Wessex League Division One
Fawcetts Field, New Milton
Admission: £6.00
Programme: Free
Attendance: 65
Match Rating: 3
After having to abort a trip to Fawcetts Field back in early August thanks to disruption on the trains, I was attracted to this fixture by some special Festive promotions being offered by the club, which promised to generate a nice seasonal atmosphere to proceedings. For the normal admission fee of £6.00, the club were offering a free programme, a free hot drink and a mince pie, and a free raffle ticket. More than anything, this promised to create a nice seasonal feel to proceedings as well as, hopefully, a larger than usual attendance.
Fawcetts Field is about a twenty minute walk from New Milton train station, with the entrance just beyond a brick clubhouse, which is bright and spacious inside, and an oriental snack and meal menu is available to order at the bar. Immediately inside the ground entrance there is a standing area to mingle, with a tea bar adjacent to the entrance, and to the other side, team line-ups are displayed on the wall of the all-seater main stand which straddles the half way line. Beyond the standing area is the back wall of the clubhouse with some picnic tables pitchside, whilst to the other side of the stand there are a couple of small brick buildings housing toilets and hospitality rooms. Around the rest of the ground there is just hard standing, with trees lining the ground. It is a neat and tidy facility, perhaps lacking a little in character, although perhaps it is easier to think that on a dank winter's day, and that it would be a really pleasant setting at the start or end of the season. In any case, a friendly welcome and an excellent clubhouse make a trip to Fawcetts Field highly recommended. The 24 page programme was good for a step 6 club, with an attractive cover, some interesting reading material and all of the relevant stats and facts.
This local derby was between two clubs occupying the middle of the table, with New Milton in eighth place, having won nine and drawn five of their 21 league games, but were just four points adrift of the top three and a promotion berth, although they have played more games than all teams above them. Ringwood were in tenth place, having won eight and drawn one of their 19 league games.
On a dull, overcast afternoon with misty rain arriving during the second half, the first half was a midfield battle for the most part, not helped by a slippery surface that saw players frequently struggle to keep their footing. New Milton did have slightly the better of things, but although both teams created some half chances to open the scoring, it wasn't too surprising that the scoreline remained blank at the break.
After enjoying the complimentary (and very welcome on this increasingly chilly afternoon) cup of tea and mince pie at half time, the visitors came close to taking the lead on 47 minutes, when a freekick was played into the box and met with a header in the six yard box, forcing a reflex save from the keeper. They did take the lead on 66 minutes. The ball was played forward and Lee Vint shrugged off a defender to run clear towards goal, and he showed good composure to roll the ball below the keeper. But on 78 minutes, New Milton were awarded a penalty, following a silly challenge by a defender as he tracked a New Milton forward bursting into the box. The penalty was saved , but the rebound was tucked home by Steve Flynn. Both teams had chances to win it in the closing minutes, most notably the home side who saw a shot from 8 yards out saved excellently by the keeper, but a point apiece was a fair reflection on an even game.
No comments:
Post a Comment