Category Archives: C

Black Bullets

20 Sunday Nov 2011

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Saturday 19th November 2011 ko 3.00pm

FA Vase 2nd Round

CONSETT AFC 4 (Walton 44 45 Mackay 69 84)

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 2 (Drew 48 Flannery 83)

Att 133

Entry £5

Programme £1

Raffle £1

Badge £3

Pie, Peas and Chips £2.80

Tea 50p

My attendance here was for the most straightforward of reasons, the ground will be knocked down at the end of the season, and it’s known to be a cracker. I took Chris Berezai, newly back from a holiday in Egypt along for the ride. We are both fans of the FA Vase, and let’s face it who’s going to turn down the chance to visit a ground like Belle Vue Park? Continue reading →

Salem’s Crucible

22 Saturday Oct 2011

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Saturday 22nd October 2011 ko 3.00pm

FA Vase 1st Round

COWES SPORTS 3 (Insley 52 57 Williams 87)

GILLINGHAM TOWN 0 Ben Salem sent off 24 (2nd booking-both dissent)

Att c120

Entry £5

Programme £1

Badge £3

Tea-in-a-mug 65p

Coffee-in-a-mug 70p

The idea for this one was Chris Berezai’s. He discovered that Red Funnel do a group off-peak discount on the Sea Cat from Southampton to Cowes. The “group” bit is as little as two, so a return ticket was just a shade over £15.00 for the both of us! What a bargain!

From the harbour it was a 10 minute walk up the hill to Reynolds Close, and Westwood Park. And what a ground it is, with the modern clubhouse, and best of all that stand. Built in the twenties in a weekend, by shipyard workers, yes it does have a number of pillars, but is an icon for a really friendly club. You really do forget you’re watching a club 6 promotions from the football league, they are so well organised and appointed. From Mick the mic on the PA through to the ladies working the tea bar, this was friendly club, who seemed genuinely pleased to host neutrals from Long Eaton and Oxford. Mind you Mick did initially pronounce the visitors’ name with a soft “G.” Its an easy mistake to make, but this is the Gillingham from Dorset, not Kent (Oxford United were playing there by the way), and he was quickly put right. Cowes, like their visitors are in 7th position in a step 6 league, so the match had the potential to test the relative strengths of the Wessex and Western leagues. Continue reading →

The All-Revisit Hop

09 Sunday Oct 2011

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Saturday 8th October 2011 ko 12pm

Hellenic League Division One West

CARTERTON FC 2 (MacDonagh 10 17)

LYDNEY TOWN 2 (Elliott 43 Liddington 47)

Att 102

Entry £4

Programme £1

Cappuccino 90p

Sausage & Chips £2

The purpose of this “mini-hop” is worth explaining. The Hellenic hop started life as a stand alone hop organised by the league itself. Later on the hop expanded and was attached to the Welsh hop when Chris Berezai became involved. With the Welsh hop now in Mid-Wales, the Hellenic has reverted to being stand alone. This day was set aside for those who had not visited the grounds on the original hops to catch up. That by the way included Chris himself! And that reader, is why I came to be doing 3 revisits for the first time, possibly ever!

Kilkenny Lane is one of my favourites in the league. It manages to combine good facilities with quirkiness. The bar is superb, little wonder League meetings are held here, but despite, the two stands, there is only one realistic place to watch the action, the bar’s balcony, thoughtful covered since my last visit. Jens from Germany was impressed; 5000+ grounds and he could drink, smoke and watch football simulaneously! Wunderbar! His travelling Margarete, was another welcome visitor, and her dislike for brown sauce was gently mocked as normal. Wonderful to see them again.

Carterton, were relegated last season, and have struggled to adjust to their new division. Lydney too have been in the top flight, and are struggling too. They would not have be happy to ship two goals in 10 minutes to goal keeping howlers, and then watch a stonewall penalty not be awarded by a referee bent on making as few decisions as possible. Creditably they fought their way back into the tie, and and their two goal blast was richly deserved.

The A3 Derby

22 Thursday Sep 2011

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Combined Counties League Premier Division

COLLIERS WOOD UNITED 1 (Davies 4)

HANWORTH VILLA 4 (Oakes 22 58 Preddie 43 Farnden 45)

Att 62

Entry £6

Programme £1

How many motorists have driven north along the A3 from the M25 and passed the ground not noticing the delights to be found at the Wibbandune Sports Ground, to their right? It really is a great little club to visit, once you’ve worked out how to park! The clever move is to park opposite and use the footbridge over the dual carriageway.

A friendly welcome awaits, as I discovered after a beast of a journey. I’d avoided the jams on the M25 and driven via Sheen and Kingston and got to the ground a full 30 seconds before kickoff. Nevertheless a programme was found, after a promise that if one couldn’t be found they’d print me one off. At half time I enjoyed a conversation about Queen’s Park FC.

The lineups were displayed on a blackboard, and updated with scorers and substitutions. Plenty for the student of the non league stadium with the quirky overhang to the clubhouse and the display of classic pitch rollers! Yes, there’s the Arena stand, to keep Colliers Wood at step 5, but it hasn’t ruined the feel of the place.

Sadly step 5 looks to be the height of the club’s ambitions at this ground. There’s a public footpath, it’s in no way enclosed and having a river at one end does mean games do get regularly waterlogged off.

On the pitch too Wood look a long way from  progressing further, despite Davies’ 35 yard blockbuster to open the scoring. From then on in their local rivals were always in control, and sadly for my excellent hosts, 1-4 was a fair reflection on the game.

I wholeheartly recommend a trip to this friendly little club, but do check if there’s been rain.

Laconophilia

05 Monday Sep 2011

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Midland Combination Division Two

COVENTRY SPARTANS 2 (Kabongo 6p Dennisur 26)

ENVILLE ATHLETIC 1 (Poole 41)

Att 22 (h/c)

Entry FREE

Programme £1

Tea 60p

An interesting one this. Last season Coventry Amateurs played a few hundred yards way, down Westwood Heath Road. The reserves split from the first XI, and retained the name, so the firsts moved to the University Sports ground and renamed themselves Spartans. Crucially for the paperchasers, its Spartans who have continued to issue, although I doubt it they actually sold more than 5 on this occasion.

Spartans at kick off were rock bottom of the league, without a win, so you would have expected their visitors to have attacked from the off. Not a bit of it, they sat back allow Spartans to walk all over them. By the time they had scored with their only attack of the first half, the tie had already been settled. A shame as I felt that if Spartans had been tested, their spirit may well have been exhausted quickly.

Still, a good visit to a friendly club.