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The Ampthill Mob

25/3/2015

Following on from last Thursday's trip to see Leverstock Green v Holmer Green, this Tuesday was an opportunity to see the other side of the SSML Premier relegation battle. Ampthill Town, three points above Holmer Green but having played three more games, at home to mid-table Oxhey Jets.
Ampthill's Woburn Road stadium is just off the A507 on the outskirts of the town. A short driveway through woodland leads up to a reasonably sized car park right next to the clubhouse and entrance to the ground.
There is a single, old-fashioned style, turnstile next to the entrance gate. The clubhouse, which incorprates the tea and snack bar, stands to the right of the entrance. There is a fairly large covered seating area along the right-hand side of the playing area which is slightly raised above the playing surface. The stadium is in a very rural setting and this side of the ground is on a natural bank giving a very good view over the pitch. This stand also houses the original dugouts which are actually built and set inot the fabric of the stand. However, as is the case at many non-league grounds these days, the dugouts that are in use are on the opposite side of the pitch, well away from the main supporters area.
Ampthill were coming into the game on the back of a fantastic 3-2 win over Hertford, a team who had put 7 past them earlier in the season. This evening's visitors, Oxhey, won the reverse fixture 5-0, so Ampthill were looking to turn the tables for the second game in 3 days.
For the first fifteen minutes Oxhey looked exactly what they are, a comfortable, safe, mid-table team. The home side were making all of the running and Oxhey barely made it into their opponents half at all. Sure enough, 14 minutes into the game, a perfectly weighted through ball split the Oxhey defence wide open and Dan Butler latched onto it, took it around the keeper and slipped it into an empty net. No more than Ampthill deserved.Their joy was relatively short-lived though when Oxhey equalised from their first meaningful attempt at goal. A diagonal ball over the leaft-backs head was perfectly flighted for Gladdy to run onto and unleash an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net from the corner of the box. It may have been their first attempt but it was a strike worthy of putting them back in the game. 'Tek a boo son' as Andy Gray woudl have said. The goal seemed to remind Oxhey that they were in a game and, from that point onwards, they probably shaded the rest of the first half. At half-time it was still 1-1 and it was all to play for in the second half.
The first fifteen minutes or so of the second half was a particularly scrappy affair with neither side taking control of the game. This was all to change on 60 minutes when a declined Jets penalty appeal sparked the game back into life. From the other end of the pitch, albeit with a good view of the incident, it looked like Oxhey had a fair case to appeal and that there was contact between the defender and the Oxhey striker.
The Jets sense of injustice lead to them contesting the ball more intensely and Ampthill upped the level to match them. This lead to a very entertaining last 30 minutes. Despite Oxhey's renewed enthusiasm, it was actually the home side who began to take control of the game. For the next quarter of an hour or so they created numerous chances to take the lead, forcing the Oxhey keeper into at least one superb save and being denied by some last ditch defending on more than one occasion. At least two chances looked easier to score from including one attempt where the ball rolled across the Jets goal line somehow eludingall atempts to prod it over the line.
It was beginning to look as if the home side might regret their misses but, with about ten minutes remaining, a right-wing free-kick was swung into the Jets box and captain Ben Butler gleefully smashed the ball past the helpless keeper. Cue joyous celebrations from the home side. There was still some time to play out but you had the feeling that Ampthill were in no mood to let the points slip at this point. Oxhey did get the ball back into the Ampthill half a few times but there weren't too many scares. In fact, it was Ampthill who almost had the last say when they broke through for a one on one only for the keeper to rush out and take the striker out. The incident was just outside the area, so no penalty appeal and the referee only produced a yellow card, despite it being a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Maybe the fact that it was pretty much the last minute swayed the referees decision, but I think the keeper was very lucky to not see red.
The referee soon blew for full time to the relief and joy of the Ampthill team and support. Overall, this was an entertaining game of football which, on the second half performance alone, the home side deservedly won. With Holmer Green picking up a point against Biggleswade, Ampthill are now five points ahead but have still played three more games. It looks like the relegation battle could go down to the wire.

