An early season FA Cup game on a Friday evening, not too far from home. Too good to miss.
I am starting this match blog not with the run up to the game, or a description of the ground. Rather, I am starting with my journey home and, more to the point, the radio programme that happened to be on in my car. I'm talking about Radio 5 Live. Now, I normally focus my match blogs on positives. After all, the whole point is to promote non-league football.
However, what I heard on my way home and, more to the point, the tone of voice with which it was delivered, just got my back up. It's good that the BBC have been playing lip service to the early stages of the FA Cup. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that they give it some coverage. Two things that really irk me though. First of all, if you are going to talk about the early rounds of the cup, involving these 'little' teams that clearly no-one is that bothered about, at least get your facts straight. Don't announce that the FA Cup, incredibly, starts on Saturday, when there are games being played on Friday (one of which, I was actually driving home from). Secondly, I know that the Haverhill derby is of very little consequence to a BBC commentator who is very busy watching Manchester United, but the condescending way it was referred to as 'the big derby game' and, more so, the tone with which the sentence was delivered, really grated. I am sure that the supporters of both Borough and Rovers were screaming at their radios. I don't know, maybe i'm just turning into an old cynic?

Rant over, onto the game. Winslow United v Easington Sports, with both sides making their FA Cup debuts (fact courtesy of @FACupFactFile). It's not been long at all since I last visited Elmfields Gate but, there has been a change at the ground. A lovely new piece of signage has appeared above the main stand (see photo).

​The game start at a very fast pace. Both sides looked lively but it was Easington who looked most up for it, launching a series of attacks in the opening minutes. Winslow looked a little shaky at the back, giving away a needless early corner when they appeared a little rattled by Sports' good start.
Having said that, it was the home side that possibly created the most promising chance when they had a goal-bound shot well blocked by a defender. A minute or so later, though, they were quite lucky to survive some sustained pressure from Easington, eventually clearing the ball off the line amidst a real scramble in the home penalty area.
It was certainly a very open first 15-20 minutes. After that period, both sides seemed to hold off a little. United had steadied their ship, the defence looked more assured. Maybe the initial surge of energy and Adrenalin had worn off?

Chances were now coming less frequently but Easington did come reasonably close before, on 40 minutes, a fine Winslow effort saw the visitors keeper, Adam Rimmer, pull off a good one handed save to put the ball out for a corner. The right-wing kick was hit deep where Aaron King rose well to power a header over the defender on the line and put Winslow in front. 1-0

The response from Sports was almost immediate. Within three minutes of going behind, they earned a free-kick some 35 yards out on the left. The ball was hoisted to the far post by Convey where Henry Rose got above everyone to head in a fine equaliser. 1-1.

HT Winslow United 1 Easington Sports 1. All square at the break and probably rightly so. The game was shaping into a very good cup tie. We had seen two very well taken headed goals and there was a definite sense of occasion around the ground.

​Looking around the ground at the start of the second-half, there were very few empty viewing spaces around the perimeter fence. It looked like a very good turnout. On the pitch, the second period didn't start with the bang that the first had ended with. You had the sense that both sides had been told to keep it tight for a while. However, that doesn't man that there was a lack of action. King, up front for Winslow, was making a real nuisance of himself, keeping the visitors defence busy. At the other end, the height of Rose meant that he was winning a lot of flick-ons but, as of yet, not quite linking up with his fellow attackers. Easington were, however, starting to look more dangerous when attacking on their right, getting in behind the home defence a couple of times causing the home keeper to berate his defenders.

Just past the hour mark, on 66 minutes to be exact, United went back in front. A ball was played into the right-hand channel for King to chase. He reached the ball as it sat up invitingly, inside the penalty area but at quite a narrow angle. He unleashed a stunning volley, flashing the ball across Rimmer and into the far corner. 2-1. A great finish from King to get his second goal of the game.

The home side had clearly learned from their first-half mistake and, this time, they did not concede and equaliser within a few minutes. In fact the goal seemed to take the wind out of Sports for a while, with the home side looking as if they were going to take control of the game. 
Sports, however, were not going to let their FA Cup run die off that easily. With 79 minutes on the clock, they launched another raid down their right wing, again getting in behind the defence. Goal-scorer Rose drilled the ball across the Winslow six-yard box where it was met by the on-rushing Andrew Stidder to make it all-square again. 2-2.

It was Easington's turn to look the most likely to win now. The home side, however, composed themselves and stemmed the flow of red & white shirts. Whilst I am sure that neither side really wanted, or needed, an extra game at this stage of the season, neither could find a winning goal in the last ten minutes.

FT Winslow United 2 Easington Sports 2. Both FA Cup debutants live to fight another day, and that day is Tuesday. A thoroughly entertaining cup tie between two evenly matched sides. Best of luck to both in the replay. I'm sure that it will be a cracker.

Winslow United:
Easington Sports: Rimmer, Snelling, Fitton, Josh Rose, Robinson, Stidder, Spaull, Henry Rose, Convey, Eyre, Watkin (c). Subs: Pearman, Cramond, Hill, Higgins

Att: 351
Ground Number: Not a new ground
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

Heading up the M1 on Tuesday evening it occurred to me that I was on my way to watch Leicester Nirvana for the fifth time. However, this would be my first visit to their home ground, Hamilton Park. Much like my record with Kidlington, I have never seen Nirvana lose, either in the Leicester or Thurnby guise. In fact, their record to date when I have seen them is played four, won four. The previous games were:

Sileby Rangers 3 Thurnby Nirvana 4 (Still one of the best games of football I have ever seen)
Desborough Town 2 Leicester Nirvana 4
Rothwell Corinthians 1 Leicester Nirvana 3
Kirby Muxloe 0 Leicester Nirvana 3
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I have only seen Rugby play once since starting this blog (although I saw VS Rugby play at Stourbridge a few times many years ago), a 1-0 home defeat to Daventry in Step 4. Interestingly, both of these sides have slipped down the pyramid since then, both finding themselves in the United Counties Premier Division this season.

​Hamilton Park, Nirvana's home, is a newly fenced off facility with a recently built clubhouse. Fencing is tall but you could still watch from outside if you wanted to. Two covered areas, both to the right of the entrance and clubhouse. One seating area, one standing. Dugouts are opposite. Note for hoppers. Parking is very limited at the ground. there is a small overflow car park but this was already full at least 40 minutes before kick-off. So, get there early if you want to park nearby.

There were plenty of Valley supporters milling around when I arrived and they had already put their flags and banners up at the far end of the ground. The biggest topic of discussion in the bar seemed to be their position as favourites for the league. The majority of supporters seemed to think that it was nowhere near as clear-cut as that  and that they would need to work very hard to achieve promotion. "We are in Step 5 for a reason" was the general consensus.

In quite blustery conditions, Rugby opened the quicker and certainly looked the sharper side in the first 10-15 minutes.The game burst into life on 12 minutes when Rugby came very close to opening the scoring. A neat move saw Blythe burst into the box but Chey Carter was very quick to spread himself and block the effort. Within two minutes, Nirvana had a similar opportunity but Hill proved himself as adept as his counterpart, saving very smartly. Nirvana then had a free-kick on the edge of the area which Savjani put just over the Rugby bar

​After 19 minutes, Valley had the ball in the home net when a long throw was flicked on and found its way into the net. However, a hand was used on the way and the assistant's flag was raised almost immediately. Still 0-0.

