East Grinstead Town 2 v 0 Crowborough Athletic

Monday 26th December 2011
Sussex County League Division
East Court, East Grinstead
Admission inc. programme: £6.00
Attendance: 133
Match Rating: 2

For my Boxing Day fare, I ventured to a ground I regularly visited many years ago prior to my groundhopping days, but had not for many years, for the north Sussex derby between East Grinstead Town and Crowborough Athletic, another team I regularly followed all those years ago.

East Court is about a twenty minute walk from the town's train station - although with no trains running today, I had to drive to the game today, with the ground located on the approach to the town along the A264 from Tunbridge Wells. I always considered East Court to be one of my favourite grounds at this level, and it was pleasing to discover that the necessary improvements have given the ground a very neat and attractive feel without detracting from its pleasant setting. The ground is located down a narrow access road, and on entering the ground, one walks up a bank to reach the main stand, which was standing room only the last time I visited, but now has seats installed. A small covered stand of terracing is now located between the main stand and the entrance, and around the rest of the ground is just hard standing. Changing rooms and the clubhouse are located behind one of the goals. There is a naturally enclosed feel with trees all around and the location is quiet. The ground is very well maintained with stands and buildings freshly and brightly painted in club colours, and it would certainly not look out of place in the Isthmian league. I recalled that East Grinstead always used to produce excellent programmes, and their standards certainly have not dropped. Included with admission, it is remarkably well produced with a very professional design, 20 pages in full colour, although half of those contain just advertising.

Today's match would be between two teams stuck firmly in mid-table, with East Grinstead in ninth place in the twenty team league, and Crowborough three places and two points behind them. After a tricky November, when they lost consecutive league games by 0-7, 0-5 and 2-4, East Grinstead then proceeded to win four of their last five league games. Crowborough have been very inconsistent this season, and since I witnessed a very limp display at out of form Selsey earlier in the month, they have gained a win and a draw in their two league games.

The first half of this match was rather dull, with the only event of note being the referee pulling up with an injury which required lengthy attention, and he would eventually be forced to admit defeat at half time and was replaced in the middle for the second half. It was no surprise that the scoreline was goalless at half time, with almost all of the action confined to the middle of the park with few attacks mounted by either side.

The second half threatened to continue in a similar vein, until the home side took the lead on 58 minutes, The keeper Mark Fox pumped the ball forward from a free kick, and the ball was then curled into the box from the left and Aaron Watson glanced his header past the keeper and into the net. Thirteen minutes later and East Grinstead doubled their lead, when a throughball was played which Tony Reid latched onto, before racing towards goal for a one-on-one with the keeper, and Reid stroked the ball calmly into the net under the keeper. The scoreline was a fair reflection on second half proceedings, where the home side certainly upped the ante, whilst the visitors huffed and puffed without ever being to able to carve out real chances on goal. As the game entered stoppage time, East Grinstead hit the post, and so East Grinstead claimed a comfortable derby victory and so rose two places in the league to seventh, whilst Crowborough remain in twelth.

Selsey 2 v 0 Crowborough Athletic

Saturday 3rd December 2011
Sussex County League Division 1
High Street Ground, Selsey
Admission: £5.00
Programme: 50p
Attendance: 84
Match Rating: 3

With my original plan of attending the Salisbury v Grimsby Town FA Cup match thwarted by failing to wake up in time - it turned out that this was not necessarily a bad thing, as that match ended goalless - I turned to my back-up plan of ticking off my last senior ground in the Sussex County League and a trip to what is something of an outpost on the south coast.

Having arrived at Chichester rail station, I then caught a bus from the adjacent bus station for the 40 minute bus journey to Selsey town centre, with the High Street Ground just couple of minutes walk from the bus stop, and located adjacent to Budgens supermarket. The ground has "bog standard county league ground" written all over it - does the job, but has very little character or endearing qualities. On one length of the pitch there is a stand with two rows of seating, with a row of standing to the rear. On the other side is the clubhouse and changing rooms, with a tea bar tacked on to one side closest to the entrance. Around most of the rest of the ground is just hard standing. Full compliments to Selsey for the programme though.In itself it is nothing special - although it covers the basics very well and is far better than some of this level - but very well priced at 50p, a far more realistic and justifiable price than what is usually charged at other County League grounds these days.

