Farleigh Rovers 0 v 1 Westfield

Saturday 10th March 2012
Combined Counties League Division 1
Parsonage Field, Warlingham
Admission: None
Programme: Free
Attendance: 11 (h-c)
Match Rating: 2

For today's fare, I quite fancied taking in a game in the northern Surrey area, having not been there for some time. Although Godalming, Sandhurst Town and Ash United came into consideration, in the end I plumped for a visit to Farleigh Rovers, with the weather set fair for the long walk to the rural location of the ground.

Parsonage Field is located about a 45 minute walk north eastwards from Whyteleafe rail station (or Upper Warlingham, the two stations being almost adjacent to each other on different lines). It is not an easy walk however, being steep uphill for about the first half of the three mile walk, although buses do ply the route for those less energetic.The ground is something of a throwback to the very basic grounds that one used to encounter in the County Leagues decades ago, the type that the FA appear determined to elminate from senior football, more's the pity. Indeed, surely Parsonage Field is living very much on borrowed time, with Farleigh Rovers already having played some games at Croydon FC in recent seasons and the ground could certainly not host Combined Counties Premier League football without extensive improvements. Considering the team's current position, that is not likely to be an issue for quite some time. Located down a track, the ground appears to have not received any TLC for many years, and is all the more quaint and charming for that. There are no floodlights, and facilities are very basic, with two buildings housing the clubhouse and the changing rooms, with some corrugated cover stretching between those and the pitchside railings providing the only cover in the ground. For the rest of this length there is hard standing, along the other length is just grass to stand on although there is old-fashioned railings which are collapsing in places, and it is not possible to stand behind either goal. Behind one of the goals is the track to the ground and fields and behind the other are trees closely lining the goal line, all of which provides a nice rural feel to the ground. Ugly strewn junk behind the hard standing area does detract from the appearance of the ground though. Surprisingly, there was nobody to take any admission money (although the attendance only just reaching double figures that may have included club officials probably meant there was little motivation to bother having someone on the gate). The official attendance was published as 20 - surprising, as by my counting, the figure peaked at 11. Programmes were available - free of charge - from the bar, and the 20 page publication was basic but well presented and with enough information of interest to read to fill ten minutes or so.

Farleigh Rovers are battling against relegation, although they deserve credit for it not being a foregone conclusion already, having lost their first eight games of the season and only picking up three wins and three draws from their opening 20 games. However, a 0-6 home defeat to near neighbours Warlingham at the turn of the year seemed to inspire a change in their fortunes, having won three and drawn one of their subsequent five games, the only defeat coming against runaway leaders Guernsey. Going into this game, they were in fifteenth place in the eighteen team league, six points clear of the bottom two and the potential relegation places. Westfield are settled into a season of mid table obscurity, in eighth place, but having played more games than all other teams, there is very little prospect of making up the 12 points to a promotion place. Their recent form has not been good though. Before winning last time out at home to Feltham, they had picked up only one point from their previous six games. When the two teams met earlier in the season, Westfield let a two goal lead slip and the match ended 2-2.

The first half was a rather dull affair, with no real chances being fashioned, although the home side probably showed more of the attacking ambition, particularly in the early stages. A goalless scoreline at half time was not surprising.

As the bright warm sunshine gave way to overcast skies for the second half, within eight minutes of the restart, Westfield were awarded penalty when a fierce shot towards goal was blocked by a defender's hands. Shane Cheeseman placed the ball excellently low into the bottom left corner with the keeper going the other way. This did spark the game into life a little more, and 64 minutes, a lovely curling shot from a Farleigh's Thomas Nyarko from fully 25 yards hit the crossbar. As the second half wore on, Farleigh Rovers put more and more pressure on the Westfield goal, although they rarely convinced that they could find an equaliser. Three minutes from time and Westfield could have put the game to bed when a jinking run into the box resulted in a placed shot that was deflected just wide. Deep into injury time, and Farleigh Rovers had their best chance of the game when a corner, which their keeper came up for, was headed over the keeper to the back post, but the ball was stabbed just wide, and so it was Westfield who kept their first clean sheet away from home since August to earn the three points.

