This could be the last time - Matchgoing 3rd - 7th Oct

[Artificial Hipster]

The last time I expect to be able to attend an FA Cup tie at least. After suffering a serious bout of indecisiveness I've plumped for a visit to Ewan Fields in Hyde on account of it having more covered areas than my other options. Social distancing has been largely respected at the games I've been to this season but today will be the first game I'll have attended in a downpour which I'd expect will mean more people gathering in stands.

I've taken Ray de Galles' lead in incorporating midweek games into this thread.

[cantagalo]

Hythe Town v Phoenix Sports

In Kent again this weekend. There's some FA Cup action at Folkestone but I'm foregoing that in order to tick off a new ground at nearby Hythe.

[Simon G]

3rd place Bishops Cleeve against 2nd place Binfield today. I'm not 100% going yet as she's on the warpath, but here's hoping.

I'm still trying to get over my u10s losing 4-3 this morning after being 3-1 up with 5 mins to go. Lots of tears at the end and not just from the boys.

[Third rate Leszno]

Having bought a season ticket for Carlisle in the hope that I'd be getting into the ground by now, I have instead got a free viewing of our match against Barrow via ifollow. I want to get my money's worth by watching it, so I'll be missing out on 'live' football whenever we have a home fixture. Today that doesn't seem like such a bad thing, with torrential rain and quite a few of the local non-league games being postponed because of Covid, or played behind closed doors at the council's request.

[Guy Profumo]

Meanwhile, in the FA Cup rd2Q, the geniuses running the competition strike again

Your away fixture called off?

That's you out of the competition



https://twitter.com/Ollie_Bayliss/st...79479826419712

[Paul S]

Watching Richmond Town v Windscale AFC in the Wearside League possibly the last game at this picturesque ground. It was a 2.30pm kick off and was just ?3 to get in and there is no cover from the heavy rain.

[Guy Profumo]

Watching Richmond Town v Windscale AFC in the Wearside League possibly the last game at this picturesque ground. It was a 2.30pm kick off and was just ?3 to get in and there is no cover from the heavy rain.

Is that near Earl's Orchard at the top of the bank south of the river?

[Paul S]

Yep, the vey same.

[Merlin the happy pig]

Midland Football League Division 1. Stapenhill 1-3 Ashby Ivenhoe.

Has originally meant to go to Wakefield and tick off my second rugby ground of the week, but I didn't get to far up the motorway before deciding to turn back. When the rain had calmed down a little I went somewhere a bit nearer to home.

A bit of a game of two halves, Stapenhill being the better side in the first half and deserving their 1 nil lead then Ashby turning things around scoring a couple around the hour mark, the equaliser coming from the penalty spot the wrapping it up with a third 3 minutes from time.

[Simon G]

Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division - Bishops Cleeve 0-2 Binfield - Att. 61

I just about made kick-off and witnessed a very strong Binfield team dominate the 90 mins against Cleeve today. Not that Cleeve didn't have their chances in the first half. They had a couple of good balls played across the box waiting for someone to turn the ball in. They then crashed one against the bar on about the 30 min mark. That was as good as it got though for Cleeve and two mins later the Binfield number 9 curled the ball from 20 yards or so over the Cleeve keeper into the top corner. 1-0 at half-time. Second half, Cleeve came out of the blocks quickly, but seemed to collapse the minute they got into the final 3rd. Binfield were happy to soak up the pressure before catching Cleeve on the counter, something they did perfectly on the 64th minute when the same number 9 got away on the left and finished beautifully despite a challenge from the left-back and the keeper advancing. After that Cleeve huffed and puffed, but Binfield were never in any trouble and got a deserved 3 points at Kayte Lane.

[cantagalo]

Hythe Town 0 Phoenix Sports 4

Phoenix banged in four second half goals in what was, despite the scoreline, a fairly evenly-matched game.

Attendance 212.

[Artificial Hipster]

Hyde United 2-4 AFC Fylde
Fa Cup 2^nd Qualifying Round

A game which, in spite of the scoreline, only really came to life for a few minutes near the end. Despite it being their first competitive game since March there was no sign of rustiness from the visitors who could have been ahead within a minute, took the lead with a neat finish after 5 and whose 3-1 lead at the break only hinted at their near total dominance of the half.

