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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Tag Archives: Chessington and Hook United

The Cricket

29 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by laurencereade in E

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Tags

California, California Country Park, Chessington and Hook United, Combined Counties, Combined Counties League, Eversley, Eversley and California, Eversley Sports Association, Fox Lane, Hampshire, Surrey Elite Intermediate League

Tuesday 24th March 2015 ko 19.30

Combined Counties League Division One

EVERSLEY & CALIFORNIA 0

CHESSINGTON & HOOK UNITED 3 (McLaughlin 11 54 Bowles 68og)

Att 23

Entry & Programme £5

After the exertions of the Lowland League Hop I wanted something reasonably local and after 1700 or so grounds the Hampshire side of the border with Berkshire is just about as good as it gets for a floodlit tick these days!

It’s fair to say Eversley is an extremely affluent area, with the Prep schools dotted around the executive houses and the forests, Will Carling lives in this area, reckoned to be the least deprived area in the UK. Of course as is usually the case none of that helps the local football team. Continue reading →

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The Neighbours

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by laurencereade in W

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Chessington and Hook United, condron, HG Wells, Jack Williams, kingfield, Max Blackmore, Natherne Gilbert, Westfield, Woking Park

Saturday 3rd August 2013 ko 15.00

Combined Counties League Premier Division

WESTFIELD 1 (Williams 15)

CHESSINGTON & HOOK UNITED 0 Gilbert sent off 83 (2nd booking)

Att 103

Entry £6

Programme

To the beginner groundhopper the name Westfield or Westfields is a recipe for confusion. There’s Westfields, based in Hereford, and Sussex-Leaguers Westfield too. See the problem?

To avoid any doubt, this Westfield calls Woking home, but my confusion was complete when the sat-nav brought me to the Kingfield, Woking FC’s ground! I wasn’t too far wrong, Woking Park is only 150 yards away!

The place is futuristic, a feature of a 2011 building project, that turned Woking Park into something of a hub. Apart from the football, there’s boxing, and various Scout and Guide troops. I shouldn’t have been surprised at the looks of the place, Woking after all does have Continue reading →

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The Burnt Stub

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by laurencereade in C

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Tags

Chalky Lane, Chessington and Hook United, Chessington World of Adventures, Combined Counties League, Dan Harding, Daniel Burnett, Enid Blyton, Epsom and Ewell, Joe White, Luke Edwards, Mark Jarman, Matt Elliott, Robbie Burns, royalist stronghold, Sam Currie, Tony Howton

Thursday 7th February 2013 ko 19.45

Combined Counties League Premier Division

CHESSINGTON & HOOK UNITED 2 (Howton 88 Harding 90p) Tyler missed penalty 58

EPSOM & EWELL 3 (Burns 8 86 Jarman 67)

Att 87

Entry £7

No Programme

Tea £1

If ever a place is dominated by an attraction it’s the Surrey town of Chessington, even Alton, in Staffordshire manages to shelter itself from Alton Towers next door (just a turret pokes its head above the trees!). The World of Adventures sits on the site of The Burnt Stub stately home, a royalist stronghold during the English Civil War, and razed to the ground by the Parliamentarians on their victory. A Neo-Gothic mansion was built on the site by the Vere family, and the grounds were converted to a zoo in 1931 by Reginald Goddard. The site became part of the Tussaud’s Group in 1978 and the mansion incorporated as Hocus Pocus Hall. I used the entrance to turn round, and made a beeline for Chalky Lane, the ground hiding behind the trees from its big brash sibling.

There’s something of a ranch feel to the ground. Maybe its the gibbeted entry sign, or the players’ walkway from changing room to the pitch evoking the riders’ entrance at a rodeo, but all the essentials of life are here, but perhaps not in traditional form. There was no programme, as the game has been hastily re-arranged from Tuesday’s waterlogged postponement, and they hadn’t printed for that, as they’d seen the state of the pitch, and saved themselves the printing costs!

One glance at the table predicted an away win. Not many clubs can keep up with Guernsey’s rise, fuelled by the off-shore profits of online gambling, but the E’s are giving in a real go. They have no ground of their own, sharing at the moment at Chipstead, they’ve played Isthmian League football, and are keen to return. They’d won 9 on the bounce, and any team that can lay claim to having found future Scotland international Matt Elliott, needs to be taken seriously. The fly in the ointment was the last club to have beaten them… Chessington & Hook. Enid Blyton may have lived here, but this story was a good deal better thought out than one of her hackneyed yarns.

On a heavy but just about playable pitch, it was the visitors who made the early breakthrough, as Sam Currie’s cross hit the crossbar, and Robbie Burns reacted first to tap home. For the rest of the half it was more or less continuous Epsom pressure and only profligate finishing and good defending kept the score down.

The second half saw a change on formation for Chessington and it paid dividends, or rather it should! Nathan Ayling’s clumsy challenge on Dan Harding was an obvious penalty, but Tom Tyler’s spot kick failed to even draw a save from Epsom keeper Joe White. They were made to pay as a counter-attack found Mark Jarman clean through and he made the most of the opportunity, sliding the ball past Daniel Burnett.

