Heybridge Swifts 5 v 0 Maldon & Tiptree

Monday 28th August 2017
Isthmian League Division One North
Scraley Road, Heybridge
Admission: £8.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 329
Match Rating: 3

For this Bank Holiday Monday, I decided to head for a ground that I had wanted to visit for many years, but its location some six miles away from the nearest train station had always made it difficult. With beautifully warm and sunny conditions forecast, it made a trip by car to the Essex coast ideal today, with a visit to nearby Heybridge Basin a very pleasant place to while away a couple of hours ahead of kick-off.

Scraley Road is situated on the eastern edge of Heybridge, and after passing through a small car park (an overflow one is available a short distance away), spectators enter through a turnstile block painted in club colours of black and white stripes behind one of the goals. Behind this goal, there is just hard standing, although beyond the players' tunnel, there is a large grass area with picnic tables on, with the clubhouse set some way back. Straddling the half way line on one side is an all-seater stand, but there is not much of an incline between rows, and there are supporting pillars along the front. On the opposite side, there is more traditional stand, which is longer and narrower, and with two rows of wooden steps to sit on. Behind the remaining goal, there is a stand covering two rows of terrace steps. All of the stands are attractively decorated with new signage, certainly enhancing the ground's appearance, and indeed there is a very pleasant mixture of buildings weathered with age and modern facilities which are more than adequate to host Step 5 football. There is a pleasing lack of the scourge of modern ground upgrades, such as dull metallic stands and the like, and a quiet, rural location completes a very pleasant place to watch football at. As well as a very reasonable entrance charge - the cheapest I have encountered recently and about what it should be for this level of football - the club issues a really excellent programme. In these days of people questioning whether programmes have had their day, and leagues like the Southern League now allowing clubs to not bother printing programmes if they publish one on-line, Heybridge produce a programme that shows there is still a place for a decent, informative publication. 28 pages in full colour, well designed and printed on good quality stiff paper, and with plenty of interesting reading material and all of the necessary stats presented, it is one of the best programmes I have encountered for a long, long time. Even better, team sheets were also freely available from the club shop.

This match was very much a local derby, with the two towns just about joined together, separated by the River Chelmer. Both clubs were fancied to do well this season. Heybridge only just survived in this division last season, but having made some good signings, they went into this game having won all three of their league games. After finishing second in the table last season, only to lose the play-off final to Thurrock to be denied promotion, Maldon & Tiptree have won one and drawn the other of their two league games so far.

On a very warm and sunny afternoon, few could have predicted what a one-sided game this would prove to be, as the home side pretty much won the game within the first quarter of an hour. With just 2 minutes on the clock, they opened the scoring with a powerful near-post header by Ryan Henshaw from a corner, and on 12 minutes, they doubled their lead, when some poor defending by the visitors allowed the ball to be passed to Harrison Chatting, and he struck the ball past the keeper. They made it three on 16 minutes following some great footwork to the byline by Juan Luque ended with a pass into the six yard box, which cause some confusion before Samuel Bantick bundled the ball into the net. Maldon had a great chance to pull a goal back on 32 minutes, but Junior Odendi-Uzokwe sent his bullet header wide of the post.

Heybridge held their three goal lead at half time, and it really did seem that they had done enough to win the game, as they looked solid back and a threat going forward - the complete opposition in both respects to the visitors. The second half was more even, but Maldon never looked likely to pull a goal back in the second half. Their task looked even more hopeless when they had Nicholas Akoto sent off on 71 minutes, on the advice of a linesman, seemingly for kicking a plastic bottle and it hitting a spectator's face. Heybridge duly made it 4-0 on 80 minutes when subsitute Joe Gardner dance past a couple of challenges, allowed the keeper to commit himself before passing the ball into the net. In added on time, Heybridge were awarded a penalty when Josh Fagbohun was tripped in the box, and then struck the spot kick low into the bottom left corner despite the keeper going the right way.

So local bragging rights were earned in some style by Heybridge as they maintained their 100% start to their season with four league games played. As for Maldon, this was a very poor performance and there certainly seems to be plenty work to be done by their manager Kevin Horlock if they are to make the play-offs again this season.

Punjab United 2 v 0 Phoenix Sports Reserves

Saturday 26th August 2017
Southern Counties East League Division One
Elite Venue, Gravesend
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 73
Match Rating: 3

With trains into London heavily disrupted this weekend, I was faced with a more palatable choice of travelling west or east this afternoon. Having travelled to Hampshire a couple of times already this season, I decided to head into Kent, to visit the newest club in the Southern Counties East League.

The Elite Venue is about a 2 mile walk southwards from Gravesend train station, through not particularly pleasant surroundings, so it was a little bit of a surprise to find an attractive, well-appointed complex on arrival at the Elite Venue. The complex contains several function rooms, a large expanse of playing fields, part of which was used today for a small funfair, as well as Punjab's football ground which is fully enclosed with see-through green fencing, making it easy to watch the match from outside for free if one is so inclined. It is a smart venue generally, with a neat entrance block in one corner featuring a gate inside instead of a turnstile, and the club's logo displayed on either side. Large vertical club flags are positioned behind each corner of the ground. Either side of the half way line on one side is a small metallic all-seater stand on one side, smartly painted in club colours, and a rather ramshackle small covered standing area, made of scaffolding poles, corrugated iron sheets and sheeting. On the opposite side, the dugouts are attractively decorated inside and out. Hard standing is available along the length and end closest to the entrance, with grass along the other two sides. An 8 page programme was available and whilst basic, covered the essentials adequately.

