Amesbury Town 5 v 4 Laverstock & Ford

Saturday 27th October 2018
Wessex League Division One
Bonnymead Park, Amesbury
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 90
Match Rating: 4

With rail engineering works still making trips towards and through London on Saturdays less attractive, I decided to head west for a long but fairly straightforward journey down to Wiltshire, making the most of a sunny day in an attractive part of the world, to take in this local derby.

Arriving at Salisbury train station, I then walked about ten minutes to the bus stop for the 20 minute bus journey northwards to Amesbury town centre, from which Bonnymead Park is about a ten minute walk. There was an early indication that this would be a rustic, rural ground as I walked over a river and past fields of cows as I approached the ground, which is located beyond a recreation ground and cricket field. Admission is paid for at a wooden kiosk is situated in one corner of the ground, and immediately to the left of the entrance is the clubhouse above a grass bank, with alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks available from a serving hatch inside. To the front, there is covered standing, which makes for a popular place to watch the game from with its elevated position. Beyond the clubhouse and behind the goal there is a wooden bench on top of the grass bank. A stand covering four rows of wooden benches straddles the half way line, and behind this length there are trees which were in lovely autumnal colours today, with fields of sheep behind. There is hard standing behind the other goal, which is closely lined by trees, whilst along the remaining length, there is plastic grass forming a path behind the railing. There is just sheeting attached to temporary metal panel fences along this length. It is surprising that this is allowed in senior football, as two clubs local to me, Rye United and Little Common, were prevented from continuing in senior football at their grounds with such temporary perimeter fencing, and indeed there were plenty of opportunities around the ground to enter for free here. But notwithstanding this, this ground is a lovely place to watch football, full of peaceful rustic charm, with a friendly, welcoming feel about the place too. The 32 page programme was smartly presented and printed on good quality card paper, and covered the basic stats but also contained some 20 pages of advertising.

After suffering relegation from the Premier Division last season, Amesbury have made a good start in their attempt to bounce straight back, coming into this game in second place, following nine wins and two draws from their opening twelve league games. Laverstock & Ford were in seventh place, following five wins and a draw from their 13 league games. The two sides have already met in the reverse league fixture, with Amesbury winning 1-2 away in August.

On a bitterly cold afternoon - this really was the first sign of winter this year after very mild temperatures right up to yesterday - this was a rip-roaring local derby which ebbed and flowed and really could have gone either way in the end. With just four minutes on the clock, the home side took the lead, a ball forward sprung the offside trap, with the keeper racing well out of his area to close him down, but although the ball was initially intercepted, Sam Roberts lobbed the ball perfectly from distance into the empty net. But the visitors equalised on 11 minutes when a free kick was met with a header, looping the ball over the keeper and into the net. Amesbury went back into the lead on 24 minutes, after a free kick was headed into a more central position for Jack Vallis to tap the ball in, and they opened up a two goal cushion on 43 minutes. Another good ball forward sprung the offside trap, allowing Luke Greenway clear through on goal, and again he showed very good composure to chip the ball over the onrushing keeper and into the net. And so at half time Amesbury looked like they had built the basis for a comfortable win.

But the visitors came out after the break with plenty of purpose, and on 48 minutes they were awarded a penalty, when the keeper inexplicably pushed an opposition player as the ball was floated in. However, he made amends by saving the penalty to his left, also catching the follow up shot in his midriff. But after Amesbury saw a close range poked shot hit the post on 50 minutes, the visitors pulled a goal back on 52 minutes, after an initial shot was blocked the loose ball was smashed home. Amesbury then had another shot blocked, and several colleagues couldn't quite get a decisive touch, and on 59 minutes the visitors equalised. When the ball was crossed into the box, the keeper rose to claim the ball under pressure from a Laverstock forward and after seeming to have the ball in his hands, it squirmed away, and the forward just managed to scramble to his feet in time to tap the ball home. And shortly after Amesbury had a header following a long throw in parried away, the visitors took the lead on 72 minutes, after a shot somehow squirmed through the Amesbury's keeper's hands, the ball bring tapped in just to be sure. So the comeback was complete, converting a 3-1 deficit into a 3-4 lead. But six minutes later and Amesbury got back on level terms when a powerful low shot from the edge of the area by Greenway found the back of the net. And on 82 minutes, the Laverstock keeper dillied too much with the ball wide of his area and was dispossessed, with the striker running towards goal before being brought down by the keeper. He was shown a yellow card, but the foul was sufficiently punished when the penalty was converted by Dan Finnigan. That did seem to finally take the sting out of the game, as Laverstock did not look likely to grab another equaliser in the remaining minutes.

