​This week's football venture was in the balance until the last minute having contracted some kid of cold bug over the weekend. However, come Tuesday afternoon, feeling a little bit brighter, I decided that some fresh air would do me good. Bearing in mind how cold it had been dropping over night, this was probably a misguided thought, but missing football? Not going to happen is it? So, after a long day in the office, I set out for North-East Hampshire to take a look at the crunch relegation battle between Eversley & California and Fleet Spurs.

The Ground
The Boar's home ground is situated on the outskirts of Eversley village and is part of the large Eversley Sports Association complex which also boasts a 3G Hockey pitch, a cricket ground and an indoor hall (being used for cricket practice on this evening). There is a large car park adjacent to the main club house which also houses the amenities including the snack/tea bar. The ground itself is situauted on the far side of the indoor arena which means a short walk down the side of the arena, over what is probably the outfield of the cricket pitch in summer. Note for hoppers: Get your tea and visit the toilet before going to the ground. It will save you a lengthy round trip.
Eversley & California post their matchday programme online, as is the trend with a lot of non-league teams these days. This makes much more financial sense to clubs at this level where they will most likely only sell a handful of programmes per game. Far fewer than a standard print run requires. I had already printed my own copy before I arrived but had not had time to read through it. So, when asked what I thought of it by the friendly chap on the gate, I couldn't really give a good answer. However, should he (or anyone else at the club) happen to read this, I have now had time to look at the programme and it is very good. Nicely put together, plenty of facts and figures and a professional looking template.
Another plus point for the club was the availability of the team listings, in this case posted on a whiteboard at the entrance to the ground. This is something that I would love to see at all grounds, especially at this level. As someone who visits lots of new grounds, and watches plenty of teams that I haven't seen before, it's always a chore to have to track down the team sheets.
​On little quirk about the ground is the placement of one of the floodlight pylons. We have all heard of some of the ways that teams gain an advantage to playing at home. Cold water only in the showers. Smaller, more uncomfortable changing rooms painted in colours that will make the players feel more placid. Well, at Eversley, they have managed to place the floodlight pylon right in front of the opposition dugout. I'm not saying this is deliberate. It may well not be, but I am sure the likes of Wimbledon would have been proud of that one if they had thought of it.

​The Background
One of the reasons that I chose this game was the significance at the bottom of the Combined Counties Division One table. At the start of play Fleet were sitting bottom of the league with 16 points from their 26 games. Eversley & California were two places and one pint better off. Combine that with the fact that second-bottom Kensington Borough were in action against Godalming Town and fourth-bottom Cove were at home to Farnham Town and it could be a very important game day, especially considering that a single point separated the bottom four teams.
Neither The Boars or Spurs could boast much in the way of current form, although the away side had fared slightly better over the past 10 games, winning two and drawing one, as opposed to just a single win and single draw for Eversley. When the sides met back in November, Everlsey & California had come out on top by the odd goal in nine. Combine that with The Boars last home game, a 5-6 defeat to Deportivo Galicia, and the there was a real promise of plenty of goals this evening.
​

The Bottom of Division One at start of play

The Game
Both sides opened the game reasonably brightly and there was not a great deal to choose between the for the first 15 minutes or so, although once or twice the home side almost got in down their left-flank where the combination of Knight and Goater was causing a lot of problems for Spurs' captain Barnes.
Just before the 20 minute mark, the home side produced the first real classy passing movement of the evening and it led to the opening goal. Harrison Shade played a delightful pass inside Barnes for Knight to run onto, the Boars left-back then played in a superb cross for Denis Nortey to get on the end of inside the six-yard box, where he managed to poke it home at the second attempt. A lovely move move worth of a goal. 1-0.

The goal seemed to shake Fleet and, to the same extent, galvanise the home side who began to take control of the game. Just past the half hour point Nortey received the ball some 35 yards out, wriggled past two markers but was them brought down by White. Luckily for the Spurs defender, there was another defender close by and the incident was probably just far enough away from goal to warrant only a yellow card rather than a red.
Another free-kick conceded, this time way out on the right-flank, led to an opportunity that should have seen the Boars going 2-0 up. However the ball was headed over by Whyte from six yards. In his defence, the ball came through to him unexpectedly and at an awkward height. However, he will probably feel that he should have scored. Instead it remained 1-0.

Eversley & California had clearly been working on their defence during training. A very popular shout throughout the half was 'Hold the line' which in my mind, being a lot older than any of the players, should have been followed immediately by a call of 'Love isn't always on time'. Now, for those readers who weren't around in 1978, this is a lyric from US band Toto (hence the blog title).

