Game 25: Alresford Town 3.1 Lymington Town (WESS PREM) 07.03.09

I hadn’t made it over to Alresford since they were promoted back to the Wessex Premier a couple of seasons ago so this game was a chance to complete the league again. As it was an opportunity to visit a new non-league ground, Alan decided to drive up and meet me at the ground. I arrived first and was reading through the programme when Alan called – he had misread the no parking sign on the verge and thought there was no parking at the ground so was calling to check where to go.


When he arrived we had a look around the ground and wondered why there was green netting behind one of the goals preventing anyone from viewing the game from there. It turned out that there are plans to turn the ground into a three-sided ground (with the non-viewing side becoming the far touchline nearest the cricket pitch) in order to meet the ground grading requirements for Step 5. Alan noted that there was a real slope on the pitch and that it was a bit chilly as the ground was exposed to the wind.


Alresford had most of the play in the first 20 minutes but it was a very stop-start game, as the referee liked the sound of his whistle! This affected the Alresford players, as they weren’t sure what challenges they could make and in the end, it took a badly timed sliding tackle for the referee to bring out a yellow card and set the boundaries. This was the first of 9 bookings in the game!


The first clear cut chance was created after 25 minutes when Finlay went through the Lymington offside trap and put a cross in. The Lymington keeper got a hand to it and pushed it out of danger before an Alresford player could get to it. Finlay was causing Lymington a lot of problems with his movement and another shot soon whistled over the bar.


Lymington were almost gifted a goal on 31 minutes. An Alresford defender headed the ball back towards the goal, expecting his keeper to be near the goal line, only to find the keeper was out of position. The keeper just managed to get back in time to stop the ball from crossing the line, much to his team mates relief! This seemed to wake the home team up and a minute later they took a deserved lead with a shot from the edge of the box curling into the bottom left corner.


Alresford were forced to make a substitution a few minutes later for a ‘retribution’ tackle on one of their players who had been dishing out the heavy tackles earlier in the half. This didn’t change the pattern of play and Lymington continued to be caught out on the counter attack. At one point 3 Alresford players beat the offside trap only for the player with the ball to get greedy after running from the halfway line and blasting a shot over the bar when his two team mates were both in better positions.


Lymington had their first shot on goal after 37 minutes but it went just wide. If Alresford could have built a goal above the regular goal they would have been 8.0 up by halftime – another shot was hoofed over the bar just before the referee bought the first half to an end. Alan and I wandered up the stairs to the bar to catch up on the scores from around the country.


Alresford continued to hit shots over the bar in the second half and after a criminal miss in the 55th minute; the supporters around us started to wonder whether they might regret not taking their chances. The players on both sides weren’t helping the referee in getting the game to flow – too often their protests were loud and aggressive and their complaints when a decision went against them led to more bookings.


In the 65th minute Alresford finally managed to keep the ball on the ground when shooting at goal following a corner. The ball beat the keeper’s dive but cannoned out from shins of the player guarding the far post and was eventually cleared for a throw. A minute later and it was 2.0 in controversial circumstances – the ball was played into the Lymington penalty area and a shot was smashed through a crowd and past the keeper. However there was a Lymington player down injured in the box and an Alresford player had handled it before the shot came in. The referee missed all of this and gave the goal once the protests from Lymington had been dealt with.


This wasn’t enough to settle the nerves of the Alresford supporters. With just five minutes left to play, their team conceded an unexpected goal. A high long goalkick came down the pitch, was headed to the left and then volleyed into the top corner from outside the penalty area to bring Lymington back into the game. Instead of celebrating, one Lymington player decided to gob off at the referee and received a yellow card for his efforts.


As Lymington pressed for an equaliser, the injury time clock racked up another couple of minutes as an Alresford player was taken out with a strong tackle that the referee deemed was not a sending off offence, much to our surprise. A fourth goal came on 90 minutes but this time it was to Alresford. A mix up between the keeper and a defender with a back pass allowed Finlay to run onto the ball, slip it past the keeper and then boot the ball into the top right corner of the open goal from the edge of box.

Game 24: Blackfield & Langley 2.1 Fawley (WESS 1) 28.02.09

A nice easy drive down to Blackfield and Langley’s ground which is a couple of minutes away from Fawley so I knew the route fairly well. When I arrived the familiar refinery chimneys were evident but there wasn’t the same acrid smell! There was a local game on an outside pitch so I watched that for a while before wandering round to the main entrance.


