Saturday 23 March 2024

Faversham Town - Salters Lane


Faversham Town FC
Faversham Strike Force FC
Shepherd Neame Stadium
Salters Lane
Hilton Close
Faversham
Kent
ME13 8YD

 01795 591000

Ground Number: 278
Saturday 29th June 2013
Faversham Town 2-4 Gillingham
Friendly







FAVERSHAM STRIKEFORCE FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1999 as a youth side which is still their main aim. They established a senior side in 2012 and played for a season in the Canterbury & District League under the moniker Faversham Harlequins. They were Premier Division champions in their only season, going on to join the Kent County League and changed their name to Faversham Strike Force. The 2013/14 season saw them finish as runners-up to East Kent College in Division 2 East, earning promotion to Division 1 East. They were league champions in 2015 and then won the Kent County Premier the following year. They played at Sittingbourne College at the time and so were unable to accept a promotion. They spent a couple of seasons at Rochester United and this combined with results over the pandemic-interrupted seasons allowed them to join the Southern Counties East League in 2021. After a mid-table finish in their debut season, they finished 4th in Division 1 last season, falling in the playoffs, losing 4-2 to Lydd Town in the semi-finals.


It has been a case of three games, and three defeats in the FA Vase for the club. The club has played at Faversham Town since 2022 and have an agreement to remain until at least 2025. I did not research club history way back when I first visited, so will provide a summary here. They are one of Kent's oldest clubs, established in 1884. They've won the Kent League five times and from 2010 until 2023, they played in the Isthmian D1 South East, finishing 3rd a couple of times. They had a notable FA Cup run in 2016, reaching the 3rd Qualifying Round and beating higher league Hitchin Town along the way. Players with a Wycombe Wanderers connection include strikers Paul Hayes and Adebayo Akinfenwa. Because Faversham's civic coat of arms is based on the Royal Arms of England, Faversham Town is the only English club side to have a badge depicting three lions passant guardant, similar to that of the England national team.


The market town of Faversham is situated just under 50 miles west of London and has a population of around 19,000. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, and known as Watling Street. The name is of Old English origin, meaning "the metal-worker's village". Kent is the centre of hop-growing in England, centring on nearby Canterbury and Faversham, which has been the home of several breweries. The Shepherd Neame Brewery was officially founded in 1698, though brewing activities in Faversham pre-date this. The brewery claims to be the oldest in Britain and continues to be family-owned. 'Famous' people from the town include Peaches Geldof, son of Boomtown Rats and Live Aid star Bob Geldof and media personality.


MY FAVERSHAM TOWN VISIT

After 6 miserable weeks of no football and Saturdays spent doing pretty much naff all, it was finally back. And I could even squeeze in a double, with Faversham kicking off at 1PM and Whitstable kicking off at 3, there was 15 minutes between the 2 grounds, which meant I would hopefully only miss a small part of the second game. I had had these 2 in place since early June and had spent much of the summer planning friendlies and updating the leagues on my site. I also had 3 objectives for the break, that I had set at the end of last season

1) Save money. This was the most successful one. I'd not spent much at all in comparison. No major gadget purchases, and the fact that my car had had it's pricey MOT and service before the season ended saw me easily complete my first objective

2) Eat healthier. I also did this, cutting down on the takeaways, and not snacking as much. Not that it showed on the scales mind, as I am towards the upper part of what is considered a 'healthy BMI' All this despite doing a pretty physical job.

3) Drink less. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad. Though I am still sticking to the recommended government weekly limits, give or take. I will be most certainly look forward to getting back into trying new ciders and visiting nice pubs, one trip to Wetherspoons for a pint is the sum total of my pub visits during the summer.

Or at least the last sentence was true until I decided to celebrate the start of the football season by going out with some mates from work on Friday night. A good few pints were consumed, all stuff I have had many times before sadly. But I knew I would be driving the next day, so I applied some restraint, and even finished the evening in time to get one of the last buses home at 22:15.

After waking at around 8, I got ready and met Anwar in Wycombe just after 9 as we had arranged. We had a fairly uneventful journey, save for someone losing a load of junk off the back of their trailer and holding the traffic up for just over 5 minutes while they collected it out of the road. There was also an annoying average speed check at 50MPH for a substantial part of the M25, but at least we were moving. We visited various grounds for a look along the way, including Woodstock Sports and Sittingbourne Town's former two homes adjacent to each other.