So in the end, it was Amesbury who claimed the three points after a quite remarkable game, and thereby completing the double over their local rivals.

White Ensign 2 v 0 Frenford

Saturday 20th October 2018
Eastern Counties League Division One South
Basildon Sporting Village, Basildon
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 30
Match Rating: 2

After a very long day out down to Dorset last Saturday, I fancied a much shorter day out today, and a glance at the superb Groundhopper app showed that this game would be the closest to home, whilst grounds that would be easier to get to but would be better saved for winter days with plastic pitches installed.

The Basildon Sporting Village is about a twenty minute walk northwards from Basildon train station through the edge of the town centre, then through Gloucester Park, which was particularly pleasant on a sunny autumnal afternoon, and finally alongside football pitches on the approach to the large leisure centre, which the football ground backs onto and is a part of. Spectators enter through a gate, paying admission at a wooden hut, and it was to nice to see some club signage by the entrance at a ground they rent on match days. All of the spectator facilities are along one length, with an impressive large all-seater grandstand which would be at home much further up the pyramid. It is smartly coloured, with a wave effect along the roof. Although spectators are quite distant from the pitch, thanks to quite a distance to the athletics track which circulates the football pitch, decent views can be had towards the rear of the stand. Hot drinks and cold snacks were available from a gazebo between the entrance and seating area, whilst the leisure centre itself could be accessed for toilet facilities. Spectators are not really intended to venture around the rest of the ground, which has grass banking all the way around. The background is rural, with plenty of trees in the distance, and the setting is quite peaceful, however it inevitably does not feel like a proper football ground. The programme had an attractive cover and covered the essentials, although the fixtures/results page had not been updated with the last two games, and there was no league table, and 13 of the 20 pages were purely advertising.

Both of these clubs are newly promoted into senior football, benefitting from the creation of a step 6 division in Essex this season. White Ensign, who were based on the outskirts of Southend Airport at the Len Forge Centre but had to find an alternative home venue for senior football, settling on the Basildon Sports Village some 12 miles away, finished in fourth place in the Essex Olympian League, while Frenford finished in second. Both clubs have adapted quite well to the step up, White Ensign were in fourth place going into this game, following eight wins and a draw from their 11 league games, while Frenford were in 10th place, following four wins and three draws from their 11 league games.

On a beautifully sunny afternoon, albeit with a slight chill in the air, this was quite a tepid game for long periods, although after both teams created some decent chances, it was the home side who took the lead on 28 minutes, Dominic Locke running into a forward ball, and he calmly chipped the ball over the onrushing keeper from the edge of the area and into the net. White Ensign saw the half out fairly comfortably, to take the one goal lead into the interval.

After having a powerful shot from an angle well tipped over by the keeper, White Ensign were them awarded a penalty on 62 minutes, when the keeper tripped the forward running into the ball. John Hilliard struck the ball in the left side of the goal, sending the keeper the wrong way. Frenford battled away but struggled to really threaten, their best chance to pull a goal back coming on 83 minutes when a back post header failed to hit the target and a follow up shot took a deflection for the keeper to gather quite comfortably. But White Ensign kept the clean sheet and picked up the three points that they deserved, as they were the better team throughout, without particularly impressing. Indeed, this was not the best game I'll watch this season, with an apparent lack of quality and intensity.

