Eastern Counties League Division One South
Jack Carter Centre, Ilford
Admission: £4.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 30 (estimate)
Match Rating: 3
With Frenford new to senior football this season and facilities apparently very sparse at their home ground, I intended to delay a visit to the Jack Carter Centre until next season, once the ground has been upgraded to senior standard. However, as I had to be home for 6pm, the 13.30 kick off here made this game an ideal visit to a new ground for me, which otherwise would have been impossible today, at least in senior football.
The Jack Carter Centre is about a 15 minute walk from Redbridge Underground station, and the football ground is enclosed from several other football pitches, with the main complex centre situated in the middle. Serving as an impressive hub for the local community with a particular focus on young people, offering various sporting and other leisure facilities, there is a small tea bar on the ground floor, with a comfortable seating area to provide the only shelter from the elements for football spectators. The history and work of Frenford Clubs as well as the Jack Carter Centre is interestingly presented through timelines and photos on the walls. The senior football pitch is situated a little distance from the main building, with a wooden hut installed by the entrance in one corner where spectators pay their admission, and the team line-ups are also posted on it. Once inside, spectators discover facilities that are as basic as they come in senior football, and indeed very rarely found these days as the FA have now fully enforced their criteria for senior football, kicking out several established clubs purely on ground grading criteria. There is no seating or cover present, hard standing is only available along one length of the pitch, one end is inaccessible, and although the ground is enclosed, the fencing is see-through. There are also no floodlights, hence the early kick off today. However, for next season, a new plastic pitch will be installed, equipped with all the necessary facilities to satisfy the ground grading requirements for senior football. A 12 page programme was printed in colour and was very smartly presented, covering the basics well enough.
This game would be an opportunity to see another two clubs new to senior football thanks to the creation of a step 6 division in Essex. For Frenford, there is no doubt they deserve their crack at senior football, having challenged in the top half of the Step 7 Essex Olympian League Premier Division in the last eleven seasons, winning it twice and finishing in second place last season, but probably considered the jump to Step 5 football in the Essex Senior League too big, which was the only available option before the creation of the South Division of the Eastern Counties League. They have settled fairly comfortably into senior football, coming into this game in eighth place, following seven wins and three draws from their 15 league games. Fire United, only formed in 2012, were artificially promoted two steps from the Middlesex County League Division One Central and Eastern, in which they finished fourth last season, and they have found the step up quite tough so far. They came into this game second bottom in the 19 team division, following two wins and a draw from their opening 15 league games, and have lost their last eight league games.
On a very overcast afternoon with a stiff chilly breeze keeping temperatures cold, the final score did not really tell the full story of the game, as although Frenford deserved to win, this was a lot closer than expected. Frenford did have a goal disallowed on five minutes when the ball was flicked on following a free-kick to the back post and tapped in from close range, but from an offside position. Plenty of chances were then created by both teams, mostly Frenford, with the woodwork denying them twice. But on the stroke of half time, Frenford took the lead following a corner, the ball finding its way to Luke Woodward's feet at the edge of the area, and he fired a shot which went in off the underside of the bar.
One wondered if the home side would now kick on against their out of form opponents, and it looked that way when moments after the ball was headed just over the bar from a corner, they were awarded a penalty on 47 minutes when a seemingly innocuous free kick into the box was clumsily handled by a defender. However, the penalty was saved low to the keeper's left. But after the visitors had a good chance to equalise, firing just over the bar on 51 minutes, Frenford were given another chance to score from the spot, after Charlie Fairhead raced towards goal, and he was brought down by the keeper Christiano Res as he tapped the ball to one side, earning the keeper a red card, who then passed his goalkeeper's shirt to outfield player Diego Bittencourt. But again Frenford passed up the opportunity to double their lead, this time the penalty being struck against the left hand post. Frenford then saw a curled shot come back off the bar, and 75 minutes, Fire United had a great chance to equalise, a flicked header from a corner flying into the keeper's midriff - anywhere else and it surely would have been a goal. But less than a minute later, the home side all but wrapped the game up. The visitors sloppily lost possession from a free kick by the half way line, and Danny Driscoll ran forward before slotting the ball low just inside the near post. Fire United again came agonisingly close to scoring on 81 minutes, when a good downward header from a corner was very well saved low down to the keeper's right. But Frenford scored their third on 88 minutes, and it was a gift, the keeper passing the ball out to a defender, who lost control of the ball, allowing Woodward to run forward and shoot the ball low past the keeper for his second of the game, and in added on time, Frenford were awarded their third penalty of the match, when some good footwork ended in a trip near the outer corner of the penalty area. It was to prove third time lucky though, as Woodward struck the ball into the bottom left hand corner to claim his hat-trick.
So Fire United fell to their ninth consecutive league defeat, but although Frenford certainly deserved to win the game, the four goal margin massively flattered the hosts, as with a little more luck, the visitors could easily have got something from the game
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