Hook Norton - The Bourne

Hook Norton FC
The Bourne
Hook Norton
Oxfordshire

OX15 5PB

01608 737132
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 522
Saturday 26th September 2015
Hook Norton 1-2 Weston Super-Mare
FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round






HOOK NORTON FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

HOOK NORTON FC was founded in 1898 and played in various local leagues before joining the Hellenic League in 2001. Starting in Division 1 West they were champions in their first season and were promoted to the Hellenic Premier. However, they had to groundshare at Banbury United and in their first ever season they had their best ever finish of 12th in that league. Despite this, they finished third bottom the following season and were relegated back down. They had to wait until 2007 for their next promotion, but at least this time they had the facilities in place to use their own ground. This time their adventure lasted 3 seasons before they were relegated once more. They have remained in Division 1 West ever since with their best finish since coming last season when they finished 5th. At the time of kick off they were 9th, but with plenty of games in hand to catch up, due to their cup exploits.

Talking of the FA Cup, this was only their second season in the competition. In their only previous season, they exited at the first hurdle after a 6-1 defeat to Laverstock & Ford. This season had seen them improve greatly. In the Extra Preliminary Round, they thrashed Combined Counties League outfit Frimley Green 5-0. They then faced Southern League Division 1 South & West side Burnham. After a 1-1 draw on their own patch, they appeared to be rank outsiders as they travelled to The Gore. But they stunned their hosts with a 4-2 victory, securing the tie in extra time after home side went down to 9 men. Their reward was a trip to Wessex League side Eastbourne United Association, playing a step above them in the Wessex Premier. In a tight game, they came through 1-0 to set up this game. It was the second highest gap between teams so far in the FA Cup this season, with only Bodmin Town v Bath City beating it by virtue of Weston Super-Mare's lowly league placing.

Hook Norton's best run in the FA Vase came in the 2008/09 season came when they reached the 2nd Round. After beating Fairford Town in a replay, they also disposed of Flackwell Heath. Despite drawing 1-1 against VTFC (now called Sholing) they lost 4-0 in the replay down in Hampshire. The clubs sole cup win came last season when they won the Hellenic League Supplementary Cup. The village itself is probably most famous for its brewery whose beer is sold all over the country and focuses on taste and quality rather than mass production. Sadly as a cider drinker there appeared to be nothing special available on that front for me to sample.



MY VISIT

As a keen fan of the FA Cup, I was pretty pleased when Wycombe were scheduled to play at Exeter on 2nd Qualifying Round day. Though I'd consider a revisit to Exeter as I have only been there once and do not have a programme or ticket from there, it would be an expensive day out. So I started looking at the FA Cup ties that had been drawn. In terms of grounds, AFC Fylde or Marine appealed most, but the one tie that stood out for me was step 6 side Hook Norton facing off against struggling step 2 side Weston Super-Mare. There was a brief reconsideration as fellow groundhopper Anwar fancied going to Burnley but the petrol was too much for him on his own. He also turned down a visit to Hook Norton, preferring instead to go to Tooting & Mitcham on the train. At least at 55 miles away it was the shortest possible journey for me, meaning I could eat at home if I wanted to and wouldn't need to spend as much on fuel costs. In the week leading up to the game, I had been really busy at work what with a lot of colleagues being off for Eid. I'd been doing 10 hour days and was pleased when Saturday and my day off came. I spent the Friday evening watching an under 21 game at Wycombe as Porto beat Schalke 1-0.



On the day of the game, I woke up really early at 6am. After catching up on the TV I had missed last night I went on my computer for a bit before getting ready and leaving at 11am. It was a fairly decent trip up to Banbury where I stopped and looked around the shops. I bought a few bits from Poundland plus some new ciders from a very good off licence called SH Jones. By the time I'd finished looking around it was getting on for 1.30 and so I made the 20 minute trip across some lovely countryside to the small village of Hook Norton. I paid a bargain £5 entry with a very good glossy programme after parking in the car park around the corner. I went into the ground and went for a pint in the bar. I had a pint of Stowford Press which was a bit steep at £4 a pint but bearing in mind the great value so far I didn't mind too much. I then went outside and had a burger for £2.50 while chatting to fellow hopper Peter. I also chatted to another hopper who is a Wycombe fan. He’d been to a beer festival which had some good ciders and it was only just up the road, so I was disappointed to miss out. I also chatted to some nice people from the club who had seen me interacting with them on Twitter in the week. As kick off was approaching I bagged myself a space near the halfway line as the ground was filling up quickly.