HT Eversley & California 1 Fleet Spurs 0. A mixed bag at the bottom of the table. Cove trailing 1-0 at Farnham whilst Kensington Borough are a goal up against Godalming

​Despite being a goal down the away side looked sluggish at the start of the second period. In the first 10 minutes The Boars movement looked too much for Spurs with the home side being first to almost every ball. However, as the half progressed, Fleet got themselves into the game and started to look the more likely side to score. They were getting far more possession than in the first period and were beginning to make greater progress in the final third of the pitch but, in spite of this added vigour, they couldn't find enough to unduly worry Hoptroff in the home goal.

The home defence was clearly not under too much pressure because the 'Hold the line' call was certainly less frequent, although it did pop up once or twice. I somehow managed to avoid shouting the reply on all occasions.
It looked very much as if The Boars were going to be happy to hang on to what they had as we approached the last 10 minutes of the game but after a corner from the right created a bit of a pinball effect in the Spurs box, the ball finally fell to Ross McKernan who stabbed it home to seal the three points. 2-0.
The final icing on the home cake was provided by midfielder Harrison Shade who, on 89 minutes, hammered an unstoppable effort in from 30 yards to make it 3-0.

FT Eversley & California 3 Fleet Spurs 0. A very much needed three points for the home side. With Cove taking a point against Farnham and Kensington hanging on for all three points against Godalming, the result means that Spurs are now slightly adrift at the bottom, three points shy of Cove. However, this dogfight is far from over. Fleet showed enough battle and spirit in the second-half to suggest that they have a result or two in them yet this season. It could go down to the wire especially as Eversley and Kensington Borough have to meet twice yet. Eversley also have to travel to Cove in April. Fleet look to have the most difficult task, with five of the top seven still to play.
​

The table after events of the evening

​Eversley & California: Hoptroff, Braithwaite-McGuinness, Knight, Shade, Allston (c), Whyte, Shaw, Dickie, Nortey, McKernan, Goater. Subs: Kittlesen-Edmonds, Charles, Dance, Yeoman, Lallament

Fleet Spurs: Appleby, Barnes(c), Sumbler, White, Mudhoni, Moore, Hayler, Dainton, Dallaway, Middleton, Swain. Subs: Bush, Benton, Nsimdi

Att: 
Ground Number: 184
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: Online

​Something of a change to the usual style of match blog. This Saturday proved to a bit of a football-fest which saw me inside the ropes in the morning, coaching one of my club's Under-8 Girls teams in a tournament at Wantage Town's Alfredian Park Stadium. By the afternoon, I was the other side of the safety rope, watching the crucial, top of the table, Oxfordshire Senior League game between Kennington Athletic and Freeland.

The tournament was a mixed bag results-wise, but a huge success in the way that the youngsters applied themselves to some tough games. We opened with a brilliant 4-0 win over Didcot Casuals. Narrow defeats to strong Thatcham Town, Witney Vikings and Wantage Town sides, was offset by a 1-0 win against Quarry Rovers and a fantastic come-from-behind draw against AFC Portchester, scoring the vital goal with almost the last kick.

A quick bite to eat with my wife and daughter and it was just a short drive to Playfield Road, Kennington for my second Oxford Senior League game of the season. A little background to this second versus first clash:

​Effectively it was a must win game for The Kenny Men. Currently in second but six points adrift of Freeland, a defeat would leave them needing the leaders to lose at least three of their remaining ten games and, bearing in mind that they have lost just two of the first fifteen, this would seem like a tall order. However, on the plus side, Athletic were going into the game with an unbeaten home record, having won five and drawn three of their eight games so far.
As a balance to this home record, Freeland could boast a superb away defensive record, conceding just three goals on the road all season. Players to watch out for in the final third were Jack Morton for the leaders, thirteen goals from fifteen games, and Athetic's James Smith who had ten goals in fourteen matches.
This was going to be the first meeting of the current season. However, last season saw both games end with home victories, 2-1 at Freeland and 2-0 in this fixture. Freeland were to end  the season as runners-up to Heyford Athletic and Kennington third, five points further back.
Last year's champions, Heyford, would also be keeping an eye on this clash. Despite starting the day in 6th place and 13 points behind the leaders, they also had 4 games in hand and could yet have a say in the title run-in.

The Game
The first half of this game can be summed up in one word. Cagey. The importance of the game was not lost on either team and that was reflected in the play. They probed and they tested but neither side wanted to make a mistake. That being said, it was still an interesting game to watch as a neutral. There was not a lot to choose between the sides, as reflected in their league positions, but in my opinion Freeland looked slightly more likely to break the deadlock.

HT Kennington Athletic 0 Freeland 0. An intriguing first half with neither side able to make the opposing keeper stretch too much. With blue skies and unseasonably warm weather, no-one was heading into the changing rooms for their half-time orange so, with only a short turnaround, we headed into the second-half. You have to love the way it works in Step 7.

