Harlow Town 1 v 1 Thurrock

Saturday 28th December 2013
Isthmian League Division One North
Barrows Farm, Harlow
Admission including Programme: £10.00
Attendance: 204
Match Rating: 3

With heavy rain having fallen intermittently on sodden pitches since Boxing Day putting today's fixtures at several risk of postponement despite dry and sunny conditions today, I decided early on a stress-free, safe option by heading for a plastic pitch in northern Essex.

The Harlow Arena - formerly known as Barrows Farm - is about a twenty minute walk south west from Harlow Town train station and considering that it is a modern, relatively recently built out of town stadium, it has a surprising charm and pleasant feel about the place, with modern designs and facilities that are easy on the eye and very well maintained. One enters in one corner, and along the length is the main all seater stand. A fair incline between rows offers good unobstructed views, and the tea bar and clubhouse are located on the ground floor to one side of the seating. Straddling the half way line on the opposite side is a covered terrace, whilst around the rest of the ground there is just hard standing. A programme was included with admission, not that this is at all advertised or offered on entering the ground, a return visit to the turnstile operator resulting in one being discreetly taken from a cardboard box hidden away. Consisting of 44 pages printed in black and white inside a colourful cover, it is a reasonable effort with plenty of information about both clubs, good stats and some history.

Today's clash would certainly be a clash between two teams bang in form. Harlow Town were unbeaten in their previous thirteen games in all competitions before losing at home to Soham Town Rangers last time out in difficult, squally conditions. They went into this game in seventh place with 40 points from 21 games and just a couple of points from the play-off places. Thurrock had picked up 13 points from their last five games and were unbeaten in their last ten games, winning seven. They were in second place, six points above Harlow but having played two games more. When the two teams met in August, Thurrock won 5-1.

On a bright, sunny but chilly afternoon - almost identical conditions to those I encountered for my Boxing Day action - this was a game generally of high quality between two teams looking to play expansive football at a high tempo, although several players misjudged the flight or bounce of the ball, curiously more so by Harlow players who one would expect to be more used to the 3G surface. Whilst Harlow had slightly more of the possession, it was Thurrock who looked to have the guile and pace to create clear chances. Indeed, on 32 minutes the visitors took the lead with a goal of real quality, Robert Clark hitting a tremendous shot from well outside the area which sailed past the keeper and into the top left hand corner of the net. There was no further scoring until half time as Thurrock held a deserved narrow lead.

After the home team's play had been a little pedestrian in the first half, they exploded into life at the restart, winning a penalty within a minute when a penetrating run ended with a player being pulled back in the area to earn a penalty. It was struck emphatically down the middle by Danny Brown to level the scores. The home side were very much in the ascendancy throughout the second half, encouraged by plenty of vocal support from some Harlow fans on the covered terrace as their team did plenty of attacking without creating gilt edged chances, and Thurrock still looked capable of nicking a goal. As the game approached its conclusion, there was a mass brawl following an ugly tackle by Brown, and the referee's handling of the situation was bizarre - keeping his distance from the flare up, not stamping any authority, before seeing fit to show two yellow cards. That was the last significant action of the match, and a point apiece was a fair result from an encounter between two quality teams who will surely be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

Second half highlights can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFUl9b1umfA

Burgess Hill Town 4 v 1 Worthing

Thursday 26th December 2013
Ryman League Division One South
Leylands Park, Burgess Hill
Admission: £8.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 362
Match rating: 4

 

At the conclusion of my first game at East Grinstead, the original plan to drive just five miles westwards to watch Crawley Down Gatwick's fixture against Merstham was scuppered when I learned that The Haven had failed an 11am pitch inspection, and so instead I headed fifteen miles southwards to watch another match in the Ryman League Division One South.

Although today's visit to Leylands Park would be a revisit for me, the last time was back in 1995, when Burgess Hill Town were plying their trade in the Sussex County League. Situated just over a mile north of Burgess Hill town centre, and less than ten minutes walk from Wivelsfield train station, Leylands Park is similar to how I remembered it all those years ago - somewhat basic, but with a certain charm about the place.

