Wargrave 0 Burghfield 4
Saturday 1st April 2023
Thames Valley Premier League – Premier Division

So another visit to Burnham FC, my fifth of the season after seeing Burnham twice and also home games at the 1878 stadium for Wycombe Wanderers Women, Maidenhead United Women, and now, Wargrave FC. This was to be my second foray into the Thames Valley Premier League this season following my visit to Finchampstead a few weeks previously. The table before the game showed Burghfield challenging in fourth but with games in hand over those above them, they’d only played 12 league games before this, and Wargrave in 8th place.

The game started with the visitors taking the game to the hosts, the first 15 minutes saw Burghfield pushing Wargrave back, contantly probing to try to find an opening. A free kick by Jordan Cox from the left corner of the area was well punched away by Ben Lallament and a shot from 20 yards by Will Vallins was straight at Lallament who gathered well.

Vallins again caused the hosts defence problems when his great run and pass to Ollie Brown was cut back from the byline but Wargrave’s Tom Bray managed to get back and block the shot. Next a searing run down the left by Brown took him clear of the defence and into the area but Lallament got his angles right and saved well with his legs. At this early stage Wargrave were under siege and just looking to weather the storm.

In what looked a tight call from the referee’s assistant on the nearside, Harvey Beales played in Brown again who slotted the ball home but was flagged for offside. Beales was again the provider with some good hold-up play before playing in Brown once more, this time Brown took it to the byline and cut it back to Owen Smith but his shot was too high.

Just two minutes later Burghfield took a deserved lead. A throw on halfway was picked up by Brown and once again his pace took him clear. He fizzed a low cross across the six yard box finding Beales waiting at the far post for a simple tap in. 0-1.

Wargrave almost caught Burghfield napping two minutes later when Stuart Moss latched onto a long ball from the back, held off the last defender on the edge of the box but just put his shot the wrong side of the post. For the last five minutes of the half, the hosts managed to get a foothold in the game but without being able to test Ian McCulley in the Burghfield goal.

The final action of the first half so nearly saw the visitors double their lead. Harvey Beales picked up the ball halfway inside Wargrave’s half, controlled well, knocked it past a defender before unleashing a shot from fully 30 yards which beat Lallament but cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety. It had been pretty much one way traffic in the first half which somehow finished with only one goal to show for it.
H-T: Wargrave 0 Burghfield 1

The second half started with Wargrave looking to make more of a game of it. Some nice link up play between Zakir Chowdhary and Stuart Moss released the latter into the area and his shot forced McCulley into his first save of the match, a full length diving stop to his left. Next we saw some nice link up play down the right between Ross Gordon and Joe Wigmore, whose deep cross to the far post was met by Moss but he could only volley over.

Burghfield came back into the game and won a free kick on the centrally on the edge of the box. Jordan Cox tried a curler into the top corner but Lallament was equal to it, tipping his effort wide. The visitors doubled their lead in the 59th minute. Beales made a great run into the area, checked back to make himself space and then floated a lovely cross to the far post where an unmarked Brown headed home. 0-2

Next came another contentious decision from the assistant on the nearside. As the hosts went forward looking to get back into the game, they thought they’d done it when Wigmore sent a shot from outside the area into the bottom corner only for the official to rule his effort out, apparently for Moss straying into an offside position, which looked a harsh call.

Burghfield went hunting for more goals and came close following nice link up play by Brown and Jack Bowyer which opened up a shooting chance for Harrison Amitage. His well hit shot from 20 yards was well saved low to his left by the busy Lallament. They did make it three in the 75th minute. A nice ball down the right sent the pacy Brown clear into the area and he gave Lallament no chance, firing across him into the bottom corner of the net. 0-3

In the 88th minute, Burghfield put the icing on the cake with a fourth. A free kick from the left by James McClennan was flicked on by the one man wall and took two ricochets on the edge of the box before falling nicely at the feet of Cox, who finished coolly from the edge of the box. You can see the goal here. 0-4
F-T: Wargrave 0 Burghfield 4

A well deserved victory for Burghfield in a dominant display. Good performances across the field for them with my stand-out players being the three goalscorers. Wargrave put up a better performance in the second half and will probably wonder what might have been had their disallowed goal not been chalked off. Ben Lallament was their stand out, making many important saves throughout the game and without him the score could well have been higher.