With precisely 100 places between the two sides, this game was the equivalent of Braintree Town playing Manchester City. The report for the game from The Non-League Paper is below. So, a disappointing result for most of the bumper 523 crowd that came. It was a great attendance, smashing their previous best of 244 v Banbury United in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in 1998. It seemed as if half the village had turned out to give them some enthusiastic support. I was really gutted for a great club and a game that had really lived up to ‘the magic of the FA Cup’ tag. They’d scored a cracking goal and really pushed a side 4 leagues higher to the limit. At least Wycombe had won though, an excellent 2-0 win at Exeter. It was a decent journey home, save for a couple of very slow drivers holding me up before I got on the motorway. I got back at 6.15 and spent the evening chilling before watching Match Of The Day and going to bed just before midnight.

THE GROUND

THE BOURNE is a pleasant venue which is probably best visited on a warm day as it’s very open. All the stands are on one side and of the metal ’arena’ type, probably 100ish seats and double that covered standing. The clubhouse is very nice, with Sky & BT and also some real ales from the local Hook Norton Brewery. There is a good choice on cider too, though nothing special. Cans work out the best value as opposed to Stowford Press. They also had a BBQ when I went for food, but no club shop, though I did see mugs & pens advertised.   

Bradford Town - Bradford-on-Avon Sports & Social Club

Bradford Town FC
Bradford-on-Avon Sports & Social Club
Trowbridge Road
Bradford-on-Avon
Wiltshire
BA15 1EX

Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 519
Wednesday 16th September 2015
Bradford Town 2-0 Hungerford Town
FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round Replay

BRADFORD TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

BRADFORD TOWN was FC established in 1992 in an attempt to bring senior football to the town. They groundshared at Trowbridge Town for the first two years of their history and played in the Wiltshire League up until 2005 when they won promotion to the Western League. Starting at Division 1 level, they gradually improved season on season and in 2014 they won the league and were promoted to the Premier Division. An excellent 8th placed finish in their first season represented decent progress. This season had seen a slow start due to cup distractions and saw them in 19th place at the start of the game.

In the FA Cup, the club has at least equalled their best ever progress in the FA Cup as they reached the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round last season. That year Wooton Bassett Town and Moneyfields were their victims before they lost 4-0 to Poole Town. This season had seen them have 2 victories at home, firstly over United Services Portsmouth in the Extra Preliminary where they won 2-0 before a 6-3 win over Christchurch set up last Saturday's clash. Last season saw their best ever in the FA Vase when they reached the 5th round before losing to Highworth Town. 

MY VISIT

It was the third of my 3 FA Cup replays on my week off work and with it being Wednesday my choices were severely restricted. There were 3 possible options for a groundhop, and with Whitby Town and Guisborough being over 500 mile round trips, financially they were out of the question. A much more reasonable journey, clocking in at around 200 miles was Bradford Town v Hungerford Town. The 2 sides had played at Bulpit Lane on Saturday, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. On the day of the game, I was a bit concerned about the weather as I didn't want a wasted journey. So I tweeted the club to ask if there was going to be a pitch inspection. They were very helpful but were confident it would go ahead. I spent the day at home relaxing and catching up on TV and the internet. Due to the rain, I decided to delay my departure until around 4.15 and hoped that the traffic would not be too bad.

I had a tricky time getting through Wycombe thanks to heavy traffic but as soon as I got on the A404 and M4 things started to speed up. I kept using Siri (a voice recognition app) on my iPhone to check Twitter and although it took a few goes to get right sometimes I was able to keep up to date with pitch news. I listened to BBC Radio Wiltshire to see if they mentioned the game but the only thing they mentioned was Swindon Town who weren't even playing. Having enjoyed my time at Swindon Supermarine I'd argue that they are not even the best team in Swindon, let alone Wiltshire. I did learn that Chippenham was the birthplace of new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn though and it was there where I stopped at Sainsbury's as I needed the toilet. I also got some chicken and some grapes for dinner. I was pleased to see confirmation that the game was on via Twitter and so I made my way to the getting there at 6.55. I paid a bargain £5 including programme and had myself a can of Natch cider in the bar while I waited for the game to start. I got myself a hot dog too, again great value at £1.

