Kent County League

Division 1 West

Saturday 4th January 2025

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.59!

Parkwood Rangers 1 Equinoccial 5, attendance 29

11’ 0-1

27’ 0-2

64’ 0-3

71’ 1-3

79’ 1-4

90’ + 4, 1-5

@ Bexley Park Sports & Social Club, 3G Pitch

Calvert Drive

Bexley

DA2 7GA

No Admission or Programme.

With all my first choice games falling to waterlogged/frozen pitches, it soon became obvious that the only safe bet today was to go for a 3G pitch option. I’d only been to watch Parkwood Rangers here at Bexley Park Sports & Social Club as recently as April 2023, when rather than playing on the main pitch, they used one adjacent to the rugby pitch here instead, in an area that would have once been separated from the main complex by a hedge. There was very early evidence on that visit of work taking place in preparation for the installation of a 3G pitch, which would be between the current main pitch and the temporary one being used on my visit.

Whilst waiting for a reply from the home club as to whether the game was still on and, more importantly to me, definitely on the new 3G, I managed to contact the away team. It was two hours before kick off, but the Equinoccial contact number on the KCL website confirmed game on and yes, on the 3G……unbelievably, they had already arrived at the ground! Minutes later I received a reply via text from the home club confirming the same. Forty five minutes later I was at the ground myself. Two teams were beginning their warm up and setting up the goals and nets on the grass pitch! However, this was the reserves, who were at home in a Bromley & South London League match. Incredible that a game at this level was taking place on grass, when so many at higher levels were off. Despite being bitterly cold, which meant the Referee in our game was in full tracksuit as well as gloves and a hat, it remained dry and the forecast snow didn’t arrive until later in the evening.

The set up here is as you’d expect. Spectator access along three quarters of one side of the cage, with a pair of dugouts on the far side. It is a good 200 yards from the clubhouse, accessed by a tarmac walkway around the perimeter of the cricket pitch/grass football pitch. The match was 10th versus 4th in the league table. Equinoccial took an early lead and were well on top and their job certainly became easier when Parkwood had their ‘keeper sent off after twenty six minutes, rushing from his area and fouling a visiting player on the edge of the D. Equinoccial scored from the resulting free kick, which went in off the post and there looked to be no way back for Parkwood, which was how it turned out. It took until after the hour mark for the visitors to make it 0-3, with a 25 yarder into the bottom corner and although Parkwood scored next, with a deflected shot in off the post, it was little more than a consolation. Equinoccial restored their three goal lead with ten minutes left and added a fifth goal deep into stoppage time to round off a resounding 1-5 win.

Below photo shows the pitch layout here….

1 = 1st visit in April 2023, whilst red indicates the part railed grass pitch used by the reserves today, with the now in use 3G sandwiched between the two.

Isthmian League

North Division

Wednesday 1st January 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.01

Cambridge City 1 Mildenhall 1, attendance 668

35’ 1-0

66’ 1-1

@ FWD-IP Community Stadium

West Way

Sawston

CB22 3FP

£10 Admission

£3 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

I’d visited Cambridge City at their City Ground, in Milton Road, Cambridge, back in March 1991, when they beat V.S. Rugby 2-0 in a Southern League Premier Division match, in front of 353 spectators. They left that ground in 2013, ground sharing at Histon and St. Ives Town in the intervening years, but moved into their newly built Community Stadium at the end of November, attracting a crowd of 1,459 for the opening game versus Tilbury.