Ampthill Town - @ampthillfc
Oxhey Jets - @1972jets

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Battle of the Greens

20/3/2015

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Thursday evening and while Everton were confirming that English clubs are happy to concentrate on the league this season there was the far more interesting matter of a Spartan South Midlands game to attend. Normally I am not a big fan of Thursday matches. I know that, at this stage of the season, they do become a necessity but Thursday's have traditionally been football-free zones. However, on this occasion I hadn't been able to make a game earlier in the week, so this clash of the Greens between Leverstock Green and Holmer Green was actually welcomed. A little research on the clubs showed that neither was setting the world alight this season. In fact Holmer Green, despite some recent good performances, were currently second from bottom albeit with a few games in hand over the majority of the other strugglers. Leverstock were not a great deal better off, seventh from bottom but 13 points clear of their opponents.
Leverstock Green is a suburb of Hemel Hempstead wedged between the A414 and the M1. Oddly though, after approaching the ground down a very narrow lane, you get the feeling that you are in a rural location. Parking is limited at the ground and locals are actually actively encouraged to walk there. There is no offroad parking alongside the ground due to the narrowness of the lane. No problem on this evening though. I was met at the entrance by a friendly gatekeeper who informed me that there was no parking charge, it was inlcuded in the entarnce fee of £6 (programme an extra £1).
Once inside there is parking running parallel to Pancake Lane, behind one of the goals, as well as limited spaces down one side of the ground. There is a clubhouse and bar on the left hand side as you enter along with a tea and snack bar. The dugouts are also on this side of the pitch, spread well apart. No chance of any Wenger-style contretemps between the benches here. Opposite the clubhouse is a covered seating area, the Friends of Leverstock Green FC Stand. The rest of the ground is surrounded by hard-standing and, I have to say, appeared to be all very well maintained.
On to the game itself. Leverstock lost the toss, I believe, and ended up kicking down the slope in the first half, away from the car park end. The opening encounters were, as would be expected from two teams at the wrong end of the table, cautious to say the least. Most noticeable was the inability of both sides to string more than two consecutive passes together. The away side, who needed the points most of all, only seemed to have the long ball in their locker for the opening 15 minutes. They appeared to be there for the taking if only Leverstock could get the ball down and play through them. This did not happen and, the longer the game progressed, the more Holmer Green gained in confidence.
Just before the half hour mark Leverstock lost their goalkeeper and captain to injury. From the fact that the injured player had to remove his shirt to hand to one of the substitutes we can gather that there was no recognised goalkeeper on the bench. Five minutes later the away side took the lead. A decent cross from the left into the Leverstock 18 yard box was contested by a striker and defender and, when the ball dropped perfectly in his path, the on-rushing Dean Allen drilled the ball under the new keeper and into the net. No chance whatsoever for the substitute keeper. This was also the 100th goal that I have seen this season.
The expected response from the hom side did not materialise and the remainder of the half was played out with little threat to either goal. When the referee blew for half-time there had been little to choose between the teams but it was the away side who held the advantage. Not the best half of football that anyone had seen. It could only get better, and it did.
The second half began at a much higher pace than the first had ended. Within a few minutes of the restart Leverstock had a reasonable penalty shout denied by the referee. Seconds later, Holmer went down the the other end and hit the post from the edge of the box. Probanly more action in the opening 5 minutes of the second half than in the entire first 45.
Leverstock were looking far more dangerous, especially down the right flank where time and again they made good progress but could not find a final ball. Then, just past the hour and completely out of the blue, Leverstock produced a move that stood out like a sore thumb. A series of one touch passes don the right opened up the Holmer defence and gave Moses a clear angled run on the goalkeeper. He duly obliged with a superb driven finish high into the keepers near post. It was a goal that would have graced a much higher level than this and a worthy equaliser.
There seemed to be only one winner from this point onwards but Leverstock again failed to take advantage when they were on top and, to give them credit, Holmer dug in and defended their point right up to the last minute.
On the second half performance, Leverstock probably deserved to have got more than a point out of this game. However, Holmer displayed a determination that belied their league position and will certainly feel they were worthy of the point.

Leverstock Green - @levgreenfc
Holmer Green - @holmergreenfc

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What Did You Call Me?

13/3/2015

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In this article, part one of what we hope will be a regular feature, we take a look at some of the more unusual nicknames in the non-league world. We all know of Blues, United, Rovers, Reds etc but what about the names that don't immediately explain themselves?