One enters in one corner of the ground, and behind that goal is the clubhouse, with decking to the front from which people watched the match, whilst beyond the goal is a small wooden hut which apparently has been a recent addition. A low but fairly wide all-seater stand straddles the half way line, with only hard standing available around the rest of the pitch. Large trees lining one goal and the length opposite to the stand make an attractive background, and there is pleasant peaceful feel to the place. Congratulations to the club on a very reasonable admission fee when some clubs in the division disappointingly charge £10, whilst the programme looked good with a reasonable amount of information about the club, opponents and division, although there was a feeling that one was purchasing an advertising directory, with 27 of the 44 pages taken up with advertising.

Coming into this match, Burgess Hill were in thirteen place with 29 points from 19 games and with games in hand - up to four - on all teams above them. They came into this game in great form, losing just once in their last seven league games. Worthing were two place and one point better off than Burgess Hill, but had played four games more but have been in poor recent form, losing their last four league games, culminating in a 6-0 defeat at top of the table Peacehaven and Telscombe. They have just appointed a new manager, 29 year old former Brighton defender Adam Hinshelwood, and so the game would be a battle between two former Brighton players, Ian Chapman being in charge of Burgess Hill.

On a gloriously sunny but a little chilly afternoon, the pitch was very heavy, unsurprisingly given the recent rain, with some areas becoming very muddy in which the ball did not run freely. Burgess Hill started the match very much on the front foot and always looked much the more likely to score, which they eventually did on 33 minutes. A quick run down the right culminated in reaching the byline, and the low cross was fired into the roof of the net by Pat Harding. The home side doubled their lead within a minute, the ball was played low upfield and Scott Kirkwood managed to brush clear of a defender before firing a low shot across the keeper, just inside the post and into the net. That seemed to shock the visitors unsurprisingly, and they did well to go into the interval with just a two goal deficit.

Into the second half and Burgess Hill continued in the ascendancy, seeing a shot come off the posting 54 minutes before they did score a third on 56 minutes with a lovely goal. The ball was played diagonally over a defender, eventually crossed low from the left for Harding to hit home from close range. On 64 minutes the hosts made it four when a looping cross from the right was headed over the keeper and into the net. So dominant were Burgess Hill that it looked they might add a few more, so it was something of a surprise when Worthing pulled a goal back when a low cross was eventually bundled into the net at the far post. This signalled a change in the balance of play, as the hosts seemed to become a little sloppy and Worthing threatened to pull another goal back. They never did though and Burgess Hill had three absolute gilt edged chances to score a fifth in the final few minutes. But 4-1 was how it finished and Burgess Hill rise to ninth place in the table after an impressive display for the most part, whilst Worthing fell to twelth.

East Grinstead Town 1 v 0 Lingfield

Thursday 26th December 2013
Sussex County League Division One
East Court, East Grinstead
Admission: £5.00
Programme: Free
Attendance: 102
Match rating: 4

After enduring a rare Saturday with no football, thanks to persistent torrential rain, with further heavy rain and stormy conditions continuing through to Christmas Day, it came as a huge relief when this match was confirmed as "on" following an early morning pitch inspection. And so, with a "double" lined up with a later match at nearby Crawley Down Gatwick, I headed into West Sussex for a midday kick off and a local derby which always seems to arouse plenty of passion.

I had previously visited East Court as recently as March, and there have been no obvious improvements since then - not that any are needed, as it remains a very impressive venue for this level of football, immacutately maintained and with the clubhouse and stands attractively painted in yellow and black colours. The ground has suffered a little damage though from the storms of the last few days, with some fencing panels around the ground being blown over, however that should be remedied shortly. Although no programmes were produced for today's match, the edition produced for Saturday's encounter was given away free of charge, which was reasonable and it was not that much out of date, considering that all but one game in the Sussex League succumbed to waterlogged pitches on Saturday with no games since. And the programme remained a very good effort for this level, with a six page advertising shell with an attractive front cover and eight pages of articles and stats.

Coming into this match, East Grinstead were in fifth place and in great form, losing just once (to runaway leaders East Preston) and drawing once in their last ten league games. Lingfield were two places and three points behind East Grinstead, and have also been in fairly good form, picking up seven points from their last three leagues games, after losing their previous three games.

