White Ensign 2 v 0 Frenford

Saturday 20th October 2018
Eastern Counties League Division One South
Basildon Sporting Village, Basildon
Admission: £5.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 30
Match Rating: 2

After a very long day out down to Dorset last Saturday, I fancied a much shorter day out today, and a glance at the superb Groundhopper app showed that this game would be the closest to home, whilst grounds that would be easier to get to but would be better saved for winter days with plastic pitches installed.

The Basildon Sporting Village is about a twenty minute walk northwards from Basildon train station through the edge of the town centre, then through Gloucester Park, which was particularly pleasant on a sunny autumnal afternoon, and finally alongside football pitches on the approach to the large leisure centre, which the football ground backs onto and is a part of. Spectators enter through a gate, paying admission at a wooden hut, and it was to nice to see some club signage by the entrance at a ground they rent on match days. All of the spectator facilities are along one length, with an impressive large all-seater grandstand which would be at home much further up the pyramid. It is smartly coloured, with a wave effect along the roof. Although spectators are quite distant from the pitch, thanks to quite a distance to the athletics track which circulates the football pitch, decent views can be had towards the rear of the stand. Hot drinks and cold snacks were available from a gazebo between the entrance and seating area, whilst the leisure centre itself could be accessed for toilet facilities. Spectators are not really intended to venture around the rest of the ground, which has grass banking all the way around. The background is rural, with plenty of trees in the distance, and the setting is quite peaceful, however it inevitably does not feel like a proper football ground. The programme had an attractive cover and covered the essentials, although the fixtures/results page had not been updated with the last two games, and there was no league table, and 13 of the 20 pages were purely advertising.

Both of these clubs are newly promoted into senior football, benefitting from the creation of a step 6 division in Essex this season. White Ensign, who were based on the outskirts of Southend Airport at the Len Forge Centre but had to find an alternative home venue for senior football, settling on the Basildon Sports Village some 12 miles away, finished in fourth place in the Essex Olympian League, while Frenford finished in second. Both clubs have adapted quite well to the step up, White Ensign were in fourth place going into this game, following eight wins and a draw from their 11 league games, while Frenford were in 10th place, following four wins and three draws from their 11 league games.

On a beautifully sunny afternoon, albeit with a slight chill in the air, this was quite a tepid game for long periods, although after both teams created some decent chances, it was the home side who took the lead on 28 minutes, Dominic Locke running into a forward ball, and he calmly chipped the ball over the onrushing keeper from the edge of the area and into the net. White Ensign saw the half out fairly comfortably, to take the one goal lead into the interval.

After having a powerful shot from an angle well tipped over by the keeper, White Ensign were them awarded a penalty on 62 minutes, when the keeper tripped the forward running into the ball. John Hilliard struck the ball in the left side of the goal, sending the keeper the wrong way. Frenford battled away but struggled to really threaten, their best chance to pull a goal back coming on 83 minutes when a back post header failed to hit the target and a follow up shot took a deflection for the keeper to gather quite comfortably. But White Ensign kept the clean sheet and picked up the three points that they deserved, as they were the better team throughout, without particularly impressing. Indeed, this was not the best game I'll watch this season, with an apparent lack of quality and intensity.

Christchurch 2 v 3 Hamble Club

Saturday 13th October 2018
Wessex League Premier Division
Hurn Bridge Sports Ground, Hurn
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 75
Match Rating: 3

For Non-League Day 2018, there were no clubs that I had not previously visited offering reduced admission today, much of that was to do with FA Vase and Trophy fixtures being played today, for which admission offers are almost impossible. Ideally, I would have taken in a FA Vase game today, but the one I did fancy, at Little Oakley, would have been tricky with diverted trains en route taking much longer than usual. And so I decided to head along the south coast, with no engineering works en route today, to visit a ground with a long walk from the nearest train station, which would make a visit by train unappealing once the clock go back.

Hurn Bridge Sports Ground is not a great venue to get to without a car, located over three miles north of Christchurch train station, and with buses only going about a third of the way. It is an easy enough walk though, in daylight at least, straight but along a busy road throughout. The ground is in the tiny village of Hurn, and is part of a complex which is shared with Christchurch Cricket Club, and is also host to the Dorset Cricket Centre. Fortunately, the football and cricket facilities exist side by side, without any overlapping. Spectators enter the football ground through a brick turnstile building immediately behind one of the goals. To the left, there is a wooden refreshments hut, with some bird feeders and a bird table, as well as some movable chairs and a table. To the right of the entrance, three rows of covered seating is built into the wall of the changing rooms, with toilets and a hospitality room beyond the seating up to the corner flag. Starddling the half way line on one side is quite a large and smart all seater stand, with a press room included. An electronic scoreboard is positioned above the press room, but was not working today, instead a manual scoreboard was used on the opposite side. Around the rest of the pitch there is just hard standing. With the complex cut into a forest, there is a really pleasant, rural and quite secluded feel to the place, with usual friendly and welcoming atmosphere that is common throughout the Wessex League. The programme was good enough, covering the important stats and had a welcome message and introductions to both clubs although bizarrely six pages were left completely blank. A nice touch was the issuing of game and day specific tickets, although generally it was surprising that no mention or effort at all was made for Non-League Day in the programme or around the ground, which may have been a missed opportunity to promote the club and non league football in general.

