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.