Southern Counties East League Division One
Lindsey Field, Lydd
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 61
I was supposed to be going to The Valley this afternoon for Charlton's game against Oxford. But yet another rail strike called for today, along with not booking a coach ticket in time, not having much appetite to drive and park up within a reasonable radius of SE7, or even bother trying to seek a lift, combined with a souring atmosphere developing around The Valley, meant that I decided to give The Valley a miss today and instead look around for an alternative local game, within range on my local bus network. In the end, I settled on a trip along the coast into Kent to revisit Lydd Town, for my first visit to Lindsey Field in over five years.
The Lindsey Field is located down a quiet lane on the southern border of the small and sleepy town of Lydd, where the residential area meets the flat expanse of the Romney Marsh, and with Dungeness Power Station visible in the distance. A fairly sizeable car park is available just inside the main entrance, and admission to the ground is gained through a wooden turnstile block, decorated with a club sign and a flag flying high above just inside the ground. Smart wooden fencing lines one length just above a grass bank, with the hard standing lining the pitchside railing which is colourfully decorated in club colours of red and green stripes. Behind the end closest to the entrance is a smartly designed tall brick clubhouse building located immediately behind the goal, with overhang to the front providing a sheltered standing area, with a team line-up board posted by the door. To the side of the clubhouse is a small black wooden building where a decent range of hold and cold food and drinks can be purchased. Along the other length there are a couple of modern metallic all-seater stands, one either side of the half way line, while behind the remaining end, there is just grass to stand on. Having been built up steadily over the years, the ground is smart, very well maintained and pleasing on the eye, and with a decent printed programme available and a really friendly welcome from all those I encountered around the ground, there is certainly much to enjoy about a visit to the Lindsey Field.
After spending recent seasons camped in the lower half of the table, Lydd Town have made a flying start to this one, leading the way by three points following six wins and a draw from their opening eight league games, and have progressed two rounds in the FA Vase, beating SCEFL Premier Division outfit Hollands and Blair 2-1 at home last Saturday. AFC Whyteleafe were only formed in 2021, immediately following the demise of Whyteleafe, then of the Isthmian League, and after just the one season in the Surrey South Eastern Combination League, finishing as runners up, they were promoted into senior football for this season. And they have made a reasonable start, winning two and drawing three of their opening seven league games leaving them in tenth place in the table, and they have also successfully negotiated two rounds in the FA Vase, most recently winning on penalties away at Combined Counties League Premier Division South outfit AFC Croydon Athletic.
On a mostly cloudy but occasionally sunny afternoon, the visitors had a dream start to this game, opening the scoring with just four minutes on the clock, when Nile Waite won the ball before threading a perfect ball forward for Temi Alaka to run onto, and he tapped the ball to the side of the keeper before striking the ball powerfully into the roof of the net. Lydd had a great chance to equalise on 18 minutes when a Whyteleafe player was caught in possession close to the half way line, for the Lydd player to run through towards goal, just keeping at bay a retreating defender, but his eventual shot was weak and comfortably gathered by the keeper. But the home side did level the scores on 31 minutes, again. a Whyteleafe player was caught in possession, an excellent pass was played towards the edge of the box for Jack Price to run onto, take the ball around the keeper before slotting it into an unguarded net. Whyteleafe had a couple of decent chances to retake the lead, and overall they probably had slightly the better of the first half, and an intriguing encounter was developing between a fluid, passing game of the visitors against a more robust and direct style of the home side.
The second half became increasingly tetchy, and it was unsurprising that a couple of bad looking tackles would ensue, and how they were dealt with arguably helped decide the outcome of the game. On 69 minutes, a Lydd player seemed to be extremely fortunate to only be shown a yellow card for what looked a high and late tackle, and the recipient had to be subbed. But on 80 minutes, Whyteleafe's Sam Keefe was shown a straight red card for a late tackle, but one that didn't look as dangerous as the Lydd player's earlier. The visitors still looked a threat, but on 88 minutes it was Lydd who grabbed a late winner, when a free kick from the right was played in, the keeper came out but failed to grab the ball, and after a bit of a scramble with a couple of shots in quick succession being blocked, the ball rolled to Kenny Pogue, who tapped the ball home from a central position ten yards out. Whyteleafe won a couple of corners in the six minutes of added on time but couldn't force the ball home.
So a hard fought three points for Lydd to maintain their three point lead at the top of the table, and considering that they had a few players absent today, things are looking good for a team who play with an efficient style capable of grinding out results.
A full match video can be viewed by clicking here
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