The first team that we will look at is the team that inspired this article, Stamford AFC. The Daniels, for that is their nickname, play in the NPL Premier League but where did their unusual monicker come from? You would be excused for thinking that it was, maybe, a hangover from an old works team name. There are, after all, many examples of teams that have retained names from their days as the sports team attached to a factory. However, in the case of Stamford it is far more obscure. Daniel Lambert is, in fact, where the nickname originates from. Daniel who? You may say. Well, Daniel Lambert was recorded as the heaviest ever man in Britain. He died in 1809, in the town of Stamford, weighing in at an incredible 52 stone (give or take the odd pound). He is buried in the churchyard of St Martin's which lies just a few hundred yards from the club's home, Borderville Stadium.

Moving South somewhat, we come to the Northamptonshire town of Wellingborough where we find two United Counties teams and two unusual nicknames to go with them. Starting with the UCL Premier side, Wellingborough Town, or the Doughboys as they are known. If you know anything about the Wellingborough area, home of Whitworths flour manufacturers, you would think flour, dough, Doughboys. It seems to make sense. However, the nickname is actually thought to derive from a local speciality "ock 'n' dough" comprising of hock of bacon and vegetables wrapped in pastry. A Northamptonshire pasty, you could say.
The other Wellingborough team, Whitworth, are known as the Flourmen. This is no real surprise as the team was originally called Whitworths and, presumably, was the football team of the Whitworth flour factory some 200 yards from the ground. The strange thing about Whitworth is that the connection to the flour company is not mentioned on the website or on Wikipedia at all. In fact, the official website history states the team was formed as result of the Wellingborough Ideal Clothiers club disbanding. So, maybe there is another reason for the Flourmen nickname? Maybe someone will enlighten us?

From Northamptonshire we move North-West to Halesowen and a bit of a mystery nickname. Halesowen Town are known as The Yeltz. The have been known as The Yeltz for as long as anyone can remember. However, no-one really seems to have a good explanation for this odd name. The official club website (http://www.ht-fc.com/history/club-history/why-the-yeltz.html) has an entire section dedicated to the question Why the Yeltz? and, as it states, the truth is - nobody really knows. I'll let you decide which theory seems to be the most realistic. My personal favourite is actually the least likely (and most likley one to be an April Fool joke) about the Hungarian player Pungus Catfich.

From the industrial West Midlands to leafy West London and Hampton & Richmond Borough FC, on the banks of the Thames. The club is known as The Beavers and, with such proximity to the river, you may think with good cause. But wait....beavers...in London. Maybe there is more to this name than meets the eye. Well, maybe. Hampton & Richmond play at The Beveree, named after the house whose grounds the stadium once stood in. There is a nearby road called Beaver Close and an ancient stream flows under the pitch, into the Thames a few hundred yards away. So, the nickname could come from the name of the house or it could be a reference to the animal which may have lived on the banks of the river before it became extinct in the UK. We may never know for sure.

Not a million miles away to the west lies the Surrey town of Chertsey, home of Combined Counties Premier side Chertsey Town. Here we find another unusual nickname, The Curfews. This is apparently a reference to a famous local bell that hangs in St Peter's Church. This was used to signal the start of the curfew in town each evening (now used ceremonially only, of course) and may date back as far as 1235. Details on the Chertsey Curfew Bell can be found here (http://www.stpeterschertsey.org/bells/curfew.htm).

Our final stop for now is the North East and the Teeside town of Billingham. One of the local teams in the town is called Billingham Synthonia who are nicknamed, unsurprisingly, The Synners. However, this still qualifies as an unusual nickname because of the nature of the club's name, Synthonia, which is actually a contraction of "synthetic amonia". This was a product manufactured by ICI with whom the club, at one time, had a close connection. So, Billingham Synthonia hold the dubious title of being the only club (as far as we know) to be named after an agricultural fertiliser. Surely something that has not escaped rival fans over the years?

That's it for this whirlwind tour around the nicknames of non-league football. Hopefully there will be a second edition coming out soon. Meanwhile, do you know of any unusual nicknames out there? Woudl you like to see a team fatured here. Contact us on [email protected] or Tweet @basepyramid #nicknames.

