Abbey Rangers - Addlestone Moor

Abbey Rangers FC

Addlestone Moor

Surrey
KT15 2QH

01932 422962
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Ground Number: 563
Monday 7th March 2016
Abbey Rangers 1-2 Worcester Park
Surrey Premier Cup Quarter Final









ABBEY RANGERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1976 as a youth club and were named after the then nearby Chertsey Abbey. Having played in Chertsey and Addlestone, they became members of the Surrey & Hants Border League, winning Division 1 in 2005. After finishing as runners-up the following season, they left the league, joining the Guildford & Woking Alliance Division 1. They were champions at the first attempt, earning promotion to the Premier Division. The club were Premier Division runners-up the following season, and were promoted to the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) Division 1. They were champions in 2009 and then in 2011 finishing as runners-up to Wrecclesham. Four seasons were spent in the Surrey Elite Intermediate League before a 4th place finish was good enough for promotion to the Combined Counties League in 2015. Abbey Rangers finished 3rd in Division 1 in their first season, earning promotion to the Premier Division. A 3rd place finish in 2019 is their highest so far. In 2021, the league was expanded, and after spending a single season in the Premier Division North, the club was switched to the Southern equivalent.

After three consecutive Extra Preliminary Round exits, Abbey Rangers had their best FA Cup run in 2019. They beat Loxwood and East Grinstead Town, before winning 1-0 at Isthmian Premier side Whitehawk 1-0. After overcoming Walthamstow in a replay, the side lost 2-0 at home to Whyteleafe. A year previously, they reached the FA Vase 5th Round, beating Lydney Town, Chipping Sodbury Town, Rayners Lane, Lordswood, Eastbourne Town and Bearstead before a 3-1 loss at eventual finalists Cray Valley PM. Minot cup wins include the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) Cup in 2009. The club is based in the Surrey Town of Addleston, which has a population of just under 16,000. The now-defunct Addlestone & Weybridge Town were established as Addlestone Town in 1885 and played at their ground in Liberty Lane until their dissolution in 1985. There is now housing on the site of the club's ground. Addlestone FC, formerly Lyne FC, play at a local school in the Surrey County Premier League.

 

MY FIRST VISIT

Having completed the Combined Counties Premier for groundhops recently, I was also keen to get Division 1 done. It was a bit harder as most games are played at weekends owing to the small size of the league, but Abbey Rangers occasionally had Monday night games. Usually, I like to get a good night's sleep on a Monday, as it's my only decent kip of the week, but with me being off work, this Monday represented an ideal opportunity. I found out about their Surrey Premier Cup game a few weeks back and pencilled it in. It was to be sandwiched between my weekend groundhop to Germany and a couple of days up north on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it was a really busy time for me. I'd been hoping to persuade fellow groundhopper, Anwar, to come along, however, he was ill and unable to attend, so it was me on my own.

I spent the morning catching up on my blogs, with a mammoth four to do from my German adventures, though a lot of that was written during the dead time that had been spent travelling around on public transport. I also wanted to do as much research as possible for my upcoming trips, including tonight's game. It was mission accomplished, though, and as well as a little bit of work, I had time to watch some YouTube videos and chat online before leaving for the game just after 6.15 PM. I was happy that I'd been retweeted by the official Eintracht Frankfurt English account, which had a fair few followers, as rarely any club above the Conference North and South bothers with interaction and sharing links. It was only a 28-mile trip, but my prior experience of rush hour traffic made me think it would be anything but simple and straightforward. In the end, I left around 6.30 after I'd got petrol, but luckily the roads were in perfect order and I was there by 7.10. I paid £3 to get in, there was no programme, but they sorted me out a free teamsheet, which was fine by me. I met fellow groundhopper Andy in the bar and we had a chat while we waited for the game to start.

 

It was a first half of very few clear-cut chances, but visitors Worcester Park were enjoying the better of the possession. However, it was the hosts who opened the scoring on 40 minutes with Paul Hodges slotting nearly in the bottom left-hand corner from around ten yards. It was 1-1 just before half-time. Lee Davison who only a few minutes ago had been in agony with an ankle injury, dived to head in Archie Watkins' cross from the left. It was a fair reflection of the game so far with Abbey Rangers stepping their game up after scoring. Again, the second half didn't have too many chances, but it did get quite physical. Abbey Rangers scorer Paul Hodges got his marching orders after a second booking. Just as it looked as if it was going to penalties, Lee Davison grabbed his second with another header.