​It was more of the same in the second half until, with just under a minute go before the hour mark, we got out first goal. Athletic conceded a free-kick on the edge of their own box. Freeland's Tommy McCudden stepped up and drove an unstoppable effort beyond the keeper. 0-1. Three minutes after the hour it could easily have been two-nil but Morton's thunderous effort hammered off the underside of the bar and away to safety.
The goal and the reverberations of their bar stirred the KennyMen and they gamely tried to get back into the contest. After 77 minutes they were rewarded for their efforts when a mix-up in the Freeland defence presented Merola with the relatively simple task of rolling the ball into an unguarded net. 1-1
The home side, however, hardly have time to celebrate getting back on level terms before Freeland hit back with Jack Morton wriggling free on the left and cutting the ball back for McCudden to get his second goal. 1-2

Freeland's  tails were up now. On 82 minutes they got their second goal in three minutes, effectively sealing victory.  Danny Taylor broke free on the right and drilled a fantastic finish past the keeper. 1-3

If that wasn't enough, Freeland then grabbed a fourth goal on 85 minutes. A cross from the right was chested down by the Danny Taylor, swivelling on the ball he volleyed the ball home to make it 1-4 with his second of the game.
There was still just about enough time for Athletic to muster a really good effort when the ball was crossed from the right for their centre-forward to get in a great header that came back off the bar with the keeper beaten. Alas for The KennyMen there was not even to be that small consolation.

FT Kennighton Athletic 1 Freeland 4. Is that the end of the KennyMen title challenge? A third defeat on the bounce after they went don 2-1 to Cropredy last week and 1-0 at Launton in their previous game. They'll be looking for an immediate response when they take on Chalgrove next Saturday.
​A great result for Freeland and, with Marston Saints drawing with Mansfield Road they now have a six point gap to second-placed Cropredy who have played three games more.

Att: 
Ground Number: 184
Entrance: £0.00
Programme: N/A

A somewhat unexpected midweek football venture this week, as I had not planned a game at all. However, a quick scan of the fixtures revealed the possibility of a new ground to visit as well as a cup tie between a Premier League team and a high-flying side from a division below. So, it was off to Surrey and a Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup tie between Premier League Knaphill and Division One leaders Bedfont & Feltham.

The Ground
Knaphill have played at Redding Way since the 2004-05 season. Although it is a relatively new ground it has a certain amount of character about it. The club branding is everywhere, which is always good to see and, in my opinion, goes a long way to establishing an identity for the club. There is a thriving junior set-up at the club which is also advertised around the ground. As someone who is involved in youth football, this is heartening to see and bodes well for the future of not just Knaphill FC but football in general.
Entrance to the stadium is via a turnstile in the corner of the ground, easily accessible from the car park. There are two covered seating areas, one behind the car park end goal and another on the far side of the ground from the entrance. Both are well set back from the playing surface. On the Redding Way side of the ground there is also covered standing available alongside the dugouts. The facilities, clubhouse and players/official areas are all on the car park end of the ground. Clearly a great effort has been made to raise sponsorship and support for the club because the advertising hoardings on the pitch perimeter stretch pretty much all around the ground. This not only adds to the character of the ground but also shows plenty of local buy-in to the club which is always good to see. All in all, Redding Way has a good feel to it. It seems like a friendly club and a good place to watch football.

​The Background
Not knowing a lot about the Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup I am indebted to Rob Healy (@RobHealy73), Bedfont & Feltham's Media Manager and Programme Editor as well as being honorary member of the SideburnBob Fan Club, for sending me a link to previous competition results.
What I already did know what that Knaphill were the current holders of the trophy, beating Worcester Park 3-2 in last season's Final. They were bidding to become only the fourth team to win the trophy more than once, the others being Merstham (3), Camberley Town (2) and Epsom & Ewell (2).
​Their progress so far had seen them beat Eversley & California 5-1 away from home and then Fleet Spurs 3-1 at Redding Way. Bedfont & Feltham had got this far thanks to a 2-0 home defeat of Tooting BEc followed by a 1-0 win at AFC Hayes.
League-wise, Knaphill sit in mid-table (12th) of the Premier League whilst The Yellows are currently top of Division One in their bid to return to the top flight after two season's away.
Their last league meeting was in Bedfont & Feltham's relegation season, 2016-17. The Knappers came out on top of both meetings, 4-0 at home and 3-0 back at The Orchard. 

​The Game
We were only four minutes into the game when the first real action happened. A loose header back towards Knaphill kepper Aaron Holt was intercepted by Michael Capon. The Knappers keeper, already committed to going for the ball, took out the Bedfont top-scorer leaving the referee with no option other than to point to the spot. Up stepped captain Ross Nunn to bury the spot-kick. 0-1

Knaphill tried to re-group after their early setback, playing some nice football in midfield but failing to find the final ball with which to hurt their opponents. They did, however, almost get an equaliser on 20 minutes. Striker Martin Smith expertly taking down a through ball, turning sharply and beating Windmill with a low shot only to see his effort come back off the inside of the post, roll across the line and back into the grateful arms of the Bedfont keeper.

