Category Archives: H

The Big Day at the Big Arch

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

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Sunday 10th July 2011 ko 7.04pm

J-League Division One

SANFRECCE HIROSHIMA 1 (Lee 2) K Morisaki sent off 42

CEREZO OSAKA 3 (Kurata 33 Kiyotake 49 Komatsu 51)

Att 11,615

Entry & Programme 2,000 yen

Towel Scarf 1,575 yen

Badge (from vending machine) 200 yen

Coach ticket 8,000 yen

From Cerezo Stall

Towel Scarf 1,575 yen

Badge 635 yen

This day, a Sunday was for me at least, more than just a football trip, it also was about learning a lot about the country and its culture.

The coach left Osaka at around 10am, and I was pleased that it was a bright pink affair with the club mascot, the wolf embrazoned on it too. A volunteer took payment of 10,000 yen via a portable credit card device, and your payment included a ticket for the away end. The coach was air conditioned and spacious, and the Cerezo fans were rather fascinated by the new Gaijin, especially when Peter told them just how much football I watch!. And elderly couple practised their English on me which they’d picked up during the American occupation from watching “Bonanza.” Another elderly lady presented everyone with beautiful leaflets for the game. A real collectors item!

We stopped at service stations twice each way, and the meals available were both cheap and tasty. I also enjoyed the ice cream stalls!

For a 7.04pm kick off we arrived by British standards stupidly early, around 4.30 pm. That’s because the culture is to reserve your place by placing your bag on your chosen seat (it’s perfectly safe to do so), then go for a meal, and generally relax. Pete and I decided to explore. We soon discovered that there are 3 stadia, two smaller ones that seemed barely used and a sports field where hundreds of children were playing in a tournament. Make no mistake, the future of the Japanese game is rosy.

We made our way to the the stadium, and bought our goodies, and I took advantage of the fact that as a courtesy the away team is allowed to set up a stall. I watched the lady who’s practised her English with me, take her Cerezo-pink bicycle from the boot of the coach, and cycle up to the ground from the car park. It transpired she isn’t too fleet of foot these days so this arrangement allows her to see away games. It is a matter of course that she was able to leave the bike unattended by the away end.

The stadium is genuinely iconic (it must be, the amount of photos I took!), but I do wonder how practical it is. For a ground featured in the World Cup it does have a running track, and I do wonder how much cover the Big Arch actually provides. There was no way of knowing as there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was 35 degrees! I found both sets of fans sitting happily together enjoying the catering so I joined them.

The two team buses arrived rather ceremonially, and I settled down for my first view of Peter’s favourite team. And it didn’t start well either, Tananari Lee stabbing home following a defensive howler with only 90 seconds on the clock!

The turning point was unquestionably the dismissal of Koji Morisaki on 42 minutes. It looked a little harsh, particularly the first booking, but Cerezo took full advantage and in the end won comfortably.

We strolled back to the coach early enough to watch the sets of fans waving each other goodbye as friendly as could be, and then were handed a complimentary beer to start the long drive home. We reached Osaka at 2.30am and I was on the 6.28am Shinkansen to Tokyo……

This day so far I feel represents the absolute zenith of my groundhopping career. It will take some matching!

Menagerie

25 Friday Nov 2011

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Tuesday 22nd November 2011 ko 7.45pm

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Cup 2nd Round

HAREFIELD UNITED 2 (Reader 42 Majeed 51)

LONDON TIGERS 0

Att 40

Entry & Programme £6

Tea £1

Back in May the move from Banbury to Oxford, involved a distance of a mere 31 miles, but it did alter massively my potential destinations for midweek gamea. This fixture is now only 40 miles from home!

Harefield is sometimes described as the nearest village to London, and it has an odd mix of village and suburbia about it. Its most famous for the hospital where Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub FRS, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon carried out the first live lobe lung transplant and went on to perform more transplants than any other surgeon in the world. By the end of the 1980s Harefield Hospital was the world’s leading transplant centre. A lesser known fact is that three Victoria Cross winners hail from the village.

