Author Archives: laurencereade

Omnibus donis quae de tua beneficentia accepturi simus

09 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in M

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Thursday 7th February 2012 ko 14.00

Oxford University Junior Common Room League First Division

MERTON MANSFIELD 0

BRASENOSE 2 (Gilbert 9 Saunders 47)

Att 4

Entry FREE

Nothing for Sale

One of the delights of living in Oxford is that there’s the colleges and their environs to explore. With Mansfield College being small, only around 210 students, it pairs up with its larger, older neighbour for undergraduate sport. But here’s the quirk, Merton College Sports Ground is actually in the grounds of St Catherine’s College, just off Manor Road. St Cat’s ground is the other side of the River Cherwell, a short walk over a footbridge owned (and usually locked) by Magdalen, but a 10 minute drive. You wonder why the two colleges don’t simply swap grounds!

The Junior Common Room refers to undergraduates, those studying for Batchelors degrees, so players tend to be 18-21, although there are some mature students. Therew’s also a smaller MCR (Middle Common Room) League for post-graduate players, played on Saturday mornings. Fixtures can be found at http://www.ouafc.com/

Both are situated on floodplain, so there’s little chance of any development, but I have a feeling that if I published this without any pictures, you’d paint the picture of cloisters, quadrangles and coloured scarves from an episode of Inspector Morse. Of course there are hints of this, Magdalen College tower is visible in the background, but the backdrop is more Bauhaus then Baroque, with Danish architect Arne Jacobsen’s vision in steel and concrete to the fore. Interesting no building is greater than 3 storeys, technically we are on marshland, and the bell tower isn’t attached to a church! Nevertheless there were no lack of bicycles, even if the vast majority of their owners eschewed the delights of a second tier collegiate football match.

We were joined for a little while by my mate Simon who I haven’t seen for years. He spotted where I was from a Facebook post, and came over for a chat interrupting his duties as Head Gardener. It was good to catch up, however briefly.

On the pitch Brasenose overtook their hosts in the table and deservedly so. Charles Gilbert pounced on a dawdling defence to fire home low down, before turning provider, his shot hitting the post for Luke Saunders to follow up and fire home. Save for a brief home rally, the hosts offered little in resistance, and what they did create Brasenose keeper Pelham Barron dealt with easily.

It’s been a couple of years since my last JCR game, perhaps I should do a few more, when finding a game is this straightforward.

 

Surrender to the will of the wind

09 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in O, T

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday 6th February 2013 ko 19.30

Oxfordshire Senior Cup Quarter-Final

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Smalley 69p)

CHINNOR 0

Att 151

Entry £5

Programme 50p

When you follow a League club, County Cup competitions tend to pass you by. That’s particularly the case in Oxfordshire, where there’s only one League Club, and some of the larger Non-League clubs are in the Berks and Bucks FA, as in this part of the world, football still follows pre-1974 county boundaries. Theoretically the ties still take precedence over league fixtures but the larger clubs have long since negotiated to play reserve teams, and away from any fixture clash. Continue reading →

Who pays the Ferryman?

06 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in L

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday 5th February 2013 ko 19.45

Russell Cotes Cup Quarter-Final

LYMINGTON TOWN 2 (Vokes 75 James 87)

FAREHAM TOWN 0

Att 23

Entry £3

Programme £1

Situated on the edge of the New Forest, the pretty town of Lymington is primarily a port. It’s the only place I’ve ever encountered where the docks (for the Isle of Wight ferry) can be accessed if you turn either right or left! That said, the town is more famous for smaller boats, yachts, and the boutiques and coffee shops suggest more Howard’s Way than, Brittany Ferry.

The name Lymington is derived from the Old English word tun means a farm or hamlet whilst limen is derived from the Ancient British word lemanos meaning elm-tree. It’s a a fair allegory to its arboreal location. From the early nineteenth century it had a thriving shipbuilding industry, particularly associated with Thomas Inman the builder of the schooner Alarm. Much of the town centre is Victorian and Georgian, with narrow cobbled streets, giving an air of quaintness. The wealth of the town at the time is represented in its architecture.

