Taking a rare opportunity to take in a Saturday game I decided to make the short trip to Stony Stratford for the Spartan South Midland Division 2 clash with Aston Clinton. Not only was this an unusual weekend excursion but also it was my first foray into Step 7. Neither of the teams involved have Twitter accounts that get updated regularly and with Stony Stratford's website seemingly unattended since last year, I had to rely on the information on the Aston Clinton website and the FA Full-Time site for match details. The ground location was no problem but the kick-off time proved to be more of an issue. Both websites pointed to a 2pm kick-off and, a little research showed that most games in this division kicked off at 2pm on a Saturday. So, rolling up at 1:50pm, I was quite surprised to see some of the players from both teams just arriving as well. After asking around I discovered that kick-off was actually 3pm. Still, every cloud and all that, I was able to have a wander around Stony Stratford which is quite a nice little town.
The Ostlers Lane Ground is certainly very different from a lot of non-league grounds. It is, as many are, part of a larger community sports complex incorporating cricket as well as football. What makes it very different is the distance that the clubhouse and changing rooms are from the main football pitch. They are separated by a cricket pitch and another football pitch making the total distance, I estimated, well over 100 yards.

The playing area, when you get there, has a single stand on the far side of the ground. There is covered standing space for around 100. The rest of the playing area is surrounded by hard-standing and dugouts are opposite the main stand.
Note: All facilities are located in the clubhouse so, if you need to use them, do so before kick off.
On a very blustery day and on a very heavy pitch that hadn't seen a mower in a while, this was never going to be a classic. However, this was grassroots football at it's finest and it was great just to be out watching a game. We were even treated to the age-old tradition of a player on piggy-back to fix the nets before kick-off. This drew my attention to the backdrop to the Ostlers Lane pitch though, a Grade II listed, 17th century chapel that looms over the pitch like a Germanic, Gothic Krankenhaus.
Neither of these teams had set the division alight this season and, before kick-off, both were in the lower half of the table although Aston Clinton had only played 13 games compared to Stratford's 21. For some reason it was the home side that were wearing a changed shirt colour, opting for their yellow away shirt rather than their normal pale blue which clashed with Aston's all blue kit.
It was the home side who were playing with the strong wind at theirs backs in the first half but it was Aston Clinton who got on the score sheet early on. With less than 2 minutes played a right wing cross was turned in at the far post by Clinton's number 9. The early goal encouraged Aston Clinton and, despite playing into the wind, for the next 10 minutes they continued to look the most likely to score the next goal. Then, as we passed the quarter of an hour mark, the home side finally used the wind to their advantage. A long kick from the keeper beat the Aston defence but not the speedy Stony number 9. He collected the ball out wide on the left, took on a defender and then lashed the ball home from a tight angle.
From that point onwards the first half was a fairly even affair with neither side managing to produce any flowing movements or clear cut chances. That is until the 37th minute when the home number 6 produced a dazzling run from the halfway line, beating a few Aston defenders before smashing a shot past the keeper than cannoned off the bar and out for a goal kick.
So 1-1 at half-time and while the home players and officials made the long journey back to the dressing rooms, the Aston Clinton players stayed out and had their half-time talk in the open air.

With the wind behind them, it was the visitors who started the strongest in the second half calling the home keeper into action early on. However, in an increasingly niggly second 45, they couldn't find the opportunity to take the lead again. It took a great piece of skill from their number 7 to eventually get their noses ahead again. We were into the 75 minute when an Aston attack looked to have come to nothing as the ball was cleared to the edge of the box. Without hesitation, from outside the box, the number 7 hit it on the half-volley past the keeper and into the far corner. A great finish.
Unfortunately for Aston they couldn't hang on though. Giving away a needless free kick 25 yards out they gave the opportunity for the home side to strike back. The Stony number 7 didn't disappoint, curling a superb free-kick over the wall and beyond the keeper.
There was no more scoring and the only great surprise in the last 15 minutes was that both sides kept 11 men on the pitch. There were clearly some agendas out there, especially in the second half. One or two players on both sides seemed to have some arguments to settle despite this being the first meeting this season. In the end 2-2 and a point apiece was probably a fair result but really doesn't help either team.