The new stadium is in Sawston, six miles south of Cambridge and a village where I’ve already seen games in the Cambridgeshire County League, played on three different venues ( May 2012 Sawston United – Sawston Recreation Ground, Mill Lane. April 2013 Sawston United – Spicers Sports Ground, New Road. May 2021 Sawston Phoenix- Lynton Way Recreation Ground, Lynton Way). Despite not yet being fully fitted out (clubhouse not yet in use and temporary changing rooms and mobile food caterers) the ground is impressive. There is a large seated main stand and covered sections on the other three sides too. Once again, weather was an issue (when isn’t it?) but the club had helpfully replied to me via Twitter that the game would be going ahead, posting the news on their Twitter account shortly afterwards. They were confident that the pitch was a good drainer, something I was pleased to hear, as the rain was relentless from Dartford Crossing and up the M11. It did ease off, but far later than the forecast from the Met Office had suggested, but the pitch was fine and was no worse at the final whistle than it had been at kick off.

The match was 11th versus 17th (out of 22). Cambridge went in front ten minutes before halftime, cutting in from the left, before finishing with a diagonal shot that went in off the far post. Mildenhall levelled midway through the second half, when a corner from the right was headed in at the far post, which although being hacked away by a defender, the Linesman signalled that the ball had already crossed the goal line before the clearance was made. It was good to see both teams go for the win, with the visitors perhaps more disappointed with sharing the points, as they were far stronger in the last twenty minutes.

Today’s visit completed the Isthmian League once again and also Step 4 too. I never thought a village this size could possibly have so many grounds. There’s also a brand new 3G pitch here at the new stadium, running end on to the main ground, so it looks like this might not be my last visit to Sawston……

Suffolk & Ipswich League

Senior Division

Saturday 28th December 2024

Kick Off 13.45 Actual 13.46

Sporting 87 7 Grundisburgh 2, attendance 34

8’ 1-0

20’ 1-1

40’ 2-1

47’ 3-1

57’ 3-2

61’ 4-2

64’ 5-2

70’ 6-2

88’ 7-2

@ Victory Sports Ground

Nowton Road

Bury St. Edmunds

IP33 2BT

No Admission

Programme free, 16 pages.

Both teams I hadn’t yet visited in the top division of the Suffolk & Ipswich were at home today (Halesworth Town being the other), so it was a good area to head for. I opted for Sporting 87, who play at Victory Sports Ground, in Bury St. Edmunds. It was formerly the works ground of the Greene King Brewery, opened in 1920 and is a venue shared with the town’s cricket club. It has also hosted Suffolk County Cricket matches, as is evident from the photo hanging in the clubhouse (see below).

The sports ground is split into two sections, divided by a line of conifer trees. Sporting 87 play on the same side as the cricket, with the pitch on the far side of the square, running widthways. It is roped along the near side and behind the left hand goal, whilst the far side, which also houses a pair of dugouts, is barriered off with a combination of rail and advertising boards. Plenty of parking, despite their reserve team also being at home, playing on a pitch to the left of the trees. The clubhouse/pavilion was open for use of toilets and although the bar was shut, hot drinks were available at halftime. There was also a match day programme, which surprisingly was free of charge and placed on the corner of the bar.

The match was 8th versus 13th in the league table. Sporting had taken an early lead, but Grundisburgh levelled twenty minutes in and had a header cleared off the line minutes later and having looked to be getting on top, they then had a man sent off for a ‘last man’ foul just outside the box and it didn’t take long for Sporting to take advantage of the extra man, scoring with an easy tap in to lead 2-1 at the break. It was 3-1 within minutes of the restart and it looked like Sporting would run away with it. Grundisburgh did pull it back to 3-2, but two goals in three minutes, the first a superb bicycle kick, saw Sporting extend their lead to 5-2 and the points were safe. The visitors still attacked at every opportunity, but conceded twice more, as they ran out of steam and they were in the game far more than the final 7-2 scoreline suggests and a great effort by the 10 men.

Another day where it was foggy/misty for the entirety, but it once again remained dry…..and no traffic problems whatsoever!

So, that rounds off 2024 as far as the ground hopping goes. A rather disappointing total of just 149 ‘new’ grounds visited (England 110, Wales 14, Scotland 12, Malta 5, Portugal 5, Spain 3), down by 35 on last year.