On 21 minutes Nirvana taok the lead in somewhat controversial circumstances. A quite clear Nirvana push in midfield went unpunished and the home side took advantage of the Rugby players stopping to appeal by breaking down their left flank. Suleman Nassor showed good awareness to slide over a very tempting cross and  Jordan Nelson was on hand at the near post to force the ball home. 1-0

The goal changed the game completely. The belief seemed to drain from Rugby and Nirvana's tails were up. They were the team playing all of the football. It has to be said that Leicester managed the game very well from this point onwards. Some would say gamesmanship, I would say game management. They had clearly spotted that the referee didn't have full control over the game. I don't like to criticise officials, but this game needed a strong man in the middle. It didn't have one.

Nirvana can certainly play good football. They can also mix it when they need to. Rugby allowed themselves to be drawn into a toe-to-toe battle with Nirvana. They allowed Nirvana's tactics of taking their time with every dead ball to get under their skin. It was a battle that they never looked like winning.
Leicester just had too much nous for them, as well as, on the day, being the better football team. 

Rugby did have a penalty claim when Rankin and Carter collided in the area, but it was waved away by the referee and, on this occasion, it looked like he got that decision spot on.

HT Leicester Nirvana 1 Rugby Town 0. A very stop-start game punctuated by plenty of niggles and fouls. The referee needs to get a grip on the game. A red card is looking almost nailed on in the second-half if he continues to frustrate the players with inconsistent decisions.

​Valley started the second half with a clear intention to get back into the game as quickly as possible. Nirvana seemed quite happy to let them come onto them, relying on their pace up front to pose a threat whenever a Rugby attack broke down. The Nirvana back-line was coping well with everything that Rugby threw at them, although long balls down the middle aren't going to trouble that many defences too much. 

An increasing number of flare-ups and stoppages didn't help Rugby find any fluency either. Again, I put this down to Nirvana managing the game better and having more experience than their visitors. They knew that they had their opponents rattled and they took complete advantage of it.

With 16 minutes of the 90 remaining and with Rugby pressing forward, Nirvana hit them on the break down the right flank. This time it is Nassor who is on the end of a low cross, leaving him the simple task of tapping into an empty net. 2-0 and no way back for Rugby now.

FT Leicester Nirvana 2 Rugby Town 0. An untidy game but a well earned three points for Nirvana. The most amazing statistic is that we still had 22 players on the pitch at the end.
Nirvana are a good side and, on this evidence, could be contenders this season. However, they will need to ensure that they keep their discipline. They have some very talented individuals but are far too ready to get involved in a physical confrontation. If they stick to playing football, they could play a lot of teams off the park in this league.
For me, Rugby seemed to find their title favourites tag weighing heavily on their shoulders. Once they went 1-0 down, they never really looked like getting back into the game. However, it's not easy to tell from one game. They looked pretty good for the first 20 minutes but allowed themselves to be distracted from the game, as well as being frustrated by the officials decisions. 

Leicester Nirvana: Carter, Gore, Bahrey, Calver, Harper, Bains, Gonga, Savjani, Nassor, Nelson, Master. Subs: Mudhur, De Lacerda, Brown-Wingfield, Glover
Rugby Town: Hill, Rosser, Thomas, Edwards, Recci, Perkins, Rankin, Bunting, Adams, Johnson, Blythe. Subs: Evans, Holloway, Kavanagh, Blake, Marsden

Att: 112
Ground Number: 160
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

An advantage of having a wife who 'gets' my passion for non-league football is that she comes up with ideas like today. As I have pointed out many times, the majority of my live action is midweek. Weekends are family time. However, the opening day of the season is sort of special and my wife came up with a plan to combine family and football time.
The question she posed 'Is there a game somewhere that we haven't been, where we could have a little day out as well as you taking in a match?'. As it happened, a perfect fixture leapt off the pages of the NLP. Ely City v Framlingham Town.
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You couldn't really find a better one. A new ground for me, a team playing it's first ever Step 5 game (Framlingham). A cathedral (since a recent trip to Wells, my daughter likes visiting cathedrals), it is an historic city with plenty to keep the family occupied and the ground is within walking distance of the city centre. So it was that we found ourselves heading 81 miles East on Saturday lunchtime, towards The Fens and new ground number 159.

​After a brief wander around the city, a visit to Oliver Cromwell's house and then a little bit of lunch in the cathedral cafe, I left the girls to their day and headed off towards the Ellgia Stadium, home of Ely City FC. The ground is situated on the outskirts of the city (remember, it is a very small city), about 25 minutes walk from the cathedral. It is part of a sports complex that appears to incorporate almost every sport under the sun. Ely Tigers RFC, a golf club, tennis club and did I see squash? It is also adjacent to what looks like a very new edition to the city, the Isle of Ely, a village of restaurants, fast food and entertainment. This new entertainment village has also provided a very useful underpass from the city, under the busy A10, and into the entertainment areas. All in all, an impressive array of eateries, entertainment and, best of all, sport facilities. Well played, City of Ely. The football stadium itself is a very tidy, compact ground. Most of the facilities are on the entrance side of the ground, accessed though a single turnstile. Immediately as you enter, on your right is the main stand, which rises quite high above the ground and has seating for 150. Next to this stand is the clubhouse, which has some sheltered areas immediately outside (handy on a baking hot day like today). There is also a small covered area to the left of the entrance, which has a few benches in, but is mainly a covered standing area.

​A little introduction to the two sides in action today. Hosts Ely City, founded in 1885, joined the Eastern Counties League in the 1960-61 season and have played in the league ever since. They have won Division One once in their history as well as being Division One Cup winners once. They have been something of a yo-yo club over the years, suffering four relegations and the equal number of promotions. Since they returned to the top flight two season ago, they have finished 13 and 14th but have also had their best ever FA Vase run (5th Round) and won the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup for the 4th time in their history.
​Framligham Town, The Castlemen, were promoted from the Ipswich & Suffolk League three season ago, entering the Eastern Counties structure for the first time since their formation in 1887. ​

They finished a creditable 7th in the first season and then obtained promotion to Step 5 as runners-up last season. There are a couple of interesting facts about both the club and the castle of Framlingham. First of all, the club purchased their floodlights from the Sizewell B nuclear plant. Now, I guess they have heard this before, but does this mean that their lights glow even if they don't switch them on? That could save a pretty penny. The second, and not so interesting fact, is that I and my then pregnant wife, visited Framlingham Castle during a East Anglian holiday in 2009.

​And so onto the game and Framlingham Town's introduction to Step 5 football. The recent weather meant that the pitch was dry and hard, through no fault of the club, I should add. It was a very warm, still day. Not the best conditions for a game of football.

Framlingham started really well. They looked sharper and far more threatening than Ely. However, despite having a lot of the ball, they couldn't make the home keeper work. Star striker, Danny Smith looked very dangerous. Quick, and incisive, but he couldn't find that final ball. He seemed to be the one making the chances, whereas Framlingham would probably have preferred him to have been on the end of them.
Most of Ely's play focused on number Jamie Thurlbourne, who was working hard to gain a grip on the midfield and was, certainly in the first half, involved in almost every Ely move.

25 minutes in, and with the score still 0-0, the referee, very wisely, called for a drinks break. I knw that some people feel that this  little bit 'nanny state, but, I can tell you, it was hard work just standing, watching in the sun. I really did not envy these players and they must have been getting seriously dehydrated after 25 minutes of running in this weather.

As the half wore on, Thurlbourne was starting to pull more strings and his team-mates were also getting more into their stride. Ely were definitely coming into the game more as the half progressed.

