​Tuesday evening was something of a small milestone for Base of the Pyramid. This was going to be my 200th game (the 152nd new ground) since I started the website and blog back in late 2012. To the seasoned ground-hoppers out there, 200 games in over 5 seasons probably doesn't seem like a big number. However, remember that I mainly only go to midweek games, with the odd weekend sprinkled in. So, in my mind, it's not too shabby a total. The 200 games have taken me over 16,500 miles around the country. I have seen 719 goals and paid out almost £1,350 in admission fees.

I must admit, the milestone had completely slipped my mind when I set out for deepest, darkest Leicestershire. My chosen venue was St John's Park, home of Heather St John's of the TotalMotion Midland League Division One. I must admit that it was a toss-up between this game and the, slightly closer, game between Cadbury Athletic and Leicester Road. However, the lure of the league leaders, Walsall Wood, combined with the fact that I was ready to leave the house well in advance of my cut-off time for getting to Heather, swayed my decision.

Upon arriving at the ground, I was not disappointed with my choice. St John's Park is situated on the Northern perimeter of the village of Heather, in Leicestershire. Entrance to the ground, from the ample car park, is through a fairly modern dual-door turnstile block. This brings you into the ground adjacent to the clubhouse block, which also houses the players & officials facilities. The main stand, emblazoned with Heather St John's FC, is directly opposite, straddling the halfway line. On the near side, the Ravenstone Road side, there is low, covered seating stand at the top end of the ground. There is also a very interesting structure which runs about a third of the length of the playing area, with the halfway line as it's centre point. this consists of two  small seating areas and the dugouts, which are situated either side of an archway leading onto the pitch. On top of this, right on halfway, there is what I assume was the media centre, where the pitch-side announcements were made from. It's one of those structures that makes some non-league stadiums unique.

​The club has a very friendly feel to it. This is highlighted by a couple of very nice touches. Firstly, the stadium announcer welcomed and name-checked some visitors, two of which had come all of the way from Norwich (and I thought my journey from Oxfordshire was beyond the call of duty). Secondly, shortly after kick-off one of the club members walked around the ground personally greeting any newcomers that he spotted. It was quite remiss of me not to get his name when we met, however, I have since learned that the gentleman's name is Stephen Leary. So Stephen, thank you for the welcome and keep up the good work. Yet another example of the sort of character that makes non-league football so special.

As I said before, this evening's game featured the visit of league leaders Walsall Wood and, with Heather St John's sitting in sixth spot themselves, it promised to be a good contest. When the sides met in WS9 last August, Wood had run out winners by 4-1 so Saints were also looking to avenge this result.

They started very positively, in fact before the first minute was over Saints had taken the lead, Michael Bloore applying the finishing touch. 1-0.

The response from the league leaders was rapid though. Going a goal down so early on had woken them up and, on 6 minutes, they got back on level terms. A superb long ball from right-back Lewis Hayden found Paul Sullivan breaking through the middle. The defenders got back enough to prevent him getting a shot away but, when he laid the ball off to Tony Clarke, he made no mistake from inside the box. 1-1

This was shaping up to be an intriguing contest. Wood had shown their title aspirations by responding so quickly. However, Saints were looking very dangerous when they went forward. The pace of the league's leading scorer, Simeon Cobourne, was finding a few gaps in the Wood defence at times.
Just after the quarter-hour had passed, Wood managed to get their noses in front. West's audacious back-heeled flick split the home defence wide open allowing Clarke to pounce and he drilled an unstoppable finish past Allsop's left-hand from the edge of the box. 1-2

Heather, to be fair, were not downhearted after going behind and, although they were on the back foot for quite a while, still looked dangerous when they did break. Wood were now playing some good football and looking a little tighter at the back, marshalled by captain Mitch Tolley, and it was Tolley who provided one of the moments of the first-half, for me anyway. Cutting out a Heather attack deep in his own half, the centre-half set off on a run more akin to a flying winger than a big defender. After weaving his way towards the edge of the Saints box he finally laid the ball off to an attacker. The move came to nothing in the end but what a run from the big man. You don't often see a centre-half do that. Worth the entrance fee alone in my book.