For a watcher of the non-league game, a well-to-do town is often a sign of a club who finds it difficult to get the necessary ground grading to progress, and the Lymington Sports Ground is a case in point. Shared with both tennis and cricket, the latter makes it difficult to fully enclose the ground, and it looks like a public footpath runs around the pitch. In most cases this and the fact that the changing rooms are a little too small to pass muster, are overlooked but the ground-graders have called a meeting, and the club are nervous…

The ground is dominated by the main stand, a benched affair with park seats at its centre. Its spick, span and obviously does the job, but then agaisn ground-graders don’t like benches, preferring the easily counted plastic flip-up seats commonplace in the fully professional game. I liked the pavilion-style clubhouse with tea served in a mug, no ecologically unfriendly paper cups here. The only downside was the R & B music blasting out from the television in the corner, even the young girl who presumably the barman was trying to impress had retreated to her ipod!

The Russell Cotes Cup was described by one official is “Just be in Hampshire and pay £30 and you’re in.” It’s for senior clubs in the county but holds no senior status, existing as a fund-raising competition for the Hampshire FA’s benevolent coffers. Clubs don’t always take it too seriously, although tonight’s side did, and for those interested in such fripperies, programme production is not mandatory.

And for all the world it looked like a nil-nil, and extra-time game. No lack of action, or goal-mouth incident, but poor finishing and a howling wind put paid to chance after chance. Peter Hurford’s header over the bar from a corner could well be miss of the season, it looked a good deal easier to simply bury the header. Eventually the deadlock was broken by Matt Vokes for Lymington. His elder brother by the way is Sam Vokes, currently playing for Burnley, and representing Wales.

The coup de grace was applied by Sam James, whose neat turn wrong-footed the Fareham defence completely, although I was more than happy to avoid extra-time on a cold evening!

Shaving the Mendips

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in B, W

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 2nd February 2013 ko 15.00

Western League First Division

WELTON ROVERS 0 Dando sent off (handball on line) 78

BRADFORD TOWN 4 (Ridout 18, 23 78p 84)

Att 76

Entry £5

Programme £1

Sometimes its the little things that go wrong are what conspire to really make your day. With three of my friends heading to watch Cheddar I suggested we meet at Weston-super-Mare for lunch before we all headed off in different directions for the afternoon. As it transpired I was the only one who made in to Weston, but it did mean I approached the West Clewes Recreation Ground from the east, rather than the north had I not made my diversion.

I stumbled upon Burrington Gorge, at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, in North Somerset. According to legend Augustus Montague Toplady was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering under a rock in the combe, during a thunderstorm in the late 18th century. Nearby Aveline’s Hole is the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain, the bones are roughly 10,400 years old.  Not bad for a 5 minute stop!

From there it wasn’t far to the small town of Midsomer Norton, around 10 miles south-west of Bath (Welton is a small village nearby). It’s quiet, almost sleepy with the football ground in the centre of the town, on the main road through. In fact if it wasn’t for the huge conical spoil heap in the background, called the Old Mills Batch, you wouldn’t know this used to be the centre of the Somerset coal industry, the last mine closing in Norton Hill in 1966. The locals are rather proud of their spoil heap, it sets the town apart, and is a nod to their heritage.

The town was immortalised in Flanders & Swann’s Slow Train, a song about small railway stations closing under Dr Beeching,

“No more will I go to Blandford Forum and Mortehoe, on the slow train from Midsomer Norton and Munby Road, No churns, no porter, no cat on a seat, at Chorlton-cum-Hardy or Chester-le-Street, We won’t be meeting you, on the slow train..”