There weren’t many people there when I arrived but it filled up just before kick off as people finished off their pints in the bar. The ground is part of a community centre and there was a small skate park in one corner of the ground – a rival to the play park at Andover New Street’s ground!


Blackfield are looking to get promotion back to the Wessex Premier this season and took the lead after fifteen minutes. A ball was played into the centre of the penalty area and from 2 feet out, the striker calmly placed the ball to the left of the keeper. There was then a short break as the net came away from the crossbar and had to be redone. It was almost 2.0 after 23 minutes when a powerful header from a corner was cleared off the line by a Fawley defender stood by the post.


On 35 minutes, there was another good scoring opportunity for the home team. A player got behind the defence and ran in on goal but hit a shot from the edge of the box and skied it over the bar when he had time to take it into the penalty area and threaten the keeper from closer range. Fawley managed a rare counter attack a couple of minutes later but the Blackfield keeper had kept alert and cleared the ball when it came into his penalty area.


The last five minutes before half time saw Fawley start to press as the tide of possession reversed its flow. Their best chance came after 40 minutes when a break down the left side led to a cross into the centre but the player waiting there decided to hit it first time and put his shot over the bar. Blackfield were still creating chances though and almost doubled their lead when the Fawley keeper decided to play sweeper and ran out of the box to head the ball away. The clearance fell to a Blackfield player but he put his shot wide.


The second half saw Blackfield continuing to press for a second goal but in the 60th minute, against the run of play, Fawley scored an equaliser. The ball was crossed in from the left touchline to the far post to an unmarked player and his low header evaded the keeper’s grasp and ended up in the back of the net. The game then became end to end as Fawley’s confidence grew now they had a goal back. Blackfield pushed players forward looking for a winner that allowed Fawley to counter-attack with a numerical advantage.


In the 78th minute Blackfield regained the lead in this local derby. One of their subs beat his man on the right wing, ran to the goal line and blasted a cross in. It deflected off a player and span in at the near post, leaving the keeper no chance to stop it. I couldn’t see who had got the final touch from my vantage point at the far end but from the reaction of the players, concluded it must have been an own goal.


The game got a bit niggly after the goal with late tackles from both sides and the Fawley bench and supporters on the far side were not happy with some of the decisions against their team. The last minutes of the game saw a good chance for both teams to score.


In the 90th minute Blackfield put an overhead kick narrowly over the bar. In injury time, Fawley had a great chance. Four runners went into the box and a high, deep ball was headed into the centre of the penalty area by an unmarked player. His teammate hit a great shot but a defender managed to get a block in to deflect the ball wide for a corner, which came to nothing.

Game 23: US Portsmouth 2.0 Warminster Town (WESS 1) 21.02.09

While most of the new grounds I visit are in places I’m not too familiar with, US Portsmouth’s ground on Burnaby Road is one ground that I’ve seen hundreds of times. When I was a student in Portsmouth I would walk past it at least twice a day en route to lectures / library / student union.


Despite the familiarity with the location, this was the first time that I’ve been to a game here and it took me a while to find the entrance. I had approached the ground from the new shopping centre at Gunwharf and found that there wasn’t an entrance on that side of the ground. After walking round most of the perimeter, I reached the navy checkpoint and was directed down a small path. This took me past a hockey match and round to the football pitch, which is surrounded by an athletics track.


The sun was out and it felt more like a summer’s day as I made myself at home to the left of the main stand – a real contrast to last week’s snow! There was no one else around apart from a couple of home players who were warming up. The away team gradually trickled in as cars arrived at the ground and about five minutes before kick off a few spectators wandered around the pitch to the main stand. Over the course of the first half a few more people ambled in to watch the game, similar to the game I had seen at Fawley.

From my vantage point I could watch the trains heading to Portsmouth Harbour and back while in the distance I could see the Guildhall clock, origin of the original Portsmouth Chimes. After it had ticked around to 3pm, the referee started proceedings. A few minutes later a gentleman came round to collect admission and distribute programmes, asking first if I was in the service (and therefore entitled to free entry).


