QK Southampton 14 v 0 Michelmersh & Timsbury

Saturday 30th July 2022, Kick-off 15.00
Pre-season Friendly
The Hive (Lordshill Rec), Southampton
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 20 (rough headcount)

Today was the first day of the  new competitive season....but unfortunately, not for me. Not many leagues were starting up today, and the nearest new grounds for me to visit would have been 89 and 125 miles away, with train strikes by several train companies making journeys to those on public transport either impossible or fraught with risk of severe delays. I decided to play safe and stick to the Southern train network, which was not affected by strike action, although a loose plan to head for a friendly at Wimborne Town was scuppered by a late night at a "party in the park" leaving me feeling no inclination to get up in time to make the midday kick-off there. And so I decided to head over to Southampton, to visit a Hampshire League venue that I had heard good things about.

The Hive, more traditionally known as Lordshill Rec, is about a 30-40 minute bus ride from Southampton Central train station, and access is gained either through a kissing gate and a short footpath  through woodland to pitchside, or through gates into a fairly large gravel covered car park located behind one corner of the football pitch. The pitch is fully railed, in club colours of black and yellow, but no floodlights are present. Apart from the dugouts, all of the ground's facilities are along one length. Straddling the half way line are a couple of container units set in parallel housing the changing rooms, with a further unit connecting the two along the back, and an archway with a club welcome message to the front. To one side is another container unit housing some bar tables and stools, and from a counter hot, cold and alcoholic drinks, and snacks, are available. Alongside the unit, a couple of wooden picnic tables are located on a grass area enclosed by metal fencing. Next to that area is a raised flat concrete base which used to have a home made stand installed on it, but that had to be removed soon after installation several years ago. To the other side of the changing rooms, there is a standalone building housing toilet facilities. All of the various building are painted in dark green, which helps them blend in to the surroundings well. There is a tall hedgerow behind one length, which separates the football ground from a large expanse of playing fields, while beyond a wooden fence behind the end closest to the entrance there are two rugby pitches which are railed and floodlit. That would suggest that installing floodlights at the football ground shouldn't be a major difficulty, and it seems that there is plenty of scope to carry out the necessary improvements if the club did wish to rise into the National League System at some stage - should finances and ambition allow. As it stands, the ground is well above par for a Step 7 club, and has nice touches giving the place identity.

QK Southampton won the Hampshire League Division One last season by three points, winning 15 and drawing one of their 18 league games. They are looking forward to life back in the Premier Division after an absence of three seasons. Michelmersh & Timsbury finished in seventh place in the ten club Division One, following seven wins and a draw from their 18 league games.

Not only will the visitors’ first team ply their trade in the division below the hosts this coming season, but also in the morning, the visitors tweeted that they would field a "mixed team today of first and reserves against a strong QK side" As it turned out, their side really was cobbled together with some veteran players included too, and it became clear almost immediately that this would be a horrible mismatch of a game, when the hosts scored their first in the opening minute, when a deft touch took the striker past the defence before placing a cool finish past the keeper. By the time half time arrived, QK had added a further six goals, including a penalty, as the home players were quicker to the ball, found it far too easy to run through midfield and at static and slow defenders, and with defensive organisation all over the place for the visitors, understandably to some extent with a cobbled together side. 

The second half continued in the same vein, and QK's determination to stay on the front foot was rewarded with a further seven goals, although the final score should have been even more emphaatic, with QK hitting the woodwork twice, the visiting keeper making several outstanding saves, and a couple of gilt edged chances were spurned.

In honesty, it is difficult to know what either side gained from this encounter. QK will surely not encounter such poor opposition in the league, and presumably - hopefully - Michelmersh will field much stronger teams than this during their league campaign.