Cray Valley Paper Mills 3 Hastings United 0
Saturday 3rd September 2022
FA Cup First Qualifying Round

Into September and the onslaught of the FA competitions continues. This time I’d plumped to make another long journey and a first visit to the Artic Stadium in Eltham to see what appeared on paper to be an intriguing FA Cup first qualifying round cup tie. The journey uneventful for a change, my phone did scream at me as one of my scheduled trains was cancelled but as that was the middle journey from Clapham Junction to Victoria where I had plenty of alternatives so I ignored it. I stopped off at Victoria for a quick cider and watch the world go by at the Wetherspoons before starting the final leg of the journey.

The walk to the ground was easy enough to negiotiate, it took less than twenty minutes and was mostly downhill (a bit tougher on the way back!). The Artic Stadium is a great little ground, well organised and with two bars, one for home supporters and a bigger one at the back. There is plenty of room to sit down both inside and out and with decent bar prices. I had my customary walk around the ground and then tried out the food. I ordered a hot dog which was a jumbo sausage with onions and a generous portion of chips which was very nice. I had covered both in ketchup and was wearing a light green polo shirt so had to be very careful. You know a light shirt and ketchup are like a magnet!

Onto the game, the Millers came out of the blocks quickly and had much the better of the early exchanges. There seemed to be much more energy about their play and their high intensity and pressing game forced Hastings into some hurried passes and, in turn, mistakes. Valley had the first real chance of the game in the 10th minute when Adeyemo had a good run and his shot beat the keeper but rebounded off the bottom of the post. It didn’t take long for the pressure to tell and the Millers took the lead in the 13th minute when a well flighted corner from Bennett found Sonny Black unmarked and he headed powerfully into the net despite Rogers getting a hand to it. 1-0.

Valley nearly doubled their lead three minutes later when Coombs fierce shot was thwarted by a full length save diving to his left by Rogers. Hastings tried to take the sting out of their opponents and enjoyed a decent spell of possession but without troubling the Millers keeper. On 36 a fantastic run down the left by Adeyemo left the U’s defence in his wake and his cut-back was stroked home by Bennett for Cray Valley to double their lead. 2-0.

Hastings fashioned their one and only real chance in the first half when a lovely cross from Carvalho was headed just wide by James Hull. This was to be the final action of the half and a deserved lead for the Millers against a lacklutre Hastings side.
H-T: Cray Valley PM 2 Hastings United 0.

Hastings rang the changes at the break making two changes and started the half on the front foot but still not making any clear cut chances in the final third mainly due to some excellent defending. Cray Valley virtually wrapped the game up with the best goal of the match on 56 minutes. A beautiful four man passing move ended with a low cross by Chambers being finished off by nicely by Bennett for his second of the game. 3-0.

Hastings tried to respond but their only effort of note was a shot that clipped the bar on its way over. The U’s continued to try to find a way back into the game and forced several corners in succession which were all cleared by the solid Valley defence. The game drifted into a midfield battle with few chances as Valley seemed content with what they had and Hastings unable to find that final defence splitting ball. The Millers still looked dangerous on the break as Hastings pushed forward but didn’t threaten Rogers goal.
F-T: Cray Valley PM 3 Hastings United 0

An excellent all-round performance from Cray Valley and one Hastings will want to forget and move on quickly from. To sum up the day, I found Cray Valley PM to be a very welcoming club with a great set-up and very friendly fans which can also be said of the supporters of the U’s I spoke to, a decent number had made the journey up from the south coast. I might even pencil in a trip to Hastings later on in the season on the back of chatting to them. An enjoyable day all round and with no train problems on the way back for a change and I even bumped into one of the Leeds fans I’d spoken to last week on his way back from their match at Brentford. Thanks to all and good luck to both clubs for the rest of the season.

Westfield 1 Carshalton Athletic 2
Saturday 17th September 2022
FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round

Back on the FA Cup trail, this was my fourth of hopefully fourteen in the @MyRoadToWembley challenge, I headed off with blue skies and sunshine accompanying me on a shortish trip to Surrey (still three trains each way mind!). In a first for this project, all of the trains were kind to me, on time and no cancellations. The walk to the Westfield ground from the train station was one of the nicer ones this season, through leafy streets and a big park.

I arrived at the ground just after 1.30pm and those of you following my journey will know the drill, a wander around the ground to take a few pictures. The pitch looked in really good nick which is quite some achievement after the hot and dry summer we’ve had. I walked up the stairs to a spacious bar and was warmly welcomed, something I’ve now come to expect from the wonderful non-league community.

After a quick pint of Magners and a chat with a few people from both sides I headed down to the refreshments cabin (I could smell the fried onions from the bar!) and had a lovely cheeseburger with said onions priced at a very reasonable £3.50. The teams came out and there followed an impeccably observed minute’s silence in memory of the Queen. Onto the game itelf…

The match started at a high pace, neither side having any time or space to put their foot on the ball. Carshalton had an early free kick from a promising position on the edge of the box but Smith-Joseph overhit the cross and it sailed over the bar. In a tight first half hour the game followed a similar pattern with few chances being created and neither keeper called into action. Mensah from Westfield had a good run but was crowded out and Williams from Carshalton had a snap shot from just outside the area which went just over were the closest we came to an opening goal. Both sides guilty of playing too many high balls which both defences dealt with easily.