Burgess Hill Town 1 Hythe Town 4
Saturday 8th April 2023
Isthmian League – South East Division

So the Easter break kicked off for me with a visit to Burgess Hill, a team and ground that had been on my list to visit since the inception of this project and finally Spring seemed to have sprung with a sunny day forecast. Unfortunately, as always seems to happen when I journey down to Hampshire, or in this case Sussex, the train gods desert me. A signalling failure between Blackwater and Guildford meant a two hour journey turned into closer to three. Still, I eventually made it, paid the £10 entry and went for my customary lap of a really nice ground.

The stand above is on the right hand side (looking from the bar end) with further seating being available at the clubhouse end, plenty of room for standing elsewhere and an extra little sheltered standing area at the far end of the ground. The bar is a nice size with a decent range of beverages available including a very nice cider, Appleshed Premium, for £4.50 a pint. Several fans were also taking advantage of a two pint glass of whatever they were drinking, which was the first time I’d seen anything like that this season! On the stand side they also had a selection of local real ales in a special beer tent for this game so you had an excellent amount of refreshments to choose from!

As you know I’m partial to a bit of matchday scran so next I headed off to investigate what was available. I think it’s always a good sign when you see an advertisement saying all burgers and sausages are supplied by a local butcher so I decided on a bacon cheeseburger with onions in a toasted brioche bun for £6 which was delicious, and, as they were testing out selling bratwurst for the first time, it would have been rude for me not to have tried that too! The bratwurst was £4.50 and was also very good, it’d be interesting to find out if that turns out to be a one off or whether they continue to sell them.

I chatted to an interesting and very knowledgable Burgess Hill fan before the game who it turns out is one of the clubs sponsors, and Andy, one of the officials from Hythe as well as the the SCFL, and also enjoys a bit of groundhopping if he gets any spare time! A lovely man but with one major failing, he’s a Norwich City fan, so as you can imagine there was a fair bit of banter going around between us! I think a visit to Hythe may be in order next season…

I took my place in the stand which gives a really good view of the whole pitch, ready for the kick off. The game began with the usual frantic start with both sides looking for the early goal and the first chance fell to the visitors in the 5th minute. Burgess Hill struggled to clear a set piece and the ball fell to Jason Fregene in the area but his snapshot was deflected over. Burgess Hill responded and Hill set up a chance for Bridgeman running into the area, his shoot was well saved low to his right by Steven Phillips in the Cannons goal.

In the 19th minute the visitors took the lead. A free kick was awarded just outside the right centre of the area and, after the first attempt (which curled just wide) had been brought back for encroachment, Frannie Collin hit the ball low and hard straight into the bottom left corner. 0-1

As would be the case for most of the first half, the hosts were struggling to cope with the height and physicality of Hythe from set pieces and nearly went two down but for an almighty scramble in the six yard box and a clearance off the line minutes later. The second wasn’t long in coming and in the 23rd minute, Ward brought down Hamilton-Omole in the area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Collin stepped up and despatched the ball into the bottom left corner sending Huffer the wrong way. 0-2

Town rolled up their sleeves and looked for a way back into the game and a diagonal cross from Ward was met at the far post by Perry who tried to direct it into the opposite corner but saw it just go wide of the post. On their next foray forward, Brown and Ward combined well down the right and the former drilled the ball across the six yard box which Perry tried to reach but just failed and the danger was averted.

The Hilliers were having a good spell and Perry was soon involved again. A cross was partially cleared by Fregene with the ball falling just behind Perry who hooked the ball over his head towards the goal but it beat everyone and Phillips gratefully watched it go out for a goal kick. Hythe had another chance from a throw in which was flicked on at the near post and fell to Collin who was thwarted by a great last ditch sliding challenge and the ball hacked clear.

Hythe did add a third on the stroke of half time. A long cross from Ngandu on the left found Ethan Smith stealing in at the back post and he made no mistake, stroking home past Huffer. 0-3
H-T: Burgess Hill Town 0 Hythe Town 3

The Burgess Hill keeper Huffer had taken a heavy knock in the first half and didn’t reappear for the second, and with no substitute keeper on the bench it was centre midfielder Connor Tighe took over the goalkeepers jersey for the second half. This didn’t appear to effect the home side as they lay siege to the visitors goal in the early stages, Bridgeman having a half chance which was well blocked by Fregene was probably the closest they came to scoring but they were forcing the Cannons to defend deeper.