​Comedy moment of the first half came when Ely were awarded a free-kick for a foul. The Ely player, who had taken a knock to head, was still getting up as they tried to take a quick free-kick, succeeding only in belting the ball into their recently stricken colleague. As the ball ran loose the Framlingham right-back, thinking that the referee was going to make them take the kick again, picked the ball up, only for the referee to award a fee-kick against him for hand ball. What annoyed the Framligham bench most of all was that, if their player had controlled the ball, he could have played in one of their strikers as the home defence was absolutely wide open.

HT Ely City 0 Framlingham Town 0. A good start from the visitors but Ely looking more dangerous as the half progressed. Not a classic but good entertainment for neutrals.

Ely came out for the second half looking to continue their growth into the game. They didn't have too long to wait before their resurgence paid off when a deep cross from the left was met by Deaken Napier, at the far post, who volleyed the ball past the keeper. 1-0 after 51 minutes.

Framlingham heads didn't drop but you sensed they needed to get an equaliser quickly if they were to stay in the game. They were getting noticeably less of the ball than the first half, possibly more because Ely had upped their game rather then Framlingham had dropped their standards. As the clocked ticked past the hour and headed towards the 70th minute mark, an equaliser was starting to look more unlikely. Suddenly, however, The Castlemen sprang into life. A little bit of pressure on the home goal was half cleared to the left flank, Max Willett swung over a lovely cross and there was Anthony Johnson to power home a header. 1-1 after 69 minutes and a perfect time for a second-half drinks break.

​The drinks seemed to invigorate both teams and, immediately after the restart we had some fine end to end action. First of all Lewis Hook's diving header for Ely was touched onto the inside of the post by Sam Chivers, before he managed to grab the ball on the line. Then, in the 72nd minute, less than a minute after Ely had almost re-taken the lead, home keeper Evan Jeckells was forced to make a sharp stop at his near post. From the resulting corner, Jeckells was again called into action to prevent the way side taking the lead.

It looked as if we were heading for a stalemate until, in the 86 minute, the referee had no option but to award a home penalty as Hook (my view was slightly obscured, so it may not have been) was bundled over in the box. Up stepped Lee Reed to send the keeper the wrong way to make it 2-1.
Then on the stroke 90 minutes, with Framlingham somehow finding the energy to press for a second equaliser, Ely hit them on the break down the left, before pulling the ball back for Reed to expertly stroke home his second and Ely's third. 3-1.
There was still enough time for a little bit of 'handbags' before the end, but it only led to a yellow card and was soon calmed down.

FT Ely City 3 Framlingham Town 1. Ely ultimately deserved their win. After Weathering Framlingham's blistering start, they played their way into the game and scored a couple of very nice goals. Both sides worked incredibly hard in what must have been very tough conditions to play football in. This was only my second Eastern Counties League game and, I have to say, I have enjoyed both immensely (the other was Godmanchester v Felixstowe a couple of seasons back). It a shame that the majority of sides in this league are just that little bit too far, especially as I watch most of my football in midweek. I must, however, make an effort see a few more games.
Best wishes to both sides for the rest of the season.

Ely City (All Red): Jeckells, Dalby, Alsop, Walter, Williams, Lee Reed, Napier, Hook, Thulborn, Jeffrey, Thurlbourne. Subs: Brannan, Sam Reed, Heap, Griffin
Framlingham Town (Green & White hoops): Chivers, Poacher, Willett, Thorpe, Johnson, Mayhew, Boardley, Matt Aldis, Smith, Kerridge, Driver. Subs: Evans-Hendrick, Abraham, Borg, Brooks

Att: 81
Ground Number: 159
Entrance: £7.00
Programme: £1.00

​Going to a match in July is possibly a first for me. I've never been one for watching friendlies. I get that the are necessary but I don't want to watch them. So, when I saw that the Worcestershire FA Senior Cup Final was being played this week, I jumped at the chance to watch a competitive game.
Driving over to Evesham on a scorching hot July Thursday evening isn't such a bad thing to do. Sitting in my car, protected by the coolness of the air conditioning, I noticed that my temperature gauge was showing a sweltering 30 degrees outside. I certainly wasn't envying the players when I made my way from the car park to the turnstiles at the Jubilee Stadium. Having said that, unlike the previous few weeks, there was a little breeze in the air and, if the various websites were to be believed, even the threat of a little rain and some thunder & lightning. 

The final was to be contested by local and, from this season divisional rivals, Alvechurch and Redditch United. Between them, these sides had won the trophy 9 times since it's inception in the 1893/94 season. Redditch also have the honour of being the inaugural winners, albeit under their original guise of Redditch Town. They had last won the trophy in 2014. 

The last of Alvechurch's three wins came in the 1977 season, towards the end of what was a golden period for the club with four successive West Midlands Regional League titles banked between 1973 and 1977. The current Church crop are certainly bringing back these good times. The club has climbed from Step 5 into Step 3 in the past two seasons. 

​Alvechurch were certainly out of the blocks quicker than Redditch and were by far the sharper team in the first 20 minutes. With some better decision making and final ball, they would almost certainly have been ahead in this time. They were also pulled back for a very dubious office on once occasion. Although, a second effort which was well saved by the Redditch keeper, actually was offside. So, I guess these decisions equal out over a game. As it was, the game remained 0-0 and, as you would expect, Redditch did start to find a little more fluency.

However, Alvechurch continued to be the better side and, on 37 minutes, they took the lead with a nicely worked goal. A defence splitting diagonal pass from Keiron Cook found Josh March in the right, with a clear run on goal. He strode forward and drilled the ball past the Redditch keeper to make it 1-0.
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Still having the majority of possession, it looked like only a matter of time until Church increased their lead. However, they were again guilty of some stray final balls and, just before the interval, they were made to pay for their profligacy when Declan Benjamin equalised, against the run of play, with a lovely strike. 1-1

HT Alvechurch 1 Redditch United 1. Church have been dominant but were made to rue too many stray final balls.

​Possibly buoyed by their late equaliser, Redditch started the second-half much better than the first. They were certainly seeing more of the ball than they did in the first 45, but not really posing too much threat to the Church defence.
On 66 minutes we were treated to the move of the game. Alvechurch attacked fluently down their left flank, Foster got a few yards on his marker and, instead of firing an aimless ball into the box, he cleverly pulled the ball back into the path of March who placed the ball past the keeper from the edge of the box. A really good move and calm finish. 2-1

Alvechurch then put the game to bed on 78 minutes when two-goal March was upended in the penalty area. Turton stepped up and made no mistake from the spot. 3-1

There was nothing that Redditch could do to get back into the game at this point, although they did keep pushing until the end. They had one opportunity to possibly make for an interesting last few minutes, but it was not to be. Church ran out deserved winners on the night and claimed their fourth Worcestershire Senior Cup.

FT Alvechurch 3 Redditch United 1. A good run out for both teams. I must say, I like this idea of playing the cup final as part of the pre-season. It works really well as far as I am concerned.

Best of luck to both sides in the forthcoming season (although, as they are in the same league as Stourbridge, not too much good luck eh?).

Att: 
Ground Number: Not a new ground
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: Included

​Any resident of Bicester will tell you that, when asked where they live, the response to their reply will almost certainly be 'Oh, that's where the big retail outlet place is, isn't it?'. The respondee is, of course, referring to Bicester Village, the retail outlet that has begun to define the Oxfordshire town. Those that visit the centre by car, and there are millions of them each year, probably don't even notice the two rugby pitches and one football ground perched behind the Acorn pub, on the opposite side of the access road to the outlet centre car parks. What they also will not realise is that the area that Bicester Village occupies was also once part of the same sports grounds.

