After visiting another league ground on Saturday 25th
August I decided that on bank holiday Monday I would tick 2 local non-league
grounds off of my list.
Coventry City v Bury @ The Ricoh Arena was ground number
307 leaving me 16 league grounds to do, however with the list of non-league
venues in the UK almost endless so is my list!
All games in the Sussex County league had been scheduled
to kick off at 11.00am so I chose the local derby between East
Grinstead Town and Lingfield at the GAC Stadium, East Grinstead. Having left
home in the car at 09.30am I had a very clear run through to East
Grinstead arriving at the ground an hour before kick off giving me plenty of
time to bag a programme and get some snaps of the ground.
The GAC Stadium is a tidy ground with a very nice raised
covered seating area which acts as the main stand down one side with the
cleverly placed clear perspex dugouts down at pitch level allowing for the game
to be perfectly viewed from the seats. To the left of this stand is a covered
bank of concrete terracing, with uncovered concrete standing behind both goals
and along the opposite side running he length of the pitch.
The game was a barnstormer with Lingfield running out 2-1
winners in a match that boasted 3 penalty's (2 conversions and 1 missed), a
comical goal in the home teams favour after a horrendous error by Rob O’Hara in
the away goal and the appearance of ex Premier league player Jamie Lawrence who
as well as running a successful soccer school now turns out for Lingfield.
Dixie Dean in the Lingfield hot seat obviously is doing something right as last
season he had ex Premier league players Ian Pearce (Blackburn) and Nicky
Forster (ex Reading and current Dover Athletic Manager) turning out for him.
I watched the game with Mishi a follow Dulwich Hamlet fan
and part time ground hopper though as mentioned in a previous blog he'll swear
blind he isn't a ground hopper...yeah right that's why he's visited over 600
odd grounds here and abroad and takes pictures at each of them!
With Dulwich Hamlet playing away at Crawley Down Gatwick
as they are now known at 3pm just down he road I was torn between
watching the Hamlet in a top of the table clash against heading towards home
and taking in Crockenhill's game at a Kent League venue that has eluded me for
some time mainly because it's a bit of a trek and not an easy one at that from
the nearest train station in Swanley. Besides I went to Crawley Down in
September 2011 for a fixture against Folkestone Invicta in their first season
at the Ryman League Div 1 South level.
My journey back up the A22 and then onto the M25 was
painless and I arrived at Asda's in Swanley to grab some lunch just after 2pm.
After scoffing my lunch in the car I headed off to Wested
Meadow, which should only of been a 10 minute journey but I got lost twice. The
first time I went towards the ground but decided I was going the wrong way only
then to realise I had actually been going in the right direction in the first
place and the ground was just further along the lane and on the left as I went
straight past it before putting the anchors on sharpest.
Having parked up across the road as the car park was
rammed I made my way into the ground. As I said earlier this ground has
eluded me for a few years so today I was ready for the local derby with newly
promoted Crown Alexandra. A team from Dartford who until this summer had been
playing in the league below and even though they finished 8th last season they
were promoted to the top tier of the Kent Invicta League.
I have heard this ground described as idyllic in the past
but to be honest today it just looks run down. A very old main stand with
wooden seats sits in the middle of terracing either side along the side as you
enter & this is the only shelter and seating in the ground. To the right of
the main stand is one goal with no standing this is pretty much the same on the
opposite side to the main stand. There is a small overgrown terrace that has
clearly seen better days behind the other goal.
Both teams were sitting in middle table coming into this
match but Crown started the much brighter and should have been ahead with the
chances they had before Ryan Golding scored he's 6th goal of the season for the
hosts. Crockenhill had one of the most annoying players playing in centre
midfield that I think I have seen in a blinking long time, even though he was a
very skilful player he was just a little sh*t that constantly took pleasure in
complaining to the ref, winding up the opposing players and the small bands of
supporters (more like friends) that had travelled to the game.
With the hosts leading at half time I retreated to the clubhouse
that from the outside resembled more of an Anderson air raid shelter than a
football teams clubhouse. Inside however the walls are adorned newspaper
cuttings, photos and history of Crockenhill FC. The ceiling is covered with
scarves and pennants from various league and non-league teams from around the
country, very impressive this is to. I was particularly proud to see a Dulwich
Hamlet scarf up there.
Back to the action and the 2nd half brought much of the
same with Crown being the better footballing side but not taking their chances
and being punished by a superbly taken free kick from just outside the 18 yard
box for 2-0 to the hosts. Crockenhill could of added a 3rd as the game drew to
a close but the effort whistled narrowly over the bar with the Crown keeper
beaten all ends up.
In terms of chances taken 2-0 was certainly a fair result
and I had seen another 5 goals in 2 games at 2 new grounds on the same day, I
do like it when the local leagues use common sense and stagger their games on a
bank holiday.
After today's additions my list sits at 309 grounds in
total and will remain at this number until at least the 8th September as I off
to New York for a friends wedding though I will be watching the New York
Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays at the new Yankee stadium on Wednesday.
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