Worthing United 3 v 0 Steyning Town

Saturday 29th January 2011
Sussex County League Division 2
Lyons Way, Worthing
Admission with Programme: £5.00
Attendance: 35
Match Rating: 3

A trip to the West Sussex Coast today for some Sussex County League action, and the home of Worthing United, Lyons Way, turned out to be a surprisingly scenic venue. Although it becomes less surprising when one considers that it is located on the northern fringes of the town, about a 20 minute walk from East Worthing Rail Station. On entering the ground, one has to walk up steps to get pitchside and to the one stand within the ground, which is a small, old fashioned structure containing three rows of seats, but with no incline between the rows. From the stand, rolling hills and a farm provide a pleasantly rural and scenic backdrop to the action, and hard standing is available along two of the remaining three sides of the pitch. The 16 page programme, included with admission, certainly has an attractive, colourful and professional cover and contains all of the basic stats and facts needed to preview the game ahead.

Worthing United feel hard done by to still be plying their trade in Division 2 of the Sussex League, having finished runners up and in the promotion places last season, but were denied promotion due to their ground not being adequate for Division 1 football. A decision which seems all the harsher considering the generally poor quality of grounds to be found in Division 1, and that Rye United were promoted despite their ground not being permanently enclosed. However, they are doing well again this season, having lost just two of their opening 17 games this season, in sixth place but have played less games than all teams above them and a top three placing would probably be theirs if they were not behind with their games. Conversely, today's visitors, Steyning Town, benefitted from more strictly enforced ground grading regulations last season, as they should have been relegated to intermediate football in Division 3, but were reprieved thanks to a team being unable to take their promotion place from Division 3. And they are finding life just as difficult again this season, as they find themselves second bottom in the table with just two wins in their opening 18 games. In the corresponding fixture at Steyning earlier in the season, Worthing United ran out comfortable 0-3 winners.

On a murky but bitterly cold day, although the home side started fairly sluggishly against their very limited opponents, it always seemed a matter of time before they would score the goals needed to win this game, with Worthing United playing some attractive, passing football, whereas Steyning struggled to string two passes together nor find a man with their passes and at times resorted to some rather agricultural defending. Worthing United took the lead on 16 minutes with a wonderfully placed free kick from just outside the penalty area though Mitchell Hand. The keeper seemed to allow a rather large gap between the wall and the other post from the one he was guarding - which Hand exploited perfectly. A one goal lead was all that the home side took into half time, although they dominated the second half and put the game to bed through a simple tap in by Joe Shiel on 49 minutes from a low slide rule pass across the 6 yard box following an excellent passing move forward, and then a looped header over the keeper by Joe Shelly on 54 minutes which the Steyning defenders furiously claimed was offside. After this, the game somewhat petered out, although Steyning had a couple of glorious chances of claim a consolation goal.

Newport County 1 v 3 Rushden and Diamonds

Saturday 22nd January 2011
Blue Square Premier
Spytty Park, Newport
Admission: £14.00
Programme: £2.80
Attendance: 1743
Match Rating: 3

After enjoying a very rare rugby match the night before during my weekend in Newport, I was rather indecisive as to whether to go to the bigger game at Newport County, or a more tranquil and intimate game in the Welsh League at nearby Caerleon. In the end, I plumped for Caerleon, swayed by being able to visit beforehand the impressive Roman remains that are to be found in this charming village. However, upon arriving at the Cold Bath Lane home of Caerleon, not even the goalposts being in situ indicated that this game had been postponed, and so I headed back to Newport and made the 40 minute walk to the west of the City to Spytty Park, also known as Newport Stadium.

It is difficult to develop any kind of affection for a football ground which doubles up as an athletics venue, and Spytty Park is no different, as spectators are, for the most part, distant from the action with a running track in between the fans and the pitch and the ground has a very open feel to it - particularly unwelcome on a bitterly cold day with a biting wind, as today. Covered stands are to be found along either length of the ptich, one all seater, one all standing. Behind one of the goals, a limited number of spectators were able to watch from close to the touchline. Away supporters were allocated a shallow uncovered terrace far behind the other goal, behind the running track. The programme was a very reasonable effort, with plenty of interesting articles to digest as well as the necessary stats and facts of both teams.

On paper, Newport would have appeared to have been favourites for this game, as they found themselves just one point and one place away from the play-off places after being promoted as champions from the Blue Square South last season. However, they are winless since the turn of the year and have lost four of their last five games, drawing the other, and have suffered the disruption of losing their manager, Dean Holdsworth. Rushden and Diamonds appear to be heading for a rather uneventful season, currently in 13th place in the league, well clear of the relegation places but also well adrift of the promotion play-off positions. They came into this game in even worse form than Newport though, having not won in 11 games since 30th October.