This match would be between two teams occupying the middle of the table, with Selsey in fourteenth place in the twenty team league - but have played less games than almost every other team, and Crowborough Athletic in eleventh place and seven points better off than Selsey, although they have played five games more and having already played 22 games are already well over half way through their fixtures. It would be fair to say Selsey have not been in the best of form of late, losing their last three league games as well as going out of the league cup to local rivals Pagham. As for Crowborough, recent games have been somewhat turbulent, winning last time out 4-0 at home to Worthing United, after losing 1-6 at home to Rye United in the league cup and before that picking up just one point from four games. The two sides have already met twice this season, both times at Crowborough - Crowborough winning 3-1 in the league, the same scoreline with which Selsey won in the Sussex Senior Cup. It was interesting to note that the manager of Selsey was Adam Hinshelwood, who played 100 games for Brighton but was forced to retire early from the game and is now aged just 27.

The first half was an even affair, with both sides having reasonable chances, although it was the home side who went into the lead on 26 minutes when a scramble in the penalty area - with various bodies on the ground - ended with the ball being poked over the line by Max Thoms. On 42 minutes, Selsey doubled their lead, when a well-played throughball was taken towards goal and slotted calmly under the keeper by Robert Wimble. The 2-0 scoreline was rather harsh on Crowborough who had some chances themselves to get on the scoresheet, most notably on the stroke of half time when a Selsey defender headed over his own goalkeeper and the ball only just dropped wide of the post and from the resulting corner, a thumping header by Dave Adams, Crowborough's player-manager, went wide, with the referee blowing the half-time whistle immediately afterwards.

The second half was rather disappointing, as Crowborough never threatened to mount a comeback, with sloppy passing and an apparent lack of ambition thwarting any hopes of mounting an attack, Selsey looked extremely comfortable and always looked far more the likely to score, but in the end 2-0 was how it remained.

Crowborough Athletic 2 v 3 Peacehaven and Telscombe

Saturday 8th October 2011
Sussex County League Division 1
Alderbrook, Crowborough
Admission and Programme: £6.00
Attendance: 92
Match Rating: 4

At the conclusion of the game at Jarvis Brook, I speedily made my way on foot westwards across the south side of Crowborough, and arrived at the Alderbrook just as the whistle blew at the end of the first half, with Peacehaven holding a 0-1 lead thanks to a penalty scored by Carl Dunk on 10 minutes.

By all accounts, the first half was a pretty tepid affair, however the game burst into life with three goals in ten minutes after the restart. First Crowborough equalised on 51 minutes when a long range shot by Harry Thompson took a wicked deflection off Tom Saunders which wrong-footed the goalkeeper and nestled into the net. Crowborough then took the lead within three minutes when a handball in the box saw a penalty awarded, which was converted by Tom Saunders for his second of the game, sending the keeper the wrong way by shooting into the bottom left corner. Having done the hard work in turning around a half time deficit into a lead, Crowborough then threw their advantage away by presenting Peacehaven with an equaliser almost straight from the kick off. The ball was pumped forwards and the Crowborough keeper Ben Head came racing to the corner of the penalty area, got in a complete mix-up with a couple of defenders, one of whom nodded the ball over Head, presenting Dan Smith with an open goal and an easy tap-in. On 68 minutes, Peacehaven went back into the lead with another messy goal from Crowborough's point of view, when a free-kick from just outside the corner of the penalty area was curled in low and took several deflections before trickling into the net just inside the post, for what will go down as an own goal, with Crowborough's Tom Boddy getting the final touch. A pattern clearly developed of Crowborough doing most of the attacking but with little quality, whilst Peacehaven did not threaten so often, but looked much more dangerous when they did. In the end, there was no further scoring and so Peacehaven held on for a narrow away win, which keeps them flying high in third place in the league, whilst Crowborough fall one place to thirteenth.

A description of the ground can be found on my earlier visit here, with no changes to the ground since then. The programme could be described similarly to my previous visit, looking very good and professional and all in colour, but with little interesting to read. It does however contain all the necessary stats and facts, including full team line-ups for every game played so far this season.

