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Ducks and Crows

26/9/2013

Misty night in Leighton

Tuesday evening, a Capital Cup night. The club I used to follow home and away, West Bromwich Albion, are at home to Arsenal. I however am making the 26 mile journey to Leighton Town FC to watch Aylesbury United (The Ducks) v Royston Town (The Crows) in a Calor Division 1 Central clash.
It's 21 years since I last saw Aylesbury United play. That was at the Hawthorns in an FA Cup Round 1 match. West Brom ran out 8-0 winners thanks, in part, to a hat-trick from Kevin Donovan. The third of which was a memorable goal for one of my friends who had a few quid, at pretty good odds, on 7-0.
The Ducks have had a period of leaner times since that day in 1992. The history section of their excellent website (www.aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk) explains the rollercoaster ride and how the club got to be playing in Leighton Buzzard. The site is a fine example of how a club web site should look and even features a live text commentary stream during matches. I urge everyone to take a look.
On to my maiden visit to Bell Close. I was slightly late to arrive and was very lucky to find a parking spot in the car park. The club shares the car park with a popular tennis and sports facility. I would certainly advise getting there a little earlier than I did.
The first thing that you notice upon entering the ground is the feature stand behind the far goal. The structure looks like it has been around for a while and features the club crest directly above the crossbar of the goal and the name Leighton Town FC across the top of the stand. There is something quite enticing and beautiful about this stand, especially on a slightly misty evening as Tuesday was.
On the town side of the ground there is another small stand which offers a seating area. Behind the Lake Street end goal is the club house, changing rooms and snack bar.
Having arrived slightly after kick off I was surprised to be able to hear the crowd before I actually entered the ground. Although fairly sparse (the official figure was 113) the Ducks supporters certainly made an effort to get behind their team. Despite, or maybe because of, playing home games 10 miles from Aylesbury there is a real sense of community spirit amongst the Aylesbury support. It will be interesting to visit the ground again during for a Leighton Town game and see if they have the same enthusiasm for their team.
The game itself wasn't the best I have ever witnessed. Both sides struggled to find any real rhythm and all too often the final pass was lacking. The highlight of the first half was a superb volley from the Aylesbury left winger (sadly no programme was available for me to check names) which crashed off the underside of the bar and came out.
The second half followed a similar pattern with neither team taking a grip on the game. Royston took their turn to strike the woodwork and were beginning to turn the screw a little towards the end of the game. Then, 2 minutes into injury time, The Crows struck the killer blow. Another strike hit the underside of the bar (again under the view of the iconic stand) and this time the ball was scrambled home by an on-rushing forward. A little harsh on Aylesbury who, on their return to this level, had certainly showed that they can compete.
I left the ground slightly disappointed that I hadn't, at least, seen an Aylesbury goal. I really wanted to see if they still celebrated with their famous 'Duck Walk'.
All in all, I liked Bell Close. It's a proper football ground, sells a pretty good cup of tea (see the Cuppa League) and, certainly when the Ducks are around, has a good atmosphere. I'll definitely be back when I can.

Twitter accounts:

Aylesbury United - @aylesburyutdfc
Royston Town - @roystontownfc

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Et Tu Bastock

23/9/2013

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Clarence Park

St Albans. For me the name conjures up visions of centurions, chariots and colosseums. Verulamium, as the Romans called it, has been around for a long time. In fact, there was a Celtic village on the same spot way before Caesar and his mates arrived. That's Celtic as in ancient people rather than a load of Glaswegians in hooped shirts.
So, this Saturday, I filled up my modern day chariot will petrol and headed off for what was a double first for me. It was my maiden visit to St Albans City and, I had also managed to persude a Gooner colleague of mine to leave his armchair and brave the non-league scene. His initial questions about getting tickets and 'would we be able to sit together' just highlighted the gulf between the elite and 'proper' football.
The stadium itself is situated a little outside of St Albans city centre, close to the train station. A parking spot was easily found on York Road, just a short stroll to the entrance.
The entrance fee at Clarence Park is at the upper limit for this league at £12. However, the stadium does boast covered stands on 2 sides and open terracing behind both goals. The long stand, featuring seating, on the railway side of the ground could possibly create a fairly tight and intimidating atmosphere were the pitch not some distance away from the crowd. Having said that, St Albans do have a fairly large and nosiy contingent that stand behind the goal that they are attacking each half.
With only a single point between the sides at kick-off it was always going to be a tight game. Both teams were coming into the match on the back of 1-0 defeats, St Albans against Cambridge City and Stourbridge away at Hungerford.
Neither team seemed to be able to string many passes together and the first 20 minutes were littered with long balls. Then a defensive mistake lead to Ben Billingham hammering Stourbridge in front. From then on, until half-time, St Albans had the better of the play and were slightly unfortunate to go in 1-0 behind.
In the second half both sides looked to play more football and both made good chances to no avail.
Just past the hour mark came the decisive incident in the match. After winning the ball in an innocuous looking 50-50, St Albans keeper Paul Bastock kicked out at Will Richards for no apparent reason. Both linesman and referee saw the incident and duly signalled for a penalty. Bastock, luckily in my opinion, got a yellow card where he should have got a straight red. Sean Geddes stepped up and fired in his 7th penalty of the season to put the Glassboys two up.
Despite a late deflected goal for St Albans, Stourbridge held on for a much needed 3 points.
My Arsenal supporting friend enjoyed his day out and was pleasantly surprised by the the stadium, the game and most of all the enthusiasm of the supporters from both sides.
Do we have another convert to the non-league side of the game. I doubt it to be honest. The lure of comfy seats and multi-millionaire players will still probbaly be too much for him. Still you never know. He has already signed up for the Hitchin game at the end of the season.

Twitter feeds:
@OfficalSFC - Stourbridge FC
@stalbanscityfc - St Albans City

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A few hardy souls and the laughing official

11/9/2013

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Ardley Utd FC

Considering that Ardley is only 3 miles from my house and that I pass the ground on a regular basis, it is surprising that this was my first visit to The Playing Fields.

In recent years Ardley Utd have been in and around the promotion chasing pack of the Hellenic Premier League but have never quite made it. A few years back they lead the league for the majority of the season only to fade at the run-in and get pipped to the title by Wantage Town.
This season they have again started well and, after 6 games, remain unbeaten.
With a population of less than 700, Ardley are really punching above their weight. The fact that Tuesday was the day of the Ukraine v England match added to the expectation that the crowd would be limited to say the least. I was not disappointed, the offical attendance was 26.
The ground itself is situated on the edge of the village towards the M40 junction. There is a reasonable amount of parking available and finding a spot, even though I was quite late, was no problem at all. The single turnstile is at the car park end of the ground. Hard standing leads past a small stand behind the Oxford Road end and to the combined clubhouse, changing rooms and tea bar. At this point I will add that Ardley are now top of my Cup of Tea league, a good strong cup of tea at a proper price.
On the motorway side of the ground there is nother stand which boasts a seating area, a standing area and also houses the PA. The other 2 sides of the ground are open, hard-standing.
The pitch slopes a little from the Oxford Road end towards the village end but it did appear to be in very good condition.
Ardley, managed by former Oxford, Newcastle and QPR player Kevin Brock and featuring son Harry at left-back, started very brightly. The opening goal came just 2 minutes into the match when a swift break saw a right-wing cross headed in by leading scorer Ryan Brooks. However, 10 minutes later, the lively front 2 of Holyport created an opening and a big deflection saw the ball roll into the Ardley net for 1-1.
From that point onward, Ardley took control of the game. Two more first half goals followed and the home side went into the break 3-1 up. The second half followed the same pattern. Ardley played the better football but the 2 lads up front for Holyport did enough to keep the defence on it's toes. There was, however, only one outcome. Two more Ardley goals made it 5-1 just after the hour mark and the game was over as a contest. Ardley could have had a couple more, but 5-1 was a fair scoreline on the balance of play.
So, Ardley make it 7 unbeaten and look likely to be in the shake-up at the top of the Premier again this season.
On a final note, hats off to referee E. Turner. He never once stopped smiling or laughing even when faced with angry players and officials. He refereed the game with an exuberance which put me in mind of Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos (if you don't know who he was, Google him and watch the video). Of course, Mr Turner did not do the dancing or flouncing and I make the comparison in a complementary way. He did, however, display a great love of refereeing and football. Well played Mr Turner, you made a difficult job look very easy.

