CHARD TOWN (Dening Sports Field, Zembard Lane)

WESTERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE, CHARD TOWN 3-1 CORSHAM TOWN, ATTENDANCE: 80

After an aborted attempt on the first Saturday of 2016, I made my way down the M5 to Somserset to take in a visit to Chard. Once again the wet weather was playing havoc with fixtures and many games in the area were postponed, with the Western League's twitter feed in meltdown as the games dropped, but luckily Chard Town's home game with Corsham Town survived.

The football ground on Zembard Lane is part of the Dening Sports Field (Dening being a famous local ironmonger and manufacturer of agricultural implements) along with the cricket and tennis clubs. 

This meant I got the chance to see the (in)famous Zembard Lane slope before the club relocate to pastures new. As it stands, this is set to the last season for Chard at Zembard Lane as the club have fallen foul of the FA's ground grading rules.

The FA rules state that pitch slopes at all levels of FA competition have to be within a gradient of 1:41 and Chard’s exceeds that (this rule means that Chard are prohibited from entering the FA Cup and FA Vase). Their programme notes that there is a 12ft difference between the goals.

The ruling has always been in place but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that that the FA actually started to turn the screw.

The FA's decision to effectively force Chard from their home, and possibly the league, took place last season but Western League clubs rallied behind Chard Town and unanimously supported their bid to stay in the division.

All 41 member clubs voted in favour of Chard Town FC to remain at Zembard Lane. Chard were given 12 months dispensation in order to try and find an alternative home.

The club did announce plans for a new 3G pitch that will be located at Holyrood Academy, across the road from their current ground, but these appear to be a no go at the moment, so it would seem a groundshare is the only viable option to remain at their current level in the pyramid.

The club have been members of the Western League since 1976 and have flitted between the divisions ever since. The club have played in the First Division since 2010 but this season are enjoying a fine run, currently sitting top of the league.

The Robins, kicking down the slope in the first half, ran out comfortable winners in this encounter thanks to goals from Scott Holland (25) and a brace from Luke Woodland (56 & 58). Corsham did pull a goal back courtesy of George Pawley, in what proved to be the last kick of the game.

This result keeps Chard at the top of the table but what the future holds remains to be seen. I wish them good luck.

There were some worrying moments in the second half when the
floodlights on one side of the ground failed but credit to everyone
for finishing the game in the fading light.