From the 35th minute Carshalton stepped up a gear and enjoyed a spell of prolonged pressure. First lovely move across the pitch and a great run from Mvemba led to a cross which Figueira could only put into Westfield’s keeper Wheeler’s arms and then a nice one-two between Sow and Figueira leading to a powerful run through the middle from the latter but his touch just let him down at the end. The pressure finally told in the 42nd minute when a nice move and lay off from Bradford was stroked home by Smith-Joseph. 0-1.

Westfield tried to respond with when a ball over the top was chased down by Walters, he controlled and turned his man nicely but his shot went straight into the hands of the Robins keeper Bracken. That was the last meaningful action of the first half and soon after the half time whistle blew.
H-T: Westfield 0 Carshalton Athletic 1

Westfield came out fighting in the second period and could have grabbed an early equaliser. A cross to the back post was met well by Mensah only for him to see it come back off the post and cleared. The hosts continued to hunt for a way back into the game and Mensah again saw his curling effort just drift past the post. A short corner and a lovely back heel gave Westfield another chance but the shot was blocked. At the other end Bradford found himself free in the area but could only blast his shot over the bar. In the 69th minute Westfield finally got the break they’d been looking for when they were awarded a penalty. Nathaniel Mensah took responsibility and sent Wheeler the wrong way to level the scores. 1-1.

The parity didn’t last long though as just three minutes later a mix up on the rght of Westfield’s defence saw the ball flick off a defenders head and land at the feet of Oliver Cook who stabbed the ball home to restore the Robins lead. 1-2.

In the 75th minute the referee went over to the Westfield bench and showed the red card to the manager, I can only assume it was for something said to the officials. Carshalton had a chance to put the tie to bed in the 80th minute but Ekpiteta’s shot was parried well by Wheeler. Westfield kept pushing for a second equaliser and a great diagonal ball into the corridor of uncertainty from Mason just evaded two onrushing strikers. The field almost snatched a late equaliser in added time when Mensah turned and hit a curling shot which just went wide of the post.
F-T: Westfield 1 Carshalton Athletic 2.
Attendance 202.

An enjoyable cup tie which Carshalton probably just edged although Westfield did give everything and may feel they did enough to force a replay.Good luck to Carshalton in the next round.

I found Westfield to be a great little club, very welcoming and friendly with fantastic facilities. As mentioned, the food is good and where else would you be able to enjoy a choice of a quality cheeseburger, panini’s and even a slice of Victoria sponge or some bread pudding? The ground is good, not much in the way of sheltered space although the bar has a large covered outside area, there is a small stand behind one of the goals and an area with a few seats just below the bar. A really pleasant away day meeting some nice people and I’ll definitely try to get back later in the season and see how they’re getting on.

Chessington & Hook United 2 Hassocks 1
Saturday 24th September 2022
FA Vase Second Qualifying Round

I’ll have to say, this was one ground and club I’d targeted from the early planning of this project. I had read a blog from a groundhopper who visited Chalky Lane ten years ago and to say it was less than complementary would be an understatement. I felt it would be well worth visiting to form my own opinions and hopefully add a more positive view of modern day Chessington & Hook United football club.

First I had to travel to Chessington which, as usual, was a testing experience thanks to South Western Railways. Firstly, on a busy Saturday morning they decided to put on only an eight carriage train rather than the usual ten or twelve and to add further misery, one of the carriages was faulty and not in use. Great start! Three stops in and everyone was jammed in liked sardines and with little or no air conditioning it made for an uncomfortable first part of the journey. Just for good measure we had signalling problems at Twickenham and the delay caused there meant I missed my connection at Clapham Junction.

Still, after a journey of nearly two and a half hours I’d actually made it to Chalky Lane. First impressions were good, everything looked smart and clean and I received a nice welcome from the lady taking the entrance fee. I went for my customary walk around the ground, the pitch was in excellent condition, they have a stand on one side and an ‘interesting’ covered terrace behind the goal nearest the clubhouse! The bar itself is brightly decorated and serves a selection of bottled beers and ciders, I had a Magners which was very reasonably priced at £3.

I met Martin Ellis, a club stalwart, member of the board and, from what I saw, general handyman (he was sorting out the goal at the far end when I first saw him). We had a good chat, as you would expect he’s passionate about ‘Chessy’ and from what he was saying, they are working hard to keep this friendly club developing and being a valuable part of the community. They have a successful youth set-up, his son, Bailey, being one of the latest making it to the first team after many years playing through the system. They are always looking to expand their growing set-up and would dearly love to add a women’s team to their ranks. Following the Lionesses success in the summer they have had a surge of interest from girls of all ages which again is something they are keen to develop further and add new teams where they can. Martin is an engaging person and one who obviously cares deeply about the club, the local community and is one of several people at the club, who, like many I’ve met so far in the non-league community, give so much to football and ask for nothing in return.