Midland League

Division 3

Thursday 26th December 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Balsall & Berkswell 5 Birmingham Tigers 1, attendance 12

22’ 1-0

56’ 2-0

58’ 3-0

62’ 4-0

71’ 4-1

73’ 5-1

@ The Triangle

Lavender Hall Lane

Balsall Common

CV7 7BN

No Admission or Programme.

This was one of just three grounds hosting a game in England today that I hadn’t yet visited. With the other two being in Cornwall (Pendeen Rovers and Truro City) it was the obvious choice, being in Balsall Common, roughly midway between Warwick and Birmingham. Very light traffic, combined with the roadworks shutdowns, meant a drive of about two and a quarter hours each way. Heading north on the A452 out of Balsall Common, Lavender Hall Lane is a right hand turn, with the ground a couple of hundred yards along on the left. There is a large car park, with the changing room building to the left. The pitch is to the right, on the far side of a cricket square, running lengthways, with grass banking along the right hand touchline, which houses a pair of dugouts, flanked either side by a small section of advertising boards, while the near side is roped from the corner to the halfway line. The only refreshments available were from a mobile coffee van, which was parked in the car park on the opposite side of the road and there to cater for the dog walkers, rather than the football.

The match was 8th versus 13th (out of 15) in the league table and a game unlikely to end goalless, as there had only been one draw in the 36 league games involving these two so far this season. Midway through the first half that run continued, when a diagonal cross in from wide on the left was finished with a cushioned volley at the far post to put the hosts ahead. They also hit the post a couple of times in the next few minutes, but it remained 1-0 at the break. Three goals, in a six minute spell around the hour mark, saw B&B make it 4-0 and the points were safe. Tigers did pull a goal back with nineteen minutes left, but it only took the hosts two minutes to restore their four goal lead, finishing from a tight angle after being played through on goal.

For once, rain wasn’t a problem today, but fog could have been. Although it was present for most of the game, it never really got bad enough to halt the game, although it was getting gloomy towards the end.

Kent County League

Division 2 West

Saturday 21st December 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.02

Dulwich Village 1 Agenda 0, attendance 13

7’ 1-0

@ Bellingham Leisure & Lifestyle Centre

5 Randlesdown Road

Bellingham

London

SE6 3BT

No Admission or Programme.

Yet again, another Saturday with far too many games being postponed due to ‘waterlogged’ pitches, with the added problem today of teams not wanting to play due to it being close to Christmas, so games were more likely to ‘fail’ any pitch inspections that may have been scheduled, regardless of whether it was playable or not. Although I’d received confirmation from the home club that this game was going ahead, I did have a 3G backup 25 minutes away, just in case. No problems though, arriving about 40 minutes before kick off, with both teams out on the pitch doing their warm ups.

The ground here is basically just a pitch (there are 3 here) in a field and was the nearest one to the changing rooms, running parallel to Brookehowse Road, with the car park behind the goal nearest to the entrance. Car parking was only payable via an app (why does every single car park seem to be on a different one?), so I parked on the road outside instead, just two cars from the gates, which had no restrictions.

The match was 10th versus 5th (out of 13) in the league table. There weren’t many goal scoring chances, but the game remained in the balance right up to the final whistle, as Agenda pushed hard to try and find an equaliser, having fallen behind in the seventh minute to a near post finish from a cross in from the left.

Despite being just 19 miles from home, it took just over an hour to drive each way, but at least it remained dry for once. There was a threat of rain in the air, but thankfully it never materialised. Both teams stayed out on the pitch at halftime and the Referee was very keen to get restarted, having blown his whistle twice before the players finally responded at the third time of asking. Having kicked off the match two minutes late, the second half was still underway at 14.54!

Mid Sussex League

Division 2 North

Saturday 14th December 2024

Kick Off 14.00 On Time!

Ifield Albion 1 Old Oxted Town 1, attendance 15

68’ 1-0

78’ 1-1

@ Cherry Lane Playing Fields, Pitch 2

Cherry Lane

Langley Green

Crawley

RH11 7NX

No Admission or Programme.

