Hampshire Premier League
Jubilee Field, Sway
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 30 (rough head count)
For this Bank Holiday Monday, I decided against the opportunity of a double, with no possibilities of taking in a new ground as part of the double, and with my partner in toe today, I instead headed down to the New Forest, to combine a long walk before a game at a pleasant and rural setting.
Although Sway train station is about a ten minute walk away from Jubilee Field, we instead got off a stop early, at Brockenhurst, for a five mile indirect walk along a former train track and then through a wooded section of the New Forest, to get to the small village of Sway. Jubilee Fields is located just to the south of the village, with a portable fixture board positioned by the passing road. Inside, the football ground is part of a very smart and well appointed sporting complex. Just beyond the car park lies the football pitch, which is fully railed off, with hard standing all the way around, and a stand with four rows of bench tops inside. Well maintained and painted in dark green, it blends in well to its surroundings. Tall trees line both lengths, and the complex's cricket fields is visible immediately beyond the trees. The complex's pavilion is situated behind the end closest to the entrance, next to a playground and tennis courts, and has something of a village hall feel about the place, with basic refreshments available from a hatch. As well as being an attractive and well maintained ground, it feels like a ground more than suitable to hosts step 6 football, apart from the lack of floodlights. No programmes are produced at Sway, and more surprisingly, there is no whiteboard with team line-ups, as is usually found at Hampshire League grounds.
Sway have had a low start to their season, winning one and losing the other three of their opening four league games, although each game they have lost has only been by one goal. Today will be a tough test to get anything out of however. Since their elevation to the Hampshire League in 2019, Denmead have always been there or thereabouts at the top of the table, including promotion in 2020, and this season has started no differently for them, as they are unbeaten following their opening four league games, winning three and drawing the other, scoring 14 goals in the process.
On a warm but mostly overcast afternoon, this game had a surprising start, when Sway took the lead in the third minute, when the ball was played out to the right and the forward struck a low drive across the keeper and into the net. On 13 minutes, a Denmead corner hit the near post, whilst two minutes later, Sway come so close to doubling their advantage when a corner was delivered into the area, the keeper failed to claim the ball, and the second of two weak goalbound headers was cleared on the line, according to the officials, but the Sway players seemed pretty convinced that it had crossed the line. Denmead then started to control the game more, and on 33 minutes they were back on level terms when Owen Milne's corner swung straight into the net, despite the despairing grasp of the keeper. The scoreline remained level at half time, at the end of a half which was surprisingly even.
The second half was a different matter though, with Denmead dominating for long periods as the Sway players seemed to wilt and let the game pass them by. Denmead took the lead on 55 minutes, when Jay Arend sent the ball down the right for Charlie Crook to chase into the penalty area, before driving the ball powerfully through the keeper and into the net. The visitors pretty much sealed the three points on 74 minutes, when Milne struck a low free kick which went inside the left hand post. The closest Sway came to getting back into the game came on 78 minutes, when a powerful shot was well parried by the keeper, but Denmead saw the remainder of the game out quite comfortably
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