CB Hounslow United 0 v 2 Walton and Hersham

Saturday 4th November 2017
Combined Counties League Premier Division
Green Lane, Hounslow
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 100 (estimate)
Match Rating: 4

 

I decided to head to West London today, to tick off my penultimate ground in the Combined Counties League Premier Division today.

Green Lane is located about a half hour walk from the nearest train station, Feltham, although Hatton Cross underground station is much closer. The ground was only opened at the start of this season, and it is a really impressive facility considering the level – neat, tidy, easy on the eye, and with decent facilities that would not require much upgrading to host Step 4 football should the need arise. The football pitch is fenced off from other pitches, with a fairly large, attractive brick clubhouse, with a partly wooden fascia adorned with the club logo, situated in between. The bar and tea bar window can only be accessed from outside of the ground. Spectators enter the ground by paying for admission at a wooden shed, which is under further cover and all finished in black. With the clubhouse building to the left of the entrance, there is just hard standing available along this length and behind one of the goals. On the opposite side is a fairly large modern all-seater stand, which has some bright and colourful decoration and a fairly steep incline between rows to offer decent views of the action. Immediately behind the remaining goal there is a small covered stand. Translucent sheets are placed on the perimeter fencing, meaning games could be watched from outside if one were so inclined. The pitch was in immaculate condition, flat, looking lush and cut perfectly. Undoubtedly the remarkable feature of the ground though is its location under the final flight path to Heathrow Airport, with planes coming into land directly above the ground every couple of minutes, a spectacular sight accompanied by loud engine noise. The programme looked promising at first glance, with 40 pages and a fairly attractive cover. But inside, it was a double issue also covering last Tuesday’s home match, lacked current interesting read material from club officials, and relied on a mixture of stats from every team the club fields, general information about the home and visiting clubs, and plenty of advertising.

After finished just 1 place (although 8 points) above the relegation zone, CB Hounslow United have had a steady season so far, coming into this game in tenth place in the 22 team division, having won five and drawn three of their 13 league games so far. Walton and Hersham, who recently vacated their historic Stompond Lane home ground to share a new facility with Walton Casuals, were in third place, following nine wins and three draws from their 15 league games, and were seven points adrift of leaders Westfield, having played a game more.

On a chilly, overcast afternoon with occasional rain showers, the visitors dominated this match for long periods, with almost all of the play in the Hounslow half as the home side struggled to get forward. For all of their dominance, the visitors created few clear chances to score, although on 36 minutes they really should have taken the lead, when the ball was crossed low from the left and Malachi Thomas missed a tap in from a few yards out.

Within 3 minutes of the restart, Walton and Hersham took the lead when Athan Smith-Jones drilled the ball through a crowd of players and into the net via a deflection off the keeper. That did wake the home side up, who finally managed to get into the opposition half more frequently and showed some attacking intent. On the hour mark, a curled shot from the outer corner of the penalty area skimmed the top of the bar, and on 73 minutes, a cross from the right found a Hounslow player all on his own just outside the area, but after taking a few steps forwards, the eventual shot was drilled against the near post. The game was put to bed ten minutes from time when the Walton and Hersham scored their second. The ball was crossed in low from the right, and although the keeper should have gathered the ball comfortably, he fumbled it and the ball spilled for Florent Bojaj tapped the ball into the empty net from close range.

So, a deserved and relatively comfortable away win, and it was disappointing that the home side seemed to be playing for a draw and only showed any kind of attacking intent once they fell behind.