Cyril Ballyn Cup Round One
College Meadow, Beccles
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 50 (rough head count)
For the second evening during my short break in Suffolk, my choice of game was rather limited for me, as I had already visited all of the grounds within range at Step 6 and above where games were being played this evening. But a little further digging around the fixture lists uncovered this fixture. Although it was between two reserve sides, it would be played at a ground that had long been on my radar to visit anyway, and so after a very pleasant day walking around the town and castle of Framlingham, I then made my way north eastwards for this game.
College Meadow is located to the east of Beccles town centre, adjacent to Beccles train station, but the main entrance is accessed via a lane from the opposite direction, taking visitors past the town's rugby and cricket grounds, and finally the clubhouse, before arriving at the football ground. just beyond the complex's clubhouse building. Club signage attached to the see through perimeter fencing welcomes visitors and points them in the direction of the entrance pay booth, which was not operational this evening as no admission charge was taken for the reserves game. It soon became apparent that making the journey to this ground would be worthwhile, as it combines decent facilities, for step 7 level, with a very scenic and peaceful location. Hard standing leads visitors from behind the goal to the corner flag and along one of the lengths, with a fairly long stand straddling the half way line, containing one row of seating along the front and spacious standing room along the rear. Just beyond the stand is a standalone white painted brick hut which serves as a tea bar. The other length is also railed, but with no hard standing. The remaining end is not intended to be accessed. The ground is naturally enclosed with tall trees on three sides, behind one end the trees obscure the ground of fellow Anglian Combination outfit Beccles Caxton Football Club while behind the other end, a large sports hall hosting the local indoor bowls club provides the background. The ground is floodlit, and the lighting did seem to be really excellent. Unsurprisingly, no programmes were produced for this fixture, however the club does produce programmes for their first team fixtures, and I was very kindly provided with a copy from one of their recent games. Produced by Barnes Print, it as unsurprisingly a very decent publication in terms of quality and content.
On paper, the home side would be favourites to progress this evening, as they play in a higher division of the Anglian Combination League. Beccles Town Reserves won Division Three last season, and have opened this season with a win and a defeat in their two league games played so far. Scole United Reserves finished last season in fifth place in Division Four, but were promoted to Division Three this season, and have picked up a win and two defeats from their opening three league games.
On a dry and fairly mild evening, it soon became clear that this would be a rather one-sided affair, with the home side opening the scoring on 15 minutes when a shot from the edge of the box was hit into the ground but helped past the keeper and into the net by a header. And they doubled their lead on 27 minutes when a free kick was played diagonally towards the back post, the keeper seemed to misjudge the flight of the ball and a Beccles player bundled the ball in at the back post. The keeper stayed down injured and it soon became apparent that he could not continue and was replaced in goal by an outfield player. It threatened to be a long, long night for the visitors, all the more so when Beccles scored their thrird five minutes later, when the ball was intercepted after the visitors tried to play out from the back, a Beccles player ran down the right before crossing the ball low for a team mate to sweep home. And in the last minute of the first half, Beccles made it four when the ball was lifted into the box, drawing the keeper out, but the Beccles keeper hooked the ball to send it gently bouncing inside the far post and into the net.
So, the outcome was as good as settled at half time, and is so often the way under these circumstances, the Beccles players seemed to take their foot off the gas, as well as Scole's showing some good fight to keep the scoreline fairly respectable, And they looked capable of grabbung a consolation goal at times, but it never came, and Beccles were only denied a fifth goal by an offside flag on 81 minutes. And on balance, a four goal margin was a fair reflection of the game, but for me, it was good that the final scoreline was not more emphatic, as Scole deserve plenty of credit for keeping on battling despite losing their goalkeeper and the tie midway through the first half.
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