​Having been kept awake most of Monday night with the joys of chronic back pain, I felt the need to change my planned trip to Stapenhill (round trip of 170 miles) with a slightly shorter and quicker venture down the M40 to Harefield United, a ground that had long been on my radar, for their league game with Aylesbury Vale Dynamos.

The Ground
The Hares play at Preston Park, just to the South-East of the village of Harefield. The ground has a good sized car park but, beware, it does get filled up on match days and parking around the ground is quite limited. There is a road opposite, Gilbert Road, which has some parking spots but parking on Breakspear Road, on which the ground stands, is almost impossible. There is a fairly large clubhouse adjacent to the car park. Access to the clubhouse from the ground is via the car park. A friendly local on the turnstile took my money and explained that the programme was online. However, he also helpfully pointed out that the teams were already displayed on a whiteboard just inside the ground. He also offered to let me photograph the actual team sheets because there was a bit of glare on the whiteboard from the floodlights. A nice touch. Those little things give good impressions of a club.
The ground itself is surrounded on three sides by trees. The main stand, with covered seating, is on the car park side of the ground just to your left as you enter. On the opposite side, along with the dugouts, is a covered standing area which also has a media tower built in for recording the games. There is a toilet block inside the ground but refreshments are only available back in the clubhouse. The pitch looked to be pretty flat and in good condition. All in all, a tidy and very pleasant example of a non-league ground.

​The Background
Both clubs were coming into the game on the back of weekend defeats, Aylesbury going down 1-0 at Arlesey and Harefield losing 2-1 at home to Harpenden. The Hares started the eving in sixth spot with 17 points from their 11 games. Seven places and four points below them, in a congested middle of the tabel, sat Aylesbury.
Aylesbury have yet to complete a Spartan Premier season having come into the league on the back of Aylesbury FC's merger with Bedgrove Dynamos in 2019. Harefield, who were promoted back into the Premier League that season have also yet to complete a full season since their return. The sides did not meet at all last season, however there was a 2-2 draw played out in the truncated 2019-20 season. Jake Baldwin scored twice in the first half for Dynamos but goals from Leonard Farhall and Steven Green evened it up for the visitors in front of 201 spectators.

​The Game
After an initial period of jousting and testing each other out, the teams settled into the game. A couple of early efforts from each side didn't really cause any great issues to either goalkeeper although both had to get their knees dirty.
With 15 minutes on the clock, Harefield loaded one into the home penalty area with home centre-half Romario Warburton-Rowe attacking the ball a little too strongly, sending George Zammit slamming into one of the posts. The home defender was yellow-carded for the challenge. Thankfully Zammit was soon back on his feet with no physio intervention required. Five minutes later Aylesbury were reduced, temporarily, to 10 men when Davis Haule complained too vociferously against a free-kick decision, earning himself a 10-minute sin bin. I didn't catch the entire comment but the swearing part was loud and clear. The referee played it by the book producing the yellow and the 10 minute penalty, showing he was certainly one for the rules. The players needed to take heed of this quickly.
Whilst Aylesbury were still down to 10 players Harefield almost took advantage when Louis Bircham forced Zammit into a superb one-handed save at full stretch.
The home side were starting to take control of the game, even after Haule was reintroduced. On 34 minutes they were again a little unlucky as Aylesbury managed to scramble one off their own goal line. Then, just as it looked like going into the break goal-less, the home side conjured up an opener. A great diagonal pass found Louis Bircham free on the right, he drove in towards the box before absolutely drilling a cross-shot past Zammit into the far corner. 1-0. A great strike. A minute later, in added time, Harefield almost repeated the trick with a carbon copy ball but this time Zammit was off his line quickly to just about beat Bircham to the pass.

HT Harefield United 1 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 0. A fairly even contest for most of the half but Harefield managed to get on top towards the end of the half and reaped the benefits with their late goal. All to play for in the second period. It was good to meet the AVD (stand-in?) Twitter admin at half-time. Kudos to his running commentary of the game, interspersed with jokes and electrical equipment advice, throughout the game. That's some output, I counted 53 tweets. Chapeau!

​Aylesbury seemed to be fired up for the second half. They were immediately on the front foot, looking to get back into the game. Within a couple of minutes Davis Haule went close with a free-kick and then, with 54 on the clock, Stapleton went down in the box, drawing a big penalty shout. Nothing doing from the referee. Two minutes later, however, Aylesbury were well and truly back in it. There was a bit of pinball in the Harefield penalty area before the ball fell to Jake Baldwin just to the left of the goal some 10 yards out. He slid the ball back across goal and in off the far post to make it 1-1.
Just past the hour mark Aylesbury, once again, made life difficult for themselves by getting a player sin-binned, Daniel murphy this time falling foul of the referee. It was a strange call. As far as I could make out there were no raised voices involved, Murphy claimed he just asked a question, but the referee once again sent a Vale player to cool off. Harsh this time?
From the resulting free-kick Harefield applied some pressure but Aylesbury were able to scramble it away and re-group, goal scorer Baldwin dropping into left-back to cover for Murphy. The expected onslaught from the home side failed to transpire and, whilst still a player light, it was the away team who went ahead. They earned themselves a corner which was delivered perfectly for debutant Chris Stapleton to direct a glancing header into the far corner of the net. 1-2.

​The goal sparked a response from Harefield and, even with Aylesbury back to a full complement, the Hares got themselves back on level terms. Once more it was a corner delivered from the left but this time it was powered home by the unmarked Richard Pacquette. 2-2
With 15 minutes to go both sides thought they could win it but, in actuality, they effectively cancelled each other out for the remainder of the game and before we knew it the referee was blowing for full-time.

