Cod and Headstocks

Posted on October 21, 2013 Updated on October 30, 2013

Saturday October 19th 2013, KO 3pm at the ‘Turnbull Ground’, Whitby, North Yorkshire.
FA Trophy 1st Round Qualifying.
Whitby Town (Blue/Blue) 0-1 Chorley (BlackNWhiteStripes/Black), att 219.
Admission 9.00, Programme 2.00, Badge 3.70, Pen 1.00, Team Sheet .20, Coffee 1.00.

Sunday October 20th 2013, KO 2pm at ‘The Worksop Van Hire Stadium ‘ Clipstone, Nottinghamshire.
FA Sunday Cup 1st Round.
RHP Sports & Social (Newark/Grantham and District League) 3-0 FC Brimington (Chesterfield/Chesterfield League), att 25.
Admission 2.00, Programme included, Coffee and snickers 1.20

During July 2007 we had visited Whitby for a long weekend. I called into the Turnbull Ground which is located high above the West Cliff on the Saturday morning to enquire about a possible pre-season friendly. However the groundsman told me that the 1st team were away that day, so I disconsolately trudged back to the car with a mental note to one day be back at the Turnbull.

And so, six years later here I was. Ros was happy to re-visit and photograph the wonderful Abbey ruins on the East cliff across the River Esk inlet via the swing bridge. And after a stroll around the cobbled streets, it was off to the new Wetherspoons (The Angel Inn) perfectly situated on the quay for pre-match food and a selection of Autumn beer festival beers.

Whitby is on the edge of the North York Moors and it feels a very isolated and remote location as you drive toward it. But the effort is worth it. A small town, its industry and wealth was mainly generated from the fishing industry. Although boats are now still much in evidence, now tourism seems to be its main source of revenue. It has many quirky little shops in the cobbled street that lead up to the 199 steps that take you steeply up toward the marvellous Abbey ruins. Whitby has other charms and history to pull in the punters. Captain Cook was born nearby and learnt his seamanship here and there is a museum dedicated to him. The dark ‘jet’ stone was mined locally, and jet jewellery is a big attraction for some tourists.
An impressive whalebone arch and a statue of Cook stands over the west cliff and there is big culture of literature and folk music in the town, with Bram Stokers ‘Dracula’ also featuring Whitby, so in the process having given the town the title of the capital of ‘Goth’.
Bring your camera, because Whitby is very photogenic, the colours of the houses particularly on the East side, and the coastal light give the town a particular ambience, and the Abbey arches will have you reaching for your camera.

On the West Cliff and tucked behind housing is the Turnbull Ground. As I parked my car up about 200 yards from the ground, the very clear PA was playing ‘I won’t get fooled again’ by the Who, a particular favourite of mine, so a smile played around my lips before I’d even entered the ground.
After a visit to the club shop situated under the stand, I was able to take in and get an impression of the ground. It is a special venue, and one of those ‘must visit’ NL venues. Looking right from the main stand, you look West towards the moors, to the left, you see between houses a small vista of sea, looking south over the houses is the west cliff with a small tantalising glimpse of the abbey arch. The main stand won the ‘Best new non league stand’ award from the Groundtastic magazine when it was unveiled about nine or ten years ago and you can see why, easy on the eye, good leg room, and excellent rake. Either side is shallow terracing, with the covered terracing opposite looking rather tired and old, but probably with many tales to tell of games past but more importantly a shelter from the cold sea breeze that no doubt blows around here during the mid winter months.

Although a cup tie, Chorley, as are Whitby, are members of the Evo Stick Northern Premier League, ‘Premier Division’, so no worries today from either team about not knowing what to expect.
What Whitby did get was a visiting team who looked extremely well organised, which considering the vast professional experiences of their manager David Flitcroft and coach Matt Jansen I suppose should not be surprising. Both played to a high level, Matt Jansen, although having only played 24 games for Palace made a massive impression on the fans with his classy footwork and eye for goal. He was expected to be picked for the 2002 England World cup finals squad, but his place apparently went to Martin Keown instead, a sad case of brawn over skill! Later he suffered a life threatening motor bike crash whilst on holiday, and his career never reached the same heights again. He gained legendary status at Palace by helping our finances with being transferred for a couple of million pounds to Blackburn during our first period of administration, and then contributing to our ‘save the club’ fund after having left. As so often happens, on the last home game of the season we needed to beat Blackburn to ensure survival in League One (The Championship). Jansen scored but did not celebrate, he just walked head bowed back to the half way line, a case of a professional doing his job, with no enjoyment taken. Thankfully, Palace went onto win the game 2-1. But Matt Jansen was a wonderful talent, and by all accounts a thoroughly decent man.