The second half was more even in that neither side looked the slightest bit threatening until, following a rare incursion into the visitors’ box 10 minutes or so from the end, the referee incensed the home fans by failing to award a penalty after their no.7 tumbled spectacularly in the general vicinity of a Fylde defender. Suddenly the vocal contingent among the home support, gathered with little concept of social distancing in one corner of the wonderfully named Scrattin’ Shed, found their voices and the team responded in kind, a fine volley from outside the box reducing the deficit with 7 minutes to go.

A rousing 5 minutes followed with further penalty shouts resulting in nothing more than a heightened sense of injustice on the terraces. And with the home side committing men forward in numbers it was almost inevitable that the final goal of the game would go to the visitors.

[Ray de Galles]

Saturday

BKS Bydgoszcz 1 Sportis Łochowo 1 - IV liga, grupa : kujawsko-pomorska

I was in Poland for the two climactic Speedway Grand Prix of the season in Torun on Friday and Saturday nights and managed to dig up two relatively nearby fixtures in the regionalised fifth tier.

A good job that I packed a lot in too given that Poland was added to the UK's quarantine list the night before I left so I'll be twiddling my thumbs for a fortnight.

BKS kicked off at noon which seems a pretty regular occurrence for them, perhaps because there are too bigger clubs in the town and who are also in the same division. Though neither Zawisza (who I saw an earlier incarnation of play in the top flight seven years ago when I was last out for a Polish SGP. They've since been wound up over financial problems and started again) or Chemik were at home on this day.

It was a a basic municipal ground with the outstanding feature being a decaying roofless concrete stand which, even at this level, had the requisite caged section at one end for away fans. Though the traveling support that made up around half of the hundred or so crowd were happily scattered in the normal seats.

The first half was disjointed from both sides with little coherent attacking play. BKS took the lead from a penalty awarded awarded after a fantastic goal-line clearance from a Sportis defender fell to an opponent on the edge of the box near the touchline and he was rashly scythed down despite being no real threat on goal.

The second half was a far better display with both teams putting together far more threatening moves but the only goal being an equaliser for Lochowo after a huge amount pressure after 65 minutes. Both teams threw everything in to looking for a winner for the remaining half hour or so but to no avail.



Unia Gniewkowo 4 Wda Świecie 1 - IV liga , grupa: kujawsko-pomorska

A swift taxi ride 30 miles south-east got me to my second game just in time for kick-off and it was well worth the effort. Unia had the feel of being a real focus of what a really small town. A crowd of a few hundred, a set of ultras with flags, drums & pyro, an inviting clubhouse and (perhaps most importantly of all) a stall selling barbecued sausage. A sense of the community spirit involved was that there was no fixed price for the food but you donated to an appeal to raise money for a local child's medical treatment.

They also had a great team sporting a lovely looking kit who played really impressive football, swamping the visitors throughout but only really clinching the game with two late solo goals from their very handy, young-looking number 17.

I chatted to a chap who seemed the leader of the ultras at half time and when he found out I had "...come all the way from London to our town of 7000 people!" he went off and came back with a bag full of free merch which included a pennant. I've never been handed a pennant before and it felt like I should have one of my own to exchange on the centre spot.






Sunday


SC Berliner Amateure 6 SG Eichkamp-Rubenhorn 1 - Berlin Kreisliga A

For complicated reasons to do with work and otherwise unusable Ryanair flights I was in Berlin on Sunday so managed to find a couple more games in what, with the possible exception of London, has to be the most fruitful city for watching football in Europe.

This ninth tier 11:30am kick-off was probably the footballing highlight of the trip. The home side are celebrating their centenary and seem to wear their amateur status thoughout this time as a badge of pride, similar to Corinthan-Casuals in London. They play on a small fenced off astroturf pitch surrounded by concrete bleachers with free entry which could seem pretty humdrum but is lifted by the views of the lovely park surrounding them on three sides and some of the remnants of the disused Templehof airport looming overhead. It was a wonderful spot to soak up some unseasonably warmsun with around 70 others.