Aside from that effort it was nip and tuck for the remainder of the first half. Knaphill were getting most joy down their left flank but still could not find the killer final pass. When they did manage to get a ball into the Bedfont box there always seemed to be a Yellow shirt meeting the cross or blocking the effort. Despite Knaphill now having more possession Bedfont were still looking dangerous when they had the ball, especially down their left side where their impressive left-back Billy Nutbeam was not shy in bombing forward at any opportunity.

HT Knaphill 0 Bedfont & Feltham 1. After taking an early lead Bedfont & Feltham rode their luck occasionally but, overall, going into the break deserving to be in front. Knaphill showed signs of putting some good football together but could; not find any real consistency.

​Judging by the vociferous nature of Knaphill's manage during the game, we can only wonder at the rocket that was delivered to his players during the interval. However, there was no noticeable reaction from the home side immediately after half-time. Yes, they continued to edge possession but Bedfont looked fairly comfortable.
Just before the hour mark Nutbeam (my man of the match) made another foray forward and was stopped illegally just inside the Knaphill half. The free-kick was lofted high into the home side's penalty area where The Yellow's top scorer Michael Capon managed to out jump the home keeper and glance a header over him into the empty net. 0-2.
Again Knaphill tried to raise their game in an effort to get back into this tie but, in reality, they were a beaten side at this point and, on 82 minutes, this was confirmed with Bedfont & Feltham's third goal. Reece Gairy took the ball down the left, cut back inside to give himself a yard or so and then hammered the ball past the despairing dive of Holt into the far corner. 0-3

FT Knaphill 0 Bedfont & Feltham 3. The holders go out of the competition after being well beaten by an exciting Bedfont & Feltham who, on this sort of form, look nailed on for promotion back to the Premier League.

Knaphill: Holt, Roberts, Leighton, El Armarni, Kellet-Smith (c), Albert, Costello, Nyama, M.Smith, De St Croix, Wilson. Subs: Barry, Cover,  Rezagui, McDonald
Bedfont & Feltham: Windmill, Hitchinson, Nutbeam, P.Nunn, Dunckley, Pearce, Gairy, Kibreab, Capon, R.Nunn (c), Mahboudi. Subs: Davis, Hayden, Sarfo


Att: 
Ground Number: 183
Entrance: £7.00
Programme: Online

Tuesday evening presented an opportunity to visit a ground that has been on my list for some time now. Not only that but the game in question was a local derby with relegation battle points at stake. Far too good to miss. So it was that I headed off to the wilds of Buckinghamshire and the quaint old town of Amersham.

The Ground
Tucked away on a single track road towards the outskirts of Old Amersham, Spratleys Meadow has been the home of Amersham Town for 99 years. There is limited parking at the ground but, as advised by the very helpful attendant, its not advisable to park there if you want to make a reasonably quick getaway. However, there are plenty of on-street parking spots available within a short distance from the ground. A note for evening games in the Winter months, you will have to walk up an unlit single-track road for a 100 yards or so, so you might want a torch.
The ground itself boasts a clubhouse (incorporating the tea/snack bar) and a separate changing block for players and officials. These are all on the car park end of the ground behind the town end goal. On the School Lane side of the pitch there is a covered seating area for 66 people. This side of the ground is raised above pitch level and gives a great view of the action. The dugouts are on the far side of the ground, opposite the main stand. Although there aren't that many features at the ground, it has a certain charm to it. Maybe because it sits on the edge of open countryside? I immediately liked the ground for whatever reason.
Apparently, during the war, the changing rooms were used as an emergency morgue. There can't be many grounds that share this distinction.

​The Background
This was going to be a big game for both teams but, following a decent run of form from Rangers, the three points on offer would be welcomed even more by Amersham.
The home side were currently sitting 19th in the table with 19 points from 24 games. They were just a point behind third from bottom Codicote with a game in hand, so a win in this game would lift them above their relegation rivals. Only a few games previously Town had suffered a very damaging 4-0 defeat at the hands of Codicote, making this game even more important for them in their bid for survival. In their last six league outings they had, at least, managed two wins but had lost the other four.
Rangers, who a month ago, were also hovering just above the trapdoor, had suddenly picked up and started showing some real form. Three wins and there draws from their last six games, including winning the last three straight, had seen them rise up to the heady heights of 16th with 29 points. Another win this evening could take them to 14th and would go a long way towards their league safety.
Earlier in the season Amersham returned from Princes Risborough with a 3-0 victory in a game that saw Rangers reduced to 10 men. However, Rangers did reap some revenge in a cup match, winning 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. There were no league games between these sides last season as this is Town's first term back in Division One after gaining promotion last season, despite a 6th place finish.

