Met Police 1 Chippenham Town 2
Saturday 1st October 2022
FA Cup Third Qualifying Round

Another bonus game for me. With the train strike virtually wiping out all services I’d resigned myself to having a quiet day sitting at home and watching my attempt at going to a game in every round of the FA Cup floating out of the window. It would probably be for the best however, as just a couple of days before I’d been back in hospital when my health decided to have a wobble. A friend of mine had other ideas and, as he was no longer going to Yate following Bracknell Town, was looking for a local game to go to. After many WhatsApp messages we’d decided to head to this game and keep my FA Cup run going.

Now I’d been to Imber Court previously albeit a long time ago. I think it must have been early 2000s when the ‘Barmy Army’ made the trip following Bracknell Town. Complete with a whole load of plastic policeman’s helmets we photobombed the Met’s many attempts at taking a team photo.
Sorry about that.

We reached the ground around 2pm and spoke to some of the Chippenham officials who had just arrived after a nightmare journey with motorway closures and other problems along the way causing a late arrival, I hope their return journey was a lot less eventful! We made a hasty exit out of the ground once we discovered the bar was in the area surrounding the ground rather than in it before settling down with a pint and a read of the excellent match programme.

Anyway, onto the game which started with a bang. In the very first minute Afrane-Kesey broke down the right for the Blues, pulled it back for Keeya who saw his strike cannon back off the post with Alves unable to take advantage of the rebound, hitting it over. In a decent opening spell for the Met, Tom Read tried to make a break through the Chippenham defence but found Spencer Hamilton just to strong for him.

Chippenham’s first chance came and went when Harvey Greenslade blasted over from outside the box. Greenslade was involved again soon after when his shot was blocked but fell kindly for Luke Russe whose effort was deflected away for a corner. Badbury delivered in to a dangerous area but Joe Hanks effort didn’t trouble Beach in the Police goal. Met fought back and Alves set Lee free down the left but his first time cross was well dealt with by Tizzard.

On 21 minutes Met Police took the lead, there was hesitation in the Chippenham defence thinking they were due a free kick which never came, the lively Keeya won the ball back and hit a powerful shot from the edge of the area which beat Will Henry and nestled in the bottom right hand corner of the net. 1-0 The Blues nearly went further ahead soon after when Lee took a deep corner into a dangerous area but Read just failed to get his head on it.

Chippenham tried to respond and a great diagonal ball was well controlled by Parker who slipped in Jordan Young but he missed his chance and was blocked when he should have probably tried a first time shot. Chippenham pushed in the remainder of the half but were unable to breach the Met’s defence, the closest they came ended in a low shot which Beach got a strong hand to and the ball was cleared. There was just time for Richard Afrane-Kesey to see his free kick from the edge of the area go narrowly wide and the referee’s whistle brought an entertaining half to a close.
H-T: Metropolitan Police 1 Chippenham Town 2

The second half started as quickly as the first and within a minute of the restart Chippenham were level. They won an early corner which was curled in deep towards the far post and was powerfully headed home by an unmarked Spencer Hamilton. 1-1.

The Met rallied well and an impressive turn of speed down the left from Lee took him clear of the defence, his low cross found Read but he was unable to get a shot off. Chippenham began to take control now and Met found themselves being forced deeper by some excellent football from the visitors. A Parker shot forced Beach into a save, Badbury wasted a good chance when the Bluebirds were awarded a free kick just outside the area by blasting it straight at the wall and the same player hit another free kick just over as Chippenham looked to go ahead. Next Badbury won the ball in a good position and set Parker free, he turned well and got a shot in but it just went the wrong side of the post. On a fleeting attack on the break from Met, Lee outstripped the defence for pace but was just unable to keep the ball in play.

A huge talking point occurred when the ball went out of play for a throw to Chippenham, Wickham looked to try to stop a quick throw and went down as Hanks tried to get the ball back into play. A melee involving several players and staff from both sides on the sideline and resulted in the referee showing a second yellow and red to Hanks before his linesman informed him Hanks hadn’t been booked earlier, he was mixing him up with Tizzard who had been.
I guess numbers 13 and 15 are easy to mix up! This wasn’t the first or last time the official mystified both sets of supporters with some his decisions.