George Piper Courier Cup

Sunday 25th July 2010
George Piper Courier Cup
Culverden Stadium, Tunbridge Wells
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 250
Match Rating: 2

A rare Sunday afternoon's football entertainment was provided by the second day of the revamped George Piper Courier Cup . In previous years, the cup has been contested as a one-off match between Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge Angels, who have traditionally sent their reserve team (which has usually been sufficient to win the Cup), and this year was no different. However, this year, Crowborough Athletic and Rusthall were also invited, with the format being two semi-finals on the Saturday with the final and third place play-off taking place on the Sunday. In the semi-finals, Tunbridge Wells beat Crowborough 3-0, with Rusthall beating Tonbridge on penalties after a 1-1 draw. There is no doubt that this competition added a welcome competitive edge to what would otherwise be meaningless pre-season friendly matches, with the four teams coming from a 7 mile radius of Tunbridge Wells, with therefore many connections between the clubs, yet coming from four different leagues - Tunbridge Wells from the Kent League, Rusthall from the Kent County League, Crowborough from the Sussex League, and Tonbridge Angels from the Ryman League - or perhaps more accurately considering the team they fielded, the Suburban League.

Culverden Stadium, which is located about a 20 minute walk from Tunbridge Wells train station, will always be one of my favourite grounds at County League level, with a pleasant enclosed feel to it surrounded as it is by trees and set in a completely peaceful location down a short track well away from roads and housing.An ageing stand runs along one length of the pitch, half of which provides seating, the other half terracing. Steps of terracing behind one of the goals provides an excellent vantage point, with hard standing around the rest of the pitch. Anyone who has been to the Culverden won't be surprised to hear that the pitch was in a dreadful state - rock hard, dusty, bobbly and with long dry grass making the roll of the bal unpredictable. Of course, the prolonged hot and dry weather has done the groundsman no favours. A colour programme was produced for the tournament providing good basic information on all four teams competing.

Crowborough Athletic 2 v 3 Tonbridge Angels
Third Place Play-off

The first game of the day was the third place play off, between Crowborough Athletic and the reserve team of Tonbridge Angels. With Crowborough fielding mostly a first team, they would have been expected to have been the stronger side, and indeed Crowborough for the most part dominated the first half and creating the better chances, although somehow Tonbridge went into the interval with a two goal lead. They soon made that three within minutes of the restart, and the game looked dead and buried, particularly with Crowborough players seeming to lose interest on a hot, muggy afternoon. However, they pulled a goal back with a fluke goal when a cross from out wide sailed over the keeper and into the net, and a close finish was ensured with 7 minutes remaining when Crowborough scored a second. Despite a couple of good chances to equalise, Tonbridge held on for the win and the rather hollow prize of claiming third place in the competition.

Tunbridge Wells 1 v 2 Rusthall
Final

After an hour's break came the final of the competition between the two senior clubs of Tunbridge Wells. With so many connections between the clubs, this was always likely to be a keenly fought affair, one for which Tunbridge Wells would have had to have been favourites, with the game being played at their home ground and being from a higher league - indeed, Rusthall play at intermediate level, but there was plenty of incentive for Rusthall to create an upset with several of their players having played for Tunbridge Wells, and their manager, John Ronaldson, played for Tunbridge Wells with distinction. During the first half, the superiority of Tunbridge Wells certainly showed as the spent most of the half in possession and had most of the chances, and it was something of a surprise that they only went into the break one goal to the good. The second half carried on in the same vein - whereas Rusthall played reasonably well, there seemed to be very little threat of getting back on level on terms until the 73rd minute with a slightly controversial goal, when just at the moment the Tunbridge Wells keeper caught the ball, the Rusthall forward headed the ball out oh his hands into the net. For me it was a good goal as the ball wasn't under the keeper's control, and it was refreshing to see, for once, the goalkeeper not get the benefit of the doubt. At this point the game completely transformed as Rusthall pushed for the winner, which they got ten minutes from time when a cross was emphatically headed home. Tunbridge Wells threated to score intermittently throughout the second half but Rusthall held on to huge cheers at the final whistle to claim the trophy and the local bragging rights.

This was an entertaining day's football, and a great way of adding a little competiveness and interest to pre-season games, and the warm weather certainly helped make the occasion even more enjoyable. Perhaps games with 30 minute halves might be a better system and fairer on the players considering the small squad sizes of the competing teams, and presuming the competition is repeated in future years, although Tonbridge Angels are potentially a big draw considering their Ryman League status, all the time they send reserve teams for the Cup, it would seem more worthwhile to invite another local team in their place, such as Sevenoaks or East Grinstead.


