​Bremhill View has been the home of Calne Town since the early 1960s. Entrance to the ground is through a single turnstile at the Bremhill View end which brings you in near one of the corner flags. Unlike many non-league grounds, all of the facilities are on the far side of the ground rather than next to the entrance. There is a good-sized covered seating area which can house 150 spectators. Alongside that is the players and officials changing areas, a tea bar and a small hospitality suite. The dugouts, which were featured in David Bauckham's book Dugouts, are opposite the main stand. I particularly liked the rural feel given by the row of trees that backs the far goal.
Having spent two hours battling with the Slough and M4 traffic, I was more than ready for a cup of tea so I the tea bar was my first stop. It turned out that the man behind the counter was also the programme editor and we ended up having a little chat about football in general, finding programme content and this website (so maybe look out for some BotP content in the programme in future).

Vics were coming into the game on a four game unbeaten league run which had seen them move up to fourth place. Calne had lost three out of the last four in the league and sat 12 places and 12 points behind their visitors.
In a fairly evenly contested first 15 minutes it was Vics who looked marginally the sharper, a little quicker to the ball and moving the ball a little quicker than The Lillywhites. However, neither side posed any major threat to the goalkeepers.
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This changed, as did the pattern of the game, in the 17th minute when Vics left-winger Shane Bumphrey rattled the Calne bar with a stinging snapshot from the left side of the box. The ball bounced clear and within two minutes Calne had produced the best move of the match so far to take the lead. Some good passing down the right flank saw striker Ollie Webb being played in behind the Vics defence. Webb took a touch and let rip from just outside the box, beating the Vics keeper all ends up with an absolute belter into the top corner.
What a difference a goal makes! Suddenly it was the Calne players who were first to the ball, who only needed one touch, who could spot a pass straight away. Malmesbury, after having the edge and almost taking the lead, were now being pushed back more and more by the home side.

​Ten minutes after taking the lead another Calne effort was deflected wide for a corner on the left. The ball was hoisted to the far post where centre-half Marcus Lovesey headed home to double the home advantage.
The attacks did not stop and after 34 minutes another Calne raid down the left culminated with a ball into the box. Some hesitant defending allowed Ollie Webb to nip in and tuck away his second and The Lillywhite's third. Within 17 minutes of hitting the bar themselves, Malmesbury suddenly found themselves 3-0 down.

The cries of 'embarrassing' from the away dugout spurred the away side back into action and, to give them their due, they did not let their heads drop. With three minutes to go before half-time, Bumphrey engineered a great opportunity for himself but, once again, his shot cannoned back off the bar and away to safety.
This turned out to be brief respite for Calne however. Two minutes later a vicious Vics drive from the edge of the box was matched by a splendid one-handed save by home keeper Lewis Potter. The ball dropped loose and Bumphrey finally managed to get one below the bar as he smashed it into the net to reduce the arrears.
There was still time for Calne to have an opportunity to score again before the referee drew a close to a breathless first half.
HT Calne Town 3 Malmesbury Victoria 1.

The second half was never going to be as full of action as the first but, after 13 minutes, we had the incident that probably ended the game as a contest. Following a clash in midfield in which, it has to be said, an arm was swung the referee dished out a red card to Malmesbury's goalscorer Shane Bumphrey ending his eventful evening. From my viewpoint I thought the card was justified but, I will say, although the arm was swung I couldn't tell if there was any contact. However, the referee was much closer and had a better view than me. Needless to say that the Vics players and management were not particularly happy with the decision which was not the first the referee had made that had wound up both sides.

The referees performance wasn't the best that I have ever seen but I certainly didn't think he deserved the amount of abuse he got, especially in the second half. Two minutes after the red card another decision was met with a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse from Vics players, especially their goalkeeper, who received a yellow card (which could easily have been red). To be fair, the Vics bench immediately made it perfectly clear to their players that they needed to calm down and refrain from making comments to the referee, presumably worried about another red being shown.

The message got through to the players and the team got some shape back, resorting to three at the back and leaving all of their attacking players on the pitch. There were some periods in the middle of the second half where Malmesbury actually looked more effective with 10 men than they had with eleven in the first half. However, they were always susceptible to a Calne break and there were several occasions later in the half where the home side could have put the game beyond doubt. They brought on a speedy forward in George Heard who gave the Vics defence plenty to worry about, and Allinson and Dolman both missed gilt-edged opportunities.
Malmesbury never gave up the game though and it was actually the 10-men who were attacking when the referee blew for full-time.

FT. Calne Town 3 Malmesbury Victoria 1.
A well deserved three points for the home side who, once they had taken the lead, looked the better side for much of the game. Vics can console themselves with the fact that they never gave up, still managed to create a few chances after going down to 10, and contributed a great deal to a thoroughly entertaining game of football.
This was my first view of Western League football. It certainly won't be my last.