Chippenham finally managed to breakthrough in the 81st minute, a great run down the right by Parker from the halfway line resulted in a cross which looped up in the air from a strange attempt at a clearance by a defender while falling backwards and fell nicely to Caine Badbury who rifled home from 10 yards. 1-2

It was no more than Chippenham deserved after controlling the game for most of the second half.

The Blues made a couple of substitutions in an effort to get back into it, Lees headed on to Read but the ball was nicked off his toes before he could get a shot away. Chippenham went looking to seal the game when another long diagonal ball found Greenslade in space who released Young but Beach was equal to his shot, beating it away to safety. Back came the Met and Lee won a free kick which Afrane-Kelsey tried to squeeze in at the near post but went narrowly wide.

Another long diagonal ball found Parker in space again, he slipped in Russe and the ball was worked to Young who saw Beach make another save. That was to be the last meaningful action in the game and Chippenham, for their second half performance were worthy winners.
F-T: Metropolitan Police 1 Chippenham Town 2.

The referee was definitely one who likes to keep a game moving, often ignoring obvious fouls but in the main got most of the big decisions correct (save the rescinded red card!). And one final point, I’m wondering if Met Police keeper Liam Beach has a voice left after the game because his loud bellows at his team mates could be heard all game. Always nice to hear a keeper communicating so well with his team mates! An entertaining game, nice to catch up with non-league blogging royalty Trevor Knell and thanks to Nick Calvert for taking the match notes as I was still not feeling 100% and for keeping my run of seeing a game in every FA Cup round going!

Burnham 4 Chalfont St Peter 4
Saturday 8th October 2022
Combined Counties Premier League North

One of my warm-up games at the end of last season was a visit to Scours Lane for the Reading City v Burnham match, and the reasoning behind my wanting to visit the 1878 Stadium. I’d spoken to a few of the Burnham supporters at that game and all had given such a glowing recommendation for the club and the strides they have made recently that I’d added Burnham to my list of planned grounds to visit pretty much straight away. I managed to get a lift again from Nick Calvert, who was going to a FA Trophy tie 15 minutes down the road at Beaconsfield which saved me a torturous bus ride! I arrived at around 1.45pm and made my way to the decent sized bar and cafe area. A pint of Magners in hand (the Aspalls was unfortunately not available) meant a good start to the day.

I received a warm welcome firstly from the lady behind the bar and then from Paul Butler, a board member at Burnham, and Brin Jones, a fan who’d been enticed to Burnham from his usual spot watching Slough following the end of the lockdown restrictions and he decided to stay. I’d been chatting with both Paul and Brin via Twitter over the previous couple of weeks and it was a real pleasure to get to meet them and chat for a while. I had one of the cheeseburgers (the food at the club had come highly recommended by Brin!) before finishing my pint and ventured into the ground for my customary wander around. Btw, the burger was very good and very reasonably priced.

I took my chosen place, on the far side not far from the dug outs and prepared for the game. The match started pretty evenly but with Chalfont starting the better and looking more dangerous in front of goal. Indeed the had the first real chance in the 10th minute when Jethro Odumuso raced clear of the defence but was thwarted by a combination of Tom Kemp and Carl Dennison. It wasn’t long until Chalfont found the net mind you, just four minutes later a superb solo run from Jenyo Balogun past three defenders ended with him calmy stroking the ball into the bottom left corner of the Burnham net. 0-1.

They almost went further in front when a lovely curling free kick from Tecane Shrowder hit the bar and bounced down and was eventually cleared by the Burnham defence. Several Chalfont players claimed it had bounced over the line but the official, Mr Healy, waved away their protests. The Saints did increase their lead a few moments later when, from a Burnham free kick, Odumosu ran onto a ball down the left after it had been won back by Chalfont and played a delicious ball across the six yard box which was guided into the net by an unmarked Shrowder. 0-2

Oliver Bishop came close for Burnham on 24 minutes when his shot from just outside the area hit the base of the far post and bounced out to safety. Back came the Saints whose tails were definitely up, Shrowder again with another quality free kick which was well saved down low by Dennison in the Blues goal. Goal number three for Chalfont wasn’t long in coming though. A good move down the right was squared back to the penalty spot where the Burnham defence had a number of opportunities to clear but failed to and eventually David Levy’s shot took a wicked deflection leaving Dennison helpless. 0-3.