Preston Park is on the right as you enter the village from Hillingdon, and is a good example of a lower division Isthmian ground. There’s a low seated stand, and opposite is a quirky covered enclosure; perhaps the reason why the club left the Isthmian on ground grading issues is because there’s no cover behind either goal.

It was a pleasant surprise to catch up with Pinner-based hopper Les Bull, and we both enjoyed the announcer trying to add razzmatazz to a cold damp game in front of 40 patrons. The visitors are a real “United Nations” team, having started out as a charity project to help disadvantaged children in Paddington. From there they entered the Middlesex League playing out of Kingsbury Town. When that club folded Tigers were allowed to take their place in the Spartan South Midlands League and became Kingsbury London Tigers. Now they’ve moved to the old Viking Greenford ground, and dropped the Kingsbury prefix although pitch problems have meant that as I write they’ve yet to play a home game!

While off the field the Tigers have problems, on this occasion they had a far simpler one, namely that in 90 minutes of play they failed to muster even one shot on target! Just one decent shot that hit the crossbar, during the second half, so it was left to the Hares’ striker Jack Reader to score one and set up Aban Majeed for the second, to settle a fairly forgetable game.

4,3,2,1

17 Monday Oct 2011

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Sunday 16th October 2011

Kompetitie 3e Nationale B

K.F.C. VIGOR WUITENS HAMME 1 (De Lange 88)

KSV BORNEM 2 (Janssens 11 Muttinck 40)

Att c2,000

Entry €17 (seat in the middle of the main stand)

Programme €1

Braadwurst hotdog €4

Back to another Belgian Division 3 game, and this time in an atmospheric town centre ground. Plenty to like here, including the typically Belgian touch, the bar that you can see the game from. Friendly locals too, I showed my ticket at the wrong gate, and the steward informed me, in Flemish, that I needed to use the middle entrance. I understood, but the locals, realising I was not local, admonished him for not telling me in English. Definately not necessary!

I took my seat in the stand and immediately spotted a problem. Behind my left ear a small boy with a high pitched voice was shouting his support for Hamme, and to my right a middle-aged man and his wife seemed to be indulging in a see who can chain-smoke the smelliest cigarettes! Small irritants, because this was a great game to watch, two good sides, but Bornem always looked just that little bit fleeter of thought, and it was that little extra competitive edge that allowed them to prevail. Janssen’s thunderbolt free kick was worthy of a bigger stage, and whilst I was sad to see friendly Hamme lose, it did keep the little boy quiet!

So 4 games, in 3 countries, in 2 days, with 1 Countrypoint, and all down to the efforts of Peter Ford. Many Thanks mate.

4,3,2,1

17 Monday Oct 2011

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Sunday 16th October 2011

Kompetitie 3e Nationale B

K.F.C. VIGOR WUITENS HAMME 1 (De Lange 88)

KSV BORNEM 2 (Janssens 11 Muttinck 40)

Att c2,000

Entry €17 (seat in the middle of the main stand)

Programme €1

Braadwurst hotdog €4

Back to another Belgian Division 3 game, and this time in an atmospheric town centre ground. Plenty to like here, including the typically Belgian touch, the bar that you can see the game from. Friendly locals too, I showed my ticket at the wrong gate, and the steward informed me, in Flemish, that I needed to use the middle entrance. I understood, but the locals, realising I was not local, admonished him for not telling me in English. Definitely not necessary!

I took my seat in the stand and immediately spotted a problem. Behind my left ear a small boy with a high-pitched voice was shouting his support for Hamme, and to my right a middle-aged man and his wife were indulging in a see who can chain-smoke the smelliest cigarettes! Small irritants, because this was a great game to watch, two good sides, but Bornem always looked just that little bit fleeter of thought, and it was that little extra competitive edge that allowed them to prevail. Janssen’s thunderbolt free kick was worthy of a bigger stage, and whilst I was sad to see friendly Hamme lose, it did keep the little boy quiet!

