Old Grounds and New at the end of October 2012
On Monday 22nd October, I took in an FA Cup Replay with Chris at Ilkeston Town.
Monday 22nd October 2012 FA Cup with Budweiser k.o.:- 7.45pm
4th Qualifying Round
Ilkeston Town 0 AFC Fylde 1
Adam Farrell 2
referee:- Richard Wigglesworth (Doncaster) attendance:- 696
It wasn’t the best of games but in an intriguing second half, AFC Fylde withstood some heavy pressure from the home side but eventually triumphed to seal a 1st Round home tie with Accrington Stanley. The pie, peas, chips and gravy were very welcome on a cold, dank evening with a lot of fog swirling around, but mostly on the journey there and back, and not at the ground.
Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Evo-Stik Northern Premier League k.o.:- 7.45pm
1st Division South
Stamford 1 Carlton Town 2
Michael Jacklin 80 Luke Smithson 22, Adam Kimberley 82
referee:- Marc Wilson (Fen Ditton) attendance:- 128
I’d been canvassing in the late afternoon with the prospective parliamentary candidate for the by-election in Corby & East Northants. It was interesting that nobody at all came out and said that they would vote Conservative. A few admitted to Labour and fewer still to the Lib-Dems, but the majority by far were non-comittal or downright hostile to any of the major parties!
I consoled myself with a visit to see if high flying Stamford could propel themselves ahead of Kings Lynn Town and into second place in their division. I endured a portion of pastie and chips. The pastie was rock hard and the chips were lukewarm so I wasn’t too upset when Carlton Town, from mid-table, stole the points, with a convincing victory against a lacklustre home side.
The fog persisted and I drove home very gingerly!
Weds 24th Oct 2012 Chromasport & Trophies United Counties League k.o.:- 7.45pm
Division 1
Sileby Rangers 8 Burton Park Wanderers 0
Rob Foster 8, Mark Ridding 23, 27
Greg Ling 41, Nathan Chapman (go) 49,
Shaun Goodall 68, 85, Phil Cassidy 83
referee:- Simon Cheney (Rushden) attendance:- 62
Filthy weather at The Fernie Fields Sports Ground in Moulton, Northampton!
I drifted over to see my two -year -old grandson, Freddie, on Wednesday evening, and then his Dad and I went to Northampton to one of our favourite (if infrequently visited) grounds for a cracker of a match. The weather was foul, with the cold mist still persisting, and banks of heavy drizzle rolling across the ground. Sileby are presently top of their league and this performance was a class apart, but there are big predators lurking in the undergrowth, in the form of Oadby Town and AFC Rushden & Diamonds. This season has a long way to run yet! Hot chocolate, Claire, and a cheese roll!!
Sileby Rangers 8 Burton Park Wanderers 0 and billowing curtains of rain drenched the pitch!
Friday 26th October 2012 Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division k.o.:- 7.45pm
GE Hamble 1 Fareham Town 0
James Musselwhite
referee:- Paul Byfield attendance:- 109
It was 142 miles to Hamble and I was greeted in the dark, as I arrived, by a huge floodlit aircraft on a plinth outside the ground. This was the home of Follands Aircraft.
Follands Park, Hamble-le-Rice, Hants
Henry Phillip Folland (1889-1954)was born in Cambridge and initially worked for The Lanchester Motor Company. He had been interested in aircraft all his life and was involved in the design of First World War Aircraft like the SE4, SE5 and SE 5A. Working for The Gloster Aircraft Company in 1925, his Gloster III design came second in The Schneider Trophy. He acquired the company in Hamble in 1937 and during the Second World War was involved in support work for the RAF (one of his projects was to provide floats for Spitfires for the Norwegian campaign).Folland retired in 1951 and in 1959 Hawker Siddeley bought the company out, British Aeropspace took over in 1977 and presently, the company is part of GEC from which comes the football clubs name “GE Hamble”, although from next season, they will become “Hamble” having been forced to drop the company association.
