Histon 1 v 3 Northwich Victoria

Saturday 2nd February 2019
FA Vase 5th Round
Bridge Road, Impington
Admission : £8.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 643

When the FA Vase draw was made, this was the standout fixture for me to attend, as it was to be played at one of the few relatively easily reachable grounds left in the competition that I had not previously visited. Freezing temperatures and snow on the ground in the days leading up to matchday saw a swathe of games across southern England called off on Friday evening, with many more to follow on Saturday morning. But after a group of volunteers helped to clear Histon's pitch of snow, it passed a 7.30am pitch inspection, and the swift announcement of this allowed me plenty of time to make my way up to Cambridgeshire in confidence that the game would go ahead.

After arriving at Cambridge train station, I then caught a bus for about a half hour journey northwards to the Histon & Impington stop on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, from which the stadium is a five minute walk. The stadium has quite an impressive entrance, with the turnstiles at the foot of the one of the stands, with a seemingly rarely if ever used ticket office to one side and the back wall of the other, main stand to the other. Once through the turnstiles, visitors pass under the stand and by tables offering programmes and club shop items, and also an array of doughnuts, before reaching pitchside along one length. There are two all-seater stands very close to each other, one being the main stand, which offers an elevated area of seating, and is virtually all that is left from the days prior to the club's rise to what was the Conference. The rest of the ground was built up to accommodate their status in the top tier of non-league football - indeed, it passed the criteria to host Football League action - and also as a result of the Cambridgeshire Football Association setting up their headquarters there, based inside and behind a second all-seater stand situated immediately adjacent to the main stand. They fit very well together, being of similar designs, and a tea bar is located on the ground floor. As for the rest of the ground, in some ways, it is a case of "look away now" for those who do not like the modern metallic "Arena" stands - there can be few other grounds where they have been installed so extensively as here. However, they actually do not look bad at all here, looking neat and tidy as they provide seating along the entire opposite length, and steps to stand on behind both goals between both corner flags. Similar to the £8.00 admission fee to Step 5 football, the 24 page programme was somewhat overpriced for what it was, printed in black and white although it did have quite an attractive cover in colour, and it covered the basics well enough.

This was a match between two clubs who have fallen on hard times since they were both members of what was the Conference Premier, Histon for four seasons before relegation in 2011, and Northwich Victoria played at that level for three decades, apart from one season, before relegation in 2009 and ensuing financial meltdown, during which they vacated their original home stadium as well as their subsequent one, and have been groundsharing since 2012. Moving to the present, Histon came into this game in second place in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division, following 15 wins and two draws from 19 league games, three points adrift of leaders Godmanchester Rovers but with four games in hand. Northwich Victoria were in sixth place in the North West Counties League Premier Division, following 14 wins and two draws from their 25 league games. Being 22 points adrift of the leaders in the only automatic promotion spot available, promotion looks extremely unlikely. To reach this stage, Histon had beaten Colney Heath 2-0 at home in a replay, Woodbridge Town 5-4 at home. Leverstock Green 5-1 at home, and finally Lye Town 2-1 at home. Northwich Victoria had beaten Maltby Main 2-0 at home, Cammel Laird 5-0 at home, Prestwich Hayes 1-0 at home, Silsden 3-0 at home, and finally Newcastle Benfield 2-3 away.

On an afternoon that was sunny at kick off but turned very cold as the second half wore on, the first half did not lack for effort but did somewhat for quality, probably mostly due to the pitch being tricky and slippery, as players on both sides struggled to control the ball and play it effectively.  Histon had more possession, whilst Northwich had more sights at goal without really threatening, and it was no surprise that the scoreline remained goalless at half time.

Not surprisingly, things slowly started to pick up in the second half, and it was Histon who broke the deadlock on 64 minutes. James Chivers lumped the ball down the right wing from the half way line for Dan Brown to chase, and he superbly floated the ball first time over the keeper, who was in no-mans land, and into the empty net. That really seemed to wake up the visitors up, who rolled their sleeves up and started to apply a lot of pressure in the attacking third, and it was no surprise when they equalised on 71 minutes. The ball was crossed in from the right, and Darryl Mason rose to head the ball home from close range, just beating the keeper to the ball. The game then settled back down after that, and with relatively little further incident, normal time finished level and extra time was required to try and find a winner today, to avoid a replay in Cheshire next Saturday.

In extra time, the visitors seemed to find an extra gear, and after having a goalbound shot cleared by a defender, they went into the lead on 94 minutes. John Brownhill ran onto a ball forward into the right side of the area and crossed the ball, which just evaded the keeper and rolled into the path of Mason who struck the ball into the roof of the net from a couple of yards out. Things were now starting to go wrong for Histon, and on 102 minutes, Matt Green was shown a straight red card for a late, high tackle. They then started the second half of extra time down to nine men, when they had a player off injured, but he did rejoin the action within a couple of minutes. The hosts had a great chance to equalise on 115 minutes, when Brown crossed the ball from the right but Max York volleyed the ball wide at the far post - it was a difficult chance, coming at him awkwardly and at pace. They had one final chance a minute from the end when a corner was headed over, but shortly after, the visitors made absolutely sure of their progression to the last eight. Jordan Darr intercepted a pass between Histon players, raced clear before coolly slotting the ball under the keeper and into the net, to confirm their progression to the next round.