Two soon became three as the move of the game saw Currie’s cross from the right, find Burns, whose pinpoint glancing header found the left hand corner of the net. That looked to be it but when Tony Howton’s 25 yard free kick squirmed its way past everyone for 3-1 Chessington saw and opportunity. Dan Harding made it 3-2 from the penalty spot after Luke Edwards was felled, and only the offside flag prevented Paul Gough from equalising! The win takes Epsom top of the table, although Guernsey have multiple games in hand, the legacy of a fine FA Vase run, that’s still ongoing.

Breathless stuff on a filthy night, and a game that 48 hours no-one had expected would take place. A bonus in every way possible, but there was to be no lashings of ginger beer to celebrate!





Dark Thoughts

16 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Andrew Gidley, Chessington and Hook United, FA Vase, Frank Greene, Freddie Collins, Greatness Park, HG Wells, Jake Bricknell, Jamie Jones-Johnson, Mickey Hughes, Ramone Curtis, Sam Akokhia, sent off, Sevenoaks Town

Saturday 15th September 2012 ko 3.00pm

FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round

SEVENOAKS TOWN 3 (Akokhia 45 Curtis 71 106)  Bricknell missed penalty 10 Jones-Johnson sent off 101 (violent conduct)

CHESSINGTON & HOOK UNITED 2 (Hughes 86p 89) Greene sent off 107 (violent conduct)

Att 38

Entry £6

Programme £1

I’d set out with the intention of seeing Whitstable Town versus Eastbourne Town in the Isthmian League. After two mammoth hold-ups on firstly the M40, then the M25 I had to revise my plans. And to be honest I’d fancied a trip here for some time, as I do have a habit of wanting to visit clubs when I’ve seen their town on a road sign. You do see a lot of signs for Sevenoaks on the M25 too…..

Sevenoaks is a typical leafy suburban Kentish commuter town, with its Arts Centre and the wide open spaces of Knole Park, famous for being the location of two Beatles promotional films for “Strawberry Fields,” and “Penny Lane.” Writer HG Wells lived in Sevenoaks, and The Vine Cricket Ground in the town is the first place where cricket was played with a set of three stumps.

Greatness Park is close to Knole Park, and its clear that the club were once allocated a corner of it and have spent the time since since improving and enclosing it, as funds and planning restrictions have allowed. The bar is the only brick-built structure and is set away from the ground; within the fence the changing rooms, hospitality and catering are all provided via Portakabins. The covered area by the half-way line has been augmented by two prefabricated seated stands either side of it. It ticks the graders’ boxes but the best view of the action isn’t to be found in the ground.

Behind one goal, the land climbs steeply and some supporters actually pay to get in, then leave immediately and sit on the hill. Fine on a warm day, but a non-starter when its cold and wet. The only issue I had up there on a warm afternoon was the din of an outdoor dance class in Knole Park; it wasn’t the kind of game where you could ignore the music either.

The first issue for the fixture was the pitch. Tinder dry, and extremely bumpy, the club had tried to water it. The problem was that with the summer we’ve had the hose hadn’t seen use for months, and when it was rolled out it was perished! Not the pitch could be at all blamed for what went on on the pitch.

Let’s get one thing straight, the club on the outside of the pitch rail were a delight. From the ladies at the tea bar to secretary Andrew Gidley, they all made the kind of impression I hope for wherever I visit. What went on inside the rail was frankly sickening.

There was no clue as to what was going to happen as Jake Bricknell missed an early penalty for Sevenoaks, although Chessington’s encroachment was something to behold! As the game wore on the players became hell-bent on arguing each and every decision made by referee Freddie Collins. He had a good game, the assessor said as much, but when 10 players get booked, 9 of them for some form of unsporting conduct you question the intelligence of the players. When 1 gets booked for dissent, surely you take note. But 10? Words fail me. I should be fair to both sides, and comment that 8 of the bookings went to Chessington & Hook players.

Add to that 2 dismissals, both for violent conduct. Eschewing the straightforward punch-up, these two opted for the cowardly, sly kick-out after a challenge, perfected by David Beckham. I depaired then, and I despair now.

At least the better side won. Sevenoaks took the lead with virtually the last touch of the first half, Sam Akokhia’s fine glancing header gliding in at the back post. That lead was doubled by Ramone Curtis’ strike on 71 minutes, and that should have curtailed the unpleasantness after 90 minutes. But a sloppy penalty was conceded and converted, and when Mickey Hughes fired home an excellent shot for 2-2, I groaned, and I bet Mr Collins did too, this game didn’t need any more time added to it.

Jamie Jones-Johnson collected his marching orders for a nasty kick following a heavy challenge, before Curtis bagged his second, finishing with a thumping shot after beating the offside trap. There was enough time for Chessington’s Frank Greene to be sent off for an even dafter sly kick, he hadn’t even been fouled! The assessor shook his head in disbelief, and made a note that he wasn’t going to be making a quick getaway after the final whistle. I did, I’d more than had my fill.

As I drove away I felt pleased that no children had been watching, the players gave a dreadful example of what is meant to be sport. The visitors were the bigger sinners, but I pondered that if this fixture had been taped, and played to the participants, I hope their behaviour would make them hang their heads in shame.





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