​It was good to be back on the Tuesday night football trail again but, during the day, games were dropping like flies so I was very pleased to see that one of the games on my list passed a pitch inspection and would take place. The game in question being a crunch, local derby basement battle between CB Hounslow United and Hanworth Villa. A little bit of research into Hounslow had turned up a prettydecent liost of famous people who had either been born in there or lived there at some point. Amongst the names of people born in the town were some very well known musicians (not necessarily to my taste, but very well known nontheless), Phil Collins, Dave Cousins (The Strawbs for those of you old enough to remember Part of the Union), Ian McLagan from the Small Faces and Sophie Ellis-Bextor (Murder on the Dance Floor and daughter of a Blue Peter presenter of course). The name that really sprang out for me though was that of Charles Hawtrey. I grew up with Carry On films and, although they have dated somewhat, I still find them entertaining today. Charles Hawtrey (who's life story is well worth a read by the way - Whatshisname by Wes Butters) was always one of my favourites.

​The Ground
CB Hounslow United have played their home games at Green Lane since 2017. The ground is very close to Heathrow airport, not quite as close as the two Bedfont sides, but certainly close enough to see and hear planes coming in to land. The main car park fills up pretty quickly but there is ample room in the overflow parking which runs around two sides of the ground. The club is sponsored by Dnata, an air services company that is based at Heathrow. You can't miss the sponsorship, it is literally everywhere around the ground, which is not a bad thing at all. There is a single turnstile to enter the ground. Note that the clubhouse and tea bar are both situated outside but you can quite easily get back out and in again if necessary. The main stand is opposite the turnstile, on the Heathrow side of the ground. It is a decent-sized covered seating stand with seat numbers probably running into 3 figures (I din't count them). There is covered standing, The Frank James Stand, behind the goal at the far end of the ground and two small covered areas with bench seating on the clubhouse side, which is also where the dugouts are situated, one each side of the halfway line. Mounted on the back of the clubhouse wall, facing the pitch, is one of those non-league rarities, an electronic scoreboard. They actually have another standalone one at the far end of the ground too. It was switched off on this evening but maybe for a big game it would be in use?

​The Background
A massive local derby and battle between the bottom two in the Combined Counties Premier League. Both teams have become isolated at the foot of the table. Level on points with 18 each, but 6 adrift of Banstead Athletic and 8 shy of 18th placed Raynes Park Vale. To make matters worse both sides have played more than their rivals. Hounslow have already played 30 games, so have 10 to play. Villa have played 25 (15 to play). However, Banstead have played only 23 and Raynes Park Vale 24. Things are not looking too good for either of tonight's sides.
Hounslow last won a league game back in October, a 3-1 defeat of Guildford City. Since that time they have taken just 3 points, although 2 of those have come in the last month. Hanworth's record does not make for much more comfortable reading except, in their case, they did mange a stunning 3-1 win at league leaders Ascot United at the end of January. So, maybe a couple of green shoots showing for both clubs?
This is their first meeting this season. Last season saw honours shared with both sides winning their home game, Hounslow 2-1 in this fixture and, on the opening day, Villa winning 1-0 at Rectory Meadow in a game that saw 11 yellow cards but somewhat miraculously no reds.

​The Game
Just as I rolled up to the game I had a message from a friend saying that there was snow as far South as Bedfordshire. I wasn't surprised. The wind blowing around Green Lane was icy cold, made worse by the fact that the zip on my jacket broke just before kick-off. Still, I was looking forward to a good, open game with plenty of incident to make me forget the cold.
The game started off looking fairly even, although neither side looked very fluid. Probably understandable given their respective league positions. However,as the half progressed it was the home side, rock bottom at kick-off, who began to establish themselves.
Hanworth had the wind in their favour and were trying to use it to their advantage, playing long balls to their forwards, especially out towards their right flank. However, the home defence stood strong and never really looked threatened by this approach.
Finally, after 33 minutes the breakthrough came and it went to the home side. A ball was played into the Hanworth area towards a crowd of players. From my vantage point it was hard to see how it happened but the ball fell to the feet of Shakeel Morris who slid the ball into the net to make it 1-0. At first I thought it was number 11, Taymar Fleary who had scored. Numbers 10 & 11, when you catch a quick glimpse from the other side of the pitch can look similar. Well, that's my excuse. Maybe it's just my eyesight starting to fail me?)

