Basildon United - Gardiners Close

Basildon United FC
Gardiners Close
Basildon
Essex
SS14 3AW

07527 743535

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Ground Number: 410
Wednesday 17th September 2014
Basildon United 1-2 Eton Manor
Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy







BASILDON UNITED - A BRIEF HISTORY

Basildon United was established in 1963. For the first four years of its history, it was a youth side known as Armada Sports. Armada themselves can trace their roots back to 1955 but between 1959 and 1963 a brief marriage with Pitsea United occurred before they split up and restarted. Spells in the Thurrock Thameside and Greater London Leagues were enjoyed in their early years before they became founder members of the Essex Senior League in 1971. They were champions four times in a row between 1977 and 1980 and runners-up twice. After the final of these titles, they joined the Athenian League and finished as runners-up to Windsor & Eton in their only season here. In 1982, they joined the Isthmian League, winning Division 2 in 1984. In 1988, the club achieved its highest-ever finish, 8th in the Isthmian Division 1, which was step 3 of non-league. Decline soon set in and the following season they finished bottom of the league, spending a couple of seasons back in Division 2 before switching back to the Essex Senior League. Here, they remained for many years, from the high of winning the title in 1994 to the low of finishing bottom in 2008, with only a lack of suitable replacements ensuring they stayed up. They were also runners-up three times and it was after the last of these in 2018, they were able to return to the Isthmian League. They've been in Division 1 North ever since and last season had their best season in many years when they finished 9th.

They have reached the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup on two occasions, most recently in the 1998/99 season when they lost 3-0 to St Albans City after beating Burnham Ramblers and Barkingside in replays in previous rounds. They were not a huge hit in the FA Trophy, though they have reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Vase twice, losing to Northamptonshire sides Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1981 and Raunds Town in 1995. Local competition wins include four Essex Senior Cups, the Essex Elizabethan Trophy in 1978 and the Essex Elizabethan Trophy in 1979. The club has an excellent tradition of having players go on to play in the Football League. Ken Charlery, Johnathan Gould, Michael Kightly and Steve Tilson are just some of the names that have progressed. Ex-Chelsea man Kerry Dixon also played for the club at the end of his career. The club's record attendance at their current ground came at its opening in 1970 - Geoff Hurst and Jimmy Greaves were just two of the 4000 fans present that day.

Up until 1970, the club played at Gloucester Park, rebuilt in 2011 as the Basildon Sports Village and briefly used by White Ensign FC. Basildon United continued to play floodlit matches there until 1979 when they had their own floodlights installed. They were opened with a match against Crystal Palace attracting a crowd of 2,000. The town of Basildon has a population of just over 107,000. Though it was briefly mentioned in the Doomsday Book as a village, it was created and expanded as a new town in 1948 to cope with the population overspill from London. The capital is 26 miles away with Chelmsford (11 miles) and Southend (10 miles) being the nearest large towns. The Eastgate Shopping Centre is one of its bigger attractions and when it opened in 1985 and for a year it was the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe until the Metro Centre in Tyneside opened its doors in 1986. The town's most notable landmark is the Hollywood-style 'Basildon' sign which you can see upon entering the town. The town was also used as the filming location for the brilliant BBC sitcom 'White Gold although it was set in Corringham, near Thurrock. Many famous people come from the town, most notably the band Depeche Mode, solo artists 'Kunt & The Gang' and Alison Moyet, actresses Kara Tointon & Denise Van Outen and footballers Darren Caskey, Justin Edinburgh, Michael Kightly and James Tomkins. 

MY FIRST VISIT

Originally on this day, I was planning 2 games. First off would have been Mansfield Town U21 v Evesham United U21, played at Rainworth Miners Welfare. This was until I looked at about 3am the night before and found that the game had been postponed, for unspecified reasons. At least it had saved me a wasted journey, but it also meant I missed out on another Northern trip. Wycombe had only recently played Mansfield Town on Saturday, happily, we won 3-1 to lift us up to 4th in the league. We were a bit lucky as Mansfield shaded the game and it was certainly not as good as we could have played. The standard of football was not great, to be honest - both teams resorted to a physical, direct style of play, but at the end of the day, we got the 3 points, which is all that will count when it comes down to the end of the season. We, of course, owe Mansfield a massive debt of gratitude for being there in the first place - it was only due to their victory at Bristol Rovers that we were in the football league in the first place - a week before we looked dead and buried, but some final day heroics really saved our bacon. I'd had quite a late night before, not getting to sleep till 4.30, so I woke up, just after 10. I had breakfast, had a bath and as my day's plans had been thrown into disarray by the postponement of my afternoon game, I had to decide where to go. It was quite slim pickings and I did think of doing one in London and going to see a film about Swansea City in the afternoon. It was only being shown in Swansea and at Odeon Leicester Square and I really wanted to see it, but in the end, I opted to spend the first part of the day relaxing at home and set off later in the day.

 

I knew Basildon was not bad for shopping, so I opted to go to their game against Eton Manor in the Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy. I set off at 3, arriving in Basildon at 4.20. After a fruitless look around the shops apart from a £1 taco at Taco Bell, I set off for the ground. Basildon is one of the few places that offers this excellent fast-food establishment, despite it being huge in America. From there I made my way to the ground. With nearly 2 hours to kill till kick-off, I decided to look for food. I typed 'curry' into Google Maps and it came up with a place 15 minutes away called 'Basil Spice'. When I got there it looked quite pricey as it was very nicely decorated. I checked that they took card payment as I only had a tenner in change and they did. It was nice actually. I always like to try new curries and on this occasion, I did, having a lamb chop Kon Kani. Also included were a generous portion of rice, poppadoms and dips and a couple of pints of Magners. It came to just under £23 which was my most expensive meal of the season, but not outrageous for what I had. I decided not to add it to my football expenses for the season.

