Langney Wanderers 1 v 2 Newhaven

Tuesday 18th September 2018
Southern Combination League Premier Division
Priory Lane, Eastbourne
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 125
Match Rating: 4

With evenings still mild and dry for now, I decided to take in a local midweek game this evening. I had the choice of a cup game at Seaford Town, or a league game at the home of Eastbourne Borough. In the end, I chose the latter, for the simple reason that it would be an easier journey home "on a school night". Although the Seaford game finished 6-1, I still chose an entertaining and eventful game.

This is the second season that Langney Wanderers are playing at Priory Lane, home of National League South outfit Eastbourne Borough, thereby benefiting from facilities superior to those usually found at Step 5 level. Programmes were produced for this fixture, and whilst I am generally loathe to criticise programmes these days as their existence is in grave danger - several league permitting clubs not to produce paper versions of the programme - the one produced by Langney Wanderers is probably a good example of why they are not purchased so much these days. Although it was well presented, and printed on good quality paper, content was very thin on the ground and overpriced at £2.00.

In their first ever season at Step 5 level, Langney Wanderers have found life a bit more of a struggle so far this season, still looking for their first league win, and have picked up three draws and three defeats from their opening six league games. Newhaven are one of the fancied teams to do well this year, and have made a decent start, winning three and drawing one of their opening five league games.

On a mild, dry evening, this turned out to be a very eventful match, although there was little sign of that in the opening half hour, which Newhaven had the better of, creating some reasonable chances, although Langney were holding their own. The home side's task was to become harder on 32 minutes when Wayne Wilkinson was shown a second yellow card and then a red for a bad, flying tackle - senseless as he was on a yellow card. The score remained goalless at the break, which the hosts would be the happier with but would have to work hard to get at least a point, with the prospect of playing almost an hour of the game a man light.

The second half was more even, although with the visitors still creating some decent chances, the hosts were grateful for their keeper being in good form and making some smart saves. But on the hour mark, Newhaven were awarded a penalty for a pull back in the box, but Lee Robinson saw his shot by keeper Dan Hutchins to his left, and also saving the follow-up shot. On 67 minutes, Langney were reduced to nine men, when Luke Denton was also shown a second yellow card for another late tackle, trying to retain possession after overrunning the ball. But incredibly, it was Langney Wanderers who opened the scoring on 72 minutes, when Gary Ingram struck the ball home from the edge of the box, beating the keeper at his near post. Their lead would last just three minutes though,  after an initial shot was parried by the keeper, Seb Saunders drilled the ball home from a central position. It then felt like a question of whether Langney Wanderers would hold on for a point, which they probably deserved with their battling, organised display despite their numerical disadvantage, and were helped by their keeper continuing to be in great form, some poor finishing and decision making by the Newhaven forwards. In added on time, the hosts saw a looping header following a free-kick from deep tipped over by the keeper, before Newhaven's Oliver Davies went over in the box following an apparent trip. The referee did not give it initially, the linesman did not raise his flag, but then to most people's surprise, the referee eventually decided to award the penalty. Robinson took the penalty, and did well the smash the ball home. The referee blew the full-time whistle almost immediately after the restart, and Newhaven were celebrating a win they deserved, with the Langney keeper surely the man of the match, but it was impossible not to feel sorry for Langney Wanderers, who played really well despite their numerical disadvantage and really not getting of the rub of the green from the referee, particularly during the second half.

Saffron Walden Town 1 v 4 May & Baker

Saturday 15th September 2018
FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round
Catons Lane, Saffron Walden
Admission: £7.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 170
Match Rating: 3

 

With engineering works on Southern Railway making any trip westwards unpalatable today, I decided to visit a ground that I have long since wanted to visit, but was always put off by the ground being not the easiest to access via public transport. I also wanted to take in a FA Vase game today, and this would be an attractive looking game between two teams in decent form. It would also be interesting to watch the team I saw win 8-1 in the last round a fortnight ago against higher opposition today.