​The Game
We had a fairly even opening to the game, in fact it was Amersham who maybe edged the opening encounters. There seemed little sign of a team who had won their last three from Rangers and Amersham did not look like a team lacking in confidence from their recent defeats. The game was held up for a good few minutes quite early on after a badly mis-timed tackle from Squires-Adams left a Risborough player requiring a fair bit of attention before he could continue. Interestingly the referee kept his cards in his pocket, a decision that ultimately saved him from producing a red in the second-half when he booked the same player for a much more benign challenge.
It was the home side who took the lead in the 25th minute when Rhys Murphy drove forward and placed a lovely effort wide of Brooker and into the net for 1-0.
There was no immediate response from Rangers and you could hear the frustration from the coaching staff's shouts from the bench. However, with six minutes remaining, it was as if someone decided to switch on Rangers. They had been gaining some traction down their left flank and when they managed to switch the ball over there again a lovely cross found Ben Cullen lurking at the far post to just about get enough of his head on the ball to deflect it past  Turner. 1-1
A few minutes later Cullen, who by now had his tail up, chased a ball down the right-flank, out-muscled his defender, drove to the byline and cut inside, unleashing an effort that beat Turner but crashed back of the near post. Rangers were not finished there though. Into added-time in the first half they produced a lovely flowing move, again spreading the ball wide on the left. This time when the cross came over Cullen managed to beat Turner to the ball an once again head into the Amersham net. 1-2.

HT Amersham Town 1 Risborough Rangers 2. A fairly even opening 40 minutes in which the home side managed to edge in front. The, in the final 5 minutes, Rangers suddenly came alive and grabbed two goals to go into the break ahead.

 ​Into the second-half and it was the home side who provided the first real action of the half producing, arguably, the best and certainly the most flowing move of the game. Unfortunately for Tow, whereas Cullen found a finish from a left-wing cross for Rangers, Benvenga could not do the same for Amersham, putting the ball over the bar when he probably should have levelled the scores.
They were made to pay for the miss after 76 minutes when Cullen completed a hat-trick of headers, once again beating the Amersham keeper to a ball from the left, this time after a short corner routine was not closed down quickly enough by the Town defence. 1-3.

FT Amersham Town 1 Risborough Rangers 3. Rangers should now be safe from any relegation worries after a fourth straight win. Amersham worked hard enough but lacked any real penetration. They were undone by three almost identical goals, all crosses from the left and all headers by, it has to be said, not the tallest striker in the world. A great effort from the Rangers forward man though. He lead the line well for the entire game and deserved his three goals for his work-rate.

Amersham Town: Turner, Howells, Murphy, Aldridge, Peacock, Clifford, Donaldson, J Squires-Adams, Benvenga, Stevens, B Squires-Adams. Subs: Putman, Stonnell, Seaton, Doumbia, Camara
Risborough Rangers: Brooker, Castello, Gordon, Read(c), Urqhart, Lynch, Griggs, Clarke, Cullen, Touceda, Pykett. Subs: Nott-Macaire, Woodfine, Mymer, Tavender

Att: 54
Ground Number: 182
Entrance: £5.00
Programme:  Free

​Next weekend, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th, see the Quarter-Final stage of this season's FA Vase competition. BotP has been following the competition all season with great interest. Here is our view on the four matches taking place next weekend.

Facts and Figures

• West Auckland Town are the only team who have not yet conceded a goal in the competition. This is all the more remarkable when you consider that they are also the only team to have played all of the games (4) away from home. West have finally got a home draw in the Quarter-Final
• Both Chertsey Town (3 games) and Sholing (2 games) have yet to concede a goal on the road. Both have been drawn away from home in the Quarter-Final
• Northwich Victoria have yet to concede on the own ground (4 games). They have been drawn at home in the Quarter-Final
• Chertsey Town are now the competition's top scorers with 25 goals in their 7 games. They also share the largest total goal tally (28) in their matches along with Cray Valley PM.
• West Auckland fans have only seen a total of 6 goals in their team's matches so far. Of course, the consolation here is that all 6 have been scored by their team.

Saturday 23 February
West Auckland Town v Chertsey Town. Chertsey came through a tough trip to Irlam last weekend and their 'reward' is a 268 mile trip to the North-East to face the competition favourites. It's not going to be an easy task for The Curfews. West Auckland, still to concede a goal in the competition, are drawn at home for the first time. They have, of course, reached the Final twice before, losing on both occasions and will, no doubt, be hoping that this is finally going to be their year. So far their games have followed a pattern of 1-0, 2-0, 1-0, 2-0. Chertsey will want to break that sequence and will certainly not make it easy for them. BotP saw them at home to Badshot Lea last week and, despite being a goal down and not playing anywhere near their best, they somehow ground out a 2-1 to go back to the top of the Combined Counties Premier. That sort of grit could serve them well in the Vase, but BotP is going to have to go with home advantage on this one.
BotP Pick - West Auckland Town
The story so far:
West Auckland Town - Thackley (a) 1-0, Avro (a) 2-0, Sunderland RCA (a) 1-0, Hebburn Town (a) 2-0
Chertsey Town - Woodley United (h) 4-2, Tadley Calleva (a) 1-0, Flackwell Heath (h) 6-1, Horndean (h) 2-0, Redbridge (a) 5-0, AFC St Austell (h) 5-0, Irlam (a) 2-0
Wanted Stadium, DL14 9AQ. http://www.northernfootballleague.org/team/west-auckland-town/