Stony Stratford Town - @stony_fc
Aston Clinton @astonclintonfc

Note: Neither of these accounts seems to be in regular use.

This Tuesday evening I finally got to Wilks Park, home of Flackwell Heath, a ground that I practically drive past every day on my way to and from work. First things first, Wilks Park is an absolute gem of a ground. For any groundhoppers out there that have not yet been, I thoroughly recommend it. The ground is tucked away down a small lane just off the main road through Flackwell Heath. It's an easy turning to miss, as I found out, because the glow of the floodlights (which I always look out for on night games) is not that apparent when approaching from the M40 side. Once I had found the little lane and then turned left into an even smaller lane which approaches the car park I found that there was no room at the inn this evening. However, there are plenty of parking spots available on the main road or some nearby side roads.
The ground entrance is through a turnstile (I think there are more than one but only 1 was open) just off the car park and next to the clubhouse. This takes you into the ground to the left of the car park end goal. I think the first thing that you notice about Wilks Park is that it is quite
compact, something I personally like in a football ground because it adds to the atmosphere. The second thing I noticed, apart from the left to right slope, was the fact that there are covered areas of various sizes and shapes on all four sides of the pitch. This is quite unusual at this level.
The main stand and seating area is to the right of the entrance and looks to seat around 100 people. Behind both goals are similar covered standing areas and behind the dugourts, to the left of the entrance, there is a covered area along with a tea bar and toilet facilities. A proper non-league ground in my opinion.

So, onto the game. As we stood before kick off this was a clash between second place and eighth place with the visitors sitting 22 points behind their hosts but with 2 games in hand. Heath came into the game on a superb run of form. A 100% record since Christmas, the run included two wins, one league and one cup, against current leaders Thatcham Town. All of this meant that Heath were within two points of top spot with tonight's game as their game in hand. Third placed Ascot, 7 points behind Heath and having played 3 more, were also in League action. Fourth placed Kidlington, 8 points adrift of Heath but with 3 in hand, were also playing at bottom side Wokingham & Emmbrook. All in all then it promised to be an interesting evening of football.
The home side, as you would expect from a team pushing to regain top spot, started the game the brighter of the two sides. The pace of their left-winger, in particular, was causing some concern for the Binfield backline. However, the visitors defence looked strong, well organised and difficult to break down. When they did break Binfield looked like they had the capability to cause Heath problems too.
The game continued to ebb and flow with the Heathens holding the balance of play but not being able to fashion any clear cut opportunities. That is until around about halfway through the half. For once the Binfield defence failed to properly clear a Flackwell attack and the ball was stabbed goal-wards beating the keeper and defenders. However, just before it crossed the line it was given a final helping hand by Harding who was, unfortunately, in an offside position. To be fair, it was an instinctive reaction from a striker and the offside call, although correct, was quite tight.
Ten minutes later it was Binfield who came very close to taking the lead with possibly the best effort of the half. Turning on the edge of the box, Johnson tried to curl the ball into the far corner but was denied by a good save from the home keeper. The game was defintiely hotting up and just a few minutes later a Flackwell attack ended with a shot striking the joint of post and bar with the keeper beaten.
Almost immediately a long ball from Binfield bounced awkwardly and caught out the home central defender (incidentally, I think this was the only mistake this player made in the entire game). This allowed Ferdinand to run through on goal and finish very calmly to make it 1-0 to Binfield. The goal was defintiely against the general run of play and Heath immediately set about redressing the balance.
With news that both Kidlington and Ascot were well ahead in their games, the home side needed to get the points. The equaliser wasn't long in coming and when it did, it was a great move. Binfield conceded a free kick on their right flank about 25 yards out. The ball was crossed to the back post where it was headed back across the goal for Tack to finish crisply. A nicely worked set-piece that looked very much like a training ground manoeuvre.
The goal was pretty much the last action of the first half and the teams left the field all-square. On the balance of play, Binfield would probably have been the happier at this point.

