Littlehampton United 1 v 5 Bexhill United

Sunday 1st September 2019
FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round
The Sportsfield, Littlehampton
Admission including Squad sheet: £5.00
Attendance: 70 (estimate)

 

After watching the earlier game here between Littlehampton Town, I then went into the town's Wetherspoons for dinner, before returning to The Sportsfield for this game with the most unusual Sunday evening at 7.45 kick off.

Littlehampton United, a club that changed its name from Clymping last season following their groundshare at The Sportsfield, would-be playing their first ever game in the FA Vase, and are probably one of the lowest ranked clubs in this year's competition, as a Step 7 club who finished in 13th place in the Southern Combination League Division Two. This game would be Littlehampton United's first home game of the season, which started with  a 1-7 win, then a draw, and most recently a defeat. Bexhill United finished in fourth place in the Southern Combination League Division One, but have picked up just one point from their opening three league games, all played away from home due to cricket taking priority at The Polegrove until September.

On a chilly evening with a clear sky allowing a beautiful sunset during the game, Bexhill started very much on the front foot, seeing along range shot tipped round the post on 5 minutes, before they took the lead on 9 minutes. A defender dallied with the ball in his own area and was dispossessed, and Jamie Bunn dribbled with the ball to find some space, before chipping the ball over the keeper from a very tight angle, with the ball dropping into the net. Bexhill scored their second on 15 minutes when Craig MacFarlane headed home a corner from close range. Littlehampton United did have a chance on 18 minute when a shot with the outside of the foot from the edge of the area went just over the bar, but that was a very rare foray forward by the hosts. On 37 minutes, a quickly taken free kick resulted in a shot tipped onto the post, but a minute later, Littlehampton United pulled a goal back when a corner was headed into the top left corner. And now the game was looking very different, as Littlehampton had settled and were holding their own, while Bexhill just couldn't seem to get their game going. But Bexhill did restore their lead just before half time, in quite fortunate circumstances. A Littlehampton player completely miskicked the ball in the attacking half, allowing Bexhill to gain possession and fire a diagonal ball for Jack Shonk to run onto and eventually stroke the ball past the keeper.

Despite being two goals behind, one felt that Littlehampton United still were in the game, even though Bexhill had the better chances to score, and it wasn't until the 86th minute that the game really went away from the hosts, when Bexhill saw a shot go wide of goal, but to general astonishment, a penalty was awarded. Shonk emphatically struck the ball into the top right corner. To compound their woes, Littlehampton had two players sent to the sinbin for dissent, one before the penalty was taken, the other in the aftermath. And in the first minute of added on time, Bexhill scored a fifth, Shonk claiming his hat-trick with a free kick fired into the top right corner.

So it was a poor day for the Littlehampton clubs, both bowing out of the FA Vase by four goal margins, as Bexhill progress to the next round, where they will travel to Combined Counties League Division One new boys Westside.

Littlehampton Town 0 v 4 Tunbridge Wells

Sunday 1st September 2019
FA Vase 1st Qualifying Round
The Sportsfield, Littlehampton
Admission : £6.00
Programme: £1.00, or online
Attendance: 130

 

I do not often watch games on Sundays, however today I was attracted by an unusual double of games in Littlehampton, both in the FA Vase, and starting with this interesting looking game between two clubs that have started their seasons strongly in their respective divisions. It also conjured up memories for me of a dramatic tie I watched between the clubs in an FA Cup tie at the Culverden Stadium back in 2005 when, after a 2-2 draw, 40 penalties were required to separate the two clubs, with Tunbridge Wells prevailing by 16-15.

I last visited The Sportsfield about 18 months ago, and not too much has changed since then, apart from the odd spruce-up. It remains a very pleasant and charming place to watch football at, although still the ground is shared with the cricket club, which is why this fixture had to take place on the Sunday. In terms of the programme, Littlehampton Town is currently "the best of all worlds", with an electronic version available to view a couple of days beforehand, whilst printed versions are also available to purchase for those that prefer a hard copy.

Littlehampton have had a great start to their season in the Step 6 Southern Combination Football League Division One, winning all four of their league games so far, conceding just one goal whilst scoring 11. Tunbridge Wells play a step higher, in the Step 5 Southern Counties League East Premier Division, and have also had a 100% record in the league so far this season, including an away win against their local rivals Crowborough Athletic on Bank Holiday Monday, a game I watched. It would be intriguing to see if home advantage could bridge the gap of the step difference, with both clubs in very good form.