HT Heather St Johns 1 Walsall Wood 2. Great response from Wood after the early shock of going a goal down. An entertaining game of football with some quality play from both sides.

A​fter a name-check of my own at half-time and a cup of tea, I settled down in the low stand for the second-half. We were served up a game not dissimilar to the first half. Wood looked to be more or less in control for most of the half, but Heather were still dangerous on the break and, while it was 1-2 at least, they were still well in the game.
On 64 minutes we had the incident that, pretty much, ended the game as a contest. A quick Wood break saw the ball played into the channel for Sullivan to latch onto. His pace was about to get him beyond the Saints defence when his progress was stopped, illegally, in the box. Penalty to Wood. Sullivan stepped up and took the kick himself to make it 1-3.

Heather certainly did not give up at thsi point but, a two goal deficit against a side as good as Wood, was always going to be an extremely difficult mountain to climb. They had a go though and, on a couple of occasions came very close to getting a goal back. If they had done, with ten minutes or so to go, it would have made for an interesting finale. As it was, Wood saw out the remaining time fairly comfortably to take the points.

Leicester Road and Cadbury Athletic finished 2-2, so Wood increase their lead at the top to four points from new second placed side Ilkeston Town, who won 3-1 at Brocton.

FT Heather St Johns 1 Walsall Wood 3. Two good sides who would not look out of place in a higher league. Wood showed their class after going a goal down but Saints continued to fight until the final whistle. 

Heather St John's: Allsop, Maphosa, Bache, Weale (c), Wakeman, Misambo, Wright, Doyle, Cobourne, Minshull, Bloore. Subs: Yonwin, Walton, Hill, Mpofu, Watts

Walsall Wood: Ransome, Hayden, Deakin, Meakin-Richards, Slater, Tolley (c), Till, Westwood, Sullivam, Clarke, Fitzpatrick. Subs: McFarlane, Okojie, Lund, Butler, Hurren

Att: 42
Ground Number: 152
Entrance: £5
Programme: N/A

​Having been to a game on Friday night, this Tuesday evening fixture seemed to come around very quickly. Once again, the weather was playing it's part in game choices. I had already seen a number of potential matches crossed off but a quick tweet to Langford FC assured me that their game against Buckingham Athletic was on. So, after a quick drop in at home, I set off for rural Bedfordshire.
Langford's Forde Park ground is situated on the edge of Henlow village, just over a mile from Langford itself. There is a fairly large car park, certainly ample parking for a Step 6 side, accessed through gates with large red LFC lettering. All of the facilities, clubhouse, snack bar, toilets and players & officials areas are in a block adjacent to the car park, on the Langford Road side of the ground. There is a short walkway leading from the clubhouse to the playing surface. Alongside this walkway is a small hut that acts as the turnstile for entrance to the ground.There are two stands, both opposite the Langford Road side, one is a seated area, one a standing area. Between these stands are the dugouts.
I have to say that the pitch, especially given the recent weather, was looking in remarkably good condition. Great work from the groundskeeper(s).

Coming into the game, Buckingham were the happier of the two sides, sitting in ninth spot on 40 points. Langford were seven places and sixteen points lower. Of the two, it was the home side that were in greater need of the points. Athletic have no way of affecting the top spots but Langford, although 13 points clear of the bottom, needed a few more ins to be certain of safety.

​It was the home side who got of to the better start pushing back their visitors, who were struggling to get any rhythm into their game. However, despite having plenty of possession, they still didn't worry the Swans keeper at all.
That was until the 18th minute when Langford came within a couple of inches of opening the scoring with a shot from the edge of the box the pinged off the keeper's right hand post and went to safety.
A few minutes later Langford came quite close again. Once more it was an effort from distance but this time it flew narrowly wide.
Buckingham did manage to string a few passes together as the half progressed but were still not flowing and, as the referee blew for half-time, it was the home side who probably felt that they should have been on top, even though neither keeper had really had call to get their knees dirty.

HT Langford 0 Buckingham Athletic 0. The home side has been on top for most of the half. Athletic seeming to struggle to find any fluency in their passing.

