The Waterside is the home of AFC Fawley and that is where I would be completing my Wessex League FA Cup double this weekend. The game was taking place today as the facility is shared with Fawley Cricket Club, and they had a fixture on Saturday so the football game was moved to this afternoon. This was the first ever competitive first team fixture Fawley had played on a Sunday, so it was a small piece of history today.
The ground is enclosed with a seated stand on one side of the ground and a couple of covered stands on the other side of the ground. They look like they were built by members of the football club, which adds character to the ground.
Fawley is famous for the Esso refinery, which is one of the largest in Great Britain. The complex dominates the landscape and you can see the towers from the football ground.
The football club was formed in 1923 as AGWI United and they joined the Hampshire League in 1930. The club changed their name to Esso Fawley in 1949 and competed in the Hampshire league until 2010 when they won promtion to the Wessex League.
By this time the club was now known as Fawley AFC, having changed their name once again in 2002.
This afternoon was an all Wessex Premier League cup tie as Fawley hosted Porchester, who are managed by former Arsenal and England player Graham Rix (pictured right). The sunday fixture brought out a few other groundhoppers and I spent the afternoon in the company of a well known 'hopper from Shropshire.
The game was entertaining enough but Porchester always seemed to be in control. There were plenty of chances but no goals in the opening 45 minutes.
The second half was a different story as goals from Steve Ramsey, Tom Froggatt and Joe Bye ensured Porchester's passage into the next round, where they will be home to Mangotsfield United.
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