Sussex County League Division 2
Recreation Ground, Storrington
Admission with programme: £3.00
Attendance: 53
Match Rating: 3
Another venture to the Sussex South Downs today for this Sussex League Division 2 encounter, with the intention of taking in a pleasant walk to a rural County League ground. However, in the time honoured fashion of the only thing you should rely on with trains is their unreliability, a severe delay to one of the trains on my outward journey meant I had insufficient time to make the four walk from Amberley to Storrington.Therefore, last minute alternative arrangements saw me getting off the train a stop early at Pulborough and catching a bus to Storrington, which conveniently stopped right outside the ground.
The Recreation Ground is just about as basic as it gets in senior football, with no stand nor seating, and hard standing only available along one length and behind one of the goals. However, floodlights are present, and it's a neat and tidy ground, has a pleasant rural, "grass-roots" feel to it, attractively lined with multi-coloured trees, and the bar on the first level of the clubhouse/changing rooms building offers an excellent view of the action. The ground is far from enclosed, which presumably threatens their continued existence in senior football, with at least three unmanned entrances one can walk through without paying any admission, and many present seemed to have done just that. In all honesty, the programme was a rather poor effort, devoid of any information except for predicted line-ups, current league table and adverts, but it would be harsh to criticise too much as the programme is included in the £3 admission, so all in all, fair enough.
Although both teams had good seasons last season - Little Common finishing fourth, just five points shy of champions Rye United, and Storrington finishing seventh in the 18 team league, neither side have exactly set the world on fire at the start of this campaign. Storrington have taken just one win and three points from their opening three games, Little Common have done slightly better with two wins and six points from their opening four games.
On a grey, drizzly day, Little Common started off the game in the ascendancy, and it was no surprise when they opened the scoring on 17 minutes, when a shot was well saved by the Storrington keeper but he could only push the ball out to Casey Ham, who tucked away the rebound from close range. The game was entertaining throughout with both teams creating plenty of chances. Little Common looked the stronger team and had the best chances although Storrington came into the game more and more as the game wore on. It was certainly something of a surprise that no further goals were added, meaning that Little Common claimed a good away win.
After the game, I then embarked on the four mile walk to Amberley train station, via Parham estate, a deer park, various woods and fields and culminating with the historic small village of Amberley, with the South Downs providing a particularly scenic backdrop throughout.
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