Windsor 4 v 1 Egham Town

Tuesday 27th December 2011
Combined Counties League Premier Division
Stag Meadow, Windsor
Admission: Free
Programme: £2.50
Attendance: 806
Match Rating: 4

For my latest festive bank holiday football fix, I went for "a right royal day out", with a trip to Windsor, attracted by the club offering free entry to all spectators for today's match, which was appealing enough in itself, being a local derby between two of the better sides in the Combined Counties League Premier Division.

This is Windsor's first season in existence, formed after the winding up of the previous club Windsor and Eton. They have taken over the former club's ground at Stag Meadow, which is located about a half hour walk from Windsor and Eton Riverside station. The walk is certainly very pleasant, as one passes close by Windsor Castle and then through the town centre. Stag Meadow is located on the edge of the Great Park, and is neat, tidy and well maintained, but it will not live long in the memory of my groundhopping travels. The ground is very open, with a small old-fashioned all-seater stand, dating back to the 1940's, straddling the half way line on one side, either side of the stand are uncovered terraces, whilst on the other side of the pitch, cover is extended along the middle three quarters of the length over a few terrace steps. Behind both goals are again a few terrace steps but uncovered. A tea bar is located in one corner just after one enters the ground, whilst on the other side of the main stand is the clubhouse and as this was designated a "Family Fun Day", a hog roast was offered together with face painting and various other attractions. A special edition of the programme was produced, for 50 pence more than normal, today containing 48 pages in full colour. Plenty of interesting articles and stats to read. A slight criticism might be that the editor tried to be a little too funny on too many occasions, although in fairness perhaps regular fans would have "got the jokes" more than a one-off visitor.

Considering Windsor had to start from scratch at the start of this season, it is to their enormous credit that they found themselves in second place going into today's game, three points behind reigning champions Guildford City. After an understandably slow start to the season, they have been in electric form recently, winning their last four league games and are unbeaten in their last ten league games, stretching back to mid October, and over the season, their stand out results have been 11-0, 10-0 and 7-1 victories. Today's visitors, Egham Town, are doing better than they have in recent years, in fourth place, eight points behind Windsor but with two games in hand. They also have been in very good form, losing just once in their last 13 games.

On an incredibly mild afternoon for a festive fixture, the opening exchanges pointed to an even match, yet on eight minutes, Windsor opened the scoring when a surging run from the right towards the goalkeeper by Ryan O'Toole ended with the ball being played along the six yard line for Joe Chandiram to fire home. Windsor dominated the rest of the half and missed at least three glorious chances to extend their lead, although this was more a reflection of how well Windsor were playing - credit to Egham for always looking to play football and they showed enough with intermittent attacks to suggest that the game was still very much in the balance at half time and Windsor may yet regret missing those golden chances.

The second half started off as evenly as the first had, but on the hour mark, Windsor increased their lead when Michael Chennels fired home from close range following a good run into the box and cut back by Yashwa Romeo. Five minutes later and it was game over, when Ben Porter showed good trickery before laying the ball back to to Romeo to tap the ball into an empty net. A minute later and the scoreline became very harsh on the visitors when O'Toole worked some space before curling a peach of a low shot into the corner from the edge of the box. The home side took their foot off of the gas after this, which allowed Egham to come more and more into the game, and they got the goal they deserved on 86 minutes when Dan Hartlebury curled a lovely shot just out of the reach of the keeper and into the net. They had a couple of chances to make the scoreline more respectable, but the match ended 4-1 to the home side. Egham could count themselves very unlucky to be on the end of such a scoreline - a similar performance against most other teams in the league would probably yield three points, but today they were simply blitzed by an electric spell from the home side in the space of six second half minutes.

It was a brave decision to allow free entry for a match that probably would have attracted a reasonable crowd anyway, being a festive fixture against a local team also going well this season, but it was pleasing to see the club rewarded for the big efforts that had been put in to make the day a success with a huge attendance, who not only got their wallets out for refreshments, but the town was very much sent the message that their team is alive and kicking again after the demise of the former club, and on today's showing, Windsor will run Guildford very close for the title and a return to the Southern League looks a distinct possibility.

