Monthly Archives: February 2014

The Carshalton 6

26 Wednesday Feb 2014

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Tuesday 25th February 2013 ko 19.45

Isthmian League Premier Division

CARSHALTON ATHETIC 0

DULWICH HAMLET 4 (Clunis 21 Lodge 30 Daly 39 51)

Att 277

Entry £10

Programme (reissue from postponed game on 1st January with insert) £2

Badge. Carshalton Athletic I am NOT paying £5 for a badge.

Tea £1

My original idea was to visit the War Memorial Ground a couple of weeks ago, but then it was suggested to me by Mishi Morath that it would be more interesting to wait for Dulwich Hamlet to be the visitors. I diverted to an interesting evening at Tunbridge Wells, including a supporter reinforcing a cliché by complaining that I’d referred to them as Tunbridge, something she found, “Tres Annoying!” Mishi’s advice proved to be sound, and my trip to the ground just off Colston Avenue proved to be far more interesting than I expected. Continue reading →

Farewell, the bonnie banks of Ayr!

23 Sunday Feb 2014

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Saturday 22nd February 2014 ko 14.15

Scottish Junior FA Cup 5th Round

WHITLETTS VICTORIA 4 (Holland 56 Allan 59 Balfour 69 72)

YOKER ATHLETIC 1 (Frew 42)

Att 367

Entry £5

Programme (Chinese takeaway style) 30p

Badge Comp

Tea £1

As a hopper when you can’t find anything that takes your fancy, a good option is work on the lengthy list of Scottish Junior grounds that may not be in use for much longer. I like many others had loved Benburb’s soon-to-be lost Tinto Park, and as I drove north up the M6 yet another time, I wondered if my day could be as special as a fortnight ago. I surprised myself by having as good a time as then, if not better. Continue reading →

The Two Green

20 Thursday Feb 2014

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Tuesday 18th February 2014 ko 19.30

Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

ROTHLEY IMPERIAL 2 (Love 33 Howard 70)

SILEBY TOWN 1 (Jelly 53)

Att 29

Entry £3

No programme

Tea 50p

Regular readers on these travels will know that I like to tell both of you, dear readers, a little about where I visited. The trouble with the small Leicestershire village of Rothley is where to start and what to leave out!

The village is centred off two greens, the Cross Green and the Town Green, both reached from the crossroads on the A6 that is the village’s raison d’etre. Continue reading →

Quality

16 Sunday Feb 2014

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Saturday 15th February 2014 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 3 (Connolly 27 Wroe 53 Smalley 68)

MANSFIELD TOWN 0

Att 5,108 (365 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc’ Oxford Mail)

Its been a good week to look at sport as a whole. I do enjoy the Olympic games, and like many others I watched agog as Lizzie Yarnold won gold for Team GB in the Skeleton Bobsleigh. I’m not sure why I enjoy watching the sports that I don’t know intimately, but there’s something visceral about throwing yourself down an ice tube on a tray with your chin an inch from the ice. Of course she won by just under a second over 4 runs, a massive margin, but it was the way she conducted herself afterwards that impressed me. Calm, collected and respectful she is a credit to herself, her country and her sport, and watching her interview you could imagine a legion of young girls taking up sport with her as their inspiration. I fact a few hours later I saw a tweet of a 5 year-old girl, face down on a skateboard wearing her brothers cycle helmet. It’s a powerful, positive message, and one I hope will be repeated many, many times. Continue reading →

3rd Time Unlucky

13 Thursday Feb 2014

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Tuesday 12th February 2014 ko 19.45

Oxfordshire Senior Cup Quarter-Final

THAME UNITED 0 Lynch sent off 24 (serious foul play)

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Hawtin 20 71)

Att 171

Entry £5

Programme £1

My football season really isn’t complete without a trip to Thame United, they’re a decent bunch, and I wish we’d managed to pay the ASM Stadium a visit before the Hellenic hops finished, but league politics put paid to that idea. Still, I’ve managed to visit for local cup finals, and of course Thame United home games! I remember Chinnor borrowing the ground for last year’s quarter-final against Oxford United in this competition. It was cold then, and well, some things don’t change! Continue reading →

Everything You Need

09 Sunday Feb 2014

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Saturday 8th February 2014 ko 13.45

Scottish Junior FA West Region, Central League Cup 2nd Round

BENBURB 1 (McGurgan 30) Lovering sent off 88 (2nd booking)

THORNIEWOOD UNITED 6 (Duffy 6 Murphy 16 Malone 45 McGowan 62 O’Donnell 78 Brophy 85)

Att 64

Entry £5

Programme £1

When I was a sixth-former we were encouraged to debate the burning issues of the time. I remember a particularly heated debate on the death penalty, and a particularly powerful argument was putting yourself in the position of the condemned prisoner and the dread of waiting for the appointment with the executioner. I felt a flavour of that dread about those involved at Benburb.

Benburb are on borrowed time at their home Tinto Park. The 82 year old stadium has been sold for housing, the “Site Office,” sign is up on the fence outside, and the club neither know who now owns their home, or when the axe will fall.

Continue reading →

Lawyers, Doctors & Architects

06 Thursday Feb 2014

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Tuesday 4th February 2014 ko 19.45

Southern Counties East League

TUNBRIDGE WELLS 2 (Davey 37 Parsons 42)

CORINTHIAN 4 (Wilson 21p Ascheri 64 Gayle 73 Marsh 76)

Att 146

Entry £6

Programme £1.50

I’m beginning to think that the Kentish town of Tunbridge Wells has something of an image problem. You tend to think of the place as being the epitome of a brand of blue-rinse conservatism that manifests itself in the form of an acerbic letter to the newspaper signed by “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells.”

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Loneliness

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

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1st February 2014 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Newey 40 Connolly 56)

AFC WIMBLEDON 1 (Wyke 75)

Att 5,745 (693 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (inc’ Oxford Mail)

A few years ago I was genuinely lonely. I was sat in a house that I was doomed to be leaving, on my own. Although friends and family spent plenty of time with me and I’ll always be grateful for their support,  I didn’t start rebuilding my life until I moved out.

It felt a lot like that at Oxford United over the last few weeks with former manager Chris Wilder surrounded by people, but utterly alone with only his own thoughts for company.  On Saturday with Wilder happily ensconced in a relegation battle at Northampton Town, it felt that the burden has been lifted on both club and former manager.

Continue reading →

The Free Tick

01 Saturday Feb 2014

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Tuesday 28th January 2014 ko 20.00

Friendly

OAKHAM UNITED 1 (Eason)

YAXLEY 7 (Carter 10 77 87 Hook 34 72 Cooke 67 Whaley 86p)

Att 7

At Uppingham Community College 3G pitch, Uppingham, Rutland

Entry FREE

No Programme

There aren’t many advantages of this lousy weather, but a game on a ground not usually used is a bonus. Oakham booked the college pitch, watched as one opponent pulled out then found Yaxley as a late replacement. It offered a tick not usually available, although with Oakham’s ground waterlogged this pitch is set to be used for league games. The Peterborough & District League have none of the hang-ups over a good artificial surface that the Conference do. I am indebted to uber-hopper Brian Buck for alerting Lee West and I to this fixture. Continue reading →