On 18th January 1997 I saw St. Leonards Stamcroft lose 0-1 here to Newport A.F.C. in an F.A. Trophy 1st Round match in front of 501 spectators. The ground can no longer host 11 a side games, as a small 3G pitch has been built at one end, meaning it is too short to fit a full length pitch here now. 25 years on from my visit here and there is a surprising amount of evidence that a high level of non-league football was played here up until 2004. It is now just used for training.
Ruardean Hill Rangers 0 Broadwell Amateurs 2, attendance 299
12’ 0-1
63’ 0-2
@ Ruardean Hill Sports Club
Highview Road
Ruardean Road
GL17 9AR
£2 Admission, including Programme, 24 pages.
Today’s match saw a trip to Ruardean Hill, which at 920 feet above sea level, is the highest point in the Forest of Dean, according to the excellent match day programme. This was the only game scheduled in the Gloucestershire County League over the festive period and they were well rewarded with a bumper crowd of 299, against their local rivals who are just ten minutes drive to the south west of here.
It was 11th versus 4th in the league table and was a fully committed derby. The visitors went ahead after twelve minutes, but struggled to get the all important second goal to kill the game off. Just after the hour mark Kieran James scored his second goal of the game, cutting in from the right, beating two players in the process, before superbly chipping the ball over the ‘keeper to make it 0-2.
Today’s visit leaves me with just Rockleaze Rangers to complete the league. As it is a 3G pitch, then I certainly won’t be rushing there. It also brought down the curtain on my football ground visits for the calendar year. After last year (with the enforced shutdown due to COVID-19, where there were five complete months with no football for me) where I managed just 90 new ground visits, it was good to round off this year with 173, despite there being no games until April. I can’t see the 396 new grounds done in 2014 being troubled any time soon.
Ashcott were in second place in Division 3, and undefeated at the time, when Covid-19 brought things to a halt last season with just a handful of games having been played. They gained promotion into Division 2 and came into this in eighth place in the league table, whilst Glastonbury were fourteenth (third bottom). It feels odd to see Glastonbury playing in the lower reaches of the Somerset County League, as they were a Western League club when I visited them back in March 1996, although as it was 25 years ago, then perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised at how far they have fallen in that time.
The game was really poor. Plenty of effort, but very little quality. It looked like a penalty after three minutes was going to be enough to win it. In fact, until the Glastonbury ‘keeper pulled off a good save with five minutes left, it had been the only shot on target we had up to that point. Just as the clock ticked to ninety minutes, Ashcott were awarded a penalty. Their No.9 took it, but his shot was easily saved by the ‘keeper, but he made no mistake with the rebound. Having rescued an unlikely looking point, they should have won it just a minute into stoppage time. The ball was pulled across the six yard box, leaving the ‘keeper stranded, but the No.9 went for power and instead of just diverting the ball across the line, he thundered his shot off the crossbar and it rebounded to safety.
English Bicknor have struggled since being promoted from the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League, coming into this game in 15th (out of 16) place in the league table, albeit nine points clear of bottom club Hanham Athletic. Gala Wilton were seventh in the table (would be 6th, but for a three point deduction) and have been as high as second, but were on a run of three consecutive league defeats before today.
A blistering start saw Gala Wilton score twice in the opening four minutes and it was 0-3 with just sixteen minutes on the clock, when they volleyed in from the edge of the box, when a corner wasn’t cleared. English Bicknor scored straight from the restart and then made it 2-3 before we were half an hour in, converting a penalty that was awarded for a handball. Plenty of chances were wasted by both teams and the visitors had a goal ruled out for offside with the last kick of the half.
English Bicknor never created a single chance of note in the second half. Despite being well on top, Gala Wilton struggled to kill the game off, finally making it 2-4 with eighteen minutes left, then rounded off the scoring with a shot curled inside the far post four minutes from time.
Above : English Bicknor hook one in from a tight angle, pulling it back to 1-3.
This league appears to have regular double figure thrashings and this was no exception. Third in the table Gosport were just too strong for bottom of the table Clanfield. It had been an even contest, until two goals in the last three minutes of the first half saw the hosts lead 4-0 at halftime. Within two minutes of the restart it was 5-0 and it was just a case of when, not if, Gosport would reach double figures.
Gosport normally play home games at the first team ground, but the weather dictated the switch here. It is a standard cage and despite having no designated spectator area, there was no problem watching from inside the fence.
This had been my intended match for today, up until yesterday afternoon, when the Arthurian League match between Old Albanians S.A. and Old Johnians, in the Junior League Cup, was switched to the 3G pitch at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Rickmansworth. My intention was to do that game instead, followed by something around the north west area of the M25, but at 11 o’clock, when it was due to start, no players or referee had appeared. It was obvious that the game was off and unusually for the F.A. Full Time website there is still no indication that it was postponed. Anyway, rather than having hours hanging around for a game, I decided to head to West Sussex and do my original choice after all…….
The game was 3rd in West Sussex League Championship South (Step 9) versus 9th in Southern Combination League Division 2 (Step 7). The first half was poor, to say the least, and it was no surprise that it finished goalless. There was certainly no hint of just how much better the second half would be.
Harting broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half, smashing an unstoppable shot past the ‘keeper from ten yards. Upper Beeding drew level on sixty eight minutes, with a 30 yard shot diverted into the net by a defender trying to block the effort, but straight from the restart the hosts made it 2-1, breaking down the right and scoring after the ‘keeper stopped the first attempt, but had no chance saving the follow up. A cracking 25 yard free kick beat the ‘keeper at his near post to make it 3-1, then the game looked all over when a far post header made it 4-1 with eleven minutes left.
