Wednesday, 19 November 2025

Verwood Town - Potterne Park


Verwood Town FC
Potterne Park
Potterne Way
Verwood
Dorset
BH21 6RS









Ground Number: 1501
Tuesday 18th November 2025
Verwood Town 0-0 Sturminster Newton United (3-4 pens)
Dorset Senior Cup








VERWOOD TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1905 and played local football for the first eighty-four years of its existence. They were runners-up in the Bournemouth League in 1988 and finished 3rd the following season, after which they joined the Hampshire League. A third-place finish in Division 2 in 1993 saw them promoted to Division 1, where they finished 8th in two consecutive seasons before finishing bottom and being relegated in 1996. Verwood remained in Division 2 until the turn of the millennium, when reorganisation saw them moved to Division 1. In 2003, they finished as runners-up to Hayling United. In 2004, the league was merged into the Wessex League, and Verwood were placed in the third tier. A third-place finish behind Paulsgrove and Laverstock & Ford in 2006 saw the club promoted to Division 1 as it made the move into semi-professional football. In 2012, they were Division 1 champions, earning promotion and achieving their best-ever pyramid finish of 14th in the Wessex Premier in 2013. The club was relegated in 2017 after finishing bottom. At the end of last season, they were relegated to the Dorset League after finishing bottom of Division 1, meaning a return to step 7 for the first time since 2006.


Verwood Town played eight seasons in the FA Cup from 2010 to 2017. They only had two wins to their name during that time, beating Newport IOW in 2015 and Hengrove Athletic (following a replay) the following year. They have also reached the FA Vase 3rd Round twice, most recently in 2014. Local honours include two Pickford Senior Trophies, two Bournemouth Senior Cups, three Dorset Senior Trophies and the Banks Trophy in 1985. The club played at the local recreation ground until 1986, when they moved to their present home, which allowed them to progress into county football. Nowadays, there is a women's team and 30 youth sides. Rossgarth Youth Football Club is one of the most successful clubs in the area and has several teams covering all age groups for boys and girls, up to adult level. Eddie Howe, the former AFC Bournemouth manager, is a former Rossgarth player.


The town of Verwood is located in Dorset, ten miles north of Bournemouth as the crow flies.  It sits on the River Crane, which later becomes the Moors River and has a population of just over 15,000. Verwood was originally recorded as Beau Bois (Norman French: "beautiful wood") in 1288, and it was not until 1329 that it got the name Verwood, which developed from Fairwood or The Fayrewood. The East Dorset pottery industry, known collectively as Verwood Pottery, thrived from early times on the clay soils of the neighbourhood, which had ample firing material close at hand. This gives rise to Potterne Park, the name of their home ground. In 1985, the town was twinned with the French town Champtoceaux and then in 1992 with the German town Liederbach am Taunus. Famous current and former residents include former QPR goalkeeper Lee Camp, managers Tony Pulis and Eddie Howe, as well as Only Fools & Horses actor Buster Merryfield.


MY VISIT

I was originally planning on going to Verwood on Tuesday, 11th November 2025. It had been one of the few Wessex League grounds that I needed, but at the end of last season, they were relegated to the Dorset League. A return to the higher level looked very unlikely, as they were sitting in 14th place when I checked. It would be a Dorset Cup game against Sturminster Newton United that we would be attending. I had seen the visitors on the way down to the South West Peninsula Hop earlier that year. The previous evening, I began researching for this blog, aided by the excellent Verwood Town FC website. A real labour of love and a pleasant change to some of the out-of-date, token efforts from higher up clubs. However, around 3.30 pm on the day of the game, it was postponed due to the weather forecast not looking great. It ended up being a night in for me as the other options were not appealing. Little did I know at that point that I would be attempting the same game the following week.


From my game at the Linford Christie Stadium's 4G on Saturday, I walked for 50 minutes to a great little Micropub in Maida Vale called Real Drinks. There, I had a large bottle of Eric Bordelet  Sidre Brut. It was nearly £14 as it was an import, but I like to treat myself. It was a nice accompaniment to get my blog up and a pleasant place for a nice drink. I also bought an Irn Bru beer to take away. Next up was the Alexander Fleming Wetherspoons, where I had a pint of Stowford Press and some wings for under £6. It was a 15-minute walk to Marylebone, which was mentally busy. Usually, such a calm place, but for some reason, it was packed with idiots dawdling. Time was tight for my train, so I pushed my way through with many complaints. Not my usual way, but when in London, do as Londoners do, I made my train by the skin of my teeth. The train was busy, but friendly. I had my beer, which garnered plenty of interest, and it was excellent as well. I was in at 8.30 and had a couple more drinks before bed. It was a standard Sunday, very busy and in contrast to an enjoyable Saturday. I needed a nap on Sunday afternoon to catch up.
Monday was more pleasant, and after a rocky period at work, it was once more a breeze. There wasn't a lot of action on the Stapleford Town account, nor on the Forest Academy Twitter, but it was the day before the game. There was still nothing on the morning of the game, and a ticket link for advance tickets said 'sold out'. It was not a good time for Twitter to be down, for once, not the fault of the milk float salesman. Instead, a service called Cloudflare had knocked a lot of the internet out. Luckily, it did not prevent me from sending an email to every contact on the Stapleford Town website. Thankfully, one replied, but the news was disappointing, stating that the game had sold out, as indicated by the advance ticket link. I was grateful to avoid a wasted journey and pleased that the club had done well for itself. But for the third time in a week, my plans were disrupted. I had already done my preparation for the game last week, so it wasn't too much of an issue to visit a week later. I left at 4.20 and met Colin at the bus stop. The journey took over 2.5 hours on grim, dark roads, winter well and truly making it's unwelcome presence felt. We stopped at Harlees, a fish and chip shop, where I got their Christmas burger, which was pretty decent. We then headed to the ground, another grim and unwelcoming car park in the dark, although I think Google Maps sent me the wrong way.

 

Verwood Town were in rotten form since their relegation from the Wessex League last season. They sat 14th in the Dorset Premier League, having won four, drawn two and lost twelve of their games so far. They had lost their last five, including a 4-0 reverse to Holt United on Saturday. Sturminster Newton United were 6th in the Western League Division 1, a tier above the hosts. They had won ten, drawn two and lost four of their games. They were in good form and had won five of their last six, including a 4-2 win over Odd Down on Saturday. Despite this, it was Verwood who were very much on top early on, albeit without really threatening. They had a second good spell around the half hour, having a shot cleared off the line following a goalmouth scramble. Sturminster Newton United had a good spell in the second half, producing a great save from the keeper and hitting the left-hand post. Towards the end, Verwood blasted a couple of chances over, and Sturminster had a goal disallowed for offside. It wasn't the worst game, but it was my first 0-0 since the West Lancs Hop for the game between Croston Sports and Lytham Town. It was Sturminster who triumphed in the shootout, a bad miss from the hosts and a Panenka from the visitors being the highlights. Verwood looked like a far better side than one struggling at step 7, albeit they looked poor in front of goal. 


THE GROUND

POTTERNE PARK is a functional ground. It is a common modern setup with the standard drop-in metal stands of around 50 capacity each, one standing and one sitting. These are at least personalised in the club colours. The ground is three-sided, with the far end closed off due to space constraints.. There is a small tea bar in the ground, serving basic snacks and drinks, plus programmes and badges at the entrance. A few minutes' walk away is the community hub, which doubles as a clubhouse with separate facilities for board members. Car parking is plentiful, although the place appears strangely laid out with various community facilities sharing the site
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