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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Monthly Archives: October 2011

Talking Points

30 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in Y

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Andrew Hillsdon, Football, goals, groundhopping, Jamie Worsley, Lloyd Little, Ryan Simpson, Sutton Wanderers, Thom Airs, Upper Thames Valley, Yellow Eagles

Sunday 30th October 2011 ko 10.30am

Upper Thames Valley League Division Two

YELLOW EAGLES 3 (Little 19 40 Simpson 49)

SUTTON WANDERERS 1 (Richards 73)

Att 6 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Nothing for sale.

Its been 30 years since I last visited the Horspath Road Athletics Stadium, just outside Oxford city’s limits. I was right back as the 26th Oxford won the 1981 Headington District Cubs 11-a-side football tournament. I still have the medal but sadly it was the only award I ever won!

The two pitches used that day have long since gone, swallowed up by the landscaping for the new improved Continue reading →

That Goal

29 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in O

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adam yates, Football, goals, groundhopping, michael duberry, oxford mail, oxford united., Peter Leven, Port Vale, stuart tomlinson

Saturday 29th October 2011

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Duberry 11 Leven 64)

PORT VALE 1 (Richards 61)

Att 8,027 (839 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc Oxford Mail)

Coffee £2.10

“12th Man” Badge £2

If this game doesn’t get still more people to come and watch Oxford United, then nothing will. A tip though, turn up early, as people were still queuing to get in as the game kicked off.

I have seldom seen a game so open, particularly in midfield helped by referee Mr Hayward, who despite some poor decisions, did at least try and let the game flow.

Oxford made just the one change from the Plymouth game, Continue reading →

Unpicked

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in L

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Cup, Football, goals, groundhopping, Locks Heath, Money, Moneyfields, Portsmouth, Wessex

Wednesday 26th October 2011 ko. 7.15pm

Portsmouth Senior Cup 2nd Round

LOCKS HEATH 0

MONEYFIELDS 5 (Brown 12 Gregory 40 64 66 Buttwell 83)

Att 42 (h/c)

Entry FREE

No programme

Tea 50p

A trip to Fareham to see a former Wessex League club who now play in the Hampshire Premier League, where lights are not needed. So, a slightly unnecessary cup game and and an early kick off to beat a curfew and, easy tickings!

So what’s there? Well there’s a clubhouse, and a seperate changing room block, but that belongs to the Sports and Social Club. That said, one window does give a pretty good view of the action when it rains. Which it did, and other than that window there is no cover. In fact what the football ground is, is simply a railed off pitch at one end of a cricket pitch in a pretty nondescript suburb. However there is one thing of note, and that’s the floodlights because they’re portable! Because of the cricket, the club can and do remove the lights out of season. I’ve not seen that before, although I do know of a club looking to install something similar.

The game was pretty much as the scoreline suggests and no, Wessex Premier Moneyfields didn’t put anything like a full first eleven out. They didn’t need to, as at no stage did Locks Heath look capable of mounting a serious challenge. And that dear reader is why the evening’s entertainment fell a little flat. There was nothing to inspire, although Lee West and former Wealdstone kitman Les Bull provided excellent company.

In the end we all got wet, the 3 of us collected a tick apiece but left feeling that we’d achieved nothing much more.


Someone’s reserved his seat by THAT window!
Those floodlights


Mixed Emotions

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in O

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Argyle, ball, Football, Goal, groundhopping, League, Oxford, Plymouth, United

Tuesday 25th October 2011 ko 7.45pm

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 5 (R Hall 15 67 Constable 71 90 Leven 77)

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 1 (Walton 55p)

Att 7,802 (722 away)

Entry Season Ticket

Programme £3 (including Oxford Mail)

This blog really isn’t about my regular trips to watch Oxford United home games, but this one really did give a lot to both write and think about.

Before the game flowers were laid behind the goal by the parents of Jack Hatton a fan who recently lost his battle with Leukaemia at the age of just 19. He was a brave lad, and as Peter Rhoades-Brown recalled, Jack told him that although he was in pain, had lost his hair, and felt lousy,it could be a lot worse; he could be a Swindon fan! The club, and the city are fortunate to have Peter, a great ambassador.