They got their reward in the 56th minute. A nice one touch move across the field by the substitute Martin and Bridgeman opened up a shooting chance for Finney which came off Phillips’s legs, looped up into the air where Perry got to it first and headed home. 1-3

The hosts tails were now up and they smelt a way back into the game. A lovely one-two between Box and Bridgeman gave the latter a shooting chance but his effort went just wide of the post. On 67 minutes Burgess Hill’s Achilles heel showed again when, from another set piece, a corner swung in from the right was met by the unmarked Fregene in the six yard box for Hythe’s fourth. 1-4

Burgess Hill battled on gamely, Lawrence swung in a tantalising cross which caused pandemonium in the visitors defence, first falling to Finney whose effort was blocked, then Martin had a chance before the ball finally fell to Perry who took the ball around the sprawling Phillips and hit goalwards only to see Jack Steventon make a brilliant block on the goal line.

The Hilliers had most of the play for the remaining minutes but they couldn’t find a way through the solid Hythe defence. Their best efforts, a volley from Finney that went wide and an effort from distance from Box which he blasted over.
F-T: Burgess Hill Town 1 Hythe Town 4
Att: 411

An enjoyable game, probably not so much if you’re a Burgess Hill fan, with the home side having a lot of possession especially in the second half but struggled to find a way through the strong Hythe defence. Conceding three in the first half gave them a mountain to climb but they gave it a good go and their heads never went down. A cracking result for Hythe as they continue to chase a play-off place but not the result the hosts were looking for in their fight at the wrong end of the table. Another very enjoyable day out, thank you to all at Burgess Hill for the welcome and your hospitality and I wish the best of luck to both sides for the remainder of the season. There’s every chance I’ll be catching up with both next season.

Woodley United 2 Cove 1
Saturday 15th April 2023
Combined Counties League Division One

Matchday 65 for the season and a chance to finally get to see the Woodley United men’s side in action. As regular readers will know, I’ve been following the ladies team during their fantastic and title winning season but a couple of postponements had meant I’d been unable to visit the Rivermoor and see the men in action, until today. I arrived at around 1.45pm to see the chairman and salt of the earth, Mark Rozzier, working feverishly and getting very wet in the process, battling to get rid of a stubborn puddle of water sat in a dip on the touchline. All his hard work was worthwhile as the game went ahead with just a slightly delayed kick-off.

The day got better as long time friend from Bracknell Town past, Tom Canning, co-founder of the excellent Football in Berkshire website and the Bracknell Ale & Cider Festival (if you get a chance to go, do it, it’s a great day out!) with the much missed Darrell Freeland, as he managed to get a pass to come along to the game with his very energetic daughter. It had been far too long since we’d last had the opportunity to catch up so this made the matchday experience so much better. *You’ll notice the abridged match report, this is due to spending most of the time chatting and forgetting to take notes on what turned out to be a very eventful game!

Entry was £6 with which you also get an excellent printed matchday programme. A very welcome nice sunny day after the recent rains and a pint or two of Renegade Brewery’s Good Old Boy later and we were ready for the 3.10pm kick-off. The game started with Woodley very much on the front foot, managing to push Cove back in the early stages. This decent spell of pressure eventually led to the opening goal in the 17th minute, with a good finish from Connor Suckling. 1-0

Three minutes later the visitors went down to ten men. What seemed like a coming together on the far left hand side of the pitch led to an angry reponse from the Cove forward who also kicked the ball away in anger. The referee waved away the gathered players, spoke to his assistant and brandished a straight red card.

This spurred on the hosts and they went further ahead when Sid Gbala found himself in space in the box, heading home from a well directed corner. 2-0

The first half carried on in much the same vein with Woodley pushing forward looking to kill the game off but couldn’t quite find a finish to some excellent moves. It seemed to take Cove a while to reorganise following the sending off but they did come back into the game in the last 5-10 minutes of the half.
H-T: Woodley United 2 Cove 0

The second half was very different. The visitors were much more organised and looked the better side, winning the midfield battle and putting increasing pressure on the hosts defence. They managed to break through just two minutes in with Tyler Skins firing home from the edge of the box. 2-1

Woodley were reduced to trying to hit Cove on the break at this stage and, on one foray forward, Cove keeper Ryan O’Sullivan flattened a Woodley forward outside the box with what looked like a high challenge and he was probably fortunate not to pick up a yellow card. The free kick was cleared but it wasn’t long before O’Sullivan was in the thick of the action again.