 We arrived in Faversham just after 12 and parked up at the ground. On reflection, it was too late. I should have allowed more time in a town that looked really nice and had a few decent looking bookshops that I am sure I could have found a few football related gems in. There was also a smashing pub called The Old Wine Vault, where they had a few ciders on that I had not had before. They also had a nice looking menu which I would have liked to try, and it's yet another place I fancy revisiting. My pint was a very nice one, called Dudda's Tun from a small brewery called Pine Trees Farm, based in Kent. There was just time to grab a quick Saveloy and Chips from a nearby chippy before walking back to the ground. We arrived back at the ground with around 10 minutes to spare, which was just as well as there were queues to get in. Luckily we just made it in time for kick off. Sadly there were no programmes or team sheets though, a lost opportunity for the club, given that so many people wanted one. They gave me an old programme for free, as they had not issued for today's game. I bumped into Kirby Knitter off of the non-league forum and also fellow hopper Laurence, who I had first met on the NCEL groundhop back in March, as well as a load of new people I was introduced to.



 The game was a good one, which was decent given that pre-season friendlies are generally slow-paced, given the hot weather. Faversham looked a useful side and were well on top for the opening 15 minutes. They got their reward on 11 minutes, taking the lead through a great free kick from Wayne Wilson. The goal would have graced any game as it flew past Gillingham keeper Stuart Nelson. The league side were soon back on level terms, however, on the quarter hour mark. Aaron Millbank was on hand to turn in the rebound after Faversham keeper Simon Overland tipped the initial shot onto the post. On 23 minutes Gillingham took the lead as Bradley Dack chipped in a second goal, and they deserved that as they took control of the game. It was still 2-1 at the half time interval and so I went in their clubhouse for a look around. There was a pretty standard selection of drinks, but best of all, plenty of memorabilia on the walls to look at, certainly one of the better clubhouses for this. Gillingham completely changed their side at half time and Faversham made a fair few changes too. It was the league side who had much the better of the proceedings, though Faversham did have their chances. The Gills further extended their lead when former Wycombe loanee Adam Birchall scored with a header from a great right-wing cross on 66 minutes. Faversham reduced the arrears on 74, again it was a cross that caused all the trouble. Perhaps the young Gillingham keeper should have done better, but in any case Lyndon Rowland was on hand to tap in. A couple of minutes later the visitors restored their two goal lead when Birchall scored again, this time a great long-range shot that flew past the Faversham keeper.


MY FAVERSHAM STRIKE FORCE VISIT

I'd been considering a revisit to Faversham Town for a while, as I felt I had not explored the place enough. It kept being put off until the right opportunity came along and this was it. Like my first visit, it would be a double, this time thanks to Faversham Strike Force kicking off at 11. They had only been in existence for a year when I first visited this venue. This double would have been very tight by public transport, so I was very glad when fellow hopper Daniel offered to drive so I could have a drink and also visit Hawkinge Town later on. From the Wetherspoons, we walked through the pleasant town and to the ground, arriving at 10.30. It was £7 to get in and we saw several familiar faces who had come for a double.


Faversham Strike Force sat in 9th whilst their former landlords Rochester United were in 2nd. The hosts' form was mixed, their last three games had seen a 2-1 loss at FC Elmstead on Wednesday, a 2-2 draw at Bridon Ropes and a 4-0 victory at Greenways. Rochester United had won three of their last four, their last game a 3-2 win over FC Elmstead last Saturday. The hosts were the better side and they took the lead on 20 minutes with a clever free kick under the wall by Joe Kay. Strike Force continued to dominate and have the better chances in a dull game. Just before half time, Rochester had a player sent off for a second yellow as he got involved in a scuffle. I had sausage and chips at half time, very well priced at £2.50. The second half continued in much the same vein. Strike Force doubled their lead on 62 minutes, a parried shot followed up from close range by Brooke Tiernan. Rochester had another man sent off in injury time to reduce them to nine men as did Faversham Strike Force to the card-happy referee.
THE GROUND

THE SHEPHERD NEAME STADIUM is a traditional non-league venue. To your left, as you go through the turnstile there is the main stand. This holds around 200 under cover, as well as having some standing room too. There is further cover at the clubhouse end, probably around 500. The rest of the ground is open terracing. I didn't use the tea bar, but the clubhouse is one of the better I have been in. There was no club shop that I could see, but they did have a table selling a basic range of souvenirs. I'd recommend a visit to this friendly club and traditional ground, just make sure you allow yourself a bit of time to explore the town, which is just over a 10-minute walk away.


2024 PICTURES 
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