​The Swans were out early for the second half and, judging by their renewed vigour, had suffered a tongue lashing for their lacklustre first half performance. Within a minute of the restart they won a free-kick just outside the box. Number 10 curled it over the wall but the ball struck the bar and went for a goal-kick. It was a sign of Athletic's second half intent and it didn't take too long for them to make the breakthrough.

On 53 minutes a quickly taken throw-in set Matt Cruse free on the left with a clear run into the box. His effort was parried by Ben Watson but substitute Michael Davison was first to react, rolling the ball into an empty net. 0-1

After the goal Athletic didn't quite resort to their first half performance but their levels certainly dropped from the initial ten minutes of the second period. Langford came back into the game and started to mount a couple of attacks themselves.Players from both sides seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated with the referees decisions which, I have to say, were odd at times.

On 79 minutes the Buckingham goalscorer, Davison, almost grabbed his second goal, climbing high to plant a header against the home side's bar. Home stopper, Watson may well have got a fingertip to it. If he did, then it was a very good save. So close to a second goal.

With just four minutes of normal time remaining we had a controversial red card for the Langford keeper, Watson. Coming to collect a ball at the edge of his area he juggled it and ended up handling outside the box. A clear free-kick flagged by the assistant. However, the referee pulled out a red card and dismissed the keeper. To me, it didn't look like it was a clear goal-scoring opportunity. There were other defenders close by and, even if the keeper hadn't handled it, the ball didn't look like it was going to fall to an Athletic striker. My understanding is that it has to be denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity to be deemed a red card.

Once the substitutions had been made and the unfortunate Watson had trudged off, the resulting free-kick was cleared and, soon afterwards, the referee blew for full-time.

FT Langford 0 Buckingham Athletic 1. An improved Swans performance in the second-half although, on the overall balance of play, a draw would have been a fairer result.


Langford (from): Watson, Brown, Edwards, Green, Lampley, Mboto, Pagett, Payne, Rome, Thomas, Wheeler. Subs: Craknell, Croucher, Fordham, Liversedge
Buckingham Athletic (from): Carter, Cruse, Dench, Hassell, Kelsey, King, Marsden, McAndrew, Olawale, Staley, Stapleton. Sunbs: Davison, Oye, Skelton

Att: 38
Ground Number: 151
Entrance: £5
Programme: Included in the entrance fee

The FA Vase Semi-Final stage is almost upon us and the last four, Markse United, Stockton Town, Thatcham Town and 1874 Northwich, prepare to do battle over two legs. The first legs will be played on Saturday 17 March, with Markse and Thatcham at home, the second leg will be played the following Saturday. Unfortunately, due to some bad planning on my behalf, BotP will be unable to attend any of the games.

Marske United v Stockton Town
Of the two ties, this is possibly the easier to make a judgment on because both sides are in the same division and have already met once in the league this season. That game was played at Stockton's Bishopton Road ground in September and saw Marske run up a 3-0 win. In the league, Stockton currently sit seventh on 50 points. With nine games remaining, they have no way of pushing into the top three, so they may be a lot more focused on their Vase run.
​Marske are in fourth spot some 21 points adrift of leaders Morpeth Town. However, The Seasiders have a colossal ten games in hand which, of course, could see them go clear if they won the lot. With such a short time remaining in the season, though, this is a massive ask for the club.
Marske have been the bookies favourites for the FA Vase for some time now and, to be honest, I can't see any reason to doubt the odds. They have already beaten Stockton on their own ground, an artificial surface, in the league and they disposed of Bracknell Town in the FA Vase, another side who have an artificial pitch. So, travelling to Bishopton Road will hold no fears for them. Stockton's best hope, in my opinion, is that they have little else to play for this season. They can give their all in both legs, without fear of it affecting their league position.
​

​Thatcham Town v 1874 Northwich
This game, for me, is extremely difficult to predict. I'll admit that, even as far back as the Fifth Round, I have had a sneaky feeling about The Kingfishers. They keep getting results week in, week out and have really seemed to find a way of winning games, even when they don't perform to their maximum level. What makes this one so difficult though is that I saw 1874 win at Leighton in the Quarter-Final and, to do so, they had to show exactly the same qualities as Thatcham have been displaying. They didn't play that well at Leighton but, they got their goal and then managed the game perfectly, defending stoically and doing what they had to do to win the game.
Both of these sides have league ambitions. Thatcham are, as I write, sitting in second place two points behind Highworth but with a game in hand and a visit to The Elms still to come. 1874 are in eighth spot but, like Marske, have a huge number of games in hand. They are 33 points behind Runcorn Linnets but have 11 games in hand. So, the title race is not lost and, certainly, a top three finish is well within reach. The issue for 1874 is that they still have over half of their league games to play and we are already heading rapidly towards the end of March. The fixture congestion may prove to be one step too far for them. 