This time the ball was played into the area and O’Sullivan fouled Connor Suckling, who put the ball in the net, but the referee had already blown for the penalty and gave O’Sullivan a yellow card. Suckling took the penalty himself but managed to drag it wide of the left hand post, missing a glorious chance to put the game to bed.

Cove continued to push forward but couldn’t find the elusive equaliser. Towards the end they were reduced to eight men when it appeared two of their own players had a disagreement in midfield and had to be pulled apart by players of both sides with the referee having no real option but to dismiss both players. Cove still battled gamely on in a spirited display but Woodley were now catching them out as they pushed forward. The best of these came when they had a
5 v 1 situation which somehow the hosts couldn’t manage to take advantage of, with the shot going wide.
F-T Woodley United 2 Cove 1

The proverbial game of two halves. Woodley dominated the first half and will rue missing so many chances, they really should have been out of sight by half time. Fair play to Cove though, they regrouped at half time and gave it a really good go to try to get something from the game. The killer for them was the double sending off which gave them a mountain to climb. Woodley will be happy to have picked up the three points but may be a little disappointed with the performance especially after missing a hatful of chances that would have killed off the game earlier and having a man advantage from early on.

Another cracking day out made all the better for catching up with Tom and it’s always a pleasure to chat with Mark and Woodley Ladies Holly Wilkins (*thanks to both for filling in some of the gaps in my notes!) Looks likely I’ll be following both Woodley sides progress next season!

Phoenix Sports 3 Kennington 0
Saturday 22nd April 2023
Southern Counties East Football League – Premier Division

Another long trip on the cards and another new ground for me. I started out early, with the rugby being on at Twickenham I wanted to get through there before it got stupidly busy on the trains, so I found myself at the halfway point, Denmark Hill, just before 12pm. It would’ve been rude not to pop into the pub I’d rediscovered after 40 years a couple of weeks ago even if I had to pay London prices for a pint! That done I had another change at Lewisham and a shortish walk from Barnehurst station before arriving at the Mayplace Ground just after 2pm. £7 paid on the gate and time for a look around.

A nice little ground, changing rooms a decent size bar and a food hut all behind the goal at the entrance end. Two stands on the left hand side behind the dugouts and plenty of room to stand elsewhere. Very pleasant surroundings with a golf course being next door. After a walk around the ground, a visit to the food hut for a very nice double cheeseburger and picking up a copy of the team sheets, it was time to think about the match ahead. This was all set up to be a cracking game with Phoenix Sports currently in second place just ahead of Deal Town and needing a win in the race for the play-off place, facing a Kennington side who had shown improved form recently, scoring ten goals in their last two games.

The referee was obviously keen to get on with it as we kicked off a minute early and from the start Phoenix were very much on the front foot. After just two minutes they won a free kick on the left side of the area which was swung into the area left footed by Ryan Hayes but Francis Babalola just failed to get his head on the ball. They were really pressing the visitors and forced a couple of corners early on which were well defended.

Another teasing cross into the box from Hayes was headed on at the far post by Lee Bird to Babalola who sent his header past Joe Mant in the Kennington goal but saw it hit the base of the post and go to safety. In the 8th minute the hosts got their reward for a dominant start, a deep cross from the right found Alfie Evans stealing in at the far post to volley home. 1-0

Evans was at it again two minutes later after some good work down the left by Babalola and Lewis Clark found Evans alone in the area and he made no mistake with his header to make it two. The party had started for the noisy Sports fans behind the goal! 2-0

Hayes hit another dangerous free kick into the box where Matt Bourne couldn’t get his shot on target. Phoenix were on the rampage and only a block on the line stopped Babalola making it three when he latched onto a through ball. First forcing a good save from Mant before turning and hitting the rebound goalwards only to see Kennington defender block and clear away from danger.

From another free kick midway in the Kennington half, Tom O’Connor picked up a headed clearance on the edge of the box but put his shot wide under pressure. Some good work again by Babalola on the right resulted in a dangerous ball fired across the 6 yard box with Hayes hitting it goalwards but somehow Mant managed to save before it crossed the line.

