28/08/21 Review: Weston-super-Mare vs Metropolitan Police

Weston-super-Mare 0-1 Metropolitan Police (Southern League Premier, South Division) The Optima Stadium

Bank Holiday weekends are a thing of beauty and in particular the August edition always makes for some great groundhopping. The chances of decent weather are as high as they can be in this country, so this time around I headed off to the South-West of the country in search of a triple-header. Having ticked off fifteen grounds in the region already, The Optima Stadium would be my 207th ground altogether but astonishingly my first Southern League Premier, South Division ground.

Behave yourself lads, the police are in town

Last weekend's trip to Essex to see Basildon United beat White Ensign in the FA Cup took me to what traditionally had been more geographically familiar territory for this match's visitors who played in the Isthmian Leagues up until 2017/18. The 2018/19 restructure saw them shuffle over to the Southern League which means they face many trips across the M4 nowadays, being one of the league's most Easterly outfits. Compared to the 500-mile round trip to Truro City, this mere three hour each way trek across to Weston-super-Mare would be considered light work for the lads. Having travelled almost three hours myself from Stafford in the delightfully caravan-heavy Bank Holiday traffic, I was grateful at least to be spending three days in Severn Beach with Pint of Football's other half, Tom, to make it feel a bit less of a mission. Arriving in the Somerset seaside hub by around 2pm, I met up with local loony Andy Baxter so we could observe our first trip to The Optima together.

Always a pleasure to remind an Everton fan what proper football looks like

Both sides had made reasonable starts to the 2021/22 campaign, with WSM starting the day in 3rd place after two wins and one defeat, whilst the Met Police sat just below their hosts having won one game and drawn their other two so far. The Seagulls and the Old Bill were expected to contest a fierce game in the sun and in my pre-match prediction I guessed that the hosts would just about edge it- wrongly backing the home side for a 2-1 win. Weston-super-Mare has a fairly rich and unique history within the beautiful game, having been moved around the leagues over the years. Interestingly, they have only ever suffered one relegation in their 134 year history and that came in 2019. Their highest ever league position was a 7th place finish in the 2012/13 edition of the Conference South and a couple of years later they raked in their largest crowd in an FA Cup bout with Doncaster Rovers. The club has gone as far as the Second Round in the world's oldest cup competition and also boast a trophy cabinet filled with local cups such as the Somerset Premier Cup as recently as 2019 and the Western League title of 1992. Their opponents on the other hand are mainly known for being the team of the Metropolitan Police and perhaps more substantially for their recent run in the FA Cup where they unfortunately lost out to Newport County in a match that could have arguably gone either way.

Alas, we're here for some Southern League action this time

The Optima Stadium is a decent ground and although it's not the best step three non-league ground in the country it's definitely a good effort. Rumours are that the club aims to rebuild and shoot for the EFL in the future, but as a first-time viewer I'd be pretty happy to call this my local. For the game in question, things kicked off as expected with the hosts on top- although the visitors very much had the best chances of the first-half. Baxter and I were slightly distracted by the fact that a local "character" came over and spent as much time as he could spare telling us all sorts of weird and wonderful stories of the club. I won't go into too much detail in the blog, but highlights from the Scotsman included tales of being a Berwick Rangers fan years ago, apparently getting sacked by the Seagulls twice whilst serving as a steward for the club. Safe to say that we soon moved away from the storytelling senior in order to try out the bar whilst the action on the pitch continued to unfold. With a pint in one hand and a portion of chips and curry sauce in the other, it was time to get stuck into the game.

No goals to report yet, though

Despite the first-half ending goalless, there were plenty of decent chances with the hosts hitting the bar from range and the Met had a couple of golden opportunities themselves that their striker some how didn't put away. Much like with my other August games to this point, it would prove to be a tense goal with only one goal to separate the teams. With Eurovision banger "Euphoria" playing at the start of the interval, we got chatting to a different character from the ground and this time it was a travelling supporter the kit man from the Old Bill's team. Unlike the whacky tales shared with us from the home fan earlier, this guy gave us an interesting exchange of conversation which included a bit of information about the Met's Imber Court ground, how the club operates in terms of relying on youth recruitment due to their low budget, the lowdown on how the club have been finding trips to the likes of Swindon Supermarine and Taunton Town compared to Canvey Island and Leatherhead, and most crucially he told us a story about how the club made an enemy out of Theo Paphitis whilst the Dragon was the chairman of the Isthmian League. Between the crazy Scotsman ranting at us about how stewarding should be done and this guy from the Met, we'd learnt all we needed to know about the two clubs on display and with that we took up a standing position away from the crowds for the start of the second-half.