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Tring Out'dun' by Experience

11/3/2015

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Despite spending quite a bit of time visiting friends in Tring, Tuesday evening was my first ever visit to the Grassroots Stadium. The ground is situated on the outskirts of Tring just off the A41 between Tring and Berkhamsted. The car park is a reasonable size but on days when the rugby club is playing or training, as it was this evening, can get quite full. I managed to find one of the remaining spaces but it didn't look like there was too much off-site parking on the road, Cow Lane. This is a rather narrow lane with very little room to park on either side.
Once inside, however, the ground has a tight and atmospheric feel to it. Along the car park side is the club house (including the tea bar), the players and officials areas and the rather magnificent and unique David Evans Stand. The seating area in this structure is raised high above pitch-level, looking out over the dug outs to the playing surface. I don't think I have seen another structure like it anywhere. To the left of the David Evans Stand there is a low covered area which has a single row of seats bolted onto it.

On to the game itself. After an initial period of sparring between the sides the game sprang into life in the 11th minute. Tring were awarded a free-kick halfway inside the Dunstable half. As they took the kick it was charged down by Lorenzo Silvestri, who was clearly no more than a few yards from the ball. Neither the referee or his assistant, who was less than 20 yards from the incident, deemed it to be an offence and Dunstable immediately broke downfield forcng a corner. The resultant cross from the left caused chaos in the Tring box and, after the home keeper saved one effort, the rebound was finally smashed home from close range by centre-half George Biggadike. A controversial passage of play which did not go down well with the home contingent.
Tring, however, picked themselves up and tried to get a passing game together. This looked quite good at times, especially in the midfield area but, once they pushed a little further forward, the passes went astray and the forward line looked a little toothless in all honesty. The away side, in contrast, tended to be a little more direct, not a long ball team but certainly wanting to hit the front two earlier. This tactic was causing problems for Tring throughout the half. The two up front for Dunstable supported ably by their two attacking midfielders were pacy, direct and showed that they had a little more experience than their counterparts. Testament to this was the shout from a Tring defender after their midfield had once again seen a pass go astray 'come on guys, give us a rest at the back'. However, they did hold out and, at half-time, it remained Tring Athletic 0 AFC Dunstable 1.

The second half started with Tring looking slightly brighter than in the first half but still not really testing the Dunstable defence and certainly were not troubling the visiting keeper. However, a series of events 15 minutes into the half sparked the game into life. First of all Dunstable took off Silvestri, who had been a major thorn in the side of the home defence all game. Then Tring made an unusually bold triple substitution, something rarely seen at any level of the game. Finally, a challenge in midfield where a Dunstable player appeared to lead with his elbow, sparked a small fracas which the referee had to step in to calm down. I have to say, from my vantage point just a few yards from the incident, I thought the Dunstable player was lucky not to see red. Although I am sure there was no intent to injure, he did lead with his elbow and contact was made.
This event, or maybe a combination of all three, seemed to galvanise Tring. Suddenly they had a spring in their step, were winning the 50-50 balls and passes were hitting their mark. Within a couple of minutes they had their reward when a driven free-kick from their left was met by a glancing header from Chris Vardy and, via a deflection, nestled in the far corner. So, with around 25 minutes to go it was all square and game on.
Almost immediately after the Tring equaliser Dunstable broke up the other end and very nearly snatched the lead back when a through ball was latched onto by a Dunstable striker who beat the keeper only to see his effort go wide of the far post on go for a goal kick. It was nip and tuck for the next 10 minutes, with Tring probably shading it in contrast to their first half performance. Saying that, they still looked a little vulnerable at the back and almost paid the price when Silvestri's replacement, Francis, beat the keeper only to see his shot clip the post and go for a goal kick.
Then with less than 10 minutes remaining Dunstable won a free-kick on their right wing close to the edge of the 18 yard box. The kick was lofted to the far post and met with a powerful Fryer header, much to the consternation of the home support at that end of the ground. I heard later from a number of them that the scorer was in an offside position and that the referee and the assistant had clear enough views to have spotted it. However, I was at the other end of the ground and cannot comment myself.
It was a little harsh on Tring after their second half showing, where they matched and probably edged their high-flying opponents. Still, that's football. There was plenty of injury time to play after an injury to a Dunstable player who was stretchered off but, thankfully, re-appeared from the changing rooms later, hobbling somewhat, but otherwise ok as far as I could see.
Dunstable capably played out the remainder of the game and claimed the win, which takes them to within a point of the top. They ultimately won this game due to their greater experience. There was a feeling, throughout the game, that their players had 'been around' this level more than the Tring players. Having said that, Tring showed signs of being a good side. Their passing was, at times, very neat and the way they upped their game in the second half showed that they can mix it with the best in the league.

Tring Athletic - @tringathletic
AFC Dunstable - @afcdunstable

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