Burnham were given a lifeline when Oliver Bishop was hauled down in the penalty area and got up to calmly put it down the middle with Negraru diving to his left. 1-3. Amazingly this wasn’t the end of an action packed half as just on half time Anas Igozouln picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and hammered a shot into the top left hand corner. A great strike. 2-3. Somehow Burnham were back in the game despite not being at the races for most of the first half.
H-T: Burnham 2 Chalfont St Peter 3

The second half started in the same breathless fashion. Burnham’s Jamie Lightfoot made a rash challenge just outside the area and a curling effort from Shrowder was deflected away, next the Saints missed another good chance with Odumosu getting on the end of a great cross but could only put his header into the arms of Dennison. Odumosu made up for that miss when the Saints were given a penalty of their own which he despatched nicely into the bottom right hand corner. 2-4.

The Blues came straight back and reduced the deficit once more when a great cross from Leo Decabo was flicked in by a great header from Lightfoot. 3-4.
The game was still swinging from end to end, first, a long ball over the top was picked up by Burnham’s Rhys Harper who outpaced the defence but saw his shot well saved, next a lovely floated free kick from Shrowder was just out of reach of a Saints foot at the far post and then a corner at the other end was missed by Lightfoot and a sliding effort at the far post was gratefully grabbed by Negraru in the Chalfont goal.

Chalfont had to repel wave after wave of Burnham attacks in the last ten minutes as they went searching for a leveller and Burnham claimed another penalty when Anas Igozouln was clearly tugged back in the area but the referee again waved away any Blues protests. From a corner substitute Tayo Ajayi found himself unmarked in the six yard box but just couldn’t get enough on his header to send it into the net. The equaliser finally came in added time, some fine passing opened up the Saints defence and was eventually stabbed home to make it 4-4. A fantastic game between two fully committed teams and a draw was probably the right result at the end of the day. In the words of The Jam, that’s entertainment! Good luck to both sides for the rest of the season.
F-T: Burnham 4 Chalfont St Peter 4.

Thoroughly enjoyed my day at Burnham, managed to chat with some interesting people and couldn’t have asked for much more from the match itself. Thanks to all at Burnham for making me feel so welcome, this is a great club and definitely moving in the right direction. With three youth teams the future is looking bright, with groundsharing with Wargrave and the Wycombe Wanderers Women’s teams playing their games at the 1878 the pitch is almost always in use which can only help the club’s finances. If you are local they are well worth going to visit and you never know, you might just get hooked!

Beckenham Town 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 7
Saturday 15th October 2022
FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round

I’d had my eye on a visit to Beckenham Town for quite a while and a trip to Eden Park Avenue was my pick for the last round but the train strike put paid to that. As soon as Becks were drawn at home for the fourth qualifying round albeit against a much tougher looking opponent, it was only right I should make the journey. Confidence is high at Beckenham and rightly so, they are off the back of a promotion to step four, have had a strong start to this season at the higher level and enjoyed their best ever FA Cup run. Dagenham & Redbridge for their part have started 22/23 on a bit of a roller coaster ride, with both heavy defeats and impressive wins so you simply wouldn’t know which version of the Daggers would turn up. That’s what made this such an intriguing match-up.

After an unusually stress free train journey I reached Eden Park Avenue around 1pm. There were already quite a few supporters from Essex in evidence and, after having a quick chat with the man selling the very good quality programmes, I had my first wander around the ground. It’s an easy ground to like, at one end a spacious bar with a large outside seating area, two seated stands one on each side, a covered terrace and plenty of standing space all around.

After my leisurely stroll and impressed by the quality of the pitch, my thoughts turned to checking out the refreshments. From conversations I’d seen on Twitter the burgers seemed to come highly recommended so that was my first choice, a cheese burger with onions, indeed it was the smell of the onions that sealed the deal on that one! It lived up to the hype, a lovely meaty burger and the experience made all the better by the three lovely ladies manning the kitchen. I retreated to the stand to do my Twitter preview for the game and was surprised how quickly the ground had started to fill up. It had still only just gone two o’clock but there were already signs the 500 hoped for by the programme seller would easily be exceeded. Another wander around the ground, to work off the burger, ended with another visit to the refreshments cabin, this time to test out the hot dog. Another winner and with both costing just £3 each, very reasonably priced. With kick off now fast approaching the atmosphere around the ground was building as quickly as the crowd, now already looking like it might top a thousand.