From there, I walked back to the ground, getting there at 7.25. I'd been having a good chat with my friend and fellow groundhopper Kieran along the way, and it was nice to have a catch-up as we had not spoken in ages. That helped kill the time before the game, as well as typing my blog. I paid £7 for entry and a very basic photocopied programme. Last time I had seen them they had beaten Hullbridge Sports 2-1 in a game that I went to with fellow hopper Laurence. This was a game in the Essex Senior League's cup competition, but at start of play, they were just below mid-table in 13th.Eton Manor dominated early proceedings and took the lead in the first couple of minutes. It looked like it could be a good game, but it turned out not to be the case. It's often said on groundhopping forums that the Essex Senior League is of a poor standard, and on this evidence, that's hard to argue with. It was a very dull game, that the struggling Eton Manor won 2-1 and to be honest they were good value for their win without breaking a sweat. It was a simple drive home, save for a slow bit through the roadworks on the M25. I made good time, taking a little over an hour to get home, getting in at 22.45. I had a cider while I typed my blog, then watched TV before going to sleep.

MY SECOND VISIT

2-3 v Tilbury - Isthmian D1 North - 01/11/24

I first considered this fixture a few weeks ago when looking at potential Friday night games. I always love a bit of Friday night football but in recent weeks it has been either too far away or the same old grounds I have been to many times such as Beaconsfield Town. I offered it to Colin on Monday and he was happy to come along after recently not being able to come with me to Hanley Town and Afan Lido. For both of those reasons, I decided not to make the journey on my own due to the high distance in terms of both cost and having some company on the trip. It had been over a decade since I had been to the ground and I was looking forward to getting some fresh photos and seeing if the ground had been tidied up. A fair bit had changed since my last visit, with Basildon United gaining promotion to the Isthmian League. Time had not been so kind to the opposition that night. Eton Manor after years of struggling to find a home of their own were dissolved in 2017.

The day of the game came and as usual, it was a very busy one at work. I still got out on time though but had plenty to do before leaving at 4.15. It was a good journey at first but the M25 was on despicable form, even by Friday evening standards. Abandoned roadworks and general congestion meant that the just over 60 miles took until 6.45. We had a friendly welcome from fellow hopper Mick's son before going to meet the man himself in the bar. It was functional at best and a can of Strongbow was £3.69 but it matters less when profits are going to the club. Mick was great company as ever and gave us a couple of glasses from Billericay and the Faroe Islands, which are slightly different locations in terms of natural scenery. I'd planned various possibilities in terms of takeaways and food but the dreadful journey meant I was going to chance the food in the ground. I'd been to a cash machine as the club were fans of the cash is king drivel and I wanted to help out where I could. The food hut took cards and was easily the best part of the ground. A superb cheese and bacon dog and decent fries were £9.50 and everything was very well cooked.

 

Basildon United were in 4th place having won five and drawn one of their six home games so far. Last Saturday they had lost 1-0 at Walthamstow. Tilbury were top of the league, having won three, drawn two and lost one of their away games so far. Last Saturday they beat Brightlingsea Regent 2-1. There were huge gaps at each side of the pitch so I stood behind the goal. Basildon went ahead after a couple of minutes, a brilliant through ball by Bartlett-Antwi found Mills, who smashed home to make it 1-0. Both sides had chances and Tilbury had a shot cleared off the line on 33 minutes. In first half added time, Basildon went 2-0 up with a looping header from Darren Esuka. Tilbury had the better of the second half. They pulled a goal back on 69 minutes through Alex Hernandez who headed home. Then on 74 minutes, a Lindell Stewart header made it 2-2. Tilbury were on top by now but Basildon had a break and screwed a shot wide. They were made to pay when on 84 minutes Stewart got his second of the game as he netted a rebound. It prompted a bundle and was a turn-up for the books with Basildon looking comfortable at half time. The attendance of 279 vindicated their decision to play on a Friday night as it easily beat their average of 115.

THE GROUND - 2014

GARDINERS CLOSE is one of the bigger step 5 grounds. All the covered accommodation is on one side with 2 standing areas holding around 400. Then a seated area for around 150. The rest of the ground is open standing, with some steps of terracing on the far side. Though the stands look good in club colours, the rest of the ground is a bit scruffy, with overgrown grass everywhere. Part of the ground is fenced off too, which gives it a bit of an unloved feeling.

The tea bar does hot drinks and a BBQ-style operation. The bar is not bad and has old photos on the wall. There was no club shop that I could see. If you want a sit-down meal, there is a curry house 15 minutes from the ground, and also a takeaway next door if you are on a budget. The daytime pictures here were taken on 23rd January 2010, on the way to a Southend United v Wycombe Wanderers game and before I became a proper groundhopper.

THE GROUND - 2024

There hadn't been huge changes since my last visit. Some seats had been added to the terrace for the advantage of the team but to the detriment of the view, the pitch had been narrowed leaving huge gaps at each side. The bar was disappointing, so maybe bring your own cans. The food is excellent though, worth the money and full of taste. There's also a huge choice of sauces.