Statistics and Predictions
​
Games Played. Goals Scored, Minutes Played

​

Goals (For & Against) / Minute

Once at this stage of the competition it is, understandably, very difficult to split the teams. They are all very good sides. If they weren't they wouldn't be in the semi-final of the FA Vase. So, instead of just trying to make a prediction based upon gut feeling, we have gone all scientific. Calculating likely scores based upon the results in the competition so far. Yes, it's highly flawed but it's just for a bit of fun and maybe it will even spark some discussion. So, taking the results of all side up until this point, calculating the number of goals per minute at home and the number per minute away from home. Then taking the number of goals conceded home and away as well, we have come up with s formula to predict each leg of the semi-finals. However, as we all know, you can interpret statistics in any way you wish. Here goes:

Marske United 2 Stockton Town 2
Stockton Town 2 Marske United 2 (2-3 aet. Agg 4-5)

Thatcham Town 2 1874 Northwich 1
1874 Northwich 2 Thatcham Town 1 (3-1 aet. Agg 4-3)

Which would mean a final between Marske United and 1874 Northwich. Saying that, if my predictions in the office Premier League predictor last week are anything to go buy, we'll be seeing Thatcham and Stockton at Wembley.

Good luck to all four teams. Whoever gets to the Final, I am sure they will put on a spectacular show for us on Non-League Finals Day. 

Personally, I can't wait to get to Wembley.

Friday Night Football. Quite an unusual game night for me, although it is the second one this season. There were three games to realistically choose from that would all be new grounds for me, Deeping v Yaxley, Balham v Colliers Wood United and Badshot Lea v Cove. I'll be honest and admit that the Deeping Rangers game was my first choice. A side that hadn't lost at home for a year taking on the current league leaders. It had to be a good game, right? However, I ended up get delayed at work, meaning that a trip of over 130 miles North on a Friday evening became a no-go. The Balham v Colliers Wood game also had a story to it. Tenants at 'home' to their landlords. That could make for a feisty affair.
​
Eventually, however, I decided to go for the Badshot Lea v Cove game. The Baggies are currently playing home games at Camberley Town's Krooner Park, a ground that has been near the top of my 'to do' list for a while. So, it was an opportunity to tick another one off. Actually, this was going to be my 150th ground since I started the blog. A little bit of a shame that I was visiting a ground for the first time but not seeing the landlords play, but I'll be back to watch Camberley at some point, no doubt.

The ground is accessed through an industrial estate, which eventually brings you to a set of iron gates (open, thankfully) with CTFC emblazoned on them. There is a reasonable amount of parking, which runs behind on end of the ground. Entrance is through a single turnstile, just at the end of the car park, which takes you into the stadium in one of the corners. To your right is a covered terrace that runs the width of the car park end. On the far side of the ground are the dugouts but no covered spectator area. To your left is the club house and a covered seating stand which spans the halfway line.

There is a good snack bar, The Flippin' Burger, right next to the entrance to the club. The club itself is a typical non-league club bar. It has that rather comforting feeling that you get from places that have been around for a while. The ambience of the place transported me back to the 70s. I don't mean that in a bad way either. It wasn't the decor, or the furniture. It was just the general feel. When I walked into the toilets my first thought was Sunshine Desserts, the fictional company that Reggie Perrin worked for. I've no idea why this came into my head, but I guess I just thought that must be what the toilets at Sunshine Desserts were like. Did they ever show the toilets in the series? I doubt it, to be honest.
How the hell did a football blog get onto 70s sitcoms? I haven't even had a drop of wine yet. On with the game.

It had been raining all the way from Slough to Camberley and it didn't look as if it was planning to stop any time soon. The pitch didn't look too bad, but it was sure to cut up and there were some very boggy looking patches in the goal area. However, when I got there, there referee was checking the pitch and was satisfied that it was playable.

