Loxwood 2 v 1 Worthing United

(Second Half Only)
Saturday 16th January 2015
Plaistow Road, Loxwood
Southern Combination League Premier Division
Attendance: 55
Match Rating: 3

Following my earlier game at Alfold, I jumped in the car and drove 10 minutes south back from Surrey into West Sussex, to catch the second half of this match two divisions above the match I watched earlier.

Plaistow Road is located a mile south of the small village of Loxwood. The football ground is approached by crossing over a cricket field, and a large attractive dark coloured pavilion clubhouse, before spectators are guided through the entrance with some attractive welcome signs. Once inside, the ground has certainly been transformed since my last visit in 2007, when the club played intermediate football in Division Three of the Sussex County League. The pitch has been rotated 90 degrees, and now there is a metallic all-seater stand straddling the half way line, and a wooden stand covering standing area behind one of the goals. There is no hard standing along the length opposite the all-seater stand. It's a rather unique venue, nestled quite tightly amongst fir trees, and has a really pleasantly rural feel to it.

Loxwood came into this game in ninth place, with 11 wins and a draw from their 19 games, whilst Worthing United were in 16th place in the 20 team division, with four wins and five draws from their 17 games played so far. It has been a difficult season for Worthing United, who lost two of their first team players to the Shoreham Air Show tragedy in August, and as a result, numbers 1 and 11 have been used since. This would be the first time the two teams have met this season. The half time scoreline at this game was 1-1, with Worthing United taking the lead on 13 minutes with Patrick Rose scoring, only for Loxwood's Oliver Moore to equalise just a minute later , but Worthing United's task was made more difficult when their centre back Grant Philpott was sent off for abusive language to one of the officials shortly before half time.

The second half was a real battle for the most part, with few goalscoring chances, but Loxwood took the lead on 72 minutes. A corner was overhit and fell to Michael Wood, and he drove towards to penalty area before unleashing a powerful shot which when inside the keeper's near post despite the keeper getting a hand to the ball. They thought they had doubled their lead but had a goal ruled out for offside. Worthing United pushed hard for an equaliser, forcing a few corners, but with the last action of the game, Loxwood forced an excellent flying save by the visiting keeper. But they had done enough to secure the three points which, based on the second half that I saw, they deserved.

Alfold 2 v 1 Montpelier Villa

Saturday 16th January 2016
Recreation Ground, Alfold
Southern Combination League Division Two
Admission: None
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 32
Match Rating: 3

With my Network Railcard expiring last week and fancying a drive more than a train journey today, I decided to drive to the West Sussex / Surrey border to recomplete the Southern Combination Football League, at a venue that is quite difficult to reach by public transport. There was also the added attraction that I would be able to catch the second half at nearby Loxwood after this game which kicked off at 2pm.

The Alfold Recreation Ground is located about a mile to the north of Alfold village and situated within the Alfold Sports and Social Club. From the main road, a short lane leads to the large and welcoming clubhouse, with the football pitch to the right and a play area, village hall and cricket field to the left. The location is peaceful and spacious, and would probably be more rurally attractive closer to the summer months. There is wooden railing along the length where the dugouts are located, lined with a hedge, behind which is a training pitch and then farmland. The rest of the pitch is roped off, with hedging behind one end and the clubhouse behind the other. Behind the remaining length is the lane and the rest of the recreation ground. There is no hard standing available, which caused muddy, squelchy conditions pitchside, but to the groundsman's enormous credit, the pitch itself was in fine condition considering the recent prolonged and heavy rain and most recently hard frosts over the last couple of nights. Considering the level, the programme was basic but informative enough, 12 pages printed in colour with an attractive cover, welcome message, league table and predicted line-ups.

This is the first season that both team have played in the Southern Combination League, having profited from promotion based on their facilities rather than their on the field achievements. Montpelier Villa finished last season in eighth place in the Mid Sussex League Premier Division, while Alfold finished in sixth place in the second tier of the West Sussex League. This season, Alfold went into this game in 13th place in the 16 team division, with three wins and four draws from their 17 games, while Montpelier Villa were two places better off, with five wins and a draw from their 15 games. When the two teams met in the league in September, Alfold won 1-3, but in the league cup game, also played at Sussex University, Montpelier Villa won 4-2.