Guernsey 4 v 1 Ash United

Saturday 5th November 2011
Combined Counties League Cup 2nd Round
Footes Lane, St Peter Port
Admission: £4.00
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 1065
Match Rating: 4

Always one to be attracted by unusual games with something of a novelty factor, I headed off to the Channel Islands today to watch Guernsey play in their first season in the English pyramid system - indeed, the first ever team from the Channel Islands to. A visit would always be top of my hitlist once their application to join the Combined Counties League was confirmed earlier this year, and I decided to visit sooner rather than later given the risks involved in making such a journey in the winter months, together with the cynic inside me wondering how sustainable the whole "project" will be in the long term..

With suitably timed and reasonably priced flights with Flybe, together with an early 1pm kick off time, making a daytrip to the island for this game possible, I touched down at Guernsey Airport and embarked on the four mile walk across the island to St Peter Port to enjoy this very charming coastal town, before later walking twenty minutes inland to Footes Lane. Tickets can be bought online for Guernsey matches, although I chose to buy mine from the back of a minibus with doubled up as the ticket office just outside the ground. Buses are also available. Once inside, the ground, which is part of a large sports complex, is nothing to write home about sadly. It is modern, quite open to the elements, has no character and, worst of all, also has a running track around the outside meaning spectators are distant from the action, although they are allowed close behind both goals. There is one modern all-seater stand, with just hard standing around the rest of the ground. Programmes are available just outside the ground, although I had to really look hard for the seller, and such shyness was misplaced, as the programme was a superb effort, one which would not look out of place as high as the Conference National. It is 24 pages printed in all colour on glossy paper and has a really attractive design and plenty of interesting articles as well as stats to digest.

Perhaps unsurprisingly at the lowest level of senior football, Guernsey have made a very strong start to their inaugural campaign, accumulating 43 points from their 16 games so far, losing just once, when they were understrength due to commitments of many of their players with their island clubs. They have been invincible at home, winning all five of their games so far without conceding a goal - their "worst" result being a 3-0 win, and they are fourteen points clear of second placed Bedfont Sports, although they have had played four games more. They seem certainities for promotion to the Premier Division, and therefore today would be a good barometer of the quality they may face next season, with Premier Division Ash United the visitors today. However, they came to the island in a poor run of form, as they have lost their last four games and picked up just two points from their last eight games following a reasonable start to the season. They found themselves in 18th place in the Premier Division.

On an overcast and chilly autumnal afternoon, it was Guernsey who got off to a dream start, when Ryan Zico Black fired home a wonderful free-kick into the top right hand corner from 22 yards. It could have been two for Guernsey five minutes later, as Ross Allen had a shot cannon off the crossbar following a quick counter attack. It was all Guernsey during the first ten minutes, as it looked like the Ash United players allowed the occasion to get to them, but then suddenly on 12 minutes they had the opportunity to halve the deficit when they were awarded a very soft looking penalty - it looked like a dive to everyone apart from the referee. Perhaps justice was done when a woefully soft penalty was comfortable saved low to the keeper's left. This did, however seem to wake Ash up as they had the better chances to score as the first half progressed, and could probably count themselves slightly unfortunate not to be on level terms at the interval.

The game seemed very much in the balance at half time, but Guernsey gave themselves breathing space four minutes into the second half when Ross Allen slotted home after the ball ran free from a bit of a scramble in the box. Seven minutes later and it looked like game over with a real horror moment for the Ash goalkeeper, who let a fairly tame shot straight at him squirm through his hands and into the net for Kieran Mahon to score. Ash did give themselves hope just before the hour mark though, when a free kick from wide was glanced into the top corner by Lee O'Donnell. Surprisingly, the game became rather sterile after this, with Ash's sporadic attacks breaking down before a shot on goal could be unleashed whilst Guernsey seemed to be happy with what they had. Indeed, there was no further addition to the scoreline until five minutes into added on time at the end of the match, when Guernsey added a fourth.. It was another error by the keeper, when he allowed a cross shot to beat him when it looled like he had it covered. And so in the end it was Guernsey who progress to the next round with a visit to Egham Town, with a flattering scoreline. Whilst Guernsey certainly played much the better football, they gave the ball away far too often, and were possibly lucky to come against a team often resorting to rather agricultural tactics

Guernsey certainly deserve a lot of credit for what they are trying to do, and their ambition, professionalism, support and organisation are a real breath of fresh air in the Combined Counties League, a league that is characterised (with exceptions) by very low crowds, poor grounds and general disinterest. I imagine that somewhere in the Isthmian/Southern League will be there natural level if they stick to their policy of selecting players from the island, but it will be interesting to see how sustainable the project is though once the novelty wears off for players and sponsors - the huge commitment from whom Guernsey FC is totally dependent upon, not to mention from the fans.