Coming into the game, Cove were sitting bottom of the league after just 3 wins this season. Badshot Lea, by comparison, were in fourth spot but a win would, take them into second and continue their push for an immediate return to the Premier League.

The home side got a shock early on though. Just two minutes on the clock when Cove won a free-kick some thirty yards out. the ball was floated towards the back post where a Cove striker and the Badshot keeper jumped for the ball. Neither managed to make full contact and the ball dropped invitingly for Cove captain Kai Francis to lash home and give his side an early lead. 0-1.

Badshot Lea initially seemed to be finding it difficult to going a goal down and the Cove front two, Paras Gil and foal-scorer Francis, were causing some issues for the home defence. The conditions were helping neither team though. It was already not an evening for the feint of heart. Tackles were flying in on the slick surface and not always being timed too well.

The, after 16 minutes, Badshot Lea got themselves back in the game. Not to be outdone by his namesake, Josh Francis was the man on the spot to collect a deep cross, cut inside and fire home to equalise. 1-1.

The equaliser was the turning point of the game. Maybe it knocked the belief out of some of the Cove players, maybe it just galvanised the home side?  Whatever the case, five minutes after drawing level, the Baggies went in front when Brad Smith was on hand to make it 2-1.
A further five minutes passed before Smith brought a ray of sunshine to the wet evening by crashing in a shot from outside the box to make it 3-1.

HT Badshot Lea 3 Cove 1. A really good response from the home side after the shock of going a goal down so early on.

​The rain started to come down heavier during the break and the standing water in the penalty area was noticeably getting worse. However, as the teams came out, the rain started to slow again and we were able to get the second half under way.
As in the first half, it was Cove who drew first blood. It too them a little longer in the second period, thirteen minutes to be exact, but they did find themselves back in the game when substitute Taylor Watts was on hand to score after another cross was not cleared. 2-3.

Badhsot Lea's response to this goal was much quicker than in the first half. Within four minutes they had quashed any thoughts of a comeback. A cross from the left evaded everyone but Nick Thumwood, lurking at the far post. He controlled the ball and smashed it past Nemeth to make it 4-2.

Cove certainly didn't give the game up at this point but it was clear to any neutrals that they weren't going to get back into the game again. It took another ten minutes for the final nail to be hammered into the coffin but, after 71 minutes, Badhsot Lea made it five. Thumwood collected the ball in the area with his back to goal. A sharp turn and and angled shot later saw the ball nestle in the far corner. 5-2

Five minutes after getting his second, Thumwood was presented an opportunity to get a hat-trick when Brad Smith provided a delightful lobbed through ball to put him clear. Thumwood duly obliged and slotted the ball home to make it 6-2.

At this point, with the rain still coming down, I think both sides (and many of the supporters) were just counting down to the full-time whistle.

FT Badshot Lea 6 Cove 2. The Baggies go second and will now be looking forward to their forthcoming clash with the league leaders Worcester Park. For Cove, it's looking like they won't pull themselves clear of the bottom of the table but, if they don't make it, it won't be for the lack of effort.

One last comment. I may have mentioned this when I saw Badshot Lea a season or so back but, as a former West Brom season ticket holder, I still find it hard to see a team nicknamed The Baggies playing in claret and blue. 

Badshot Lea: Nyamunga, Blackie, Francis, Hutchins, Nimmo (c), Neville, Blake, Cann, Turner, Thumwood, Smith. Subs: Thripp, Brainch, Osler, Lacey, Thomas

Cove: Nemeth, Hedley, O'Connell, Flounders, Brown, Sinclair, Andrady, Brooks, Gil, Alliston, Francis (c). Subs: Koroma, Watts, Attafuah, Cooper 