In more recent years part of the town name was borrowed for the tv series “Midsomer Murders,” despite the show being set in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

West Clewes are much to attract the casual football watcher, other than the notably friendly supporters. They’ve styled themselves the “Green Army” after Paul Whitehouse’s advert for Aviva Insurance, and they have two-thirds of a wonderful wooden stand built just before the Second World War. The other third was lost in an arson attack recently, and therein lies the club’s problem. The ground, including the car park is a public space. The club can take a gate, but away from matchdays there’s little to stop people walking in and vandalising the stand. So at the end of the season the stand will go, to be replaced by a prefabricated affair, with roller-shutters at the front, and the entrance will be remodelled with a set of turnstiles. It will fulfill everything the club needs, but a quirky piece of history will be lost. I was pleased to have visited while the original edifice is still in place.

The game turned out to be a personal triumph for Bradford-upon-Avon striker Paul Ridout, who scored all four goals, as Bradford added to their 6-0 win at home to Welton earlier in the season. He could have had two more, with two further efforts cleared off the line, one by the hand of defender Greg Dando, who at least had the good grace not to argue his mandatory red card! Yet for all of that the scoreline was harsh on the hosts who had much of the possession and territory, but lacked someone, anyone, who could make all that possession count for something.

On a cold afternoon, I drove away pleased I’d seen a friendly club, at an interesting ground. Get there before the “Improvements” start.

3.59.4

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in O

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday 1st February 2012 ko 19.00

BUCS League Midlands Division 2A/ Varsity Challenge

OXFORD UNIVERSITY 5 (Grimer 3 Jamison 14 Beck-Friis 26 Austin 31 Healy 86)

OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY 2 (Mirro 45 Dancer 69p)

Att 600

At Iffley Road Stadium

Entry £5

No Programme

Last year I ended up viewing this game from a grass bank from grass bank at the far side, due to a all-ticket strict policy.

https://laurencereade.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/cat-mouse-and-roger/

From my rather distant vantage point, it looked like a cracking atmosphere, so this year I decided to try at watch the game through more conventional means, I do have a couple of contacts within the University after all! Oxford University captain Alex Biggs put a ticket on the gate for me, and so I was able to witness the worried Oxford United stewards at first hand.

The Iffley Road stadium is famous for being where, on 6th May 1954, Sir Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile, watched amongst many others, by the world’s least sports-orientated person, my mother! Since then the stadium has become something of a victim of the Taylor report, the owners Oxford University opting to reduce the capacity of the stand to 499, to avoid the costs involved with a capacity of the greater figure.

Normally 499 is easily sufficient, but not for a fixture like this. Despite being only being its third year, this match has caught the imaginations of both the University and the former Polytechnic from up the hill in Headington. For this year sections in front of the stand were taped off, allowing an extra 200 to view the game, although students being students, a fair percentage turned up after kick-off!

The stewards encouraged the two sets of fans to occupy different ends of the stands, and the “Segregation” made for a cracking atmosphere, with some of the best banter I’ve encountered at a game. Both sides seemed happy to play on their stereotypes, the “Working Class” Brookes students singing,”Does your butler know you’re here?” and “You pay our benefits,” and the “Toff,” University students singing “You do your essays with a crayon!”

What was never in doubt was the result. When Ed Grimer beat a poorly sprung offside trap to open the scoring, it proved to be the catalyst to some poor Brookes defending as a corner was swung in from the right. The defence simply watched as Mark Jamison thumped the ball home from the back of the box unopposed. It soon got worse for the visitors as a mix-up between keeper Sam Cole and centre half Joe Sturia, allowed Peder Beck-Friis to tap home. When a though ball bisected a square Brookes defence to find Julian Austin who had the simplest of tasks to roll the ball home, a rout looked on the cards, but Hakin Mirro’s superb header from a free kick on the left, gave Brookes heart, just before half time.

In was inevitable that the game would tighten up after the break but at 4-1 the University looked comfortable, but that changed when Brookes were handed a rather soft penalty, for a shirt-pull. Captain Tom Dancer despatched the spot-kick and for 20 minutes, an unlikely comeback looked possible. That ended when Alex Biggs corner was headed home by substitute Adam Healy.