The home side once again flew out of the blocks from the restart pushing Binfield back right from the kick-off. In fact the second half was less than 5 minutes old when a perfectly flighted right-wing cross was met powefully by the head of Tack and, despite the keeper getting a hand to it, the ball nestled in the back of the net to give Heath a 2-1 advantage.
However, anyone expecting Heath to kick on from this point would have been disappointed. Binfield are a resilient side and they rolled up their sleeves and set about trying to get themselves back on level terms. This made for a very entertaining second half with Binfield trying to push forward as much as they could it meant that they were a little vulnerable to a Flackwell break.
However, as it happened, neither side was able to score again despite a number of good efforts from both teams.
The result sees Flackwell Heath return to the top of the table a point clear of Thatcham Town. Both Kidlington and Ascot had convincing wins to keep the gap the same. However, with Kidlington having three games in hand it makes for an enticing run-in especially as Flackwell and Kidlington have yet to play each other this season. Heath go to Yarnton Road at the end of March with The Greens set to visit Wilks Park in the penultimate game of the season. What a game that could be.

Flackwell Heath - @fhfc1907
Binfield - @binfieldfc

​So, the FA and the Premier League feel that our bigger clubs play too many games and the poor little souls are getting too tired to compete properly. Their solution to this 'problem' appears to be a plan to devalue and ultimately kill off the greatest cup competition in the world. Seriously? Make the FA Cup a midweek competition with no replays? 

Imagine the scenario. A non-league side is holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at home. It's the 91st minute and they are looking forward to a, possibly club saving, big game return at The Emirates. But wait.....let's have none of that. Let's just give the big club the advantage so that they are fresh to play Barcelona (again and again and again) next week. Besides, these little non-league players have got jobs to go to tomorrow. They don't want to be bothered with a second game, the biggest of their careers, next week do they?

If you really think that there are too many games and not enough free spots in the footballing calendar, and I agree that there probably is too  much football played these days, why not do something more constructive for our game? For instance, and this is an ideal only (I realise it would never happen) how about lobbying UEFA to return the European competitions back to something like their original state? Why plan endless Champions League and Europa League group matches when a straight knockout would suffice? Could it be something to do with money? 

Failing that, how about this solution, which could be implemented without having to change European football competitions.
First of all advise UEFA that, from this point onwards, we would only require two Champions League representatives and three UEFA Cup spots for English clubs.

Qualification for these competitions would be through the following methods.

The Champions would qualify for the Champions League (the clue is in the name). The second Champions League spot would be given to the FA Cup Winners. This would give an added boost to the competition (something that I hear various spokespeople say it is lacking in recent years). With only two teams competing in the Champions League it would mean that instead of Tuesday and Wednesday being written off for European matches, we could claw back a day. The FA could also give the two Champions League qualifiers the possibility of opting out of the FA Cup for one season. Of course, this would mean that they would have one fewer chance to qualify for the following season's competition.

The UEFA Cup, sorry Europa League, spots should be given to the second and third placed Premier League teams as well as the winner of the League Cup. The Europa League clubs, like the Champions League qualifiers, could be given an option to drop out of the following year's League Cup competition. One thing that I do agree with is the removal of two-legged League Cup Semi-Finals. I really don't see why this is necessary.

Of course none of this will ever happen because the real reason isn't the number of games. It isn't that these highly tuned athletes are getting a bit tired. It's money. Pure and simple greed.
I just hope that, one day, someone in the FA or Premier League will lose those dollar sign eyes and see that they are slowly and surely killing our national game.

​Better late than never. It's taken a while to get Tuesday night's trip to New Bradwell St Peter written up but, finally, here goes.
The Saints play their home games at The Recreation Park in Bradville, a suburb of Milton Keynes. The ground is situated within the New Bradwell Sports Club, a facility shared with the local cricket team. Access to the ground is via a narrow service road which opens up into a small car park adjacent to the club house. From the club house there are two paved pathways that lead across the 50 yards to the football pitch. Around the pitch there are, closest to the club house side, a relatively new changing facility block. Opposite this is the main, an only, stand which has seating for just over 50 people and additional covered standing areas. The dugouts are also on this side of the playing surface. The rest of the ground is given to hard standing which now stretches around about three-quarters of the ground.
Despite recent weather the playing surface, which has a slight slope from left to right as you look from the club house, looked like it had stood up well to the rain. One last detail of the ground and it's surroundings. Just behind the clubhouse and the cricket pitch there is an unusual feature for a football ground, a windmill. A little research into this revealed that Bradwell Windmill, as it is called, has recently been extensively restored and has become operational again after 138 years.
Onto the game in question. Visitors Edgware Town, sitting pretty in second place, had not lost a league game since the second match of the season, a 1-0 home defeat to Buckingham Athletic. The home side, after a rocky start, had been rapidly improving and were on a run of 5 consecutive league victories which had seen them move up the table. It promised to be a good game.
There seemed to be a little confusion about the kick-off time. Having seen it advertised as a 7.30 ko, I got there nice and early only to find that it was actually a 7.45 start. To add to the confusion, when the teams appeared, New Bradwell were wearing their green change colours and Edgware, who normally play in green, were in their yellow and blue change kit.