This was a 4th (US Portsmouth) v 5th (Warminster) encounter but the gap between the teams seemed a lot more than 2 points. US Portsmouth took the lead after 16 minutes from a goalkeeping error. The ball was crossed in from the right but the keeper was only able to dive out and push the ball away. It fell nicely for a US Portsmouth player who passed it into the net from 6 yards out.


Warminster had a couple of good runs but there was no real bite to their attack and any shots ended up well wide. Their midfield seemed to be having an off day and seemed disorganised as they kept passing to their blue shirted opponents. The Warminster keeper kept his team in the game after half an hour with a good save from a header and they had a chance to equalise from the counter attack. With three players in the box there were plenty of options but each player chose not to shoot and to pass instead to a team mate which allowed US Portsmouth to win the ball and clear it away.


On 36 minutes it took a last ditch tackle by a Warminster striker of all people to stop a US Portsmouth player from doubling the lead from 2 yards out. The same player almost pulled a goal back on 38 min with a long shot with the US Portsmouth keeper off his line but the keeper was able to coast back and make a save.


After an early Warminster goalbound effort was saved, the second half was a similar story of US Portsmouth dominance. They almost made the most of a very similar chance to the goal on 52 minutes when the Warminster keeper chose to push the ball out again from a cross. This time the shot went straight back to keeper so he was able to save it.


On 56 min Warminster had their best chance when a ball on right side was pulled back along the goal line and found a player on the far post. He should have hit it on target but instead played it flat to his right so it went across goal instead of scoring.


After 76 minutes, US Portsmouth made it 2.0. A corner was played to the near post and headed in by an unmarked player - an easy chance thanks to poor defending. Four minutes later a home sub dribbled through the Warminster defence and it was more luck than judgement that allowed the keeper to push the shot over the bar. Warminster had been poor throughout the second half and rarely managed to get the ball out of their half without conceding possession.


Both teams had a chance to score in second half injury time. The first chance fell to the home team who tried to beat the keeper from the halfway line with an audacious attempt that went wide. The away team then hit back as I started to walk around the pitch to the exit. The ball ended up in the air in the penalty area as a striker ran in past the defender but the keeper was able to grab the ball in time. As the final whistle blew I started a brisk walk back to Portsmouth Harbour for the train home. Made it with a few minutes to spare and watched the away team wandering back over the pitch to their cars from the comfort of the train.

Game 22: Biggleswade Town 4.2 Market Drayton Town (FA Vase) 14.02.09

When the draw was made for the 5th round of the Vase, I narrowed down the list of 8 games to 2 – this one and Bitton v Glossop North End. With the recent snow, I decided that a train ride to Biggleswade would be the best option as their website had confirmed that the game was still on. This may have been a surprise for some of the Market Drayton squad who found themselves in Las Vegas for a pre-booked stag do.

As the train started to slow down for Biggleswade station, I saw the ground and to my relief there were plenty of cars and a team coach outside. After walking through the town centre to get some lunch, I strolled under the A1 flyover and arrived at the ground a few minutes later. This is the first season that the ground has been open and I was impressed with the facilities and the friendly welcome.

I went for a walk around the ground and noticed that there were some patches of snow at the edge of the perimeter. The ground staff had done a good job to get the game on and although there was a lot of sand in some areas of the pitch, the big crowd of over 700 would get to see a game of football today.


Market Drayton Town started well, to the delight of their noisy travelling fans. They created a couple of half chances but shots were hit wide. In the 12th minute Biggleswade were unlucky not to score. The ball came in from the right hand side and the recipient looked like he would shoot but played a dummy and passed it to a teammate. The first shot was mishit and the second shot hit the keeper and went for a corner. The corner came in to the near post and was headed down. The keeper tried to smother it but it came off his arm and almost fell to a Biggleswade player before the keeper was able to grab the ball.


The pitch had started to cut up a bit and despite the sandy cover, was beginning to get quite muddy in places. There were a lot of balls being played in the air and Biggleswade began to settle and play some good football. After 20 minutes a high ball from the right fell to local starlet Jack Weeden who headed the ball down past the keeper from 6 yards to put the home team ahead.