Amateure had all the play in the first half but only managed to score two goals, both from set pieces, but absolutely broke loose in the second half. Wave after wave of attack consumed the visitors and only good keeping, wayward shooting and some questionable offside decisions keeping them down to six. The offsides were all given by the referee even though there were two guys with flags on the touchline who only seems dot be there to fulfil league rules. They took no part in officiating at all, one of them was clearly a home coach who wanted to give instructions for the length of the pitch. I didn't even notice the other guy until I changed sides at half time to get out of the sun as he was motionless throughout, maybe even a mannequin.

The visitors nicked a consolation goal in injury time but the game as uneven a contest as the bear v squirrel mismatch their badges suggested.








SV Tasmania Berlin 2 MSV Pampow 0, Oberliga Nord

Now in the fifth tier, the home side are probably most famous for their predecessor club having the worst record in German top-flight history (perhaps even for any country) in the mid-sixties when they were parachuted in to the Bundesliga as third choice replacement for Hertha when they were relegated for financial impropriety and it was decided the league needed a Berlin side. The debts they ran up in that one season caused them to go bankrupt within a decade and they repurposed themselves back to a community club for the very multi-cultural (even for Berlin) are of Neukolln.

The atmosphere there really illustrates this. Very warm, welcoming and inclusive with an active fan organisation that are staunchly anti-racist/sexist/homphobia and clearly the heart & soul of the running of the club. It's a neat tidy ground with lots of references to their past and I could comfortably imagine spending quite a bit of time there if I lived in the city.

The game was open and full of chances but the goals somehow didn't come until the 60th minute and the last kick of the game where they finally subdued the visitors from two hours north. Interestingly Pankow featured South Korean and a Japanese player who appeared to have fully pro pasts in their native countries (I doubt they are more than semi-pro now) and an unused sub who was sat chatting in front of me who I picked up was from London and had previously played non-league football there as well as for lower league clubs in Greece & Sweden.





Anyway, I'm thoroughly knackered now from two speedway meetings and four football games within 48 hours in four towns & cities over two countries. Though I have plenty of time to recover.

I'll save the report of the speedway meetings for the relevant thread but suffice to say they will almost certainly be my favourite events of this severely restricted sporting year.

[Third rate Leszno]

Great stuff Ray, looks well worth a fortnight in quarantine to have done all that.

[Greenlander]

I think occasional visitor to these parts superfurrydice was also in Berlin this weekend, managing, if I can work it out from Facebook, at least five games.

[Ray de Galles]

Yeah, well how many speedway meetings did he manage, eh? Eh?

Seriously though, I wonder if our paths did cross. Though there are so many differing options and kick-off times it would still be something of a surprise if we were at the same game.

[The Mighty Trin]

Midland Football League Division 1. Stapenhill 1-3 Ashby Ivenhoe.

Has originally meant to go to Wakefield and tick off my second rugby ground of the week, but I didn't get to far up the motorway before deciding to turn back.

I was back home in Wakefield on Saturday and it was a dog of a day. Assuming you mean Belle Vue then you'll be amazed when you see it that the ground once held 37,906 for a rugby league Challenge Cup semi final. And that it once had a cycling track...

[RobW]

Just got back from Haringey Borough 3 - 1 East Thurrock United. Visitors didn't really turn up until the second half, by then they were 2-0 down to two questionable penalties. Certainly, the first one looked like it hit the chest of the Thurrock defender rather than arm. Borough had plenty of chances to finish the game before the break, but some poor finishing and brilliant goalkeeping kept them at bay. Thurrock managed one weak shot on target, and a free kick over the bar. Visitors looked like a team struggling at the bottom.
Second half was much better and Thurrock created some decent chances and should have got back in the game sooner. Again, mix of poor finishing and good keeping, and then they were hit on the counter by a well crafted Boro third. United got a late consolation.

[Merlin the happy pig]

I was back home in Wakefield on Saturday and it was a dog of a day. Assuming you mean Belle Vue then you'll be amazed when you see it that the ground once held 37,906 for a rugby league Challenge Cup semi final. And that it once had a cycling track...

