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The day the Comrades went top

30/1/2014

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PictureView from behind the canal end goal
This Tuesday I had my first ever venture into the Spartan South Midland League. The relatively short journey to Broadwater, home of Watford Ladies and, more importantly tonight, Berkhamsted FC.
The Comrades, as they are known, faced a home tie against mid-table Hertford Town knowing that a win could see them go top for the first time this season.
With the current deluge that has been affecting the majority of the country, I was quite sceptical of the game going ahead. This feeling was enhanced when, after checking Google maps, I noticed that one end of the ground is known as the canal end.
However, the SSML website showed that no pitch inspection was required, so off I went.
Car parking at the stadium itself is quite limited. However, just past the stadium is a car park that has more than adequate spaces for a normal match day. It was still raining when I arrived but, apart from the goalmouths, the pitch looked in pretty good condition.
The stadium has a covered seating area on the clubhouse side which also houses the snack bar. In front of the main stand are the dugouts. At either end of the ground, behind each goal, are covered standing areas. To the left of the main stand is the railway end which, of course, has the very busy London mainline running behind it. To the right is the aforementioned canal end. Both of these stands look to be of very similar construction, giving a nice symmetry to the ground. On the far side, opposite the main stand, is a very narrow walkway backed by a brick wall and gardens.
The ground is, what can only be described as tight, meaning that there is very little space between the playing surface and out of bounds. This leads to many clearances going out of the stadium confines completely. More of this later. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. The tightness of the ground adds to the atmosphere of the place and, if the supposed capacity of 2,500 was reached, would be quite a sight.
To the game. I decided to break with my normal tradition of watching matches from the side and take up a spot behind the canal end goal for the first half. This was the end that Berkhamsted were attacking and I was expecting them to come out all guns blazing. However, the first half, at least, turned into a quite even battle. Despite Berko having the ball in the net (denied by a correct flag) and having a penalty well saved by the visiting keeper, Hertford were still giving a good account of themselves. I did feel that the referee was not really letting the game flow at this point but, to be fair to him, he was being consistent so not too many complaints.
Just as it looked like we were going into the break goalless, Hertford broke away and grabbed a goal. So, at half-time the away team had the lead. 0-1.
Whatever they put in the tea at half-time certainly did the trick. Within a few minutes of the restart Berko fired in an equaliser and it wasn't too long before they went in front for the first time.
It was at this point that something happened that I had never seen at a game before. A ball was cleared out of the ground and when the referee signalled for another ball to be thrown on the response was that there were none left. Ball boys had been dispatched to all points around the ground to retrieve match balls but none had yet returned. Luckily a quick search of the store in then main stand revealed a new ball and the return of the ball boys averted any further delays.
Two more Berko goals effectively put the match beyond doubt with around 10 minutes to go. The turnaround proved too much for the Hertford manager who earned himself a red card for berating the referee (at least that is what it looked like from my standpoint).
Hertford did manage to pull one back but it was too little, too late for them. The final whistle blew and the stadium announcer told the 61 hardy souls present that the Comrades were top of the league for the first time this season.
All in all an enjoyable first venture into the Spartan South Midland League. Broadwater certainly has a certain something about it. Quite a quirky stadium with some old-style atmosphere to it.

Berkhamsted FC - @BerkoFC
Hertford Town - @HertfordTownFC


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Supermarine Misfire

24/1/2014

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Picture
After over a month of games getting called off because of the torrential rain, I finally managed to get back to a bit of Ground-hopping this Wednesday. A re-arranged fixture between Swindon Supermarine and Didcot Town. This match was due to be played just before Christmas, as can be seen by the programme. Retaining the Christmas spirit into January, Supermarine were giving the programmes away free upon entry to the ground. A very nice touch.
The Webbs Wood Stadium is situated a couple of miles north of Swindon and is part of a larger sports complex. There is ample parking available although there is very little lighting in the lower car park. This was if some concern to me after my experience at Burnham last year. As it happens, there was nothing to worry about.
The ground itself has ample covered areas, mainly on the clubhouse side of the stadium. However, there is also a small covered area on the opposite side, near the dug outs, and a covered standing area behind one of the goals, with a backdrop of coniferous trees. Seating is available for 300, I believe, out of a capacity of approximately 3,000. Certainly, there are worse places to watch a game of football. Considering the amount of rain that we have had recently and the number of postponements, the pitch looked in remarkably good condition.
After sampling the local cuisine and a cup of tea (see Cuppa League) I decided to walk around to the other side of the ground for the first half. I'm not sure if it is an optical illusion or not but the Webbs Wood playing surface looks really large. I haven't been able to find any details are their pitch dimensions but I would certainly say it is towards the top end of the FA rules, definitely length-wise.
On to the game. The first 25 minutes, although a decent match, didn't produce many goalmouth incidents. Didcot, belying their lowly league position, looked to be slightly the better side but I thought that Swindon looked sharper up front. This was borne out when, after Didcot best period of the half, Swindon's Josh Parsons pounced twice in 3 minutes to put them 2-0 in front. The first of these two, in the 26th minute, was a very well struck 25 yard free-kick that flew into the top right of the Didcot net.
Didcot responded well to this setback and looked to up their work-rate. They were rewarded a minute before half-time when they pulled a goal back. So, Swindon lead 2-1 at the break and Didcot could consider themselves a little unlucky to be going in behind.
At this point I had a Twitter conversation with a follower in Norway who asked how I thought it would go. My reply was that Didcot were unfortunate to be behind but Swindon's extra fire-power would see them come out on top. As it happens, I proved myself to be an absolutely useless pundit and justified why I don't gamble on football results.
Didcot started the second half like a team on a mission and, after 48 minutes, were awarded a penalty which was duly put away for 2-2. Seven minutes later they had the lead for the first time through a towering header. Swindon seemed to have completely lost their way in the second half and, to give them their dues, Didcot had reacted to this by stepping up their game considerably.
Things were getting a little heated both on and off the pitch at this point. A running feud between the Swindon centre-forward and Dicot centre-half was about to boil over. At the same time banter between a group of Diddy fans and the stadium announcer had become a little less friendly shall we say. For a neutral it was highly entertaining stuff, even if the language was getting somewhat fruity.
The battle on the pitch finally came to a head when an overly robust challenge from the Didcot centre-half took out the aforementioned Swindon player. What happened next would, I am sure, be described as handbags on Sky Sports News. It has to be said that the referee handled the situation very well. There were a number of players involved, mostly trying to calm the situation, and the two main offenders were embroiled in a wrestling match. The referee duly noted that, although they were pushing, shoving and grappling, there were no actual punches thrown. He showed both players a yellow card which, I thought, was the correct decision. It would have been easy for him to get caught up in the melee and pull out a red. Well played referee.
With 15 minutes remaining Didcot effectively sealed victory with a fourth goal. The second half had been all Didcot and they fully deserved their 4-2 win.
I am sure that Swindon are better than they showed on the night. Their league position would suggest that I caught them on a bad day. They may well push for a playoff spot. Didcot on the other hand, currently in the lower half of the table, should have no worries on this showing. Then again, after my half-time prediction, what do I know?

Swindon Supermarine FC - @SupermarineFC
Didcot Town FC - @didcottownfc


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