Anyway I digress, Chorley riding high in the league were a big powerful team, and took the lead on thirty minutes when live wire striker Stephenson, reacted quickest to the home keeper, Shane Bland, parrying the ball out from a shot out on the right, and stroked home from about ten yards out. He ran to the touch-line, and embraced a smiling Jansen, confirming my suspicion that he is the ‘forward coach’.
Stephenson and strike partner James Dean were a handful throughout, and it was only due to some last-ditch defending from the hosts, that they were not able to add to the first half lead.
The second half was rather end to end without ever reaching any great levels of entertainment or skill, a couple of good saves from the visiting keeper, Sam Ashton, in keeping Whitby at bay (pardon the pun :)), but a draw may have been a little generous on Whitby, who IMO were the slightly inferior team throughout. So, Chorley live to fight another day in their pursuit of a Trophy cup run.

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Departing our base in Osmotherley, we arrived in good time in North Nottinghamshire for a quick spot of lunch, and then to drop Ros at Rufford House and gardens, where she had a sculpture trail on her itinerary.. And I set off the four miles to Clipstone Road East for my first ever taster of FA Sunday Cup action. Passing the towering and imposing headstocks of the closed, and very haunting looking Clipstone colliery on the way, with a mental note to stop on the way back for a closer look. I was to learn later of the local controversy the headstocks cause.

I’m not sure of the FA Wording for the details of what is required by hosting clubs. But at the very least it is that the ground is enclosed enough to ‘take a gate’, and not allow casual passers-by free view. Hence why RHP of Newark had asked Clipstone FC of the Northern counties East League to stage this game, presumably as their own venue is probably as open as a recreation ground venue. Each club has by FA stipulation to produce a programme, although in most cases I suspect this will not be much more than a basic four page fold over, with club history and squad listing, as was the case today.

However, I was interested to learn that RHP in a previous name of Ransome and Marles FC in the distant past had a rich history playing in the Midland League and regularly attracting 1,000 gates in the 1950s. Also, they once played in front of 8,000 at London Road, Peterborough in an FA Cup qualifying round. Apparently some remains of terracing still exists at their Elm Avenue ground.
I was also to learn that quite a number of their players played on Saturday for Newark Town in the Central Midlands league, and one turned out for Clipstone in the NCEL.
Whereas FC Brimington’s history is much shorter, it is as rich. Formed in 2007 after manager/chairman Cliff Richard (no, not that one!) had visited the Nou Camp/Barcelona, he based the clubs strip on theirs, and the badge is almost identical, bearing the famous FCB on it!

Cliff is an FA qualified coach, and their progress was swift, reaching as far as the northern counties east league, as well as competing in the FA Vase, but unfortunately the local support was not forthcoming, the cost of running the club at this level was not sustainable and sadly they folded in Nov 10. But then reformed again in May 13 playing more local football.
This was their first venture into the FA Sunday Cup.

On the day, the experience of RHP was very telling. Frankly it could have been five or six nil at half time, if only for the wasteful finishing of the RHP front line, their 9 (sorry names not obtained), heading over two or three very good opportunities. I did wonder if this would come back to haunt RHP in the second half. And to a degree it did, as FCB became more relaxed, starting passing the ball to each other and created a few opportunities of their own. Sadly for them, their nice approach play did not compute into a goal. As the second half progressed, and FCB pushed more and more players up, we now saw at least three one on ones with their keeper as RHP exploited the space.The FCB keeper had an amazing game, and kept them in it with some lovely saves. Sadly for him, with about ten minutes to go, the home 10 volleyed a lovely third, and it was game over, in what had been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, played to a high level of enthusiasm.
I shall be returning to the Sunday cup again this season 🙂

During the game, and falling into conversation with a Clipstone official, he told me that Clipstone had been a first world war army camp, with many thousands based there the village is now. The village as it is now, coming later. Also that the colliery (closed 2003) headstocks and building are listed and protected as an industrial heritage. I found out later that they are the largest free-standing examples of their kind in Europe, and that the locals are not at all happy about their protected status, seeing them as aye-sore and dangerous for marauding local children, which frankly you cannot really argue about.