In the early 1920s a group of Bicester residents formed an organisation to promote a healthier lifestyle for the people of the town through sporting activities. They called themselves the Bicester Sports Association (BSA). Towards the end of that decade, with the aid of donations from residents, they purchased the land off Oxford Road from Major Lewis Coker. The Bicester Sports Ground was born. That is the origin of the ground in a nutshell, for a more in-depth description please visit https://www.saveoxfordroad.co.uk/ and read the full history of Oxford Road.

Parts of the land were sold off in the late 1980s, to Tesco, and in the mid 1990s, to the group behind Bicester Village. The BSA then purchased a large amount of farmland in neighbouring Chesterton, clearly with a view to moving all of the sports facilities out of the town and into the village. All that remains of the original sports ground today are the two rugby pitches and the football ground.

Now, in 2018, even these remaining facilities are under threat. The BSA has plans to sell off the remainder of the land to developers.This cannot be allowed to happen in my eyes. This land was purchased for the people of Bicester. The BSA was created to give better sporting facilities to the people of Bicester, not the people of Chesterton.

​Shortly after I moved to the area, in 2010, I became involved with the local football club, Bicester Town. At that time the club was playing at the Oxford Road stadium but after being relegated and then achieving promotion back to the Hellenic Premier, the club was forced off the ground on the eve of the new season. The club folded and was then reformed a few seasons later, playing games at nearby Ardley United. So, although rugby is still played at Oxford Road, there is no senior football played at the ground any more. I can't speak for the rugby club, but I do know a little about the football side and, I can honestly say that I believe the football club needs to be playing at Oxford Road and that Bicester needs a senior football team, playing within the confines of the town.

When I was at the club it became very apparent that getting people through the turnstiles was a challenge. For a town of over 30,000 residents, getting an average of 50 people (and a good few of those were committee members) in for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday is pretty poor. It was also very difficult to encourage investment from local businesses. This I believe was down to some bad experiences in the past. Which leads me to another point. Whilst my opening few paragraphs would seem to be painting the BSA as the villain in this piece, I completely understand that the football club has not been whiter than white in the distant past either. Having said that, when I was there in 2010-2012 I believe the people at the club were really trying to put the club back on solid ground and, of course, there is now completely new management in place. As I said before, I can't speak for the rugby club, although I have never heard anything untoward mentioned about the way their club is run.

What the football club needs, in my opinion, is to become part of the community and part of the town. Since their reformation a few seasons back, the club has performed well on the field. In fact, if they had their own ground they would be starting next season back in Step 5. However, crowds at Ardley have been lower than they were eight years ago when the team played in the town. The club needs to be within easy reach of the town's population and Oxford Road is the ideal location.

​If we take a look at other local football teams, it gives an insight into how having the football ground close to the centre of the population helps to promote the club and take the club further. Kidlington, with a population a third of that of Bicester, play Step 4 football (admittedly their attendances are not brilliant) and are holding their own on the pitch at that level. Brackley Town are an even better example. Step 2 football, FA Trophy winners, average gates up around the 400 mark and all with a population of under 15,000. Their St James Park stadium is within walking distance of the town centre, encouraging people to take a look at what is going on there.
On a smaller scale, Bicester Town's former landlords, Ardley United punch well above their weight when it comes to success versus population. There are fewer than 800 residents but the club is back in Step 5 next season and, percentage-wise, attracts a large proportion of locals through the gates. 

Personally, I don't think that it should beyond the wit of man to come up with a solution to the problem in Bicester, keeping the football and rugby clubs firmly in the heart of the community. For instance, why not incorporate the sports facilities into Bicester Village in some way? Spruce up the stadiums and make them part of the Village, part of the shopping experience. I wonder how many West Ham supporters go, as a family, to the new stadium. The football supporters go off the match whilst the members of the group who are not interested stay at the nearby shopping centre? Why couldn't his model be applied at Bicester? Maybe even introduce some kind of loyalty scheme to get people watching the sports teams whilst their family spend an afternoon in Bicester Village?

The grounds could also be used to hold more tournaments and regional cup finals, all sponsored by Bicester Village. Five-a-side competitions for football, maybe rugby sevens at the adjoining club?This could encourage visitors to the area who will, no doubt, spend money in the shopping centre. This may mean making the football pitch an artificial surface, which I am still not 100% in favour of, but that would be a small price to pay for creating a community sports hub. These are just ideas off the top of my head. I am sure there are far more qualified and creative minds out there who could come up with a model that would suit all parties. If only they would get together and discuss it.

I for one would love to see the Oxford Road Sports Grounds stay as they are, a sporting facility for the people of Bicester. I would also dearly love to see Bicester Town Football Club return to their old home ground and become a real local community club. 

If you want to read more about Oxford Road Sports Ground or would like to get involved, please take a look at https://www.saveoxfordroad.co.uk/

So, here we are again. the end of another football season. It seems like a long time since my first game of the season at Melksham Town but, unlike last year when I really felt like I needed a break from football over the summer, this year I am already looking forward to August. Maybe it's the re-shuffle and the prospect of new leagues to get to grips with? Whatever the reason, the new season can't come quick enough in my eyes.

One of the reason's I like writing a season review is that it gives me the opportunity to take stock of what has happened, who I have met and which new clubs/stadiums I have visited. During the season, it's a case of write a blog, research games, go to a game, write a blog, research games.....and with in excess of forty leagues to keep abreast of, it's not easy to sit back an appreciate the season.

The 2017-18 season for Botp started in leafy Wiltshire at the new home of Melksham Town in August 2017, and finished under the Wembley arch on Non-League Finals Day in May 2018. Between these dates I travelled 3,929 miles, saw 46 games of football and witnessed 146 goals. I also managed to get to 30 new grounds over the course of the season. 

The pleasures of non-league football are plenty, but for me watching live football and meeting some of the people that run the game or support the game through blogging, ground-hopping bring the greatest rewards. This season, as with the past four, proved to be no different when it came to making friends and acquaintances within the game. In September I happened across Phil Annets (@FACupFactFile) at Hartley Wintney. Phil and I had been on the Non-League Radio Show with Caroline Barker but had never met in person. We subsequently met up again (twice) at Phil's local club, Wallingford Town, where we put the footballing world to rights. If you love the FA Cup (or even if you just have a passing interest) you must follow @FACupFactFile and check out Phil's blogs on the subject. There is nothing that this man does not know about the FA Cup.

Another social media acquaintance who I got to know over the season was Andy Oakes, programme editor and supporter of 1874 Northwich. Andy very kindly used a couple of my FA Vase blogs in his, utterly brilliant, programme during his teams Vase run. It was great to meet up with Andy before the start of his side's game at Leighton Town in February. Next season I will make every effort to get up the Cheshire for an 1874 home game.

During the past season, BotP also had the pleasure of posting blogs from out first (and to date, only) guest blogger, Charlie Marriot. Charlie shared six of his match blogs with us in October and  November. He is currently out and about enjoying the CONIFA tournament and will, hopefully, be contributing more of his insights next season. The links to his blogs are listed at the end of this article.

If anyone else out there would like to contribute articles, please feel free to send them in (info@botp.co.uk) and I will do my utmost to publish them. The site now averages over 2,000 views a week in peak times (growing each year) so, if you do write something, you have a reasonably large potential audience.

