Once again it was a case of finding a match in a public park and this fitted the bill perfectly. When driving into Weldon Way you pass Merstham F.C. on the right hand side, with the Recreation Ground immediately beyond. There are a few smaller pitches and concrete basketball courts, then, separated by a hedge, three further pitches, the nearest of which was used today.
The match was second from bottom in the league table versus fourth, although at times it was hard to tell which team was the higher placed! The 4-1 score line flattered the hosts and it was a much closer game than it suggests.
So, after 104 days without a match due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was finally back to football. The F.A. were saying there was a ban on spectators at matches, but the government had brought in a ‘rule of 6’ for meeting up in public outdoor places, so any ground that was not enclosed, or was in a public park, would mean there was no way of preventing anyone from watching if they wanted to.
Caterham normally play at White Knobs Park, which is on the other side of town, but four of their remaining five matches are being staged here at Queen’s Park. It is not as bad as it sounds, with the pitch used today being pretty enclosed, with a hedge at one end that runs along Queen’s Park Road and a tree lined path along the near side. Despite a very unpleasant cold wind blowing throughout, other areas of the park were being well used, with numbers easily into three figures.
The match was 4th versus 6th in the league table. Rustiness was very evident in the first half, but once the opening goal had been scored it did improve. West Hoathly totally dominated the second half and the final winning margin could have been far greater.
Silver End United 1 Hedinghams United 0, attendance 57
43’ 1-0
@ Rear of Village Hall
Broadway
Silver End
CM8 3RQ
No Admission or Programme.
With our area being moved up from Tier 2, and in toTier 3, (from this morning) which were the toughest restrictions of what the Government believe will slow the increase in COVID-19 infections, it meant I had a more limited choice of matches today.
I plumped for what was 3rd versus 14th in the league table. Silver End are newly promoted into the Essex & Suffolk Border League this season. They were in the Mid-Essex League last season, where they were top of the Premier Division, undefeated after 12 matches (10 wins, 2 draws), when the season was brought to an end as the pandemic hit. I am not sure why they have by-passed Divisions 3 and 4, but they are certainly looking worthy of their place in Division 1.
The pitch was soft in places, which was not surprising after the heavy overnight rain, and it could do with the grass being cut. It certainly didn’t help either side, although it didn’t stop both teams creating plenty of chances. Silver End were guilty of wasting the vast majority of them, but at least they managed to convert what turned out to be the winning goal a couple of minutes before halftime. It must have been at least the fourth time a striker was played through with a clear run on goal, but this time the chance was finished with a left footed shot past the ‘keeper. The second goal never came, which meant the visitors were always in with a chance of nicking a point, but the hosts hung on to take all three points, which sees them move up to second place in the table.
Driving home I heard the news that our stay in Tier 3 was only lasting 24 hours and from midnight we would be heading to a newly made up Tier 4. The Government are stumbling along from day to day and seem more clueless with each move they make. If this virus is spreading as fast as they claim, then surely the entire country needs to be in Tier 4, or even a full lockdown if that’s what it takes, although the attempts so far show neither seem to work.
Whatever happens, my football spectating has come to a close as far as 2020 goes. It has been my lowest number of grounds I have visited in a calendar year since 1991. With two shutdowns, which meant five months (Apr-July, plus Nov) where I never got to see a game at all, I have only managed 90 newly visited grounds, spread across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.
There is a saying “it can’t get any worse”. Unfortunately, with this Government, it certainly can. Let’s hope they finally make a decision that leads us back to something more ‘normal’ next year….
It has been quite a wait for me to finally see a match under floodlights at Mundford. They have played plenty of midweek matches in that time, but always in August, April and May, when they can play without using them. I know from reading about other groundhoppers visits here, that the floodlight pylons were in place back in 2013, but that the bulbs were still to be added. The lights were obviously working some time after that, but I was living abroad by then, and as far as I can tell, they haven’t played a first team match under lights since November 2016, (might be the only one?) which was three months before I returned to the U.K.
