New Romney 4 v 0 Tudor Sports

Saturday 23rd February 2019
Kent County League Inter-Regional Challenge Cup Quarter Final
The Maude Pavilion, New Romney
Admission : None
Programme: None
Attendance: 60 (rough headcount)

With all trains cancelled this morning on my local line thanks to a trespasser, and not really fancying a long drive in search of a new senior ground, today I decided to make quite a rare visit to a Step 7 ground outside of the groundhopping "silly season" of midweek early evening kick-offs.

The Maude Pavilion is half way between New Romney High Street and the town's light railway station, about 5 minutes walk from each, and several signs of varying age decorate the roadside wall of the clubhouse, advertising the club and forthcoming fixtures - although this information was not updated for today's fixture. After walking through a very small car park to the side of the clubhouse, the main pitch is roped off all around, with the posts neatly coloured in blue and yellow hoops. Dugouts are installed on matchday opposite the clubhouse. The clubhouse straddles the half way line and has a bar and a small seating area inside, with its veranda making for a popular vantage point. Located alongside the clubhouse is the back wall of a community hall. Trees line both ends, whilst behind the opposite length to the clubhouse is quite a large expanse of playing fields. It is quite a pleasant location on a sunny day like today, and a healthy and enthusiastic crowd in attendance created a decent feel to the game. As usual in this division, no programme was produced and admission was free, although spectators were invited to contribute by a club official walking around the ground with a donation box during the second half.

This match promised to be a closely matched affair, with both clubs in the Premier Division of the Kent County League, and separated by two places and five points. New Romney, who were losing finalists in this competition last season, were in sixth place, having won 12 and drawn one of their 21 league games, while Sidcup based Tudor Sports were in eighth place, following nine wins and five draws from their 21 league games. To reach this stage, New Romney had beaten K Sports Reserves 2-3 away, and then Sutton Athletic Reserves 5-7 away, while Tudor Sports had beaten Fleetwood United 0-2 away, Bromleians 2-4 away, and then Faversham Strike Force on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

On an almost unbelievably glorious afternoon of blue skies, sunshine and exceptionally mild temperatures for February of around 13C, the match started off quite evenly, but the hosts had the first clear chance of the game, when a powerful shot from a tight angle was well saved by the keeper's outstretched leg. But they did take the lead on 27 minutes when the ball was lumped forward and as the keeper came racing out of this area, he just lost the race to the ball, the striker lifted the ball over the keeper, chased after it and nodded it home into an empty net. Both sides then created some very presentable chances, and New Romney had a couple of fine saves and blocks to thank for preserving their lead. But less than a minute after seeing a bullet header from a corner fly just over the bar, New Romney doubled their lead on 39 minutes. A ball over the top sent their striker clear of the defence, and he showed excellent composure to fire the ball low past the keeper. They almost made if 3-0 four minutes later when the ball bobbled around the six yard box, but no-one could get a decisive shot away.

So New Romney held a comfortable lead at half time, and they just about wrapped the game up on 61 minutes when they scored their third. The visitors lost possession following a free-kick, and on the counter attack, a New Romney player raced down the left wing before eventually clipping the ball over the keeper and into the net from a tight angle. And the result really was put beyond all doubt  on 75 minutes when New Romney scored their fourth. The ball was crossed to the far post, the keeper tried to narrow down the angle, leaving his goal exposed and the ball was passed to a team mate in a central position in front of goal to tap the ball into the empty net. Credit to Tudor Sports for continuing to work head to at least get on the scoresheet in the closing minutes, although New Romney had several and better chances to further extend their lead themselves. But four was more than enough  to seal their progress to the semi-finals of the competition.

Tadley Calleva 2 v 4 Hamworthy United

Saturday 16th February 2019
Wessex League Premier Division
Barlows Park, Tadley
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 78

Today I decided to make my second visit to a Wessex League ground on consecutive Saturdays, this time to tick off my to my penultimate ground in the league's Premier Division.

Barlows Park is located about a 10 minute walk from Tadley high street, which is about a 20 minute bus ride northwards from Basingstoke train station, and although Tadley itself is just in Hampshire, Barlows Park is situated immediately over the county border, in Berkshire. A fixture board is located by the roadside entrance to the complex, and visitors then pass by a full size football pitch and then a couple of mini pitches to one side, and car parking to the other, before walking around quite a large brick building which houses the complex's changing rooms, to reach a brick turnstile block. Once inside, team line-ups are posted on the pitch facing wall of the turnstile block, and then spectators walk up a slight incline to reach one corner of the pitch. Pitchside facilities are rather basic here currently, with just a small metallic stand with mainly seating inside straddling the half way line, and hard standing around the rest of the pitch. Smart wooden panel fencing encloses the ground on three sides, while behind the goal next to the entrance, there is the back wall of the brick changing room building, and alongside it there is a clubhouse with a wooden panel exterior and containing a bar and a separate tea bar window. There appears to be plans afoot to upgrade the ground, with a couple of tarmac areas enclosed by brick walls in front of the clubhouse, and there are groundworks either side of the stand, perhaps in preparation for further stands or other pitchside facilities. Apart from the building works, it is a smart ground, and there was a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere around the place, although with the benefit of hindsight, I probably should have saved a visit to this ground in late summer to fully appreciate its location, when the surrounding trees would be laden with leaves. The 24 page programme was good on the whole, probably above average for Step 5 with some interesting reading material, is well laid out and easy on the eye.