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Chase the Sun

Posted on October 14, 2013 Updated on October 17, 2013

Saturday October 12th 2013, KO 15:00 at the Wincanton Sports Ground, Moor Lane.
Western League Division One.
Wincanton Town (Yellow/Black) 3-1 Cribbs (Red/Red).
Att 60.
Admission five pounds, programme 1 pound, coffee 1 pound.

We should have been in North Derbyshire, Ros at Chatsworth house viewing the sculpture trail in the gardens, and me at the oldest football club in the world, namely Sheffield FC who play in Dronfield. However the forecast for ‘two drops’ of rain in that part of the world had us on Saturday morning frantically reviewing other regional forecasts and the ‘football traveller’ being scrutinised for another fixture to attend.
The weather forecast seemed to predict sunny weather right across the South, so a decision was made to change our plans and head for Wincanton as Ros was happy to revisit Stourhead Gardens, which is only 9 Miles East.

Wincanton is situated on the north of Blackmore Vale just off the A303, 15 miles north-east of Yeovil on the extreme southeast of Somerset close to the borders of Dorset and Wiltshire, and has a population of less than 5,000. You pass by Stonehenge on the way, and as usual it was popular with tourists.

Wincanton is also unique in the fact that it was twinned in 2002 with a town which can only be found in fiction. As well as Gennes / Les Rosiers in France and Lahnau in Germany, Wincanton is twinned with Ankh-Morpork, a fictional city state near the Circle Sea on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. In 2009, a number of roads were retitled with names taken from Ankh-Morpork, such as Peach Pie Street and Treacle Mine Road after a short-list was voted upon by fans.
There is a shop in High Street called The Cunning Artificer, which sells collectors items relating to the Discworld. Other shops have followed with Discworld-related goods.
So based on that either the council are big sci-fi fans with a sense of humour or there is a plentiful supply of illegal drugs in that corner of Somerset! A racecourse is also nearby, although not in the town itself it is known as Wincanton racecourse.

As for WTFC, their rise has been pretty impressive, just ten years ago playing in the Yeovil and District league, they now find themselves just five levels from the Conference, after winning promotion from the Dorset Premier League last season. Having said that, their history is long, having been founded in 1890. I found a very neat and tidy setup, with football foundation money no doubt responsible for the impressive changing room/clubhouse and bar/canteen complex.
The football pitch is a fifty yard walk from the bar, and is pleasantly lined by greenery, with a small 100 seater stand on the opposite half way line, NOT an atcost stand, one with its own little character, and all the better for it.

Visitors Cribbs, 2nd in the table, a Bristol based ‘works’ Insurance co club, and also a new addition to the Western League scored the quickest goal I’d witnessed this season, as after only about 45 seconds, Jordan Yeo swept in from about eight/ten yards after their first cross into the WT box.
Frankly, this was about as good as it got for them. Although the early exchanges were end to end, On fifteen minutes full back Danny Golden had made a foray into their box and equalised, the game then drifted away from Cribbs as WT got a grip of it, but that dominance did not correlate into goals until the second 45.

Just before HT I fell into conversation with club photographer and first team blog writer Dave Edge of ‘winkys11’, see his URL below, who’s programme photos I’d admired pre-match. He was also able to tip me off on who the secretary was (Mike Hatcher) to obtain the team lineups.

The second half continued in the same mode, with WT attacking at speed, and looking sharp, some good approach play from Cribbs being let down by some sluggish play from their front two Gilroy and Forward (good name 🙂 ). The opposite could be said of the WT strikers Chant and Gale, who combined very well, and will be a handful for any team in this league IMHO.

If anything, the only thing you could level at WT on the day, was the time it took them to kill off the game, as it was 69 mins on the clock before Mike Taylor tapped home after a long throw was badly defended. And then 84 was on the clock when Matt Peters made it 3-1, and all connected with WT could relax.

All in all a lovely little club, with great friendly people. Please visit them!

http://www.winkys11.com/page6.htm

As a footote the new floodlights were turned on the following Tuesday (L 0-8) against big local neighbours Yeovil Town and the club were rewarded with a gate of 420, well deserved IMO.

Land and Sea

Posted on October 7, 2013 Updated on October 14, 2013

Saturday October 5th 2013.

Eastern Counties League Premier Division, KO 6pm at ‘North Road’.
Brightlingsea Regent (RedNBlack Stripes/Black) 2-1 Stanway Rovers (White/Red),
Att 250, Admission six pounds, programme errrr (free apparently!), Tea 60p, Tasty cheeseburger two sixty..

