Bemerton Heath Harlequins v Bideford AFC
Southern League Division One South
Another long trip this week but with the sun shining it was set to be a good one. I’d been eyeing a game at Bemerton Heath for a while and following an excellent review from Peter, a friend on Twitter, made up my mind to take the plunge and head out west for the first time this season.
My day began earlier than usual. I planned to get to Salisbury with enough time to have a look around the city before heading off to the ground. As usual South Western Railways threw my planned three train connection out of the window by cancelling the first leg of the journey due to not having enough staff to run the service. I decided to catch the earlier train so I was on my way at 9am.
Other than the cancellation everything went smoothly and I reached Salisbury just before midday. I headed for Salisbury’s city centre where I saw Phil Harding from TV’s Time Team heading to the pub for a pint, wandered around the cathedral and gardens, and walked alongside the Avon in the sunshine for a while before heading to the ground which was about a half hour walk.
I reached the ground around 1.45pm to find the turnstile wasn’t open so it gave me a bit of time to check out their bar. And what a bar it is! Nirvana if you’re a cider drinker like me, they had five ciders on draught and the choice of another three bottled. I tried Healey’s Rattler, a lovely Cornish cider which was 5.5% and really hit the spot after the walk!
Once that was dispatched it was time to go in. Adult entry was £10, Concessions £7 and Under 16s £3, with an excellent printed programme another £3. I had my customary walk around the perimeter of a new stadium and by the main stand of this lovely little ground I met a couple of groundhoppers on a day out. Both live in Newbury, Miles is a Torquay supporter while Paul follows Stockport County. We had a good chat about favourite and most recent grounds we’d been to and then I headed off for a spot of lunch.
The man on the turnstile recommended their Bemmy Burger, two quarter pounder burgers, bacon, cheese, salad and burger sauce, all for £7.50. Another excellent burger, the quality of the food at non-league football never ceases to amaze me!
So finally, we come to the match. At the start of play Bemerton sat seventh in the table, four points outside of the play-off places, with Bideford in fourteenth.
The game started at a furious pace with the visitors looking the more dangerous early on, half chances came and went but with neither side coming close to troubling the keepers. The closest we came in the early exchanges were a free kick for the visitors in a dangerous position just outside the box, fired straight into the wall by Josh Webber, and an Olly Balmer snapshot from the edge of the box which sailed high and wide.
Bideford’s Michael Searle was the first to get his kit dirty, getting down well to a low shot from distance to his left. Jordan Ewing then forced Ben Clark to make a save at the other end which he did comfortably.
The game was end to end with few chances but scrappy with both sides giving the ball away far too often. After the visitors’ quick start, the hosts started to take control with first Joe Smith having a half chance but dragged his effort wide. Then a long ball through found Smith again, Searle came out quickly, stood his ground on the edge of the area and blocked the initial shot, the ball spun out to Seung-Woo Yang but Searle had recovered well and was there to block again.
After half an hour Brad Waters was sent sprawling in the area and the referee pointed to the spot. Waters took responsibility and sent Searle the wrong way to give Harlequins the lead. 1-0
The home side nearly nicked a second before the break when Yang won a loose ball on the edge of the box and played it on to Balmer who tried to curl it into the far corner but his effort went narrowly wide.
H-T: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 1 Bideford AFC 0
The second half started in much the same vein, neither side giving the other any space which led to passes going astray. There were shouts from the Bemerton players for a penalty ten minutes into the second half but the referee waved the appeals away. From the resulting corner, Charlie Rayfield had a free header but sent it straight at Searle,
Bideford pushed for an equaliser, a long throw from the right was met by Javan Wright but his header went straight into the arms of Clark. It wasn’t long until they were level, after an attack was cleared by the home defence in the 68th minute, Scott Robinson picked up the loose ball and fired home from the edge of the box. 1-1
The game then got a little tetchy mainly due to some “interesting” refereeing decisions and the whistle blowing seemingly every thirty seconds. I think both managers received a yellow card for comments made during the match and the stop start nature made the game even more scrappy (if that was possible!)
The hosts did push for a winner in the five minutes added time but the away defence held firm to take a share of the points.
F-T: Bemerton Heath Harlequins 1 Bideford AFC 1
Both sides gave everything but a draw was probably a fair result at the end of the day. All the best to both sides for the remainder of the season.
That was one of, if not the best away day I’ve had this season, it’s a lovely ground I’d like to give a huge thank you to Bemerton for your fantastic hospitality on the day. I’ll be back at some point next season!
The train journey home was long but thankfully uneventful for a change!