A trip to AFC Rushden & Diamonds and a November outing at Wellingborough Whitworth were enough for me to complete my NN post code list. I also, completely by accident, managed to see Bicester Town v Chinnor at both venues. Speaking of Bicester Town, watch out for a forthcoming blog concerning the fate of their former Oxford Road ground.

In October I ventured up to Leicestershire to watch Leicester Road take on Quorn in the Midland League. A perfect opportunity to visit a new ground as well as see an old West Brom stalwart, Russell Hoult. The game was a great advert for Step 6 football, an end to end game finishing 4-3 to Leicester Road. Houlty not being able to produce one of the clean sheets that he was famous for during his time at The Baggies.

There was only a single visit to Kidlington's Yarnton Road ground this season but, as is normally the case, the home side won. This was my fifth visit to the ground and the fifth time that the Greens have come out on top.

In November BotP joined forces with Sport Shots, a local organisation that promotes sport in the area allowing free use of their reports and images for club websites, Facebook pages, and programmes as well as supplying local newspapers with images free of charge. All of this is a great asset to the local sporting community. Sports Shots does not aim to gain from any of these services, just an accreditation for their media with an aim to boosting awareness of their charities, MacMillan Cancer Support and Vasculitis UK. There is a certain synergy between Sport Shots and BotP. You may have seen the links and logo for our chosen charity, Edie's Butterfly Appeal, which tries to raise awareness of childhood Ependymoma as well as raising funds for research. BotP and Sport Shots continue to retweet content and support each other's ventures. I would also like to thank all at Ardley United who continue to run half-page Edie's Butterfly Appeal flyers in all of their match-day programmes.

As has become something of a tradition, there are a few 'awards' to hand out, starting with the Team of the Year for Steps 2 through to 6.

​Step 2 - Brackley Town. I had already pencilled The Saints in for this award before their remarkable penalty shoot-out FA Trophy win over Bromley. They narrowly failed to gain promotion to the fifth-tier after losing out to Harrogate Town (who were also in the running for this award). However, I have to say, the Trophy victory finally swayed my decision. A fantastic victory against a team from a higher division, which was thoroughly deserved on the balance of play.

Step 3 - Gosport Borough. Gosport get the Step 3 award on the back of their amazing 'great escape. Seemingly down and out as we headed into the tail end of the season, they somehow found three straight victories to end the campaign, including a crucial 2-0 victory at relegation rivals Dunstable Town, scoring thirteen goals and conceding zero. A truly herculean effort when you consider that they had only 9 points on the board at the end of March.

Step 4 - Hartley Wintney. What a season for The Row. Playing at Step 4 for the first time in their history, they managed to take a spot in the play-offs before defeating both AFC Dunstable and Cambridge City to go straight up into the Southern League Premier Division next season. A tremendous achievement for a village with a population of less than 5,000. 

Step 5 - Thatcham Town. The Kingfishers ended their fantastic season in some style. Having already achieved promotion back to Step 4, after winning the Hellenic Premier League, they took their 'Invincibles' tag (earned by achieving an unbeaten run of 40 games) to Wembley Stadium. A Shane Cooper-Clark penalty was enough to see of Stockton Town and earn Thatcham their first FA Vase title.

Step 6 - Wolverhampton Sporting Community. This was an extremely difficult decision to make. Having seen a lot of Step 6 football this season, I have had the pleasure of seeing a number of good sides, Dunkirk and Walsall Wood, for instance, ran Sports very close. However, a decision needed to be made and, after a lot of thought, both Sports and The Wood got past the 100 point mark, both scored an absolutely massive number of goals, but Sports got the award due to their points tally of 2.73 per game, which was slightly higher than Walsall Wood. 
​

​Favourite New Ground - Sheepy Road (Atherstone Town). Another 'award' that was very difficult to decide on. However, Atherstone Town's Sheepy Road ground finally got my vote because it ticks every single box of a non-league stadium for me. It has character, it is full of memories of past glory, it has non-uniform stands and, most of all, it's not a sterile box. Honourable mention also has to go to Farnham Town's Memorial Ground, which is a wonderfully quirky place to watch football, as well as Malmesbury Victoria's Flying Monk Ground, which is just a delightful place to watch the game.

Best game - Uxbridge 2 Hartley Wintney 2. This game, played the week before Christmas, was one of those matches that only seemed to last about 10 minutes per half. A game that was entertaining from the first to last minute. Both sides were looking for three points, of that there was no doubt. Hartley Wintney came from behind twice and both sides had plenty of opportunities to win the game. As I wrote at the time 'It was breathless end to end stuff with both sides pushing for a winner until the very last kick. A wonderful advert for the Southern League and for Step 4 football'.

Best Team Performance - Atherstone Town v Bolehall Swifts. This was a late season game that didn't have a great deal hanging on it. The Adders were on a roll, but falling short of Walsall Wood, Swifts were just waiting a bad season to come to an end. However, on the night, Atherstone played some delightful football. They put together some wonderful passages of play, carving open the Bolehall defence at will. It was a joy to watch. 

Best Goal (that I witnessed live) - Jonathan Gould (Atherstone Town v Bolehall Swifts).  The left-sided midfielder picked the ball out some 35-40 yards out, beat a series of Swifts defenders and then delicately lofted the ball over the onrushing Paintain to make it 5-0. A brilliant individual effort. 

Best Support - 1874 Northwich at Leighton Town in the FA Vase Quarter-Final. The Northwich support travelled to Bedfordshire in vast numbers and were, no doubt, a contributing factor in the the 1-0 win. Despite their team being pushed back for much of the second half, the Green Army never let their vocal support drop. It also has to be said that the group of Northwich supporters that were constantly being provoked by a small bunch of local kids, acted with great restraint and did not get drawn into any kind of confrontation.

High Point - Getting the results of all eight FA Vase Last Sixteen predictions correct. Maybe I should have had the courage of my convictions and thrown a few quid at the bookies on this one? Surely getting all eight results correct would have been reasonable odds, especially as three of the results went against popular predictions. Honourable mention has to go to my first taste of the Wally Town Sausage Roll which is worth the admission fee on it's own.

All of last season's games with links to associated match blogs:

Melksham Town 4 Cadbury Heath 0
Highgate United 1 Lye Town 1
Malmesbury Victoria 3 Chippenham Park 0
Cove 1 Fleet Spurs 1
Coventry Alvis 0 Chelmsley Town 2
Hartley Wintney 1 Basingstoke Town 0
Windsor 3 Oxford City Nomads 0
Thrapston Town 1 Irchester United 0
Stourbridge 2 St Ives Town 0
Rushden & Diamonds 1 Alfreton Town 3
Shrivenham 1 Oxford City Nomads 4
Kidlington 3 Swindon Supermarine 0
Wallingford Town 0 Ascot United 2
Bicester Town 3 Chinnor 2
Leicester Road 4 Quorn 3
Newport Pagnell Town 1 Daventry Town 3
Clanfield 85 0 Tuffley Rovers 2
Stourbridge 0 Witton Albion 0
Buckingham Athletic 0 Baldock Town 0
Thame Rangers 1 Penn & Tylers Green 3
Wellingborough Whitworth 2 Oadby Town 1
Chinnor 0 Bicester Town 2
Easington Sports 2 Headington Amateurs 1
Uxbridge 2 Hartley Wintney 2
North Leigh 0 Evesham United 2
Loughton Manor 2 Amersham Town 1
Ashford Town (Mx) 4 Marlow 2
Ardley United 1 Oxford Unted 3
Didcot Town Reserves 2 Bracknell Town 6
Farnham Town 1 Godalming Town 2
Leighton Town 0 1874 Northwich 1
Oxford City Nomads 2 Binfield 3
Northwood 0 Uxbridge 1
Badshot Lea 6 Cove 2
Langford 0 Buckingham Athletic 1
Heather St John's 1 Walsall Wood 3
Wallingford Town 1 Milton United 0
Winslow United 2 Risborough Rangers 1
Atherstone Town 5 Bolehall Swifts 0
Studley 0 Walsall Wood 6
AFC Hayes 0 Bedfont Sports 2
Codicote 0 Southall 2
Clifton All Whites 2 Dunkirk 3
Hartley Wintney 4 Eversley & California 1
Thatcham Town 1 Stockton Town 0
Brackley Town 1 Bromley 1