The vistors are in all kinds of trouble, with massive debts, unpaid staff and are rock bottom of the league. Non-League football looks almost inevitable. Yet over 700 made the long journey, and sang their hearts out. You could look at the score too and imagine this was an easy home win, it certainly wasn’t. You see Argyle aren’t the the quintessential basket case League 2 club. Yes, they are a team of unknowns with the odd journeyman thrown in for good measure, but they gave this game a real go.

In fact for a long time the difference was Oxford United wunderkind Rob Hall. A native of Aylesbury, he’s a West Ham asset on loan to gain experience. I suspect the experience is doing him good but Oxford a whole heap more! For me he’s the best finisher at the club since Dean Windass. His second, a stunning volley from a cross from the right will live long in the memory. In fact, it was that goal that really broke Plymouth’s resistance, and as the goals rained in I was pleased for my club but sad for my mate Mike Sampson a massive Argyle fan and the rest of their magnificent support.

I suspect that maintaining league status will be too much for Plymouth this season, but I would imagine that those connected with them will be pleased just to see them still in business this time next year.


722 Argyle fans


Salem’s Crucible

22 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Cowes, Football, Gillingham, goals, groundhopping, Sports, Town, Wessex, Western, Westwood

Saturday 22nd October 2011 ko 3.00pm

FA Vase 1st Round

COWES SPORTS 3 (Insley 52 57 Williams 87)

GILLINGHAM TOWN 0 Ben Salem sent off 24 (2nd booking-both dissent)

Att c120

Entry £5

Programme £1

Badge £3

Tea-in-a-mug 65p

Coffee-in-a-mug 70p

The idea for this one was Chris Berezai’s. He discovered that Red Funnel do a group off-peak discount on the Sea Cat from Southampton to Cowes. The “group” bit is as little as two, so a return ticket was just a shade over £15.00 for the both of us! What a bargain!

From the harbour it was a 10 minute walk up the hill to Reynolds Close, and Westwood Park. And what a ground it is, with the modern clubhouse, and best of all that stand. Built in the twenties in a weekend, by shipyard workers, yes it does have a number of pillars, but is an icon for a really friendly club. You really do forget you’re watching a club 6 promotions from the football league, they are so well organised and appointed. From Mick the mic on the PA through to the ladies working the tea bar, this was friendly club, who seemed genuinely pleased to host neutrals from Long Eaton and Oxford. Mind you Mick did initially pronounce the visitors’ name with a soft “G.” Its an easy mistake to make, but this is the Gillingham from Dorset, not Kent (Oxford United were playing there by the way), and he was quickly put right. Cowes, like their visitors are in 7th position in a step 6 league, so the match had the potential to test the relative strengths of the Wessex and Western leagues. Continue reading →

Milestones

20 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in B

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ball, Blackstones, Boston, Counties, Foo, Football, goals, groundhopping, League, Lincolnshire, Senior, Town, United

Wednesday 19th October 2011

Lincolnshire Senior Trophy 1st Round

BLACKSTONES 4 (Barker 9 45 Holmes 67 Nelson 90p)

BOSTON TOWN 4 (Davies 45 Beck 48 Bull 65p James 78)

No Extra time, Boston won 5-3 on penalties

Att 80

Entry & Programme £5

There were few options for a new ground on this day, and I really wanted one, so I could clock up ground number 1200. A minor milestone, but one I will note.

Blackstones play at Lincoln Road, in Stamford, and started life as the works side of the Mirrlees Blackstone Engineering firm based in the ancient town.

http://www.enginemuseum.org/mrindex.html

The firm is long since closed, and the club was forced to take out a long mortgage to buy the ground, and stop it being lost to housing. Today the ground is a pretty, and well appointed place to visit, but the lack of turnstiles would make it difficult, but not impossible for it to stage Northern Premier League football. Most impressive is the bar area. Apart from being large, and spotless, its the huge televisions that you notice. This is a club that’s worked out the way to pay down the mortgage is to place yourselves right in the heart of the community. You can imagine yourself going for a pint on a non-match day.

The advantage of seeing two step 5 clubs (United Counties Premier) in a County Cup fixture is that you can more or less guarantee that’ll they’ll take the fixture seriously, and these two certainly did! For a long time it looked like Stones’ tricky left winger Danny Barker would be the difference, scoring from a tight angle then lobbing the keeper from a full 40 yards! But Boston regrouped after half time and 3-3 would have been fair, but the referee Mr Amess decided to give Boston a dodgy penalty, then compounded the error by evening things up by giving Blackstones an even more dubious one!