Photo of the main stand, located behind the goal and housing plenty of home fans

According to the matchday announcer, the official attendance at The Optima Stadium on this day was 537... which may or may not have included the 1 away fan/kit man from The Met. But ultimately it would be the visitors who got the decisive goal with around fifteen minutes left of play- a corner was swung into the WSM box and defender Bernard Tanner rose like a salmon to head home. The only goal was enough to maintain their unbeaten run. Weston 0-1 Met Police. After the goal the hosts continued to put pressure on the Police, but despite the efforts of their big target man Mike Symons and former EFL striker Dayle Grubb, the Met made it to the end of the 90 minutes without the ball entering their goal. A hard blow for Weston to take after dominating large spells of the battle, although questions will no doubt be asked about why their possession didn't lead to more regular chances. Lloyd Humphries, a Welshman formally on the books of Cardiff City, snapped up the Player of the Match award but ultimately it'll be a pretty hollow honour after he was unable to inspire his team to at least one of the three points they'd have been hoping for before kick-off. And with the August Bank Holiday the games come thick and fast for the clubs, with Weston-super-Mare hosting midtable Tiverton today (Monday) and Met Police will head out for their fourth of five straight away days as they face local rivals and fellow unbeaten club Walton Casuals. No doubt I'll keeping an eye on how these two clubs progress with their respective seasons, but in the meantime I'm going to sign off with a thanks to the Seagulls for hosting a decent game on a sunny Saturday afternoon which provided me with another chance to tick off a really good non-league ground. Keep up the good work and best of luck for the season.

There's plans for a new ground, but personally I'm a big fan of the Optima

And as for the Met Police, it seems a weird thing to write down but I look forward to visiting you in the future- hopefully in a non-legal capacity!

21/08/21 Review: Basildon United vs White Ensign

Basildon United 1-0 White Ensign (FA Cup Qualifier, Preliminary Round) Gardiners Close

Amongst the many great traditions in this country there is one that still excites me to this day- The FA Cup. No, I'm not a hopeless romantic hoping to go to Wembley one day and see minnows Port Vale lift the cup at Wembley, nor am I the guy who looks forward to a Manchester derby in the Semi-Final. For me, the magic of the cup is that everybody is in the hat (up until a certain level). As slim as the chances are, Chelsea COULD end up playing Chorley, or Liverpool MAY come up against Ludlow Town. Who knows, if Basildon United play their cards right they MIGHT get a trip to Brentford? Again, it seems almost impossible at this very early stage of local qualifying, but whilst there is even a 1% chance of clubs like Basildon United and White Ensign reaching the Third Round proper of the FA Cup, that is what they will be fighting and hoping for in these qualifiers. Oh yeah, and the much needed prize money for competing in the world's most famous cup competition.

Not that the ground is in bad shape at all

And speaking of tradition, the mid-August weekend outing to an FA Cup Qualifier in this area of the world has sporadically become a nice little bonus for me personally as I tend to usually spend a bit of time in Essex over August for a family member's birthday. In 2016, I ticked off one of London's most famous non-league grounds as I went to watch London Bari vs Clapton at the Old Spotted Dog Ground. Meanwhile at the start of the 2018/19 season there was a double-header to observe as I did a Friday night trip to Coggeshall Town versus Witham Town followed by Great Wakering Rovers big win against Leyton Athletic at Burroughs Park- the current home of White Ensign! Aside from these FA Cup bouts, I've also had the privilege of doing many of Essex's locals during my 206 total, having knocked off Roots Hall and Southchurch Park in Southend, as well as further afield classics such as Park Lane in Canvey Island and Ship Lane for the 2017 BBC Essex Cup Final.

But how would this one compare?

Basildon United's Gardiners Close is one that has been on my radar for such a long time but much like with many of my locals back home in Staffordshire, they are so close-by that I tend not to rush to get to them as they are really handy and easy when in a rush. Last weekend would prove to be that rush as I arrived in Leigh-on-Sea at 2:45pm after the long trek down from Stafford. I quickly chucked my partner out at her mum's house and then shot back up the A127 with my ETA showing as 3:03pm. It wouldn't be the first time I've missed kick-off for a match, but with my sights set on a game regardless, I just about made it into the ground by about five past. No time to grab a beer yet, but I did at least make note of the layout of Gardiners Close. Hidden just off the dual carriageway and behind a few trading estates, United's home lives next to the Ford Sports & Social Club and this means that for the true sports fanatics you could make the most of watching a game of rugby concurrently with the footy if you stand in the right place. The brutish egg fight isn't for me, so I resisted that urge and instead took up a pew in the main stand to watch Basildon and Ensign try to forge the early advantage.

No idea what that is behind the stands though? Maybe a bee hive...

