Mid Sussex League Premier Division
Caburn Community Ground, Ringmer
Admsission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 50 (rough estimate)
With yet another rail strike called for today - called off on Friday afternoon but too late for my local rail company Southern Railway to reinstate any services on my local line - and not fancying a long drive to a new ground (the closest one with any "facilities" over 100 miles away), particularly with plenty of rain forecast - I decided to revisit a couple of local grounds today, facilitated with this game kicking off at 12.30, and with its certainty of being played on its plastic pitch. There was an added attraction for me of the visiting club being from the town I lived in for several years, playing this season at their highest ever level.
My previous visit to the Caburn Community Ground was just last year, in June 2021, for a Sussex Sunday League Cup final , but there have been a few improvements to the facilities since then. Signage now points the way from the adjoining school's roadside car park to the football ground, a welcome sign is draped on a movable barrier next to a portable pay kiosk (not usually used for Ringmer games, including today), signs are posted by various doors on and around the clubhouse building, and a large team line-up whiteboard is now located next to the tea bar window (although it was not used today). The most significant upgrade is a sizeable uncovered balcony which has been installed outside the clubhouse bar on the first floor, offering excellent views of the action, and it also serves as a cover for the flat standing area below. The improvements have given the ground some real identity, and facilities really are excellent for Step 7, with a spacious, bright and comfortable bar area, and its pitch facing windows made it the more attractive place to watch the game from for the majority of those in attendance today, given the inclement weather conditions outside. The only downside of the ground is that only one length and one end is accessible for spectators.
Having finished second in the table last season and applied for promotion last season, it looked like senior football would be returning to the village of Ringmer this season for the first time since 2018, when the original Ringmer FC resigned from the Southern Combination League after 55 years. Ringmer eventually merged with up and coming club AFC Ringmer, to form the current club Ringmer AFC in 2020, when this ground opened. But in the summer, having already been placed in the Southern Combination League Division One for the coming season, Ringmer AFC somewhat surprisingly withdrew their application for promotion, feeling that they were not quite ready for the step up after all. They have had an average start to this season though, coming into this game in eighth place out of 13 clubs, following four wins and a draw from their opening ten league games. They were not in good form either, losing three of their last four league games, probably not helped by all of those four games being away from home. Battle Town have taken a step up from the East Sussex League for this season, and they also now play their home games at Eastbourne United's ground The Oval, some 15 miles away from the town. They had something of a baptism of fire in the Mid Sussex League, losing their first five league games, including a 2-4 defeat to Ringmer AFC in August. But they then had a remarkable turnaround, winning five of their next six games, and they came into this game in seventh place, following five wins and six defeats from their 11 league games.
On a pretty miserable afternoon - mild, but with virtually constant rain falling of variable intensity throughout - I was expecting a close game, given the respective league positions, but instead this was a very one sided encounter in favour of the visitors. They took the lead in the 13th minute, following a diagonal cross from the right which the Ringmer keeper fumbled, allowing the ball to roll loose for a simple tap in. Ringmer had a great chance to equalise on 20 minutes, when a ball driven in from the left just evaded both the keeper and the striker. On 22 minutes, a Battle player sent a superb diagonal ball over the Ringmer right back, and with the keeper coming out to the outer croner of his penalty area, the Battle player lobbed the ball towards goal, but a Ringmer just managed to get back and acrobatically clear it to safety. But Battle did double their lead on 24 minutes with a very good goal, their player striding forward through midfield, and with not much else on, he struck the ball from the edge of the area into the top right corner beyond the keeper's fingertips. The visitors scored their third on 38 minutes when a Ringmer defender was dispossessed by the edge of his own area, and the Battle player dinked the ball into the path of a team mate inside the penalty area, and he tapped it past the keeper. And the result was all but confirmed a minute before the break when the ball was emphatically headed home from a corner to give the visitors a four goal lead at the break.
So, Ringmer had only really had pride left to play for in the second half, but they fell further behind on 63 minutes when the ball was slipped forward, finding the run of a team mate, who took the ball forward and with the keeper coming out to meet him, the ball was struck past him and into the net from a slight angle. Ringmer did score a consolation on 70 minutes when a shot from just outside the area went in inside the right hand post. They thought they had pulled another goal back on 85 minutes, when a diagonal ball to the back post was headed home from close range, but the linesman rose his flag for offside. Battle saw the game out with their four lead margin in tact, and it was a scoreline that pretty much reflected the game, with Battle superior in every department on the day.
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