Rushden and Diamonds looked the better side right from the start and it was no surprise when the took the lead on 19 minutes when Michael Gash turned in from close range after an Aaron O'Connor cross was played back across goal by Ryan Charles. Seven minutes later and Newport were given the chance of an equaliser when a rash tackle from Curtis Osano brought down Craig Reid almost on the touchline when there seemed to be no immediate danger. Danny Rose scored with a confidently taken penalty high into the net for an equaliser they barely deserved. So it was little surprise when Rushden went back into the lead on 40 minutes when Aaron O'Connor rounded the keeper and tapped into an empty net, and the 1-2 half time scoreline was a reasonable reflection on the first half. The second half was quite an even affair with chances thin on the ground, but just as it looked like Rushden would hold out for a deserved win, Newport were awarded a second penalty for handball by Luke Prosser. After his excellently taken first penalty, Rose unfortunately struck a rather tame shot at a good height to the keeper's left, which was comfortably saved by Joe Day. The miss proved to be extremely costly, as on the counter attack, Rushden scored at the other end through Matt Johnson, to give Rushden a two goal lead which they held onto for a deserved and long overdue victory.
 

Newport 34 v 32 Cornish Pirates

Friday 21st January 2011
British and Irish Cup Round 5 (Rugby)
Rodney Parade, Newport
Admission: £12.00
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 697
Match Rating: 4

Having booked a weekend in Newport some time previously, I realised the day before that Newport rugby club were playing at home on the evening I would arrive.Whilst having nowhere near the same interest in rugby as I have in football, I still find watching a rugby game moderately interesting, and as my coach arrived in Newport about half an hour before kick off, I had just about enough time to dump my bags in the Travelodge I was staying in, and walk the ten minute journey over the River Usk to the ground with a few minutes to spare before kick off.

Rodney Parade is one of the most historic and traditional rugby stadia in Wales, but is currently undergoing extensive development. The only stand open to spectators this evening was the Hazell Stand, along one length of the pitch, which offers a terracing for standing below seating. The opposite length has been almost completely knocked down and more resembles a building site currently. Behind one of the goals is a temporary looking all-seater stand, unused this evening, and behind the other goal is a building of hospitality rooms.Tickets had to be purchased at the ticket office some distance away from the actual stadium. Seats were £2 more than standing, although with a low roof and many obstructing pillars, the view from the terrace was more than satisfactory. The 16 page programme was glossy and pleasing on the eye, but didn't really serve its purpose of informing spectators about the match, with just a limited welcome message, team line ups and a list of fixtures and results, with no information on the away team, the competition nor recent match reports.

This evening's game was in the British and Irish Cup, a competition which brings together the top clubs from the second tier leagues in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. These days, Newport play in the Welsh Premiership, the top league in Wales but whose standing has considerably diminished after the introduction of regional teams in Wales who play in the Magners League - indeed, Newport now act as a feeder club to the Newport Gwent Dragons. Currently, Newport lie in 6th place in the 14 team league, but came into this game in good form, having won their last three games, although progress to the knock out stages in this competition already looks beyond them, having lost two of their opening three games.Tonight would be a tall order against the reigning champions of the British and Irish Cup, the Cornish Pirates, a professional outfit who are in third place in the English Championship this season and had won nine of their last ten British and Irish Cup matches.

It's fair to say that I am not a great connisseur of rugby and do not understand many of the rules, but on a bitterly cold evening under clear skies the game was entertaining, somewhat feisty but played with plenty of attacking intent. The Cornish Pirates drove over for a converted try within a couple of minutes, which set the pattern for most of the game in which they were mostly in the ascendancy, apart from a brief few moments when Newport edged into the lead midway through the first half, and the Pirates took a 17-13 lead into half time. The Pirates extended their lead throughout the second half and did most of the attacking, before a fairly extraordinary finale to the game. The Cornish Pirates had opened up a 32-20 lead with just minutes left on the clock, Andrew Brooker reduced the deficit to five points, before Owen Broad surged forward fully 80 yards to score a try to level the scores as the clock ticked past 80 minutes. Matthew Jones converted the try with the last kick of the game to somehow give Newport the win, provoking loud, wild and probably disbelieving celebrations amongst the home fans and quieten the fairly impressive contingent who had travelled up from Cornwall.

