Game 34: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 3.3 Hayling United (Wess PREM) 12.04.08

I had been impressed by Hayling’s attacking football when I visited their ground a couple of weeks ago so decided to go up to Western Way this afternoon to see them take on the Harlequins.


As at that game, Hayling took an early lead when in the fourth minute a throw in was flicked onto the crossbar and as the ball dropped down, a Hayling striker bundled it in before Bemerton could react.


Six minutes later it was two-nil to the visitors from a breakaway attack. The Bemerton keeper saved the shot but the rebound was tucked away. The defenders appeared to have played the offside trap properly as the striker was miles offside but the assistant on the nearside didn’t give it and the referee awarded the goal.


Bemerton pulled a goal back after 32 minutes in fortuitous circumstances. The ball was in the penalty area and a clearance cannoned back off a player’s kneed and in from close range.


At the start of the second half Bemerton changed their formation to 4-3-3 which seemed to suit them better. In the 60th minute Bemerton managed to equalise as a player ran with the ball into the box and his pass was deflected into the path of a team mate who smashed an unstoppable shot into the net.


The lead only lasted two minutes. A long ball was played over the top of the Bemerton defence and before a defender could chase him down, a Hayling player hit a chip over the Bemerton keeper and under the bar.


Bemerton didn’t give up and managed to equalise again after 80 minutes with a well struck shot across the keeper and into the left side of the goal. It had been very grey throughout the game and it now started to rain very heavily. Bemerton pressed forward and only the keeper’s foot kept them from taking the lead with a lucky deflection taking a shot wide of the goal.


In the 85th minute Hayling were reduced to ten men as their no 9 was sent off for a second yellow card. Bemerton were unable to make the most of man advantage in the short space of time left and this entertaining match ended in a draw.

Game 33: Laverstock & Ford 3.4 United Services Portsmouth (WESS 1) 05.04.08

Decided to visit Laverstock today for the visit of US Portsmouth. Although we’re now in the last month of the season, this was the first time that the two sides have met with the reverse game in Portsmouth next Saturday.


Both teams have been on a good run of form and it was no surprise to see a number of goals in a topsy-turvy fixture.





Laverstock took the lead in the 15th minute with a carefully placed lob over the keeper from the right of the penalty area. In the 30th minute US Portsmouth equalised with a route one goal. The keeper played the ball up the pitch and the recipient of his pass ran on and shot past the keeper. Eight minutes later and the same tactics allowed US Portsmouth to take the lead.




Laverstock equalised from a close range shot in the last minute of the half, helped by the ball holding up in the wind and allowing the cross to be made. They retook the lead in the 60th minute from the penalty spot. It looked like the player had taken a dive but the referee decided it was a penalty and gave two bookings to US Portsmouth players for disputing the call. Good job I kept quiet! The penalty was struck to the keeper’s left and in.


It took US Portsmouth five minutes to bring the game back to all square. The ball was played down the left side and then crossed back into the centre of the box for a US Portsmouth sub to pass it into the net with the goalkeeper unsighted by another US Portsmouth player who was played on by the Laverstock defence.


In the 80th minute US Portsmouth scored another goal in this exciting game to give them a 4.3 lead. A run down the outside right beat the defence and the player took the ball into the area and shot past the approaching keeper from an acute angle.





Right at the end of the game Laverstock thought they had won another penalty when the referee pointed to the area after a tackle but he had awarded an indirect free kick. The Laverstock player who took the kick decided to go for power and see if the ball got a deflection but he got too clean a strike on it and ended up blasting the ball over the bar.


As we entered injury time Laverstock laid siege to the US Portsmouth goal to try and get another equaliser. They thought they had scored when the goalkeeper missed a ball from a corner in the middle right of the area but the shot was cleared off the line.

Game 32: Hayling United 2.1 Horndean (WESS PREM) 24.03.08

Drove down to Hayling for the first of today’s bank holiday games and met Alan at the ground. With the early kick off this appeared to be a popular choice with the groundhopping fraternity.


The Hayling pitch is at a local college, which means that the ground has a couple of unusual features. The first one was the dugouts which are portable and moved out to the pitch before the game. The second was the location of the stand. This is set next to the main building rather than the pitch which makes viewing very difficult. We sat there for a while in the section that wasn’t locked up but when the game kicked off we moved to the barrier by the pitch as the rain was holding off and we wanted to see the players rather than the backs of the supporters!