FT Harefield United 2 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 2. Over the 90 minutes this was probably a fair result. There certainly wasn't too much between the sides throughout the game. Harefield had the upper hand in the first half but Aylesbury raised their game in the second. The game was, unfortunately, punctuated by some over-officious refereeing. Was there an assessor in the crowd perhaps?
Next up, Aylesbury are back at Haywood Way on Saturday for the visit of second-bottom Baldock Town. The Hares are also at home as they welcome London Colney, a point and two places below them

Harefield United: Mallett, Bunce, Green, McCorkell, Warburton-Rowe, Mangan(c), White, Pacquette, Ogunsola, Bircham, Underwood. Subs: Watt, Austin, Porcher, Schofield, Krasniqi

Aylesbury Vale Dynamos: Zammit, Mullarkey, Murphy, Byron, Griffiths, Babatti, Pobbe, Haule, Stapleton, Brown(c), Baldwin. Subs: Shortt, Chott, Rivers, Nugent, Munday


Ground Number: 288
Att: 55
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: Online Only

I​t's been something of a quiet week for Jovial Monk. No stag do to disrupt the team, no players wandering around Swindon until the early hours before a game and a match against the bottom team who a yet to register a point this season. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, this Sunday league remember so, of course, Monk had to start slowly and go a goal done in the first half. In fact, it was still Jovial Monk 0 Purton Redhouse 1 at half-time. Not exactly going to Shaun's plan.
However, the gaffer is not the gaffer for no reason. A half-time change of formation and personnel soon put things right for the Monks. Jono Peachey-Score, fresh from last week's Geordie jaunt and Maher Ali, who also got on the score sheet last weekend, put the monks 2-1 ahead.

Of course, it's never that straight-forward with The Monks and, true to form, they made life difficult in the last 10 minutes when Luke Richards and Kristopher Redford got themselves sin-binned to leave their team-mates having to fight a strong rear-guard action. Luckily for the two sinning Monks, the remaining nine held on.

FT Jovial Monk 2 Purton Redhouse 1

Monk remain in fifth spot but are now only a point off the top spot and remain unbeaten in the league this season. 
Next Sunday, 31 October, sixth placed Gorsehill Borough make the trip to Lambourn.
Jovial Monk v Gorsehill Borough
10:30ko
Lambourn Sports Club, Lambourn, RG17 8PS

No game for my girl's team on Saturday after a last minute postponement from out opponents put paid to us going for a sixth win on the bounce. Not to worry though, Saturday may have been football free, but I still had the big Women's FA Cup game between Queen's Park Rangers and Caversham United to look forward to on Sunday. For anyone who hasn't read any of my blogs before, I have to take a little time here to confess a connection to the away side. I have had a connection to Caversham United for some years now and am proud to be a player sponsor both the men's and women's teams. I was also very honoured to have been selected as match sponsor for both teams this Sunday. Unfortunately I couldn't make both games but I will be back in Caversham for one of the men's team games at some point later this season.

​The Ground
QPR Women currently play their home games at Hanwell Town's Powerday Stadium (Reynolds Fields) in Perivale, West London. This was not my first visit to the ground, I was there in February 2017 to watch Hanwell's then tenants, Southall, take on Broadfields United (All Square). The ground has not changed all that much over the intervening years although there are a lot more PowerDay signs around the ground than there were when I last visited. The coach from Caversham was already parked up in the good-sized car park when I arrived, along with plenty of other cars which pointed to a decent crowd for the game. Eventually I opted to park out on Perivale Lane, just outside the main gates to the ground.
​The Background
Queens Park Rangers were promoted from the London & South East Regional Premier League in the National League Division One South East at the end of last season's truncated campaign. They started the season well, winning their first two games, but have since lost three and drawn one in the league. However, they put six past Maidenhead in the League Cup last week, which may have signalled a return to form for the Hoops. By means of their league status, this would be their first FA Cup game of this season.
​Caversham United currently ply their trade in the Thames Valley Counties League, three steps below QPR. They too have not been in the best league form having lost their last two games, both at home. However, cup games have been a totally different kettle of fish for the Goats. In the FA Cup they have disposed of Warminster Town 3-1 and then saw off Eversley & California 4-2 on their own patch in the 2nd Qualifying Round, earning this tie at QPR. They also put 13 unanswered past Wraysbury Village in the Berks & Bucks Women's Trophy last time out.

​The Game
Caversham, unsurprisingly, set up very cautiously with a game plan to let QPR have the ball in their own half and to only press them when they crossed the halfway line. After a few minutes it was clear that Rangers had adapted their play to counteract Caversham's approach and had targeted both flanks as possible ways in behind the massed ranks of Goats. Some clever movement from Rangers was drawing the Caversham full-backs into a narrower position which allowed ball to be played into the gaps created for the wing-backs, Searle and Petit, to run onto.
The first real chance from QPR came in the 11th minute when Eshe Davies got in a good effort that Nina Merritt was equal to. Caversham's first major venture into the last third came on the quarter hour when good work from Charlotte Clarke gave Tiff Newland an opportunity, but Pope had the measure of the effort and it remained 0-0.
Two minutes later Davies was again close for the home side, heading just over as they tried to turn the screw. The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute when Rangers switched the focus of their attack with a great ball into the centre putting, Melanie Hall in the clear. She slotted the ball under Merritt despite the keeper getting a hand to it. 1-0
​

​The Goats responded immediately. On 25 minutes Steph Nelson received the ball some 25 yards out, took a couple of steps and, seeing the keeper slightly off her line, had a dip. The effort beat Pope but came back off the underside of the bar and bounced to safety. Did it cross the line? Certainly some of the Caversham players thought it had. From where I was, I couldn't honestly say, and the speed of the Goats break had probably prevented the assistant from being completely up with play too. We'll never know. Maybe the QPR videographer caught it? A minute later Caitlin Levy tried her luck but fired just over but it showed that Caversham had the fire power to trouble QPR.
Just past the half-hour mark, however, another cleaver ball found the overlapping Searle surging through the left-hand channel. This time the covering defender couldn't stop her and, despite Merritt blocking the first attempt, the QPR wing-back fired the second one high into the net. 2-0

HT Queens Park Rangers 2 Caversham United 0. QPR had the majority of the ball and deservedly lead at the break. However, The Goats performed brilliantly, defended stoutly and have, on occasions, showed that they can trouble Rangers. They are certainly far from out of the game and who knows what the situation would have been if Steph Nelson's effort had dipped an inch lower?