The final bit of “Entertainment” was the appearance of a Brookes streaker, apparently the same one as last year. He was easily able to evade the stewards before making his escape from the far side. The stewards weren’t beaten though, they simply confiscated his clothes, and handed them to the police, who arrested him outside the ground. I would imagine he wouldn’t have been difficult to indentify!

That makes it three wins out of three for the University, and seldom have I enjoyed a game as much as this, both in terms of the action, and the atmosphere created. I just wish it was a little easier to get a ticket!

The Max Factor

01 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by in O

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday 29th January 2013 ko 19.45

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Constable 50)

BURTON ALBION 1 (Maghoma 71)

Att 4,906 (65 away)

Entry S/T

Programme £3 (including Oxford Mail)

On Tuesday morning this fixture looked like a routine, if rather dull fourth division division encounter, and I found it rather difficult to raise any enthusiasm for it. The advantage of writing this on Friday is that this fixture can be put into full perspective with what followed.

My mood changed on the way to Grenoble Road, when the news broke that Max Crocombe was to get his first start in goal for Oxford. New Zealander Max is a first year professional, but with Ryan Clarke, and Wayne Brown above him in the pecking order in was hard to see how he was going to get a game, a problem exacerbated by there being no reserve team this season. Back in November I’d taken my friend Kellie to watch United’s FA Cup at Barnet, and after the game we’d lingered to take a few pictures of Underhill. Kellie had a chat with Max, not really knowing who he was, and we were both struck by what a thoroughly decent young man he is. But with Clarke out for the season, and Brown in poor form, the young lad got his chance.

He let no-one down either, nice lad or not. He even coped with the early loss of Michael Duberry to a hamstring strain early on, and I think all present bar the pitiful away following would have been pleased to see a home win courtesy of James Constable’s header at a corner, and Max collect a clean sheet. It wasn’t to be as Jacques Maghoma lost his marker, Michael Raynes, and fired home past Crocombe who was in no sense at fault. Even so there was a feel-good feeling around the ground at the final whistle, but that was shattered over the course of the next few days.

The first piece of bad news was shirt sponsor Bridle Insurance announcing that they will not renew the arrangement when it expires in the summer. Hardly a surprise when the firm now owns Eastleigh FC, but its a income stream that will need replacing. Another worry was that the club lost £450,000 during the last trading year, one would assume due to falling attendances. Clearly players wages and a high stadium rent are contributing factors, and ones that little can be done about, at least in the short term. The club is tied to its lease with Mr Kassam, and with him unwilling to sell, that’s a fixed cost that won’t go away. As for players’ wages, thats’s up to owner/chairman Ian Lenagan to set a sustainable budget and recruit and retain a manager that can work within it. Its questionable at best whether any of this is happening now, and certainly losses of this magnitude are not sustainable.

All this rather paled into insignificance with the signing of Luke McCormick last night on a contract for the rest of the season. I’ll leave the debate as to whether another keeper is necessary to another time, save to point out that Crocombe is set to represent his country at the under-20 World Cup in March. McCormick is a former Plymouth Argyle keeper, and his credentials are beyond reproach, but for one terrible detail.

In 2008 he was convicted of causing the death of children aged 8 and 10 by crashing his car into a vehicle driven by their father on the M6, whilst over twice the drink-drive limit. The father is still suffering from the injuries he received in the crash, and McCormick served 3 years and 7 months of a 7 years, 4 months prison sentence, being released in June 2012. So will no doubt say that McCormick has served his debt to society, and everyone deserves their their chance of redemption.

Oxford United have a precedent with midlfielder Adam Chapman who served just over a year of a 30 month sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, he was sending texts on his Blackberry. Chapman was successfully re-integrated into the team on his release, which is in marked contrast with McCormick who will be entering a new club with new players. Chapman was notable for showing remorse, and contact was made with the family of the gentleman he killed, so as not to cause any offence from his public job. None of this has taken place with McCormick, and you wonder why Oxford United would feel the need to taken on a player with so much baggage. Is it really simply a case of acquiring a good player at a knock-down wage?