Calne Town - @calnetownfc
Malmesbury Victoria - @malmsvicsfc

​Question: When is a shire not a shire? Answer: When you are in Huntingdonshire. Of course, historically Huntingdonshire did exist as a county in it's own right, but now it has been swallowed up by the county of Cambridgeshire and exists as a non-metropolitan district. All of this must be galling to the good people of Huntingdon, who can name both Oliver Cromwell and Samuel Pepys as former residents, as they now live in a town that has a county sharing it's name but live in a different county.
Maybe it is some consolation that the county still retains it's own county FA and it's own FA cup competitions, the most senior of which (and the clue is in the name) is the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup. It was this Cup that had drawn me eastwards, a Hunts Senior Cup Quarter-Final between Huntingdon Town and Eynesbury Rovers.

The Croms, as Huntingdon are known, play their home games at Jubilee Park on the Northern outskirts of the town. Entrance to the stadium is through a single turnstile located in the left-hand corner of the ample car park. Somewhat uniquely, once you have paid, you have to go through the clubhouse to access the ground. It's almost like being funnelled through the gift shop after a museum visit and, in my experience at least, unlike any other ground.

It had been a long drive from Oxfordshire so upon entering I made my to the toilets where I, quite literally, bumped into one of the locals. He was standing just inside the doorway trying to do up the buttons on his jeans, muttering about what an absolute nuisance they were. It got me thinking. The man had  a point. Whatever happened to zips? Gents toilets across the country are full of men desperately trying to button up their flies as quickly as possible and failing miserably. As we approach the winter this phenomenon will only get worse as cold fingers struggle to connect brass button with appropriate button-hole. Is it time to start a petition to have jeans manufacturers return to zips?

​I digress. After picking up a cup of tea, which would only lead to more button-hole chaos later, I headed out into the increasingly cool October air to get a look at the ground. From the clubhouse you enter the ground directly behind one of the goals. To the left are all of the covered areas. There are two small seated stands situated between the clubhouse and halfway. Then, straddling the half-way line, there is a covered standing area which, again quite unusually, incorporates the dugouts. So, spectators are actually leaning against the back and roof of the dugouts. That's the joy of non-league, you really do get right in there with the action at times. The rest of the ground is given to hard-standing and the playing surface looked in very good condition.

As I said, the game was a Hunts Senior Cup Quarter Final. Visitors Eynesbury Rovers have a good record in the cup, winning it on no fewer than 15 occasions although their last triumph was in the 2001/02 season. Huntingdon have been less successful overall but can boast a victory as recently as the 2013/14 season. The sides both play in the United Counties Premier League but, this season, there could not be much more contrast in the form of the teams. Rovers sit in second spot just three points adrift of leaders Peterborough Sports and having lost just twice in twelve. Huntingdon are rock-bottom with just a single victory which came in the first game of the season at Peterborough Northern Star. Late in September Rovers edged out Town 2-1 at Hall Road thanks to goals from Jordan Brown and Craig Smith

As expected it was Rovers who started the game the brighter of the two and immediately had their opponents on the back foot. It took until the 14th minute for Eynesbury to make the breakthrough. A lovely, defence-splitting, through-ball was weighted to perfection for Craig Smith to run onto, round the keeper and slide into the net to make it Huntingdon Town 0 Eynesbury Rovers 1.
Five minutes later, with Huntingdon trying to push up a little, Eynesbury launched a quick break down the right flank. The cross was driven low to the front post.The Huntingdon keeper made a superb reflex stop from the first effort but Smith was on hand to hammer home the rebound for his and Eynesbury's second of the night.

To be fair to the home side they didn't let their heads drop and, within two minutes of going 2-0 down, they almost got themselves back in the game when a speculative effort from outside the box beat Greygoose in the Eynesbury goal but came back off the joint of post and bar. A few minutes later Greygoose was called into action again this time going full length to turn away another drive from outside the box. This was a s close as Huntingdon were to come in the first half though as the Craig Smith show rolled on.

Huntingdon's keeper Richard Roberts pulled off two more splendid saves before, after 40 minutes, a powerful Smith header nestled in the corner of the net only for the assistant on the far side to flag for offside. Two minutes later Smith stretched into a challenge in the box and lifted the ball over defender and keeper only for it to fall agonisingly the other side of the far post. Then two minutes after that the unfortunate striker had another effort ruled out for an earlier offside infringement from one of the Rovers forwards.

Half-Time. Huntingdon Town 0 Eynesbury Rovers 2. An entertaining half that could easily have finished 6-2 to Eynesbury. 

​When the second half began it was Huntingdon, showing little signs of being on the rack for the first 45 minutes, who began on the front foot with captain James Seymour leading by example and Number 10 (sorry, no team sheet available for HTFC) raiding, with some success, down the right flank. Just before the hour mark Huntingdon manufactured their best opportunity to get back in the game. A free-kick from the right was headed down into the path of Adi Staffieri but, unfortunately, the striker couldn't keep his shot down and blazed it well over.

They were made to rue the missed chance just five minutes later. That man Smith raced clear of the home defence, drew the keeper and then unselfishly laid the ball off for substitute Thorpe to roll into an empty net for 0-3. A commendable piece of play from the Eyes striker who you have to remember was on a hat-trick after being denied by the two earlier offside decisions.