An interesting change from Rangers during the break. The scorer of their first goal, Melanie Hall, took over in goal whilst Erin Pope switches into Hall's vacated position in midfield.
The second half began much as most of the first had gone. QPR with the lionesses' share of possession and Caversham defending from the halfway line, with the odd foray into Hoop's territory. Rangers still had the threat of their wing-backs though. With only three gone in the second period Searle found Petit with a lovely pass but the right-sided player could only shoot straight at Merritt. Caversham were starting to get a little more adventurous as the half progressed with Tiff Newland and Steph Nelson a constant worry to the home defence who, it has to be said, were marshalled brilliantly by captain Vicky Grieve.
We then had a slight delay in play for a query that I don't think I have ever seen at a game before. One of the Caversham bench was convinced QPR had more than one player wearing the Number 2 shirt, in fact at one point they seemed to think there were three of them. This was raised with the assistant who called the referee over. However, after a check of shirts, it was revealed that only one Number 2 was on the pitch at that time. Something of a mystery.
What was not mysterious was the third goal from QPR, which arrived on 68 minutes. No mystery at all, just two touches of class. First off the the left-wing corner delivery from Searle was inch perfect. Secondly, the deft, flicked finish from Brogan Moore was magical. 3-0. 
Caversham had to push more now. They had nothing to lose. Sumayah Zayadi replaced the tiring Tiff Newland, who had run herself into the ground and, within a few minutes, Zayadi almost made an impact, firing narrowly over. That effort was matched at the other end by another substitute, Emilia Nygaard-Parsons, who drew a good save from Merritt.
A further change from The Goats as Emma Hopkins replaced Steph Nelson who had taken a knock, and was also running on empty after chasing everything for 75 minutes. Freya Jenkins then treated us to a demonstration of her nifty footwork, almost breaking through the QPR defence, but it was to be one of her last contributions as her work rate had also taken it's toll. She was replaced by Sam Thoreau who, when I last watched the Goats, had performed brilliantly as a stand-in goalkeeper. Still there was no way through for Caversham, despite myself and Caversham Chairman Paul Gutteridge, who I had met up with at half-time, urging them on from the sidelines.
With time almost up, QPR applied one last piece of icing on the cake, Demi Edwards finishing well to make it 4-0.

FT Queens Park Ranger 4 Caversham United 0. No disgrace for The Goats in this result. QPR are a very good side, well drilled and packed full of clever players. I make no apology for my blog being weighted towards Caversham. as I stated at the beginning, I do have an interest in the team and, after a performance like this, I am even more proud to have a small association with the team. They were, to a player, magnificent on the day. Every one of them gave every last drop of effort they could muster and still managed to raise a few smiles after the final whistle. As a coach of a girl's team myself, this is the sort of attitude and commitment I want my team to show. In fact, I am definitely thinking of arranging a trip for my team to watch The Goats. Maybe it will inspire them to greater things?
Bets wishes to QPR in the next round where they will again be at home against Bromley from the Greater London Women's premier, one level above Caversham. They are a good team and played the game in exactly the right spirit. Great to see.

Queens Park Rangers: Pope, Petit, Searle, Carolan, Grieve(c), Jordinson, Blodgett, Akerman, Davies, Moore, Hall. Subs: Edwards, Nygaard-Parsons, Redhead-Ling
Caversham United: Merritt(c), C. Clarke, Hobson, Wicks, Dearling, Levy, Butler, Jenkins, Swan, Nelson, Newland. Subs: Thoreau, Hayden, D. Clarke, Hopkins, Zayadi

Ground Number: Re-visit
Att:
Entrance: £3.00
Programme: Included

Tuesday evening football this week meant a relatively short trip up the M40 and A46 to the Warwickshire market town of Kenilworth. The game I was heading for was Kenilworth Sporting v Alcester Town in the Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup. Smedley Crooke, or Sir John Smedley Crooke to give him his full name, was twice Conservative MP for Birmingham Deritrend (1922-29 & 1931-45), who donated the trophy for the competition when it started in 1919. It was originally dedicated to the memory of local sportsmen who lost their lives in The Great War but over the years has raised money for a lot of local charities. The competition is predominantly for clubs in the Birmingham and Worcestershire area, mostly, although not exclusively, from the Midland Football League and the West Midlands (Regional) Football League.
I'm sure someone will correct me on this but, from what I can see, two teams have won the cup four times, Stoke Works (1958, 1962, 1967, 1968) an Studley BKL (1991, 1992, 1995, 2000), although I am not convinced that my list of winners is complete. Possibly the most interesting name I could find as a previous winner was Roma, three times winners (1976,77 & 78). Presumably this is not the same Roma for whom Francesco Totti was later to star for.