Farnham Town 5 v 1 Badshot Lea

Monday 29th August 2011

Combined Counties League Premier Division

The Memorial Ground, Farnham

Admission: £6.00

Programme: £1.00

Attendance: 80

Match Rating: 4

Bank Holiday Mondays can only mean one thing for me - a double fix of football, starting off with a morning kick-off in the Combined Counties. The decision was a tough one today, only very late the previous evening did I finally decide on a trip to south-west Surrey and a visit to The Memorial Ground, home of newly promoted Farnham Town for their very local derby against Badshot Lea, based just a couple of miles away from Farnham.

The Memorial Ground is located about a fifteen minute from Farnham rail station, walking through the town centre en route. The ground is located very close to the town centre and nestled amongst housing, although the ground is still quite roomy. Despite its urban location, the ground is quite roomy. One can enter either side of the pitch - the main entrance takes one past the clubhouse with a nice patio area in front and a large grass area up to the hard standing around the pitch. Along the opposite length of the pitch is a small area of cover to one side of the dugouts, and to the other is where the players enter the ground, with the changing rooms located outside of the ground. The area behind one of the goals is significantly higher compared to the rest of the ground, which makes for a good vantage point to watch the action. There is also a small stand painted in club colours with two rows of seating, but the view is not good when seated in this stand, as the pitch perimeter fencing significantly obstructs ones view. The area behind the other goal is not accessible within the ground, but makes for a great place to watch the action for free if one is so inclined with so through fencing close to the edge of the pitch. It is a ground that appealed to me without really being able to put my finger on the reason why, other than it has some uniqueness and is smart and tidy. A basic 16 page programme covered all the essential information and little more, and it has a very attractive cover design and is neatly produced inside.

Farnham Town have had a reasonable if unspectacular start back in the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League having won promotion by finishing in second place in the First Division last season, claiming just two points from their opening four games before winning on Saturday at Wembley, and they had an excellent win against Premier League Champions Guildford City in the FA Cup. Badshot Lea, one of the fancied teams this season, have had a very good start to the season, with three wins and a draw from their opening five games, after finishing sixth in the Premier Division last season.

So, the visitors would probably have been considered slight favourites for this match, although form is often quite irrelevant in derby matches. Indeed, they looked the better side in the opening exchanges, however on ten minutes it was the home side who took the lead thanks to a bullet near-post header by Mark Corbett from a corner. Ten minutes later and Farnham doubled their advantage following another corner, when the keeper seemed to misjudge the flight of the ball and could only fumble the ball on and Matt Bunyan stabbed home from very close range at the far post. Ten minutes later, and Badshot Lea struck the bar with a powerful shot from 20 yards by Marcus Cousins. Five minutes before half time and the Badshot Lea manager made a Mourinho style tactical double substitution. Within a minute though, the visitors found themselves three goals in arrears, yet again they could not deal with a corner, and a header appeared to cross the line before being blocked, however Bunyan made sure by thumping home from 12 yards.

It was quite a remarkable scoreline at half time, and in truth Farnham should have scored at least a couple more with a couple of unbelievable close range misses, although the visitors had not actually played that badly. To have any chance of getting anything from the game, they would need to score early in the second half, and on 57 minutes a long range shot was needlessly spilt by the Farnham keeper, and in rushing to retrieve the loose ball, brought down the Badshot Lea forward John Pomroy and a penalty was awarded, and was converted by Pomroy himself with a powerful shot into the bottom right hand corner giving the keeper no chance. The visitors now had a sniff, and the game remained open with both sides having chances to add to the scoreline. On 72 minutes, Farnham put the game to bed when a perfectly judged through ball was played, putting Corbett through one-on-one with the keeper, and he showed good composure to slot the ball low into the net. They had numerous other gilt edged chances to add to the scoreline, although it was not until deep into added-on time that they managed to add a fifth, Corbett smashing home the penalty high straight down the middle after a driving run into the box drew a foul, for his 49th goal in just 51 games since joining the club - a mightily impressive record at any level of senior football.