The visitors, having dominated for long periods, actually looked like they could still get something out of this and they nearly did! Harting were out on their feet and were desperate for the final whistle, despite having a three goal cushion. A penalty pulled it back to 4-2, followed by an unmarked header from close range, to make it 4-3 with two minutes left. Eight minutes of stoppage time were played and it was like watching an ‘attack versus defence’ training session, such was the dominance of the visitors, but the home defence survived, just, to make it into the next round.
Canterbury Christ Church University 2 University College London 1, attendance 6
8’ 1-0
26’ 2-0
90’+ 5, 2-1
@ Herne Bay Sports Hub, 3G Pitch
Parkland Road
Herne Bay
CT6 5DN
No Admission or Programme.
This was the first time CCC had played a game here and it was scheduled before the heavy rain this week, so wasn’t switched due to weather related problems. The game kicked off ten minutes late, due to the Referee not arriving until 13.04. Despite being a third level game in the BUCS set up, CCC were a real rag bag outfit. In a lot of games at this level, you see players in the wrong colour shorts or socks, frequently both, but today, CCC out did them all, as all ten outfield players had different shirts, the majority without numbers! It was the kind of thing you see in P.E. lessons at primary school, where it is ‘reds’ versus ‘blues’ etc , and all the kids wear Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea tops and so on. Apparently, it is due to the players having to pay for their own shirts, but the cost of hiring this facility (they have their own sports ground at Stodmarsh, where I saw them lose 0-2 to Portsmouth University on 24th October 2012) would have gone a fair way towards buying a set of matching shirts.
Apart from the ‘Mickey Mouse’ look, CCC were actually a decent team. Their two goals were scored by Arsenal No.30 Nketiah, according to his shirt, whilst UCL scored their consolation goal far too late to impact on the outcome. The CCC ‘keeper managed to get himself sent off during a scuffle, as he tried to stop a UCL forward retrieving the ball to get the match restarted after the goal.
Goring-by-Sea Cricket 1 Victoria Baptists 3, attendance 3
16’ 1-0
29’ 1-1
84’ 1-2
88’ 1-3
@ Goring Recreation Ground
Fernhurst Drive
Goring-by-Sea
BN12 5AU
No Admission or Programme.
I was drawn towards this tie (a pity only two others thought the same!) as it was 1st in West Sussex League Division 4 South (Step 12) versus 6th in East Sussex League Division 2 (Step 10). It thought I may have to take a chance that this would survive the weather, as the F.A. Find a Club website had no contact phone numbers for either club to check it out. I did find a number for the home club, but a text message wasn’t replied to. Goring hadn’t updated their Twitter account for 4 years and Victoria Baptists hadn’t tweeted since September, so I was pleasantly surprised when the visitors replied to my enquiry within five minutes, saying they were already en route, so it was good to go.
There certainly didn’t look to be two levels between the teams. Goring started brightly and went ahead after sixteen minutes, volleying in a left wing cross at the far post. A stooping header at the near post saw Baptists draw level just before the half hour mark. Goring had the better chances, but it remained 1-1 at the break. The second half saw a marked drop in quality and the game deteriorated badly. Neither side looked capable of getting a winning goal and when Baptists No.17 missed an open goal, shooting eight yards wide, from inside the 6 yard box with no player within ten yards of him, it looked like we would be heading for extra time. The glaring miss didn’t affect him too much though, as he put the visitors in front with six minutes left, shooting into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box and followed this up with a volley from close range, which sealed a 1-3 win two minutes from time.
This was the first time I had seen a game in the Cardiff Combination League. The ground here has been in place for years, but it has undergone a transformation from a grass pitch, into a 3G facility and is now fully enclosed and has two seated stands on one side, one emblazoned with the badge of Tiger Bay and the other with that of fellow ground sharers A.F.C. Butetown, who play one step higher, in the second division of the South Wales Alliance League. It was the first home game Tiger Bay have played this season, due to the alterations taking place.
The match was third bottom versus second bottom in the league table, but the two clubs results so far this season certainly indicated it would be entertaining, to say the least. There had been 48 goals scored in the six matches involving the hosts, whilst the ten games played by the visitors had produced 68 goals. The reverse fixture had seen Exiles beat Tiger Bay 6-5.
We didn’t have to wait long for the first goal, Tiger Bay scoring in the first minute, before making it 2-0 before we had played ten minutes. Exiles did pull it back to 2-1 five minutes later, but by halftime it was 5-1 and game over. The hosts added two more goals in the second half, before a cracking shot on the turn saw Exiles make it 7-2 with seven minutes left.
University West London 1 London South Bank University 4, attendance 6
9’ 1-0
18’ 1-1
28’ 1-2
67’ 1-3
81’ 1-4
@ Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub, 3G Pitch 1
Popes Lane
Acton
London
W3 8LQ
No Admission or Programme.
I came here hoping that the game would be played on one of the grass pitches, but instead it was on one of the two 3G pitches here. It was played on Pitch 1, the nearer of the two parallel artificial pitches to the main building. Each pitch has a spectator viewing area that are back to back and luckily this one was facing east, so the chilly wind and light rain, that fell for the last 20 minutes of the first half, were at our backs.
This was 3rd versus 2nd in the league table, just a point separating the two. West London were in front early, scoring from close range after a free kick wasn’t cleared. South Bank soon levelled and it was no surprise when they made it 1-2 before the half hour mark. Midway through the second half the visitors made the game safe, hooking in from a tight angle, to go 1-3 up, before rounding off the scoring with a cracking 25 yard free kick from the angle of the 18 yard box, beating the ‘keeper at his near post.