​The Ground
Kenilworth Sporting play their home games at Gypsy Lane. The ground, which had apparently fallen into disrepair, was given a complete overhaul starting in 2018 and, although I didn't see what it looked like before first-hand (but I have seen some photos), it appears that a fantastic job has been done. Gypsy Lane is a narrow, bumpy track that leads to some allotments. It's easy to miss the turn-off from Rouncil Lane but the club does have a sign up, so look out for that. There is a small car park and some off road parking next to the ground. There are no turnstiles, instead access to the ground is through the large and new clubhouse where you pay your entrance before exiting onto the patio area which sits between the club and the back of one of the goals. The main covered seating stand is on the left as you enter. There is a smaller stand on the opposite side of the ground, but this has been commandeered by the teams as their dugouts which quite an innovative idea and, as it happened, much needed cover later in the game when the rain became quite heavy.

​The Background
Kenilworth Sporting's history is quite interesting and complicated. The club began in 1936 as Kenilworth Town playing local football in the Coventry & District League. This name lasted for around 20 years before they became Kenilworth Rangers, before reverting back to Town in 1992. They added KH to their name in 2006, being known as Kenilworth Town KH and eventually gaining promotion to The Midlands Combination Division 1 before folding in 2011. Anyone care to tell me what the KH stood for? There was a brief resurrection in 2013, but it didn't last long before the club folded once more. When the renovation of Gypsy Lane was undertaken in 2018 the side played under the name Coventry Plumbing from 2018 through to 2020, when the name was changed to Kenilworth Sporting. The club was moved from Division 3 into Division 2 at the end of the truncated season last year, despite only playing 8 games (of which they won 7).
Alcester Town played in the Midland Combination from 1965 - 1993 and then came back into the same structure from the Stratford Alliance League in 2012. Won Midland League Division 3 in 2019 despite having 3 points deducted.
This season the sides met once already, in a late September league game at Alcester's Stratford Road Ground. Owen Ward scored for Alcester but was then sent off. Goals from David Gbehe and Jack Low secured the points for Sporting with a 2-1 win. The sides are currently just one place apart in the league, Sporting in fifth spot and Alcester in sixth, although Kenilworth do have a five point advantage over tonight's visitors.

​The Game
We were barely 5 minutes into the game when Umit Eminoglu tried to weave his way into the home penalty area and was caught by a stray Sporting foot, sending the Town player sprawling and the referee pointing to the spot. Eminoglu got up and took the kick himself, blasting the ball high to the keeper's right. 0-1
Sporting tried to get themselves back into the game, David Gbehe putting a shot narrowly wide, before Alcester began to take control of the game. Just past the 20 minute mark, after Kenilworth lost the ball in midfield, Dan Elwell was given the ball on the edge of the area. After adjusting his footing and body shape he proceeded to curl a superb effort past the keeper's outstretched left hand. 0-2.
Six minutes later Terrance Morton took up the baton for the goal of the game competition, turning sharply on the edge of the box and then placing a magnificent shot into the far corner via the underside of the bar. 0-3
The away side were now rampant and Sporting were really struggling to cope with the trickery, pace and passing of the Alcester forwards and midfielders. After 34 minutes three became four. Eminoglu the provider this time, showing incredible vision to pick out the perfect ball to Reece Hewitt inside the home penalty area. The striker made no mistake, stroking the ball past the keeper. 0-4. I was still in the process of tweeting the fourth goal when Alcester made it five. Streaming forward again they forced a good save from the home keeper but he was powerless to prevent Dan Elwell from burying the rebound. 0-5.

HT Kenilworth Sporting 0 Alcester Town 5. Sporting had no answer to the Alcester forward line who were superb in their movement and finishing. 

​Kenilworth's coaching staff must have had a few words at half-time because their side came back out with a renewed purpose about them. Three minutes in and they had a goal back. David Gbehe with the left foot finish after a cross from the right had not been cleared at the near post. 1-5. Elwell then forced the home keeper into a good save with his feet as the visitors tried to respond to the goal, but they were not finding it as easy to create chances as they did in the first half.
With 70 minutes on the clock the home crowd starting to ask "Could the fightback be on?" Another home raid forced a good save from The Romans' keeper but Connor Mack was on hand to follow up. The keeper once again repelled the effort but the ball fell straight back to Mack who made no mistake this time. 2-5. Four minutes later Alcester nerves were really showing when a cross-field pass was misplaced but fell kindly to Gbehe. He used his pace to outstrip the defenders before slotting home his second and Sporting's third. 3-5.
It was all Sporting now, in much the same way that the visitors had dominated the first period at times, Sporting were now well on top, as the rain started to come down heavier. The question was, had they left it too late? In the end, that question was irrelevant as a long clearance from Alcester was latched onto by Eminoglu. He held off the challenge of a defender and just about managed to flick the ball over the onrushing keeper before they collided, sending the ball into the empty net. 3-6 and no more than 10 minutes left. The end of the road for the home side.

FT Kenilworth Sporting 3 Alcester Town 6. A great effort from the home side in the second half after being absolutely swamped in the first 45 minutes. Not sure how much Alcester took their foot but credit to Sporting for their second half efforts. If Alcester had not got the sixth goal with about 10 minutes left, it could have got even more interesting. Both sides are back in league action on Saturday and both face tricky tests.  Sporting are back at The Lane to take on table-toppers and league top scorers, Fairfield Villa, whilst Alcester travel to New Mill Lane to take on Coton Green who are currently in third place and unbeaten at home.

Ground Number: 287
Att: 
Entrance: £3.00
Programme: N/A

After two consecutive postponements, The Monks were back in action this Sunday. But all was not well in the cloisters. Even Monks need to party from time to time and, with a number of players away on a Stag Weekend, along with two pulling out on Saturday night, manager Shaun Smith was left with a bit of a dilemma on Sunday morning. A starting line-up with seven changes from the last game, the 2-2 draw at Mario's and, to make matters worse, their opponents were table-topping Casuals FC who were coming into the game with a 100% record, not having conceded a single goal in their three games. A tall order.