Both teams continued to create chances and Market Drayton won a corner after 35 minutes. The ball was well delivered and Paul McMullen headed it in past the keeper for the equaliser. This gave Market Drayton some confidence and they pushed forward to try and get another goal before half time. Biggleswade conceded a free kick near the touchline following a mistimed sliding tackle but it didn’t come to anything. Market Drayton were playing some good passing football but were giving the ball away too often which allowed Biggleswade to counter attack. From one of these chances a shot beat the keeper but just went over the bar. A couple of minutes later there was a 3 v 2 situation in the penalty area but the striker chose the wrong option to pass when he could have got a shot away.


Just before halftime, the home team retook the lead from a great run down the left wing. The ball was crossed low into the centre and Redford got a sliding shot in just ahead of the defender marking him. The shot flew low past the keeper and into the back of the net. This was the last action of the half – to my surprise there was a fourth official and an electronic board for him to put up the injury time – unusual at this level!


At the start of the second half, Biggleswade created three good chances to score. There was a shot over the bar, a shot saved by the keeper and one opportunity to shoot where “Killer” Cooper didn’t know whether to pass to a team mate or attempt a shot himself. He dithered too long on the ball, allowing Market Drayton’s defence to get back and clear the ball.

It was no surprise when Biggleswade scored a third goal after 60 minutes. They won a corner when a shot from the edge of the box was tipped round the bottom of the left post. The ball was delivered into a crowded penalty area and Ryan Redford headed the ball down and just past the keeper’s right hand to rebound off the post and spin into the goal.


Going two goals down seemed to wake Market Drayton’s players up and they created the best chance of the half from a freekick. The ball was headed with pace towards the top left of the goal only for Biggleswade’s keeper to arch back and push the ball wide at full stretch – so graceful it almost seemed to be in slow motion. The corner was not so graceful and seemed to be a wasted opportunity as the ball was hit up in the air and straight to the keeper. However it ballooned out of his hands and fell to the ground – luckily for him there was a defender in line with the ball to clear it to safety.


Market Drayton continued to press and on 68 minutes it took a goal line clearance to keep Biggleswade’s two goal advantage. Weedon then took the ball from his own penalty area, outstripped most of the defence and passed the ball to Cooper on the edge of the Market Drayton penalty area. Cooper hit a good shot which took a deflection to loop over the keeper’s hand and just under the cross bar to give the home team a 4.1 lead.


Market Drayton didn’t give up but their luck had run out. After 75 minutes they had a shot from the left of the box that hit a Biggleswade player and bounced up over the keeper but came down onto the crossbar and went over. They changed their formation to 3-5-2 by putting on another midfielder and saw the substitute head over the bar from 6 yards out when he should have scored. The goal finally came after 80 minutes from a corner. The ball was headed down into the box and hit a Biggleswade player and went over the line for an own goal.

Both teams looked tired now and some players were finding it hard to keep up with play. Market Drayton’s impressive number 9 was able to outpace the defence but his ball into the box didn’t find a red shirt as none of his team mates were able to keep up with him. This was the final action of an exciting game and I was pleased that the journey had been worthwhile.

Game 21: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 0.2 Poole Town (WESS PREM) 31.01.09

Decided to head up to Western Way to see if Bemerton could manage to do something no other team has done in the league – beat leaders Poole Town. The last time that I saw Poole play here was a bad tempered affair and this game was no different.


Neither side created much in the first half hour and there were some heavy sliding tackles that the referee took exception to. The assistant on the near touchline missed a number of Poole offsides but they were unable to take advantage until a Bemerton player handled in the box and conceded a penalty.


Top scorer Charlie Austin placed the ball in front of the spot, forcing the referee to respot the ball due to the loud protests from the local supporters. Austin then walked forward, picked up the ball and put it back in front of the spot again. This time the referee didn’t take any action and the distraction worked as it seemed to divert the keeper’s attention. He dived to his left, only to see the ball rolled along the ground to his right and into the goal. Austin then ran to the corner flag and used it like a punchbag in his celebration. This didn’t go down too well as it was in front of the Bemerton support and the atmosphere on the covered terrace turned very sour.

One Poole fan on the terrace started to slag Bemerton off for not ‘enjoying the goal’ and ended up in a verbal slanging match with the Bemerton Chairman. The supporter was lucky not to be asked to leave as he continued his arrogant sniping about the team, the officials and the ground before commenting that he wouldn’t miss coming to this ground when Poole got promoted. It will be interesting to see if he turns up next season if Poole’s ground isn’t passed for Southern League football!