Hayling took an early lead on 3 minutes with a chip over the Horndean keeper. Five minutes later and they were 2.0 up as an unmarked player headed in from a free kick. We thought it might be a goalfest but the game settled down after that and there were few chances of note for the rest of the first half.




In the second half Hayling continued to have the most of the play but it was a Horndean substitute who scored in the 70the minute, a fantastic shot from distance that the keeper had no chance to reach.





Hayling remained comfortable on the ball and had a couple of good chances to go 3.1 up. The first was a one on one chance against the keeper but the shot was pulled wide. The second was a similar chance, this time the shot hit the post when it looked like it was easier to score.




Horndean almost made Hayling pay for this in injury time with a succession of corners with some good headers on target that the Hayling keeper did well to keep out.

Game 31: Laverstock & Ford 5.2 Calne Town (Wiltshire Senior Cup) 18.03.08

Andy, Ferg and I arrived at Bemerton’s Western Way ground dead on kick off for this Wiltshire Senior Cup game between Laverstock and Calne. Good job too as Calne took a second minute lead! The ball was crossed in from the right and met with a firm header past the Laverstock keeper.


The lead didn’t last long as Laverstock won an 11th minute penalty and sent the keeper the wrong way from the spotkick. The game went a bit flat after this early excitement and a couple of late tackles earnt yellow cards. In the 28th minute, Calne retook the lead when one of their players decided that the best way to beat an offside trap was to collect the ball in front of the defence and then run through the middle of them. The defenders didn’t expect this and they were left watching as he poked the ball past the keeper.


Laverstock equalised for the second time after 33 minutes with a shot from close range. The excitement was obviously getting to some of the players and a couple of minutes later an off the ball incident left Laverstock’s McGregor down on the ground. It all kicked off into a mass brawl and the referee and his assistants had to break up all the mini scuffles before deciding what action to take. Despite McGregor hobbling off and the violent scenes, no cards or a drop ball were given. Andy and I were bemused by the referee’s decision and the only thing we could think of was that he wasn’t certain of any of the offenders.


Laverstock took the lead for the first time after 47 minutes with a headed goal. Ferg and Andy were still in the bar and I had to play them a recording of the goal from my camera before either of them would believe that there had been a goal!

In the 55th minute McGregor took on and beat three players before smashing the ball in the top corner to give Laverstock a 4.2 lead. In the 87th minute Laverstock made it 5.2 from a great cross into the box. The ball was smashed towards goal and despite the Calne keeper pulling off a great save, he couldn’t react in time to stop the second shot from hitting the net.

Game 30: Kidderminster Harriers 1.2 Salisbury City (Blue Square Premier) 23.02.08

Andy, Pete and I got up early and headed up to Kidderminster to give us time to get to one of Andy’s favoured drinking and eating establishments, the Red Lion, on the outskirts of the town. The food was excellent and after that we had no room left for one of the normal highlights of a trip to Aggborough, the local catering.

We arrived at the ground about an hour before kick off and were able to park opposite the ground in a club carpark. To our amusement there was a ‘No ball games’ underneath the painted KHFC logo on the stand. The ground itself had four separate stands, with terraces behind the goal and seats along each touchline. It felt like a ‘proper’ football ground, a world apart from the away days of the past.


The game didn’t start well for the Whites as they conceded a penalty after five minutes when Cook was outpaced by Penn and brought him down before he could reach Kenna’s through ball. However help was at hand when Christie took a gentle kick to Clarke’s right which allowed the Salisbury keeper to save the shot.


There was no respite for the Wiltshire side and the first twenty minutes were dreadful to watch. Kidderminster were well up for the game and seemed to be a step ahead of the Salisbury players for the ball. With Tubbs and Brown both out injured, the makeshift frontline of Matthews and Feeney were dropping back deeper and deeper to try and get the ball. Kidderminster took the lead on 11 minutes when Penn ran down the right from his own half, took on Cook and beat his man before curling a left foot shot into the net.


Salisbury gradually settled and managed to get back into the game after 25 minutes when Feeney and Kidderminster keeper MacKenzie collided at the edge of the box. Feeney got to his feet first and slotted the ball into the net with the keeper staying down. I thought that the referee would disallow the goal but he allowed it to stand which didn't go down well with the locals.