Att: ?
Ground Number: 150
Entrance: £6
Programme: £1.50

​For reasons that I won't go into, this week's match blog is going to be a little shorter than normal. 
​
Having been in around ten minds as to which game to attend and unsure if some pitches would hold to the recent thaw, I finally decided upon the Southern League East clash between Northwood and Uxbridge. Having never been to Chestnut Avenue before, I gave myself ample time to get there. Just as well with the state of the traffic on the A40. Nevertheless, I was still at the ground with plenty of time to spare.
The ground itself is accessed via a narrow service road off Chestnut Avenue. For first time visitors, be aware that there isn't a great deal of parking at the ground and the adjacent car park gets increasing narrow as you drive in. If you can't find a spot, as I couldn't, you do find yourself having to reverse back out because there is no way of turning around. I eventually went back out of the service road and parked on Chestnut Avenue itself, where there was plenty of room. It's only a short walk back to the ground but it is unlit and there is a sleeping policeman halfway down the track, that you will stumble over.
Chestnut Avenue is one of those grounds where the clubhouse is separate to the playing arena but you get a ticket stub on entering and you can easily go in and out should you wish to get tea or food. Thee are toilets in the ground, but no snack bar. It's worth noting that the clubhouse, which has been recently refurbished I believe, is an excellent facility. Clean, spacious, with a good selection of food and drink available as well as a number of large screens. It's one of the nicest clubhouses I have seen at this level.

​Inside the stadium, there is cover on three sides of the ground. A covered single step terrace behind the car park end goal. hen to your right from the car park end, the Chestnut Avenue side, there are several covered seating stands running along two-thirds of the length of the playing surface. Opposite these stands, where the dugouts are situated, there is another covered standing area. An interesting feature, not unlike Farnham Town but not quite as high, the walkway at the far end of the ground is raised above the playing surface and gives a really good view of the pitch. This is where I stationed myself for the first half.

A half where the home side made most of the running. They were certainly quicker out of the blocks than Uxbridge and looked quite threatening up front, especially the pace and trickery of right-winger Evans Kouassi.
It was Kouassi who was causing a headache for Uxbridge. Quite early on he had a couple of runs where he beat his marked for skill and pace, forcing Uxbridge to double up on him, which then allowed a little more space for the Northwood central midfield to work.
On 20 minutes a Kouassi run saw him break clear but Uxbridge keeper Paul McCarthy was equal to his effort. The ball fell to a Northwood striker but he put his effort wide when he really should have scored. A let off for Uxbridge.
The remainder of the half followed a similar pattern, Northwood made most of the running and it was McCarthy who was called into action more often than his counterpart. However, as the half wore on, Uxbridge did start to get a little bit of a foothold and managed to get into some promising positions of their own, only to see most of their efforts not hit the target.
It was certainly quite a physical battle at times. One or two stern challenges were going in and there was a foot left in on a couple of occasions.

HT Northwood 0 Uxbridge 0. The home side had the better of the half but a combination of poor final ball choice and some good stops from the Uxbridge keeper have kept the game level.

The second half started with Uxbridge looking like a different side to the first half. In a reversal of the first half action, it was now the away side who were getting the lion's share of possession and creating more chances. Northwood, however, still looked dangerous when they came forward and, with a little more guile with the final pass or decision making around the box, could have created more themselves.

There were a number of times when it really looked as if Uxbridge must score. They worked some great positions for themselves but, as with Northwood, the final decision was often the wrong one and they seemed to want to walk the ball in. On a number of occasions I found myself muttering 'have a go' when a striker laid the ball off even with a clear view of the target.

Then, after 94 minutes, with many of the crowd were shuffling towards the exit thinking that it was going to end 0-0, the away side struck the killer blow. A Cole Brown cross was squeezed home by Luke Maguire, much to the delight of the Uxbridge contingent and the utter disbelief of the home side.

FT Northwood 0 Uxbridge 1. A much improved performance from Uxbridge in the second-half probably just deserved the win but such a late winner must be a hard pill to swallow for Northwood.

Northwood: Comas, Dyeniran, Gilbey, Chingoka (c), Tring, Hobbs, Williams, Barker, Osei, Kouassi, Clarke. Subs: Azeez, Montella, Bunga, Olorunfemi, Tayaca

Uxbridge: McCarthy, Peden, Thompson, Watson, Tucker, Warner (c), Abdellah, Humphries, Kearney, Maguire, Brown. Suns: Burgess, Rabess, M'Bengui, Thomas, El-Khabouche

Att: 86
Ground Number: 149
Entrance: £8
Programme: £1