On a rare bright and sunny afternoon - with occasional cloud cover - Alfold started the game doing most of the attacking, but gradually the visitors got a foothold in the game and they took the lead on 17 minutes with a lovely goal by George Hatton, shooting the ball into the top left hand corner from just outside the area. Alfold got back on level terms on 40 minutes when Daniel Hallett shot the ball into the net from a central position after the ball was played back to him by Ben Thompsett.

1-1 was a fair reflection on a tight first half between two evenly matched teams, but on 55 minutes, Alfold almost took the lead when a shot from outside of the penalty area struck the underside of the crossbar. They did take the lead on 65 minutes though. Zach Gray passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area, and Hallett spun with the ball, took a stride towards goal before firing the ball past the keeper. Alfold looked fairly comfortable with their lead for the remainder of the match apart from four minutes from time, when a floated shot from outside of the area was just tipped over by the keeper, before Alfold went down the other end and, with two attackers against one defender, the ball was played across the field to a player on his own, but his eventual shot was smothered. A couple of minutes later and the visitors thought they had equalised when a free kick into the box was headed down and the ball was tucked home but the officials ruled it out for offside. But Alfold claimed the three points, which they probably just about deserved, although the game really could have gone either way.

Barry Town United 3 v 2 Monmouth Town

Saturday 9nd January 2016
Jenner Park, Barry
Welsh Football League Division One
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 225
Match Rating: 4

A few months after booking today’s trip from London to Cardiff for the bargain price of just £2.50 return with Megabus, my long awaited return to South Wales finally arrived. There are some beautiful football grounds full of character in the Welsh Football League, however the ground I chose to head for today did not promise to fit into that category. A visit to Jenner Park still promised to be interesting though, the venue for a club that fell on hard times since dominating the Welsh Football scene around the turn of the Millennium, but is gradually progressing back up the Welsh pyramid.

Jenner Park is about a 20 minute walk from Cadoxton train station, and spectators can enter the ground behind either goal – one entrance through a rather grim looking turnstile block, the other via a narrow, unsigned alleyway before reaching a separate turnstile block. The presence of an athletics track around the outside of the pitch never adds to a ground's attractiveness, and this ground does have more of a feel of a municipal sports ground than a proper football ground, with no club signage whatsoever, but it does have some features that give the place some uniqueness. Behind one of the goals is the clubhouse, perched above pitch level, which offers good (if distant) elevated views of the action, but was a popular option today for many on a miserable day outside. A pathway then leans towards the main all-seater stand, which has a tall roof comprising several arcs from side to side. A much plainer looking all-seater stand is situated on the opposite side, with just hard standing around the rest of the athletics track. The 20 page programme covered the basics sufficiently and was well presented.

After being promoted as champions from Division Two, Barry have settled well into Division One football, and went into this game in fifth place, with seven wins and five draws from their 15 league games. They have also reached the fourth round of the Welsh Cup, where they will play The New Saints in a televised tie to spark some nostalgia from matches around the turn of the millennium when the two clubs were battling it out at the top of the Welsh Premier League. Monmouth Town are having a steady season, in tenth places having gained four wins and six draws from their 17 league games. When these two teams met back in September, Barry won 0-3.

On a wet afternoon, when rainfall of varying intensity continued throughout most of the match, I was thankful that this stadium now has a 3G pitch, installed last autumn, otherwise this game would surely have been either postponed or abandoned. The visitors got off to a dream start, taking the lead with just 2 minutes on the clock. The ball was curled from the left into the penalty area and Richard Greaves headed the ball over the keeper and the ball glanced the underside of the bar before bouncing over the line. On 7 minutes, the visitors doubled their lead, again Greaves getting on the end of a cross with a header to plant the ball beyond the stranded keeper. Advantage Monmouth, but the game looked far from over in what was developing into an open game. Barry saw a shot blocked on the line on 33 minutes, before Monmouth saw a lovely curling shot from the edge of the area graze the outside of the post. It was Barry who, crucially, would score the next goal. Jordan Cotterill dribbled the ball along the byline, tapped it away from the keeper and fired the ball low across the six yard box, cannoning off a Monmouth defender and into his own net from close range. Both sides continued to create chances, but it was Barry who scored next to level the scores. Some short passing in a crowded penalty area ended with James Dixon poking the ball into the net.