Onto the game, the Daggers started brightly and took the lead after just two minutes. A defensive misunderstanding left Becks keeper Nick Blue stranded on the edge of the area after Josh Walker had beaten him to the ball and taken the ball around him, calmly slotting the ball into the empty net. 0-1

Dagenham went hunting for more as Beckenham had a shaky start, unable to get to grips with the pace of the Daggers front line. They had two more quick chances to add to their lead, first a couple of brilliant blocks as first Paul McCallum saw his initial effort turned away before the rebound was blocked virtually on the line by Archie Johnson. Next an outswinging corner was met beautifully by Harvey Phipps but he saw his effort rebound off the post and away to safety.

On the half hour mark Daggers added to their lead with a quality goal just as Beckenham had looked to have weathered the storm and started to get a foothold in the game. Samuel Ling and Myles Weston linked up well down the left, Weston cut inside and fired a shot which gave Blue no chance, nestling in the top left hand corner of the net. I saw Weston playing for Gillingham nearly ten years ago and he looks to have lost none of his pace or skill. 0-2.

Beckenham now had to push forward to try to get back into the game and were caught on the break again just five minutes later. From a Becks corner the Daggers broke quickly, a good take and quick kick from Elliot Justham was controlled well and taken on by Walker, his ball across the area found the onrushing Mo Sagaf who slid it under Blue. 0-3.

That was tough on Beckenham, you certainly couldn’t fault them for effort with everyone fighting for every ball and challenge, their never say die attitude was there for all to see. The three league gap between the two sides was evident, no more so with the pace and clinical finishing from the National League club.

H-T: Beckenham Town 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 3

The second half started in a similar fashion, Beckenham trying valiantly to get back into the game but with Dagenham always looking dangerous on the break. On 49 minutes Weston saw his snapshot go just the wrong side of the post and just three minutes later the fourth for the Daggers did arrive. A beautiful defence splitting ball from Sagaf found McCallum in the box whose cut back found Omar Mussa who made it four. 0-4.

Another quick break on 55 minutes saw McCallum get on the end of a through ball and scored a goal his performance deserved. 0-5

Still Beckenham continued to fight on and a fine run and shot from substitute Jamare Brissett just went wide of the post. Ishmael Erskine had the next chance for what would probably have been a consolation but saw his effort claimed well by Justham. In the 70th minute the advancing Becks were again caught out by a quick move and a nice finish from McCallum gave him his second of the match. 0-6.

You couldn’t fail to be impressed by the spirit shown by Beckenham, still they searched for that elusive goal and a Freddie Nyhus free kick was headed on by George Goodwin but Justham again was equal to it, preserving his clean sheet. Late substitute Junior Morias put the icing on the cake and the game to bed despite a sudden downpour with a well taken goal two minutes from time to cement a dominant team performance from the National League side. 0-7.
F-T: Beckenham Town 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 7.

Despite the result Beckenham can be proud of what they’ve achieved so far this season and hope they can put this behind them and have another successful campaign. The bumper crowd of 1,661 for this match will also be a huge boost to their coffers too. Dagenham & Redbridge looked a good side and you can see why they score a lot of goals, the clean sheet from a potential banana skin of a match will no doubt give them a boost as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day trip to Beckenham, it’s a really friendly and family oriented club. Great people, good food and great facilities, this is definitely a club on the up. I also enjoyed talking to many of the Daggers fans, again a nice friendly bunch and after this match, I’m now planning a visit Victoria Road later on in the season to check up on how they’re getting on. Good luck to the Daggers in the next round and to both teams for the rest of the season.