The rules of the competition state no extra time, just penalties, and I was glad of that with a 2 hour drive home. The important penalty miss was by Matt Cox, and Billy King converted Boston’s 5th penalty to send them through. It was a shame it had to be settled this way but a replay I suspect would have pleased noone.



The first dodgy penalty

The Antidote

20 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in G

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Athletic, ball, Black, Bustleholme, Country, Dale, Football, Garden, Gornal, groundhop, groundhopping, Ian, James, League, Midland, Nisbett, Rowe, Walk, West

Tuesday 18th October 2011 ko 7.45pm

West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Divsion

GORNAL ATHLETIC 4 (Martin 13 Nicholls 29 J Dale 36og Nisbett 48)

BUSTLEHOLME 2 (Seaman 33 J Dale 50p)

Att 64 (h/c)

Entry £4

Programme £1

Coffee 50p

Badge £3

Cheesy Chips £1.50

When I mentioned to a few hopper friends that I was visiting the Garden Walk Stadium, they assumed it was for a revisit! Its wasn’t, and the reason for their surprise was that Gornal’s ground, in the heart of the Black country, is reckoned to be close to groundhopping porn.

That’s mainly becuase the ground is cut into a slope, providing the means for a substantial terrace for a club plying their trade 6 promotions from the football league. There’s a small covered stand opposite too, with the Directors’ box cordoned off with the frame of an old bed! When you look at the floodlights, you spot that one is slightly shorter than the others, as it is in fact, a mobile phone mast. So yes, its everything that I’d been told, but I’ll remember this visit more for the game!

That’s partly because the Gornal manager Ian Rowe was also sat in the “new stand” on the terrace side. He’s serving a touchline ban, but was easily able to communicate, with his bench in front. And whilst Gornal were far too strong for their visitors, Rowe was not a happy man. Not just due to the obvious frustration at being away from his natural territory, but in the manner of the win. Gornal could, and should have won this by far more, and to nil. Bustleholme, having lost a forward to injury in the warm-up, looked devoid of ideas, and possessed a defence that was to be polite, porous.

So after 30 minutes and you’re 2-0 up, you do what Rowe said at the time “Crack on lads, ” and improve the goal difference, but Seaman was allowed to run through unopposed to reduce the arrears, and although Perks’ excellent cross was turned past his own keeper by James Dale to restore the two goal cushion, it was clear that on another day, against better opposition, Gornal would have been in trouble.

Opposite us, in the “bedstead” stand around 15 young lads shouted their support for the Peacocks. You don’t see this often enough, the game near the base of the pyramid can often be populated by the elderly, so it was good to see if not hear them! They were bright enough to reserve doing the Poznan for the immediate aftermath of a goal!

The tricky, skillful, yet indisciplined forward Nisbett finally got the goal his dash had suggested, but again Rowe was cursing more or less straight after as at Bustleholme’s first corner, noone bothered to mark centre-half James Dale, and he fired home, to even up his account for the evening.

And that rather summed up the evening. I expect Gornal to be there in the promotion shake up at the end of the season, but Mr Rowe will have his coaching skills tested to cut out the silly errors.

Note how not all the slope is terraced

The bedstead

The “bedstead” stand
The opening goal, Matt Martin from the penalty spot


52.544807 -2.119693

4,3,2,1

17 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in H

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ball, Belgium, Bornem, Football, Goal, groundhopping, Hamme, Janssens, League

Sunday 16th October 2011

Kompetitie 3e Nationale B

K.F.C. VIGOR WUITENS HAMME 1 (De Lange 88)

KSV BORNEM 2 (Janssens 11 Muttinck 40)

Att c2,000

Entry €17 (seat in the middle of the main stand)

Programme €1

Braadwurst hotdog €4

Back to another Belgian Division 3 game, and this time in an atmospheric town centre ground. Plenty to like here, including the typically Belgian touch, the bar that you can see the game from. Friendly locals too, I showed my ticket at the wrong gate, and the steward informed me, in Flemish, that I needed to use the middle entrance. I understood, but the locals, realising I was not local, admonished him for not telling me in English. Definately not necessary!