They play at Featherstone's Millennium Stadium, a bit smaller, but a decent size.

[The Mighty Trin]

Hornchurch 2 Wingate & Finchley 3
Isthmian League Premier Division

A curate's egg of a game. From the start it was all Hornchurch and at a brisk 2-0 to the home team I was expecting Premier League levels of goals. The game turned on a W&F free kick on 30 minutes from which they woke up and scored. After that, Hornchurch forgot how to football as W&F equalised before half-time and then scored the winner on 54 minutes as opportunities came and went for both teams in an entertaining game.

I don't normally like grounds with running tracks, but the distance caused by the 6-lane track wasn't too bad, and with 5 different stands and a clubhouse behind one goal there was plenty to look at when the game drifted towards defeat for the home team, as they hoofed over yet another opportunity.

[Merlin the happy pig]

Sunday 4th.

FA Women's National League Division 1 South East. Stevenage 0-2 Kent Football United.

Two goals in the first 15 minutes did the job for Kent, Stevenage rarely looked like getting a goal back. Match played at the Hertfordshire FA County Ground former home of the defunct Letchworth FC, couldn't see any evidence of a Saturday team playing there.

[cantagalo]

Sittingbourne 2 Ashford United 2

Sittingbourne's ground is located well outside the town down some narrow country lanes that my satnav didn't seem to recognise so I was relieved to make it in time for the kick-off. Behind one goal was Sittingbourne's singing section which I thought at first a bunch of kids but was in fact a group of embarrassing middle-aged men with a drum. They weren't helped by the fact that 'Sittingbourne' is very difficult to scan into just about any standard chant.

As for the match, Ashford were by far the better team but Sittingbourne went into the break 2-1 up thanks to a late goal that I missed having left to join the tea bar queue. Ashford eventually got the equaliser from the spot 10 minutes from time and the hosts were relieved to hear the final whistle.

The ground has two small stands, the larger one behind a goal and a smaller one they kindly provide for visiting dignitaries.
.

[Merlin the happy pig]

Tuesday 6th.

uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 East. Pen and Tylers Green 5-0 Langley.

Closer than the scoreline suggests, Penn's 2nd goal coming in the 72nd minute just after Langley's number 12 got booked for going down before the Penn 'keeper touched him, the right decision, but if he'd stayed up long enough to get fouled it could have changed the game. Penn rattled in another 3 in the last ten minutes after that. Tidy but basic little ground with hard standing down one side and behind one goal and a small stand on the halfway line, the new extendable floodlights enabling them to return here after groundsharing last season.

[Duncan Gardner]

Thanks Ray for the Pomorze/ Brandenburg travelog

[Artificial Hipster]

Abbey Hey 2-1 Stone Old Alleyians
NWCFL First Division South

It wasn’t looking like I’d get to see a game last night with a combination of incessant rain and some virus or other resulting in P after P appearing on the local fixtures list. A bonus then that I was treated to one so enjoyable, albeit one that I suspect the groundsman at the Abbey Stadium will have been less keen on.

It took the home side a quarter of an hour to work out how to breach their opponents’ offside trap after which they bossed the first half, their no.9 Rhys Clooney converting a cross from the left for the only goal. Tucking into his half time oranges he will been well aware that by then the match ball should already have been his.

Stone, who had occasionally looked dangerous on the counter, came out much stronger after the break and soon drew level with a free header from a corner. Their dominance of the game grew and when on 66 minutes the home side were reduced to 10 men - the ref spotting an off the ball incident that no-one around me saw and which left a Stone player flat on his back – there seemed only one team that was going to win the game from here.

Wrong. Stone indeed pressed dangerously for a few minutes more before what for me was the game changing moment, Abbey’s no.8 sprinting half the length of the pitch to pressurise a Stone defender into giving away a throw in. Nothing came of the throw but the incident seemed to galvanise the rest of the home team who, throwing caution to what thankfully wasn’t much of a wind, threw men forward in numbers and earned their reward with the clearest of penalties given their way, duly despatched with a minute of the 90 to go.