We also spoke about the food, which I’d already decided would be my next port of call. Apparently they were featured on the Twitter page of @footyscran which highlights quality food available at football grounds all around the world. With a smile he recalls his phone constantly buzzing with notifications as the clubs burger wracked up over 30,000 views, comments and likes for their burger! As I was hungry after the troubled journey I decided to go for the biggest burger they do, a double bacon burger with cheese. Two quarter pound burgers sourced from a local butcher, two thick slices of bacon with cheese. It was lovely and definitely the biggest burger I’ve experienced on my travels so far!

Onto the game, it was a lively start with both teams playing the ball around nicely on the deck. After four minutes Hassocks had the first chance, Leon Turner made, what would be the first of many powerful runs at the Chessington defence, his cross was parried away by Osei and Turner fired his secondary effort over the bar. Chessington responded, winning a free kick that was swung in from deep and met at the far post but the attempted header back across the six yard box was claimed well by Harris in the Hassocks goal. Another nice move from Hassocks ended with Osei being forced into a full length diving save from a shot by Troak.

Turner again troubled Chessington with his pace and Cole-Bolt took one for the team as he brought him down just outside the area which resulted in a yellow card. The following free kick from Troak went under the wall but didn’t trouble Osei. Another good run by Turner dribbling into the area fizzled out when he had one touch too many and ran out of room. A good spell of pressure followed with Hassocks winning consecutive corners, all dealt with well by the Chessington defence. Troak again found space from a ball over the top from Harris and his cut back was blazed over by Benson.

By this time Chessington were restricted to trying to hit Hassocks on the break although the latter did have one final chance in the half with Troak again cutting in from the left and once more Osei was equal to his shot, holding well as the ball was heading towards the far corner.
H-T: Chessington & Hook United 0 Hassocks 0.

The second half started in a similar vein, a decent free kick from Blake was met by Benson sliding in but the ball looped off his outstreched leg and over the bar. On 49 minutes, sloppy play in the Chessington defence gave the ball to Turner who fed the ball nicely to Westlake, his nicely weighted ball into Harding in the area was squared across the six yard box to the waiting Benson who finished nicely. 0-1

Troak again found himself free down the left as Hassocks went looking for a second, he squared the ball to Benson whose shot again went over the Chessington bar. The Blues hit back when a decent free kick from Cole-Bolt was headed behind for a corner. Ellis Dunn, a 16 year old who certainly didn’t look out of place in the senior ranks, took the corner low towards the near post and it was missed by everyone and nestled in the back of the net to bring Chessington level. A lovely moment for him. 1-1.

On 65 Hassocks lively winger Turner again outstripped the Chessington defence and got a shot away just when it looked he’d taken it too far which Osei parried away. At this point Hassocks were still on top but Chessington looked dangerous from set pieces. On 70 minutes Chessington were reduced to ten men, George Fry was incensed by a challenge and his protestations led to him being sin-binned. He continued his remonstrations and the referee promptly sent him to the stands.

Hassocks had the next chance when a lovely free kick was glanced on by substitute Philip Johnson but his header drifted agonisingly wide of the far post with Osei beaten. Both teams were at this stage frantically looking for a winner and a strong run down the middle from The Robins Joe Bull found Johnson but he was adjudged to have strayed offside. Next Chessington had a chance as sub Richards collected a ball over the top, turned and shot which Alex Harris was equal to. The game was won at the death when another ball over the top from Chessington was again picked up by the lively Richards who showed nice composure to roll Bailey Ellis in and he stroked the ball into the bottom left hand corner past a helpless Harris, heralding scenes of delirium from all the players and those in blue on the sidelines. 2-1.
F-T: Chessington & Hook United 2 Hassocks 1.

Hassocks will probably feel they should have won this and were left to rue missing several decent chances, their clinical edge just wasn’t there for them on the day. Chessington will be delighted with the result especially with being second best for periods of the game and a man down. They battled on gamely and made the most of a couple of well worked chances at the end. With goals coming from 16 & 18 year old products of the youth team, they look to be heading for a bright future.

I enjoyed my day at Chalky Lane. There are some fantastic people running the club and I’d guess most, if not all, on a voluntary basis. The set-up is good, the food excellent and with plans in place to try to become a local hub for anyone interested in football regardless of age or gender in the community, there is a real sense of direction and a nice atmosphere around the club. I also spoke with a few Hassocks officials and supporters before and during the game and they seem a nice bunch too. They are on my list and I’m hoping to visit The Beacon later in the season to catch up with them, maybe I’ll bring them a bit more luck next time! Thank you to everyone (obviously except South Western Railways) for making this such a fun day, one of the best on my travels so far this season.