I only decided on doing this game about 40 minutes prior to it kicking off. I’d originally intended doing the Premier Division basement battle between Godstone and Ridgewood, at the unusual venue of Oakwood Sports Centre, rather than their normal home ground. No problem confirming both venue change and kick off, via a text message to the home club and I arrived at the ground about 13.10. I was very disappointed to find that it was being played on a brand new 3G caged pitch (no mention of it being 3G on the league website on either their F.A. Full Time or Football Mitoo pages and too new to show on either Google or Apple Maps). It seemed a waste to do a synthetic pitch on such a nice day and a quick check of the fixtures showed that the Ifield Albion game was still on (or at least not yet postponed) at Cherry Lane. The only problem was, I’d already done a pitch here (Phoenix United, on Pitch 6, back in 2013), but according to the website the game today was on Pitch 2 and as it was only 12 minutes drive, I had time to head there and still make it back here if there was a problem.

Entering the car park off Cherry Lane, there is a brick built changing room block next to the car park, with the playing fields split into three distinct sections. There are four pitches, two full size and two that looked smaller (plus 2 cricket squares) in the nearest one, with todays game indeed taking place on Pitch 2, with London Gatwick Airport as a backdrop beyond the far touchline, with a constant stream of planes taking off throughout the game. Pitches 5, 6 and 7 are a bit of a hike from here and there was a game on one of those today, as you could just about make out figures in kits in the distance. Nothing here but a pitch (something you have accept occasionally, especially if you want to complete leagues) and a bit of a soggy walk underfoot to reach it, despite it not having rained that much this week. Cherry Lane is normally one of the first to be called off by Crawley Council when it is wet, so perhaps I’d got lucky today.

The match was 9th versus 5th (out of 11), between the only two teams in the division who were yet to draw a match this season, although today’s result put an end to that. Old Oxted hit the post in the opening minutes, but that was it as far as goal opportunities went for the remainder of the half. Ifield made the breakthrough midway through the second half, when a ball pulled back from the right was finished into the bottom corner. Old Oxted equalised with twelve minutes left, when a corner on the left was headed in from six yards. Not too much goalmouth action, but a decent game nonetheless. It doesn’t look like I missed too much at Godstone either, as that finished 0-0!

Below photo shows the layout of the 4 regular pitches in use here (the ones done are in red) for 1st team matches.

Mid Sussex League

Division 4 South

Saturday 7th December 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.01

Scaynes Hill 7 Ansty Reserves 3, attendance 9

3’ 0-1

11’ 1-1

18’ 2-1

34’ 3-1

41’ 4-1

49’ 4-2

64’ 5-2

67’ 6-2

81’ 7-2

82’ 7-3

@ Oathall Community College, 3G Pitch

Appledore Gardens

Haywards Heath

RH16 2AQ

No Admission or Programme.

I’d resigned myself to having to do a game on an artificial pitch today, with my first two choices on grass falling victim to the weather by 09.30. I was now down to a revised choice of two, both in the Mid Sussex League, one in Burgess Hill and the other in Hailsham. However, a final check on FA Fulltime and Football Mitoo just before 12 o’clock, was showing that Scaynes Hill were now playing their game on the 3G at Oathall Community College, which was confirmed with an immediate reply via text message from the home club. The venue is occasionally used during bad weather, but rarely with a first team as hosts, so it fitted the bill perfectly. It’s a standard cage set up, with a designated spectator area along just over half of one side and the pitch had so many rubber crumbs on it that it looked more black, than green, in colour. I assume the changing rooms were unavailable, as both teams and the Referee arrived already changed and they remained on the pitch for what was a very short halftime.