Bracknell Town 2 Hayes & Yeading United 2
Tuesday 18th October 2022
Southern League Premier South

A bonus game which only came about after a WhatsApp chat with a friend about tickets for the Ipswich FA Cup match and ended in a late decision to attend. It would be my first midweek game in I don’t know how long as I don’t usually get the opportunity. This was a homecoming of sorts for me, if you’ve read my about me section you’ll know I have a long history with Bracknell Town dating back to the mid 70s but this would be my first ever visit to the new stadium at Bottom Meadow. The staff on the gate were really helpful, the turnstiles being just a little bit more sophisticated than the one I remember at Larges Lane! At every turn there seemed to be people I knew from the the old days and plenty of others I didn’t know making friendly conversation. Always a pleasure to see Steve McClurg, who is practically Robins royalty and someone I’ve seen both play for and manage Bracknell, Bob, Steve Witty, Jeff, Barry, Ian and his brother, and plenty of reminiscing on times past and present, both good and bad ensued throughout the rest of the evening! I also managed to grab a chat with Kayne Steinborn-Busse, the current owner and chairman, and we talked at length about Bracknell past and future and the impending visit of my beloved Tractor Boys following the FA Cup draw the previous evening.

The game with Hayes & Yeading was always going to be a tough one with their opponents riding high in the Southern League Premier South and many people’s favourites for promotion this season. Bracknell for their part had been buoyed by a good run of cup results, wins over Yate and Banbury in the FA Cup and Canvey Island in the FA Trophy, straddling a decent 2-2 draw away at Poole on a Tuesday night. This promising to be a battle and so it turned out.

The first ten minutes were very even with both sides feeling each other out but neither threatening to break the deadlock. This changed in the 13th minute when Bracknell’s Jordan Esprit expertly controlled a decent cross and despatched the ball into the bottom corner with his second touch. 1-0.

It only took four minutes for United to respond. Simon Grant in the Bracknell goal was adjudged to have brought down Moses Emmanuel in the box and the fouled Emmanuel took the kick himself and successfully planted the ball into the net to level the scores. 1-1.
The rest of the first half was a fiesty but scrappy affair with a referee determined to let play flow despite some heavy tackles flying in but with neither side managing to fashion any further clear cut chances.

H-T: Bracknell Town 1 Hayes & Yeading 1

Bracknell had two penalty shouts in three minutes turned down, first Lodge appeared to be taken out and two minutes later Esprit went down in the area but both appeals were waved away by referee Samuel Olhausen. In between Sanmi Odelusi’s through ball looked to set Mo Bettemer free for United but Grant in Bracknell’s goal anticipated well to clear. On the hour Esprit had a another chance for the hosts but saw his effort well saved by Ryan Byrne. A minute later Hayes retook the lead when a cross from Paul Field on the right found Bettemer in acres of space and he rifled home. 1-2.

Bracknell responded well to going behind for a second time and levelled again in the 67th minutes. A fine inswinging free kick, headed on by Jack Dean was initially saved by Byrne but George Knight was perfectly placed to head the rebound into the net. 2-2.

Hayes went looking to go ahead for the third time and had two chances in quick succession. First Alfie Williams ball found Emmanuel but he saw his shot well saved by Grant, then Hassan Jalloh ran on to Emmanuel’s through ball but put his shot wide. The last five minutes was all Bracknell as they tried to find a way through but the United defence held strong and the game finished with the sides level which was probably the right result on the night.
F-T: Bracknell Town 2 Hayes & Yeading United 2

A very enjoyable evening, two decent teams and a trip down memory lane. Great to catch up with some old friends and chat to some new faces to me. Bracknell is and always has been a friendly, welcoming club and well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Frimley Green 0 North Greenford United 7
Saturday 22nd October 2022
FA Vase First Round

A short trip to Frimley and a visit to the Frimley Green Recreation Ground would take me back to a club I’d visited pre pandemic. Much seemed the same as on my previous visit, the bar area which was in the process of being updated, was now complete and is a pleasant place to spend an hour or so pre-match. They have a decent playing surface and a stand on the far side of the ground, backing on the the recreation park behind. It’s a pleasant little ground that the club are trying to improve but unfortunately, the lack of support from the local council, small crowds and a shortage of volunteers to help, is slowing down their efforts to move the club forward.

With both Frimley Green and their opponents, North Greenford United, sitting 16th in their respective Combined Counties Premier Division league standings, this was expected to be a close, hard fought FA Vase first round tie. As you will see, it didn’t quite turn out that way!

