Anglian Combination League

Premier Division

Saturday 5th January 2019

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.02

Waveney 1 Caister 1, attendance 29

90’ + 4, 0-1

90’ + 6, 1-1

@ Saturn Close

off Station Road

Waveney

Lowestoft

NR32 4QD

No Admission

£1 Programme, 20 pages.

I was a bit concerned that I might have missed my chance to visit Waveney at their ground in Saturn Close, as they have started playing a number of matches at the ground of Lowestoft Town, but apparently that is part of a deal that sees them playing their U18 games there on a 20 match agreement, so the first team are using up some of the spare dates.

Today’s match was 6th versus 2nd in the league table, but was really poor for the first 75 minutes. Waveney went all out for the win in the last fifteen minutes and missed two absolute sitters, then hit the crossbar as we headed into stoppage time. I had settled for it ending goalless, when Caister broke away to nick the lead four minutes into added time. Remarkably, Waveney came back and curled in an equaliser from 20 yards out as we entered the sixth minute of stoppage time. There was one last chance, when Caister nearly regained the lead when a left wing cross went narrowly wide of the goal as the striker slid in at the far post. I was surprised that it wasn’t as dark as I was expecting when the final whistle went at 15.58.

The point was enough to take Caister top of the table, although they are only ahead of Wymondham Town and Long Stratton on goal difference. Waveney drop to seventh place.

Two final points from today. The matchday programme is superb value for money. Oddly though, the numbered pages don’t include the outer shell, which is unusual. On a sadder note, the tea bar was not in operation today as there has been an act of vandalism over the Christmas break.

Southern League

Premier Division South

Tuesday 1st January 2019

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.01

Basingstoke Town 1 Farnborough 1, attendance 478

58’ 1-0

90’ + 3, 1-1

@ The Camrose Ground

Western Way

Basingstoke

RG22 6EZ

£12 Admission

£1 Programme, 24 pages.

New Years Day has fewer fixtures being scheduled as each year goes by, so it is not possible to visit anywhere new these days. With The Camrose Ground reportedly being vacated by Basingstoke Town in order to build houses on the site, this seemed a perfect time to pay what is likely to be my last visit here. My only other visit was on 20th July 1995, when they drew 1-1 versus Brentford in a pre-season friendly.

The match today was 17th versus 16th in the league table and was a really poor match, with very little quality and certainly not worth the admission money. Basingstoke went ahead with their first effort on goal when the ball was smashed into the top corner of the net from 20 yards out. Farnborough were let off the hook when a penalty was blazed over the bar with nine minutes left, keeping them in with a chance of nicking a point, which they deservedly did, some three minutes into stoppage time. The point lifts Farnborough three places up the table, but leaves Basingstoke relying on goal difference to keep them out of the relegation zone.

With a fussier Referee, this game may not have finished, as one of the floodlight pylons on the main stand side of the pitch had no bulbs working at all, with at least another four bulbs out on the remaining seven pylons. Watching from the side of the Linesman in that half of the pitch it was impossible to make out any numbers on the players shirts when they were in the far corner.

Once again the matter of whether a Matchday Programme has any future was brought to call. Today’s offering was 17 days out of date, with the usual excuse that the printers are closed over the Christmas Holidays probably to blame, although they certainly haven’t been closed that long!

Thursday 20th December 2018

National Olympic Stadium

Monireth Boulevard

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

I don’t normally bother visiting a stadium if there is no match taking place, but as I am probably unlikely to be in Cambodia again and it was just a five minute ride in a Tuk Tuk (local moped drawn carriage that operates instead of taxis) from our hotel, then I thought I might as well pop along and have a look.

The stadium is the main focal point of the National Sports Complex, opening in 1964, when the capacity was around 70,000. Nowadays, it reputedly holds 50,000. Despite the name, it has never hosted the Olympic Games.

During the dark days of the Pol Pot regime of the 1970’s, the stadium was used as an execution site where officials of the Khmer Republic, formerly led by Lon Noi were killed.

Cambodia are due to host the 2023 Southeast Asia Games, but the current stadium will not be hosting matches, as instead, a new stadium will be built in another part of the city.

Spartan South Midlands League

Division 2

Saturday 8th December 2018

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 14.59

Berkhamsted Raiders C.F.C. 2 The 61 F.C. (Luton) 1,  attendance 17

4’ 1-0

16’ 2-0 (pen)

85’ 2-1 (pen)

@ BerkoAstro

Ashlyns School

Chesham Road

Berkhamsted

HP4 3AH

No Admission or Programme.

With this being a 3G Pitch it was a ground I didn’t want to waste a Saturday on. However, despite having floodlights, Raiders have never played a midweek match here, probably due to the small amount of teams in the league, and the fixture scheduling meant they had played all their home games last season quite early on. The same has happened this time round. After today, they only have 2 more home matches to play, with one of them being before Christmas, so the opportunity to tick off this ground is nearly over for another season. With the 12.30 kick off at Old Wykehamists, this was the perfect time to bite the bullet and get this one out of the way.