The atmosphere was bad on the pitch as well – two minutes after the goal Bemerton were reduced to ten men when a second yellow card was given for a late sliding tackle. Near the end of the half, Poole should have been reduced to ten men as well when a late, studs up, pre-meditated tackle almost broke a Bemerton ankle but was only deemed worthy of a yellow card by the referee.

In the second half Bemerton managed a couple of decent attempts at an equaliser. In the 60th minute a shot went just past the post from a corner when the keeper was still off his line. Five minutes later and the keeper just got his fingertip to a shot from the right, which was enough to push it onto the post.


In the 75th minute, Poole increased their lead from a corner. The ball was floated in for Taffy Richardson to head – although it was blocked near the line, the ball fell to Luke Whitley who swept it in to the net. After the goal, Bemerton manager Ian Chalk had some strong words with the referee about something he was unhappy with. Chalkie was sent from the dugout but instead of walking away, stayed where he was, had another verbal rant at the referee who was walking away and was sent off again.


The game was restarted as he walked down the touchline and as the ball was passed into the far corner, it looked like he tripped a Poole player as he went past. The referee decided it was the Bemerton player running alongside the Poole player and gave him a yellow card. By the end of the game Bemerton had received 10 bookings, 1 red card and a managerial sending off. They had also used all 3 subs (some of whom were included in the booking count!).


The lack of discipline spread to Poole and two of their experienced players. Brown and Richardson had a huge row after Richardson picked up ball in midfield, ran back under pressure and gave ball to keeper to clear rather than pass to a teammate. In the end the referee had to intervene as the language got worse and it was no surprise when Richardson was substituted a few minutes later.

Game 20: Gillingham Town 3.4 Calne Town (Les Phillips Cup) 27.01.09

Andy and I decided on a change of scenery for Tuesday night and drove down to Gillingham (Dorset) to watch Gillingham Town take on Calne. Earlier in the day Andy had received an email at work from Paul to say that he would be at Gillingham for a new ground visit - think Paul was surprised to find out that we would be there too! After a quick drink in the bar we met up with him in the stand. The reason for heading to the stand was that there was a steady drizzle throughout the evening which turned into heavier rain every now and then. The pitch was quite muddy and in the far left corner it looked like someone had tried to plough the pitch.



Calne are a division above Gillingham and according to Paul either play like Brazil (good) or play like Southampton (bad). They certainly started like Brazil - after 3 minutes they took the lead and after 5 minutes they were 2.0 up! The first goal saw some good passing and movement down the right hand side followed by a cross to the centre where an unmarked striker tapped the ball past the keeper. The second goal came from a freekick. The ball was played high into the penalty area and one of the Calne players headed the ball straight to an unmarked team mate who passed the ball into the net. Gillingham managed a couple of long distance efforts but didn't really trouble the Calne goal.

As Calne pushed forward for more goals, only the Gillingham goalkeeper kept them in the game with some excellent saves, especially from one-on-one situations where he kept on his feet and made himself big. A third goal finally came on 29 minutes thanks to a kind deflection that took the ball away from the defender who was trying to clear it, allowing the Calne striker to place a low shot past the keeper. Two minutes later a fourth goal was disallowed for an obvious handball in the buildup.




It seemed like Calne were going to run up a cricket score but against the run of play, Gillingham managed to pull a goal back. The ball was played into the area and the Gillingham player following it in managed to hold off the Calne defender accompanying him long enough to poke the ball in from close range. Calne continued to press and on 37 minutes had 3 chances to score. Another one on one situation created by an intelligent pass behind the defence but the keeper managed to save the first shot, the second shot and then clear the ball away before a third shot could come in. He was lucky that both shots were played directly at him but made his own luck by forcing the Calne player to take a shot rather than dive early and allow a chip.



After half time it was a different story as the Southampton version of Calne Town took to the pitch. The manager made a couple of substitutions early in the half which did not go down too well with the travelling fans in the stand. Gillingham were making all the running and on 60 minutes forced the Calne keeper to make a double save following a quick free kick. The Calne keeper had to contend with a couple of difficult shots to handle in the wet conditions and Gillingham were able to exploit the difficult condition by forcing him to parry the ball rather than catch it.