The game was 1st versus 4th in the league table and despite the scoreline, a result that was very harsh on Ansty. The difference between the two sides was the finishing. Scaynes Hill were clinical. Despite going behind early on, they somehow managed to turn it round and take a 4-1 lead into the interval, despite being outplayed for the majority of the half. Ansty pulled it back to 4-2 within minutes of the restart and again had the better chances. Scaynes Hill restored their three goal lead just after the hour mark, which finally made the game safe, soon adding a sixth goal minutes later. A shot into the bottom corner saw them make it 7-2 with nine minutes left, before Ansty rounded off the scoring a minute later, volleying in from the edge of the box.

Great entertainment, on an afternoon where there were just a couple of squally showers and winds nowhere near as bad as forecast.

Lancashire F.A. Challenge Trophy

2nd Round

Tuesday 3rd December 2024

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.46

Thornton Cleveleys 1 Radcliffe 4, attendance 249

13’ 0-1

23’ 0-2 (pen)

54’ 0-3

74’ 0-4

81’ 1-4

@ Gamble Road

Thornton Cleveleys

FY5 4JH

£5 Admission

£2 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.

When I last saw a Thornton Cleveleys home game, back in October 2000, they played on a ground to the north of Gamble Road, which is now under housing, but in 2021 they moved to a new ground to the south of this road, backing on to the Poolfoot Farm Training Complex of Fleetwood Town F.C. The new ground has enabled them to make the step up to the North West Counties League, having won the West Lancashire League Premier Division last season. The ground doesn’t yet meet the grading for this level. It only has spectator access on two sides (along the entrance/clubhouse side and behind the right hand goal), with a pair of dugouts on the far side. There is a small section of covered standing, but no evidence of any seats, or even any area that may be earmarked for them. There is a good sized clubhouse, accessed once inside the ground and a snack bar pitch side too. It was bitterly cold and there were a couple of spells of light rain, which thankfully didn’t last long, especially as the pitch wasn’t looking to be at it’s best.

Thornton Cleveleys have struggled since being promoted, currently 13th in the league table, whilst Radcliffe play four levels higher, in National League North, sitting in 21st place (out of 24). Right from the off, it looked to be a case of how long could Thornton hold out. It turned out to be thirteen minutes, before Tom Walker controlled a ball across the box from the left and finished with a curling shot into the bottom corner. Ten minutes later it was 0-2, when Anthony Dudley converted a penalty and it was pretty much game over. Nine minutes into the second half Tonde Owalab made it 0-3, when a quick break was finished with a shot from the edge of the box that went in off the underside of the crossbar. With sixteen minutes left Owalab scored again, to make it 0-4, finishing into the bottom corner after a one two on the edge of the box, before Jordan Beavers got a late consolation for the hosts, nipping in at the near post to touch in a cross from the right. Radcliffe now visit Bacup Borough in the next round.

The journey in both directions was like going back twenty years. Just eight minutes of delays heading up to the Fylde coast (mainly at the M5/M6 intersection) and only a couple of minutes on the return, arriving home at 01.40. So, that’s the North West Counties League re-completed once more and back down to half a dozen clubs required at Step 1 to 6 now.

Kent County League

Bill Manklow Inter-Regional Challenge Cup

3rd Round

Saturday 30th November 2024

Kick Off 13.30 Actual 13.32

Long Lane 2 Peckham Town 1, attendance 47 (official)

5’ 0-1

42’ 1-1 (pen)

61’ 2-1

@ Kidbrooke Playing Fields, Pitch 1

Dursley Road

Kidbrooke

London

SE3 8PB

No Admission or Programme.