The journey from Acton was trouble free and I was parked up here by 14.52. To be fair, despite my trepidation, the ground wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Okay, it is in a cage, with spectator access limited to a small section of one side, but it does have a good sized seated stand and with such a small crowd the view from here was fine. There were two temporary dugouts on the far side, but these were soon dismantled, as they were being battered by the wind and becoming a safety issue.

Raiders started the day in third place in the league table, whilst the visitors were eleventh. A blistering start from the hosts saw them score two early goals, but the game seemed to go off the boil from then on. The 61 F.C. came into it more during the second half and had they scored their goal a little bit earlier, then they might have got a draw. With seven minutes of added time at the end of the second half, this didn’t finish until 16.54.

This now leaves Division 1 and 2 of this league complete. Just Crawley Green to do in the top division, which although it is another 3G, at least it is a proper ground, where there was originally a grass pitch, when it was home to Isthmian League club, Vauxhall Motors, who vacated the ground back in 1991.

Arthurian League

Premier Division

Saturday 8th December 2018

Kick Off 12.30. On Time !

Old Wykehamists 2 Old Bradfieldians 0,  attendance 7

50’ 1-0 (pen)

77’ 2-0

@ Club Des Sports, 3G Pitch

The Park Club

East Acton Lane

Acton

London

W3 7HB

No Admission or Programme.

It is nice to see that not all venues that have 3G Pitches installed have to have them inside soulless cages, with little or no spectator access. In fact, if it wasn’t for the spare sets of goal posts dotted around the inside of the rail, you could watch this match without really noticing that it wasn’t being played on grass. The only downside here, is the fact that you have to pay to park your car inside the barriered car park, at a cost of £1.50 per hour, with payment only possible by bank card. As I only arrived at 12.20, at least I was only charged for 2 hours parking.

The game, which was 7th versus 2nd in the league table, didn’t go the way the league positions might have suggested. Old Bradfieldians offered very little, but Old Wykehamists (they are from Winchester College) didn’t look capable of actually winning the game themselves, as they were limited to a few long range efforts that never looked like ever going in. When they went ahead, with a penalty, it gave them something to hold on to, but they were never really put under any pressure and they wrapped it up with an angled shot into the far corner of the net with thirteen minutes left on the clock.

As this finished at 14.07, it meant I was able to head off to my first choice match for my afternoon entertainment. I had the back up of Lampton Park, who play at the Middlesex F.A. Ground, in Northolt, but as my preferred game was well within reach due to the prompt finish here, then it would be a hopefully traffic free journey out of London on the A40, before heading clockwise round the M25……

British Universities & Colleges Sport

Midlands 3B

Wednesday 5th December 2018

Kick Off 13.30 Actual 13.31

Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge) 3 East Anglia University 2nds 2,  attendance 7

15’ 1-0

19’ 1-1

61’ 2-1

73’ 3-1

81’ 3-2

@ Girton Recreation Ground

Cambridge Road

Girton

CB3 0FH

No Admission or Programme.

Girton Recreation Ground is where Girton United play their home matches in the Cambridgeshire County League. There is a plaque on the wall of the changing room building that commemorates the life of Victor ‘Vic’ Watson, who played for West Ham United, Southampton and England, who was ‘Girton’s Greatest Footballer’. I had never heard of him, but a quick check tells me he still holds the record for the most goals scored for West Ham United, having amassed 326 goals from 505 appearances, as well as 4 more for England, in 5 appearances. He also scored fourteen goals in 36 matches for Southampton.

As for the match, Ruskin were second bottom in the league table, whilst East Anglia were top and unbeaten before today. It was an excellent match, where both teams played an open game, attacking at every opportunity. The highlight of the match was the second goal for Ruskin, which was as near to a ‘Trevor Sinclair’ volleyed goal you are ever likely to see (it was for Q.P.R. v Barnsley in the F.A. Cup in 1997, which won BBC’s ‘Goal of the Season’ award). If only the television cameras had been here today………

Anglian Combination League

Premier Division

Saturday 1st December 2018

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.02

Hellesdon 2 Mattishall 2,  attendance 17

12’ 1-0

60’ 1-1

64’ 2-1 (pen)

88’ 2-2 (pen)

@ Hellesdon Community Centre

Woodview Road

Hellesdon

NR6 5QB

Admission, by donation box collection.

Programme, free (cover price £1.50), 28 pages.

Earlier in the week I had planned to stop over after the match at Stalham, with this being my intended choice for today, as the club are rumoured to be moving from Hellesdon Community Centre some time in the near future. However, the weather forecast for this area was dreadful for Saturday, so upon leaving home, I had given up on the intended stopover, but as the day went on, the forecast was improving, so I made a late decision to stop after all and hope that my first choice match would survive the elements. As it turned out, the heavy rain that was forecast never materialised and although there was light rain in the hour leading up to kick off, there was only drizzle to contend with during the match.

Hellesdon came into this in 15th place in the league table (second from bottom), whilst the visitors were ninth. It was a pretty feisty affair and somewhat surprising that it finished with both teams having their full eleven on the pitch at the end, as there were quite a few dodgy tackles going in.

