Tag Archives: Eastern Counties League

Barley Town

06 Monday Sep 2021

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Saturday 21st August 2021 ko 15:00

FA Cup Preliminary Round

MULBARTON WANDERERS 1 (Eagleton 2)

HADLEIGH UNITED 0

Att 156

Entry £7

Programme £1

I suppose you could look at this as yet another foray into the Eastern Counties League, it is a fairly regular destination for me. You could look at it as yet another long drive along the A11 towards Norwich and its hinterland, but oddly enough it really didn’t feel that way. I’m sure the return from watching the likes of Loch Ness had something to do with it, I was well and truly back in my footballing comfort zone, but more than anything else what made it feel different was that it was an FA Cup game.  Continue reading →

Escape To Victory

04 Wednesday Aug 2021

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Saturday 31st July 2021 ko 15:00

Eastern Counties League Premier Division

WHITTON UNITED 2 (Lucraft 36 Davis 70)

SWAFFHAM TOWN 1 (Linsdell 90)

Att 65 at King George V Playing Field, Whitton, Ipswich

Entry £7

Programme £1

With pyramid football restarting for the first time since December I’ll admit to approaching the whole thing with mixed feelings. I’d greatly enjoyed going “Off the beaten track” to find games, but regular travelling partner Chris Garner was correct, it was time to do some “Normal” hopping, and he had an idea… Continue reading →

The Home Ground

07 Wednesday Jul 2021

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Saturday 3rd July 2021 ko 11:00

Pre-Season Friendly

BENFLEET 2 (37 57p)

REDBRIDGE 3 (Trialist 24 34 38)

Att 22 at Woodside, Manor Road

The count may have switched over to the 2021/22 season but in truth my close season was from December to April so a pre-season friendly didn’t feel like, well, pre-season even if both of the clubs hadn’t played a game this year. Then there was the strand of the hobby that doesn’t like friendlies to consider. I’d normally prefer a competitive game, but the friendly does throw up a opportunity, and I don’t just mean the chance to visit Britain’s first mini roundabout, opened in 1970…. Continue reading →

The Late Hamlet

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

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Friday 2nd February 2007 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One

HAVERHILL ROVERS 2 (Heller 51 Abbott 88)

ELY CITY 2 (Johnston 41 Warren 90)

Att c200

Entry £3.50

Programme £1

I must admit I hadn’t realised this was one of the Eastern Counties League’s regular Friday night fixtures until I started to put this together! Its odd how a game 14 years ago was a portent of things to come! But here the reason for being at Hamlet Croft was straightforward, the ground was due for demolition, so that probably had something to do with why there was a bumper crowd. Continue reading →

Portmanteau

27 Sunday Dec 2020

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Monday 14th December 2020 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One South

FRENFORD 2 (Forbes 4 Fairhead 88)

Heatley penalty saved 52

ATHLETIC NEWHAM 2 (Idemudia 9 Kone 90p)

Kone sent off 90 (2nd booking)

Att 87

Entry £4

Programme £1

Monday night football will always attract the groundhoppers, and a club new to Step 6 will do so still further. Here though there was the added thought of exactly which league I was watching. In 2018 the Eastern Senior was created as a Step 6 league to feed the Essex Senior as a joint venture between that league and the Eastern Counties. It seemed to me that the league became rapidly swallowed up by the Eastern Counties League, and has become their Division One South. Now I’m not that worried by the nomenclature, but does anyone have a definitive answer? Continue reading →

The Jam Factory

29 Wednesday Apr 2020

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With the football season over prematurely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic I’m in the unusual position of actually having this blog up to date! So to keep the content coming, and for something to do, I’ll do some old grounds and games where there’s a story to tell.

Tuesday 17th April 2007 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One

TIPTREE UNITED 5 (Hill 11 31 Robinson 43 Bryan 45 Defoe 55)

Emery sent off 45 (violent conduct)

CORNARD UNITED 0

Att 52

Entry £5

Programme £1

This is a curious tale in so many ways, but I really couldn’t have predicted just how bizarre it was going to be when I drove to the Essex town 13 years ago. The village is to the south-west of Colchester and is unquestionably most famous for jam, the Wilkin & Sons factory is here, and the labels on the jars still have Tiptree on them. In fact there’s even a Tiptree Jam Museum. I’ll claim it was closed when I visited!

Continue reading →

Castle On The Hill

25 Tuesday Feb 2020

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Friday 27th December 2019 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One North

FRAMLINGHAM TOWN 8 (Berry 24 66 89 D Smith 30 57 75 Ling 47 Willett 51)

FELIXSTOWE & WALTON RESERVES 2 (Ingram 23 Norman 68)

Att 75

Entry £5

Programme £1

It is difficult to avoid reference to Ed Sheeran in Framlingham, and in any case, why try? The singer/songwriter is Framlingham’s most famous son, and while there doesn’t seem to be quite the same connection with the club that Olly Murs has with Coggeshall Town, the singer has tweeted his allegiance to the club after being spotted at, of all places, Stamford Bridge! Perhaps that’s why Framlingham Town market a replica shirt with Sheeran’s name on the back. Continue reading →

Mercury & Bismuth

28 Wednesday Nov 2018

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Tuesday 30th October 2018 ko 19.45

Eastern Senior League Division One South

MAY & BAKER 2 (Owuadey 6 Harvey 88)

FIRE UNITED CFC 1 (Dias 89)

Att 27 

Entry £5

Programme £1

With the creation of the Eastern Senior League, to fill a hole at Step 6 in Essex, a slew of new clubs have taken a step up in status to fill the league. For Fire United that meant a move from Hackney Marshes to the Terence McMillan Stadium in Newham, formerly home to London APSA. More on them later, but May & Baker’s story is fascinating. Continue reading →

Nomenclature

26 Monday Nov 2018

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Tuesday 23rd October 2018 ko 19.45

Eastern Senior League Division One South Cup 1st Round

WHITE ENSIGN 0

BENFLEET 2 (Delieu 51 G Unwin 52)

Att 33 at Basildon Sporting Village

For this season the FA has taken steps to iron out one of the quirks of the footballing pyramid, in that until now there hasn’t been a league to link the Step 5 Essex Senior League and the Step 7 Essex Olympian League. They had a blueprint; the Kent Invicta League was formed in 2011 to bridge the gap between the Kent League and the Kent County League. The Invicta League eventually was swallowed up by the Kent League and the result is now the two divisions of the Southern Counties East.  Continue reading →

The Nest

31 Wednesday Oct 2018

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Saturday 29th September 2018 ko 15.00

Eastern Counties League Division One North

LAKENHEATH 1 (McCabe 3)

MARCH TOWN UNITED 3 (Cooke 7 Gillies 45p Mattless 74)

Att c100

Entry £5

Programme £1

One of the most welcome additions to the Eastern Counties League roster this season has been Lakenheath. I’d had a fair few hoppers recommend, The Nest or The Pit, depending on who you talk to but for no good reason I’d not managed to visit. I’m glad I did go but I do wonder whether I caught the club at a real crossroads. Step 6 will alter just about everything for Lakenheath FC, both as a club, and a place to watch football.  Continue reading →