I took my seat in the stand and immediately spotted a problem. Behind my left ear a small boy with a high pitched voice was shouting his support for Hamme, and to my right a middle-aged man and his wife seemed to be indulging in a see who can chain-smoke the smelliest cigarettes! Small irritants, because this was a great game to watch, two good sides, but Bornem always looked just that little bit fleeter of thought, and it was that little extra competitive edge that allowed them to prevail. Janssen’s thunderbolt free kick was worthy of a bigger stage, and whilst I was sad to see friendly Hamme lose, it did keep the little boy quiet!

So 4 games, in 3 countries, in 2 days, with 1 Countrypoint, and all down to the efforts of Peter Ford. Many Thanks mate.

4,3,2,1

17 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in H

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ball, Belgium, Bornem, Football, Goal, groundhopping, Hamme, Janssens, Kompetitie 3e Nationale, KSV, League, VIGOR WUITENS HAMME

Sunday 16th October 2011

Kompetitie 3e Nationale B

K.F.C. VIGOR WUITENS HAMME 1 (De Lange 88)

KSV BORNEM 2 (Janssens 11 Muttinck 40)

Att c2,000

Entry €17 (seat in the middle of the main stand)

Programme €1

Braadwurst hotdog €4

Back to another Belgian Division 3 game, and this time in an atmospheric town centre ground. Plenty to like here, including the typically Belgian touch, the bar that you can see the game from. Friendly locals too, I showed my ticket at the wrong gate, and the steward informed me, in Flemish, that I needed to use the middle entrance. I understood, but the locals, realising I was not local, admonished him for not telling me in English. Definately not necessary!

I took my seat in the stand and immediately spotted a problem. Behind my left ear a small boy with a high pitched voice was shouting his support for Hamme, and to my right a middle-aged man and his wife seemed to be indulging in a see who can chain-smoke the smelliest cigarettes! Small irritants, because this was a great game to watch, two good sides, but Bornem always looked just that little bit fleeter of thought, and it was that little extra competitive edge that allowed them to prevail. Janssen’s thunderbolt free kick was worthy of a bigger stage, and whilst I was sad to see friendly Hamme lose, it did keep the little boy quiet!

So 4 games, in 3 countries, in 2 days, with 1 Countrypoint, and all down to the efforts of Peter Ford. Many Thanks mate.



I wonder if one of these people is called “Michelle?”



Germany, but only just!

17 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by laurencereade in K

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Aachen, ball, border, Football, Germany, Goal, groundhop, groundhopping, Kriesliga, League, Ronneie, Savelsburg, Sendscheid

Sunday 16th October 2011 ko 11.00am

Kreisliga A Aachen

SV 1927 KOHLSCHEID e.V. 4 (Savelsburg 30 Sendscheid 32 39 Ronneie 81)

SV RHENANIA 05 WÜRSELEN 1 (Böhnen 59)

Att 132 (h/c)

Entry €3

Programme FREE

Coffee €1

So, after leaving Belgium we managed to be in 3 countries within 2 hours. From Belgium to Holland, then a mere 5 miles into Germany, and the Casinostrasse, Hertzogenrath. In fact, I bought a cup of coffee in Holland, drank it in Germany, and disposed of the cup back in Belgium!

In German Kreis means circle, or less literally local, and this level of football is towards the bottom of the German pyramid, Kreisklasse does need to be seen to be believed!

Whilst I’m always up for a game, and especially in a new league,  I wasn’t expecting much at all. I was not so much surprised, more amazed, firstly at the well appointed ground, but the major surprise was the excellent programme!

We decamped to the clubhouse where the 2 English visitors caused a little disbelief! “You come all the way here to watch this?” As a hopper I live for comments like that!

It was easy enough to get the lineups, and I got talking to the announcer. It transpires that the visitors have a rich history, playing in the top flight of German football pre-Bundesliga. One of the trainers of the German national side started his career at Würselen.

Not much to call between the two sides in a good passing game whose skill level far exceeded my expectations. The main difference was Fabian Sendscheid who took his goals well, to put the game well beyond the visitors before half time. The seond half eased off a little, perhaps inevitably, but this was a mighty fine game, at a fine ground, a little off the beaten track.





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