As I tend to do for the first half, I took up a spot on the opposite side of the ground to the entrance. This happened to be in the main stand which rapidly filled up with the travelling support. At this point I have to say that Edgware, for a step 6 side, have a great following. There were at 50 plus (I didn't count) in the Green Army, complete with flags, plenty of singing and a drum. I know there was a drum because the drummer stood right next to me. Their support throughout the game was pretty load and extremely partizan (in a good way).
The game kicked off with the home side playing down the slope. It was apparent from quite early in the game that these two sides were quite 
evenly matched. Work rate from both sides was high and there was a good tempo the game even though neither side were managing to muster any real clear cut opportunities. If anything, Edgware seemed to have slightly more pace about their attacking but the home defence was coping admirably with the threat. In fact, despite the away side edging possession, it was New Bradwell who came closest to taking the lead in the first half when a stinging drive from outside the box brought a full stretch save from the Edgware keeper.
Ther referee brough the first 45 minutes to a close with the score still at 0-0. All to play for in the second half.
So, after a trip to the club house and a very welcome, warming, cup of tea it was back out to watch the rest of the game. This time taking up a position on the near side, closer to the home support.
Kicking up the slope the home side seemed to be rejuvenated after the break and immediately were on the attack. Just 5 minutes into the half and they had the lead. Sylvester picked the ball up midway inside the Edgware half, drove forward past a couple of challenges and then let fly from 20 yards sending the ball past the keepers left hand and into the corner of the net. A very nicely taken goal.
The goal lead to an Edgeware response. They pushed forward with much more conviction forcing the home keeper to work much harder than in the first half. However, with about 15 minutes left on the clock, Saints gave away a free-kick on their left flank, just outside the box. 
The kick was driven across the box by Adem Ali and, as far as I could see, flew directly into the far corner.
At 1-1 the Edgware tails were up and for the next 5 minutes they pressed hard for a winner. The New Bradwell defence, to their credit, was resolute and weathered the brief storm with some great last ditch tackles and more commanding goalkeeping from Green. As New Bradwell regained some composure they began to mount some counter attacks of their and, on one of these occasions a through ball was gathered by the 
Edgware keeper only for Nicholls to follow in with, what looked a very late sliding tackle. From my vantage point I immediately thought it was a red card and, sure enough, after a brief melee the referee sent Nicholls off. The locals were not happy and the player himself seemed to think it was a fair 50-50 challenge but, as a neutral, I thought it was a very late challenge and worthy of the red.
Strangely though it was Saints who seemed to be bolstered by the sending off. Despite their one man deficit they set about taking the game to Edgware with a renewed vigour.
So it was, with just a couple of minutes remaining, Tom Traas swung in a cross from the left wing from which an attacker and defender both threw themselves at. Both missed and the ball continued on it's way, evading the dive of the home keeper and dropping into the far corner.
2-1 to the home side and this is exactly how it stayed. A fine win for New Bradwell who jump up to fifth in the table. Edgware stay in second place a point behind leaders Crawley Green.
All in all, a good night's entertainment. On an evening when all of the talk on the radio was about Liverpool protesting massive ticket price rises, 100 of us watched a good game, played by committed players all for the price of the petrol to get there. That is value for money.