After being promoted as champions from Division One last season. Christchurch are finding life a little difficult in the Premier Division, in 17th place in the 20 team division, having won two and drawn two of their ten games so far. Hamble were in 13th place, having won three and drawn two of their nine league games.

In a total contrast to last Saturday's wet and cold conditions, there was a warm and slightly muggy feel to the weather today, with temperatures in the 20's. Hamble had the better of the opening half hour, doing all of the attacking, so it was a surprise when Christchurch took the lead on 35 minutes, when Ben Satterley dribbled through midfield before unleashing a powerful shot past the keeper from the edge of the area. They almost doubled their lead within a minute, but a low shot was just gathered by the keeper. But 1-0 was how it remained at the break, and Hamble would be wondering how on earth they were behind.

They were not for much longer though, as on 48 minutes, as a cross from the right was headed into his own net by a Christchurch defender. But the home side restored their lead on 65 minutes, following a free kick which was headed sideway from the back post for Kieran Douglas to tap the ball past the keeper. Hamble equalised on 75 minutes, again they were gifted the goal following a poor back pass which Doug Rowe ran into and his shot took a big deflection off the keeper, the ball looping up and into the net. But on 87 minutes came the game changing moment. Christchurch saw a free kick only narrowly go wide with the keeper beaten, but Hamble went straight up the other end and a cross from the right found Marlon Mason with all the time and space in the world in a central position, and although he took an age to get the ball under control and it looked like the chance had gone with defenders having made up ground to cover, his shot went into the bottom right corner with the keeper flat footed. Christchurch came agonisingly close to grabbing an equaliser in the second minute of added on time, when a header from a corner hit the underside of the bar, and immediately had a big shout for a penalty turned down.

Overall, Hamble probably deserved the win as they showed the more attacking intent, but Christchurch will be bitterly disappointed to not get anything from a game they led twice, but gifted goals to the opposition.

Bexhill United 0 v 1 Haywards Heath Town

Tuesday 9th October 2018
Sussex RUR Cup Second Round
The Polegrove, Bexhill-on-Sea
Admission: £4.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 84
Match Rating: 3

Similar to my Saturday lunchtime game, this evening I decided to watch a cup game which offered the possibility of a giant killing, again with the home team playing two divisions below that of the visitors, although this would be a much more low-key event, no TV cameras present, and would be rather more local for me.

The Polegrove remains unchanged from recent seasons, still the ground is shared with the town's cricket club, with all facilities along one length including the fabulous mock Tudor brick and wooden stand, which offers views that are excellent in terms of elevation, but impeded by supporting pillars and the side walls with very weathered panes. The club still only charges £4 admission, which is quite remarkable and to very much be applauded these days, with a reasonable programme for an extra pound.

After opening the season with eight away matches in all competitions whilst the cricket season took priority for the ground, further delayed when a scheduled home cup match last Tuesday had to be reversed due to delays in re-erecting the floodlights, Bexhill United have started the season remarkably well, winning six and drawing two of their nine league games in the second tier of the Southern Combination League, Division One. Haywards Heath have just been promoted as champions of the Southern Combination League Premier Division into the Isthmian League Division One South and have had a solid start to life at Step 4, in ninth place having won three and drawn three of their opening nine league games.

On a mild evening - not always the case at this open venue very close to the seafront - winning this game seemed a tall order indeed for the hosts, with the visitors playing a strong team containing eight who started their last Isthmian League game, but this turned out to be a very even game, with little separating the two teams, and with a little more fortune, the underdogs could easily have created a not undeserved shock. The signs were there straight from kick-off, as Bexhill surged forward and forced a corner, although with three minutes on the clock, only a sliding clearance from a defender prevented a goal bound shot giving the visitors the lead. Bexhill created some great chances, and their hopes increased still further on 18 minutes when the Haywards Heath keeper Joshua Heyburn raced out of his area to save a shot and was shown the inevitable red card, with defender Sean Roddy donning the keeper's shirt. And Roddy did not look out of place in goal, making a couple of smart saves, but one had the feeling that Bexhill ideally should have taken a lead into the break, before the visitors had time at the break to reorganize. As it was, it still looked like being anyone's game at the break.

Six minutes after the break and Haywards Heath were given a great chance to equalise, when they were awarded a penalty for a handball. But the penalty was struck at a good height for the keeper Dan Rose to pull off an excellent save to his right. On the hour mark, Bexhill saw a shot from the edge of the area by Jack McClean palmed behind, but four minutes later, the visitors took the lead, Nathan Cooper powerfully heading home from a corner. Unfortunately, that did seem to kill the game as Bexhill struggled to threaten the Haywards Heath goal until injury time, when a low drilled shot from a corner was saved by the keeper's outstretched leg.

So in the end, Haywards Heath progressed to the next round as expected, but the Bexhill team gave a fantastic account of themselves, and really made Haywards Heath work hard for the win. Credit to the visitors as well though, grinding out the result despite playing over two thirds of the match with ten men, and the outfield stand-in keeper claiming a clean sheet.