So a comprehensive derby day victory for Farnham Town, and the victory was deserved for a team that showed good movement, understanding and desire, although the scoreline was harsh on Badshot Lea, who actually played quite well and deserve considerable credit for still showing good application even by the time defeat was inevitable and they certainly played their part in a very entertaining game of football.

Egham Town 1 v 2 Chertsey Town

Monday 25th April 2011
Combined Counties League Premier Division
Runnymede Stadium, Egham
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 150 (estimate)
Match Rating: 3

Bank holiday Monday can only mean one thing for me, a double bill of football action, kicking off with a match in the Combined Counties League, a league which can always be relied on for 11.30 kick-offs on Bank Holiday Mondays. I chose to head for a local derby that is always keenly contested, with no love lost between the two sides to put it mildly, with the added spice that the visiting team still had a chance of claiming the title.

Runnymede Stadium, home of Egham Town, is about a 20 minute walk from the town's train station, passing over the M25 en route. The stadium looks exactly what it is - the home venue of Isthmian League football up to a few years ago, the legacy of which is facilities superior to most grounds that one encounters in the Combined Counties League, but are looking somewhat unloved and have a "had better days" appearance. Stands are available along all four sides of the pitch. As one enters the ground behind one of the goals, there is covered stand with a couple of steps of terracing, behind the other goal is a much narrower stand also covering a couple of terrace steps, along one length of the pitch are three stands covering hard standing, and along the other length is a small, old-fashioned all-seater stand. The 16 page programme had an attractive card cover and served its purpose with providing basic facts and stats, but with little to retain one's interest for more than a couple of minutes. Credit though for only containing three pages of advertising.

Today's visitors went into this game still with a chance of claiming the Combined Counties League title, although in reality they appear to have "blown it", having challenged Guildford City for top spot in recent months, but two goalless draws away at mid-table Raynes Park Vale and then Cove have meant that destiny is no longer in their hands. Level on points but with an inferior goal difference with Guildford City, they would need to win today's game, their last of the season, and hope that Guildford could gain no more than two points from their remaining two games, both away, but against lowly Ash United and rock bottom Bookham. Egham Town found themselves down in eleventh place in the 21 team league and have a truly awful end to the season, having claimed just two points from their last eight games. When the two teams met earlier in the season, Chertsey won 3-1

On another beautifully sunny day but slightly cooler than of late due to a fresh breeze, the first half of this game was pretty much as one would have expected of a local derby between two clubs out of form, one with much to play for. Dull, with precious few chances, although Egham certainly matched Chertsey, and if anything possibly had the better of proceedings. The scoreline at half-time was goalless, and with news coming through that Guildford City were losing at Ash United, there was much motivation for Chertsey to push on to find a winner. They had a wonderful opportunity four minutes into the second half when they were awarded a penalty for a daft challenge by Nathan Blanks on Dean Papali when the Chertsey player was running towards the corner flag. Papali took the penalty himself and struck it well, low to the keeper's right, but the keeper Justin Gray pulled off a tremendous save to keep the scoreline goalless, to add to a wonderful point blank save he had made in the first half from a powerful header.A few minutes later and Chertsey were made to pay for missing the penalty as a well worked move ended with Matt Grave placing a shot under the keeper from 15 yards out to give Egham the lead. Given Chertsey's recent poor goalscoring record and their sporadic at best attacking moves in this match so far, one feared that the title race could be over, but they did manage to get back on level terms on 70 minutes when a corner was headed towards goal by Trevor Charlery and Phil Page tapped in at the far post. Just a minute later and Chertsey were suddenly in front, but what a gift it was, when a back-pass by Blanks was completely missed by the Egham goalkeeper and the ball rolled into the back of the net. An inexplicable mistake, under no real pressure and no bobble was apparent. From now on, Chertsey were in total ascendancy and several chances came and went, varying from the presentable to the "how on earth did he miss that?!" and tempers boiled over a couple of times - a mass brawl went completely unpunished, before another one a couple of minutes later resulted in Egham's Chris Robinson and Chertsey's Miles Smith being sent off. Apparently, Egham should have equalised with a few minutes remaining when a firm header crossed the line before being saved, but Chertsey it was who claimed the derby double. Chertsey's fans had been in fine voice all afternoon, and full credit to them for staying long after the match to applaud their players for a season's hard work as the players spread the champagne. This would not be to celebrate winning the title, as news came through that Guildford had overturned their half time deficit to triumph 3-2, and unless they lose by eleven goals at Bookham next week, the title will be Guildford's. But Chertsey seem to be very confident of gaining promotion after coming close for several years, confidence that may be misplaced as Guildford City have appealed against the decision not to allow them promotion due to their ground, and promotion of runners ups to the Isthmian (and parallel) leagues tends to be something of a lottery.