Charlie Marriott's guest blogs:

Stratford Town v Royston Town
Sporting Khalsa v Worcester City
Coventry Copsewood v Chelmsley Town
Boldmere St Michaels v Heanor Town
Lutterworth Athletic v Blackstones
​Redditch United v Bishop's Stortford

It just leaves me to say a massive thank you to anyone who has read, commented, contributed, retweeted or liked any of the content on this site, the Twitter account or Facebook page. I look forward to meeting new and old friends again next season. Have a great summer, enjoy the World Cup but don't forget to go out there and support Non-League Football again next season.

Having never been to the EBB Stadium before, this was also an opportunity for me to tick off another ground. Looking back through my match list this season, it has been spent predominantly watching Step 6 football. So, The EBB Stadium is considerably bigger then the majority of new grounds that I have visited since last August with covered spectator accommodation on all sides and a capacity of just over 7,000.
​I have to say that the stadium ticks all of the boxes as far as I am concerned. It has clearly grown organically and, therefore, none of the stands are the same. It's not just a sterile box, it has character and a good feel to it. Yes, it probably needs a bit of TLC in places and the facilities are not up to the comfort levels of say The Etihad, but it's a proper football stadium in all it's glory. The stand that was open for the evening had a mixture of seats and standing areas, another thing that endears the ground to me. I much prefer to stand to watch football, especially as I have usually been sitting behind the wheel of my car for hours to get to the ground in the first place. I appreciate that many do want t sit down, and I have no problem with that at all but, for me, standing is better.

​My knowledge of the Aldershot Senior Cup was, and still is to a certain extent, limited. However, a glance at the programme showed me that it has been around since the 19th Century and that Hartley Wintney, one of this evening's teams, were the beaten finalists last season, going down 3-0 to Fleet Town. The Row have, as far as I can see, won the competition twice previously, beating Hale FC 2-0 in the the 1975/76 season and apparently beating themselves 3-1 five years later (1st team v reserves maybe?).
What I already did know was that Eversley & California, Hartley's opponents in the final, had got there in a strange manner, losing the semi-final 5-0 to the Army, who had to pull out due to other commitments. Presumably, something they need to get used to when you have Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary? As Ben Elton would say. "Ooh! A little bit of politics there".
This also appears to be The Boars first appearance in the Final of this competition.

​Hartley Wintney were coming into the game on the back of a second successive promotion season, with the club attaining Step 3 football for the first time in their history. So, with The Boars finished mid-table in Division One of the Combined Counties League, the 2018-19 season would kick-off with three steps between the sides. 

The Row started the game very brightly and within 2 minutes captain Dean Stow had curled a free-kick over the Eversley wall and narrowly over the bar. A warning shot for The Boars. Hartley continued to lok thrteatening, calling the Eversely keeper into action on a number of occasions in the open 10 minutes.
There was, however, a sting in the tail of this opening period. After 13 minutes, Eversley broke forward and a lovely pass split the Hartley back-line allowing the Boars number 9 (apologies, I have no team sheets) to run onto the ball. It looked as if he had missed his opportunity to score but when the ball broke off the keeper and a covering defender, he was on hand to stroke it home for a goal totally against the run of play. 0-1

The goal seemed to rattle Hartley for a few minutes, temporarily putting a halt to the constant raids on the Eversley penalty area. However, less than 10 minutes after going behind, they did manage to pull themselves level when Paul Hodges latched onto a ball in the penalty area and beat the keeper with the aid of, what looked from my angle, a deflection. 1-1.

Hartley were now back in control of the game and it was just a matter of time before they got their noses in front. However, it took a set-piece for them to break down the Boars stoic defending. Stow, after his earlier range-finder, stroked home a free-kick from a seemingly impossible position some 25 yards out and well wide of the penalty area. His effort over the wall and into the near post seemed to catch out the Eversley keeper. 2-1

HT Hartley Wintney 2 Eversley & California 1. The Row have been on top for most of the half but are being made to work for it by a battling Boars side.

​The Row continued to have the lion's share of possession after the break but could not quite find the finish that would put the game to bed. In fact, it took until the 76th minute for them to finally get the third goal when a right-wing corner was met in the box. The first effort was cleared off the line by an Eversely defender but substitute Nic Ciardini was on hand to head home the rebound. 3-1

The game, as a contest was over at this point. Eversley had fought a hard battle but there was no way they were going to come back from 3-1 down. They continued to give everything they had though and must take credit for not surrendering at this point.
two minutes into added time, Hartley put the icing on the cake with their fourth goal. The goal was very harsh on their keeper who, after performing very well throughout, spilled a ball in from the right allowing Hodges to stab home for his second of the night. 4-1

FT Hartley Wintney 4 Eversley & California 1. All over at the EBB. The Row deservedly win the Aldershot Senior Cup.
Best of luck to both sides next season. It will certainly be interesting to see how The Row fair in Step 3 and I'm sure I will get the chance to see them in action at some point. No doubt that I will also be paying a visit to Eversley at some point next season. Their ground has been on my list for a while and I didn't get chance to visit this year.

Hartley Wintney: Harris, Stow (c), Hutchings, Webb, French, Ball, Noakes, Everiss, Baxter, Tennant, Hodges
Goals: Paul Hodges, Dean Stow, Nic Ciardini, Paul Hodges

Att: 
Ground Number: 158
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: Included

Having lived in the town for over eight years and having served on the committee at the club in the past, the plight of Bicester Town saddens me. I am fully aware that they situation is not as simple as it may first appear but with a perfectly usable stadium in the town, it seems ludicrous that the club cannot accept promotion because they do not have a suitable venue for their games.
Bicester's former ground, Oxford Road, sits there almost unused whilst the club scratches around looking for a place to call home again. 
Now that Ardley have achieved promotion, their ground, which Bicester have shared for the past couple of years, is not going to be able to withstand the extra games in the Premier league and therefore is not going to be available to Bicester next season. The only other local ground that could come up to Step 5 grading is Oxford Road.
Bicester Sports Association, who own Oxford Road, was set up in the 1930s to provide the sports teams and people of Bicester with good sports facilities. So, why does it seem to be beyond the wit of these people to work out a way of bringing football back to the town? As I said, I fully understand that it is not quite as simple as it seems on the surface, but is it really that difficult to work out some sort of agreement?

The cynic in me thinks that the location of Oxford Road, adjacent to the ever-expanding Bicester Village outlet centre, has something to do with the decision. I hope my cynicism is unfounded.

It would be great to get Bicester Town playing in the town again. Bicester is very much a town that is growing in population and stature. It needs a successful football team playing in the town.