This was a match between two sides whose realistic ambitions would be a solid top half finish, which would be decent achievement particularly for Tadley Calleva in this their first ever season at Step 5. They came into this game in 11th place in the division, following eight wins and eight draws from their 24 league games. Hamworthy were in sixth place, following 12 wins and a draw from their 21 league games, and with games in hand on all teams around them, they are well placed to stay in the top six, although there is probably too much to do to attain a top three finish, even with games in hand. Today would be the first time the clubs have met in the league this season - and indeed, ever, apparently, certainly in league action.

On a very overcast but mild afternoon, the hosts almost got off to a great start when a cross was headed just over the bar on 3 minutes by Sam Hamilton. But on 11 minutes it was the visitors who took the lead, when the ball was dinked in from the right and Nathan Walker headed the ball home. Tadley were back on level terms on 22 minutes, when the ball found its way to Hamilton beyond the back post, and he chipped the ball back in for Danny Vickers to head home from close range into an open goal. Hamworthy retook the lead on 41 minutes, when a ball into the box wasn't properly controlled by their forward, but it found its way into the path of a team mate, who struck the ball low and powerfully into the net via a deflection off a defender trying to block the ball - the shot was goalbound anyway.

Into the second half and the visitors increased their lead on 55 minutes when a low cross from the right was tapped in at the far post, and it was virtually game over on 62 minutes. The Tadley defence couldn't deal with the ball in the box, and eventually it was crossed low for a tap in. Credit to Tadley for continuing to battle away though, and they were rewarded with their second goal on 78 minutes. A quick break saw the ball played low down the middle for Shemar Pettet to run onto, and he struck the ball low from the edge of the area just inside the post. One felt that another goal to really make the game interesting was not beyond Tadley, but it never came, and Hamworthy held on for what was quite a comfortable win in the end.

Ringwood Town 3 v 1 Fawley

Saturday 9th February 2019
Wessex League Division One
Long Lane, Ringwood
Admission : £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 31

 

Having decided to drive to a game today, mainly as I had my girlfriend for company, the destination  was a choice between Suffolk and Hampshire, two of my favourite areas in the south-east to hop. In the morning, I decided to head west, to visit a ground that is certainly not the easiest to visit from afar on public transport. Helpfully, the club tweeted early on that the game was on, reassuring on a day at risk of postponements due to heavy rain that fell right up to last night.

Long Lane is situated about a mile and a half south of Ringwood town centre, past Ringwood Brewery, and nestled amongst farmland to give the place a very rural feel. An ample car park is located just inside the entrance from the narrow passing lane, and located next to the clubhouse a little way back from one corner of the pitch is the entrance to the ground itself, which is nicely decorated with club signage, with a wooden hut to pay admission at and get a programme from. A short path from the entrance passes between a very small 3G pitch next to the clubhouse and a warm up area on the other side, behind a stand which straddles the half way line on one side of the pitch and offers three rows of bench seating. Around the rest of the ground there is just hard standing, apart from behind one of the goals, which is out of bounds. Hedgerows around three sides of the ground provide a natural enclosure, with several football pitches around an allotment site partially hidden behind one goal. Special mention must be made of the pitch, however. Considering the snowfall that fell up to last Saturday causing many games then to be postponed, followed by heavy rain falling for much of the last week, and games were played here last Saturday and on Tuesday, the pitch was in astonishingly good condition today - flat, firm and no muddy or bare patches to be seen, with diligent work carrying on ahead of kick-off and at half time with the pitch being forked before the game and at half time to keep it in good condition. Presumably the pitch is aided by favourable soil conditions, but even so, a step 6 club is clearly fortunate to have such a dedicated and knowledgeable groundsman. The 12 page programme was perfectly adequate to give a good preview of the match, with an informative welcome message and the nescessary stats and facts up to date, and it was well presented too was some colour printing.

A glance at the league table hinted that this would be a game between two evenly matched teams, fighting it out for mid table respectability. Ringwood came into this game in 12th place, following eight wins and four draws from their 25 league games, their position boosted by a terrific run at the start of 2019, winning their first five league games, before a 0-3 home defeat to Downton in midweek. Fawley were two places and two points better off, having won nine and drawn three of their 25 league games, but they came into this match in not the best form, having lost their last three games. When the two clubs met on the opposite side of the New Forest in early December, Fawley won 3-1.

On an overcast afternoon with a chilly breeze blowing, Ringwood made a great start and opened the scoring on 6 minutes with a lovely goal, curled beautifully into the top right corner of the net from just outside the penalty area. And the early goal set the tone for a first half that Ringwood had the upper hand in for the most part, as the visitors seemed somewhat off the pace and gave away possession too readily. But with no more goals scored in the first half, it was all to play for in the second half.

Whatever the Fawley manager said to his troops at half time seemed to do the trick, as his team were much more at it after the break, and a minute after a low cross from the left was diverted onto the post, they were awarded a penalty on 50 minutes for a trip. Ben Rankin sent the keeper the wrong way with a low shot into the left side of the goal. They then had some good chances to take the lead, but the game was to swing back in Ringwood's favour on 64 minutes, when a free kick was curled into the area from deep, and the ball was headed into the net via the palm of the keeper. Ringwood made sure of the points on 75 minutes with another lovely goal. The ball was lifted perfectly diagonally from wide for their forward to run onto through the middle, and he lobbed the ball over the keeper, who was in no man's land, and into the net. It was a win that Ringwood deserved overall, which saw them leapfrog Fawley in the league table. The few spots of rain that greeted the final whistle turned into heavy rain as I crossed back over the Sussex border making for unpleasant driving conditions, but rather then than during the game and this was yet another enjoyable day out in the this part of the world - for that reason, it is quite sad that I only have four grounds left to discover in the Wessex League's two divisions.