Willand Rovers v Cray Valley PM. Two sides who are both on the hunt for promotion this season. Willand hold a six point lead in the Western Premier whilst Cray are third in the Southern Counties East Premier, with at least one game in hand on teams above them. Both had very good wins in the Fifth Round. Cray Valley putting out Combined Counties side Abbey Rangers by 3-1 whilst Willand saw off Deeping Rangers 3-2 in front of a huge crown f over 750. Cray are the second highest scorers left in the competition averaging almost 4 per game so far. Willand though have only conceded 3 goals in their 4 Vase home games as well as only 9 in 13 home league games this season. It may be close to a 400 mile round trip for PM but they are good travellers as shown by their away league record of only 10 wins and only 1 defeat in 12 games this season. Its going to be a tight game but BotP, again, is going to err on the side of the home team.
BotP Pick - Willand Rovers
The story so far:
Willand Rovers - Odd Down (a) 4-1, Tavistock (h) 2-1, Bodmin Town (h) 3-0, Hamworthy United (h) 1-0, Deeping Rangers (h) 3-2
Cray Valley PM - Sutton Athletic (a) 2-1, Hailsham Town (h) 2-0, St Panteleimon (a) 3-1, Badshot Lea (h) 7-0, Sheppey United (a) 4-0, Baffins Milton Rovers (h) 3-1, Abbey Rangers (h) 3-1
Silver Street, EX15 2RG. http://www.willandrovers.co.uk/


Northwich Victoria v Sholing. Vics arguably pulled off the shock of Round 5 by beating much fancied Histon 3-1 on their own patch. They will again prove tough opposition for visitors Sholing - the only remaining previous winners of the competition - especially as the game will be played at home, where Vics have yet to concede a goal in the FA Vase. The Boatmen, however, are cruising at the top of the Wessex Premier League and are sure to have their sights set on a promotion and Vase double this season. Its a long journey for Sholing, at 213 miles the second longest trip of the Quarter-Finals but worth every minute on the road if they could get a result.
This, as with all four games, is a very difficult one to predict. No-one really gave Victoria a chance at Histon but they pulled it off. Sholing are probably favourites, especially with their unbeaten league record, but here at BotP we are going to go for a narrow home win.
BotP Pick - Northwich Victoria
The story so far:
Northwich Victoria - Maltby Main (h) 2-0, Cammell Laird (h) 5-0, Prestwich Heys (a) 0-0, Prestwich Heys (h) 1-0, Silsden (h) 3-0, Newcastle Benfield (a) 3-2, Histon (a) 3-1
Sholing - Torpoint Athletic (a) 1-0, Malmesbury Victoria (h) 5-1, Pagham (h) 6-2, Cribbs (a) 2-0, Sporting Khalsa (h) 3-1
Wincham Park (Witton Albion FC), CW9 6DA. http://www.northwichvictoriafc.com/contact/


Playing Sunday 24 February
Canterbury City v Biggleswade. Biggleswade, who thumped Windsor 6-1 in the Fifth Round, have been handed the shortest away trip for the Quarter-Final, just a mere 102 miles to Faversham where Canterbury currently play their home games. Its been a hectic few years for Biggleswade. Since forming from Biggleswade Town's youth squad in 2016 they have managed to win the SSML Division One title in their first season and now find themseleves not only in an FA Vase Quarter-Final but also possible favourites for another promotion, this time into Step 4. Canterbury have just suffered the disappointment of the City council turning down their plans for a new stadium and may well look to use this setback as fuel to their Vase run. They have won their last 2 league outings but the season has been a little inconsistent apart from their form in the Vase. Current form and confidence may well be enough for Biggleswade to progress in this one, our only away win prediction of the round.
BotP Pick - Biggleswade
The story so far:
Canterbury City - Langney Wanderers (a) 2-0, AFC Varndeanians (a) 2-0, Saltdean United (h) 2-1, Corinthian (a) 4-2 (aet), Southall (h) 1-0 (aet), Newport Pagnell Town (h) 3-2, Leicester Nirvana (h) 2-1
Biggleswade - Norwich CBS (h) 3-1, Tring Athletic (a) 1-1, Tring Athletic (hR) 0-0 (5-3p), Stowmarket Town (h) 1-0, Windsor (h) 6-1
Salters Lane (Faversham Town FC), ME13 0DL. http://www.canterburycityfc.net/contact/

​This weekend BotP was back on the Sunday League trail and, more specifically, a J.Lusted Cup & Shield Semi-Final between Shinfield Park United of the Reading a District Sunday League Division 3 and the Billy Goats of Caversham United, who play in the Division below. After being at the Quarter-Final between Caversham and Borussia Teeth (and missing the extra-time winner) it was only right to get down to Berkshire for the Goats first ever semi-final.

