Sittingbourne 0 v 2 Metropolitan Police

Saturday 12th February 2011
Ryman League Division 1 South
Bourne Park, Sittingbourne
Admission and Programme: N/A (as gates open when I arrived)
Attendance: 123
Match Rating: 2

At the final whistle of the Norton Sports v Herne Bay game, I briskly made the long walk from south to north-east Sittingbourne, almost four miles, to Bourne Park, home of Sittingbourne FC, to catch the last forty minutes of the Ryman League Division 1 South game between Sittingbourne and Metropolitan Police.

Whereas Woodstock Park, home of Norton Sports, was a pleasant rural venue, the opposite would be true of Bourne Park, which is located in the middle of a messy industrial park. There is also very stark signs of the troubled period in the nineties as one passes through grand gates with the slogan "Bourne to Win" as one enters the Cental Park complex, passes the extremely impressive Central Park stadium, which was the club's former home until eye-wateringly excessive spending forced the club to sell the ground to the local Council, where the priorities of greyhound racing conflicted too much with football, with the result of the club building up a former training pitch below Central Park, and is a much more basic and humble venue. Sittingbourne's money problems continue however, as they took the decision earlier this season to no longer pay their players, which will surely put them at a huge disadvantage at this level.

Bourne Park has been developed in a much more realistic way, with one main all-seater stand providing good, elevated and unobstructed views of the action. Hard standing is available around the rest of the ground, with two small and very basic covered structures opposite the main stand and a more regular stand behind one of the goals. Behind the other, as one walks into the ground, is a small club shop and a larger portakabin style clubhouse, with a tea bar between the clubhouse and main stand. Whilst Bourne Park is not easy on the eye by any stretch of the imagination, it does have a compact, close-knit feel to it.

This match paired two of the better sides in the division according to league standings, with Sittingbourne in eigth place, Metropolitan Police up in third place but have lost their last three games. I arrived at the ground five minutes into the second half, with the Metropolitan Police one goal up, having scored after just four minutes of the game, but there was little sign of Sittingbourne getting back on level terms, as the visitors dominated the game. Ironically, just as Sittingbourne were beginning to get back into the game and creating some half chances to score, Metropolitan Police scored a second goal on the break, which was a very good effort as Eddie Smith raced onto a through ball before lobbing the onrushing keeper from just outside the area. It was however a controversial goal as a Sittingbourne player went down injured in the build up, and scenes threatened to turn ugly as players and management comlained loudly and bitterly at allowing the game to continue. Without reason, as the rules say that play shoul only be stopped for head injuries, which this was not. This killed the game as a contest, as the Metropolitan Police seemed content to stick with what they had and although Sittingbourne has the majority of possession and attacks in the final third, they never really looked convincing and likely to pull a goal back.