And so Northwich Victoria will be in the hat for the quarter-final draw, and the dream of a day out at Wembley become a little more real. They had very good support on the day from a loud and colourful contingent, which at times was matched by good vocal support from the home fans, helping to create a decent atmosphere. As for Histon, it was not to be their day, but they arguably have bigger fish to fry anyway as they can now concentrate on winning the Eastern Counties League Premier Division to return to Step 4 football - they are in a great position to do just that.

Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here

Port Vale 0 v 1 Carlisle United

Saturday 26th January 2019
Football League Two
Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent
Admission : £20.00 (£2.00 advance purchase discount)
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 3,881 (492 away)

After receiving an e-mail from Virgin Trains offering 40% off return tickets across its network, I decided to take advantage and tick off another of the 92 today. I had already made an unsuccessful attempt to visit Vale Park in 2016,  but after booking my train tickets, their game was moved late on to the Friday to avoid a clash with Stoke City also playing at home, and I visited Leek Town instead. I was concerned I would experience a similar fate today, when I realised that Stoke City were also scheduled to play at home today, and the long range forecast predicted sub-zero conditions in the days leading up to this fixture. But those fears proved unfounded and I was indeed able to tick off my 89th Football League ground.

Arriving at Stoke-on-Trent train station, I then made good use of my Plusbus add-on ticket, taking a bus to Hanley, and a further bus to Burslem, thereby taking in three of the towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent. Vale Park is about a five minute walk eastwards from Burslem town centre, and is a curious mix of old and new - it makes for a refreshing change from modern identikit stadia. I chose to sit in the top tier of the Railway Paddock stand, located along one length of the pitch, requiring quite a climb up path through a steep grass bank, to enter the stand from the rear at the top, with a couple of refreshment windows by the entrances, where strangely the programmes were purchased from. It is an old-fashioned stand, but legroom and the views are good, apart from some supporting pillars along the front. The lower section of this stand has seating installed on a former terrace. There are single tiered all-seater stands behind both goals, one end is allocated to away fans, and filling one corner is a control tower, the other by a seated area perched in an elevated position. Along the other length is what is the newest stand in the ground, quite a tall and imposing stand, with executive boxes along the top half, while in the bottom half, seating stretches from one corner flag to the half way line, offering unobstructed views, but the the remainder of the length is still unfinished since the stand's construction in 1998, so bare concrete steps remain. It is a shame, as it detracts from what otherwise would be a very smart and quite visually impressive stand. A statue is located outside this stand, and  the stadium's main entrance, but unfortunately most people would not naturally encounter this area, as it is located at the end of a narrow lane that one would only naturally go down to access that stand. The club shop and ticket office is housed in a standalone building, brightly decorated, by the main road passing by and in the corner between the away end and the Railway Paddock stand. The 68 page programme was very decent, with plenty to read and more than enough stats and facts presented.

It is fair to say that these are not good times for Port Vale. After being relegated from League One, they finished just one point above the relegation trap door out of the Football League last season, and came into this game in 18th place, following eight wins and eight draws from their 28 league games, and before winning at Crawley last Saturday, they picked up four points (from four draws) from their previous six games, amid growing supporter unrest at the way the club is being run. Indeed, protests were planned before and after the match against owner Norman Smurthwaite, but were postponed after he was struck by a car on Friday evening, requiring a hospital stay. After three seasons finishing in the top ten of League Two, Carlisle are having a good season, coming into this game in fourth place, following 15 wins and three draws from their 29 league games, and are three points off an automatic promotion spot. They came into this game in terrific form, winning eight of their previous nine league games.  When the two clubs met in Cumbria back in August, Carlisle won 2-1.

On a dank afternoon, with heavy drizzle arriving late in the first half, this was a game of few chances, and one that Port Vale started off quite well, having plenty of possession, but they carried precious little threat going forward. Carlisle were certainly not looking like a team in such great form, but on 32 minutes Hallam Hope tried to win his side a penalty, but was quite rightly shown a yellow card instead for simulation when he took a tumble over the keeper's dive towards his feet. But what felt like a game changing moment came on 41 minutes, when their lone striker Ricky Miller lunged in feet first to challenge for the ball, and although contact was quite minimal - certainly not to the extent that recipient Danny Grainger made out - and he did seem to make some contact with the ball, it was reckless and the referee eventually showed Miller a straight red card. That was a shame for Port Vale, who were looking solid and were proving more than a match for their opponents, but would now have the prospect of playing more than a half of football with ten men.