Kennington finally managed to get into the game in the last ten minutes of the half but didn’t look like troubling Andy Walker in the home goal. One final chance in the half came again from a Phoenix set piece. A corner whipped in by Hayes found the unmarked Ryan Sawyer but his header sailed over the bar.
H-T: Phoenix Sports 2 Kennington 0

The second half began in much the same vein. Once more a free kick from Hayes opened up a chance for O’Connor whose shot was well saved by Mant with Babalola picking up the rebound only to see Mant block his effort away. A great double save from the Kennington custodian.

Kennington had a rare foray into the Phoenix half and from a free kick of their own, one of their players appeared to be bundled over at the far post but the referee waved away any appeals from the visitors. In the 50th minute Phoenix put the game to bed. Following a nice move down the right, Hayes clipped a cross into the six yard box where Babalola flicked headed the ball across Mant and into the far corner. 3-0

The game now seemingly won, it went into a quieter phase with Kennington having a fair share of the ball. They thought they’d pulled a goal back when Tom Scorer put the ball in the net following a couple of ricochets on the edge of the area only for the official on the line to raise his flag for offside.

Fittingly, the last couple of chances in the game came from the hosts. First a nice turn and run from O’Connor and a lovely ball over to Hayes on the right, Hayes again whipped in a cross to the onrushing Babalola but this time he managed to get under it with the ball flying over the bar. Next another corner from the left was met by Sawyer but again it just cleared the crossbar. A dominant performance from the hosts and a well deserved win on the day which confirmed second place and a chance for promotion via the Step 4/5 play-offs.
F-T: Phoenix Sports 3 Kennington 0.

Another good day out at a very welcoming club. Good to meet up with fellow non league blogger @DmitriusOld who is well worth a follow for his fantastic photos and amazing match reports he writes on games from all over the south. Also good to catch up with Paul Springett from Erith & Belvedere at the game. Phoenix will be another ground I’ll be more than happy to revisit at some point next season. Good luck in the play-offs!

Ascot United 3 North Greenford United 3 (2-4 on pens)
Saturday 29th April 2023
Combined Counties League Premier Challenge Cup Semi Final

Another day of not feeling 100% meant I reluctantly had to postpone my planned trip to the Barnet v Dagenham & Redbridge game and head last minute to Ascot United for what would turn out to be a cracking match. Ascot, aready confirmed Combined Counties Premier North Champions and FA Vase finalists taking on North Greenford, who finished in the top half of the same division. Both teams I’d seen previously and enjoyed watching this season so headed off to the Racecourse looking forward to a good match and it didn’t disappoint.

Ascot started brightly and took the lead from a penalty after a surging run from George Lock was brought to a premature end by a United defender. Top marksman Brendan Matthew strode up and dispatched the ball into the net for his 47th goal of the season. 1-0

The hosts made it two just three minutes later when a curling Sean McCormack free kick was touched in at the far post by Jordan Ajanlekoko. 2-0

North Greenford battled hard to get back into the game and did just that just shy of the half hour mark. Harvey Killen fed Charlie Mitchell just outside the box and he fired home past Sam Negus in the Ascot goal. 2-1.

Both sides had chances to add to the score in the remainder of the half but a couple of near misses and a good save from Negus denied any futher goals.
H-T: Ascot United 2 North Greenford United 1

The second half began with the visitors very much on the front foot with Negus being called into action on a couple of occasions. In the 75th minute they finally made the pressure count with Austin Schofield heading home a teasing free kick from Harvey Killeen to level the scores. 2-2

Just two minutes later the visitors were ahead with Samuel Brown firing past Negus from a tight angle. 2-3

For the remainder of the game Ascot piled forward in search of an equaliser but almost got caught on the break and only a superb stop from Negus denied the visitors a clinching goal. In the dying seconds a long ball down the middle was flicked on by Dan Bailey and Louis Bouwers was on hand to smash the ball into the net to take the game to penalties.
F-T: Ascot United 3 North Greenford 3

In the penalty shoot out, North Greenford’s goalkeeper and captain Sam House pulled off two superb stops from the first two Ascot penalties, the first a full length dive to his right and the second a block with his legs to put the visitors in the box seat. Nicely taken penalties from Austin Schofield, Simeon Beckford, Harvey Killen and Charlie Mitchell confirmed their place in the final with a 4-2 win. A deserved win on the day for the visitors.

The very best of luck to North Greenford in the final against Flackwell Heath and also to Ascot United in their FA Vase date at Wembley with holders Newport Pagnell Town. Good luck fellas!