Shaun opted for a change of formation to accommodate the players he had at his disposal.
The change worked to a certain extent. The game was close but Casuals took the lead, but The Monks persevered with their new formation and it paid dividends when Maher Ali equalised. With 5 minutes remaining in the half and the score still 1-1 goalkeeper Ben Pres pulled of a couple of "worldies" to keep it all square. Unfortunately, the saves weren't the only thing he pulled. His hamstring went with them, presumably because he didn't have his suspenders holding it together (see here for details), forcing yet another change. Luckily for The Monks they had another keeper in the squad. Step up the Karate Kid, Jesse Seward-Nice.

HT Casuals FC 1 Jovial Monk 1
​

​The second half was end to end stuff (see, I told you to go and watch) and Casuals had a couple of chances repelled by the Karate Kid, including a one of one with the Casuals forward clean through but somehow Jesse managed to stop him and keep the score level. With 15 minutes left, more changes were required. Ellen De Generes (nee Keegan) came off with Josh Riggs, who scored twice against Swindon Wanderers in the Cup, going up top and The Gaffer coming on into the centre of defence. Casuals were applying plenty of pressure now but the makeshift defence, backed by the flying Karate Kid, were standing firm. Then, with 10 left on the clock, Robbi Ali got in on the act, slotting home to put The Monks in front. 1-2.
The Monks had to withstand plenty of Casuals pressure between then and the end of the game but with some sound game management they managed to pull it off.

FT Casuals FC 1 Jovial Monk 2.

A superb win for The Monks which sees them sit fourth in the table, now just four points adrift of Casuals but with a game in hand. Next Sunday The Monks entertain Purton Redhouse at Lambourn. The big question is, will the seven missing players from this week get their place back? There's only two places to find out. The first is to be at Lambourn Sports Club, Bockhampton Road, Lambourn, RG17 8PS at 10:30 on Sunday 24th October. #WatchTheMonks, the second is to tune in to this blog next week #ReadTheMonks

​For the second week running I was heading out to a Banbury District & Lord Jersey Premier game and, for the second week running, it featured leaders Hardwick Sports. This Saturday they faced a tough looking local derby at very near neighbours Bodicote Sports. Another ground that I had not visited before. So, after a very entertaining morning where my U12 girls team stretched their winning streak to five games, I was in a very bright mood as I made the short journey to the outskirts of Banbury.
The Ground
Bodicote Sports play their home games at The Bodicote Sports Ground, just off the A4260. In this day and age the ground is probably, unfortunately, familiar to a lot of locals because it is opposite Cherwell & District Council offices which are also used as a Covid testing centre. There is parking available at the ground and alongside it, on White Post Road. There is also a new, large, car park just on the junction of White Post Road and Blackwell Drive, effectively behind one of the goals but separated by a hedgerow. The pitch is bordered by White Post Road on one side and has a couple of very handily placed benches, very useful for spectators who had already spent the morning standing at the side of a pitch. The opposite side is open because the ground is shared with the cricket club. The pitch slopes away from the road side a little but, overall, is fairly flat.

The Background
Bodicote and Hardwick play at grounds that are less then a mile and a half apart, making this a very local derby. Going into the game Hardwick, despite last week's heavy defeat, were perched on top of the league, three points clear of Wroxton. Bodicote, with three wins and two defeats from their opening five games, sat in fifth spot six points behind their visitors but with a game in hand.
Both sides had suffered heavy home defeats last weekend. Bodicote going down 8-1 to third-placed Longford Park whilst Hardwick ad crashed 8-2 to second-placed Wroxton, a game that BotP had the pleasure to watch (Sports 100% Beaten By Sports). The Full-Time website shows that, during the truncated season last year, the sides met once with Hardwick coming out on top, 3-0 at Easington Park.
​

The Game
Hardwick, clearly still stinging from last weekend's defeat, started very well. Twice inside the first two minutes they managed to get Josh Northam in behind the home defence but, unfortunately for them, the striker slotted narrowly wide on both occasions. It was a warning to Bodicote though and, to be fair to them, they quickly spotted the problem and shored up their defences.
It was turning into a decent, tight, tussle between two quite evenly matched teams, although it's fair to say that Hardwick edged the possession in the first fifteen minutes. So, it was slightly against the run of play when the home side opened the scoring after 16 minutes. A long ball from their captain caught the visitor's defence napping a little. Some hesitancy amongst the defenders allowed Matt Gibbs to nip in to lob the ball over the stranded Jack Garner. 1-0
Three minutes later Bodicote doubled their advantage and, once more, it came from a defensive mistake. A low cross from David Gibbs should have been dealt with but the ball was allowed to travel through to Scott Clarke who finished deftly to make it 2-0.
I was still in the process of tweeting the second goal when Hardwick hit straight back. A shot was parried by the home keeper but Michael Zinn was on hand to nod the loose ball back into the net. 2-1. Bodicote's defenders clearly felt that Zinn was offside when the shot came in but the referee waved away their protests. Unfortunately, Luke Gibbs took his protest a little too far and was sin binned for his troubles. Having hit back immediately and now facing 10 men it seemed to be an ideal opportunity for Hardwick to push on and grab an equaliser. However, as last week when they played the last 30 minutes against 10 men, they could not take advantage.

HT Bodicote Sports 2 Hardwick Sports 1. Superb start from the visitors but two quickfire goals saw Bodicote get ahead and look the better side for a while. Overall, there was not much to choose between the sides and the second half could easily go either way.