The game was being played at a neutral venue, Sol Joel Park in Earley.
The day started with a fair bit of rain and didn't look like it was going to improve vastly over the course of the morning. However, the pitch was playable if not a bit heavy in places and I don't think the game was ever in doubt.
On arriving I noticed immediately that Caversham were giving a debut to their new kit. Well their new shirts to be more exact, the rest of the kit having not been delivered yet. So, after a team photo to mark the occasion the sides were ready to do battle for a place in the Final.

The Background
Coming into the game both sides had played two games to progress to this Semi-Final. Shinfield Park kicked off with a 4-1 victory over fellow Division 3 side FC Showcase, they then beat Division 4 side Tilehurst Titans 4-0 in the Quarter-Final.
The Billy Goats beat the now defunct Coley Park Reserves 6-1 and followed it up with the dramatic 4-3 extra-time win over Borussia Teeth in the Quarter-Final. So, a total of 23 goals in the four games played so far. The chances of this being 0-0 were slim.

The Game
Shinfield, brimming with confidence after beating league leaders AFC Lowfield Green 6-1 in their last game, took the game to Caversham right from the first whistle, immediately pushing the Goats defence backwards and onto the back foot. It took 11 minutes for Shinfield to break the Goats resolve, Steven Downes breaking clear of his marker and producing a clinical finish past Tom Higginson to make it 1-0.
Caversham tried to dig in, but with their defence still being pushed quite deep they were finding it very difficult to get a foothold on the game and it was no real surprise when Shinfield grabbed a second goal. It came in the 23rd minute, Brett Rann controlling a ball over the top on the left flank, cutting inside and shaping an excellent shot into the far corner of Higginson's goal. 2-0
Once again, Caversham showed plenty of grit to steady the ship at this point, but were still not making any significant inroads into the Shinfield half. That was until the last 5 minutes of the first half when The Billy Goats managed to put together a few good passages of play and showed enough to give some encouragement for the second half, not forgetting that they were 2-0 down in the Quarter-Final as well.

HT Shinfield Park United 2 Caversham United 0. The higher ranked side showed their class and dominated the half. However, there were signs of a Goat revival toward the end of the 45 minutes.

Caversham looked much improved at the start of the second-half, ably led by captain and midfielder Aneal Sadiq. Although the well organised Shinfield defence always looked to be in control of the situation.
Credit to the Goats though that it took until the 67th minute before Shinfield finally put the game to bed. However, when it did come it was a goal of such simplicity that Caversham must have been very annoyed to concede in such manner. A corner from the right which was headed in, almost unchallenged, by Wayne Broadley for 3-0.
This would be an ideal spot to wheel out comments such as The Goats leaving themselves a mountain to climb but, of course, I'm not going to do that. Eight minutes later substitute Alex Dow got in on the act, muscling his marker off the ball before slotting the ball past Higginson to make it 4-0. The mountain had just become Everest.

Caversham were well beaten by now but weren't going to just collapse. To their credit they did still try to get the ball down and at least get a consolation goal. It was, however, not to be their day at all.
They won't be happy that on 81 minutes they conceded a goal almost identical to the Shinfield's third. Another right-wing corner but this time Shinfield captain Mitchell Cooper was the one to head the ball home. 5-0.
That just left 16-goal top-scorer Patrick Gardner to have the last say, hammering home Shinfield's superiority with the last kick of the game. 6-0

FT Shinfield Park United 6 Caversham United 0. The dream is over for The Goats but they can be proud of getting to a cup semi-final. On the day they were well beaten by a very good side in a division above them. Shinfield can go top of the Division Three with their games in hand and, on this evidence, I can see no reason to doubt that they will do just that.

Shinfield Park United: J.Patterson, Edwards, Holmes, D.Patterson, Carpenter, Baker, Rann, Downes, Cooper(c), Gardner, Rawlinson. Subs: Bessant, R.Dow, A.Dow, Broadley, Hughes
Caversham United: Higginson, Slowe, Foster, Frost, France, Sadiq(c), Webb, Dellow, Hales, Thomas, Sturgess. Subs: Voelker, Swift, Westwood

Att: 
Ground Number: 181
Entrance: Free
Programme:  Free

I have to admit, after the weekend weather followed by a thaw, I was wondering if many games would survive this midweek but, in the end, there were quite a number of games from which to choose. Having missed out on them before and being interested in evaluating their FA Vase credentials, I decided on Chertsey Town which would also tick off new ground number 180 for me.
Although I haven't seen them play either at home or away, Chertsey have featured in a BotP article in the past, namely the original What Did You Call Me? feature from March 2015, where I looked into the origin of their nickname, The Curfews. One more tenuous link between BotP and Chertsey Town is their current manager Dave Anderson, who was on the edition of the Non-League Football Show that I had the honour of being invited onto a couple of years ago.

