Tuesday 25th October 2022 ko 19:45

Sussex R.U.R. Cup First Round

WICK 0

BROADBRIDGE HEATH 5 (Croal 27 59 Parminter 47 Carvalho 88 Barbary 90)

Att c50

Entry £8

Programme £2

It’s in the makeup of any groundhopper to collect. For some it’s programmes, badges and the like. Others like completing leagues, but I like completing clubs with something in common. Here I found myself thinking back to Wick Academy, Hackney Wick, Eton Wick and the other Wick FC who hail from Bristol’s suburbs. Oddly enough given Bristol is Robyn’s home town, the only Wick that’s now left for me to visit is the Gloucestershire County League outfit!

Then of course there’s the Littlehampton triplicate that this finished off, consisting of Littlehampton, Rustington and Wick, yes there was a sense of anticipation as we drove to the end of Coomes Way. There’s been a Wick FC since 1896, apart from a brief merger with Barnham from 2013-16, and the club have played in the County League since 1964. You could say there’s something timeless about here. 

In the here and now it was a pleasure to chew the fat with the ladies in the tea bar, yes your food and drink is excellent, and my body shape is testament to the amount of non-league tea bars I’ve sampled over the years! It was also a pleasure just to stroll around and explore Crabtree Park and watch the characters, I love photographing places like these. 

I didn’t expect a particularly competitive game, and let’s face it we didn’t get one. Wick play in the Step 6 Southern Combination Division One, while Broadbridge Heath are pushing from promotion from the Premier Division. And while the score was rather harsh on Wick, it was a matter of the visitors punishing every mistake the hosts made. Such is the nature of cup games at times.

I did make the comment that I thought I’d finish the County League via the Sussex Royal Ulster Rifles Cup. With just Hailsham Town left to do with floodlights, which is too far away to reach midweek from work, I suspect that’ll be it for a while for the R.U.R. Cup for me. Now for those Gloucestershire fixtures…