Hop time again, yep, you used to wait all season, and get one or two, now they are more regular than London red buses. The Eastern Counties League are now in on the act. In the process apparently having ruffled a few feathers. Originally a hop had been scheduled for this day in the Bedfordshire County league. Who, to be fair, and they were probably right to do so, upon hearing about the ECL’s plan for three in a day, moved their hop back one week rather than clash and compromise those who may have wished to attend both events.

Now I didn’t attend the 12 and 3pm hop games at Wivenhoe (att 137) and Clacton (att 197), as I had visited these grounds previously, but from what I heard later, Wivenhoe were rather caught on the hop, pardon the pun, with a lack of programmes and food supplies.

But this wasn’t my concern, having dropped Ros at Colchester zoo, I arrived in the pleasant and rather rural Suffolk market town of Hadleigh in good time. The early table topper on the day hosting Cambridgeshire based Ely City, sitting third bottom pre-match.
I was immediately struck at how tidy and well-kept the Millfield ground looked. An attractive little stand, with wooden benches for seats, and some flat standing with overhang cover on the clubhouse side is the only protection from the elements. But with one end having a natural bank, and all surrounded by greenery, Millfield ticked many boxes. The clubhouse is newish and was busy with locals. The burger bar outside had the welcome addition of tables and chairs set out on a decking area with cover, a nice touch, so I sat and munched my sandwiches with a view of the pitch.

Already I was overhearing some strong local Suffolk dialects, a joy to me, as I love the diversity of accents and regional phrases one so regularly notices when hopping around the UK. I had arrived slap bang in the middle of farming and horsey countryside. Suffolk is like most of East Anglia a region of small towns and villages, the pace of life is slow and the people have time for pleasantries and the local traditions are long borne. Some of these towns and villages take a lot of pride in all manor of things, and I was already getting a deep impression that Hadleigh United was clearly important to its local community, as club officials buzzed around, and folk were welcomed as they arrived into the ground.

As I’ve worked my way round the grounds over the years, I do find myself watching a lot of football at Step5 these days, having visited most of the Southern based grounds from Step4 and above, and today Hadleigh played as well in the first half as I’ve seen a team at this level for a season or two.
At pace, they gradually pulled Ely apart, stretching their defence almost at will, and arriving at the break two up, but the half ending on a sour note when their midfielder Mark Maher had to be stretchered off, the third such occasion I’ve seen that this season already.

But, Ely came out and played like a different team in the second half. Even though Scott Chaplin had already added a third, ex professional player and well-known TV pundit Dion Dublin’s son Adam Murray struck two lovely goals, on 64 with a twenty yarder, and on 87 with a 10 yard bullet header.
In the process rather scuppering my idea of leaving 2/3 minutes early to set off for Colchester Zoo and Brightlingsea. I really couldn’t leave this game, as end to end play continued, and one didn’t know if it would finish 3-3 or 4-2. But 3-2 it did finish, as I heard the final whistle in the car park, and my wheels sped away from the ground whilst the players were still shaking hands!

So, twenty miles south, and I was back at Colchester Zoo by five twenty, and heading East, South East, onto the Essex coast, about another twenty miles towards Brightlingsea. Rather slowed by the town centre traffic in Colchester, I pulled into the North Road car park about four minutes before KO. Thankfully the club had the foresight to envisage some parking issues with their small car park, and they had already directed about thirty cars pitchside, but were now clearing more space to allow me to squeeze in.

Sadly, the programme blues came back to haunt, as on paying admission I was advised that none were left, a nice thing to give them out for free, but not to anticipate how many might be needed. But they told me they were starting a list, and will re-print and post on. A tad irritating, as I had used the clubs website/contact form during the week to ask if they could hold me a programme, but for whatever reason my message didn’t get through.

Personally I was fully expecting a two hundred plus crowd at this one, a 6pm KO on a Saturday evening is always going to attract ground hoppers, especially as after a ten-year absence Brightlingsea were only spending their second season back in the Eastern Counties league so this was a tick ground for many people. But it seems like the 250 who turned up probably exceeded what the club and the league had been expecting.