Given the recent extraordinarily wet weather conditions, the pitch looked in remarkably good condition at kick off and although it was heavy, did not deteriorate too much during the game. Happily conditions today were blue skies and bright sunshine, although with a chilly feel. As expected, the match started off competitively, and it was the visitors who came closest to scoring first, when a lovely flighted shot from well outside the area sailed over the keeper, who was off his line, but the ball came back off the crossbar. Five minutes later and the hosts came close to scoring, when the Lingfield keeper came out to claim the ball on the ground towards the edge of the area, and although the East Grinstead forward claimed the ball, he couldn't get the ball under control quickly enough to fire into an empty net. They did take the lead on on 33 minutes though when a low ball was fizzed in from the left and Sam Schaaf deflected the ball into the net. The scoreline was a little harsh on Lingfield, who probably had more of possession, and on 38 minutes they again saw a long range chip hit the bar, although this time the keeper was on his line and probably had it covered. On 42 minutes, it was East Grinstead's turn to hit the woodwork when an almost identical move to the one that saw them take the lead came back off the post.

Into the second half, and although clear goalscoring chances were thin on the ground as players seemed to tire on a heavy pitch, the game continued to be played at a fairly high tempo, with both sides looking capable of carving out chances, and Lingfield looked very capable of getting back on level terms. It was East Grinstead who had the clearest chance to score though, in added on time at the end of the game, when a low cross into the box found a striker eight yards out and under no pressure, but he ballooned his shot over the bar. It didn't matter though as the final whistle blew shortly afterwards, and East Grinstead rose to fourth place, just a point behind second placed Littlehampton Town, whilst Lingfield dropped two places to ninth.

Charlton Athletic 0 v 2 Derby County

Saturday 14th December 2013
Football League Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Free
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 16,871
Match Rating: 3

My second visit to The Valley this season came about by another excellent initiative by Charlton, who sent out free tickets for today's match to those people, like me, who held a season ticket last season but did not renew for this season. A clever and laudable initiative in my opinion, rewarding supporters for their past support, creating considerable goodwill for seats that probably would not be sold anyway, whilst perhaps tempting people to purchase a half season ticket for the remainder of the season.

It would be a tough order to get anything out of today's game for Charlton. After dropping two points during a crazy ten minute spell last time out at Yeovil, they went into today's game fourth bottom of the table, with just 18 points from 19 games. Today's visitors, Derby County, are the form team in the division under former England manager Steve McLaren, in fourth place with 34 points from their 19 games played, and had won their previous five games. They are by some distance the top scorers in the division, with 40 goals, whilst Charlton are the joint lowest scorers with just 18 goals. However, one stat that would give Charlton some encouragement was that they have conceded less goals than Derby.

On a chilly, overcast afternoon, Charlton had a surprisingly good opening to the game, looking the better of the teams and having more sights on goal, although they didn't really convince they were likely to score. They were made to pay for not capitalising on their superiority in the opening half hour when Derby somewhat fortunately took the lead on 32 minutes. Jamie Ward won a free kick just outside the area, he took it himself and although the Charlton keeper Ben Alnwick seemed to have the shot covered, the ball took a large deflection off the wall and with Alnwick wrong footed, the ball bounced into an empty net. Buoyed by the goal, Derby assumed the ascendancy for the rest of the half, but the scoreline remained 0-1 at half time.

Into the second half and the hosts again started the half strongly, but it was the visitors who came closest to scoring on 60 minutes when Ward saw his powerful shot come back off the crossbar. On 72 minutes, Charlton had probably their best chance of the game when Michael Morrison headed just wide of the post from close range when he really should have hit the target. Other half chances came and went for Charlton, before Derby sealed the win three minutes from time. Craig Bryson ran onto the ball with only the keeper to beat, and he calmly placed his shot into the net. That was game over, to leave Charlton in an ever more precarious league position. Although this was a predictable result, Charlton played well, outplaying their in-form opponents for long spells, but scoring goals is their big problem at the moment and that needs to be resolved quickly if they are not to suffer a return to League One.

Video highlights can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sQFQjeu7mA