Twitter feeds for both clubs:
@ardleyunitedfc
@holyportfc

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Late Kick Off

10/9/2013

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After not being able to get to any matches in the opening couple of weeks I kicked off my 2013-14 season in style last week with 3 matches in 5 days.
First up was my maiden visit to Daventry Town on Tuesday evening. The ‘Purple Army’ were hosting Leighton Town and defending a 100% record in their opening 4 matches. On arriving I was greeted by two very friendly ladies on the gate, which is always a plus point. I luckily managed to get the last
programme and headed off towards the clubhouse just as the teams made their appearance.
The clubhouse building at Daventry is very impressive.

The clubhouse at Daventry Town

A relatively new two-storey affair housing the bar, snack bar, toilets, changing rooms and, I am informed, a conference facility. Members who are so inclined can sit on the balcony with a light refreshment and have a great view of the match. There are also two small covered stands, one either side of the clubhouse. The rest of the ground is open hard-standing with a wooded area behind one goal and a group of 5-a-side pitches behind the other.
Communications Park is a very tidy ground which provides good facilities and is, all in all, a pleasant place to watch a game of football.
The match itself was very good, if not a little one-sided. Daventry ran out 5-0 winners thanks to some nice passing moves and a couple of excellent finishes.

The following evening, thanks to a very generous offer from my wife to do story time for the little one, I was able to nip over to Oxford City which is probably my closest stadium now. This was my third visit to Court Farm Place and the second time that I had seen Oxford City Nomads the club’s Hellenic
League representatives.
Wednesday saw OCN take on Flackwell Heath and run out fairly comfortable 2-0 winners on the night. Court Farm Place is a great little stadium, covered on 3 sides with an open end behind one of the goals. This is also where the snack bar, toilets and clubhouse are located. It’s a really good place to watch football and, even with a sub-100 crowd, the closed nature of the stadium creates some atmosphere.

Finally, on Saturday, I ventured back to my homeland and went to watch the Mighty Glassboys (Stourbridge FC) with my Dad. On the way to the match we were trying to work out when we last went to Stourbridge together. It was most likely in the 70s or, at the latest, early 80s. It’s frightening how
quickly time passes.
The War Memorial Ground hasn’t changed that much over the years. Having said that, the stand behind the Church End goal and the little hut that sold memorabilia have both gone since my last
visit.
Behind the opposite goal, the Shed End, is the Shed stand. This is a covered standing area about the size of the penalty area. The Jones & Attwood side of the ground is covered for about three quarters of it’s length, including a fairly large seating area. Famously, the other side of the pitch is completely open because of the cricket square. This does allow a very good view of the rather impressive cricket
pavilion.
Stour struggled to find any rhythm but managed to scrap a 1-0 win. To be honest, the football didn’t matter too much. I t was just great to be back at Amblecote, with my Dad, watching football, just like I used to do when I was a kid.

So, in 5 days I had seen 3 matches, 8 goals, a saved penalty and loads of good football. The combined entrance fees for these matches came to just £23. This is significantly less than a single game in the Premier League. When you take into account that the last few games I have seen in the Prem have been pretty drab affairs, I call this very good value for money.

Non-league football is the future in my book. Good value, decent standard, honest football. No over-paid players, no dodgy money-induced decisions.

Roll on this evening. more Hellenic League action and my first visit to Ardley United.

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