Pease Pottage Village 6 v 2 Cuckfield Town

Saturday 15th January 2011
Mid Sussex Senior Charity Cup 2nd Round
Finches Field, Pease Pottage
Admission and Programme: N/A
Attendance: 15
Match Rating: 4

After heavy rain fell on south-east England in the preceding days, it was looking like it would be another headache to avoid today being another blank Saturday. Happily, the rains relented from Friday lunchtime onwards, and as I fancied taking in a county league level game for first time since early November, I chose to head to the outskirts of Crawley for a Mid Sussex Senior Charity Cup game between Pease Pottage Village, of the Sussex County League Division 3, against Cuckfield Town, of the Mid Sussex League Premier Division.

There are many absolute gems of grounds in the Sussex County League - Finches Field is not one of them. In truth, there is little to recommend paying a visit to Pease Pottage. Located at the bottom of the M23 and very close to the Pease Pottage motorway service area, Finches Field is cerainly easy to get to by car. By train, it's a three mile, just under an hour's walk from Crawley station, and one walks past the Broadfield Stadium, home of Crawley Town, about half way en route. Finches Field is a pretty unremarkable and bland place to watch football, it must be said. Located adjacent to the busy A23 dual carriageway, there is a constant loud roar of traffic noise in the background, and there are three pitches with a very open feel to the complex. The main pitch is railed off with hard standing along one length and behind one of the goals, with a wooden stand providing a small covered standing area but with limited shelter as many of the side panels have been blown off/removed. A clubhouse is set well behind one of the goals. Only one wooden dugout was in place - the other plastic one had blown down, leaving only a bench for the away team.

Pease Pottage Vilage, as has been customary in recent years, are struggling in the Sussex League Division 3, second bottom in the table.with only two wins from 16 games and none since 11th September. They did progress to this round with a comfortable 3-0 win at Cowfold, of the West Sussex League Premier Division. After two successive promotions, Cuckfield lay in ninth place in the 14 team Premier Division of the Mid Sussex League, but with only three league wins all season. .

On a dull day with a strong biting wind making conditions feel perishingly cold, the game started in explosive fashion, with the home side opening up a two goal lead within the first few minutes. The first goal was a delightful free kick into the top corner from just outside the box, the second smashed home after a corner had caused confusion in the box. One feared for Cuckfield at this stage as they appeared to be losing their discipline with reckless lunges, however they managed to get back into the game just a couple of minutes later, with a free kick from a long way out which swirled its way past the keeper in the gusty wind. The game settled down from this point and was much more even, although the home side missed several gilt edged chances to score, including a one-on-one opportunity, until Pease Pottage regained their two goal lead on the stroke of half time when a good cross was headed home powerfully unmarked from 10 yards out. Any hopes that Cuckfield might have had of getting back into the game were dashed when a shot came off the crossbar and, according to the linesman, crossed the line before bouncing clear. It looked a very debatable decision to put it mildly, and Cuckfield seemed to be on the wrong end of a debatable decision again a few minutes later when a penalty was awarded to Pease Pottage after their forward seemed to stumble over the ball more than anything. The penalty was converted well down the middle to give the home side a 5-1 lead. Cuckfield scored a consolation goal when a cross was tapped in from 8 yards out, but Pease Pottage almost immediately restored their four goal lead when a ball over the top found three forwards queuing up to run in on goal, and in the end the goalkeeper allowed a fairly tame shot to beat him at his near post. So Pease Pottage it was who comfortably progressed to the next round and a trip to nearby Balcombe. Cuckfield played reasonably well for long periods, but they allowed far too many glorious chances to the opposition and on another day, if the Pease Pottage forwards had passed to better positioned players rather than take the shot on themselves, could easily have notched double figures.

I did not take a photo of the wooden stand at the time, but it can be viewed below, taken from the mapio.net website

Huddersfield Town 2 v 0 Dover Athletic

Saturday 8th January 2011
FA Cup 3rd Round
Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
Admission: £15.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 7894
Match Rating: 3

FA Cup action today and a long journey north to follow the lowest ranked team still left in the competition, and a team that I have always had a soft spot for, Dover Athletic. It's probably fair to say that a trip to the Galpharm Stadium was not quite the glamour tie that Dover would have hope for when awaiting the draw for the third round, however it still represented a trip to a famous, traditional league club and to play in an impressive modern stadium which is a different world from the stadia usually encountered in the Blue Square South. It certainly caught the imagination of Dover supporters, with over 1,500 fans estimated to make the trip from the Kent coast northwards - considerably more than usually flow through the turnstiles at the Crabble, it has to be said..