For me, the best thing about Basildon's ground is its identity. A proudness to be called the bees and an equal emphasis on the club colours makes it a sight to behold in an otherwise pretty standard non-league football ground. Everything from the goal nets through to the media hut have the yellow and black theme and I for one am a huge fan of it. A lot of non-league clubs will let their grounds get run down and rusty, but that doesn't mean they have to look run down and rusty. With a bold paintjob and a good graphic designer in your midst you can achieve a very smart and compact look to your ground, which Basildon United have done oh so well. In terms of actual structure, the ground has three decent stands along the one side. A substantial seating stand, which includes the entrance tunnel for players and officials, sits dead central in the ground. At the far side there is a smaller seating area and near the punter entrance is a mini-terrace suitable for the standing supporters. Behind both goals they have a scruffy standing area which is sheltered and finally at the opposite end there is just a railed standing area running the length of the pitch and a nice backdrop of trees. I'm not sure if it's incidental, but it is quite common to see the built-up areas of a ground furthest away from the dugouts and I imagine that this is to reduce the amount of annoying fans standing and pestering the gaffers during a match.

An interesting badge, too

On the pitch the action was well underway and although the opening twenty minutes were lively enough, the only real goal threat that I saw came in the shape of a well-worked corner. Both sides played decent enough football in the first-half, but there was a distinct lack of quality and communication between the midfield and forwards on this occasion. The hosts were favourites for the game and play in the division above White Ensign, who have just joined the Essex Senior League for the 2021/22 campaign, but I wasn't expecting a goal fest from this encounter and as a result I'd made a pre-match prediction of 1-0 to the hosts. Let it go on the record now, that I make pre-match guesses for each game and on average I think I get one or two right per season... this is not me trying to appear like some sort of non-league psychic, more just a way of adding a bit of extra spice to the game from a neutral's point of view.

Speaking of extra spice...

The locals were fairly standard footy fans across the board and as I looked around I spotted all of the usual suspects. Half the fans had one eye on the match and the other on their phones, checking out their fantasy football teams or the scores for their accumulators. Loads of kids were knocking about from the youth team, which is always good to see in a community football club, whilst the rest of the majority were friends, families and locals. My only real interaction was with one kid, who looked about twelve years old, walking past me with a pint in his hand and as our eyes met he just said "alright, boy?" and carried on walking. No judgement on my part, I'll just put it down to a cultural exchange. At half-time I joined a good chunk of the crowd in the clubhouse for a beer and again the indoor facilities were as bold and beautiful as the outside. A smart and sporty look was complimented by a couple of big TVs showing the half-time scores from around the grounds, whilst over to the left of the bar was a vast yellow room which I imagine would be used post-match for the teams and officials. As I mentioned before, a big fan of the presentation of the ground and it really did standout compared to many of the similar sized clubs I've visited over the years. Even the little club shop hatch and entry to the ground are pleasant and offer a good first impression.

Function Room

Bar/Clubhouse

Turnstile

Club Shop

Back outside I wandered over for the second-half and thankfully I would get to witness a goal- AND WHAT A GOAL IT WAS! Following a Bees corner, the ball made its way to substitute Nathan Fuma and as players from his Southend opposition approached, he hit a whistling strike which flew through the air into the White Ensign goal. The crowd nearest me went into frenzy and Fuma ran over to them to celebrate what would prove to be a worthy winner. Basildon 1-0 Ensign.

The Bees are buzzing by now

It is fifty-one years since Jimmy Greaves and Geoff Hurst officially opened the stadium and although this match hadn't lived up to the heights they may have dreamed of for the Essex club, Basildon United fans were more than happy at the ref's final whistle as they'd survived a potential banana skin of a fixture by overcoming White Ensign and securing themselves a place in the First Qualifying Round. Their Southend based opponents journey ended ten days after it began with the impressive win away at Sporting Bengal, however for the hosts it is onwards and upwards. They smashed their way through Stansted two weeks prior and next up will be a tough visit to Wingate & Finchley from the division above. After today, I'll definitely be cheering them on from afar in the next round. A great afternoon out for anybody looking for a character-filled afternoon of football fun.

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11/08/21 Review: Coventry City vs Northampton Town

Coventry City 1-2 Northampton Town (Carabao Cup, First Round) Coventry Building Society Arena

The new season is officially underway and although it has been a quiet few weeks for me, the chance to visit the Coventry Building Society Arena finally came about after two years of working in Coventry whilst their only professional football club played outside of the city. A strange situation indeed but one that the Sky Blues were familiar with, having in the past shared a ground with their opponents today- Northampton Town.

Not done an EFL ground for a long time

It has been over a year and a half since I made it to a game at an EFL club, which I suppose isn't that surprising given what's happened in that time. Either way it felt like a very long stretch. Incidentally, my last new ground at this level was Birmingham City's St Andrew's Stadium to watch Coventry City at "home" against Bristol Rovers in The FA Cup. For anyone who is a previous reader, you'll know that primarily I am a fan of non-league and despite this being my first cup game of the season, overall it is my eleventh match since pre-season began- and the second competitive fixture I've seen following a 4-4 draw between Winsford and Macclesfield last week. This fifth new ground of the 2021/22 campaign is by far the largest.