​There are still games coming thick and fast in some Step 5 & 6 leagues. This Thursday was no exception and, as I already had some business to take care of near Tamworth, an extra 50 minutes up the M42 to Nottingham seemed like too good an opportunity to miss out on. So it was that I found myself heading into uncharted territory for BotP. A new league, the East Midlands Counties League and a new stadium, Clifton All White's Norman Archer Memorial Ground. The occasion was a (very) local derby between All Whites and league leaders from across the Trent, Dunkirk.
The Boatmen were coming into the game knowing that the league title was in their own hands and on the back of a 12 game unbeaten run since losing 2-1 at Barrow Town in March. During that run they had won 11 of the 12 games including a 2-1 victory over second-placed Teversal and a superb 2-1 win at Anstey Nomads. Last time out Dunkirk had smashed eight unanswered past Radcliffe Olympic. 
Clifton, down in twelfth spot, certainly could not match the overall form of their neighbours but could better their last result having hammered Arnold Town 10-1 on their own patch. So, with eighteen goals between them in the last week I think this game had little chance of finishing 0-0.

Clifton, promoted as Champions from the Nottinghamshire Senior League last season, had already held their rivals to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back in August and, without doubt, would not want to be handing the championship on a plate to them in this game. I have to admit, although I knew a little about Dunkirk (they played Stourbridge in the cup a couple of year's ago, and gave a very good account of themselves), I knew next to nothing about Clifton. It has to be said that they have a very impressive list of former players, including Garry Birtles, Jermaine Jenas, Keith Alexander and Darren Huckerby. I've not seen too many other Step 6 sides with such an illustrious list.

The All White's stadium,The Norman Archer Memorial Ground, is situated on the Eastern perimeter of Clifton, just off the A453 route into Notingham. There is a reasonable sized car park which, with this being a derby, was pretty full by the time I arrived. The club house, players and officials facilities are outside the main stadium, as are all of the facilities, toilets and tea bar. The playing area is accessed through a single gate just off the car park.
As you enter, from the car park end, to the left is the main stand which runs for approximately a third of one side and features covered seating and standing. The dugouts are situated opposite the main stand. The pitch, when you consider how late in the season it is and just how much bad weather we have had this year, was in superb condition, a massive credit to the club and all the volunteers helping to keep the ground in shape.

So, we were ready to go. All Whites in all white and Dunkirk in their change kit of all blue. A quick glance at the league table showed that Dunkirk had a four point lead at the top but, with both Teversal and Anstey playing this evening as well, nothing short of a win would suffice.

Top Three at the start of play:
Dunkirk Pl 37 - Pts 82
Teversal 37 - 78
Anstey Nomads 35 - 74

​The game started at a very high tempo. Within a minute, visiting keeper Mitchell found himself having to react quickly to prevent Shannon-Lewis from putting All Whites in front. Within a couple of minutes, Clifton keeper McDonald was at full stretch to keep out a deflected Potts free-kick, as Dunkirk looked to get in front.
A quick glance at Twitter showed that both Anstey and Teversal had scored very early in their games at Holbrook and Holwell respectively.

Ten Minutes in:
​Dunkirk 38 - 83
Teversal 38 - 81
Anstey Nomads 36 - 77

Suddenly the table was looking a lot tighter.
Both sides were showing some lovely touches on the ball as well as snapping into challenges, as you would expect in a derby game. As we progressed past towards the halfway mark in the first-half, Dunkirk had started to go through the gears somewhat and were beginning to push their opponents back more and more. On the half-hour mark Potts met a deep cross at the far post and volleyed home only to see the assistant's flag up for offside.
Despite Dunkirk beginning to get on top, things looked to have taken a turn for the worse for them in the 38th minute when their defence was caught out by a direct ball. Shannon-Lewis go onto the through ball only to be upended by the advancing goalkeeper. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and dealt a yellow card out to Mitchell.
Shannon-Lewis picked himself up and took the kick himself. However, Mitchell made up for his foul by making the save, diverting the kick over the bar with his legs. 

All White's were made to regret their miss just four minutes later when, after great work by Chaplin on the right, the ball was pulled back to Ben Moore just inside the box. Moore showed a cool head to stroke the ball, with precision, inside McDonald's left hand post. 0-1.
Dunkirk had their four point gap back at the top of the table and, just as well they scored, because at this point Anstey were three goals up and Teversal already 4-0 up at Holwell.
Just as The Boatmen were getting ready to go in with their noses in front, however, they suffered a lapse of concentration at the back. A long Clifton punt forward was misjudged by two defenders, leaving Scott Litchfield with just the keeper to beat, which hid did with some composure, sliding the ball under the advancing stopper. 1-1.

HT Clifton All Whites 1 Dunkirk 1. A good half of football. Very entertaining for the neutral and a typical hard-fought local derby. Home keeper has been busier but it's all square at half-time. Dunkirk's lead at the top was down to two points but, with their much superior goal difference, the title was still in their own hands at this stage.

​Three minutes into the second period though the situation had changed again as Clifton and, in particular, Scott Litchfield, restarted with a bang. Litchfield picked up the ball some 30 yards out and, when no-one closed him down, let fly with an unstoppable effort that flew past Mitchell into the top corner. A superb effort. 2-1.
The league title was now, no longer in Dunkirk's hands. Should Anstey win all of their matches, they would take the trophy.

The goal galvanised Dunkirk again and they immediately set about getting the goal back and re-establishing their title credentials, a task that they achieved on the hour mark. The goal was testament to the perseverance of striker Stephen Chaplin who battled through a couple of 50-50 challenges before finding himself one on on with McDonald and finishing neatly low past the stopper's left side. 2-2.

With one hand back on the trophy, Dunkirk set about re-establishing their four point gap and, from this point onward it did feel like just a matter of time before they got the winner. However, despite the away side's possession dominance, they had to be aware of Clifton on the break because the All White's still posed a threat when they got the ball in the Dunkirk half.

Clifton were employing every game management trick in the book in an attempt to prevent their neighbours from securing the three points, slowing the game down at every opportunity, much to the ire of the Dunkirk players, bench and support. To be fair, I could see their point and they weren't getting a hell of a lot of backup from the referee (who could have been stronger IMO). However, these sort of tactics are part of the game and, I am sure that if Dunkirk had been in a similar position, they would have done exactly the same. The big problem though was that, because the referee had not stamped his authority on the players, frustrations were building on both sides and the little niggles from the first half were starting to become more noticeable as the game progressed. There were one or two,a s Danny Dyer would say, naughty challenges going in as well as a lot of harsh words fro the referee, who was forced to start handing out cards.

With 77 minutes gone another foul, just on the edge of the Clifton box, saw Dunkirk line up a good opportunity. Potts curled the ball over the wall, beat the keeper, but saw his effort crash against the bar and bounce to safety. They were getting closer though.
Sure enough, with 5 minutes of normal time remaining and the All White's defence under increasing pressure, Dunkirk forced them into a mistake that altered the outcome of the match. High pressing by Dunkirk forwards forced the Clifton defence to play the ball back to McDonald. Hos clearance was not well struck and, with the stopper out of position, Oliver Clark was able to control the ball and loft it back into an empty net from 25 yards. Yet another accomplished and calm finish, a feature of all three Dunkirk goals. 2-3.

The action wasn't quite finished though. We had had a missed penalty and a comeback from both teams but what local derby would be complete without a sending off? Not this one. For, on 88 minutes, the referee felt in necessary to issue a straight red to Clifton's Seaton after a clash near the centre circle. From my position the clash didn't look worthy of a red, bit I didn't have a very clear view. I heard mention of a leading elbow but I didn't see it. There didn't seem too many Clifton complaints though, so I am assuming something untoward happened.

