FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round
Garden Walk, Royston
Admission : £10.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 225
I had originally planned to visit Totton & Eling today, to complete the Wessex League. However true to form for a ground that is proving remarkably elusive to tick off for various reason, and given the time of year, the weather forecast of heavy rain spreading in from the west at lunch time forced me to abandon those plans, and look as far eastwards as possible for a drier option, which would offer a lower risk of a late postponement or abandonment - as did indeed happen at several grounds to the south and west of London.
Garden Walk is about a 15 minute walk from Royston train station, and after walking along a short narrow track from the road, passing by some club signage en route, a wooden turnstile hut is located in one corner of the ground. Programmes and 50-50 tickets are available from a table immediately the other side of the turnstile, and team line-ups are posted on the wall around the corner. Behind the goal there is a burger van, the changing rooms building, and then the clubhouse. Along the length closest to the entrance, there is quite an unusual wooden stand with decking, and it makes for a good place to watch the game from, being slightly elevated and with plenty of room inside. A modern metallic stand offers steps to stand on the other side of the half way line, while a tall gantry is situated on the half way line to film games from. A metallic all-seater stand is located behind the other goal, whilst along the remaining length there is a longer and more traditional stand with three rows of seating inside, but the most attractive element of this stand is the club's name spelt out in letters, along with the club's crest, along the back wall. It is a smart, well maintained ground, with all furniture co-ordinated in club colours of black and white and there is a pleasant individuality about the place. Kudos to the club also for painting several poppies into the grass around the pitch, a very nice touch on Remembrance weekend, and was a nice addition to the customary minute's silence observed just before kick-off. The 44 page programme was a decent read, containing plenty of interesting reading material and the necessary stats and facts.
Royston went into this game as favourites, plying their trade a step higher in the pyramid in the Southern League Premier Division Central, and were in ninth place, following six wins and four draws from their opening 13 league games. Haywards Heath were in 13th place in the Isthmian League South East Division, following two wins and four draws from their opening eight league games. To reach this round, Haywards Heath have already negotiated three rounds, defeating Ramsgate after a replay, Bracknell Town and then Aylesbury United, whereas Royston entered in the last round, defeating Brightlingsea Regent 1-2 away.
On an afternoon that started off dry but with rain arriving soon after kick off, with it also becoming ever more chilly, the game started off in a very lively fashion, and almost had a surprising start inside the first minute, when a long punt upfield by the Royston keeper bounced towards a couple of defenders who seemed to leave it for each other to deal with in the box, allowing Matt Bateman managed to get his head to the ball to try to loop it over the keeper, who only just managed to grab th ball high above his head. Royston then saw a shot stabbed just wide following a corner on 5 minutes, and on 8 minutes, a Scott-Morriss shot from the edge of the area took a deflection and the ball came back off the post. The visitors were actually looking quite perky in attack too, but they fell behind on 16 minutes, following a cross into the box which was headed out by a defender, only for Josh Castiglione to drill the ball home. And on 23 minutes the home side doubled their lead. Warner-Eley crossed into the box, Castiglione laid the ball back and Murray tapped it home. Haywards Heath were not out of the game at that stage, and were denied what looked like a very strong shout for a penalty soon after the second goal, and on 38 minutes Trevor McCreadie forced a good low save from the keeper to palm the ball around the post. That proved to be the game defining moment, as from the resultant corner, Royston broke away to score their third on 39 minutes, Castiglione playing the ball in low from the right and Bridges struck the ball first time across the keeper and into the net, to give the hosts a comfortable advantage at the break.
For the visitors to have any chance, they would have needed to pull a goal back quickly in the second half, but that never looked likely as Royston restarted the game back on the front foot. And on 59 minutes, the outcome was put beyond any realistic doubt when the home side scored their fourth. The ball was crossed in from the left and although Bateman and a defender fell to the ground in trying to deal with the ball, Bateman managed to poke the ball home despite being flat out on the ground. The visitors still kept plugging away, creating a couple of chances, forcing the keeper into a smart tip over on 63 minutes and a header only just dropped wide on 69 minutes. But on 73 minutes, Royston scored their fifth with a lovely curled shot over the keeper and into the top right corner by Claudio Ofosu. And the scoreline turned ugly on 89 minutes when Royston scored their sixth, when a Castiglione drove the ball into the danger area and Brandon Adams deflected the ball past the keeper, and there was still a time for Royston to make it 7-0 when a run down the left ended with a teasing low cross into the box by Adams, and Bateman tapped the ball home from eight yards.
So a thoroughly emphatic result for the home side, but although it reflected the ruthless nature of Royston's finishing, the final scoreline was somewhat harsh on the visitors, who did create several decent chances and they deserve credit for still trying to attack even when the game was long since lost.
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