HT CB Hounslow United 1 Hanworth Villa 0. On the overall balance of play a deserved lead for the home side.

​Hanworth came out for the second-half looking much more determined. For the first 5-10 minutes they were first to every ball, much to the annoyance of the home bench who were imploring their players to wake themselves up. Their cries were soon answered when, with their first attack of the half, Hounslow doubled their advantage. A low ball was fizzed in from the left flank where Morris managed to adjust his body shape well to finish at the near post. 2-0.
Hounslow then had a real chance to put the game to bed when they broke with a three on two situation. Unfortunately, in pursuit of his hat-trick, Morris chose the wrong option and the chance went begging. Not for too long though as on 68 minutes Morris was on hand to make it 3-0 and complete his hat-trick.

With plenty of time being added on for the injury to Trisdon Andrews, who was whisked off to hospital on a stretcher in the back of a transit van, there was still time for a bit of good old non-league handbags. Hounslow had a player down injured, after falling badly, and were trying to get the ball put out in order to get him treatment. It all got a bit heated on the sidelines before the ball was finally hoofed out of play. As the Hounslow trainer ran on to tend to the stricken player it all kicked off at the other end of the pitch with a Hounslow player ending up on the deck. After several minutes and a whole load of jostling the referee finally pulled out a red card and showed it to Hanworth's Meschach Williams.
As there was only a minute or two remaining the red card did not have any effect on the result. Villa were already well beaten by that point.

FT CB Hounslow United 3 Hanworth Villa 0. Despite that fact that I could barely feel my hands or toes by the end of the game, it was quite an entertaining evening from a neutral's perspective. A good win for United. Can they pull off a great escape? I must admit that I expected more from Hanworth after that win over Ascot but once the second goal went in they never really looked as if they believed they could pull it back.
Best wishes to Hounslow's Trisdon Andrews. Let's hope the injury was not as bad as it seemed.

CB Hounslow United: Rule, Andrews, De Jesus, Lawrence, Tubbs, Greenwood, Edwards, L.Bersey, Hardy, Morris, Fleary. Subs: S.Bersey, Smith, Wood, Elliott, O'Neill
Hanworth Villa: Russ, Mullings, Barzey, Fenlow, Taylor, Thoroughgood, Dwumfuo, Tingle, Williams, Roberts, Phillips. Subs: Navarro, Garlinge, Jay, Daniels, Dack

Att: 
Ground Number: 229
Entrance: £8.00
Programme: Included

Has anyone else noticed that our weather has got worse since the Met Office started naming storms? After the delights of Storm Ciara over the weekend, and the threat of Dennis heading our way, I was hedging my bets this midweek. I had initially highlighted North Greenford United v Tring Athletic as my number one choice but had also noted that Bracknell Town v Maldon & Tiptree was a possibility, given the artificial surface at Larges Lane. As it turned out though, Berkeley Fields was passed fit and I headed off down the A40 for a first trip to Greenford.

The Ground
Berkeley Fields, home of North Greenford United, is situated a mile or so off the A40 Western Avenue. Not a million miles from Wembley Stadium or from the infamous Hangar Lane Gyratory. There is very limited parking actually within the confines of the stadium (I presume players and officials only). However, there is a large car park just behind the club, shared with the local Irish sports club and a dog training centre.
The ground is accessed through a turnstile gate which leads in behind one of the goals. There is a fairly large, and warm, clubhouse as well as a tea/snack bar next to the entrance. Behind the car park goal there are two covered stand, one seating, directly behind the goal, and one standing area between the goal and corner flag. There is also another covered standing area to the right hand side, the Berkeley Avenue side of the ground with the dugouts situated on the opposite side of the pitch. There is a slight slope towards the car park end of the pitch.
Given the recent weather, the pitch didn't look too bad. Certainly heavy in places and sanded towards the car park end, mainly on the touchlines, but all in all it had seemed to hold up quite well.