I was in full flow chatting to a couple of hopping friends, and wondered aloud “I think perhaps the Eastern Counties League committee have a few questions to answer” after I had just been told that the programmes had sold out at Wivenhoe a good 45 minutes before KO, and also that they had run out of bacon for the bacon butties early as well, much to the irritation of a South coast based hopper.
An ECL blazered official had been standing close by and came over to speak to me. To be fair he was a very polite and pleasant guy, “We are learning”. “This hop is new to us”, all entirely valid points I thought, but one wonders why when leagues come up with the idea of a hop day, that they don’t consider speaking to other leagues that have already ran hops to get some tips. Personally I think if someone has travelled from one end of the country to the other, as a few had, that enough programmes should have been printed, and enough grub be available, after all it’s a good little earner for the clubs.
“We hop to learn for the next one in March” I was also told. Or was it “Hope to learn”?
As I need two of those planned three grounds/games, I shall be back to see for myself, I hope so, because the ECL is a cracking league with lots of lovely venues. And I’d like to think they will organise another couple in the 2014/15 season.

As for the game, it went by a little bit of a blur in the first half, late arrival is never my favourite thing, especially when a spurned paper chaser, I was a little aggrieved. Local rivals from Colchester Stanway Rovers took on the mantle of Ely City in the earlier game, by being continually being pushed back and two quick fire goals on 15 from Terry Rymer and then 2/3 minutes later from Liam Whittaker from out on the left, with the aid of a deflection. already had them seriously on the back foot. Brightlingsea second in the table already clearly looked a decent side. Half time arrived and I added my name and address to the growing list of paper chasers, whilst Ros queued for our half time burgers.

I was a little disconcerted to find the list atop the bar, and already a little damp in places from drink spills, and one wonders what sort of state it was in at games end? were they able to read all the addresses, will the elusive programmes ever be despatched? Only time will tell.

Also during half time I was able to reflect on how different North Road was to Millfield. Whereas Millfield was edge of town bordering countryside, and had a rural feel, North Road was hemmed in by housing, with only one access road into the ground. Also, even though only about thirty-five miles apart, culturally the feel was quite different. I noticed a couple of young girls with fake tans, and some lager swilling ear pierced lads. The Suffolk brrr was nowhere to be heard, and although perhaps in a more affluent part of Essex, it certainly did not have the feel of East Anglia that Suffolk and Norfolk gives. Sadly time had not allowed a view of the waterfront during daylight, and the GBG pub in the town would have to wait for another time.

But I did see a rather fractious second half of football. Again, like my earlier game the visiting team came out with a renewed sense of purpose and a different looking formation. For this half I stood opposite the small atcost stand and not far from the dugouts. I heard, as gradually the moaning and whingeing from the Stanway bench increased in volume. They felt the need to argue every single decision the officials made, which soon became very tedious. Such as shame, because after 53 mins they were back in it with a goal from Maina, and the game became rather end to end at this point. But Stanway bench and players seems to lose their discipline, and they eventually finished the game with 9 players. And from my,by now dimly lit view on the other side of the pitch, after firstly on 87 a second yellow for Ince (I think it was) for simulation, then on 90 another red for Sackey (I think) which may or may not have been for violent conduct or verbals to the ref, as by now as I was hovering by the corner flag near the exit, awaiting the full time whistle.

All in all, a great day out.
footnote: Fair play to all at Brightlingsea, my programme arrived in the post only 6 days later 🙂

Gorilla Man

Posted on October 1, 2013 Updated on October 4, 2013

Wednesday September 25th 2013, KO 19:45pm.
Southern Counties East League at Phoenix Sports Club, Barnehurst, Kent.
Phoenix Sports (Green/Black) 4-1 Fisher FC (BlackNWhite Stripes/White), att 98.
Admission 7 pounds, programme included with admission.
Bacon Roll 2.30.

Just occasionally one senses a club on the ‘up’ and tonight was one such occasion. Braving the M25 from my Slough office, I was rewarded with reasonable traffic flow, and arrival thirty minutes before kick off. It was soon clear that many other hoppers had also targeted this match as with slim pickings in the South East on a Wed night, and with reasonable public transport links, thirty or forty boosted the crowd on a mild evening.

I lived in mid Kent for six years between 2000 and 2006, and have a strong affection for the County. IMHO it has some the prettiest open and remote countryside of anywhere in the UK, with some lovely little coastal towns and villages to boot.
But North Kent is another area entirely, to my mind, once North of the M25, you are in essence really in South East London, one town flows into another, and the number of chimney pots and the traffic alone is enough to tell you that this is serious commuter belt land!