It was a real end to end game but clear cut chances were fairly rare. Hungerford did have the ball in the net around the 20-minute mark but it was ruled offside. 5 minutes later the visitors went down to 10 men and Bradford were awarded a penalty. The number 7's shot was saved by the keeper but it was followed in to put them 1-0 up. Minutes later they missed the chance to get a second as a rocket of a shot smashed the inside left upright and defected clear. Hungerford started to press but the score was still 1-0 at the break. For some reason, the tannoy played Ricky Martin's 'Livin La Vida Loca' for the entirety of the half time break, whilst a drenched and unenthusiastic looking teenager walked around the pitch with a board showing the winning raffle numbers. Again chances came and went and Bradford were unlucky not to double their lead when they had a shot tipped round the post after  64 minutes. Hungerford had chances of their own, on 82 minutes the home keeper saved smartly with his feet to keep his side ahead. It turned out to be a pivotal point as on 87 minutes the Bradford Town victory was all but confirmed. Good work and a low cross on the right allowed the number 14 to tap home an easy chance to seal the victory and a notable giant-killing.

It had been a good game, and I was really pleased with the 3 games I had chosen on my FA Cup adventure this week. Bradford Town would now face Chippenham Town in the next round, a 2 division gap just like tonight. It will be a real local derby with around 10 miles separating the 2 towns. From what I saw tonight, and also last Friday night in the Frome v Chippenham game, I reckon they have a chance. I had a decent drive home and was back in by 11.15, watching TV and going online before going to sleep around 1am.


THE GROUND

BRADFORD-ON-AVON SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB is a typical step 5 ground. Both the seating area (around 100 seats) and covered standing (around 200) are on one side of the pitch in the corner. The rest of the ground is open standing. There was an excellent good value tea bar with simple and tasty food, and a bar attached to the bowls club which did mainly cans. There are lots of pubs and other establishments nearby if you have more time. Overall I had a great value night out at a really nice club who are well worth a visit. 

Newcastle Town - Lyme Valley Stadium

Newcastle Town FC
Lyme Valley Stadium
Buckmaster Avenue
Clayton
Newcastle-under-Lyme
ST5 3BX

01782 662350
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 518
Tuesday 15th September 2015
Newcastle Town 1-3 Coleshill Town
FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round Replay

NEWCASTLE TOWN - A BRIEF HISTORY

NEWCASTLE TOWN FC was established in 1964, originally as a Sunday League outfit. 2 years later the club adopted it's present form as they merged with Parkway Clayton after the original Newcastle Town ran into financial difficulties. After playing in various local competitions such as the Mid Cheshire League, they joined the North West Counties League in 1987. Starting in the lower of its 2 divisions they were generally successful and after coming second to Bamber Bridge in 1992 they won promotion to Division 1 (later to be renamed Premier Division). Again they were hugely successful with their lowest placing being a respectable mid-table position of 12th in 2007. Indeed they were runners-up on 4 occasions during this time, finally being crowned champions in 2010 with a massive 114 point haul. This entitled them to promotion to the NPL Division 1 South, a division they have remained in ever since. A runners-up spot in their first season was remarkable progress and despite not getting close to that in the next few seasons, last time out they finished 3rd. These 2 high placings led to playoff semi-final defeats to Grantham Town & Sutton Coldfield Town respectively.

In the FA Cup, the clubs previous best run came in 1996-97 when they reached the first round. Starting in the Preliminary Round they defeated Denaby United, Willington, Winsford United, Frickley United and Bamber Bridge in the subsequent qualifying rounds. This set up a huge tie against Notts County and the club did themselves proud, going down to a narrow 2-0 defeat in a game played at Stoke City. Since they joined step 4 in 2010 there has not been much of a run in the FA Trophy. Ten years previous, the FA Vase was a different story when they reached the semi-final. After progressing through 7 rounds, they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Kent side and eventual winners. Deal Town. A huge amount of local trophies have been won, the last being in 2010 when they won the Staffordshire Senior Cup 6-1 against football league side Port Vale. Their illustrious neighbours included 5 players with extensive first-team experience, including former Premiership striker Geoff Horsfield.

MY VISIT

Originally for my week off, I had been planning to go to AFC Fylde v FC United of Manchester, thanks to a pretty cheap hotel in Blackpool. But it would still be an expensive journey fuel wise, plus I’d be stuck for stuff to do during the day as there’s only so much time you can spend on a pub crawl, especially if I’d have to drive after the game. So instead I decided to base myself at home. I decided that my Wednesday game would be Bradford Town v Hungerford Town - and I was hoping Anwar could come along to help out with fuel. He wouldn’t be coming on this Tuesday one though, as he was watching another FA Cup replay. as his own team Aylesbury playing Chesham United. Normally I’d have picked whatever was nearest, but as it was my week off I wanted to do something decent. So after highlighting 12 potential games, I set some criteria….