North Greenford kicked the game off and showed attacking intent from the start, within the first couple of minutes they created a couple of half chances, the first a really good move with Charlie Mitchell spraying a crossfield ball to Rob Hastings who controlled well with his chest before playing in the onrushing full back Baruwa but his shot on the run was gathered well by Nativ Yanko in the Frimley goal. A second chance was again hit straight at the keeper as the visitors swarmed all over their Surrey based opponents.

Parity didn’t last long as North Greenford’s attacking play reaped its reward in the 9th minute. They worked hard to win the ball back, in possession broke quickly down the left and good work from Qasim Khan and Harry McCorkell led to a tap in from close range by Hastings. 0-1

From the restart United attacked again, a nice run and curling shot from Mitchell was beaten away by Yanko, Hastings picked up the ball and was brought down in the area with the referee having no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Charlie Mitchell took the penalty and sent Yanko the wrong way to double the visitors lead with just 11 minutes on the clock. 0-2.

Frimley were finding it tough to keep hold of the ball and struggling to weather the onslaught from their opponents. North Greenford had a couple of half chances before making it three when a superb ball from Harvey Killeen released Mitchell, his driving run took him deep into the area where he rolled the ball across the six yard box to set up another easy finish for Hastings. 0-3.

Just two minutes later it was four. More good work from Killeen on the right and a low ball across the six yard box was turned into his own net by Frimley’s Louie Rogers. 0-4 with little more than 20 minutes on the clock.

The visitors were still hungry for more and, on 27 minutes, won a free kick 25 yards out. Joe Mills stepped up to take, hammered a low right foot shot which nestled in the bottom left corner of the net despite Yanko’s despairing dive. 0-5

Still North Greenford poured forward, McCorkell played a lovely ball out to Hastings on the right who won a corner. From the resulting set piece the ball dropped to Mitchell and his drive from just inside the area again had the net rippling. 0-6.

Frimley didn’t know what hit them and for around half an hour North Greenford were totally unplayable, without doubt the most dominant perrformance I’ve seen in a long time. Frimley couldn’t find an outlet, faced wave after wave of United attacks and found themselves chasing shadows. It could have been worse for the hosts and they must have been relieved to hear the half time whistle to give some respite and a chance to regroup.
H-T: Frimley Green 0 North Greenford United 6.

The second half was a much quieter affair, North Greenford seemed content with keeping possession and playing the ball around all the while still looking for a killer ball. Frimley looked much more organised after the break and fashioned a chance when Ben Hughes raced clear but put his shot just wide of the far post. On 50 minutes we had a strange moment with Frimley being reduced to ten men with captain Zac Hawker being given his marching orders. It appeared the referee had sent off the wrong man as it seemed to be a team mate of Hawker’s that made the derogatory comments to the official, a view shared by most of the people watching in the stand.

Frimley battled on gamely despite being a man down but United had another chance on 62 minutes when McCorkell played in Qasim Khan but he fired his shot narrowly over the bar. North Greenford did make it seven with 15 minutes left on the clock, Harvey Killeen burst into the box and was brought down giving them a second penalty of the match. Once again Charlie Mitchell sent the keeper the wrong way to complete his hat-trick. 0-7.

Understandably the game drifted a bit after the seventh but there were still a couple of chances, a defensive mix up let Frimley in with the post coming to United’s rescue and the impressive Killeen going close once more for North Greenford.
F-T: Frimley Green 0 North Greenford United 7.

After never seeing a 7-0 away win in the 40+ years I’ve been following both top flight and non-league football, to see two in a week is just crazy! This was a scintillating performance from North Greenford, especially in the first half, and they fully deserved everything they got from the game. Any of McCorkell, Hastings and hat-trick hero Mitchell would have been in the mix for man of the match but, for me, that accolade goes to Harvey Killeen who was involved in all of United’s attacking moves with most going through him but also he tracked back and won possession back on numerous occasions. Frimley probably won’t have to face such an inspired performance from any opposition again this season so just need to put this result behind them and move on. They did look much more compact after the break even despite being down to ten for most of it. Best of luck to North Greenford in the next round.