 

Hassocks 2 v 0 Crowborough Athletic

Saturday 10th April 2010
Sussex County League Division 1
The Beacon, Hassocks
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 126
Match Rating: 2

With a warm and sunny day forecast, the first one on a non-working day of the year in the south-east, I decided against going to support my team, Charlton Athletic, at Southampton (a wise move as it turned out as they lost 0-1) and instead looked for a scenic ground to make the most of the first taste of summer, and Hassocks fitted the bill perfectly.It's a ground I've wanted to visit for some years now, located as it is with the South Downs in the background, but it has never worked out before now, partly because I have wanted to save my visit for a sunny day.

The Beacon is located about a 15 minute walk from the town's railway station, just off of the A273 between Haywards Heath and Brighton, and from the time I entered the ground through the turnstile, where I was met with a cheery welcome, my overall impression was one of a friendly, well-organised club. As you enter the ground, there is a smart, tastefuly constructed clubhouse, with toilet and refreshment facilities well above what would be expected at this level. Hard standing is available along the length of this side of the pitch. On the other side, there is an all-seater stand, again with hard standing for the rest of the length of the pitch. In the background to this stand there are the rolling South Downs, with a couple of windmills also visible, which helps make The Beacon a picturesque ground with a very pleasant rural feel to it. Behind one of the goals, there is a grass bank which offers an excellent view of the action. Behind the other goal, there is just hard standing. There are also around a dozen wooden benches sprinkled around the ground. The programme was a reasonable effort, giving all the information about the home team, away team and the league that spectators need to know.

Surprisingly, given the awful winter we have endured in the south-east which has caused an horrendous fixture backlog for most clubs at this level, this was Hassocks' last home game of the season, with their one remaining away game in a fortnight's time. Given that a couple of other clubs in this league still have eight games to play, Hassocks must have had a combination of good fortune and an excellently prepared and cared for pitch to be so far advanced with their schedule. As for the teams, Hassocks have little left to play for this season other than pride, sitting firmly in mid table. There was more riding on this game for Crowborough, who were only six points clear of the relegation zone. However, to be in this position now would have been quite unthinkable a few months ago. When I last watched Crowborough in November, they were in a truly desperate and seemingly hopeless position, having gained just eight points from their opening 14 games, lost the game I watched 1-4 at home against perennial strugglers East Grinstead, and didn't gain any points from their next five games, shipping 28 goals in the process and they looked destined for a second successive relegation. However, on replacing their manager with their long-serving player, Dave Adams, Crowborough had an immediate absolutely astonishing upturn in fortunes, as they secured eight wins and a draw from nine games to not only catch up the other teams but indeed put clear daylight between themselves and the relegation zone. Losing their last two games before today has ensured that they still have some work to do to ensure Division One survival on the pitch (although their excellent Ryman League standard Alderbrook ground will probably ensure that they will remain in the division no matter where they finish in the league due to several other clubs failing inspection visits and so in danger of relegation or missing out on promotion no matter where they finish in the league)

Unfortunately the game itself had a rather end of season feel to it, played in a reasonably competitive spirit, but with neither side managing to carve out clear chances, apart from when Hassocks hit the bar with a speculative lob. It was little surprise that the scoreline was goalless at half time. Whereas Crowborough possibly had the better of the first half, Hassocks came out looking the stronger team, and it wasn't a surprise that they went on to win the game, thanks, it has to be said, to two contentious goals. The first goal was via a penalty, given for a handball but it did appear that the forceful shove the Crowborough defender received when going up for a header played a large part in it. The second was scored in somewhat confusing circumstances, when a ball was lobbed towards goal and was hacked away by a defender. The Hassocks players celebrated a goal, but the linesman didn’t indicate a goal and the Crowborough players played on. After quite some time, the referee finally indicated a goal. For the rest of the game, Crowborough barely threatened as the game was played out mostly in the middle of the pitch.

So, Hassocks signed off their league campaign at home with a comfortable win, whilst Crowborough will look nervously over their shoulder and will probably need a couple of wins from their remaining four games to stay clear of the relegation zone. I would certainly recommend a visit to the Beacon on a sunny day, where you will be assured of a friendly atmosphere and enjoy a very scenic, rural backdrop to the football, although it is true to say that most Sussex League grounds in the Brighton area benefit from having the South Downs as a backdrop.