HEREFORD LADS CLUB (Herefordshire FA County Ground)

HELLENIC LEAGUE DIVISION ONE WEST, HEREFORD LADS CLUB 0-3 CLANFIELD 85, ATTENDANCE: 90

Choices were limited today as Covid-19 and waterlogged pitches caused league suspensions and postponements across the country.

After a morning trawl through twitter to see what was on, I ultimately decided to play it reasonably safe and head for a game on a 3G pitch. 

I trundled down the A49 to Hereford where Hereford Lads Club were taking on Clanfield 85 in an Hellenic League Division One West game. Plenty of other groundhoppers obviously had the same idea and there were a few familiar faces amongst the crowd of supporters.

Hereford Lads Club play at the Herefordshire County Ground on Widemarsh Common (next door to Westfields) and this has been their home since 1940, after the original club was destroyed by fire. The club temporarily played at Hereford Leisure Centre in 2012 after the pitch was deemed too small but they were back by 2013. The stand and floodlights were erected in 2017 and the ribbon was cut by Everton legend Kevin Sheedy, who began his career with Hereford United.

The Lads Club was founded in 1925 with the aim of providing underprivileged boys with the means to become men through sport by emphasising gentlemanly conduct and good sportsmanship. Originally catering for gymnastics and boxing before cricket and football teams were developed.

The club spent many seasons in the Herefordshire County League before winning promotion to the West Midlands Regional League in 2012. The club were transferred across to the Hellenic League in 2019.

 

This afternoon's game got off to flying start with the visitors from Oxfordshire racing into a two goal lead within 12 minutes.

After 7 minutes quick break from Clanfield led to Zak Oliver racing clear and Jack Bellenger applying the finish to a great ball into the area.

There was a little controversy to Clanfield's second goal. Alfie Saunders scored direct from a corner kick (pictured below) but Steve Bell in the Hereford goal felt he was fouled which allowed the ball to sail into the net. It looked like a foul from where I was stood, given the fact that in modern football 'keepers normally get them decisions. Regardless, the referee said goal and his is the opinion that matters.

 

From then on the homesters seem to lose theirs heads and every decision was met with cries of derision. They did create some half chances but the game was effectively over when Adam Newbury received a straight red card for foul and abusive language.

Clanfield had a goal disallowed just before half time and hit the woodwork just after the restart. Hereford tried to work their way back into game but always looked in danger on the counter, but fortunately for them the final ball from the visitors was poor. However Clanfield did add a third after 80 minutes when Josh Gibbens prodded home from inside the six yard box. A deserved three points for Clanfield.

I eventually arrived home to the news that Wales had gone back into a full lockdown with immediate effect so that is definitely that regards groundhopping for the foreseeable. 

Have a very happy Christmas but most importantly, stay safe. Hopefully 2021 will be better for all of us. Until whenever, goodnight!

TRING ATHLETIC (The Grass Roots Stadium)

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, TRING ATHLETIC 0-2 BALDOCK TOWN, ATTENDANCE 95

This was not my intended destination when I left home just after 9am, as I failed to take into account how much the rainfall over the previous days had impacted on pitches across the country. Maybe my groundhopping senses had been dulled by the lack of action in 2020!

Regardless, after scouring the fixture lists whilst at a pit stop halfway down the M40, I doubled checked on Twitter and Tring Athletic had tweeted it was matchday and it was game on. No issues.

The only thing I knew about Tring is that former Premier League referee Graham Poll was from there - a popular referee (sic) with us Blues, especially after disallowing Don Hutchinson's derby 'winner' in April 2000, a mistake he admitted after retirement.

So, it was to the Grass Roots Stadium that I headed. As I was travelling to the ground I drove by the Tring Brewery. Well it would have been incredibly rude not to pop in!

Tring Athletic were formed in 1958 as a youth set up and it wasn't until the early seventies that they became a fully fledged adult club. The club played their home games at Mansell Lane but problems led to the ground being sold to the council in 1976. The club joined the South Midlands League in 1988 and were founder members of the Spartan South Midlands League a decade later.