​The Background
The week leading up to this game had been something of a rollercoaster ride for Tring Athletic. Although I wasn't fully aware of the situation until I spoke with a committee member during the first-half, the previous week had seen the club lose the first-team manager and a number of players. This came after their Chairman had stood down following some internal politics at the club. There still appears to be some turmoil behind the scenes surrounding the nature of the the various departures from the club. The account that I had from the committee member and the various notices on the club website (which I am told are subject to a request for them to be taken off the site) do not match those of at least one of member of staff who left last week. Let's hope, for the sake of all concerned, that the situation gets resolved in a fit and proper manner.
The team had then gone on to beat mid-table Leverstock Green 6-0 at the weekend, which put them 5 points behind leaders Colney Heath with a game in hand. However, they now faced a tricky away game at a resurgent North Greenford. The Blues started the day second from bottom with just 16 points from their 22 games. However, when you consider that 14 of those 16 points came in the last 7 league games, you can see that the club is on an upward curve.
Combine that with, I'm told, Tring named three under 18s in their back four, playing in front of an under 18 goalkeeper could make for an interesting contest.

​The Game
Tring began the game kicking down the slight slope on a freezing cold evening in West London. The game was fairly evenly matched in the opening encounters with both sides looking to make progress down the flanks. Nimoh on the right and Sunderland on the left for Tring both looked to have some pace and trickery, whilst Jake Nickless on Greenford's left side was also causing some problems for the Tring backline.

It was Tring who came closest to grabbing a goal in the first 25 minutes, Cornick with a good effort that wasn't too far off target and it was the away side who grabbed the lead shortly afterwards. A couple of corners had already caused some consternation with the wind taking them in towards the Greenford goal. Another corner, this time dropped a little shorter, just inside the near post, where Prince Nimoh was on hand to bundle it over the line. 0-1.

Just about on the half-hour mark Tring were, in my opinion, lucky to keep 11 players on the pitch when Olly Butler, chasing back in midfield, lunged from behind on one of the Greenford players. Maybe it looked worse than it was but from my vantage point it did look like a red card challenge to me and the Greenford player was lucky not to have sustained an injury. The referee produced a yellow card for Butler.

Just before the half hour mark Tring almost made it two when Greenford lost the ball in midfield, creating a three on one situation for the Tring forwards. The ball was played to Jack Sutherland whose shot beat House in the Greenford goal but came back off the far post. A let off for the home side.

HT North Greenford United 0 Tring Athletic 1. Overall, not that much between the sides but Tring created the better chances and probably should be more than one goal to the good at the break.

​The wind seemed to have picked up a little and the evening had definitely got even colder by the time the teams emerged for the second-half. With the slight slope and the wind with them more in this half, Greenford looked like they meant business. In fact the half was only 12 minutes old when they forced a corner on the same side from which Tring had engineered their opener. The ball in wasn't a particularly good one, low and never clearing the front post. However, the defender at the front post, when trying to clear, only succeeded in slicing the ball behind him towards the far post. It evaded everyone except for Ekow Coker who gratefully smashed it into the net. 1-1.

To be fair to both teams, they both played the remainder of the half looking for a winning goal. Greenford were much more of a threat going forward than they had been in the first half, going close a couple of times and worrying Saunders in the Athletic goal. Tring, for their part, were still creating chances, especially with raids down their right. Twice they had balls pulled across the box that just required a good finish. Neither time did they manage to apply that finish. 
Then came the sting in the tail as North Greenford launched on final attack with two minutes of added time already played. It proved to be the killer blow as substitute Reha Zerki slid the ball in from a tight angle to make it 2-1

FT North Greenford United 2 Tring Athletic 1. The late goal was a little harsh on a young Tring side who battled hard throughout the game. Greenford made it 5 wins from their last 8  as they prepare to take on the league leaders, Colney Heath, on Saturday. Tring, meanwhile, face 7th placed Crawley Green at home this coming weekend.