In contrast to the bitterly cold, wintry day at the tail end of the "Beast from the East" I experienced on my last visit to The Sportsfield, conditions were mild today, with the sun shining through the clouds intermittently. The game started quite evenly, with Littlehampton probably having more of the ball without looking threatening with it. On 9 minutes, the visitors had a great chance to open the scoring, when the ball was fired in low across the six yard box, but just evaded several players for a tap in. Tunbridge Wells took the lead on 25 minutes, Danny Powell receiving the ball on the edge the area before setting himself to strike the ball into the top right corner. And the visitors doubled their lead on 34 minutes. The ball was threaded low into the path of Jack Hope, and he coolly slotted the ball home from a slight angle. And within a minute, they were awarded a penalty, when Euan Sahadow was fouled as he ran into the box, credit to the referee for still giving the penalty even though Sahadow stayed on his feet. Sahadow then struck the ball into the bottom right corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. That really gave Littlehampton a mountain to climb, and they really needed to pull a goal back before half time if they were to have any chance of getting back into the game, but Tunbridge Wells saw the half out quite comfortably.

Into the second half and on 55 minutes there was a sign it really wasn't going to be Littlehampton's day when they saw a goal bound shot from Ben Gray hit a team mate and the ball rebounded clear. For the most part, the pattern of the second half was Littlehampton battling to create openings, without much success, whilst Tunbridge Wells looked comfortable seeing the game out. And in the final minute of normal time, the visitors added gloss to the scoreline a ball played through the middle found Josh Froggatt, and although initially it looked like he might lob the keeper, instead he took a few touches before slotting the ball past the keeper.

So it was Tunbridge Wells who sealed progression to the next round where they will travel to Knaphill, of the Combined Counties League Premier Division, seeking revenge for a dismal 0-3 defeat they suffered on their last visit in the FA Vase in 2015.

The electronic version of the matchday programme can be viewed by clicking here.

Cove 0 v 1 Fleet Spurs

Saturday 31st August 2019
FA Vase 1st Round Qualifying
Oak Farm, Farnborough
Admission: £5.00
Programme: None
Attendance: 50 (estimate)

This weekend saw the opening fixtures in this season's FA Vase competition, and normally I like to choose games in FA competitions between clubs from different leagues. That was not the case with this game, as they both ply their trade in the Combined Counties League Division One, and today's fixture would be an exact repeat of last season's encounter at the same stage of the competition, with Fleet Spurs winning 0-2 on that occasion. Perhaps the clinching factor for me in choosing this game was the opportunity to complete the Combined Counties League.

Oak Farm is about a 25 minute walk westwards from Farnborough North train station, passing by Farnborough Main station about half way, and a narrow lane leads visitors to the ground's car park, and then the turnstile block, along one length. To the left of the entrance, the clubhouse is set some way back from the pitch, separated by gravel, and immediately in front of the clubhouse, which is bright with a modern decor inside, there is a patio area and some picnic tables. To one side of the clubhouse, there is a tea bar window selling a good range of hot and cold food and drinks. There is just hard standing along the rest of this length and behind both goals, whilst along the other length, a black modern metallic stand straddles the half way line, and either side there are more traditional and rustic stands covering flat standing areas. Unfortunately there was no programme - of the printed or electronic varieties - produced for this fixture.

It was initially announced by the FA that Cove would be relegated from the Combined Counties League to Step 7 football, after a bottom placed finish in Division One last season. However, they were eventually successful in their appeal and were reprieved.  They had a reasonable start to this season, drawing their first game and winning their second away from home, but then lost both games over the Bank Holiday weekend, including a 0-7 home defeat against Farnham Town. Fleet Spurs finished one place, but six points, above Cove last season, but they have had a very good start to this season, winning their opening three league games, and although they lost their last game to Jersey Bulls 4-0 away, the Channel Islanders will most likely be the dominant force in the division this season.