Whitstable Town 2 Erith & Belvedere 2
Saturday 29th October 2022
Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division

My longest trip of the year so far had finally arrived, a weekend away in one of my favourite places, Canterbury, and the perfect opportunity to take in this match with Whitstable only being fifteen minutes down the road. The Belmont was another new ground for me and it was nice an easy to find, unlike some this season! I arrived at the ground nice and early and had a wander round as is my wont, and I found it to be a pleasant stadium with a few quirks thrown in i.e. four park benches at the top of a small terrace behind one of the goals. As they all had plaques I assume they are remembering supporters no longer with us. They have a bright and roomy clubhouse which serves a good range of drinks, I was particularly happy to find one of my favourite ciders, Thatchers Haze, on draught at just £3.70 a pint, result! Once I’d sampled a quick pint it was out to test the burgers, and I was in for a treat there too.

I’d decided on the double cheeseburger with bacon and fried onions and it was really good, definitely in my top three so far this season. You may have seen the picture below as I was so impressed I shared it with the FootyScran twitter account who then sent it viral. I believe the clubs twitter notifications lit up like a Christmas tree after they published it and at the latest count it has over 3,500 likes, 90+ retweets and an 88% approval rate!

Onto the match itself which featured Erith & Belvedere, in their centenary year, who had started the season like a house on fire winning their first eleven games of the season and only relinquishing that particular record the previous week when a 5-1 home defeat to Tunbridge Wells brought the run to an abrupt halt. Whitstable Town for their part had an up and down start, 7 wins and 6 defeats, and a recent managerial change after which they had won two straight without conceding a goal. This promised to be a cracking game.

The first twenty minutes saw both teams playing the ball around nicely in midfield, probing and testing each other out but both defences were holding firm with chances few an far between. The Deres had a half chance on 16 minutes but Tyrell Richardson-Brown blasted over while the Oystermen had a slick passing move which no-one could get on the end of it and the Erith defence cleared. Whitstable began to exert some pressure and started to look the more dangerous of the teams. In the 27th minute they made the breakthrough, a good move down the left side found Dean Grant, he beat his man and played a lovely ball across the six yard box where Harrison Carnege was on hand to finish. 1-0.

Carnege nearly blotted his copybook minutes later when chasing back for a loose ball he made a reckless lunging challenge which had players of both sides surrounding the referee each with their own view of the tackle. The referee decided a yellow card was enough and play continued with Whitstable still on the front foot and continuing to press forward, Grant tried his luck from outside the area which just went over the bar and a lovely flowing move ended when the same player was deemed to be offside. After a cagey start Whitstable were the better side and deserved their lead, Erith had flattered to deceive and not really looked like breaking down the Oysters defence.
H-T: Whitstable Town 1 Erith & Belvedere 0

The second half began as it would go on, with Erith taking control of the game, dominating for long spells despite still not looking as if they could break down the hosts. On 57 minutes the Deres were given a free kick in a promising position but Ryan Palmer’s effort went high, wide and not particularly handsome. They finally managed to breach the Whitstable defence to level when Jerome Wade made a great run into the box where he was taken down, which would probably have been a penalty, but the ball ran kindly to Richardson-Brown who put the ball in the net. 1-1.

Erith were now smelling all three points and had the next chance when Bradley Ryan got on to a cross from Nathan Palmer but saw his volleyed effort brilliantly saved by Dan Eason in the hosts goal. Carnege had a chance at the other end but fired just wide. The two teams traded blows with both looking for a winner and, three minutes into six of added time, the Deres were celebrating when Rob Strachan flicked a Danny Lear cross into the far corner with Eason beaten. 1-2.

There was still time for more drama when, with just a few seconds remaining, a great cross from Carnege found Muhammed Cham in space in the area and his volley rocketed past Adam Molloy in the Deres goal for a dramatic equaliser. 2-2

Soon after the referee brought a breathless finish to the game to a close with the match ending all square. The proverbial game of two halves with Whitstable being on top for the first and Erith controlling the second. A cracking game where a draw was probably the right result.
F-T: Whitstable Town 2 Erith & Belvedere 2.

On this showing I think both teams will be challenging for promotion at the end of the season and credit to both teams for an entertaining game and an exhilarating finish. A great attendance too with a crowd of 507 enjoying the football and a bit of late autumn sunshine. I enjoyed my day at the Belmont, terrific game, great burger, decent cider and a very friendly club. Best of luck to both sides for the remainder of the season.