Eastern Counties League "Groundhopper Day"

The first Eastern Counties League "Groundhopper Day" of the season took place this weekend, the staggered kick off times allowing local football supporters the chance to see four games in 24 hours.

It also proved attractive to some not so local people, such as myself! 

The extravaganza began on the Friday night when Long Melford lost 3-0 at home to Saffron Walden Town. Due to work commitments I was unable to attend, so I came to the party for the three Saturday games....

12pm Eastern Counties League Division One, Blackhouse Lane,
Cornard United 0-4 Wivenhoe Town
Attendance: 108

The first match of the day took me to the village of Great Cornard, on the outskirts of Sudbury, for the midday kick off between strugglers Cornard United (currently 2nd bottom) and Wivenhoe Town (currently the league leaders). I was a little concerned as the sat-nav took me down the very narrow Blackhouse Lane but suddenly a football ground appeared before my eyes! It was a hive of activity with many junior games taking place on the outside pitches. The actual ground is in the corner of the complex, hidden behind the trees.

Given the respective league positions of both teams, the game turned out exactly how one would have predicted. Wivenhoe were two goals up inside ten minutes thanks to Ray Turner and Adam Hampson. In all honesty Cornard offered little and could count themselves fortunate that it was still only 0-2 at the interval. Wivenhoe added two more goals in the second period, Turner completing his hat-trick. 

3pm Eastern Counties League Premier Division, The New Croft,
Haverhill Rovers 1-1 Swaffham Town
Attendance: 152

I first visited Haverhill Rovers back in 2010 when they were in the last days at their previous home Hamlet Croft. The New Croft was opened that same year and is a genuine community sports ground with numerous teams (including Division One side Haverhill Borough) sharing the facilities.

The game was a tale of two penalties, one for each side, in the second half, converted by Perry Moody for Haverhill and for Alex Vincent Swaffham. Overall the game was a cagey affair with neither team looking like scoring until the very kind intervention (for us hoping to avoid the dreaded 0-0 anyway) of the referee. A draw was a fair result in the end.

6pm Eastern Counties League Division One, The Unwin Ground,
Ely City 1-0 Haverhill Borough
Attendance: 157

The final game of the day involved a trek through many picturesque villages in eastern England as my car weaved along roads that flitted between Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire to the city of Ely.

As the Cathedral disappeared into my rear view mirror, I did wonder, once again, where the sat-nav was taking me. The Unwin Ground, named after former club president Doug Unwin who passed away in 1990, is about 1.5 miles from the city centre. It has been home to Ely City since 1986.

Ely were always in control of this game but couldn't convert their chances. Fortunately, for them, an Alex Knowles effort did find the net after 65 minutes.

That brought to an end a top day of 'groundhopping' spent in some top company. I hope the clubs felt the effort worthwhile, I appreciated their efforts and I will certainly look forward to the next "Groundhopper Day" in March 2016.