New Bradwell St Peter - @nbspofficial
Edgware Town - @edgwaretownfc

After rained off games, frozen pitches and a business trip to the US, it had been 17 days without live action. Time to hit the road and watch some football, only my second game of the New Year. The chosen match was a Spartan South Midland Premier League clash between Holmer Green and Berkhamsted. The home side were coming into the game in a rich vein of form having won 4, drawn 1 and lost just 1 of their last 6 league games. In the process they had scored 16 goals and conceded 7. The Comrades, possibly distracted by their FA Vase progress this season, approached the game on the back of 3 defeats in 5. However, they had won their last two league games scoring 13 goals and conceding 4. So, with just a single point and two league places between the sides, it promised to be a good game.
Airedale Park has been home to Holmer Green since 1975. It is part of a multi-sport complex that includes cricket and tennis as well as football. All of the facilities, changing area, clubhouse, snack bar and toilets, are situated in the clubhouse block which is separated from the football pitch by the car park. There is a sectioned off walkway for the players and official to get to and from the playing surface. Access for spectators is through a single gate which takes you into the ground next to the corner flag. There are two covered areas around the ground. The Don Want Stand is the main stand, situated on the Watchet Lane side of the ground. It has two rows of wooden seating but is mainly a covered standing area. The second covered area is a concrete base with scaffold poles and a corrugated roof set to the left of the goals at the car park end. This is perched upon a grass bank and, as such, offers a good view of the game. The dugouts are situated opposite the Don Want Stand and are both adorned with the phrase Please Do Not Swear a feature picked up by David Bauckham in his book Dugouts (http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/dugouts_book.html).

The first half started at a frenzied pace and it was the away side who looked like they meant business. An early Comrades attack saw a last ditch tackle prevent what looked like a certain goal but it was to be a brief reprieve. In the 6th minute a corner was conceded by Holmer Green on their left flank and, when the ball was played into the box, unmarked Berko captain James Baldry was on hand to head home.
The goal seemed to wake up Holmer Green and they immediately set about looking for an equaliser. They didn't have too long to wait. Just seven minutes after going behind they were level. A ball down the left was pulled back to the edge of the box where it was met by Joe Collins. His stinging drive nestled in the far corner despite Tasker in the Comrades goal getting a touch to it.
Unfortunately for the paying public, the remainder of the half didn't really live up to the lively start. Don't get me wrong, it was a good enough half from both sides, but neither managed a really serious attempt on target for the remaining 30 minutes of the half. It was a pretty even affair and the half-time score line of 1-1 was a good reflection on the game.
A very welcome trip to the clubhouse for a warming cup of tea, on what was turning into a very chilly evening, went down very well and pretty soon the attendance of 44 was ready and waiting for the second half.
We didn't have long to wait for the action to hot up in the second period. Within 3 minutes of the restart the home side had got their noses in front with a superb goal. Their equaliser was a pretty good effort from outside the box but their second eclipsed the first effort. When a corner was cleared to the edge of the box it fell to Greg Deer who hammered an unstoppable effort beyond the desperate dive of Tasker and into the net. This goal was the spark for a much more open and end to end second half. Both sides managed to create some good openings but could not quite convert them. The home keeper made a good reflex save when a cross was inadvertently directed towards goal by a defender. At the other end an alert Comrades defender was at hand to clear a Green effort off the line.
With under 20 minutes remaining it looked as if the home side had finally made the points safe when Powles deftly diverted a cross past Tasker into the net. However, the assistant on the far side immediately flagged for offside. It was a very tight decision but I was directly in line with it and, I have to say, I think the official just about got it right.
Berkhamsted never gave up the game and still had a couple of decent chances in them. Twice they produced deep crosses which couldn't quite be converted at the far post.

Holmer Green could also have had more goals but either the final ball or the finish just wasn't quite there. In the end the referee blew for full-time and the match finished 2-1 to Holmer Green.
All in all it was probably fair result. Although the first half was a very even affair I did feel that the home side edged the second half. Having said that, there won't be many points or places between these sides come May. Holmer Green leapfrog their opponents with the three points and Berko were left to leave the pitch obeying the signs in the dugouts, of course.
Berkhamsted now have to re-group and prepare themselves for the visit of Morpeth Town in the Vase on Saturday. This is the furthest that The Comrades have ever progressed in this competition and I am sure that everyone in the Spartan South Midlands League wishes them well in their endeavours.

Holmer Green - @holmergreenfc
Berkhamsted - @berkofc
Spartan South Midlands League - @spartansmfl