Hellesdon scored early, but were unable to add to it. Mattishall had a man ‘sin binned’ early in the second half, but it was during this time that they scored an equaliser. Within a minute of the player returning, they conceded a penalty, to go 2-1 behind. With time running out, Hellesdon threw away the 3 points when they gave away a penalty themselves and Mattishall duly converted the spot kick to take a share of the points. As at Caister last week, it was very gloomy when the final whistle went at 15.51.

As the ground is not enclosed, the club can’t charge admission, but they do come round with a collection box at the start of the second half, giving a copy of the matchday programme to those who donate, although the price on the cover says they are  £1.50. It always amazes me how people are prepared to stand in the rain for a couple of hours, but are not prepared to help the club by making a small donation towards the cost of putting the match on.

Anglian Combination League

Division 1

Friday 30th November 2018

Kick Off 19.30 Actual 19.32

Stalham Town 1 Reepham Town 3 (Abandoned 59 minutes due to player injury). attendance 59

8’ 0-1

29’ 1-1

42’ 1-2

53’ 1-3

@ The Football Development Centre @ Flegg High School 

Somerton Road

Martham

NR29 4QD

No Admission or Programme.

This match was switched here due to a Stalham Town player winning a competition whereby his team got to play a home match at the new 3G Pitch at Flegg High School. Not much of a prize really, as it is just a standard caged pitch, although there is spectator access along half of one side. Unfortunately, due to a serious injury to a Stalham player, the match was abandoned just short of the hour mark. At least it only took the Referee eleven minutes from the time of the injury, until abandoning the game, rather than dragging things out unnecessarily.

It was disappointing for Reepham, because they were well worth the 1-3 lead that they had built up when the match was brought to a halt, which would have been only their second league win of the season, but this leaves them rooted to the bottom of the league table.

British Universities & Colleges Sport

South Eastern 1A

Wednesday 28th November 2018

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.08

East London University 8 Reading University 0,  attendance 20

2’ 1-0

18’ 2-0

36’ 3-0

58’ 4-0

73’ 5-0

86’ 6-0

90’ 7-0

90’ + 3, 8-0

@ Mabley Green 3G Pitch No.2

Mabley Green Park

Lee Conservancy Road

Hackney

London

E9 5HW

No Admission or Programme.

Here at Mabley Green Park there are two 3G Pitches. Running parallel with the road, is Pitch No.1, which has a couple of steps of terracing as well as a spectator rail along one side. Next to this, is Pitch 2, which is a newer addition to the complex, but there are no spectator facilities with this pitch, although as there is a 10 yards gap between the touch line and fence, viewing from inside the cage was no problem.

This looks like a real freak result, especially considering that league  leaders Reading were undefeated in their first six matches, winning five of them. However, in the end, they were lucky the score wasn’t double this, and even if they hadn’t missed a penalty, awarded when the score was already 4-0, they still took a real hammering and if you’re going to lose your unbeaten record, then you might as well do it in style !

The win leaves East London in third place in the league table, level on points with Chichester and just three points behind Reading, having a game in hand over both. Crucially, the game in hand is against bottom team Surrey.

It was a very gloomy day, but at least it remained dry, although it was very windy at times. The floodlights finally came on with just three minutes of normal time left on the clock, but they could have done with being put on 15-20 minutes earlier.

Below photo : East London make it 3-0 with a free kick that went under the wall.

Anglian Combination League

Premier Division

Saturday 24th November 2018

Kick Off 14.00. On Time !

Caister 2 Sheringham 5,  attendance 39

15’ 1-0

41’ 1-1

58’ 2-1

62’ 2-2

76’ 2-3 (pen)

81’ 2-4

90’ + 2, 2-5

@ Caister Playing Field

Allendale Road

Caister-on-Sea

NR30 5ES

No Admission or Programme.

With the east of the country being forecast to be rain free, which indeed it was, it seemed the best area to head for today. The choice of match was quite easy, with the league leaders at home to sixth place in the table. The ground here only has changing rooms, with the club headquarters being elsewhere in the town. At least they made an effort with serving hot drinks at halftime though, which were well received on a cool afternoon.

Caister were the better side for the majority of the first half, but only went in level at 1-1. When they regained the lead with a shot that went in off the underside of the crossbar, just before the hour mark, I thought they would go on to win the game comfortably, but a neat one-two on the edge of the box saw a shot into the far corner of the net level it up at 2-2 less than five minutes later. The game hinged on a red card for the Caister No.5 after seventy six minutes, when he made a superb save on the line, with his ‘keeper well beaten. Sheringham duly dispatched the penalty and made the extra man advantage count by adding a couple of late goals to give them a resounding win. Despite the defeat, Caister remain top of the league table, with Sheringham moving up to fifth place.

On these last few Saturdays leading up to Christmas, over here in the east, two o’clock is really too late to be kicking off without floodlights. When the match finished at 15.49, the light was really poor and more akin to a midweek match in September, when leagues try and cram an extra round of fixtures in, when there really isn’t enough daylight available.