LITTLEHAMPTON TOWN (The Sportsfield)

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION, LITTLEHAMPTON TOWN 0-0 THREE BRIDGES, ATTENDANCE: 223

I made a very long journey this Saturday to the south  coast. As you do. The West Sussex seaside town of Littlehampton was my destination and it involved a very early start. Crazy, but needs must!

I was actually heading to Littlehampton last October, but the game was postponed due to stormy weather and I therefore ended up diverting to Wimborne Town instead. I could have met with the same fate today but fortunately The Sportsfield pitch passed an 11am inspection, so it was game on!

So, why the urgency to visit Littlehampton Town you ask? Well it was simply to see the old, mostly, wooden main stand in all it's glory before it is demolished, and replaced, at the end of the current season. The way the fixtures have dropped with Everton, this was probably my last chance to visit and time is certainly running out.

The main stand at The Sportsfield has stood for over 100 years but is now a dilapidated state. The Ivy is crawling over, and through, the stand whilst the roof is being held up with scaffolding. Unfortunately with ground grading regulations, especially the higher you go up the pyramid, the stand is no longer fit for purpose.

A crowdfunder was set up to help towards a replacement structure but in late 2023 it was announced that a grant of £100,000 from the Football Foundation Premier League Stadium Fund had been awarded to cover the costs of the new build. The club have stated that demolition of the stand will take place as soon as the 2023/24 season ends and it is hoped the building of the new 154 seat stand will be completed by June, allowing the ribbon to be cut with a pre-season friendly in July.

Littlehampton FC were formed in 1896, the Town suffix being added in 1938, and the club were founder members of the West Sussex League the same year before joining the Sussex County League in 1928. The club moved into The Sportsfield,  which is shared with cricket, around the turn of the last century. 

Littlehampton didn't win their first ever Division One title until 1991 and they then won the final ever Sussex County title in 2015, when the league was renamed the Southern Combination. Despite winning these titles, the club never achieved promotion to the Isthmian League, maybe due to ground grading, until they won the Southern Combination in 2022. This was on the back of an FA Vase Final appearance at Wembley, where they were beaten 3-0 by Newport Pagnell Town.

Season 2022/23 was Littlehampton's first ever campaign at Step 4 and they finished in 12th position. They are currently on course for a similar finish this season.

It was a cold and damp Sportsfield this afternoon and the game versus Three Bridges was a tight affair. It ended goalless but it was a hard earned point for The Golds as they played the last 30 minutes or so with 10 men. Around the hour mark Dion Jarvis recieved a second yellow card but despite lots of pressure Three Bridges couldn't find a way through. The visitors best chance of the game came just after half time when they were awarded a penalty but Ibrahima Jollah saw his effort save by James Binfield (pictured below). 

Overall the draw was a fair result. Something inside told me today might finish goalless after Littlehampton drew 4-4 with Hythe Town last week. The nul-nul meister strikes again!

The Main Stand at Littlehampton Town 1921-2024.

HORSHAM (Hop Oast Stadium)

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, HORSHAM 1-2 CHESHUNT, ATTENDANCE: 489

With what seems the inevitable second lockdown looming large on the horizon, I decided on another hefty journey south to finally box off visits to all of the grounds of the Isthmian Premier Division (I still have a long way to go with the North, South East and South Central Divisions) mainly to satisfy my 'completed league' list. I know, I know!

My "champagne job" was the new home of Horsham FC at Hop Oast, or the Camping World Community Stadium to give it its sponsored name. The ground was inaugurated in 2019 after the club left their home of 104 years, Queen Street, in 2008.

In the intervening years the club ground shared at Worthing, Horsham YMCA and Lancing before finally having a home to call their own. The ground is an impressive new build with a smart clubhouse and a 300 seat stand. There are three other bits of cover around the side of the pitch. The ground was easy to find as it is just off the A24 on the edge of town and parking was a doddle as it across the road there is a park and ride car park. Due to the ongoing covid-19 situation the game was all ticket and I purchased my ticket online prior to the game. Temperature checks also took place before entrance was granted.