This is actually my fourth attempt in planning to visit. The first time saw the game called off the day before, due to problems with the floodlights, eventually being played at the end of the season.. The second was versus Dereham Town, in the same competition as tonight, where the game was again postponed a day or two before being played. It was then rearranged and the tie was reversed and played at Dereham. The third was last month, when tonight’s match was originally scheduled for 3rd November, just before the second Covid-19 lockdown was due to start, but was then postponed due to concerns over people’s safety due to the pandemic. Tonight was the night I finally got here.
Both clubs are in the Anglian Combination League Premier Division. Mundford are currently in ninth place, whilst Blofield United are fourteenth. As expected, it was a pretty even match, at least during the first half. A penalty opened the scoring for the hosts, before a second was prodded in from close range to give them a 2-0 lead at halftime. I’m not sure if it was due to Covid-19 restrictions, or the fact that the changing rooms are 100 yards from the pitch, but everyone stayed on the pitch for the interval, which meant a turnaround of just eight minutes.
The next goal was going to be so important and when it went the way of Mundford, within five minutes of the restart, it was game over. They totally dominated the second half, but only managed to add a fourth goal with twelve minutes left, with a shot into the bottom corner of the net from just outside the 18 yard box. The visitors rounded off the scoring with an angled shot that seemed to deceive the ‘keeper as it found its way into the top corner.
Mundford now face a trip to Anglian Combination League Division 1 side Easton in the next round. They play in a 3G cage, which is floodlit, so hopefully it will be scheduled as a midweek fixture.
Southwick were founder members of the Sussex County League (now Southern Combination League) in 1920. They joined the Combined Counties League in 1984, before joining the Isthmian League the following season, where they remained for seven seasons, before a return to County League football in 1992. In March 2020 it was announced that the club’s owner had handed back the lease of their Old Barn Way ground to the council. The club was also believed to be heavily in debt. With no ground to play at, and unable to use the Southwick F.C. name without taking on the old debts, the club disappeared, but the Southwick name would live on. Southwick 1882 were formed in July 2020, starting life in the second tier of the Mid Sussex League, a drop of two levels from the previous club. They are currently playing on Southwick Recreation Ground, which shares the same car park as the stadium, with the two pitches being less than 100 yards apart.
I had visited the old ground on 26th December 2003, when Southwick had beaten local rivals Shoreham 1-0 in a Sussex County League Division 1 match. The ground is lying vacant now and looks in a sorry state, but not too far gone that it couldn’t become home to the new club in the future and all efforts are being made for this to come to fruition. I managed to take a few photographs from the outside of the ground this afternoon…….
Southwick 1882 have certainly made a good start to life in the Mid Sussex League. They came into this game sitting in third place in the league table, having won all six league matches so far. West Hoathly were one place lower, having lost just one of their nine matches to date, a 1-2 loss at home to Southwick 1882. Today’s match was very scrappy. Both goals came from crosses from the left. The first stabbed home from six yards and the second tapped in from little more than a yard out, as the visitors defence stood static, hoping to be saved by an offside flag that rightly never came. The hosts dragged a couple of efforts wide during the second half, but neither side ever looked like adding anything to the 2-0 halftime score.
The win now sees Southwick 1882 go level on points with new league leaders Crawley Devils, but with two games in hand. It is hard to see anyone stopping them from gaining promotion at the first attempt……apart from another aborted season due to COVID-19, especially if we head into more lockdowns after Christmas.
Ringmer A.F.C. 1 Hollington United 9, attendance 45
20’ 0-1
39’ 0-2
43’ 1-2 (pen)
51’ 1-3
54’ 1-4
57’ 1-5
63’ 1-6
76’ 1-7
81’ 1-8 (pen)
82’ 1-9
@ King’s Academy, 3G Pitch
Lewes Road
Ringmer
BN8 5RB
No Admission or Programme.
This game was originally scheduled to be played at Hollington, but with their pitch deemed unplayable, it was switched here to the new ground of Ringmer A.F.C. So, not only credit to the league for getting restarted at the first opportunity after the COVID-19 lockdown, but also to both clubs in making the effort to get the game played. Due to it already hosting two matches today it meant this game was slotted in as a 6 o’clock kick off, which made it perfect for a double, and even better, it was the only ground in this division I hadn’t yet visited.
