Wessex League Division One
Bonnymead Park, Amesbury
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 90
Match Rating: 4
With rail engineering works still making trips towards and through London on Saturdays less attractive, I decided to head west for a long but fairly straightforward journey down to Wiltshire, making the most of a sunny day in an attractive part of the world, to take in this local derby.
Arriving at Salisbury train station, I then walked about ten minutes to the bus stop for the 20 minute bus journey northwards to Amesbury town centre, from which Bonnymead Park is about a ten minute walk. There was an early indication that this would be a rustic, rural ground as I walked over a river and past fields of cows as I approached the ground, which is located beyond a recreation ground and cricket field. Admission is paid for at a wooden kiosk is situated in one corner of the ground, and immediately to the left of the entrance is the clubhouse above a grass bank, with alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks available from a serving hatch inside. To the front, there is covered standing, which makes for a popular place to watch the game from with its elevated position. Beyond the clubhouse and behind the goal there is a wooden bench on top of the grass bank. A stand covering four rows of wooden benches straddles the half way line, and behind this length there are trees which were in lovely autumnal colours today, with fields of sheep behind. There is hard standing behind the other goal, which is closely lined by trees, whilst along the remaining length, there is plastic grass forming a path behind the railing. There is just sheeting attached to temporary metal panel fences along this length. It is surprising that this is allowed in senior football, as two clubs local to me, Rye United and Little Common, were prevented from continuing in senior football at their grounds with such temporary perimeter fencing, and indeed there were plenty of opportunities around the ground to enter for free here. But notwithstanding this, this ground is a lovely place to watch football, full of peaceful rustic charm, with a friendly, welcoming feel about the place too. The 32 page programme was smartly presented and printed on good quality card paper, and covered the basic stats but also contained some 20 pages of advertising.
After suffering relegation from the Premier Division last season, Amesbury have made a good start in their attempt to bounce straight back, coming into this game in second place, following nine wins and two draws from their opening twelve league games. Laverstock & Ford were in seventh place, following five wins and a draw from their 13 league games. The two sides have already met in the reverse league fixture, with Amesbury winning 1-2 away in August.
On a bitterly cold afternoon - this really was the first sign of winter this year after very mild temperatures right up to yesterday - this was a rip-roaring local derby which ebbed and flowed and really could have gone either way in the end. With just four minutes on the clock, the home side took the lead, a ball forward sprung the offside trap, with the keeper racing well out of his area to close him down, but although the ball was initially intercepted, Sam Roberts lobbed the ball perfectly from distance into the empty net. But the visitors equalised on 11 minutes when a free kick was met with a header, looping the ball over the keeper and into the net. Amesbury went back into the lead on 24 minutes, after a free kick was headed into a more central position for Jack Vallis to tap the ball in, and they opened up a two goal cushion on 43 minutes. Another good ball forward sprung the offside trap, allowing Luke Greenway clear through on goal, and again he showed very good composure to chip the ball over the onrushing keeper and into the net. And so at half time Amesbury looked like they had built the basis for a comfortable win.
But the visitors came out after the break with plenty of purpose, and on 48 minutes they were awarded a penalty, when the keeper inexplicably pushed an opposition player as the ball was floated in. However, he made amends by saving the penalty to his left, also catching the follow up shot in his midriff. But after Amesbury saw a close range poked shot hit the post on 50 minutes, the visitors pulled a goal back on 52 minutes, after an initial shot was blocked the loose ball was smashed home. Amesbury then had another shot blocked, and several colleagues couldn't quite get a decisive touch, and on 59 minutes the visitors equalised. When the ball was crossed into the box, the keeper rose to claim the ball under pressure from a Laverstock forward and after seeming to have the ball in his hands, it squirmed away, and the forward just managed to scramble to his feet in time to tap the ball home. And shortly after Amesbury had a header following a long throw in parried away, the visitors took the lead on 72 minutes, after a shot somehow squirmed through the Amesbury's keeper's hands, the ball bring tapped in just to be sure. So the comeback was complete, converting a 3-1 deficit into a 3-4 lead. But six minutes later and Amesbury got back on level terms when a powerful low shot from the edge of the area by Greenway found the back of the net. And on 82 minutes, the Laverstock keeper dillied too much with the ball wide of his area and was dispossessed, with the striker running towards goal before being brought down by the keeper. He was shown a yellow card, but the foul was sufficiently punished when the penalty was converted by Dan Finnigan. That did seem to finally take the sting out of the game, as Laverstock did not look likely to grab another equaliser in the remaining minutes.
So in the end, it was Amesbury who claimed the three points after a quite remarkable game, and thereby completing the double over their local rivals.
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