The game was an open affair with both teams playing on the front foot. Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of quality in the final third and defences were certainly on top. The deadlock was broken in the 25th minute when, somewhat against the run of play, a Rob O'Toole diving header squirmed past Cheshunt 'keeper Shane Gore and into the net.

The Ambers were level eight minutes later when Jamie Reynolds blasted home from 20 yards out. It was a brilliant strike which gave Bradley House in the Horsham goal no chance. He must have a foot like a traction engine, as Alan Partridge would say!

The second half started in similar fashion to the first half but began to get scrappy as the half wore on. Cheshunt scored what turned out to be the winner with 15 minutes remaining when a speculative effort from Joe Re took a slight deflection off a Horsham defender and looped over a helpless House. The Hornets almost replied straight away but Gore got a strong hand on a shot from Reece Hall.

Any hopes of Horsham salvaging a point disappeared when Lewis Taylor received a second yellow card minutes from the end of the game. An enjoyable afternoon and well done to the club for its covid-19 protocols.

     

As I mentioned, Horsham left their Queen Street home back in 2008. I was lucky enough to visit there when they played Swansea City in the second round of the FA Cup back in November 2007. The aforementioned Lewis Taylor scored an 85th minute equaliser to send the tie to a replay. The Hornets then lost 6-2 at the Liberty Stadium.

     

     

MERSTHAM (Moatside Stadium)

FA CUP 1ST QUALIFYING ROUND, MERSTHAM 0-0 CRAY VALLEY (PM), ATTENDANCE: 125

This afternoon I belatedly got on the road (or should that be train track) to Wembley as I took in my first FA Cup game of the season.

A mate suggested a day trip to the big smoke for our game so after some deliberation we opted for Merstham versus Cray Valley Paper Mill. This was my suggestion in order to assist my seemingly never ending quest to complete all the ground down to non-league step 3 - just as I was getting close there was a league restructure this summer and I now have another 8 grounds to visit in order to finish off the third tier.

Team line ups - that is former Charlton and Leyton Orient
striker Kevin Lisbie lining up for Cray Valley PM

It was an early start as I left the house at the crack of dawn in order to catch the 0615 train to Euston. Obviously with such an early start it meant arriving in London before 9am. This meant there was time for full breakfast in Wetherspoons in Lee (not my choice as these days I am reluctant to hand over any of my hard earned to that Father Jack look-a-like) before catching a bus up the road to Blackheath for a few pre-match light ales. Our choice for imbibing was the fabulous Zerodegrees with a fine selection to choose from.

Once fed and watered it was back to London Bridge station to catch the train to Merstham. The train passes over the M25 as Merstham is in East Surrey, just north of Redhill.

Merstham Football Club were formed in 1892 and were founder members of the Redhill and District Football League in 1897. The club remained in that league until the 1950's when they joined the Surrey County Intermediate League before moving up to Surrey Senior League.

The club transferred to the Combined Counties League in 1984 and in 2008 they were league champions and earned promotion to the Isthmian League Division One South. In 2015 they were promoted to the Premier Division after beating Folkstone Invicta in the play off final. The club have remained at step 3 in the non-league pyramid since.

 The club have played at the Moatside Stadium since the 1920's and the club reached the national conscience in 2016 when Merstham hosted Oxford United in the first round of the FA Cup in front of a record 1,920 crowd.

Today the club were once again on the trail of FA Cup glory as they welcomed Cray Valley PM to the Moatside. On paper it appeared to look an easy tie for Merstham against opposition from two leagues below. However, football matches are never decided on paper!

The game finished goalless, with chances few and far between. As the game progressed it appeared more and likely the game was heading for stalemate as Cray Valley dug in for a thoroughly deserved replay. Indeed the visitors from the Borough of Greenwich, who play two divisions below Merstham in the Southern Counties East league, had the best chance of the game but Joe N’Guessan fluffed his strike with the goal at his mercy. Merstham had a couple of half chances towards the end of the game but that would have been incredibly harsh on Cray Valley.

Edit: The replay ended 3-3 and Cray Valley won 4-1 on penalties. They will now travel to Oxford City in the 2nd Qualifying Round.