Four minutes later and the pace of Feeney unlocked the Kidderminster defence again. A quick break down the left and he crossed the ball into the middle for Robbie Matthews to slide the ball under the keeper’s dive and in. Amazing celebrations followed, as we couldn’t believe that we had scored, let alone take the lead after the poor start to the game.


Salisbury were now dominating play and Feeney was unlucky not to add a third before halftime when his shot was well saved by the keeper. However Kidderminster couldn’t be underestimated and almost equalised after that when Kenna played a cross in to the box only for an unmarked Jeannin to scoop the ball over the bar and into the crowd.


The second half was more even and both teams created one good chance to score. Robbie Matthews had an angled shot saved and Christie went through one on one with Clarke only to delay his shot and allow the Salisbury custodian to save at his feet. Our hearts were in our mouths on more than one occasion but the team held on for the away win.

After the game we drove up towards Stourbridge to another of Andy’s favourite drinking establishments. This one was a very old fashioned pub which felt more like being in a 1960’s wallpapered living room, albeit one we had to queue up outside until it opened. The drinks went down well and we were able to revisit the victory thanks to the copy of the Saturday evening ‘Pink’ sports paper from the newsagents opposite.

Game 29: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 1.5 Wimborne Town (Wess LC) 12.02.08

Decided to take in a cup game at Bemerton this evening with Andy. Wimborne are traditionally one of the stronger teams in the Wessex league and normally come away with a win from their travels to Western Way.


Wimborne took the lead after 21 minutes with a shot following a cross from the right side, a dubious goal as the scorer looked offside to me. The Bemerton keeper was injured soon after, stretching to make a save. Wimborne took advantage and doubled their lead on 29 minutes. The keeper saved a shot by pushing the shot out of the area. The Wimborne player lobbed the ball over the keeper who couldn’t move freely. He did manage to get a hand to the ball but only succeeded in pushing to Wimborne’s right back who headed it on the line and in. The player had made some hostile remarks to the crowd earlier about them "paying his wages" and the goal was met with jeers from the home fans.


On 34 minutes the visitors scored their third goal of the evening from a corner. The ball was headed into the top of the net and the keeper tried to keep the ball out. It looked like it had been cleared but according to the referee and his assistant he had been unsuccessful and the goal was given.


In the 51st minute, Bemerton pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after one of their players was chopped down in the area. The game then settled down with a few half chances going wide. In the 80th minute Wimborne scored a fourth. A very shallow pass from the left side allowed their substitute striker to run through the line of defenders and take the ball on. He then took it into the area and passed it wide of the keeper and in.


Despite Bemerton’s best efforts to score another consolation goal, they ended up conceding a fifth goal in the 88th minute. A long ball was chased down by a sub who hit a long shot to the keeper’s left and into the net. This kept the Wimborne fans happy as the league game earlier in the season had also finished 5.1 to them.

Game 28: Fawley 0.1 Verwood Town (WESS 1) 09.02.08

Decided to take a trip down to Fawley, the first of three new grounds off the A326 on the list to visit (the others being Blackfield & Langley and Hythe & Dibden).

Arrived at the ground in good time and cut across the back of a rugby pitch (there was a game on at the time) to get to the football pitch, remembering that the part behind the posts is a bit more important in Rugby. Paid £4 to get in - this was nominally for a programme as they can't charge for admission.

Fawley started the game strongly and the ball was mainly in the Verwood half for the first 15 minutes. Both teams weren't keeping possession with balls being hit first time back to the opposition. Verwood started to put some pressure on Fawley with some good counter-attacking football. Both of Fawley's centre backs should have been booked for fouls but they were punished by one of the freekicks they gave away. Verwood took it quickly and found one of their strikers in space. He ran forward through the left of the box and hit a shot past the keeper.

Verwood were unlucky a few minutes later when a cross-cum-shot beat the Fawley keeper but came back off the crossbar to be cleared away. The bright sunshine was making it difficult for the players to see the ball and there were a couple of occasions where high balls were missed as a result.

The second half was dominated by Verwood but they were unable to add to their first half goal due to a lack of clinical finishing. When they were able to create good chances, shots were either hit wide or straight at the keeper. There was one glorious chance where a striker took the ball round the keeper only to hit the ball straight at the covering defender when a bit of composure would have put his team 2.0 up. At other times, good runs weren't spotted and the Verwood bench weren't too happy about this.