​After the break it was very much as you were, with not that much to choose between the teams. Hardwick were pushing for an equaliser but constantly fell foul of the Bodicote offside trap. It's worth saying at this point that some of the refereeing decisions had begun to grind on the nerves of both teams and there was a little edge coming into the game. Having said that, for a local derby, it was still being played in a general spirit of mutual respect. To be fair to the referee, I wasn't sure about some of his decisions, but he took the time to explain them to them teams which he should be applauded for in my opinion. 
Just past the hour mark Hardwick got themselves back on level terms. A really good cross, one of those that makes it difficult for defenders, was delivered in from the right. A group of players tried to get on the end of it with the result that the ball looped over the goalkeeper's head and into the net. It looked to me as if the last tough came off a Bodicote defender especially judging by the reactions of the players. 2-2. Once again there were some strong complaints from the home side, presumably for a potential offside. Once again the comments were met with a sin bin order, this time for David Gibbs. What made this one even more galling for the player in question was that, after waiting for 10 minutes to get back on, he was almost immediately substituted. It has to be said that the player took it all in very good spirit.

The real drama in the game came in the 90th minute. Bodicote repelled an attack but when the ball was recycled into their box Hardwick's Ryan Evetts was left all alone to volley into the net. 2-3. However, when the ball was played the assistant had immediately raised his flag for offside. I have to say, I had a good view and I thought the Hardwick looked well off too. The lino kept his flag up, calling the referee over to him. Despite the protestations the goal stood.

There was still time for another flare-up which led to The Hardwick Number 8 getting his marching orders from the referee, presumably for comments made, I certainly didn't see any serious foul play, and then that was it, the referee brought a hard-fought game to a close.

FT Bodicote Sports 2 Hardwick Sports 3. A bit of a harsh result on the home side. A draw would probably have been a fairer result. However, you can't knock Hardwick for keeping going to the last minute and coming from two goals down. I certainly wouldn't want to knock the referees performance but I do think there were some contentious decisions which probably didn't help his cause too much. You have to remember that he does not have the luxury of his own assistants at this level, which must make life difficult and leave referees feeling a bit isolated. Luckily, despite this being a local derby, it was generally played in the right spirit.
The result leaves Hardwick six points clear but second-placed Wroxton do have two games in hand. Bodicote remain fifth after Deddington and Kings Sutton drew 1-1. Next week Bodicote face Deddington at home whilst Hardwick make the journey to seventh-placed Bloxham.

Bodicote Sports: Allen, T.Beckham, Clarke, Corbett, D.Gibbs, L.Gibbs, M.Gibbs, Gray, Hale, Hirons, Randall. Subs: P.Backham, Coleman, Hartwell, O'Cleary, Simons

Ground Number: 286
Att: 
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

This Tuesday I finally managed to get to The Orchard. A long overdue visit that I had originally planned to do at least 3 years ago. Still, better late than never.

The Ground
The Orchard is on Hatton Road, a road that runs parallel to the Southern Perimeter Road of Heathrow Airport. In fact, the ground is no more than half a mile from on of the runways which means that planes frequently scream in just to the North of the corner of the ground. Consequently, it's a given that anyone visiting for the first time gets a shot of a low-flying plane above the ground. This is probably more impressive during a daytime game rather than an evening in October when it is already dark.
Bedfont & Feltham have very close neighbours, Bedfont Sports, whose ground is literally next door with the pitch being at a 90 degree angle to The Orchard. So close, in fact, that it is possible a wayward shot at Bedfont Sports could land on The Yellow's pitch. I last visited Bedfont Sports in 2016 for the visit of Badshot Lea (Eagles Edge Seven Goal Thriller) when both Bedfont sides were in the Premier League. Sports have gone on to gain promotion to Step 4 in the interim.

​The Orchard has a large car park just off Hatton Road, with the ground being set back a little further. There is also a large clubhouse, accessible from the car park. Access to the football pitch is through a turnstile alongside the clubhouse. This brings you into the ground at the corner of the ground where a snack bar can be found. The ground is unusual for one at this level in that it has some cover for spectators on all four sides. Along both sides there are covered seating areas. There are two small covered stands behind the far goal, one complete with single office chair, and a small covered standing area behind the Hatton Road end goal. I liked this ground a lot and, when I saw that they posted the team sheets on the board next to the snack hut, I liked it even more. This one goes into my top ten favourites, No doubt.

The Background
When I started doing some research into this game I was quite surprised to find that neither team is yet 10 years old. Bedfont & Feltham were formed in 2012 when Feltham FC merged with Bedfont Football & Social. Feltham FC themselves had been created through a merger of teams from Feltham and Hounslow. Enfield Borough are an even newer club, being founded in 2016. They started life in the Spartan South Midlands League Division 2, getting promoted in their first season and performing well in Step 6 before moving laterally to the Combined Counties League prior to this season/ Consequently, there are no previous meetings between the clubs.
The clubs came into this game just three points apart, with Enfield holding the upper hand. The Yellows, however, have played four games fewer than their visitors. Borough were coming into the game in rich scoring form, having won 4-2 at Chalvey Sports and 6-4 at Bagshot in their previous two outings. Bedfont & Feltham were in a period of mixed fortunes having lost two and won one of their previous three league games. They also went out of the FA Vase in the middle of this run, going down 4-1 at Berks County. This had, however, come on the back of a three game league winning streak which had started with a superb 9-2 destruction of Deportivo Galicia on their own turf. So, they too have shown they are quite capable of finding the net.