A game where I could go via Milton Keynes Market, as I wanted to go to a retro games stall there.

A ground that had a good programme shop

A ground with a decent pub nearby (in other words new ciders)

A ground with somewhere decent to eat before the game

Somewhere within 150 miles so as not to let the costs get too stupid

But most important of all it had to be an FA Cup game

After all that, it was narrowed down to 3 games - Stamford v Leamington, Abbey Hey v Thackley (breaking the 150-mile limit, but I’d be going into Manchester on the tram) and the option I finally plumped for - Newcastle Town v Coleshill Town. What swung it was the fact that I had seen Coleshill smash Ellesmere Rangers right back at the start of this seasons FA Cup and thought it might be nice to pick up the chain again. There was the temptation to go with another mate Laurence to Stamford and save a bit of money but then it wouldn’t have been so much of a day out with him leaving after work and the ground is around a mile or so from the town.

On the day of the game I woke at around 7.30 and watched last night’s Coronation Street in bed. I then had a bath and started researching tonight’s blog while I watched Wheeler Dealers. As I wanted to go to a couple of places on the way, I left shortly after midday, stopping at B&M Bargains in Aylesbury, before going on to Milton Keynes Market. I got what I needed in Aylesbury but Milton Keynes was a bit of a let down with the retro games stall not there. I left just before 3 after having a bit of trouble finding my car because everywhere looked the same. It was a slow but steady journey to Newcastle with miles and miles of average speed check and around half an hour delay due to traffic. It could have been worse due to an accident on the M6 but I had the foresight to come off at Stone. I got to the ground at 5.10 and took the 25-minute walk into town. There were a ton of great pubs, but I plumped for The Lymestone Vaults which turned out to be a real gem with about 15 different ciders all told. I had a few halves before going on to find some dinner.

I found a takeaway called Mo's Kitchen and got myself some salt and pepper chips. They would be freshly cooked unlike the chippy next door, which I was told was a bit parsimonious with their portions. They were very nice with some decent garnish as well. Before going back to the ground I stopped at Aldi, getting some chicken, some cakes and a box of cider to take home. By 7.05 I was back at the ground and put my stuff in my car before going in. I paid a very reasonable £7 to go in, plus £1.50 for a nice thick programme. They opened the club shop for me but there was barely anything in there to buy apart from old programmes. As I wasn't going to be drinking anymore I got myself a sausage and chips for £2.20 while I waited for the game to start.

As for the game, it was pretty equal early on. The visitors took the lead on 10 minutes when Demitrious Smilkle curled in a shot off the right-hand post. Both sides were having chances but it was Tim Sanders who equalised for Newcastle on 23 minutes, tapping in after a low ball across the 6-yard box. Coleshill were the better side though and just before halftime Reece Leek sprung up to give them the lead at the interval. The second half started with Coleshill well on top and they extended their lead on 58 minutes when Smilkle got his second when he shot past the keeper. Apart from the occasional breakaway, the lower league visitors continued to dominate and they had several chances to make it 4, not least on 71 minutes when they forced home keeper Danny Read to save smartly with his feet. Visiting keeper Paul Hathaway had to tip the ball around the post during a rare Newcastle attack 10 minutes from time. That was pretty much it as far as chances went and Coleshill fully deserved their win. The journey home was a pain with a 40-minute delay overall after I had stopped at ASDA for petrol. Most of this was caused by the M6 being closed for a junction and everyone being sent on a diversion with massive queues to get off the motorway.. There were also other stretches that were restricted speeds, but at least they were moving. I got back home at 12.50 having had a good day out, even if the shopping aspect of it had disappointed a little.

THE GROUND

THE LYME VALLEY STADIUM is a unique stadium, thanks to it’s cycling velodrome track that is around the pitch. Unlike an athletics track, it doesn’t really impede your view, with only the ends being a massive distance away from the pitch. It’s mainly open, with the main area of seating holding around 300 and being raised well above pitch level and offering good views. There is also a smaller stand reserved for officials. Over the other side of the pitch is a fairly large covered terrace holding around 700.

The tea bar is decent, offering large portions at good value prices, while the bar offers the usual choice you would expect from a football clubhouse. The club shop has a load of old programmes but not a lot of merchandise and had been downscaled since I had visited to take pictures of the ground in 2007. The pleasant town is a mile walk away and offers the excellent Limestone Vaults pub which is one of the best establishments I have been to.