Tag Archives: wessex league

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 →

Ambitions

19 Sunday Apr 2015

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Monday 13th April 2015 ko 18.30

Hampshire Premier League, Senior Division

AFC STONEHAM 1 (Forbes 48)

HAMBLE CLUB 3 (Thomson 5 90 Watts 35)

Att 71

Entry FREE

No Programme

When you visit a few grounds in a particular league, you start to get a feel for that league. And then a club comes along that completely changes that perception and that club for me was AFC Stoneham. Continue reading →

Sea Change

31 Tuesday Mar 2015

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Friday 27th March 2015 ko 19.30

Isle of Wight DFA Senior (Gold) Cup Quarter-Final

EAST COWES VICTORIA AFC 2 (Gregory 59 Craig 90) Thompson sent off 78 (2nd booking)

EAST COWES SPORTS 2 (Tyler 11 Robjoint 76)

AET East Cowes Sports won 6-5 on penalties

Att 82

Entry £3

Programme 50p

It’s probably now common knowledge that we tried to get a Wessex League groundhop up and running, but a few weeks ago I had to end the project. While there was support from many quarters a final meeting in Totton convinced me that there wasn’t enough enthusiasm where it mattered to make it work. A real shame, as many people put a lot of effort into the project, and I was very taken by the carload of officials from the 3 Wessex League clubs Newport (IW), Cowes Sports, and East Cowes Vics who took the time and expense to take the ferry over to hear what I had to say. When it was all over I felt rather bruised by the encounter, so was heartened when several clubs contacted me to commiserate and invite me to their grounds.

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Finally

15 Sunday Mar 2015

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Tuesday 10th March 2015 ko 19.45

Wessex League Division One

HYTHE & DIBDEN 3 (De’Ath 7 Stacey 27 Burch 79 (!))

ROMSEY TOWN 2 (Parker 2 Prince 90) Andrews sent off (DOGSO) 26

Att 45

Entry £4

Programme £1

When you encounter the hoppers with huge (thousands) of grounds visited they always have exactly the same problem, finding a new ground to visit midweek when the game has to be floodlit. With, in simple terms, only the top 6 levels of non-league football being lit any time you see a club in those levels move grounds, you tend to see a lot of the senior hoppers congregate!

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The Mini Driver

26 Thursday Feb 2015

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Tuesday 24th February 2015 ko 19.45

Hampshire Premier League Cup Semi-Final

BAFFINS MILTON ROVERS 3 (Watts 18 Couzens 47 Burnley 90)

WINCHESTER CASTLE 0 Pickett sent off 90 (2nd booking)

Att 36 at Liss Athletic

Sometimes when I reflect on what I’ve watched and where I’ve been I do spot an obvious pattern. Here for a variety of reasons I’ve seen quite a bit of the Wessex League and its footprint. Perhaps its because its easy enough to reach, just a blast down the heartily boring A34, but you know what that means though, time to seek out the little gems somewhere else!

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Trouble with Hutchings

03 Friday Oct 2014

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Tuesday 30th September 2014 ko 19.45

Wessex League Premier Division

MONEYFIELDS 6 (Hutchings 12 20 75 90 Rutherford 16 55)

FAREHAM TOWN 1 (Woods 10)

Att c100

I suppose if you’re not an aficionado of Non-League football the first question is where is the Moneyfields Sports Ground? The name is taken from the avenue where it’s situated, in Copnor on the eastern edge of Portsea Island, in Portsmouth. In fact I could see the floodlights of Fratton Park as I turned into Copnor. Continue reading →

Sunset

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

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Tuesday 15th July 2014 ko 19.30

Pre-season Friendly

UNITED SERVICES PORTSMOUTH 2 (Coker 9 Dark 26)

FAREHAM TOWN 5 (Neal 22 Houks 53og Robinson 55 A T Rialist 83 90)

Att 13 at 3G pitch HMS Temeraire, Portsmouth

Entry FREE

Programme- You are joking aren’t you?

I visited USP’s Victory Stadium around 4 years ago, and it too is in HMS Temeraire, near Portmouth Docks. There’s no great security here, just a contracted-out guard, who seemed to be about as interested in me as I was in him! When I found out about this fixture, two things immediately struck me, firstly that I now had the camera to do the backdrop justice, and secondly that I was banned!

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You Are Only Coming Through In Waves

14 Wednesday May 2014

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Saturday 10th May 2014 ko 15.00

FA Vase Final

SHOLING 1 (McLean 71)

WEST AUCKLAND TOWN 0

Att 5,341 at Wembley Stadium

Entry to Bobby Moore Lounge, Programme, and Team Sheet – Complementary (Thanks to the EMCL and the NCEL)

 

So, a third visit to the Vase final in three years, for last year’s final click here, and the method is more or less set in stone. You park at Hillingdon Tube station for £2, then buy a six-zone travelcard for £8.90 for the Metropolitan Line trip to Wembley Park. I could park at Bicester North and take the train to Wembley Stadium, but that’s £22, or drive but it’s £30 (£15 for Blue Badge holders) to park at Wembley. I’ve yet to find a cheaper way of doing it, and yes I did try an unofficial car park for a rock concert here once. I  drove home with no driver’s window or sat nav! Yes, Wembley is an expensive place to visit, and I get the feeling that’s part of the reason why the stadium has been close to empty each of the 8 Vase Finals held at the rebuilt stadium. Continue reading →