The Ground
Hard to park but a really nice example of a traditional non-league ground. Very close to the town centre, hemmed in by houses and narrow streets, which makes parking even more tricky. 
Shelter of some form on all four sides. A decent sized main stand, some terracing and an incredibly low-roofed terrace on the far side.

​The Background
Chertsey came into the game sitting in second but with two games in hand. A win would take them above Sutton Common Rovers, who weren't playing (hence a presence from Sutton at the game). Badshot Lea gained promotion last season on the back of Worcester Park's unfortunate demotion. Despite being just below halfway they are still looking over their shoulders at the relegation pack in a rather congested lower half of the table.

The Match
The match started in reasonable conditions given the rain that had been coming down on my journey around the M25. It was a fairly even start to proceedings with the sides, who had not met previously this season, feeling each other out for the first 10 minutes or so.
However, just when it looked like Chertsey were about to start imposing themselves on the game, the visitors took an unexpected lead. The Curfews conceded a free-kick around 25 yards out on their left flank. The ball was delivered towards the front post by Max Herbert and Connor Close rose highest to head the ball past Jupp. 0-1 with 15 minutes gone.

​Chertsey tried to respond and, in fairness, started to control the game to a certain extent. However, chances were at a premium and it wasn't until after the half-hour mark that Jordan Clement in the Baggies goal had to get his knees dirty. When he did get called into action though, he was certainly on his game pulling off a superb one-handed stop to deny Binns the equaliser.
Not to be outdone, five minutes later Curfews stopper Nick Jupp showed cat-like replexes to tip the ball over the bar and prevent an own goal extending the vistors lead.
Andy Crossley curled a fine effort just wide of Clement's left-hand post and there were flashes of great one-touch passing, but the home side just couldn't find the final pass or killer touch.

HT Chertsey Town 0 Badshot Lea 1. The Baggies have not looked like a team at the opposite end of the table to their hosts. Having said that, Chertsey have not been anywhere near their best. 
​

​The second-half continued where the first left off. Chertsey looked the more assured on the ball but were growing increasingly frustrated by the stubbornness of the Badshot Lea backline. When they did get the ball, The Baggies still carried a threat going forward, aided by a selfless display of front-line leading by Harry Cooksley.

Chertsey were certainly starting to turn the screw and as the game progressed they were getting more possession and looking much more of a threat when they got into the final third. Jake Baxter had been a willing runner all game and his efforts were starting to cause a tiring Baggies defence more problems.
With the weather starting to worsen and time running out, the home side finally managed to find a breakthrough. Just shy of the 80th minute Guentchev saw his strike beat Clement but rebound off the far post. Unfortunately for Badshot Lea, Dale Binns was quickest to react, slotting the ball home to make it 1-1.

It was now, pretty much, an onslaught from Chertsey and the efforts were getting closer and closer, including one strike that smashed against Clement's bar with him completely beaten.
Then almost three minutes into injury time The Curfews demonstrated why they are pushing for the title. Guentchev broke down the right and flashed over a wonderful cross where Jake Baxter managed to get a glancing head on the ball to send it into the far corner. 2-1.

Badshot Lea, who must have been out on their feet from this late goal, immediately looked for an equaliser but when their move broke down and Chertsey broke, there was an off the ball coming together in midfield which sparked a coming together off all 22 players and some of the benches from both sides. It certainly couldn't be classed as a brawl but it wasn't good to see. Interestingly and maybe because it was so that in the game, the referee only pulled out yellow card - 3 in total I believe - where you would think that at least one red would have been called for if it had happened earlier.

FT Chertsey Town 2 Badshot Lea 1. A very hard fought three points for The Curfews sees them return to the top of the table. They were made to fight all the way for it by a Baggies side that, if effort scored points, would be a lot higher in the table.

Chertsey Town: Jupp, Flegg, Welch-Turner, Maclaren, Peacock, Rowe, Guentchev, Murphy, Baxter, Crossley, Binns. Subs: Pomroy, Kinsella, Taylor, Davis, Gallifent
Badshot Lea: Clement, Blake, Francis, Flanagan, Bonsu, Close, Ford, Lloyd, Cooksley, Thripp, Herbert. Subs: Blackie, Bell, Pilgrim

Att:
Ground Number: 180
Entrance: £7.00
Programme:  Free