North Greenford United: House, Brown, Dioum, Ward, Coker, Mills, Pedro, Manitou(c), Davis, Molyneaux, Nickless. Subs: Webb, Kirwan, Zerki, Eubia, Curd
Tring Athletic: Saunders, Habashi, Cowan, Foley, Cornick, McManus(c), Salmon, Butler, Asante, Nimoh, Sunderland. Subs: Barkers-Obua, Hercules, Naylor, Blake

Att: 72
Ground Number: 228
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: N/A

I can't resist the FA Vase. So this weekend, after watching my U10 girl's dominate their game and yet lose 1-0, I headed made the 2 hour drive to deepest Wiltshire to watch Bradford Town take on Leighton Town for a place in the last eight.

The Ground
Bradford Town's Trowbridge Road ground is just a 10 minute walk out of the very picturesque town of Bradford on Avon, on the South-Eastern edge of the town. Being situated within the residential area of the ton, there is limited parking at the ground itself but plenty of on-street parking within a short walk. Entry is through a double wrought-iron gate which leads into the area behind the town end goal. Here you will find the small parking area, the food bar and separate tea and hot drinks bar. This area also houses the toilets and players & officials changing areas. The clubhouse, which is shared with the Spencer Moulton Bowls Club, is separate and can be found just on the other side of the car park area. On the Trowbridge Road side of the ground there is covered standing and covered seating, backed by a grass bank and the wall that separates the ground from the road.. The opposite side has no cover and is open to a series of smaller football pitches. The far end of the ground is backed by trees and two large, quite old houses built in a style very typical of the area (Bradford on Avon is very similar in architectural style to nearby Bath).

The Background
Hosts Bradford Town currently sit atop the Western League Premier Division, three points clear of closest rivals Plymouth Parkway but having played one game more. They have lost just once at home in the league, a 3-2 defeat to Street back in September. This run in the Vase equals their previous best performances, where they have twice reached Round 5, suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Highworth Town in 2014-15 and a similar result at Marske in 2017-18. This season they have so far beaten Solent University (a) 7-2, Hamble Club (h) 1-0, Lymington Town (h) 1-0, Baffins Milton Rovers (a) 3-2, Bridgwater Town (h) 4-3 aet and Buckland Athletic (a) 2-1.

​Leighton's league position, 11th at kick-off, suggests that they have not set their league alight this season. However, they have played at least three fewer than the teams above them and, should they win them all, would certainly be making waves in the top six. Their away form started off quite poorly but Bradford will no doubt be aware that they have won their last 5 away leagues games, a record suggesting that they definitely a team on the up. In the Vase they have progressed via Bugbrooke St Michaels (h) 3-0, Long Crendon (a) 5-2, Hadleigh United (h) 2-1, Broxbourne Borough (h) 6-1, Eastbourne Town (h) 2-1 and Eynesbury Rovers (a) 4-3 (after being 3-1 down in the 2nd half). Their previous best Vase performance was a Quarter-Final appearance in the 2017-18 competition when they lost 1-0 at home to 1974 Northwich, a game that BotP was present at (Crest Fallen)

​The Game
Arriving well in advance of kick-off, I took a quick snap of the staring line-ups, which had been written on a board behind the car park end goal, and set off to find a good vantage point whilst marking the teams on my match day programme. What I had failed to notice is that the Leighton Town team on the board did not match the one that their official Twitter account had tweeted.

Most games of this importance start with both sides being a little tentative, sounding each other out until they relax and start to play their own games. Not in this case though. From the off, both sides were into their strides pretty quickly, promising to make it an interesting game.
It was the home side who began get the upper hand in the opening encounters though, gradually pushing the game into The Reds' half of the pitch. Leighton didn't seem to mind this too much and were seemingly content to deal with whatever Bradford had to offer. It was noticeable that Bradford wanted to get the ball forward quite quickly whereas Leighton were much keener to play ground passes and, with the wind from the approaching storm starting to pick up, keeping the ball low may well prove to be the wiser tactic.

With 14 minutes on the clock and with the ball having spent the majority of that time in the Leighton half, The Reds launched what was their first meaningful attack. Worton, in the Bradford goal, spilled a cross but was fortunate to see a defender hack clear to the edge of the box. However, the ball was controlled by James Towell who then proceeded to plant a perfect half-volley over the keeper and into the top corner t make it 0-1. What a superb strike to give his team the lead.