Toward the end of the game the wind direction changed and the acrid smell of the refinery wafted over the ground. Perhaps this inspired the former Esso team as they created a couple of chances late on, hitting the crossbar with one header in injury time.

Game 27: England U21 3.0 Republic of Ireland U21 (Euro Qualifier) 05.02.08

Travelled down to Southampton with Amy to meet up with Chris & Elaine, Matt & Jo, Alan, Andy and Rob for this England u21 game. It had threatened to rain while we walked across from the station to the ground to meet the others and started to drizzle while we waited outside. Once Chris and his group arrived, we headed into the ground and just in time. By the time we were in the concourse and could see onto the pitch, there was a torrential downpour and it continued to rain heavily. Andy and Rob joined us in the seats ten minutes later and were absolutely soaked!


This was Amy’s first international match and she was impressed with the atmosphere and the number of England flags in the ground. The announcer made one mistake in the excitement – asking us to stand for the anthems of England and the Republic of Northern Ireland – that led to a few confused faces around us!


The wet weather made a passing game difficult and neither team got going in the first period. The initial excitement led to boredom and the local element of the crowd seemed more interested in singing anti-Pompey songs then getting behind their national team. The England formation didn’t seem to be working to me – lots of pace with Walcott and Lennon on the wings but no real strength to the play to go with it.


Both teams improved in the second half and while England had the most of the play, Ireland had the best chance of the game with a breakaway attack. Andy Keogh was played in and only had Hart to beat in the England goal but put his shot wide.


England took the lead after 60 minutes. The ball was passed out to James Milner on the right wing and as the crowd shouted “Shoot!” he pulled his foot back and aimed a low shot towards the far post. It was directly in line with where we were sitting and looked to be in all the way. Despite a late deflection, the ball made it into the back of the net. A second goal for Milner and England followed 8 minutes later – a low shot from 20 yards out hit the inside of the post and went in.



England scored a third goal after 78 minutes. This time it was the local favourite, former Southampton player Theo Walcott, who scored – taking the ball, running at the defence and opening up for a shot across the keeper and in. Keogh had a couple more chances for Ireland but each time he went through he hit his shots direct to the keeper and should have done better.

Game 26: Downton 2.4 Moneyfields (WESS PREM) 26.01.08

Decided to take a trip over to Downton this afternoon for their Wessex League game against Moneyfields. Downton have been struggling this season and have only won one game so I was hoping for the underdogs to cause an upset.


However Downton weren’t the only underdogs in action – this season’s non league FA Cup giant killers Havant & Waterlooville were playing at Anfield this afternoon. When I got to the ground the talk was all of this game and a few of the regular Moneyfield spectators were noted as being absent because they had taken the trip up to Merseyside.


Downton had lost 5.1 in midweek but they started the game well and took the lead after 10 minutes, lone striker Camilleri putting some pressure on the keeper and allowing Pearce in to score.


Moneyfields thought that they had equalised after 39 minutes when a header flew in from a corner but the referee disallowed the goal for some pushing in the box.


However the big talking point was coming from the radio as the score updates came though from Anfield. Havant had scored early and had retaken the lead four minutes after Liverpool had scored an equaliser. While Moneyfields went in at halftime 1.0 down, Liverpool had managed to get a goal back to go in level.


In the 52nd minute Downton scored a second, thanks to an own goal. The lead was not to last long though as the referee awarded a soft penalty to Moneyfields five minutes later. No-one seemed to be too sure what it was for but it appeared to be for a push in the box by a defender.


The Moneyfields player struck the ball low to the right and past the keeper who had guessed right but couldn’t stretch down in time to stop the ball. Meanwhile news came through from Merseyside that Liverpool were now 3.2 up.


Things went from bad to worse for Downton a few minutes after the goal when Sandford was sent off for a second yellow card. Moneyfields took advantage and equalised on 68 minutes before taking the lead on 75 minutes.


In the last minute, a Moneyfields sub scored a fourth to wrap up a win they would have expected before the game. Liverpool went one better, Peter Crouch also scoring in the 90th minute to give his team a 5.2 win.


No wins for the underdogs but both teams had played their part in a memorable afternoon of football.