Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
River Road, St Neots
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 55
My options today were fairly limited, as I had an eye test and the subsequent choosing of new glasses to take care before I could get on my way to football. Having visited Step 7 grounds last Saturday and Monday, Eaton Socon was the only option at Step 6 or above available to me using public transport. Fortunately, it was an option that would have appealed to me anyway, and getting away from the opticians in good time, I quickly made my way northwards to the western fringe of Cambridgeshire.
River Road is about a half hour walk from St Neots train station, passing through the very pleasant town centre and then over the Great River Ouse en route. The footpath to the entrance leads between an indoor bowls club hall and an outdoor playground, with bright, eye catching signage pointing visitors to the entrance behind one end of the ground. Admission fees are taken at a wooden hut, and the most substantial spectator facilities are behind this end. To the right of the entrance, stretching almost to the corner flag is quite a large stand, mostly made of wood panels and scaffold poles, with a row of metallic seats, seemingly recycled from a Thameslink train station, along the rear, and some artificial grass laid just in front of the seats. Towards the other corner there is a smaller and narrower wooden stand covering a flat standing area, and between the stand and the corner there is a row of uncovered train station benches. Players come out from their changing rooms onto the pitch in that corner, and refreshments are available from a small portable cabin in front of the changing rooms, with a small elevated area of decking to the front, and a marquee has been erected close to the pitch moving away from the corner flag. The rest of this length has no hard standing, and nor does the furthest end. The remaining length just has hard standing, apart from the dugouts which quite unusually has sturdy stretched plastic covering, which is decorated with the club’s logo. Floodlights are yet to be installed, but apparently work will start within the next week or two. With the two lengths having plenty of grass between the pitch and the attractive wooden perimeter fencing, this is a smart and well maintained ground, in pleasant and quiet surroundings, albeit there is plenty of work to do to satisfy the ground graders in order to permanently be able to host Step 6 football. It feels like an exciting time for the club, on and off the field.
Eaton Socon were promoted from the Cambridgeshire County League despite only finishing in fourth place, 15 points adrift of the champions. But they have certainly made a strong start to life at Step 6, winning both of their home league games and drawing their two away games so far. Today would be a tough assignment though, as Amersham Town have a 100% record from opening three league games, including a 7-0 win in their last league game.
On a grey and muggy afternoon, this game was even and keenly fought, and it certainly had an edge to it at times. Goalscoring chances were at a premium though, with Eaton Socon's best chance of the first half coming on 26 minutes when a deft touch sent the forward through, but a defender just about made enough ground to force him a little wide and strike a difficult shot over the bar. Amersham's best chance came on 35 minutes, when a curling shot from the edge of the area forced an excellent tip over by the keeper.
The second half continued in the same vein, plenty of endeavour without much end product, although the game did get increasingly niggly. Just as I was starting to fear a goalless draw. Eaton Socon broke the deadlock on 74 minutes, after Amersham gave the ball away in midfield and the ball was worked forward to Jake Anderson who drove the ball low into the right hand corner. On 80 minutes, the visitors saw a header from a free kick go wide, but on 82 minutes, they did equalise when a free kick was drilled home by Lewis Putnan. The award of the free kick was questionable, and Owen Dixon took his protests too far, and was shown a straight red card. Amersham suddenly sensed the game was there for the taking, but they didn't really threaten to score a winner in the remaining minutes, and a point apiece was probably a fair reflection of the game, which maintained both clubs' unbeaten starts to their league campaigns.
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