Bradford were straight back on the attack in what was now becoming a really fascinating game,especially as a neutral. For the next 15 minutes the ball was again predominantly within the confines of the Leighton half. That was until just before the half-hour mark when Leighton once again hot their hosts on the break. Towell was again heavily involved, sprinting don the left flank, drawing the keeper over and then crossing perfectly for Danny Webb to tap into the empty net for 0-2. Two goals against the general run of play was no coincidence. Leighton were executing a game plan here, and executing it very well.

Unfortunately, the second goal prompted some disturbance behind the Leighton goal where a group of their noisier fans had gathered. These fans, mainly kids and teenagers, generate a good atmosphere with chanting and their drum. However, as I noted in the game against Northwich and as has been seen at a few other games (Eynesbury in the last round I believe was an example), they have a small group who seem to want to provoke the opposing fans and take the 'banter' one step too far. It's such a shame because their actions drag down the reputation of the club. I'm sure that it is just one or two that spark the confrontations, but I do hope the club can get it under control.

Anyway, back to the game. Bradford, despite now being two down, continued to take the fight to their opponents but could not seem to find that final ball or the precise finishing touch. They did, however, manage to get a foothold back in the game in added time in the first half. A ball into the Leighton box was nodded down by Gary Higdon for Matt Morris to force over the line. 1-2 and game on in the second-half?

HT Bradford Town 1 Leighton Town 2. Bradford had about 80% of the play but were caught out twice by Leighton. Some great defending from the away side has kept Bradford at bay until the final minute of the half. All to play in the second period.

​The second period started just as the first had left off, with Bradford searching for what seemed to be an inevitable equaliser. Leighton though were having none of it. Their defence stood resolute against the waves of Bradford attacks and their forwards were looking increasingly dangerous when they broke. Bradford kept pushing and pushing which left them exposed more at the bakc and the game becasme stretched. Teh consequence of this ws that Leifghton were able to break forward more than they did in the first half. So, even though the home ide were still on top possession-wise, the half was far more bakanced than the first.
Chances went begging for Bradford who, by the hour mark, had started to lauch the ball towards the tall Higdon more and more. To be fair to the triker, he was winning a number of high balls but the Leighton defence was always quick to mop up.
On 77 minutes we had another stoppage in play as a plstic water bottle was thrown onto the pitch by a Bradford supporter. Teh bottle was aimed, but missed, the assistant on that side of the pitch who had given a few marginal decisions in favour of the away team. There's no excuse for this behaviour though and, as the referee stopped the game and reported the incident to officials, there coudl be repercussions for the club.

With five mnutes to go, Leighton once more executed their party trick to perfection. Bradford were now pushing for an equaliser as hard as they could but Leighton sucked them in and then quickly broke forward. Once again it was Towell who did the damage, breaking through the Bradford back line before squaring for substitute Archie McClelland to apply the final touch. 1-3 and game over.

FT Bradford Town 1 Leighton Town 3. On another day Bradford could have run out handsome winners but it was just not to be today. You have to say that this was largely down to the game management shown by Leighton Town. They soaked up everything that Bradford could throw at them and, when they did get a chance, they took it every time. As a neutral you had to feel for Bradford, who were arguably the better team. However, Leighton executed their game plan to absolute perfection and will be difficult opponents for whoever they get in the Quarter-Final.

Bradford Town: Worton, Whitcombe, Stocks, Davidson(c), Keet, Lye, Maddison, Griffiths, Higdon, Pollard, Morris. Suns: Powell, Baggs, Watts, Symonds, Sawyer
Leighton Town: Kirkwood, Bryant, Resch, Murphy, Towell, Frederick(c), Turner, Osborne, Foulger, Webb, Silford. Subs: Campbell, McClelland, Adams, Condon, Donkor, Waters

Att: 463
Ground Number: 227
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: £1.00

After the best part of a month without a game, I was finally back out on the road this midweek. My last game had been a cracking Step 6 clash at Bewdley Town, so I decided to stay at that level and head into Leicestershire for the first ever meeting of Saffron Dynamo and Harrowby United. Two new teams for me and a new ground. Not a bad way to get back into watching live football.