​The Game
This game looked like a tight affair straight from kick off. Both sides looked to be well organised at the back, both had some pace up front and midfield looked to be a very combative area, with neither side wanting to give ground. We were almost at the 20 minute mark when the first clear cut chance was created. Richard Ennin was played in but, with Sam Bersey in the home goal, making himself big, the Enfield striker could only slide his effort wide of the post. Five minutes later the home ide had the ball in the net when Charlie Lawrence got on the end of deep free-kick to head home, but the assistant's flag was up for offside before the ball hit the back of the net.
There was plenty of good play in the middle of pitch from both sides but very few chances were being created.
It seemed that we would be going into the break goalless until the 44th minute when Michael Capon got free on the right wing. His low, driven cross was met by the stretching figure of Anthony Oakes at the far post, who just about got to the ball and put the home side ahead. 1-0

HT Bedfont & Feltham 1 Enfield Borough 0. A very tight game that looked very much as if it would be all-square at half-time, but the late goal from the hosts sees them just about edge it at the break. Two very evenly match sides who both found it difficult to create clear cut chances.

​The second half began much like the first half, with both sides playing some attractive football. However, it was quite clear that Enfield were trying to up their intensity a notch. Their pace up front was starting to cause more problems for the Yellow's defence and, just after the hour mark, they got their reward. Winning the ball back in midfield, it was fed out to Afriyie Offie-Gyimaha on the right side. He ran at the defence, cut inside and fired a low shot past Bersey to level it up. 1-1. Five minutes later, on 69 minutes, the turnaround was complete for The Panthers. Micah Jackson latched onto the ball just inside the Bedfont penalty area and squeezed a low shot past Bersey and just inside the keeper's left-hand post. 1-2.

Enfield had the edge now and despite Bedfont looking to get back into the game, it was the away side who looked to pose the bigger threat, especially down the left through Darral Wopara. Both sides made a few changes as the half wore on, with one or two more niggles starting to surface.
As we approached the final minute the home side had a big shout for a penalty when Capon clashed with Finn Rushton in the Borough goal. The Yellow's striker got to the ball first and was definitely caught by the keeper. It was a big call for the referee, who waved away the protests and signalled for the game to continue much to the displeasure of the locals. The incident happened almost directly in front of me and whilst I can see why the home side and support were upset by the referee's decision, I think it is fair to say that it was one of those 50/50, I've seen them given, incidents. The players collided and the striker had got to the ball first. However, the ball was on the way out of play, Capon would not have reached it. I think the goalkeeper's momentum carried him into Capon, who also seemed to see it coming and 'played' for the penalty to a certain extent. Nothing wrong with that, I might add. No self-respecting striker would have done any differently. Unfortunately for the home side, the referee saw it as this rather than a penalty incident. In my opinion it could have gone either way.

FT Bedfont & Feltham 1 Enfield Borough 2. Two good sides who, for a large part of the game, cancelled each other out. Two good finishes inside 5 minutes for the away side swung the game but, if the late penalty shout had rescued a point for the Yellows, I don't think anyone could have argued that a draw wasn't a fair result. It was an enjoyable game to watch as a neutral and a great non-league ground, well worth a visit.
On Saturday Bedfont & Feltham travel to Arbor Park (Slough Town FC) to take on 16th placed Langley whilst Enfield Borough are at home (Wingate & Finchley FC) against second from bottom Woodley United. If you did fancy a trip to The Orchard you can still do that at the weekend as British Airways, who also play there, take on Eversley & California.

Bedfont & Feltham: S.Bersey, Tesfu, Richard, Lawrence, Francis, Smith, L.Bersey, Brown, Capon, Oakes(c), Mampono. Subs: Blakebrough, Rodriguez, Greenwood, Onu, Mattan
Enfield Borough: Rushton, Wopara, Hinds-Cadette, Mbaza, Nelson(c), Offei-Gyimaha, Stevens, Adiku, Jackson, Ennin, Sarpong. Subs: Mullins, Mussunda, Wane, Lokilo-Imponge, Stefanoaica

Ground Number: 285
Att: 
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: £1.50
Fantastic to see #SideburnBob still featuring on the cover of the Bedfont & Feltham programme. It's such an icon now it has almost become a kite mark for non-league programmes. Long may Bob grace their covers.

​A trip to Banbury Superdrug (other pharmacies are available) for my flu jab provided a perfect opportunity to take a massive local grassroots game between Hardwick Sports and Wroxton Sports, the top two in the Banbury District & Lord Jersey Premier League. Thanks to Hardwick for sending me their team sheet before kick-off. Massively appreciated.

The Ground
The first thing you should know about Easington Park, where Hardwick play, is that if you aren't a local it's not easy to find. Sat Nav takes you to Easington Road and the park, which is not visible from the road, is accessed down a narrow alleyway that is extremely easy to miss (as I did, twice). When you do finally see it, parking is another issue. Easington Road is quite narrow and has double-yellows around the park entrance. However, there are spots around the local roads, just allow a few extra minutes. Of course, someone will point out there is a massive car park somewhere on the other side of the park that I missed completely :-)
The park itself is just that, a park. There are two football pitches, only one was in use this Saturday. There's not much else to say about the ground, except that the pitch seemed to be pretty flat and in good nick for a municipal pitch. However, it is one of the narrowest pitches I've ever seen, as can be seen by the proximity of the penalty area to the touchline in some of my photos. There would be no need for Rory Delap at this ground.

