Wednesday 8th August 2012 ko 6.30pm

Gloucestershire County League Les James League Cup First Round

PATCHWAY TOWN 2 (Davies 39 Purdy 65)

ELLWOOD 0

Att 37 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Programme 50p

Tea 50p

My trip to Scott Park, was at best a marginal one. With Lee’s car at the garage, he was going to have a night off but he met me at work and we both knew that we’d need a fair rub of the green to make kick off. So why put the effort in? Apart from the normal motivation, (there’s a new ground to be ticked!) there was Peter Grant waiting there. In case you didn’t know, Peter’s the Aussie who lives in Osaka who very kindly put me up for 2 weeks last year. He’s in England because his niece is attending an English language summer school in Oxford. While she’s there, he’s ticking off the grounds!

Of course the roads weren’t kind, are they ever around Stow-on-the-wold, so we missed the first few minutes, but Peter had bought the programmes and filled us in on what we’d missed. That, it transpired wasn’t much!

Scott Park isn’t the most prepossessing place, set as it is in northern suburban Bristol. It lies just north of Filton Airfield, where Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Airbus UK are major aerospace employers. The ground is railed off, but there’s no cover save for a tree or two. However the tea bar was most welcome after a difficult drive. Behind the clubhouse, with razor-wire decoration is another pitch. This was used last season by Almondsbury Town, evicted from Oaklands Park from the local FA, but it looks like they’ve folded altogether.

Also at the game was Ron Holpin, general secretary of the league, and it was good to catch up. He reminded me that Patchway very nearly joined the Hellenic League, but didn’t make the move up because the league would not sanction two clubs leaving upwards in one season. With Roman Glass St George stepping up, Patchway lost out.

There was no danger of them losing out in this one. Whilst Lee and I had missed nothing prior to our arrival, what had occurred and continued to be the case was total home dominance. The goal came, almost inevitably, and the team from the Forest of Dean created so little, the only real surprise was that Patchway only added one more goal.

So, not a great game, not a great ground, but they all count and since the point of the exercise was to catch up with Peter, it all worked spendidly.