Catons Lane is almost a three mile, 45 minute walk from the nearest train station, Audley End, although it is a pleasant enough walk along a quiet country road, then finally through the quaint town centre of Saffron Walden. The football ground lies just to the north of the town, with spectators entering through a turnstile block behind one goal. It is an interesting ground, scruffy in places, recently enhanced in others, with lots of different furniture and vantage points, and not a modern metallic stand in sight. Behind the goal by the entrance there are various container type buildings, mostly seeming to house maintenance equipment but also the PA room, and the quality of announcements and playing of music was far better than one normally encounters at this level of football. There is also cover over flat standing area stretching from these buildings. Just around the corner is the clubhouse, in a white building, and which is quite dated but spacious inside, with a more modern extension for hospitality. Next to the clubhouse there is a small tea bar building, and the straddling the half way line there is quite an old fashioned stand with wooden bench seating inside, but all freshly painted in bright red and black club colours. On the opposite side, a few rows of seats are covered, and either side spectators can enjoy quite good views from the top of a short grass bank. Behind the remaining goal there is another (small) stand, with a couple of rows of seats along the front and more room to stand to the rear. A really pleasant feature of this ground is the attractive church perched quite close by behind one corner, but otherwise plenty of trees and a quiet location make this is very pleasant venue to watch football at. The 36 page programme was decent for £1, with plenty to read inside, an acceptable level of advertising, and printed on stiff glossy paper.

Since finally switching from the Eastern Counties League for this season, having expressed a desire to do so for some time, Saffron Walden have enjoyed a good start to their maiden Essex Senior League campaign, winning two and drawing the other two if their four league games so far. They reached the First Qualifying Round of this season's FA Vase, before losing in a replay to St Ives (two steps above them) in midweek, and today would be their first game in this season's FA Vase. May & Baker have not played since their 8-1 victory at home against Burnham Ramblers in the previous round, and are in seventh place in the Eastern Counties League South Division following three wins and a draw from their four league games, and have at least two games in hand on all teams above them. These two teams have already met this season in the Essex Senior Cup in late August, with Saffron Walden winning 4-3 at home.

On a warm, sunny afternoon, on paper this result was a shock, but the result was actually quite a fair reflection of the match, even if the scoreline did flatter the visitors, as Saffron Walden put in a surprisingly poor performance given their recent form and cup exploits, with their passing particularly woeful. After a quiet opening to the game, the visitors took the lead on 26 minutes, following a poor back header by a defender, allowing Reece Tranter through against the keeper, before slotting the ball home. The home side did create a few half chances approaching half time, but they went in behind at the break and would need to come out a lot more fired up after the break if they were not to exit this competition at the first hurdle.

Instead, they went further behind on 50 minutes. Following a corner, the ball was floated into the box and Craig Hall got a glancing header to guide the ball into the net. Arguably the game deciding moment came three minutes later when Saffron Walden were awarded a free kick just outside the area, much to everyone's disbelief, as the foul of pulling the player back seemed to clearly happen inside the area. That free kick came to nothing, and then the visitors came very close on a couple of occasions to scoring a third, forcing an excellent reflex save and then have the ball hacked away from close to the goalline, before they did on 67 minutes to all but wrap the tie up, Dan Gilchrist drilling the ball across the keeper and into the net with a very good finish. A rare moment of quality from the hosts on 74 minutes saw them almost claw a goal back, the ball was crossed from the right and Charlie Portway volleyed the ball powerfully against the underside of the bar, but the ball bounced the wrong side of the line. With ten minutes remaining, Saffron Walden did give themselves faint hope with a goal, the ball was floated over the defence and Portway beat the offside trap and struck the ball home. Three minutes later and the hosts had a great chance to really make the game interesting, again after the ball was floated diagonally over the defence but Lewis Francis acrobatically struck the ball over the bar with his foot when a header probably would have been more successful. But on 88 minutes, the visitors restored their three goal lead to seal their passage into the next round following yet another stray pass by the hosts being intercepted, Tom Harvey eventually dribbling in too easily from the right before firing past the keeper.

