Isle of Wight Saturday League Division Two
Pell Lane, Ryde
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 17 (head count)
As I was not really feeling inspired to tick off a new ground in senior football from the choice available today, I instead decided to pay my first visit to the Isle of Wight since 2015. That always makes for a most enjoyable day in itself, although I have already long since visited all of the senior football grounds (and those that are more than just a rec) on the island. I originally chose this game mainly as I thought that Ryde Saints were now playing all of their home games at the Smallbrook Stadium, which hosted Wessex League football in the 1990's as home ground of Ryde Sports, and the league's fixture list showed this game as being played there. However, it turned out that this game would take place at their other home venue, Pell Lane. It would still be quite an attractive game to watch in itself though, being a showdown between the top two in the division.
Crossing the Solent by hovercraft, I first walked to the Smallbrook Stadium, about two miles from the Hoverport just into the countryside beyond the town's extremities, to have a look around the stadium, which is principally used for speedway these days. There is an all-seater stand stretching most of the way along one length, and the rest of the perimeter is accessible, but views would be distant considering that there is the speedway track between the spectator areas and the football pitch. I then walked back into the west side of Ryde for this game. Pell Lane is a basic recreation ground, with no facilities whatsoever, no dugouts nor railing, and a noticeable feature of the ground is quite a steep slope from end to end. The football pitch is quite neatly nestled next to a hedgerow along one length and behind one end, with academy school buildings behind that length. A further football pitch is located behind the other, whilst in the distance behind one corner the Solent is visible. The ground has a peaceful location, without having much in the way of charm.
Bembridge have already sealed their promotion to the top flight of the Isle of Wight Saturday League following a walkover last Saturday, having chalked up 19 wins and a draw from their 21 league games, and with a goal difference of +83. The only club who can pop them for the title are today's hosts Ryde Saints. That looks unlikely, with a 12 point cushion between the two clubs, although Ryde do have two games in hand. Ryde probably lost their realistic hopes of the title with a surprising 4-1 defeat at Niton Community last Saturday. Ryde had won 15 and drawn one of their 19 league games, and in the race for the second promotion spot, they are two points ahead of Carisbrooke United with a game in hand.
On a very overcast but mild afternoon, Bembridge opened up a two goal lead inside the first half, opening the scoring on 15 minutes, before doubling their lead on 28 minutes, after the ball was punted diagonally downfield before the player knocked the ball past the keeper, rolling gently into the net. On 31 minutes, things got even worse for Ryde when they were reduced to ten men. After the Ryde player was warned about taking a throw in from the wrong place, he did it again, and with the throw in then given to Bembridge, he protested too much and was shown a second yellow card and then a red. Seven minutes later and Ryde were almost gifted a goal back, when a Bembridge defender headed the ball back goalwards but out of position, the keeper only just scurried back in time to claim the ball close to his line. A couple of minutes before the break, the visitors almost made the game safe, after the keeper sent a long punt downfield, a Ryde defender couldn't deal with the ball, and the Bembridge striker ran clear, but he struck the ball just wide of the post from the edge of the area.
At the break, it was looking a tall order for Ryde to get anything from this game, but in their favour was that they would be kicking down the considerable slope in the second half. And they came close two minutes after the break, when the ball was drilled low just wide from the edge of the area, but it was Bembridge who would score what seemed the all-important next goal on 61 minutes. A throw in caught the Ryde defenders napping, and after the Bembridge player twisted and turned his way past the defenders and to find some space, he swivelled and struck the ball low past the keeper. They came very close to scoring a fourth two minutes later with a waist-height shot with the outside of the boot from the edge of the area going just wide of the top corner with the keeper beaten. But then Ryde came back into the game, and after forcing a very good low save from the keeper on 69 minutes, they pulled a goal back on 72 minutes, with a wonderfully flighted diagonal shot from the edge of the area which went over the keeper, under the bar and into the net. But three minutes later and Ryde were down to nine men, when one of their players was shown a second yellow card and then a red for pushing in the chest the player who had just fouled him. From the resultant Ryde free kick close to the half way line, as the ball was floated into the area, a Ryde player was bundled to the floor, and the referee awarding the hosts a penalty, which was struck into the bottom left corner past the keeper's dive. Suddenly, and quite unfathomably under the circumstances, Ryde sensed they could yet snatch a point. They did try to mount a couple of attacks, but it was a very tall order being down to nine men and it was the visitors who had the best two chances to score again in the remaining minutes.
With this win, Bembridge secured the league title, while Ryde will have a real fight on to claim the runners up spot and achieve promotion along with Bembridge back to the top flight of Isle of Wight football, as they look to defend their two point lead over Carisbrooke United with four games left to play for both clubs. Although this game wasn't at the venue I had hoped for, at least it was an entertaining and quite dramatic game of football, and I managed to pick up some bottles of ales from breweries on the island en route back to Ryde Hoverport for the flight back to the mainland, making for the usual enjoyable trip out to the Isle of Wight.
No comments:
Post a Comment