The Ground
Saffron Dynamo play at Cambridge Road on the outskirts of the village of Cosby, some 5 miles South-West of Leicester, adjacent to Whetstone Golf Club. The reasonably large car park runs alongside Cambridge Road and leads to a facility block that houses the clubhouse, players & officials areas, bar (staffed by a very pleasant, friendly gentleman) and the snack bar. As the ground is shared with the cricket club, the clubhouse is a short walk from the football pitch, separated by the cricket pitch. The football ground itself only has two side accessible to the viewing public, behind the goal on the golf course side and on the far side of the ground, opposite Cambridge Road, where the dugouts and the small covered standing area are situated.

The Background
This is Saffron's first season at Step 6, having been promoted as runners-up to Rugby Borough from last season's Leicestershire Senior League. They have made a reasonable start to life at this level and, before kick-off, were comfortably mid-table with 29 points. Harrowby, on the back of two pretty successful seasons, finishing 5th and 7th respectively, had also started well again and were sitting in 7th spot with 38 points. This game would be the first league meeting between the teams.

​The Game
Both sides began the game with some intensity, clearly stating their respective intent not to play for a point. 
Just after the half hour mark Harrowby's goalkeeper Yinka Adebowale had to race off his line to meet a long ball. He got to the ball first but was then flattened by the challenge of the onrushing attacker. There didn't seem to be anything malicious in the collision but the attacking player certainly made no attempt to avoid the clash. Even the locals were shocked that the referee didn't show a yellow card, but in the end there was not even a talking to administered. To be fair to the referee this was in keeping with the sort of leniency he showed throughout the game, letting it flow as much as possible, even when he probably should have pulled players up for one o=r two naughty challenges.
There then followed a long delay whilst the physio attended to the keeper. With no reserve stopper on the bench, Harrowby were keen to keep Adebowale on the field, which they eventually managed although the stopper was clearly not very mobile and still in some pain.
After the restart Saffron, as you would expect, showed some urgency to test out the keeper's agility but struggled to muster a shooting opportunity. That was until around the 41st minutes (difficult to say exactly due to the prolonged stoppage) when Mark Foster latched onto a through ball and steered the ball past the stranded keeper and into the far corner. 1-0.

HT Saffron Dynamo 1 Harrowby United 0. Dynamo just about edged a tight half. Harrowby will now have to play the remainder of the game with either an injured keeper, with severely restricted mobility, or put an outfield player in goal.

​I think everyone was surprised to see Harrowby's injured keeper return for the second-half but he gamely limped onto the pitch and took his place between the sticks. To be fair to the Harrowby defence, they did an extremely good job of protecting him throughout the entire second-half. They were assisted by the fact that Saffron seemed incapable of getting a clear sight of goal but it is safe to say that Adebowale did not have to stretch himself at all for the final 45 minutes. 
The biggest threat that Harrowby faced was when their keeper did have the ball in his hands because he was entirely incapable of kicking it clear. Therefore, he had to rely upon throwing the ball out. The Saffron forwards were cutting out his nearest options so a number of times he was forced to throw the ball towards a midfielder giving the home players ample time to cut out the pass.

Whilst Harrowby huffed and puffed looking for an equaliser, it wasn't until the final 10 minutes that they really pushed the home side backwards. Even then it was not a complete siege. Saffron's keeper Phillips did have to pull off one particularly good save from a far post header but, in the main, his goal didn't come under a huge threat.

FT Saffron Dynamo 1 Harrowby United 0. A good three points for Saffron in what was certainly not the most entertaining game of football that I have seen. Having said that, it was good to be back on the road again. 

Saffron Dynamo: Phillips, Davies, Noble, Kilby, Tye(c), Lee, Essex, Reaney, Foster, Johnson, J.Brown. Subs: M.Brown, Henry, Butler, Fox, El Hachimi
Harrowby United: Adebowale, Rigby, Thompson, Yenibertiz, Warman, Stubbs(c), John, Hales, Price, Showler, Sylla. Subs: Moulds, Kdapo, Amponsen, Thorpe, McGhee

Att: 25
Ground Number: 226
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: N/A