So, 4 games, in 3 countries, in 2 days, with 1 Country point, and all down to the efforts of Peter Ford. Many Thanks mate.

Hero and Villan

13 Thursday Oct 2011

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Wednesday 12th October 2011 ko 7.45pm

United Counties League Division One

HUNTINGDON TOWN 1 (Moyes 12)

WOOTTON BLUE CROSS 2 (Janes 17 34)

Att 65

Entry & Programme £5

Coffee 50p

A few days ago I watched Witney Town, a side becalmed at a location way out-of-town. Here’s club, again way out-of-town, but making it work for them. And for those who haven’t been yet and are planning a visit, don’t use the postcode, you’ll go horribly wrong! I did! Aim for the village of Kings Ripton, and Jubilee Park is just before you get there.

And what a well organised place it is. Spick and span, with a large clubhouse, its similar to Market Harborough’s Bowden’s Park. It’s all there. A tea bar, alcohol bar, cover, lights, and multiple pitches for community use. In fact my only quibble was the lack of a seated stand, with my hernia and general tiredness making such a thing desirable! I suspect, with the club at step 6 and having only been in situ since 2003, the comment would be all in good time!

I immediately took to the club, because, yes, they are friendly. It costs nothing to have friendly people having a joke behind the tea bar, and to help you out with the line ups. Put that with a local making their first visit, and there’s someone who’ll be back and will bring a friend.

So I walked (slowly) out to the pitch quietly rooting for the homesters. Interestingly former West Ham star Calum Davenport was turning out for the visitors, his career wrecked by injury, but it was Huntingdon who took the lead with Daniel Moyes’ free kick freakishly evading the keeper from a full 45 yards. A fluke? Oh yes, but they all count.

But just over 20 minutes later, it was Blue Cross who lead, Gary Janes taking advantage of first a defensive howler and secondly a glorious through ball. It was first half stoppage time when the first of the two major talking points occurred. Davenport pulled a shirt, in the box, was booked but Joe Furness’ penalty was well saved by Gerrard, diving to his left.

The second half could, and didn’t live up to the excitement of the first, but even with my newly found bias it was hard to deny Huntingdon at least a point. And in stoppage time, potential salvation occurred. Again referee Moore spotted an infringement in the box, again Furness stepped up to take the spot kick, again he aimed bottom right, and yes again Gerrard saved. Hero and Villian 18 yards apart.

Soon afterwards Blue Cross loudly celebrated an important away win. Home manager Ricky Marheineke walked off with his arm around a destraught Furness. You couldn’t help but feel not only for the player, but this warm friendly club.

To finish though, a question. Why is the club playing in the UCL? Nearby Godmanchester play in the Eastern Counties League, and Huntingdon’s under 18’s play in the Eastern Counties Youth League!

Elevation

13 Thursday Oct 2011

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Tuesday 11th October 2011 ko 7.45pm

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division

HATFIELD TOWN 0

ROYSTON TOWN 6 (Lockett 20 Young 39 Feumi 43p Robins 67 Standen 81 90)

Att 87

Entry £6

Programme £1

Tea 50p  (in a University of Chester paper cup!)

Until last season Hatfield groundshared at Welwyn Garden City FC. Sharing somewhere other than your home town is seldom ideal, but Hatfield now at least have a home to call their own. The problem is that its still in Welwyn Garden City! Moreover the Gosling Sports Park, doesn’t just contain a 6 lane running track but a velodrome too, making the football spectator extremely distant from the pitch. That said the velodrome is perhaps the ground’s saving grace, as the banking does provide elevation, ameliorating some of the distance. Its helped further by a balcony the height of which I’ve never enountered anywhere other than Wembley Stadium. The panorama shot is from there and it does give a Subbuteo feel to wtching a game.