The uniquely designed arches of each stand of the Galpharm Stadium stand out impressively as one approaches Huddersfield on the train from Leeds, and the stadium is about a quarter of an hour walk from the station. For this game, tickets were available at the turnstiles for a discounted £15.00, and I took my seat in the South Stand behind one of the goals, which today, as always, was for away fans. The stand behind the other goal was closed for today's game. All four stands have a similar curved design, a pleasing on the eye and refreshingly unique design, which softens the boredom that one usually experiences at recently built stadia. Programmes were on sale for £2.00, clearly a reduced version of Huddersfield's normal programme. It still contained everything it needed to with plenty to read, but didn't seem to have the usual level of professionalism that one usually encounters at League matches.

Both teams lay in fourth place in their respecting leagues - Huddersfield in League 1, Dover Athletic three leagues below in the Blue Square South. The achievement of Dover reaching the Third Round is further enhanced when one considers that today was their sixth tie in the competition, starting out at Erith Town of the Kent League, and most recently Gillingham and Aldershot were comfortably dispatched. Their hopes of claiming a shock result could well have hinge would surely hinge on Adam Birchall, who has scored a quite remarkable 29 goals in 25 games games this season, and has scored in every round of their FA Cup run, 11 goals in total. As for Huddersfield, they reached this round by squeezing past Cambridge United 2-1 at home in a replay, before overwhelming Macclesfield 6-0, also at home.

If Dover were to have any chance of causing an upset, they would have needed to keep things tight at the start and hope for large helpings of lady luck along the way. They started brightly in the opening exchanges, however by the eigth minute, the game was already as good as over, as Huddersfield scored twice within a minute thanks to some rather poor defending. The first was scored by Scott Arfield with a tap in from close range after excellent work from Lee Novak, then Gary Roberts shot home after more good work from Novak. For the rest of the first half, Huddersfield were in total control of the game, with the speed of play and thought much quicker than their non-league opponents, and although Huddersfield rarely looked like scoring, they always had the air of a team that could go up several gears should they need to. Credit though to Dover who battled gamely and did have a goalbound shot cleared. The second half was much more even, but Dover never really looked like they could get back into the match until the final ten minutes, when they really did give it a go and could consider themselves extremely unlucky to not score a goal, thwarted by increasingly desperate blocks. However, 2-0 it ended, with there never really being a threat of a romantic upset. Not that the Dover fans let the result spoil their day as they fully appreciated the efforts of an only occasionally outclassed team. The constant loud support from the 1534 Dover fans was mightily impressive, but now Dover must go back to the bread and butter of league football, hoping their will not be any hangover from their FA Cup run as they persue a return to Conference National football.

Lewes 1 v 3 Welling United

Monday 3rd January 2011
Blue Square South
The Dripping Pan, Lewes
Admission: £10.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 766
Match Rating: 3

A last minute flash of inspiration this Bank Holiday morning took me to the wonderfully named Dripping Pan stadium, home of Lewes. The Dripping Pan certainly ranks highly in my favourite non-league stadia I have visited, although my last visit was nearly ten years ago - and there have been many developments since the club was in the lower reaches of the Ryman League. I recalled one of the nicest natural arenas for football, with the pitch set in a bowl, surrounded by large grass banks and with a quaint stone wall around the perimeter of the ground. With the club enjoying remarkable success since then - reaching the Blue Square Premier - a large amount of ground improvements were required in order for the club to play at the higher level.

The worry always is that improvement works will detract from the character of the ground.In Lewes' case, there was no need to worry, with all improvements carried out very tastefully and attractively carried out, whilst the ground still retains a beautiful rural charm. Behind on of the goals is now a large terraced stand with a roof not dissimilar in design to that found at Olympique Lyonnais. The tall traditional clubhouse still exists to its right. Along one length of the pitch is a modern all-seater stand which is one of the more pleasing on the eye. Behind the other goal is a small uncovered terrace, and along the remaining length of the pitch, hard standing is available on top of a large grass bank, which makes for an excellent elevated view of the pitch - despite floodlight pylons partially obstructing views. The chalky South Downs in the close background complete a thoroughly pleasant venue.

After remarkably (for a club of Lewes's size) reaching the Blue Square Premier, times have been harsh on Lewes, as they have spent the last couple of years battling for their very existence, so severe have their financial troubles been, as well as somehow managing to retain Blue Square football. Off the pitch, things are looking up, as Lewes have now become a member owned club. On the pitch though, this season is proving another struggle for them, sat just outside the relegation zone and have lost their last three games on the bounce. Today's match looked to be a daunting prospect for Lewes, with Welling in fourth place and would be joint top had they not been deducted five points for financial misconduct.