​The Background
Prior to kick off (and afterwards, as it happened) these two sides were one and two in the Banbury District & Lord Jersey Premier League. Hardwick sat proudly, top of the league, with a 100% record and only two goals conceded in their opening five games. Wroxton, who had played a games less, sat second with nine points from their opening four, a home defeat to Bodicote being their only blemish. This, of course, meant that they had a 100% away record. So, something had to give today. In Josh Northam, Hardwick possessed the league's leading marksman with nine goals. For Wroxton Liam Foster was leading the way with three. The sides did not meet at all last season, not because of Covid, but because Wroxton played in Division Two, two divisions below today's hosts. They only managed to fit in six games before the season was halted but they won five, drew one and manged to score 34 goals in the process.
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​The Game
First of all, apologies for not using Wroxton player names. I have no visibility of their team sheet. I'll be more than happy to update this at a later date if/hen I get them.
The combination of my flu jab and not being able to find the ground/somewhere to park, meant that the match had already kicked off when I arrived, although only around 5 minutes had been played. A quick check with the home lino confirmed that there was no score. That changed pretty quickly however, and it was the home side who got themselves in front. The Wroxton keeper made a good stop to keep the initial effort out but Michael Rinn was on hand to prod the ball home. 1-0. The lead lasted just about a minute because, with 12 on the clock, a long ball beat the entire home back line leaving the keeper in two minds to come out or not. Wroxton's number 11 was onto the ball in a flash, finishing neatly to level it up. 1-1.
The visitors did not rest on their laurels. Six minutes later they were in front. A measured through ball from Number 9 found 11 free again and, once more, he finished calmly to make it 1-2. The game had really sprung into life at this point and Hardwick were soon pressing for an equaliser. It came in the 24th minute when a superb flick-on carved open the Wroxton defence allowing Jonty Russell-Rayment to slide the ball home. 2-2
The home side almost immediately gave away the equilibrium, however. Some slack marking left Number 11 alone inside the box. He was duly found and demonstrated his calm finishing once again to make it 2-3, claiming his hat-trick into the bargain.
Only half an hour into the match and we had already seen 5 goals but it did seem as if the goal rush had relented somewhat as Wroxton looked to slow the game down a little and hold on to their advantage through to half-time. 
Wroxton had a fourth goal chalked off for offside. No complaints from the visitors, their player was way off.
In the final minute before the break Hardwick had their keeper Jack Garner to thank as he pulled off a superb stop to prevent Number 16 from making it four.

HT Hardwick Sports 2 Wroxton Sports 3. A feisty game that feels like it is one bad challenge from a flare-up. Both sides look well capable of more goals but Wroxton's forwards caused the most damage in the first half. Number 11 showed great composure for all three goals, Number 16 is a real live wire too.

​Only eight minutes into the second period before Wroxton increased their lead. This time a low drive from their Number 10, through a few defender's legs, unsighted Garner and the ball flew into the corner. 2-4. Once again, the home side were very quick to respond. Five minutes later they won a free kick in the middle of the pitch. It was taken quickly, putting Russell-Rayment in behind the defence to cleverly lob the advancing goalkeeper. 3-4
Just after the hour mark, the flare-up predicted at half time happened. There was a tangle in midfield between Wroxton's number 4 and Hardwick substitute Adam Daley. It should have just ended with a caution for both players, nothing more. However, the Wroxton player retaliated with a little kick out leaving the referee no choice but to show him a red card. A reflex action, no doubt, but a silly thing to do which left his team down to 10 for half an hour or so. The game then went into a short period when not that much happened. Wroxton, presumably working out how to rearrange their team, sat back a little and Hardwick, as many teams do when a player to the good, struggled to make the most of the numerical advantage. Of course, when I say it went quiet for a short period, it really was quite short. Seven minutes after going down to 10, Wroxton proved they were not phased when their number 10 received the ball on the edge of the box, turned sharply and fired a low shot past Garner. 3-5
On 74 minutes Hardwick almost got back into it again, Gareth Davies forcing a superb one-handed stop from the Wroxton keeper but it was the visitors who were looking the more dangerous, despite their lack of numbers. Number 16, who had had the beating of the defence all game, proceeded to blaze over two really good opportunities (one into a neighbouring garden) before, on 81 minutes, Wroxton sealed the game. A superb mazy run from their Number 6 carved open the home defence. His cross shot beat Garner and was followed in by Number 16. From where I was it wasn't clear of the ball had already crossed the line, but whatever the case it was now 3-6.
Less than five minutes later Wroxton, in the face of an increasingly demoralised home side, made it seven when number 16 made a great run again, setting up Number 10 who slid the ball home. 3-7.
Then, just as I was typing the full-time tweet, Wroxton made me delete it as their Number 2 drilled home a lovely strike from the angle of the box to make it 3-8.

FT Hardwick Sports 3 Wroxton Sports 8. A superb result for Wroxton who were only 4-3 ahead when they went down to 10. What a way for Hardwick to lose their 100% record though. It had to happen some time, but that was spectacular. 
A great game for a neutral to watch but I'm not sure the Hardwick coach will share my opinion. They can console themselves with the fact that they remain top of the league, still 3 points ahead of Wroxton who do have a game in hand. It was a day for scoring eight away from home as Longford Park also notched 8 times just down the road from Hardwick, at Bodicote Sports. Interestingly, the two sides who shipped eight goals face each other next week as Hardwick make the short journey to Bodicote. That's got 0-0 written all over it.


Hardwick Sports: Garner, Coldea, Gray-Deacon, G.Davies, Trevitt, Kite, Evetts, Bedding, Zinn, Northam, Russell-Rayment. Subs: D.Cockle, Kingham, A.Daley, Mendham
Wroxton Sports (squad): Bennett, Boadu, Byfield, Chesser, Foster, Gaye, Gregory, Gueye, Ndome, Niang, Hartwell, Kimani, Lateef, Nash, Anneh


Ground Number: 284
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

The second edition of Meet The Monks (NFSW Edition) begins with this season's current top scorer, then to the current skipper (only scroll down if you don't have a nervous disposition), and finishes with a stunt double for a couple of TV favourites.

Seriously! You were warned not to scroll down......

Oh well, your choice. Here he is, the captain in all his glory.
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As we go through this Sunday League season following JMFC, it is good to get an idea of the players you will see mentioned in the blogs each week. With no game this past weekend, this seems like a good place to start. Three Monks to start with and plenty more on the way.
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