I’d been to games here at Kidbrooke Playing Fields twice before. In January 2022 I saw V.C.D. Athletic U19 beat Charlton Athletic Trust U19 in a National League U19 Alliance match, played on the 3G pitch. Then, at the start of this season, I saw the two teams who ground share here, South East Athletic and Long Lane, play a midweek early kick off in Kent County League Division 1 West match, which finished 1-2 and was played on Pitch 3, due to reseeding work being undertaken on the main pitch, which they normally both use for home games. With Long Lane Reserves also at home today (they played on Pitch 3), it was a good opportunity to get a game on the main railed off pitch, situated between the two pitches I’d already done here. Despite having no reply on Twitter (too often the case), I received a very quick response from the Long Lane Manager via text that the game was going ahead okay and that it was indeed taking place on the railed off grass pitch. Apart from a hold up caused by queuing traffic getting past an accident in the M25 roadworks near Clacket Lane, which more or less doubled the journey time, I only arrived about 25 minutes before kick off, but easily grabbed a space in the large car park here, helped by a mass exodus of parents leaving as a kids training session was just finishing on the 3G pitch. The clubhouse is behind the near goal end of the cage and was serving hot food and drinks. The changing rooms are in a separate building, with Pitch 1 being beyond the cage, running widthways, with grass banking along one side and behind one end. The pitch is fully railed, with plenty of advert boards and there’s a pair of dugouts on the near side.

The game saw 6th place in Division 1 West host 6th place in the Premier Division. It only took the visitors five minutes to make the breakthrough, when a cross from wide on the left was headed in from six yards. They could have easily added half a dozen more, but the home ‘keeper was in top form and along with some determined defending, Long Lane somehow managed to keep it at 0-1, then out of nothing, a rare attack, late in the half, saw them level the scores from the penalty spot. Just after the hour mark the hosts went in front, when a one two on the edge of the box saw a scuffed shot find the bottom corner, totally wrong footing the ‘keeper. Long Lane now had something to hang on to and when Peckham had a man sent off with fourteen minutes left, their job became easier and they managed to see the game out. At least two thirds of the crowd were with Peckham and the official figure must have included those watching the Reserve game as well, as the number watching the main game never got above thirty.

Mid Sussex League

Division 3 South

Saturday 23rd November 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 13.59!

Portslade Athletic 4 Lancing United 3, attendance 5

20’ 1-0

27’ 2-0

28’ 2-1

29’ 2-2

29’ 3-2

76’ 4-2

89’ 4-3

@ Hove Park School & Sixth Form Centre (Valley Campus), 3G Pitch

Hangleton Way

Hove

BN3 8AD

No Admission or Programme.

With a number of my first choice games falling victim to the weather early on, I decided to play it safe and go for the easy 3G option, heading down to the Sussex coast, just to the west of Brighton. It began raining again as I headed down the M23 and didn’t stop until the last few minutes of the game, albeit only briefly. This is one of those dreadful cages with no designated spectator area, although there was no problem with watching from inside the fence. Unfortunately, if you want to complete leagues/divisions, you have to put up with these awful set ups occasionally.

The match was 7th versus 4th in the league table. Portslade’s seven league matches coming into this had produced 47 goals, with three matches finishing with a 7-3 scoreline (two were defeats), so I was certainly expecting to see goals. Lancing were the only team in the division yet to lose a game, with a 100% winning start from their four games played, scoring twelve goals so far. The game matched the stats. It was end to end from start to finish. Defending went out of the window and this could easily have finished with both teams reaching double figures. Portslade scored first, with an angled shot into the far corner after twenty minutes. They doubled their lead seven minutes later, sparking a mad spell which saw four goals in just three minutes! A quick fire double saw Lancing make it 2-2, but Portslade regained the lead immediately, when a long ball forward was touched past the ‘keeper into the corner. Somehow, the score remained 3-2 at halftime.

Lancing had a man sent off ten minutes into the second half, for picking up a second yellow card, but they still looked like getting back into it. They hit the post with a header and had a back healed effort also hit the post, with the ‘keeper well beaten, but Portslade managed to finally score their fourth goal with fourteen minutes left, when a cross wasn’t cleared and was finished low into the far corner. They then a header of their own hit the crossbar, before Lancing pulled it back to 4-3 in the dying minutes, but too late to grab an equaliser.

So, another division completed and a step nearer to finishing all the first team venues in Sussex. At least you can count the ones still needed on one hand now.