In 2003, with Mansell Lane failing to get permission to erect floodlights, the club absorbed Tring Town and set up base at what is now called the Grass Roots Stadium. The club reached the Premier Division that season and have remained there since.

With capacity limits in place because of Covid regulations, my heart skipped a beat when I was directed away from the car park at the ground as it was full. Surely they were not here to watch Tring Athletic? It turns out they were next door watching a rugby match. Each to their own I guess!

Baldock Town were the visitors and this was both teams first competitive game, post-lockdown. It was far from a classic but both teams seemed to have the advantage when kicking down the sloping pitch. Chances were at a premium, but Baldock managed to score a goal in each half. The first came after 28 minutes when a long throw into the box was flicked home by Ashley Jay (pictured below).

The second goal came after 80 minutes when a corner kick fell to Baldock skipper Josh Furness, who smashed home from the edge of the six yard box to seal the victory for The Reds.

The programme is online only. You can click here to read.

CROYDON FC (Crystal Palace National Sports Centre)

LONDON SENIOR TROPHY 1st ROUND, CROYDON 4-3 ATHLETIC NEWHAM, ATTENDANCE: 213 

After finally being allowed out of Wales (other than for work) for the first time since September I decided I was going to make the most of it by making a short journey to South London.

I'll be honest, this was not my intended destination as I was originally heading to Stowmarket vs Eynesham in the Vase but a combination of bad weather and games being called off in the region planted the seeds of doubt.

As the turning for the A14 approached, I pulled over to have one last look at social media but the was nothing to indicate the game was going ahead so I carried on down the M1 to London. There were plenty of pluses for watching a game at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, the biggest draw being the history behind the venue.

The modern incarnation of the ground was built in 1964 for athletics and it does resemble a monolithic stadium that wouldn't be out of place in an old Eastern Bloc country, but it is what went on the site previously that is the interesting part.

The ground is built on the site of the venue which hosted the FA Cup Final from 1895 to 1914. My team, Everton, played three finals at the ground losing to Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday in 1897 and 1907 respectively, and beating Newcastle 1-0 in 1906 to clinch the trophy for the first time in their history. The owners of the ground also wanted a team of their own to play on the ground, leading to the formation of Crystal Palace FC in 1905.

Everton's victorious 1906 team

When these cup finals were hosted, they were played in the shadow of the Crystal Palace, which had been relocated to Syndeham Hill after being built in Hyde Park for the great exhibition of 1851. The building was destroyed by fire in 1936 after falling into a state of disrepair. The were plenty of other groundhoppers that had the same idea as taking the chance to see football on this historic piece of land.

A team called AC London played at ground during the 2015-16 season, where I missed out on a visit, but the ground is currently not being used permanently at this time.

Croydon FC are temporarily playing at the National Sports Centre whilst their traditional home at the Croydon Arena is unavailable at the moment. The club were formed in 1953 when the stadium was built to provide amateur football at the venue.

The club played in the Isthmian League for thirty years before joining the Kent League in 2006. The club transferred to the Combined Counties League in 2010 before rejoining the (renamed Kent League) Southern Counties East League in 2016. 

The club finished bottom of the Premier Division in 2019 and were relegated to the first division. The opposition for this London Senior Cup tie were Athletic Newham, who play in the Division One South of the Eastern Counties Football League.

What can I say but WHAT. A. GAME!

As the cliche goes, it was a game of two halves. The visitors from East London dominated the opening period and were three goals to the good after 42 minutes. Croydon had a chance to reduce the arrears but penalty in first half stoppage time was saved by the Newham goalkeeper.

The pedestrian early proceedings of the second half gave no indication of the drama that was to come. After 70 minutes JP Rylah scored what, on the face of it, seemed a consolation goal but just two minutes later it was 2-3 thanks to Jahquan Springer. The homesters were pushing for an equaliser and time was running out when the Newham goalkeeper dropped a corner ball at the feet of Rylah for his second goal. 