After winning the Kent County League last season, Punjab have had a decent start to their season at their highest ever level, securing two wins and a draw from their opening four league games. It says a lot about the rapid progress that Phoenix Sports have made in recent years that the last time I saw their first team, it was in the Kent County League, in 2011. Now their reserve team is competing in their third season at Step 6, and having finished in mid table during their last two seasons at this level, they have won one and drawn one of their four league games so far this season.

Conditions were swelteringly hot this afternoon, with conditions more akin to pre-season friendly games, and this made for a rather slow paced game that was still entertaining enough. Punjab United dominated the first half, having plenty of possession in the opposition half as the visitors too freely gave the ball away, and after a free header following a corner planted the ball just wide of goal on 24 minutes, they took the lead three minutes later. A lovely cross on the run was headed home by Anthony Adesite, and that was how the scoreline remained at half time.

Phoenix Sports were better after the break, but the closest they came to scoring was on 58 minutes when their forward just beat the keeper to the ball but it deflected just wide. Punjab scored their second on 67 minutes, following a great run toward goal from wide and when the ball was passed low across goal, substitute Luke Adams had an easy tap in unmarked. They almost added a third in added on time, when a header following a corner was cleared off the line, but the two goal final score was an adequate reflection of a game in which the home side were the better side throughout, without creating that many goalscoring chances.

Cardiff Metropolitan University 3 v 1 Bangor City

Saturday 19th August 2017
Welsh Premier League
Cyncoed Campus, Cardiff
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 296
Match Rating: 4

A couple of months ago, I booked my latest Megabus bargain ticket from London to Cardiff for today, for £6.00 return mostly paid for with Tesco Clubcard vouchers. I had wanted to visit Cardiff Metropolitan University throughout their first season in the Welsh Premier last season, but was thwarted by many of their games not being played on a Saturday afternoon. Although it had been my firm plan to attend this game, on the coach ride down to South Wales, I was seriously tempted to head for Aberbargoed Buds in the Welsh League instead, to take in a more traditional football club and venue. Lucky I did not, as that game finished 0-0.

The Cyncoed Campus is about a two mile walk, taking about an hour, from Cardiff city centre, and visitors then snake their way pass by the halls of residence and various sporting facilities on the campus, finally walking along a narrow path around the outside of the National Indoor Athletics Centre, to reach the football ground. Admission is handed over at a window of a portakabin and then visitors pass through a full height turnstile, although the entrance was only opened half an hour before kick-off despite a fairly sizeable queue forming. Adjacent to the entrance, in one corner of the ground, is another portakabin, from which spectators can purchase hot and canned drinks, and confectionery – no hot food not alcohol is available anywhere inside the ground. Along this length, backing onto the Athletics Centre there are three rows of seating in two separate sections either side of the dugouts. Towards the farthest corner, there are three portaloos. On the opposite side, there is a fairly long metallic stand offering further seating, with a broadcasting gantry placed above. Around the rest of the ground there is just hard standing. Tall trees tightly line one end of the ground, behind the opposite length to the Athletics Centre is the former football pitch, with a small stand, whilst behind the remaining goal there is a newly constructed rugby pitch inside an running track. The Indoor Athletics Centre provides a pleasantly modern backdrop. Predictably for a university sports team playing within a campus, there is no real character about the place, with disappointingly basic facilities for a top-flight club - although these may well improve as the club becomes more established at that level. The 20 page programme was printed in colour and provided a decent preview of the match. Team sheets were also available on request.

This promised to be a decent game between two good sides, and who both started the season with convincing wins last Saturday, Cardiff Met winning 0-3 away at Cefn Druids, whilst Bangor earnt an eye-catching 5-2 home win against the usually all-conquering The New Saints. In their first season in the Welsh Premier League after winning promotion from the Welsh League, Cardiff Met finished in sixth place, whilst Bangor finished in fourth place. Today’s teams met at the end of last season to decide who would take part in the Europa League, Bangor triumphing 1-0 at home.

On an overcast afternoon, very strong gusty winds had a big influence on the game, making it difficult for players to judge the flight of the ball. Quite surprisingly, the home side dominated this game for long periods, and they always looked the likely winners after they took the lead on 22 minutes, after they had already come close on a couple of occasions. Following some passing around the box, Elliot Evans struck a shot from the edge of the area which went in off the underside of the bar. They doubled the lead thanks to a gift from the Bangor defence, a defender crazily aerially passed the ball back towards to his keeper in the air, and after the ball bounced towards him, Adam Roscrow beat the keeper to the ball in the air to head it into the empty net. Cardiff Met quite comfortably held their lead up to half time.

Bangor did threaten a little more after the break, but it was Cardiff Met who opened up a three goal lead on 64 minutes with a lovely finish by Roscrow, who connected with the ball on the volley from a corner to send the ball just inside the post from the edge of the area. Credit to Bangor, who kept on plugging away despite the scoreline, and they pulled a goal back on 77 minutes, when Gary Taylor-Fletcher bundled the ball into the net. Cardiff Met were reduced to ten men three minutes later, when Joel Edwards was shown a second yellow card for a poor, mistimed tackle, and one suddenly felt that the game was far from over, and another goal for Bangor would really make for an exciting climax. Despite doing plenty of attacking, that second goal never came, and Cardiff Met saw the game out for a deserved win.

Video highlights of this match can be watched by clicking here