Bedfont Sports 3 v 2 Hayes Gate

Monday 28th August 2010
Combined Counties League Division 1
Bedfont Sports Club, Bedfont
Admission: None
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 144
Match Rating: 4

Another bank holiday and once again the Combined Counties League is the source for the first in a double bill of games for me today, with all of their games kicking off at 11.30, the only senior league in the south-east to have morning kick-offs this bank holiday. I chose to head to Bedfont Sports, located little more than a stone's throw away from the perimeter fence of Heathrow Airport - indeed, the loud roar of planes taking off and sight of planes in very close view coming into land was a constant feature throughout the match. The closest tube station to Bedfont Sports Ground is Hatton Cross, about 15 minutes walk away, however rather than endure the mind crushing experience of almost a tube journey of almost an hour from central London, I chose to take the train to Feltham, with roughly double the walking distance. The club is loacted adjacent to The Orchard, formerly home of Bedfont FC but now of Bedfont Town (formerly Bedfont Green) and Feltham.

Today's game was free admission, with programmes available at an inflated £2, although all proceeds from programme sales apparently would be given to the junior section of the club. The programme was of a pretty good standard considering the level, containing a good combination of words and stats to inform the visitor about both clubs and their progress so far this season. Unsurprisingly given that Bedfont Sports are relatively new to Senior football - this being only their second season in the Combined Counties League, facilities are pretty basic, with just hard standing all around the pitch, but with a pleasant open terraced area outside the teabar and clubhouse. Seats and benches are also scattered around this length of the pitch. The ground has a scent of one that is well-run and organised, with ambitions to progress and improve facilities at a sensible rate - indeed, plans are in place to construct a stand and to fully enclose the ground.

Bedfont Sports went into this game top of the league, having been unbeaten in their first six games and won three of those, although they did lose their latest game at Chobham. Today's visitors Hayes Gate, who have only been in existence for four years, have made a solid start to their first season in senior football, gaining nine points from their opening five games.

This game proved that even at this lowest level of senior football, one can still watch some highly entertaining football with no little skill on display. Both sides deserve considerable credit for this, considering that there was a strong wind blowing throughout the match. The home side took the lead as early as the three minutes when a ball was pumped forward, the keeper shouted "my ball" - inexplicably, as he was nowhere near the ball and the striker headed the ball easily over the onrushing keeper. This seemed to kick Hayes Gate into life, as they went on to dominate the first half with some wonderful fast flowing football. They equalised on 20 minutes with a strange goal, a free kick was curled fairly weakly into the box along the ground, but defenders and the goalkeeper left clearing the ball to each other, allowing the ball to trickle into the net. They took a deserved lead on the half hour, which they held until half time. That was as good as it got for the visitors, as Bedfont Sports were by far the better side in the second half. On 60 minutes, Bedfont Sports were back on level terms when Luke Craig sent the keeper the wrong way from the penalty spot. They went on claim the three points with a quarter of an hour remaining when an awful backpass was intercepted by Tony Hadley, who poked it past the keeper weakly and the ball just about rolled into the corner of the net before the onrushing defenders could reach it.