Phoenix already have numerous other clubs on their doorstep, quite literally in the case of VCD FC, who are just a couple of hundred yards down the road. Noisy neighbours Dartford, Welling United, not forgetting quite a few other clubs within a few miles. Phoenix, promoted as champions from the Kent Invicta league in 2013, are playing their first ever season at non league Step 5 in the newly named Southern Counties East League, which was previously known as the Kent Football league.
The league was ‘apparently’ changed to this name because a couple of the member clubs are just over the border in Surrey. But one does wonder what influence the FA had on this name change, as during their pyramid structure review this summer they tried to move a number of Sussex clubs into it from the Sussex County League. The clubs, unhappy, appealed, won their appeal and stayed put in the Sussex league. And so now we have a rather strangely named league that to all us old timers will remain in essence and spirit to us as ‘The Kent League’.

The Phoenix Sports Club is a tidy venue, on entry one is immediately to the left of one end behind the goal with the clubhouse and changing rooms situated there. A 100 seater stand is down the left touchline, which is raised slightly above pitch level, as is the hardstanding this side before the seated stand. The rest of the ground is flat standing, but they seem to have plenty of room for adding additional cover should the need arise in the future.

The club itself was originally founded in 1935 as St Johns Welling, changed it’s named to Lakeside, before renewing competition after WW2, and then calling themselves Phoenix FC. They have played in the Kent County League and the Spartan League in the past.
Visitors Fisher, now long term ground sharers at Dulwich Hamlet, have had a rocky recent past history. Suffice to say, it’s the normal story of mismanagement and financial over stretching that now sees them a long way from their Conference history when playing in its tidy little stadium by the bank of the river Thames near Canary Wharf. Once again, if it wasn’t for the passion of a small group of fans, it’s unlikely the club would still exist at all. Still apparently some good news on the horizon, it sounds like the chances of a new build ground virtually on the site of the old is likely to happen, which is great news if it does come to fruition as so few senior NL clubs now exist in Central London.

What I had not been expecting whilst hovering by tea bar for my bacon roll to be cooked pre-match, was a grown man to wander up in a full length gorilla outfit, wearing a nappy! The lady serving in the tea bar immediately seemed to recognise him, he must have very distinctive eyes I thought!
Anyway after discussing with a couple of hoppers I knew, apparently the Gorilla is/was? a member of the Social club, and was marrying at the weekend, and had been on a pre-stag weekend golf event in the afternoon, a large cluster of lads standing outside the clubhouse seemed to back this up.
Although in my experience I’ve come across few golf clubs that would allow a gorilla on the first tee. But I guess if he was wearing plus fours, and golf shoes at the time, perhaps they did? Paints a bizarre picture thought doesn’t it? 🙂

It was shortly after kick off, stood positioned opposite the stand, that Neil Witherow sauntered by. Erstwhile editor of the much missed Palace fanzine ‘Palace Echo’, I hadn’t seen Neil to chat to for a couple of years, so it was good to chew the fat with him, and hear he was re-completing “Inside the M25 tonight, from Step 5 and above”. Ah, ground hoppers and their little lists!
Neil still doesn’t miss Palace home/away, and has to be in the top twenty bracket of hardcore Palace fans, either the mans a fool or is dedicated beyond reason :), the truth I guess is somewhere in between.

Once the match settled down, it was clear that the performance of both teams merited their league positions. From Fisher, plenty of effort, but little end product. Noticeable amongst their five or six fans, one fella who every five or ten minutes shouted “Camm ahhn Fish”, like he was sitting by a riverbank urging a catch!
High flying Phoenix, although on the back of 5-1 thrashing at Whyteleafe the previous week, looked a very decent side indeed. Leading the line for them was an ex Palace youth player Andrew Dalhouse, converted from a centre back at Palace (thanks Neil for that), to a centre forward at Sports. His physical presence gave Fish problems throughout, and he opened the scoring after 34. Hope added a second on 43, in a pretty low-key first half. And any hope of a Fish come back in the second half was dashed by a double strike from new signing Miles Cornwell on 52 and 74 minutes.
The only reward for Fish was a deserved goal from hard working left winger Troy Abbey, after keeper Adam Woodward went walkabout. But frankly, Fish had been outclassed. And don’t be surprised if you see Phoenix rising again, and playing at Step 4 next season! And to be fair to them, on their sign on the side of the clubhouse, it didn’t say NO GORILLAS.