With 3 distinct viewing areas, the terrace, seating and balcony, the ground is certainly different, and I’ve heard descriptions of Stalinist, and East German, neither of which I’d necessarily disagree with. For me it simply felt municipal, nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn’t want to watch football somewhere like this all the time. I should add that the club has had to work hard to get the ground usable for football. Gates have to be locked at specific times, and a huge players tunnel built, which if it were in Kent would have the anti-polytunnel brigade up in arm!

Hatfield have signed a 7-year lease, but I got the impression that their tenure may well be a lot shorter than that. The bottom line is that they want to be in Hatfield, and they think they’ve found a suitable location. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but I’d get to Gosling Sports Park soon to avoid disappointment.

On the pitch there were 2 sides with radically different agenda. Hatfield are building for the future, in both senses of the word, while Royston simply wish to return to the Isthmian League. After watching one of the biggest away drubbings I’ve ever seen I’m not sure which club will achieve their ambitions. Yes, Hatfield’s defence was appalling, but they looked a young side, and an older, better remunerated team, ran riot. Are Hatfield relegation fodder? On this outing yes, but they’re not in a relegation spot, and are there better teams than Royston in the league? You suspect quite possibly.

Definately one to keep an eye on.

The all important strip of astroturf

04 Tuesday Oct 2011

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Monday 3rd October 2011 ko 7.45

Hellenic League Floodlit Cup 2nd Round

HIGHMOOR-IBIS 4 (Campbell 23 Small-King 45 Brown 61 Stargatt 71)

SHRIVENHAM 1 (Maximen 71)

Att 78 (h/c)

Entry & Programme £4

Coffee 60p

Palmer Park, Reading is somewhere I have, perhaps more connections to than you’d expect for a bloke from Oxford. That’s mainly because my ex-wife is from nearby Henley-on-Thames, and this trip saw me drive through the town for the first time for a while on the way. Not much has changed, but then not much ever does.

I’d actually played 5-a-side at Palmer Park many moons and stones ago, and far more recently used to enjoy delicious, and gargantuan Sunday lunches at Colley’s Supper Rooms on the corner of nearby St Bartholemew’s  Avenue. Sadly Colley’s closed and is being refitted as a bar and grill. It won’t be the same… Continue reading →

Echoes

30 Friday Sep 2011

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Thursday 29th September 2011 ko 7.15pm (although it actually kicked off at 7.30)

Leicestershire Senior Cup First Round

HIGHFIELD RANGERS 2 (Jamu 51 Patrocinio 54)

ST ANDREWS 5 (Williams 11 Trevor 20 Connolly 42 48 Preston 87)

Att 41 (h/c)

Entry £3

No programme

Another trip to Leicester, this time to Gleneagles Avenue, home of this decidedly Afro-Caribbean club who ply their trade in the top division of the Leicestershire Senior League. A bit of a do at the gate as I tried to pay for Lee and I with a tenner, to discover that the gateman had precisely no change, it set the tone in a way…

The ground is typical of the league, railed, floodlit (but with quite a few bulbs missing), cover but no seats. There’s a decent enough clubhouse, and to be honest I’d have written off the whole thing as an unremarkable “tick” but then I found the echoes.

For a start this is the club that nurtured a young Emile Heskey before he moved on to Leicester City and stardom (of a sort). On gaining the teams I visited the officials room, and on the way discovered the quite wonderful graffiti-style art hidden to most. Add to that the visitors’ manager, Clem Dublin, Deon’s younger brother and you have a demonstration of the power of the community football club.

St Andrews are having a good season one level above Highfield, in the East Midlands Counties League and claimed a notable FA cup scalp of St Neots the previous weekend. Trouble is they had 9 out injured for this encounter. Nevertheless they soon rattled up a substantial lead, and then well you’ve read the script, they tried to sit on it. And Highfield gave it a real go, two goals in quick succession, and if one shot had have been just an inch or two lower, who knows……