Into the second half and much the same pattern of play continued, with Port Vale continuing to enjoy plenty of possession, but they were still carrying precious little attacking threat. But under the circumstances, a point would be a good result for them, and it was looking increasingly likely they would get it, as Carlisle were also looking blunt in attack. Perhaps a pitch that was getting increasingly tricky and slippy in the rain had a part to play in a match that seemed to be meandering towards a goalless draw. But on 79 minutes, Carlisle did score what turned out to be the winning goal. Hope passed the ball low into a central position, taking deflections off two Port Vale defenders, for Connor Simpson, who had only come on as a sub six minutes earlier, to poke the ball into the net first time from inside the six yard box. That was really harsh on the home side, and although they did pile on the pressure in the closing minutes, they couldn't find a way through to salvage a point.

The game probably summed up how things go for clubs in the form these two clubs are in - Port Vale playing quite well but were beaten by misfortune and a rush of blood, while this was the kind of result that will Carlisle give great heart in their quest for promotion - even though they did not play well, the profited from some good fortune and ground out the result.

Brief video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here.

Hayes & Yeading United 4 v 0 Chalfont St Peter

Saturday 19th January 2019
Isthmian League South Central Division
Beaconsfield Road, Hayes
Admission : £10.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 216

With a lack of particularly attractive fixtures at grounds I had not previously visited, I decided to make today a landmark occasion, ticking off my final ground of the Isthmian League South Central Division, whilst belatedly taking in my first non-league action of 2019.

With walking from Hayes & Harlington and Southall train stations being rather long, indirect and not distances, I instead caught a bus from Ealing Broadway station, with the ground about a ten minute walk from the bus stop.  I had previously visited this site back in 2005, when The Warren played host to Yeading, but after Yeading merged with Hayes in 2007 to form the current club, it was demolished and a new ground built on virtually the same site. There are a few visible signs remaining of The Warren, most notably the stand covering a few steps of terracing which was behind one of the goals - it still is for that matter, although it is now located outside of the ground's perimeter wall and has lost its rear wall. The couple of small stands and clubhouse building of The Warren were demolished and replaced with a huge grandstand and is as imposing and impressive outside the ground as it is inside, with turnstile blocks located either side, although only one set was open today, with a portakabin to one side outside serving as the club shop and selling drinks and snacks. Once inside the ground, excellent elevated and unobstructed views from the all-seater stand, but there is just hard standing around the rest of the ground. A burger van is located just inside the entrance, as are toilets inside a portakabin and an additional temporary unit. As impressive as the grandstand is at first glance, it is very much a work in progress still. A vast indoor area above the seating is mostly unfinished and inaccessible, the outer thirds of the seating is taped off and out of bounds, many of the facilities at ground level are unused, presumably unfinished, and whilst walking through the corridors to the bar (which, incidentally, had real ale available in the form of the very good Rebellion IPA) one notices several areas that remain unfinished. In truth, the facilities the stadium has currently open and available are more than adequate for the level the club finds itself at currently, and certainly superior to most if not all clubs in the division, which is why presumably there is no apparent rush to complete the works. However once all of the works to finish off and tidy up all of the planned facilities take place, presumably most likely should the club get back to the National League, this will be a very impressive stand indeed inside as well as outside. Programmes and team sheets were available from what is designed to be a disabled area at the bottom of the main stand, and a very well designed and professional looking programme it is too, serving as double issue also covering their Tuesday home fixture. It was an interesting read, in full colour and consisting of 32 pages.

After six seasons struggling near the foot of the table as the club slid down from the Conference National, not being helped by leading a nomadic existence, things are now looking up for Hayes & Yeading. After finishing third in the Southern League East Division last season, they came into this game top of the table, five points clear of the chasing pack with two games in hand. They had won 15 and drawn two of their 19 league games, averaging four goals a game. Chalfont St Peter transferred to this division with Hayes & Yeading, and were in 13th place following six wins and nine draws from their 20 league games. This is the first time the two teams have met this season, with the reverse fixture in ten days time.

On a very grey and increasingly cold afternoon, this was a very comfortable game for Hayes & Yeading, particularly once they scored the opening goal on 15 minutes, Toby Little driving forward from the half way line, through a couple of defenders before eventually firing in a low diagonal shot that went under the keeper's body and into the net. They doubled their lead on 39 minutes when a low cross from the right was stabbed first time into the net just inside the near post by Little. And they almost put the game beyond realistic doubt in first half stoppage time when a low diagonal shot by Little was parried by the keeper but the follow up shot by Lee Barney in the six yard box was blazed just wide.

The hosts did score their third on 49 minutes when Scott Dennison struck the ball low from the edge of the area and crept just beyond the keeper's dive and inside the post. Chalfont then had a couple of decent chances to pull a goal back, before the hosts scored their fourth on 67 minutes, and a lovely goal it was too. Tom Jelley picked up the ball from just outside his own penalty area and kept running forward virtually unopposed, before playing a one-two with Barney, and then passing the ball into the net. At that stage, it was looking like things might get ugly for the visitors, but the hosts seemed to ease off slightly for the rest of the match, though they did still have some decent chances to score a fifth, and had a goal ruled out for offside.

So a very comfortable and convincing victory for Hayes & Yeading, a performance certainly backing up their league standing, and they look a very good bet for promotion, barring a massive dip in form. As for Chalfont, they did look that bad on the whole, but will be glad they will rarely come up against a team as strong as Hayes & Yeading.

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