The club house is separate from the ground, but spaciously equipped, and, although the ground itself is rustic and spare, it is perfectly adequate. The team saw off much fancied Fareham Town, who once graced The Southern League upper echelons, by 1-0, but this was hardly a reflection of the flow of the match, which the home side controlled, despite Fareham having arrived on the back of a five match unbeaten start to the league season.
And so to Winchester University where I had booked an overnight stay before my next match the following day!
Saturday 27th October 2012 Evo-Stik Southern League k.o.:- 3.00pm
Central and South-West Division
Evesham United 3 Yate 0
Simon Fitter 46
Marcus Palmer 54, 69
referee:- Mr Kevin Andrews (Warwick) attendance:- 246
Spiers & Hartwell Jubilee Stadium, Evesham
How the mighty are fallen! Yate, although struggling in this league, had just defeated the Blue Square Bet Premier League leaders, Newport County by 3-1 in an FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Replay at Rodney Parade, the home of Newport Gwent Dragons, the previous Tuesday. They were dumped unceremoniously back to earth by a determined display from the home side, with all the goals coming in the second half.
Evesham United 3 Yate 0, Evo-Stik Southern League, Central & South West Division
My son, James, and I had enjoyed a reasonable lunch at The New Inn in Willersey, en route from Chipping Norton, where he lives, but he was still smarting from a decisive 2-1 defeat at the pool table (which would have been 3-0 had the white not capriciously and unjustly gone in off the final black as I cleared the table in the first game!).
Evesham United, the main stand at the new stadium.
This was my first visit to the neat new stadium that Evesham have moved into. It is conveniently situated on the ring road, easily accessible, but, today, they had no programmes because of some misunderstanding with the printers! Instead, they handed out free team sheets.
A view of Evsham United's new stadium from the far end looking back towards the main entrance!
Monday 29th October 2012 Carlsberg FA Trophy k.o.:- 7.45pm
2nd Qualifying Round Replay
Hitchin Town 3 Wingate & Finchley 0
Zak Burke 17, 52, 76
referee:- P. Forrester attendance:- 179
After a 2-2 draw on Saturday, these two sides recommenced battle on Monday evening and I joined them for my fourth visit to Top Field this season! There was some apprehension amongst the home support, following the FA Cup exit to Hastings United on their own ground, in a replay some three weeks earlier, but they need not have worried, as The Canaries secured an easy win and a hat trick for striker Zak Burke. They have been rewarded with a 3rd Qualifying Round tie at Tonbridge Angels.
Hitchin Town 3 Wingate & Finchley 0, FA Carlsberg Vase 2nd Qualifying Round Replay, Monday 29th October 2012
Wednesday 31st October 2012 Blue Square Bet North k.o.:- 7.45pm
Corby Town 3 Gloucester City 2
Ryan Semple 45 Tom Webb 24, Darren Edwards 77
Carl Piergianni 49, Sam Ives 63
referee:- Richard Kendall, (Luton) attendance:- 237
I didn’t go to a Tuesday evening match because we had arranged a visit to the cinema in Stamford to see a film called “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari”. It was a German 1919 silent movie and there was even a pianist playing throughout at the front of the auditorium. It was a brooding, dark and mysterious tale of murder and madness and, considering how far we have come since then, it was still remarkably effective and captivating!
As seen on TV!!!!!
Hallowe’en and the twenty-third and final game in October 2012. It was also my 148th visit to Corby Town (15 to Steel Park, 130 to Rockingham Δ and 3 to Occupation Road). The weather was filthy and increasingly so, with high winds and heavy rain late in the game. Corby climbed out of the bottom three with this victory but it was hard fought and certainly “squeaky bum” time for the last ten minutes or so after Gloucester brought the score back to 3-2.
Watching my weight, Claire, so I only had a bar of chocolate to accompany proceedings!
Matches this season – 73
