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.

Essex Alliance League

Senior Division

Wednesday 7th September 2022

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 20.08

Kit Out London 3 Rapid Chingford 1, att. 22

45’ + 3, 1-0

51’ 1-1

62’ 2-1 (pen)

68’ 3-1

@ Noak Hill Sports Complex, 3G Pitch

Noak Hill Road

Harold Hill

Romford

RM3 7YA

No Admission or Programme.

This never had a chance of kicking off at the advertised kick off time, as there was a youth team training on the pitch until 8 o’clock, so it finally got underway 23 minutes late. It is a standard caged pitch, with spectator access along three quarters of one side, with viewing not helped by the fact that three of the eight floodlights were not working, which is pretty poor at this level.

The game itself was pretty average, not helped by an injury in the first five minutes to the visitors ’keeper, which resulted in a short delay whilst he was treated, before being replaced. The deadlock was broken by the hosts three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the half, when a break down the right beat the offside trap, followed by a finish across the ’keeper into the far corner.

Six minutes into the second half it was 1-1, when a long ball over the top was finished coolly by the striker as he raced clear. Just after the hour mark the hosts went back in front from the penalty spot, then wrapped the game up six minutes later, again finishing one on one after being played through on goal.

Eastern Counties League

League Challenge Cup

1st Round

Tuesday 6th September 2022

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.32

Stanway Pegasus 3 Haverhill Borough 0, attendance 121 (official)

26’ 1-0

50’ 2-0 (pen)

62’ 3-0

@ The Stanway School, 3G Pitch

Winstree Road

Stanway

CO3 0QA

£5 Admission

£2 Programme, 12 pages.

Stanway Pegasus have made a good start to life at Step 6 of the Football Pyramid, following promotion from the Essex & Suffolk Border League (Step 7) this season. They are top of Division 1 South after their opening eight matches, which have seen them take 19 points, with just one defeat so far. Haverhill Borough are 9th Division 1 North, having won 2 and lost 2 of their first four games.

Stanway should have gone ahead after 25 minutes, heading wide when unmarked, but they broke the deadlock a minute later, finishing side footed after the ball wasn’t cleared. Twice in the final minute of the first half they could have increased their lead, when firstly a miss hit cross clipped the top of the crossbar, before a shot was cleared off the line.

Five minutes into the second half it was 2-0, when the ’keeper was sent the wrong way from a coolly converted penalty and the scoring was rounded off just after the hour mark, finishing with an angled shot into the far corner, to give the hosts a well deserved win.

West Sussex League

Division 2 South

Saturday 3rd September 2022

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.58

Fittleworth 2 Milland 0, attendance 32

19’ 1-0

45’ 2-0

@ Fittleworth Sports Clubs Association

School Lane

Fittleworth

RH20 1JB

No Admission or Programme.

Today’s match was the opening league fixture for these two clubs. According to the final league tables from last season, Fittleworth finished fifth in Division 3 South, so i’m not sure why they are playing in a higher division this season, whilst Milland had finished fifth in this division.

It was pretty even throughout. Fittleworth led 2-0 at the break, opening the scoring nineteen minutes in, with a quick break down the right after successfully defending a corner, before doubling their lead right on halftime, when a cross was headed in from just inside the box. Milland missed a sitter with fifteen minutes left, putting the ball over the crossbar when it looked easier to score. Ten minutes from time they hit the crossbar, with the ’keeper well beaten, before Fittleworth nearly made it three, heading just past the far post in stoppage time.

Hampshire Premier League

Division 1

Monday 29th August 2022

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.09

Meon Milton 6 Hedge End Town 0, attendance 38

3’ 1-0

33’ 2-0

39’ 3-0

42’ 4-0

52’ 5-0

88’ 6-0

@ Cockleshell Community Sports Club

Cockleshell Gardens

Eastney

PO4 9SA

No Admission or Programme.

Meon Milton came into this having won 1 and Lost 2 of their opening three games, whilst Hedge End Town were undefeated, having picked up a win and two draws from their matches so far.

The game as a contest was all over by halftime, as Meon Milton opened up a four goal lead. It may have been different if Hedge End hadn’t sent a penalty high and wide after sixteen minutes, when it was still only 1-0. The hosts added two more in the second half, with Conor Mansfield rounding off the scoring by completing his hattrick, with goal number six in the dying minutes.

Thames Valley Premier League

Premier Division

Saturday 27th August 2022

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.08

Chalvey (W.M.C.) Sports 2 Maidenhead Town 3, attendance 48

17’ 1-0

32’ 1-1

52’ 2-1 (pen)

69’ 2-2

90’ + 6, 2-3

@ Eltham Avenue Recreation Ground

Eltham Avenue

Slough

SL1 5UP

No Admission or Programme.

Still staying relatively local following my recent cardiac arrest and once again chauffeured to the match by my wife. Despite being just 37 miles from home, it took close on an hour and a half to drive, due to Bank Holiday weekend traffic clogging up the M25.

Chalvey had opened the season with a 4-3 win at home to S.B. Phoenix last week, but came up short in this one, as Maidenhead got their first points of the season, having gone down to Reading City U23 last week. Considering the bone hard pitch, both sides put on a decent show. Chalvey opened the scoring when the ’keeper was beaten with a lob from just outside the 18 yard box after seventeen minutes, with Maidenhead drawing level fifteen minuets later, heading in a corner at the near post.

Chalvey went back in front seven minutes into the second half, scoring from a penalty that was awarded for a handball, before Maidenhead levelled it up at 2-2 with just over twenty minutes left, when a corner was only cleared to the edge of the box and a shot was fired back into the bottom corner of the net. Six minutes into stoppage time the visitors grabbed the winner, cutting inside from a long ball, before finishing with an angled shot past the ’keeper.

Having played at Slough Town’s Arbour Park last season, Chalvey are now based here at Eltham Avenue Recreation Ground. When I saw them lose 2-5 at home to Eton Wick in an East Berkshire League Premier Division match back on May 11th 2011 they played at the Recreation Ground, High Street, Chalvey.