Faversham Harlequins 2 v 1 Willesborough Athletic

Monday 25th May 2015
Weald of Kent Charity Cup Final Junior Section
Lindsey Field, Lydd
Admission including Programme: £4.00
Attendance: 48 (head count)
Match Rating: 3

For my Spring Bank Holiday football fix, I was quite fortunate that one of the very few games scheduled today was fairly close to home, albeit at a venue I had visited as recently as January, and at a very low level of football. But any kind of football is welcome this late in the season, and with the added attraction of being a cup final, and with a team's outstanding and scarcely believable 100% record at stake in league and cup competitions today.

It was Willesborough Athletic who have had the astonishing record of winning all 20 league games, scoring 154 goals in the process and conceding just 11 in the Ashford and District Saturday League Premier Division, and have won all five cups they have entered so far - the League Cup, Kent Junior Cup Group C, Ashford Charity Trophy and the Canterbury Charity Junior Cup - all in all, 40 competitive games unbeaten. A familiar face was in goal for them - Paul Hyde, with 150 Football League appearances at Wycombe Wanderers and Leyton Orient, now at the ripe old age of 52. So, a tough assignment for today's opponents, Faversham Harlequins, who play in the Canterbury and District Football League, finishing bottom with just nine points from their 18 league games. To reach today's final, Willesborough Athletic beat Smarden 11-0 at home, Borden Village Reserves 0-4 away, and Lenham Wanderers 6-1 in the semi-final, whereas Faversham Harlequin won 3-4 at The Wanderers, before requiring penalty shoot-out wins at home to see off New Romney Reserves, and then Wittersham.

On an occasionally sunny late morning, the first half went according to script, with Willesborough dominating and deservedly taking the lead on 22 minutes, when a free kick from 25 yards went low into the bottom right corner, and although the keeper may have been slightly unsighted, he perhaps should have had enough time to make the save. Despite going close on several occasions, their lead remained a narrow one at half time.

The second half started in much the same vein, although a sign of a shift in power came on 54 minutes when a powerful Faversham strike from well outside of the area skimmed the top of the cross bar. Three minutes later and their chances of getting back into the match greatly improved when Willesborough had a player sent off for swearing at the linesman. On 61 minutes, Faversham got back on level terms, when a low cross into the box was guided low just inside the far post. Three minutes and the game was turned on its head when Faversham took the lead. Following a cross which took a deflection, the ball was bundled in with what seemed to be the knee. Their momentum took a knock on 69 minutes though, when they had a player sent off for going in a little too hard on the keeper for a loose ball. It seemed very harsh, but the referee took a tough line on any infringements all game - a little disappointing for a cup final, but perhaps he had an assessor to think about. The game actually remained quite even for the next ten minutes or so, as it looked likely that Faversham would hold out for an unlikely victory, but in the last seven or eight minutes, Willesborough really threw the kitchen sink at Faversham's goal, forcing a succession of corners and seeing several shots blocked or go just wide of the goal, but it wasn't to be as they succumbed to their first defeat of the seasons in all competitions in their final game, with Faversham Harlequin lifting the trophy pitchside shortly after the final whistle.

Eastbourne Eagles 52 v 40 Cradley Heathens

Sunday 24th May 2015
National League Speedway
Arlington Stadium, Hailsham
Admission: £12.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 1,000 (estimate)
Match Rating: 4

Always one to try out new sports - American Football being the only one thus far that I just could not get into - today I had my first taste of speedway. And what a great experience it turned out to be, an afternoon full of excitement, intense action and drama. It would also be an afternoon of nostalgia for me, revisiting a stadium I visited many times as a child as my father raced cars around the circuit.

Arlington Stadium is located just off the A22 to the east of Hailsham, and for those using public transport, a taxi would be required to complete their journey. Minimal changes appear to have taken place here since my last visit around 20 years ago. One enters through turnstiles by the start-finish line and control tower, and to the right, there is a merchandise wooden hut then a covered terrace. On the opposite side, there is covered seating below a hospitality area. Around half a dozen uncovered terrace steps extend around most of the remainder of the track, apart from mainly grass banking behind one corner and the covered pits area to one side behind the other. An open area, the pits area is a good place to get close to the drivers and mechanics working on the bikes. Also in this area is the clubhouse and various refreshment stalls. All in all, its an intimate venue, and quite attractive too, set amongst woodland. Programmes were available and well worth purchasing, very attractively designed, 24 pages all in colour, and gave a helpful guide to speedway for first-timers, a scorecard to complete, as well as plenty of interesting information and the necessary stats and facts for both teams and the league.

