Saturday 26th October 2024 ko 14:30

Southern Combination Division Two

JARVIS BROOK 2 (Penfold 18 Adams 38)

Bateman sent off 57 (2nd booking)

SOUTHWATER 2 (Lewis 45+3 Packham 90+3)

Att 257

Entry & Programme £5

From the outskirts of Crawley to to the outskirts of Crowborough felt like travelling from one side of Sussex to the other. It was further than we’d normally like to travel between games on a hop day, and was the case because of the league wanting to reward clubs who’d featured as away clubs in last year’s rather wet event. That’ll happen again in next year’s hop, but will have to be discontinued at some point, we like to limit the driving where we can!

To some extent we did wonder where Jarvis Brook is? Then once we’d worked that one out, we knew we wanted to visit as we enjoyed both their company and humour at Bosham last year. Then there was the vexed question of whether we could get our coach down Limekiln Lane, but once we found we could, it was all systems go.

If it was our destiny to spend this hop comparing each game with its equivalent in the SCEFL Hop 3 weeks earlier this was the exception. We’d spent the Saturday afternoon back then with Fisher a Step 5 club with a well-established ground with well-established practices on a matchday. Here we’d be visiting a Step 7 ground that the club are trying hard to develop with a view to elevation. Some hoppers saw that as a reason to go elsewhere, others like me saw it as a blank-ish canvas for the club to work on.

The lion’s share of that development will be floodlights for which they have planning permission…. except that the restrictions placed on their use will make them pointless. Apparently the issue is nesting bats, an issue that the likes of Eversley & California and Basford United managed to overcome in the past; hopefully their experience can offer some help.

This was an afternoon to watch a friendly club wring every last opportunity from their hop game. If Roffey‘s hosting the previous evening provided a blueprint for every host club that follows them, then I’d argue Jarvis Brook’s was at least their equal, and they managed it with fewer facilities too. Here the act of genius was staging a charity game beforehand, stretching out the time they could fundraise, and staggering access along the narrow lane beforehand. Craig and I arrived as the GroundhopUK advance party and felt late to the proceedings, and no we were wonderfully redundant too!

Once in I think most made a beeline for the food and drink, it had been a long drive after all! It really was a wonderful antidote to the endless burgers (although they were available!) with pasta bake, sweets and real ale for sale; for some reason the latter proved popular with the groundhoppers! It was lovely to see a club do something gloriously different.

We got a good game too, with the draw probably a fair result, although I’m sure Jarvis Brook will regret games not these days consisting of two times 45 minutes! While I’m sure all those involved in the footballing side of Jarvis Brook will remember the game and wince, I’m equally sure that everyone else will tend towards admiration. They joined a quite select club of exceptional hosts, and one I hope will be of help in events going forward.