On a mainly overcast afternoon, with the odd sunny spell but with heavy drizzle falling around half time, this was not a game that will live very long in the memory in all honesty, particularly the first half. The visitors had two decent chances - on 25 minutes, the ball was fizzed in from he left but the forward couldn't quite make contact as he tried to acrobatically volley home, and on 38 minutes, a corner was headed towards goal, and although the keeper saved it, he juggled the ball but, fortunately for him, the ball stayed out. Then on 41 minutes, Cove were reduced to ten men, their number 9 shown a second yellow card, the first for a two footed lunge that could easily have been a straight red card, the second for retaliation after he was on the receiving end of a foul. Half time arrived with the scoreline still goalless, but Cove would now have to play the whole of the second half a man down.

And indeed, it was Fleet Spurs who would go on to dominate the second half, spending most of the time camped in the attacking half, but the final ball too often was not good enough, combined with some good defending by Cove, who seemed content to soak up pressure. The visitors did have a couple of decent chances, as though did Cove, but just as it looked certain that this tie would head into extra time, Fleet Spurs scored the winner in the 89th minute, when a corner was stabbed in at the far post by Naman Nasir, to seal their progress into the next round, where they will travel to play Milton Keynes Robins, of the Spartan South Midlands League Division One, and who received a bye in this round.

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

Crawley Town 1 v 0 Norwich City

Tuesday 27th August 2019
EFL Cup 2nd Round
Broadfield Stadium, Crawley
Admission: £10.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 5,109

I had only visited the Broadfield Stadium a fortnight ago, and it is rare indeed that I take in any EFL Cup action, and this would be my second this season, having taken advantage of the opportunity to pay one last visit to Griffin Park in the last round during a week off from work. But the opportunity to watch a Sussex club play at home against a Premier League club was an occasion I did not want to miss, all the more as the club offered discounted pricing for this fixture compared to league fixtures (half price, for where I chose to sit).

For this game, I chose to sit in the only area I had not previously watched a game from, the East Stand. A temporary looking stand that was opened in 2012 and stretches virtually the whole length and backing on to the A23 dual carriageway, views are not great from here, with plenty of supporting pillars along the front, but its intimate nature and its roof really augmenting the chanting and drum beating. As for the programme, for me what Crawley produce is the future for printed programmes. The glossy 16 page publication is ample to provide a good preview of the match, not loaded with irrelevant information, "fillers" or advertising, and costs just a pound. I believe this is the standard format for all of Crawley's games, and hopefully they see an upturn in programme sales following the introduction of this format.

On the face of it, the odds would be massively stacked against Crawley progressing this evening, as a League Two outfit, and so ply their trade three divisions below Premier League newboys Norwich. Manager Gabriele Cioffi thought as much, as he mentioned his club had a 1% chance of winning this evening. But as expected, they would not be playing against the Norwich first eleven - far from it, in fact all 11 players were changed from the team that lined up against Chelsea in the Premier League last season. On paper, the team that Norwich put out should still have had enough quality and experience to prevail. In the previous round, Crawley won 2-3 at Walsall, whereas tonight would be Norwich's first game in this season's competition.

At the end of another hot day, conditions were quite warm and humid this evening, and with the stadium close to capacity - including a full contingent of away supporters - a good atmosphere was certainly generated at kick-off. It looked likely that that atmosphere might soon be dampened down though, as Norwich went straight for the jugulars and the Crawley players struggled to close the Norwich players down quickly enough. It looked like only a matter of time that the deadlock would be broken, and although it was in the 17th minute, it was massively against the run of play, as Crawley scored it. Following a corner, Bez Lubala received the ball back, ran toward the left edge of the penalty area, and then struck a powerful low shot which took a deflection off defender Sam Byram to divert the ball past keeper Ralf Fährmann and into the net, to send the home crowd into raptures.

For the rest of the game, Norwich always looked the better, more composed team, as would be expected, but for all of their neat passing, the end product was mostly lacking, and at times fortune favoured Crawley, as the woodwork denied Norwich on a couple of occasions, and shots were either well saved or blocked. After their goal, Crawley did hold their own for long periods, and created some decent chances themselves. As it was, Crawley's lead remained precarious right through to the end, but roared on by some impressive support from the stands, which increased with intensity as the game drew to a conclusion, Crawley managed to hold on and seal progression to the Third Round.

So a great night for Crawley, who will now await with anticipation to see who they will play in the Third Round draw, and for me, this was the second major upset I have witnessed in this season competition, after seeing Cambridge United win against a team from two divisions higher in the last round.

Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here