In the final minute of the game Newham broke and scored what appeared to be a winning goal. However the assistant referee ruled it offside. Whilst the Newham players were clearly distracted by this decision a long punt upfield was lobbed over the goalkeeper, who had rushed off his line, by Martin Smith to seal the unlikeliest of wins for The Trams. Brilliant stuff!

This set one fan off to do a lap of the athletics track, whilst swirling his sky blue scarf, in celebration. I must give credit to both teams for producing a superb match on a very bumpy pitch.

It was long trip south and I was absolutely knackered on my return home but was great to get to a game after the lockdown hiatus.

For all the goals, click here to visit Croydon FC's YouTube channel

BACKCELL ARENA (Azerbaijan v Wales)

Whilst i'm still on my covid enforced sabbatical from groundhopping, due to a local lockdown, here is a post I wrote last year about my eventful trip to Azerbaijan, which I never got around to publishing. I suppose it's better late than never. Enjoy! 

SATURDAY 16th NOVEMBER 2019, EURO 2020 QUALIFIER, AZERBAIJAN 0-2 WALES, ATTENDANCE: 8,662

This was certainly a trip into the unknown. When the draw for the qualifiers was made this was the one I definitely had my eye on.

I flew from Manchester to Baku via Istanbul and it was definitely an interesting watching the flight path on screen as places such a Mosul and Allepo appeared in shot. I travelled with an official party and it was a good laugh meeting up with supporters from down the North Wales coast.

There were no problems with the flight and,after a stopover in Turkey and a few light ales, I landed in Baku in the early hours of the morning.

The game was being played at 9pm local time on the Saturday, so this effectively gave 2 days to see the sights of the city. I have to say it was an amazing place to walk around.

The Republic of Azerbaijan was a former Soviet state but is also were Europe meets Asia, so there is an interesting mix of cultures and influences.

The Inner City of Baku, which is surrounded by walls, along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. I spent most of the day walking around these sites.

There was also time to visit the famous Flame Towers and the legendary Carpet Museum to visit as well as stroll along the beach front. However me being me, I managed to seek out a great bar in order to have a few bevvies and plenty of the local falling over juice (as my badly bruised ribs would ultimately testify).

 

When my plans for this trip were drawn up and booked, it was assumed that the game would be played at the Olympic Stadium but as the qualifiers got underway it quickly became clear that Azerbaijan were playing their home games at the 11,000 capacity Eighth Kilometer District Stadium which, for sponsorship purposes, is currently called the Backcell Arena. The ground was inaugurated in 2012 when it hosted matches in the Women's U17 World Cup.

The ground is also the home of Azerbaijan Premier League side PFC Neftchi, who have won the most league titles (8) of any club in the competitions history.

With the smaller capacity, it was then a case of waiting to see what allocation the Welsh FA would be getting. As tickets are sold on an away credit basis it was a nervous countdown of days until as the tickets were sold. Fortunately there was no issues and I obtained my ticket with no problem (and the collection point was even in my hotel in Baku). The ground is around 9 miles out of town and buses were laid on for the Welsh fans to take them to and from the stadium. 

Wales took about 1,200 fans to Azerbaijan for this must win game, knowing that any slip ups could end any chance of automatic qualification. In the end it was a comfortable victory thanks to goals from Kieffer Moore (10) and Harry Wilson (34).

This, coupled with Croatia beating Slovakia, put automatic qualification back in Wales' hands and they duly completed the job by beating Hungary a few days later.

Unfortunately for me I was unable to attend this game as my ribs were badly bruised as a result of my over exuberance on the Friday night and I was confined to the sofa barely able to breathe! Indeed I had to pay a visit to the hospital on my return home to have my ribs checked over. Will I ever learn?

As a final postscript, when the draw was made for Euro 2020, Wales were drawn in a group where two of the games will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Baku but obviously Covid-19 has put things on hold until 2021.

Keifer Moore heads home for the first goal of the night