On 72 minutes Gillingham made the score 2.3 with a fluke goal. The ball was loose in the Calne penalty area and one of their players kicked it up the pitch, only to see the ball rebound back off a Gillingham player and fly over the keeper and in. This really brought Gillingham to life and 2 minutes later they almost equalised but the Calne keeper came out quickly to smother the shot.

On 82 minutes Gillingham were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area to the left of the goal. The freekick was direct and you wouldn't have seen a better effort from Ronaldo, Giggs or Gasgoigne. The ball was flighted over the wall, over the keeper's hand off the crossbar and into the top right corner. Superb! The Calne supporters around us seemed to be in shock at this point and were worried that the momentum was now with Gillingham. On Saturday they had conceded 4 goals against Bristol Manor Farm after being in the lead and ended up drawing 4 all. However they need not have worried as the Brazillian Calne Town appeared and on 84 minutes they retook the lead. A freekick from just inside their own half was floated into the area, headed down and a close range shot beat the Gillingham keeper at his near post.

Gillingham tried to get another equaliser and made the most of Calne's poor attempts to keep the ball in the corners with some breakaway attacks but ran out of time. An exciting match to watch despite the poor weather conditions.

Game 19: Salisbury City 2.4 Stevenage (Blue Square Premier) 24.01.09

My original plan was to head to one of Hythe, US Portsmouth or Aldermaston in the Wessex league but after heavy overnight rain the latter two were cancelled and I wasn't confident about the first being on. With that in mind, I decided to stay local and decided to head up to the Ray Mac.

There wasn't much on display from either team in the first half an hour. Salisbury had a lot of the possession but didn't make the most of the corners and other half chances that they made. Perhaps this was due to them having to kick towards the Inexcess Stand rather than the away end in the first half but more likely due to the makeshift nature of the team - two of the starters had never played at the Ray Mac.

Stevenage looked quite dangerous on the break but seemed to trouble the assistant referee's arm more than the Salisbury goal with a number of offsides given against them. It was hard to see where a goal might come from but in the 30th minute, new loan signing Dave Winfield played a suicidal backpass that was far too short for the keeper to reach. This allowed Mitchell Cole to nip in and place the ball past Bittner into the back of the net. Matt Tubbs had looked quiet and just after the goal he was replaced by Danny Webb. On the radio at halftime they said that there was a bug going around the club and he could be the latest victim.


The second half was more of the same - lots of hustle and bustle but few chances for either team to score. On 66 minutes one of the Stevenage midfielders picked up the ball, ran at the Salisbury defence and mesmerised them with his footwork long enough to run into the box and hit a superb shot past Bittner. A great goal but marred slightly by the rest of his teammates joining him and aiming their celebrations at the home fans, some of whom had been applauding the goal only moments before.


At this point I was taxting Alan and Andy to tell them that this was the worst Salisbury performance I'd seen for a long time. However this second goal seemed to focus the minds of some of the Salisbury players. All of a sudden passes were finding their man and players were moving forwards rather than sideways. 3 minutes later Liam Feeney hadn't looked his normal sharp self but suddenly he burst forward on the right side and hit a low cross into the box. Charlie Griffin was in the middle and managed to steer it past the keeper much to everyone's surprise.

Things got even better for the Whites 9 minutes from time. Feeney started a run from the halfway line and dribbled his way across the centre of the pitch before he was brought down just outside the area. When the freekick was taken, it was tapped to Charlie Griffin who hit a low shot that managed to squeeze past the keeper and into the bottom right hand corner. The 900 or so Salisbury fans in a crowd of 1,015 went absolutely crazy as the scorer and his teammates ran towards the home bench to celebrate. All of a sudden it looked like Salisbury would get an improbable result.

Stevenage had other ideas. On 87 minutes, Steve Morison broke away down the left wing. He looked to be offside when the ball was played but this was not spotted by the officials and play continued. He took a shot that deflected off a defender and straight into the path of Cole who slotted it in past Bittner. 3 minutes later and it was a Wessex League scoreline - Salisbury gave the ball away cheaply on the edge of the area and a cross found Cole in a similar spot in the box with a similar outcome.