Barkingside 2 v 1 Wormley Rovers

Tuesday 30th December 2019

Eastern Senior League

Cricklefield Stadium, Ilford

Admission: £5.00
Programme : £1.00

Attendance: 175

This was very much a bonus fixture for me to see out my groundhopping for 2019, and indeed, the decade. Although no fixtures were originally scheduled for this evening or tomorrow evening in the south-east of England at least, this fixture was hastily rearranged after the originally scheduled fixture on 21st December was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

I had last visited Cricklefield Stadium back in 2010 - not an evening that evokes fond memories for me if truth be told, as I recall a freezing cold evening which I had not prepared for, travelling straight from work, and on my way home, I fell asleep on the train, missing my home stop, ending up stranded down the line with the last train back in the opposite direction having long since left. The Cricklefield Stadium is about a ten minute walk from Seven Kings rail station, with entrance gained through a metal turnstile block, with "Ilford Football Club" painted on it. Indeed, it is a bit of a shame in terms of establishing some identity in the stadium that all of the signage outside and inside the ground is for Ilford FC, the other club using the Cricklefield Stadium. Immediately the other side of the turnstile block is the large clubhouse building, with a bar on the first floor offering good elevated views of the field of play, with hot food available from a outward facing hatch at ground level. There is an uncovered terrace to the front of the clubhouse, which stretches to an all-seater stand straddling the half way line, with further uncovered terracing stretching to the far corner flag. There is a taller uncovered terrace curved around behind one of the goals, with just flat standing behind the other. Along the remaining length, which is closely lined by tall trees, there is further uncovered terracing, save for a section on the half way line covered by a stand. Although there is a running track around the football pitch, it actually does not impact too much on spectators' views, as the lanes are tight and the terrace steps give some elevation. The 12 page programme, which was the programme prepared for the original date, had a well designed and eye-catching cover, was printed on good quality paper, and had a good mix of reading material and statistics.

It is fair to say that recent years have not been kind on Barkingside, who moved out of the Station Road ground that had been their home for 56 years in 2014, and since then, were relegated from the Isthmian League Division One North after three seasons, and their subsequent three season stay in the Essex Senior League came to an end last season, finishing in 19th place, 13 points adrift of safety. They came into this game in ninth place, following eight wins and two draws from their opening 15 league games, but with the top four in line for promotion this season, are only five points adrift of the promotion places, and have games in hand on all but one team above them. After a solid first season in senior football, finishing in tenth place, Wormley Rovers came into this game in 14th place in the 18 club division, following seven wins and seven defeats from their opening 14 league games, but have games in hand on all teams above them, with an 8 point cushion on the club below them, and just 10 points adrift of the top four.

On a cool evening, this turned out to be a most entertaining game to watch, with players seeming to struggle on a tricky pitch, with defensive slips and mistakes not being punished. Barkingside did almost all of the attacking in the opening minutes, denied by a great last ditch recovery tackle following a defensive slip, then a defender threw his body in the way of a goal bound shot, and then after taking advantage of another defender slip, the ball was struck just wide. Then, it was the visitors' turn to create some good chances. A corner was drilled into the near post, with the keeper having to react quickly to divert the ball away, and then within a few minutes, the Barkingside keeper was forced into a couple of very smart saves from long range powerful shots. On 24 minutes, a combination of skill and lucky deflections sent Barkingside's Carl Mullings clear, but he drilled his shot just wide of the left hand post. On 33 minutes, the hosts came close again, when the ball was crossed in from the right, and Mullings just beat the keeper to the ball, but could only head it just wide. They had a couple more decent chances before half time, and they would surely be kicking themselves that they had not converted any of their decent chances, but with the visitors also looking a threat, the game was very much in the balance at the half way mark.

And indeed, on 48 minutes, Wormley Rovers took the lead with a very good goal, Bradley Empson firing the ball over the keeper and into the net from fully 30 yards. Their lead was to only last seven minutes though, Jones playing a one-two with Oates to run through and slot the ball past the keeper from a slight angle. The game was now very much back in the balance - on 58 minutes, the ball came back off the bar directly from a Wormley corner, with a subsequent desperate scramble in the box, from which Barkingside launched a quick counter attack which looked dangerous but petered out with a weak shot in the end. Both sides then had some good chances to go back in front, but it was Barkingside who would take the lead with a quite superb goal. A free kick just outside the outer corner of the penalty area was played short Jones, who dribbled to a more central position before rifling the ball into the far top corner of the net. That proved to be the winning goal as Wormley barely threatened in the remaining minutes. It was a win that Barkingside probably deserved, which sees them rise to sixth in the table, but they certainly came close to paying dearly for spurning several very good chances. Overall, this was a very enjoyable evening's entertainment to finish off the year, and indeed the decade, rewarding the bumper crowd of 175 in attendance, which included several from overseas.