So a surprisingly comprehensive win for the visitors, who could not have wished for a much better start to senior football. Despite playing well below par, Saffron Walden still had their chances and the outcome could have been very different with a little more fortune and if the penalty decision went their way. But they just could not get going today and will be massively disappointed to exit a national competition, one they could have progressed far in, at the first hurdle. With May and Baker's potency, who knows how far they might progress in this competition with their attacking prowess, particularly should have they get kind draws.

Video highlights of this match can be found by clicking here.

Fawley 1 v 1 Petersfield Town

Saturday 8th September 2018
Wessex League Division One
Waterside Sports Club, Holbury
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 50
Match Rating: 3

 

I had originally booked a cheap coach ticket to Birmingham for today. However, after only getting home from a break in Suffolk yesterday evening, rail replacement bus services en route to London, adding an hour to the journey, made that unappealing, as well as potential FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round games at Saffron Walden and Burnham. And so I decided to head along the south coast for an always welcome visit to a Wessex League ground.

The Waterside Sports Ground is about an hour's bus ride from Southampton Central train station, and spectators walk past the large buildings of the Waterside Sports & Social Club, which closed down in 2016 and is now in a sad state with all windows boarded up. Spectators then walk alongside a cricket field to one side and tennis courts and bowling greens to other, before arriving at the football ground entrance behind the goal. After paying admission and being allowed through a small gate, there are various portakabins placed to the right, one housing a tea bar, the others providing changing rooms. Along one length, between the corner flag and half way line there is a stand covering four row of bench seating, and decent inclines between rows mean it is a good place to watch the action from. There is just hard standing along the rest of the length, whilst along the opposite length, there are a couple of stands covering flat standing areas either side of the dugouts. The area behind the remaining goal is inaccessible. The ground, which is only emclosed with see-through wire fencing, has a pleasantly quiet and rural feel to it, with several refinery chimneys providing an unusual background, facilities are perfectly adequate with no identikit furniture. After the very existence of the ground and even the football club was thrown into real doubt when the Waterside Social & Sports Club was forced to close in 2016 due to insurmountable debts, it is very pleasing that the Holbury Community Sports Association, with support from landlords Esso, have ensured that the sporting facilities have been maintained. The 24 page programme covered all of the important stats and introduced both clubs, although some editorial or other articles would have enhanced it.

Fawley have won one and drawn one of their opening five league games. After a couple of disastrous seasons, suffering two successive relegations after finishing bottom by a distance in both the Southern League Division One Central and then the Wessex League Premier Division, Petersfield have steadied the ship somewhat this season, winning two of their opening five league games.

On a mainly cloudy afternoon, this was a game of two halves, with Fawley having the better of the first half while the visitors were mainly in the ascendancy after the break. The home side took the lead with just two minutes on the clock. After the Petersfield keeper came out of his area and collided with a Fawley forward, conceding a free kick, the ball was crossed into the box and was poked home by Ben Bolton. After Fawley dominated possession and half chances, Petersfield equalised on 39 minutes following a run down the left, the ball was passed to Will Essai in a central position at the edge of the area, and he struck a well measured shot past the keeper and inside the post.

The scoreline remained level at the break and it would now be the visitors who would look the more threatening. They forced a great reflex save by the keeper on 57 minutes, and on the hour mark, Fawley had a player shown a straight red card for a two footed lunge. Petersfield would probably have been favourites to go on to win the match now, but struggled to create clear goalscoring chances, and were also denied by some superb tackles in the box. In the end, the points were shared which was a fair reflection on the game, and Fawley would probably be the happier with the point, having played with ten men for the final third of the game and were second best throughout the second half.