Those who have been to a new build 3G will know what to expect. It is as bland as it gets. Spectators are restricted to just one side (clearly and well set out to ensure safe social distancing COVID-19 restrictions are adhered to), but at least here they have the dugouts on the opposite side of the pitch. Despite having a small seated kit stand, it is situated with little thought given to how poor the sight lines are, as it is towards the corner, set back from the two storey clubhouse/changing room building, therefore having a dreadful view of one corner of the ground. These places seem even worse when it rains, which it did here for almost the entire match.
As far as league positions go this was 8th versus 3rd in the table, but the gulf between the two sides was immense. When Ringmer scored a penalty just before halftime, to make it 1-2 at the break, it looked like we would be in for a good second half contest. It wasn’t. Hollington were simply superb and in truth Ringmer were lucky to only concede nine goals in the end.
Above : Ringmer score their penalty.Above : The awful position of the seated stand.
So, after a gap of 34 days, it was back to watching live football again. Despite having suffered a second lockdown due to COVID-19, on top of a late start to the season, there were still some leagues and clubs that didn’t want to get back to playing. They seem happier stalling for another week or so, even though it might mean another aborted season as a third lockdown is certainly not out of the question. Many had whinged non stop about not being allowed to play, but having been given the go ahead to start up again, suddenly some didn’t want to. Thankfully, this league were happy to hit the ground running, so fair play to them. There were certainly some tired looking legs late in the second half, but it was the same for both teams, so not really a disadvantage to either of them.
I knew this ground had got a sloping pitch, but photographs don’t really do it justice. In fact, if it wasn’t for the slope, which is end to end, the game might not have survived the recent rain as it certainly helps with the drainage. Although it was soft in places the pitch held up fine.
Today’s match was 4th versus 7th in the league table, with Wadhurst looking to extend a five game unbeaten run in the league, whilst Punnetts Town had picked up seven points from their opening five matches.
The visitors played down the slope in the first half, opening the scoring following a long clearance from their ‘keeper that saw the striker sent clear to finish low into the corner of the net. Wadhurst had forced the visitors ‘keeper into making a number of very good saves before they levelled through a header, but deep into stoppage time Punnetts Town went back in front to lead 1-2 at the break. With the slope now in their favour, Wadhurst really pushed for an equaliser at the start of the second half, but were caught on the break for Punnetts Town to make it 1-3. It was certainly backs against the wall from here on in, but they stood firm with some gallant defending and despite Wadhurst reducing the arrears with a penalty, Punnetts Town then scored a spot kick of their own to come away with a deserved 2-4 win.
Unusually for a Saturday, I had got an evening kick off, where there was a match in the Mid Sussex League kicking off at 18.00.
Wakefield A.F.C. 1 Hepworth United 0, attendance 295
24’ 1-0
@ Featherstone Rovers R.L.F.C.
Post Office Road
Featherstone
WF7 5EN
Admission : by online ticket only. Crowd limit 300. Cost free, with the option of up to £20 donation when booking.
£2 Programme, 32 pages.
I was originally heading for a double in the Cheltenham League today, but was put off by the dreadful weather forecast. Typically, both games took place, but I was very happy only doing the one match today, especially having been offered a lift up to Yorkshire, which swayed my decision. Not that I needed much persuading, as I knew what a cracking ground this was and with West Yorkshire heading for tighter Covid-19 restrictions from Monday, it was a case of getting here sooner rather than later, as you never know what is round the corner. I didn’t really want to tick off a floodlit ground on a Saturday, but this was certainly more preferable than risking missing out altogether!
This season Wakefield A.F.C. have moved to the former coal mining town of Featherstone, playing at the home of Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Club, who, considering the size of the town, have an illustrious history, winning the League Championship (what is Super League now) in 1977 as well as three Challenge Cups, the most recent win being in 1983. The ground was opened in 1904 and saw a record crowd of 17,531 attend a Challenge Cup match against St. Helens in 1959. Nowadays, the capacity is listed as just short of ten thousand, which is enough to accommodate the crowds Wakefield will attract as they make their (hoped for) rise up the pyramid from their current Step 7 status.
