it was too little, too late to get anything from the game.

West Sussex League

Division 2 South

Saturday 17th September 2022

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.01

Beaumont Park 1 Wittering United 1, attendance 24

18’ 0-1

76’ 1-1

@ Angmering Sports & Social Club, Pitch 2

Decoy Drive

Angmering

BN16 4DN

No Admission or Programme.

Today I decided to ’tidy up’ a venue I had already visited, but for a different pitch. Back on 13th April 2011 I saw Angmering draw 0-0 versus Lancing United in a West Sussex League Premier Division match, a game that was played on the pitch that runs parallel in front of the clubhouse, which also has a small area of cover, whilst today’s match was played on the pitch to the rear of the building (complete with training lights along one side) to the right of the car park and running the opposite way to the other pitch. I was guaranteed to get the pitch I needed, as two matches were scheduled here today. Angmering Village hosted Angmering on the main pitch, with Village taking the local bragging rights with a 5-2 win, also in Division 2 South.

This was the first game of the season for Beaumont Park, owing to the odd number of teams in this division, whilst Wittering had lost their opening match 0-4 at home to Angmering Village. There wasn’t much between the two teams today, with a point apiece a fair outcome. Wittering went ahead with a free kick that went in off the underside of the crossbar after eighteen minutes, but Beaumont Park levelled the scores with an equaliser fourteen minutes from time.

Southampton District F.A. Senior Cup

1st Round

Friday 16th September 2022

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.48

Hedge End Rangers 1 Colden Common 4, attendance 135

12’ 1-0

23’ 1-1

39’ 1-2

51’ 1-3

66’ 1-4

@ Deer Park School, 3G Pitch

off Woodhouse Lane

Hedge End

SO30 2HT

No Admission

Programme sold out.

This was the first competitive ‘midweek’ game played on the new 3G pitch here at Deer Park School. It is typical of many of the cages built these days, with spectator access limited to three quarters of one side of the pitch and a small seated kit stand on that same side. The club had issued a programme to commemorate the occasion, but had misjudged the numbers massively, as it had sold out a good forty minutes before kick off, which cost them dearly, as they hadn’t charged any admission price.

Hedge End Rangers play in the Southampton League Premier Division, sitting bottom of the table, albeit after just one match, whilst Colden Common are two levels higher, currently in third place in the Hampshire Premier League Senior Division, with 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from their opening seven matches, so tonight’s result wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Hedge End went ahead after twelve minutes, with a side footed finish, but an unmarked header from a corner saw their lead last just nine minutes. Colden Common went onto the break leading 1-2, when a through ball was clinically finished six minutes before halftime. It was game over early in the second half as it became 1-3, before a tap in at the far post made it 1-4 midway through the half.