FT Clifton All Whites 2 Dunkirk 3. From a neutral's pint of view, a fantastic advert for the East Midlands Counties League. This was my first experience of the league and, based on this game, it certainly won't be my last. Obviously, it was a very local derby, so there was added intensity but, overall, the standard of football was very good and the entertainment level very high. With both Anstey and Teversal winning, Clark's late winner was even more important for Dunkirk, who stay top of the league with two games to go. Clifton can hold their heads high after giving the league leaders a hell of a game.
Finally, I make no apologies for the cliched title of this blog. I guess it has been used many times before, but it fitted so well, I couldn't resist.

Top Three after Thursday's games
Dunkirk 38 - 85
Teversal 38 - 81
Anstey Nomads 36 - 77

Clifton All Whites: McDonald, Kelly, Hardy, Anderson (c) , Miles, Seaton, Shannon-Lewis, Ball, Crosby, Clark, Litchfield. Subs: Hawkes, Griggs, Wood, Shaw, Kennerdale
Dunkirk: Mitchell, Robinson, Rawdon, Clark, T. Moore, Burton (c), B. Moore, Hickey, Chaplin, Potts, Berridge. Subs: Wilcox, Gowing, Lang, Howes, Massingham

Att: 59
Ground Number: 157
Entrance: £4
Programme: £1

Tuesday evening and the fixture computer had thrown up a game that was like Manna from Heaven. A new ground and a match that both sides, Codicote and Southall, were desperate to get a result from, albeit for entirely different reasons. Home side Codicote, with one more game to play after this, required a single point to assure Step 6 football next season. Southall, on the other hand, were already promoted but needed a point to take the league title and consign Baldock Town to a second-place finish.

Codicote play at the John Clements Memorial Ground, named after John Clements, who was headmaster at Sherrardswood School in nearby Welwyn Garden City. Clements, who was born in the village, was tragically killed in a fire at a ski resort in Sappada in 1976, after he tried to rescue others from the blaze. He was subsequently awarded the George Cross.

The football ground is part of a larger sports centre situated on the edge of Codicote village, accessed via a narrow service road off Bury Lane. Payment for entrance to the ground is taken upon entry to the, good-sized, car park. There are no turnstiles or gates between the car park and the playing area. In fact, it is one of those grounds where you could watch the game from the comfort of your car if you parked in the right place.
The football pitch is bordered by the car park behind one goal and a large hedge on two other sides. The other side of the ground is completely open as it is shared with the cricket club.
As you look from the car park end, there is a covered seating stand on the right hand side and, a first for me, pop-up dugouts situated on the cricket pitch side of the ground. The clubhouse, which look sand feels quite new, is situated to the left of the football as you look from the car park. This block also houses the players and officials area.

​As I said, this evening's opponents were Southall. When the sides met at The Gore earlier in the season, Southall ran out 7-1 winners. They didn't need such a resounding scoreline this evening, but I was still expecting them to want a win so that they could take the league title in some style. Having been informed that kick-off had been put back from 7:30 to 7:45, I wandered over to the club house for a cup of tea, noticing on the way, something of a rarity in Hertfordshire. A gentleman wearing a Stenhousemuir jacket and hat. This reminded me that I had seen this guy before, at an Arlesey Town v Stourbridge game at the Armadillo in April 2013, to be exact.

When I returned to pitch side, just before kick-off, a number of Southall officials and supporters had arrived and, to add to the atmosphere, some members of, what I assumed was Codicote's youth team, had taken up residence behind one of the goals with two red & black flags and a drum.

And so it was, with a backdrop of jets on final approach to Luton Airport, we kicked off one a crucial game for both clubs.
Despite their lowly position, it was Codicote who started the brighter. Southall looked a little nervy and were struggling to find any consistency in their play. After a quarter of an hour it was still 0-0 but the home side were certainly looking the more likely. However, you did get the feeling that they needed to capitalise on their advantage and get a goal before Southall, inevitably, found their rhythm.
The first big chance of the game came on 21 minutes when Codicote's number 10 received the ball with his back to goal some 12 yards out and just to the left of centre. He turned very sharply, getting a yard or two on his marker, but Southall's keeper reacted well to smother the effort. Two minutes later the same Codicote striker had an even better opportunity when the ball fell to him, almost centrally, well inside the box. However, he could only fire tamely straight at the Southall stopper.

That could well have been the turning point in the game. On the half-hour mark, Southall finally fired a warning shot over the Codicote bows when their number 8 fired narrowly over with a powerful drive from outside the box.
The away side were gradually starting to get into their stride more as we approached half-time and, on 43 minutes, they came very close to taking the lead when Harewood broke down the right flank. His deflected cross looped over the keeper but clipped the bar before rebounding to safety.

HT Codicote 0 Southall 0. Codicote have been the better side for most of the half but have not made the most of their chances. Southall noticeably improved towards the end of the half.

​By the time that the second half got under way it was noticeably colder. Usually, come the last few games of the season, we get lovely spring evenings where we can watch games in T-shirts. Not this year though. Three layers, including a winter jacket, and I could still feel the chill in the air.

Maybe the fresh air had woken up the Southall players too because they started the second period with a lot more intensity than they showed in the first half. So much so that, seven minutes into the half, they won a penalty. The home players and supporters thought that the award was harsh and, I have to say, from my angle it certainly looked like a soft one but the referee had a much closer view of the incident than any of us, so a penalty it was.
Aaron McLeish stepped up and confidently stroked the ball pass the keeper to make it 0-1.

Before Southall could bask in the prospect of the league title, however, Codicote went straight up the other end and had a penalty shout of their own. The incident happened on the far side of the pitch at the opposite end to where I was standing, so I can't comment on the claim. However, again, the referee was in a good spot and did not award anything.
Then, on the hour mark, Southall made the game safe and put one hand on the league trophy. Harewood was released down the right. He drove towards the by-line, cut inside his man expertly and laid the ball on a plate for McLeish to tap home his , and Southall's, second of the night. 0-2.

Codicote, to be fair to them, never gave up the game and managed to create a couple of half-decent chances themselves. However, as each chance came and went you could see the game ebbing away from them. Southall slowed the tempo of the game down whenever possible, as any good team would do at this juncture, seeing the game out with some ease in the end.

It was good to bump into Gurmail Dhaliwal just before the end of the game. Gurmail is the Southall Club Secretary and, last season, was kind enough to include one of my match reports in the Southall programme. I was pleased to be able to offer my congratulations to him and the rest of the Southall team.

FT Codicote 0 Southall 2. Southall only needed a point but they got all three to become Champions of the Spartan South Midlands Division One. Broxbourne's 2-1 defeat of London Lions means that Codicote still need to get at least a point at Baldock on Saturday to be sure of survival.

I also managed to speak to Stenny man before I left. He remembered the Arlesey game when our paths first crossed. It turns out that his mate is also a Stenhousemuir supporter. You have to love the diversity of people you meet at non-league games. Two Stenny supporters watching a Step 6 game in Hertfordshire.


Codicote (from): Andreos, Brennan, Dimmock, Dolan, Foster, Heaps, Massey, Morgan, Rice, Robinson, Thanni. Subs: Dixon, Voller, Cook
Southall (from): C. Austin, G. Austin, Bennell, Bennett, Gradwell, Harewood, Hope, Lewis, Long, McLeish, Rhone. Subs: Brown Dioum, Morgan, Sharples, Atwell

Att: 58
Ground Number: 156
Entrance: £5
Programme: Included