Christchurch 2 v 3 Hamble Club

Saturday 13th October 2018
Wessex League Premier Division
Hurn Bridge Sports Ground, Hurn
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 75
Match Rating: 3

For Non-League Day 2018, there were no clubs that I had not previously visited offering reduced admission today, much of that was to do with FA Vase and Trophy fixtures being played today, for which admission offers are almost impossible. Ideally, I would have taken in a FA Vase game today, but the one I did fancy, at Little Oakley, would have been tricky with diverted trains en route taking much longer than usual. And so I decided to head along the south coast, with no engineering works en route today, to visit a ground with a long walk from the nearest train station, which would make a visit by train unappealing once the clock go back.

Hurn Bridge Sports Ground is not a great venue to get to without a car, located over three miles north of Christchurch train station, and with buses only going about a third of the way. It is an easy enough walk though, in daylight at least, straight but along a busy road throughout. The ground is in the tiny village of Hurn, and is part of a complex which is shared with Christchurch Cricket Club, and is also host to the Dorset Cricket Centre. Fortunately, the football and cricket facilities exist side by side, without any overlapping. Spectators enter the football ground through a brick turnstile building immediately behind one of the goals. To the left, there is a wooden refreshments hut, with some bird feeders and a bird table, as well as some movable chairs and a table. To the right of the entrance, three rows of covered seating is built into the wall of the changing rooms, with toilets and a hospitality room beyond the seating up to the corner flag. Starddling the half way line on one side is quite a large and smart all seater stand, with a press room included. An electronic scoreboard is positioned above the press room, but was not working today, instead a manual scoreboard was used on the opposite side. Around the rest of the pitch there is just hard standing. With the complex cut into a forest, there is a really pleasant, rural and quite secluded feel to the place, with usual friendly and welcoming atmosphere that is common throughout the Wessex League. The programme was good enough, covering the important stats and had a welcome message and introductions to both clubs although bizarrely six pages were left completely blank. A nice touch was the issuing of game and day specific tickets, although generally it was surprising that no mention or effort at all was made for Non-League Day in the programme or around the ground, which may have been a missed opportunity to promote the club and non league football in general.

After being promoted as champions from Division One last season. Christchurch are finding life a little difficult in the Premier Division, in 17th place in the 20 team division, having won two and drawn two of their ten games so far. Hamble were in 13th place, having won three and drawn two of their nine league games.

In a total contrast to last Saturday's wet and cold conditions, there was a warm and slightly muggy feel to the weather today, with temperatures in the 20's. Hamble had the better of the opening half hour, doing all of the attacking, so it was a surprise when Christchurch took the lead on 35 minutes, when Ben Satterley dribbled through midfield before unleashing a powerful shot past the keeper from the edge of the area. They almost doubled their lead within a minute, but a low shot was just gathered by the keeper. But 1-0 was how it remained at the break, and Hamble would be wondering how on earth they were behind.

They were not for much longer though, as on 48 minutes, as a cross from the right was headed into his own net by a Christchurch defender. But the home side restored their lead on 65 minutes, following a free kick which was headed sideway from the back post for Kieran Douglas to tap the ball past the keeper. Hamble equalised on 75 minutes, again they were gifted the goal following a poor back pass which Doug Rowe ran into and his shot took a big deflection off the keeper, the ball looping up and into the net. But on 87 minutes came the game changing moment. Christchurch saw a free kick only narrowly go wide with the keeper beaten, but Hamble went straight up the other end and a cross from the right found Marlon Mason with all the time and space in the world in a central position, and although he took an age to get the ball under control and it looked like the chance had gone with defenders having made up ground to cover, his shot went into the bottom right corner with the keeper flat footed. Christchurch came agonisingly close to grabbing an equaliser in the second minute of added on time, when a header from a corner hit the underside of the bar, and immediately had a big shout for a penalty turned down.

Overall, Hamble probably deserved the win as they showed the more attacking intent, but Christchurch will be bitterly disappointed to not get anything from a game they led twice, but gifted goals to the opposition.