On another level, the club likes to stress how it is a “Family Club,” and won the “League 2 Family Award” last season to prove the point. How does the signing of McCormick sit with that? Would his presence be a barrier to a company thinking of becoming shirt sponsor? He hardly fits the image a prospective sponsor would look for.

The shame of all of this is that Luke McCormick may well be a fine goalkeeper, although 10 games for Truro City in the Conference South since his release is hardly a ringing endorsement. I can imagine his presence being a massive distraction with everyone concerning themselves with him and not matters in hand. I can only conclude that he’s the wrong player in the wrong club, at the wrong time. The question now is whether his performances will make up for the inevitable circus that will surround him. I wonder also how Max Crocombe will deal with all of this, as unlike McCormick, he’s done nothing wrong.

Bon Accord

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in A

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 27th January 2013 ko 12.30

Scottish Premier League

ABERDEEN 0

HIBERNIAN 0

Att 7,184

Entry £28

Programme £3

When it rains, Aberdeen sparkles, as the water brings out the mica in the granite that so many of its buildings are built from. That doesn’t stop the built environment having a rather dour feel, the grey walls giving a sense of foreboding. Aberdeen granite is to be found in the Houses of Parliament and London Waterloo Bridge too.

The city’s motto is “Bon Accord,” French for “Good Agreement” a phrase reputedly from the password used by Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, when he and his men laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308. Continue reading →

Red Lichties

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in A

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 26th January 2013 k 15.00

Scottish League Division 2

ARBROATH 3 (Sibanda 8 Bayne 17 56)

FORFAR ATHLETIC 1 (Campbell 72p) Robertson sent off (dangerous play) 79

Att 843

Entry £12

Programme £2

Badge £2

Teamsheet FREE

Steak Pie £2

Sometimes its wonderful how coincidence works to push you towards visiting somewhere new. I’d passed through the Angus town of Arbroath on my way through towards a holiday in St Cyrus, just north of Montrose about a decade ago. I’d spotted the ground, and mentally filed it as one to visit. I’d made no effort to visit, until I wrote about Irvine Meadow, on the west coast, and one of my readers, Kate suggested I go. Then fellow hopper Lee, suggested pairing it up with Aberdeen, and then it was simply a question of the planning.

We were joined by “Fast” Eddie McGeown, the avuncular retired headmaster whose blog is well worth a read.  www.footballhopper.com  Eddie always provides a laconic, educated view of the hobby, with his liking for a crossword, Sudoku, and a glass of a red to wash it all down with. The fourth seat in the car was taken by another educationalist, but in a completely different continent. Peter Grant is an Aussie who teaches English in Osaka, and his tales of the “Gaijin” who follows Cerezo Osaka kept us amused on the 6 hour journey through the last of the snow.

The small fishing town has a rich and varied history despite its size. It was the location of the Battle of Arbroath in 1446. A series of disagreements between the Chief Justiciary of Arbroath, Alexander Lindsay, third Earl of Crawford, and Bishop James Kennedy of St Andrews resulted in Lindsay sacking the bishop’s lands and burning his properties. Lindsay was excommunicated for his troubles and it was felt that this was incompatible with his role as Chief Justiciary. The monks of Arbroath Abbey selected Alexander Ogilvy of Inverquharity as his replacement and the insult led to a pitched battle in the town, leaving 500 dead, including Lindsay and Ogilvy.

In 1320 the Scottish Parliament met at Arbroath Abbey and addressed to the Pope the Declaration of Arbroath, drafted by the Abbot of the time, Bernard. This document detailed the services which their “Lord and Sovereign” Robert the Bruce had rendered to Scotland, and affirmed in eloquent terms the independence of the Scots nation.

However the town is best known for the Arbroath smokie, a form of smoked Haddock, and apparently the method was discovered by accident! The story goes that a barrel of salted haddock was destroyed in a shop fire, but when the locals tried the contents, the result was rather tasty!