In this, the first season that the Eastbourne Eagles have been competing in the third tier National League following their voluntary demotion from the Elite League due to financial constraints, they have made a steady start, coming into this meeting in fourth place in the League, with seven points from three wins and two defeats, and have won all five meetings in all competitions at Arlington. Today would be a very tough test of that unbeaten home record though, with the visitors from the West Midlands topping the table, and are the reigning Champions of the National League, having won 15 of their 16 league meetings last season, and they have started this season with a 100% record from their four league meetings so far. All in all, they came into this meeting unbeaten in their last 30 official fixtures.

On an overcast afternoon, and with the visitors bringing a healthy support with them, the Eagles led 4-2 after the opening heat, and they were never to relinquish that lead, although the meeting stayed right in the balance until the last couple of heats, even though the Eagles had opened up a seven point lead after the seventh heat.

It wasn't until the eleventh heat that the visitors made some inroads into the Eagles' lead, when they reduced the lead from 11 points to six having played their joker, but after tying the next two heats 3-3, the Eagles won the meeting in the penultimate heat, with a great 5-1 victory, to open up an unassailable ten point lead, but to put they cherry on the cake, the Eagles won the final heat 4-2 to win by 12 points overall, with a great drive from New Zealander Bradley Wilson-Dean, who was way behind the Cradley leader for the first couple of laps before mounting a fabulous overtaking move. That sealed a maximum haul of 15 points for Wilson-Dean, with Georgie Wood also impressing, scoring 12+3 points. Overall, it was an impressive performance from the home side, with some great overtaking moves to come from nowhere to win several heats. Although the final score was emphatic, and the Eagles were always ahead in the scoring, that disguised a meeting that was tense, competitive and really could have gone either way.

This certainly won't be the last time I watch speedway, impressed as I was with the short, sharp, intense excitement of the racing, and I very much enjoyed the friendly, down to earth atmosphere around the circuit, with a small amount of banter between the two sets of fans certainly adding to the overall atmosphere.

Brading Town XI 0 v 2 Isle of Wight

Saturday 23rd May 2015

Friendly

Vicarage Lane, Brading

Admission and Programme: None

Attendance: 60 (estimate)

Match Rating: 2

With matches now very thin on the ground, following the FA's desire to finish league seasons as early as possibly in May, this game caught my eye, despite only being a friendly match. It was one of those days when it would be more about the day out, on the beautiful Isle of Wight on a pleasant May day, than the game itself, although it would be appealing to watch the Isle of Wight representative team in action for the final time before they take part in the Island Games in Jersey next month, where I will be heading to take in some football matches.

Vicarage Lane hosted Wessex League football for eight seasons before Brading Town were voluntarily demoted to the Isle of Wight Saturday League in 2012, and is a ground I have visited twice previously. There's still much to like about the place - a friendly feel, neat and tidy with facilities far above what one usually encounters in the league, has a very rural and scenic setting, with background views into the distant countryside, and the quaintness is finished off with the ex London Underground train trundling along the line behind the bottom goal every quarter of an hour or so. The Isle of Wight representative team won gold at the Island Games they hosted it in 2011, but did not send a team to the 2013 games in Bermuda. In next month's tournament, they will face the Shetland Islands, the Falkland Islands and the Norwegian island of Hitra in the group stage - so a semi-final berth for winning the group would appear very achievable.

On a very warm and mainly sunny afternoon, this match was exactly as one might have predicted - Isle of Wight always looking the far superior side and in complete control of the game, and that they did not finish with a more resounding win was mostly due to the game being played at a gentle tempo. Although it was the Isle of Wight who showed all of the attacking intent in the opening stages, it was Brading who had the first shot in anger, forcing a smart save to the keeper's left. The Isle of Wight took the lead on 15 minutes though, the ball was lofted into the penalty area, was headed sideways to find his fellow striker all by himself, and he stroked the ball home with a god, calm finish. They doubled their lead on 29 minutes with a rathet contentious goal. A forward ball deflected into the path of the striker, who seemed to be comfortably offside, and he side stepped the keeper and although his rather weak goalbound shot hit the desperate lunging body of a defender, but the ball still found its way into the back of the net. A third for the Isle of Wight always looked more likely than Brading pulling a goal back, but 0-2 was how it remained at half time.

Into the second half and Brading actually started strongly, still lacking any real goalscoring threat though, unlike the Isle of Wight, who always looked threatening on the occasions they got out of second gear. Brading did have an excellent chance to grab a consolation goal nine minutes from time though, when a low cross was rifled into the box, but the shot on goal was ballooned over the bar. In truth, it was a rather dull second half, but the Isle of Wight will be happy enough to head to the Island Games with a win and a clean sheet, and a good gentle workout, albeit against very limited opposition.