Huntingdon, still undeterred, strove to get what they could out of the game. A goal now would only be a consolation but even that was to allude them. They had a golden opportunity after 77 minutes when the referee awarded a rather soft looking penalty to the home side. Staffieri took the responsibility and put the ball low to the keepers left. However, it was not far enough into the corner and Greygoose got down well to make a comfortable stop, summing up Huntingdon's evening.

Finally, with just a couple of minutes left, Smith got the hat-trick that he richly deserved. Picking the ball up outside the Huntingdon area, he drove into the box and beat Roberts with a low shot to the keeper's near post.
So the game ended Huntingdon Town 0 Eynesbury Rovers 4. Rovers deservedly through to the semi-final and The Croms left to concentrate on rebuilding their league season. After another trip to battle with the brass buttons, it was time head off back home to Oxfordshire.
Good luck for the rest of the season to both sides and thanks for an entertaining evening of football.

Huntingdon Town - @htfc1995
Eynesbury Rovers - @eynesburyrovers

Top scorer Luke Benbow scores twice in 3 minutes to give Stourbridge all three points at Corby.
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​Before starting this blog let's just get one thing straight. Corby is not the home of the trouser press which was, in fact, invented many miles South in Windsor. It is however home to Corby Town FC, The Steelmen, which is just where I was heading this Wednesday evening. Corby were due to host Stourbridge in the NPL Premier and it was a rare opportunity for me to watch my own team as well as visit a new stadium.
Steel Park is situated to the North of the town within the Corby Triangle Sports Complex. It is one of the more modern stadiums in the league having been opened in 2011. Despite this and maybe because it is built on the an existing sports ground, it retains some character. The Steelmen Club, which is up several flights of stairs, has the feel of an old working men's club and adds to the atmosphere of the ground. There are two covered areas, the Peter Mallinger stand which can seat over 500 and the standing area behind the far goal, the James Ashworth VC Stand. Dugouts and players facilities are opposite the main stand in the shadow of the neighbouring athletes track stand which rises over Steel Park but faces away from the pitch.

The Steelmen were relegated from National League North last season and have been finding life back at Step 3 quite difficult. The 4-3 victory over Blyth Spartans last month remains their only 3-pointer so far and they kicked off on Wednesday in the bottom four. The Glassboys were in twelfth after a mixed start to the season although they began the game on a steak of five unbeaten in all competitions.

It was Stourbridge who started the stronger of the two sides. Kicking towards the car park end, they immediately had Corby on the back foot but although they were having more possession they were not troubling the Corby keeper to any extent.
In fact there was very little goalmouth action at either end in the first half until the final minute when, after being on the back foot for the majority, Corby had a couple of late chances to snatch a lead.

Half-time after a fairly drab 45 minutes, Corby Town 0 Stourbridge 0. The main concern at this point was how on earth am I going to get a match blog out of this?

​The final few minutes of first-half action should have acted as a warning to Stourbridge. They may have had most of the possession but they were still vulnerable to Corby counter-attacks. This was highlighted after just two minutes of the second half. Corby were awarded a free-kick just outside the Stourbridge box and Liam Marshall stepped up to curl a lovely effort around the wall and in off Gould's right-hand post. This sparked mass celebrations from the 'Corby Ultras' in the James Ashworth stand including the throwing of a smoke bomb. Luckily, as the average age of the 'Ultras' seems to be around 10, I don't think any of the had the strength to throw it as far as the playing area. 
Corby Town 1 Stourbridge 0. 

The goal had The Glassboys reeling for a few minutes and they had too see off a number of Corby raids to keep the score at 1-0. Weather the storm they did though and as the half wore on Stourbridge began to assert the authority that they had shown in the first half.

After 65 minutes the ball fell to Brown who drove into the Corby box only to be pulled down by the home keeper. The referee pointed to the spot and issued what I thought was a quite fortunate yellow card, it could easily have been red. The new rules state that the red card will only be shown if a goal-scoring opportunity is deliberately blocked. The referee must have thought that the keeper accidentally pulled down the striker rather than it being a deliberate foul.
Luke Benbow picked up the ball, despite the best efforts of the Ultras behind the goal, smashed the ball low to the keeper's right. Corby may have lost it's industrial heritage since the closing of the large steelworks but industrial language is alive and well amongst the pre-teen population of the town.
Corby Town 1 Stourbridge 1.

Three minutes later another Glassboys attack led to the Benbow receiving the ball just inside the left hand-side of the Corby penalty area. He jinked inside his man and hit a speculative effort across the keeper who somehow managed to let it bypass him and nestle in the far corner. Comeback complete.
Corby Town 1 Stourbridge 2.

Benbow could have had a hat-trick late on when put through one on one with Grant but teh keeper made a good stop with his legs. Benbow could have squared it for Richards to slip away but to be honest not many strikers on a hat-trick would pass up the opportunity of a one on one with the keeper.
Stourbridge saw out the last few minutes without incident and took away a hard-earned three points.
Full-time Corby Town 1 Stourbridge 2.

Luke Benbow equalises from the spot for Stourbridge.


Corby Town - @corbytownfc
​Stourbridge @stourbridgefc