A 32,000 seater, compared to the usual 320 seaters I frequent

This Carabao Cup opening round match-up between the Sky Blues and the Cobblers can definitely be considered a rivalry game with just 34 miles of motorway separating the clubs, and although the hosts for today would be expecting a win against their lower league opponents, these early round league cup matches always have the possibility of a "cupset". My first ever away game as a Macclesfield Town fan was at Hull City back in 2011 and I was one of 50 travelling fans who got to see the Silkmen win 2-0 at the KC Stadium. More recently, I've attended a cup game at West Ham with Macc. We lost that one 0-8. Despite this, I still fancied the Championship club to edge it in this one, predicting a 2-1 home win as I sat and pondered the line-ups during a pre-match pint at the Cherry Tree near the stadium. I found the area where the Arena lives to be surprisingly more built-up than expected, having seen on Google maps that it sits right on the outskirts of the city. I'd parked-up in the Foleshill region of the city and walked North, which allowed me to absorb more the delights of Coventry's local scene. Of course many fans will remember the old Highfield Road that was located three miles south of the Arena- and more importantly quite central to the city. I've had the debate many a time with fans about city centre vs out of town location for stadiums and ultimately I think that as long as there is easy public transport access for fans either is fine. I lived in Stoke-on-Trent for many years and understood their fans frustration having moved from an amazingly easy to access town centre area, to a new stadium that is ultimately a constant traffic jam to contend with on any matchday. At least with Coventry, there is a decent train station literally right outside.

Ideal for anybody who likes a few matchday pints

Coventry City began their league campaign a few days prior to this tie by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 with a spirited late fightback, whilst the Cobblers had edged past ten-man Port Vale with a 1-0 victory at Sixfields. Both sides appeared to have made a mass amount of changes, which for me meant that I got to see former Macc Town players Fraser Horsfall and Paul Lewis line-up for Town. The away fans were housed high above the goal at the one end of the ground giving them the perfect acoustics to blast out their support towards the team looking to overcome a side who are two leagues superior. The Sky Blues started off stronger and took an early lead just after the ten minute mark thanks to Tyler Walker, son of former England international Des. Some would call it a tap-in, but actually I'd say it wasn't even that as the poacher walked it in to Northampton's goal. Coventry 1-0 Northampton. Two minutes later the hosts missed a sitter, ten minutes after that the Cobblers post was rattled and then in the 33rd minute a strike by the home side was blocked by a desperate defender's knee. Failing to go into the break two up would really come back to bite them, but not before I could grab a bite myself.

Pie time!

My half-time was a tale of bitter disappointment crossed with surprising joy as I attempted to find a pie and a pint. The queue for food was fairly meaty, unlike their selection of products as I finally made it to the front only to be told there was only Cheese & Onion Pies left. I hadn't eaten since lunchtime and so I begrudgingly obliged to the warm, quiche-like, snack and then headed on my merry way. At this point, I saw people walking past from another part of the stand with what looked like the much desired Steak & Ale. My tears of sadness soon dried up though as I found an almost empty kiosk serving Purity Ale, an absolute bonus for me as I'd only moments ago rejected an overpriced tinnie. As the old saying goes, you win some, you lose some.

An incredible find for a much needed HT beer

In truth the second-half belonged to one man. Kion Etete, making his first senior start, is a 19-year old loanee striker from Spurs who took the game by the scruff of the neck after half-time. Seven minutes after the restart the Derby-born lad grabbed a goal to spark excitement in the away end as he tucked home a goal that everyone had to admit had been coming. Coventry 1-1 Northampton. With an hour gone there was a definite feel that the next goal would win it and the over 5,000 in attendance could all start to feel tensions rising. Etete wrote the headlines in the end as a 70th minute flick towards goal was deemed to cross the line by the ref. Coventry 1-2 Northampton. Although the team lining-up today was much weaker than the side they'd sent out the previous Sunday, the fans still showed their frustrations at being behind to a local rival from much lower down the pyramid than themselves. One lad in the same row as me asked "how did we go from beating Nottingham Forest to losing against Northernhampton Town?". Nope, not a typo.

Full-Time and it's the Cobblers who make it through...

...after a big win for the travelling supporters

The Cobblers reward for this impressive win will be a home tie against League One AFC Wimbledon, who also beat Championship opposition in the First Round in the form of Charlton Athletic. Since this game, the Cobblers have also knocked off Colchester in a League Two outing to keep up a perfect start to the season, whilst Coventry yesterday went down 0-1 to Barnsley. Their Yorkshire opponents only managed one shot on target. Meanwhile for 'Pint of Football, there will hopefully be another new ground to write about very soon, with a trip to Ilkeston on the cards midweek.

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