I had been here previously for Rugby League, seeing Rovers beat Oldham 52-14 in a Division 2 match on 7th February 1993 in front of 4,332 spectators. I liked the ground back then, but it has seen a number of improvements since. The seated stand behind the north goal end, along with the small seated stand at the northern corner of the east stand, were previously at the old Scarborough F.C. ground at Seamer Road, but were saved when that ground was demolished, before being reconstructed here.
Today’s match was 5th verses 3rd in the league table. They met in the reverse fixture last Saturday, which Hepworth had won 3-2, but this game never looked like producing much more than the single goal that won it for Wakefield midway through the first half. It had poured down with rain in the hour leading up to kick off, leaving the pitch looking heavy in places and It could certainly do with the grass being cut, but that is unlikely to happen as it is primarily used for rugby, or will be when it returns next year.
The game got heated at times, with the Benny Hill theme music twice played over the tannoy as the players pushed and shoved each other following a couple of fouls. Hepworth had a player red carded on 69 minutes, trudging off to ‘hit the road Jack’ blaring from the loud speakers. There was certainly a rare occurrence as far as the number of Referees on show today went. The first one seemed to pull a muscle in the first half. He swapped places with his senior Linesman and struggled on until halftime. At the start of the second half the Linesman returned to his original role and a different Referee altogether did the second half. The third Referee of the day was actually an Assessor, sat in the stands observing the original incumbent! I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen this before. Wakefield hung on for the three points which sees the two teams swap league positions.
On the way home we heard the news that England was heading into a second lockdown. Hopefully, it will only last for the four weeks that have been implemented and doesn’t get extended any further. It could be my last game for a while, but I’m glad I’ve got Post Office Road ticked off, just in case football doesn’t restart again this season.
Above and below : The two seated stands that started life at Scarborough F.C.Above : Wakefield A.F.C. No.10 scores the only goal of the match from a tight angle, having gone round the ‘keeper.
Before today I had never seen a club with Lodgers in their name. Now I would be seeing two in the same day. Even better, the two clubs were just six minutes apart by car, so a perfect double.
This was two levels lower than the earlier match, with this seeing 11th host 7th in Division 3. The league positions suggested an even contest, but it certainly didn’t turn out that way. The visitors opened the scoring within 30 seconds of the start, firing low into the corner from just inside the 18 yard box. Their second goal came after half an hour. A weak effort from the penalty spot was easily saved, but the follow in was safely tucked away, before an angled shot, aided by a slight deflection, saw Liam Whittaker complete his hat trick nine minutes into the second half. A second penalty, fifteen minutes from time, saw him make no mistake this time, bagging his fourth goal of the day to round off an emphatic 0-4 win for the visitors. Langham had plenty of chances of their own, but never really looked like making a game of it.
Boxted Lodgers 1 Belle Vue Social Club 2, attendance 34
8’ 0-1
18’ 1-1
39’ 1-2
@ King George’s Playing Field
Cage Lane
Boxted Cross
CO4 5RE
No Admission or Programme.
Another Saturday double in the Essex & Suffolk Border League for me today, starting off with a Division 1 fixture. Boxted Lodgers began the day in sixteenth place in the league table (second from bottom) having taken just three points from their opening six matches. Belle Vue, on the other hand, were not surprisingly sitting top of the table, having won their opening six matches and conceding just three goals in the process.
When Belle Vue opened the scoring early on it looked like the game was going to form. However, Boxted were level within ten minutes, courtesy of an own goal, when a cross from the left put past his own ‘keeper by a defender attempting to clear the ball. Chances went begging at both ends before the visitors netted a second goal to lead 1-2 at the break. The second half saw more of the same. We even had a melee in the centre of the pitch, involving players and ‘hangers on’ from both sides, resulting in just a yellow card for each team, but Boxted then had a player sin binned for something he said before the game restarted.
No further goals meant Belle Vue stretched their 100% winning start to the season to seven games. Their lead at the top of the table is five points, although third placed Tiptree Jobserve could cut that to just two, if they win their game in hand.
Above : Belle Vue about to score the own goal to make it 1-1.