The 2-2 half time scoreline was a good reflection on an entertaining 45 minutes of open, attacking football, but within two minutes of the restart, Monmouth had a great opportunity to go back into the lead. A foul tackle by the edge of the area was adjudged by the linesman to have taken place just inside the area, and the referee awarded a penalty, however the keeper saved it with his legs before the loose ball was hacked clear. Barry almost took the lead themselves a few minutes later when an excellent dribble through the defence ended with the ball being flighted above the keeper only for the ball to come back off the crossbar. They did look the better side in the second half, and took the lead on 70 minutes. After the Barry keeper and one of his defenders got in a tangle, the ball squirmed goalwards but was cleared. Barry went straight up the other end and a good outstretched hand prevented a simple tap in but the reprieve only lasted seconds as some more good intricate passing in the box ended with Dixon tapping in. That turned out to be the decisive moment as Barry mostly dominated the rest of the match, hitting the woodwork twice and forcing the visiting keeper to make some very good saves. They quite comfortably held on for the win they deserved, certainly on their second half showing, and rise to fourth in the table, while Monmouth will feel disappointed to have let slip a two goal lead.

Sutton Common Rovers 2 v 1 AFC Hayes

Saturday 2nd January 2016
Gander Green Lane, Sutton
Combined Counties League Premier Division
Admission: £7.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 100 (estimate)
Match Rating: 3

After a slightly strange festive period, with few games being played in the south-east on Boxing Day and none at all on New Year’s Day, my first game of 2016 was dictated by the weather. With a wet forecast this morning falling on mostly already waterlogged ground, I decided quite early on a safe, stress-free option today at a venue with a plastic pitch. Although this would mean a revisit for me, my only previous visit to the home of Sutton United was over 20 years ago, in my early days as a ground hopper.

Gander Green Lane is located virtually adjacent to West Sutton train station, and predictably is a far superior venue to what one usually encounters in the Combined Counties League. Indeed, even by National League Southern Division standards, the league in which Sutton United currently play, it is a very good stadium, easy on the eye, with excellent facilities that successfully combines modern enhancements whilst retaining plenty of character and the feel of a traditional non league stadium, although spectators are quite distant from the pitch. Spectators enter through a turnstile block behind one of the goals, and from there a bank of uncovered terracing stretches to the old-fashioned all-seater stand, built in 1951, straddling the half way line. Good elevated views can be had from here, although there are some supporting pillars. Behind the goal next to the entrance is a stand covering a few terrace steps. Another bank of uncovered terracing stretches around the far corner, beyond which there is a low covered terrace along most of the length. Behind the remaining goal is yet another stand covering terrace steps. For this level, the programme was very expensive at £2.00, on top of an entrance fee at the top end of what is charged at step 5 level and whilst it was a reasonable read with plenty of content, did little to justify it being at least double the price of just about every other programme I have purchased at this level. But I suppose that playing football at a National League stadium does not come cheap....

A glance at the league tables suggested a close game today, with both teams stuck in mid table, and AFC Hayes one point and one position better off than Sutton Common Rovers. AFC Hayes went into this game in 11th place, having gained 28 points from their 23 league games, with eight wins and four draws, while Sutton Common Rovers have drawn one fewer and lost one more, but they have reached the fourth round of the FA Vase.

On a murky, damp afternoon, although the first half was generally quite even, the hosts looked a constant threat throughout this match, and will wonder how they did not have the game won at half time, or eventually win with a more convincing scoreline. But after spurning at least five gilt edged chances to take the lead, the scoreline remained goalless at the half time break.

It only took Sutton Common Rovers two minutes in the second half to break the deadlock, with a goal that the visiting keeper, who ranged from the brilliant to the shaky all game, might have done better with. François Gabbidon drove in from the right before drilling the ball low below the keeper and into the net from a tight angle. Nine minutes later and Sutton Common Rovers were awarded a penalty for a foul tackle which actually did not fell the striker, so well done to the referee for still awarding the penalty. However, the keeper Bobby Khaira saved the penalty taken by Liam Holden, as well as a powerful shot in the follow up play. They had other glorious chances to increase their lead, and they were made to pay when Ronnel Dennis scored a lovely goal on the volley to equalise for the visitors. Still the home side continued carving out glorious chances, only to be denied by near misses or fine saves by the keeper, but it seemed that they had run out of steam with about 15 minutes to go as the chances dried up. But with five minutes to go, Sutton Common Rovers did manage to score again. Kobe Botwe showed some good footwork in the area to evade a couple of defenders, before firing low inside the near post. They saw the game out quite comfortably, and claimed a deserved win that should have been a lot more convincing. Not that AFC Hayes played that badly, just that they created a fraction of the chances the home side managed.