Tag Archives: wessex league

The Tobacco Factory

30 Saturday May 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.

Saturday 1st April 2006 ko 15.00

Wessex League Division One

B.A.T. SPORTS 3 (Lowther 2 (1 pen), Thorney)

BROCKENHURST 2 (Beck, Burton)

Att c50

Entry £4

Programme £1

I hate smoking, I hate the smell, and that it invariably triggers my asthma. But I do have history with British & American Tobacco. The firm owned International Stores and if my grandfather hadn’t moved to Oxford to manage their store in High Street, you wouldn’t be reading this. I’ll leave you to consider whether that’s a good thing…. Continue reading →

The QR Code

11 Wednesday Mar 2020

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Tuesday 28th January 2020 ko 19.45

Wessex League Premier Division

AFC STONEHAM 0

HORNDEAN 0

Att 102

Entry & Programme £6

My regular reader might recall my visit to AFC Stoneham back in 2015 when they were in the final season in the Hampshire League prior to promotion to the Wessex League. Back then they were playing at the old Pirelli works ground, Pirelli General folded in 2003. But despite the “Purps” improvements to the ground, the facility was always destined to be demolished, but even back then the club had a plan… Continue reading →

The Pocket Borough

26 Wednesday Sep 2018

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Tuesday 14th August 2018 ko 19.45

Wessex League Division One

DOWNTON 2 (Hooper 67 Prentice 78)

TOTTON & ELING 1 (Gain 58)

Att 78

Entry & Programme £5

There are no end of settlements called Downton, in fact there are at least two in the Wessex League’s footprint. This Downton is a pretty as a picture village in South Wiltshire, the nearest city is Salisbury and you pass by several military bases, to get here, Porton Down being probably the most well-known. Downton is also remembered as being the village that managed to elect an MP without the candidate knowing! Continue reading →

Rubber Sheet Geometry

31 Thursday Aug 2017

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Friday 18th August 2017 ko 19.45

Wessex League Cup 2nd Round

BEMERTON HEATH HARLEQUINS 0

HAMBLE CLUB 4 (Magookin 2 S Wilson 6 Byrne 14 Lynch 47)

Att 71

Entry £6

No Programme

I remember as an 11 year old my maths teacher introducing the concept of rubber sheet geometry. Topology to use its correct term is the idea that by distorting distance or shape you may simplify its depiction. The London Underground map is a classic example, but groundhoppers do tend to use their own version, and this game rather proved the point. Continue reading →

Comrades

13 Sunday Nov 2016

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Tuesday 8th November 2016 ko 19.45

Wessex League Division One

RINGWOOD TOWN 2 (Vint 42 Samways 83og)

SHAFTESBURY 5 (Colohan 4 10 Finnegan 36 63 Ford 70)

Att 40

Entry & Programme £5

You’re only just in Hampshire here, just the River Avon separates the historic market town from Dorset, and being on the edge of the New Forest the feel of the town couldn’t be any more English if it tried. I’m not sure the fact that the external scenes for “The Brittas Empire” were filmed at Ringwood Leisure Centre quite fits the narrative though! Continue reading →

The Milton Derby

16 Sunday Oct 2016

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Tuesday 27th September 2016 ko 19.45

Wessex League Division One

NEW MILTON TOWN 0

BAFFINS MILTON ROVERS 4 (Dart 28 87 Pennery 49 Blandford 66og)

Att 28

Entry £6

Programme £1.50

You occasionally hear the term “Derby in name only” and it normally refers to a fixture where two clubs are nearby but no great rivalry exists, Oxford United and Oxford City being a good example. This though was a derby genuinely in name only, Baffins play in northern Portsmouth while Town play to the east of Bournemouth at the southern edge of the New Forest. Continue reading →

The Facts Of Life

25 Monday Jul 2016

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Saturday 23rd July 2016 ko 11.00

Pre-season Friendly

ANDOVER TOWN 1 (Robertson 84)

WARMINSTER TOWN 1 (Shinn 28)

Att 32 at Sparsholt College, near Winchester

It’s a fact of footballing life that by and large groundhoppers and pre-season friendlies don’t mix, and its a view I have a lot of sympathy with. Games played at half pace with no cards and roll-on/off substitutes aren’t many people’s idea of what football is about, so in the summer months you have to be creative! And this game had plenty to enthuse.

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Bill

04 Monday Jan 2016

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Tuesday 29th December 2015 ko 19.45

Wessex League Division One

PORTLAND UNITED 1 (Godfrey 15)

RINGWOOD TOWN 0 Roberts sent off 67 (dangerous play)

Att 171

Entry £5

Programme (excellent) 50p

In Wessex League circles there is a standing joke that they are the only Step 5/6 league that gets to play European football, via of course the 3 visits to the Isle of Wight clubs, Cowes Sports, Newport (IW) and East Cowes Victoria. Well I reckon by the island rule, there’s now another European trip in the Wessex… to Portland! Continue reading →

The Key To It All

25 Tuesday Aug 2015

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Saturday 22nd August 2015 ko 14.30

Isle of Wight Jubilee Cup

BRADING TOWN 3 (Collins 7 Hichcox 28 Hatcher 45) Vale missed penalty 45)

NORTHWOOD ST JOHNS 0

Att 34

Entry £1

No Programme

The further I delve into every football ground everywhere, the endless choice every Saturday doesn’t get any less bewildering nearly 1,700 grounds in. Writing these articles helps, as it steers you towards places that cry out to have their story told, but in the end Brading Town became a classic piece of completionism. Continue reading →

Through The Round Window

26 Sunday Apr 2015

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Monday 20th April 2015 ko 18.30

Hampshire Premier League- Senior Division

HAMBLE CLUB 4 (Shrimpton 11 Thomson 32 Cox 53 Bull 76)

WINCHESTER CASTLE 0

Att 36

Entry FREE

No Programme

I have a feeling that many will look at my photos of the Shell Mex ground in Hamble-le-Rice and suggest that the new champions’ home isn’t up to much. Yes, the players change in Portakabins, and the tea bar is housed in another. There’s no cover, no hard standing, and the nets behind the goals are a feat of Heath Robinson-style engineering. All of this is true, but pay attention to these pictures carefully, because when you visit, the place will look nothing like this. Continue reading →