On a cold, dank day, the match pretty much went as predicted, with Welling impressing with their classy, cohesive brand of football and with Lewes guilty of sloppy play as a result of lack of confidence. It was no surprise when the visitors took the lead on 33 minutes when Andy Pugh worked some space and curled a lovely shot over the keeper from just inside the area.Things got worse for Lewes three minutes later, when an unmarked Lee Clarke hammered home a pull back. So superior were Welling, it was difficult not to believe this was already game over - so poor were Lewes, they made a double substitution on 40 minutes.However Lewes gave themselves home deep into first half injury time when Chris Godfrey bundled his way into the penatly area before hitting home past the keeper.

The second half began with Lewes much more into the game, although they had a lucky escape just a few minutes in when an ill judged backpass hit the woodwork and bounced clear. However, Welling restored their two goal advantage when Pugh scored his second, knocking home a nod down. Once again, this appeared to have won the game for Welling, but credit to Lewes, they continued to play good attacking football - whilst always looking rather limited compared to their classy opponents - and should have pulled a goal back when they had a shot cleared off the line and a powerful header was tipped onto the cross bar by the keeper.

Colchester United 3 v 3 Charlton Athletic

Saturday 1st January 2011
Football League One
Community Stadium, Colchester
Admission: £19.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 6112
Match Rating: 5

For my first game of 2011, I chose to head to north Essex to follow Charlton, to visit a new stadium which hopefully would have nothing in common with Colchester United's previous home, Layer Road. I will always mourn the loss of old, traditional grounds, certainly when they are replaced by identikit stadia, a category which the new Community Stadium certainly falls into, but standing in the visitors section of Layer Road was always a thoroughly unpleasant, claustrophobic experience.

With the Community Stadium having been built out of town, the football club lays on double decker buses from near the railway station to the stadium, for a cost of £1.50 return and is certainly an excellent and efficient service in both directions. The stadium has certainly been built in an open and remote location, adjacent to the A12 dual carriageway, with a somewhat bleak feel to it. I made my way into the North Stand of the stadium to take my place in the "Away end", and there's no denying that the stadium is impressive, whilst sensibly being built with a relatively small capacity considering the low attendances that Colchester attract - ensuring the stadium retains a close-knit and not empty feel to it. Three stands are almost identical in size, being single tiers with steep steps of seating ensuring excellent and close and unobstructed views of the action. The main (west) stand is slightly larger than the other three, incorporating corporate boxes. A feature of all of the stands - which are all independent of each other - is the partially transparent rooves to allow more daylight into the stands and onto the pitch. So, whilst this stadium has no real character or uniqueness, it is a very comfortable place to watch football. The 84 page programme was decent, with plenty to read and attractive on the eye.

For the home side, this was their first game since December 11th thanks to the snowy and icy conditions, but are quite handily placed in the league, just outside the promotion play-off positions in seventh place. Charlton were finally able to get some action on Wednesday at Brighton, and currently sit in third place in the league.

The match turned out to be a rip-roaring affair, which had just about everything. The break from playing action seemed to have done Colchester good, as they started the match with attacking, incisive football, with Charlton's defenders looking rather calamitous at times. It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before the home side took the lead, which they duly did on 16 minutes through Matt Heath's stooping powerful header from a corner. Within a couple of minutes, Charlton were level thanks to a penalty from Johnnie Jackson after a silly handball offence by Andy Bond. Just six minutes later and Colchester went back in front when Bond redeemed himself with a finely stuck shot from the 12 yards. Colchester were full value for their lead, but a potentially game changing moment came five minutes before the interval, when Paul Benson's powerful header was kept out by David Perkins' hand on the goal line - resulting in a penalty and a red card for the Colchester defender. Jackson converted his second penalty of the game by placing the ball low to the keeper's left - the opposite side to which he scored his first. So the two side went in level at 2-2, a scoreline Charlton would have surely been happy with, so poorly had they been playing. The second half was a much more even affair - as would have been expected with the previously superior team now a man short - but once again Colchester went into the lead on 64 minutes, when Anthony Wordsworth struck home through a body of players. After having a goal disallowed for offside, Paul Benson levelled matters for Charlton on 76 minutes with a wonderfully acrobatic finish. Benson thought he'd given Charlton the lead for the first time on 83 minutes when he nodded home a fine cross by Kyel Reid, however the goal was remarkably chalked off for an alleged push on the defender. Things got worse for Benson with a couple of minutes left, when he was sent off for a block tackle after the referee consulted with his linesman. Whilst I may be biased, it looked another poor decision. There was still time for Colchester to almost win it, but Matt Heath could only head straight at the keeper. So, the points were shared, a result that will probably satisfy both sides - Colchester after playing for 50 minutes with ten men, and Charlton after playing quite poorly.