A native of Arbroath doesn’t tend to be called an Arbroathian, rather a Red Lichtie, after the distinctive flame that burned in the local lighthouse, due to the oil used as fuel.

The local football team has woven itself into the historical tapestry too. They’re famous for the biggest ever win, 36-0, in senior football, a feat achieved in 1885 in a Scottish Cup fixture against Aberdeen based Bon Accord. The story is even more remarkable when you consider than Bon Accord were in fact a cricket team, called Orion, and were invited into the competition by mistake, the cup committee had meant to ask Orion FC, also based in Aberdeen!

In an even stranger coincidence on the same day, Dundee Harp were also playing in the Scottish Cup against Aberdeen Rovers, but the score finished a mere 35–0. The referee noted 37 goals, but Harp’s secretary suggested a miscount must have occurred as he had recorded only 35. The match official, acknowledging it was difficult for him to keep accurate details during such a deluge of goals, accepted the lower tally and wired the official score of 35–0 to SFA headquarters!

Gayfield Park has the claim to fame as being the closest league ground to the sea, just a promenade separating the “Pop” side terrace from the sea wall. The sea has been known to splash up and over the wall, soaking the unsuspecting patrons behind!

With the wind whistling off the North Sea, the main stand with its low roof appears to hunker down, to avoid being blown away. Elsewhere the terrace forms an amphitheatre, with much-needed cover on all sides. It’s a wonderful example of a traditional lower-league football ground. It actually appears to shelter the “Pleasureland” Amusement arcade next door!

The club made their visitors welcome, particularly Peter, who was presented with a free programme, and both he and I enjoyed buying the club badge in the club shop. The club proof-read the design so were rather perturbed when the badges arrived with the word “Lichties” spelled “Lichteis!” The view was taken that they made for a good talking point so on sale they went!

The game was a local derby, Forfar is in Angus too, but without the bitterness of the derby against Montrose. A good attendance saw Arbroath look far too strong for the Loons, with player-manager Paul Sheerin bossing matters both on, and off the pitch. Sheerin is the man that scored a goal for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, that spawned the headline “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious!”

Lee Sibanda opened the scoring, converting Graham Bayne’s clever headed knockdown, and it was soon Bayne’s turn, as he prodded home at close range. Steven Doris set up Bayne for the third, the forward firing home from the six-yard box. Forfar were given a lifeline when Colin Hamilton brought down Willie Robertson in the box and Iain Campbell depatched the penalty expertly. It was a short-lived hope as Robertson received a straight red card for a dreadful challenge on Hamilton and the full-back’s departure saw the end of the game as a spectacle, and there was little more than thank this friendly club for their hospitality, and make our way north for an overnight stay in Aberdeen.

Freeze Frame

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 ko 19.15

Friendly

ST NEOTS TOWN 0

BIGGLESWADE TOWN 3 (Knight 27 73 Daniels 58)

Att 32 (h/c)

Played on 2nd (3G) pitch, Rowley Park, St Neots

Entry FREE

No Programme

When the temperature is sub-zero and the snow piled high, you have to be creative in finding your football. I was fortunate in quite a few respects last Wednesday, firstly that when St Neots sold their old Rowley Park home, and gained their new Rowley Park stadium, no only did they get a fine replacement, they also gained a floodlit artificial pitch too! Continue reading →

The Chronicles of Lewis

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in R

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday 20th January 2013

This, I suppose should be read as a sequel for my previous entry, “In search of the Quarrymen.” The author CS Lewis worshipped and was buried in Headington Quarry, in Oxford but actually lived about half a mile away, in Risinghurst.

These days Risinghurst is a suburb on Oxford’s eastern edge, and is separated from Headington Quarry by the Eastern by-pass section of the Oxford Ring-Road. Unlike Headington Quarry there are fewer clues to its past. As you walk up the slight incline of Kiln Lane, you are unaware Continue reading →