 

During the second half, I chatted to a Sutton United fan who was also groundhopping at the game and used the 'Non-League Matters' forum that I often go on. We talked about old games between our clubs, though I only saw the two clashes between us in the FA Trophy semi-final of 1993. It was nearly 9.50 by the game finished, as there was lots of time added on, but there was no sign of the penalty shoot-out I was hoping for. The journey home was a good one, only taking half an hour, and I was soon back home. I watched Corrie while writing my blog before watching YouTube videos in bed.

MY SECOND VISIT

Originally, I wasn't intending on revisiting Abbey Rangers, as I considered 2016 to be 'fairly recent' in terms of groundhopping. But then, my local side, Holmer Green, got to the Combined Counties Division 1 Cup Final against Langley, with the final being played at Addlestone Moor. It was also being played on a Friday night, which I am a big fan of. I'd decided to visit around ten days in advance of the game, and the more I looked into it, the more I liked the idea of a revisit. I'd already seen lots of positive comments about the food, and looking back, I see that it seemed popular but untested last time. When I took a more comprehensive look, I discovered that there wasn't even a stand in place when I last went. Also, the quality of the photos left a little to be desired, so upon reflection, a revisit would be most welcome.

The day of the game came, and it was a tiring one at work. I came home and could have done with a few drinks to unwind but I had the far healthier pursuit of football in mind. I spent the afternoon at home, catching up with the night's TV and YouTube. I left at 6, picking up Colin along the way. It was a busy journey due to traffic, but we were there before 7. It was quite steep at £10 to get in, and it was disappointing that a pennant was on display but not for sale. However, the food made up for it. A dirty burger - burger, cheese, onion rings and sausage (as they had no bacon) for a fiver was excellent. I also got £2.50 chips after. Later I got a programme for £1 whilst deciding what game to do tomorrow after my initial choice of Runwell Sports bit the dust.

 

I was one of the 63 present as Holmer Green beat Hillingdon Borough 5-4 in their thrilling cup tie in the first round of this competition. They then overcame Bedfont 2-1 in the Quarter Final before beating London Samurai Rovers in the last game they played on April 19th. The Greens had finished 7th on 73 points, whereas Langley had finished 14th on 50 points. They had beaten Spartans Youth 7-5, Windsor and Eton 3-2, Yateley United 4-1 and Belstone 2-1. In the league, Holmer Green won 4-1 at Langley's base in Uxbridge, whilst it was 1-1 at the game in Holmer Green. The Greens had made a few changes, a notable absentee was top scorer Jeffrey Fordjour, recently returned from Flackwell Heath. Holmer had the first chance, but then Langley had a spell of domination. It was a dull game on a dusty pitch, plenty of effort but no goal chances. The second half saw Holmer Green dominate, and they took the lead on 61 minutes, a shot on the turn by Joshua Peck from the edge of the area. 12 minutes from time, Langley equalised, a James Evans header from a corner following a good spell. The game died out, with Langley probably finishing the stronger. After a fair bit of injury time, it went to penalties. Two misses from Holmer Green cost them, despite a good penalty save from Holmer keeper Sam Bell, it was not to be for them as they lost the final 4-3 in the shootout.

THE GROUND - 2016

ADDLESTONE MOOR must be one of the most basic grounds at step 6, with just a railed-off pitch. There is an area of cover thanks to the overhang from the bar area. Talking of the bar it's warm & welcoming and has the usual range of drinks. The tea bar is even better, having a wide range of food which several people seemed to be tucking into and enjoying.

THE GROUND - 2025

The ground had been built up on my latest visit. A small standing area was supplemented by two Arena units of around 50 seats each. This made it a functional ground, but there were also some nice touches, like the large sign behind the goal. The bar did the job, though Inch's cider is too sweet for my liking. There is also a small range of merch. The real star of the show, though, is the food. A fantastic range, tasty and fresh, and all cooked to order. They were overwhelmed by orders but were very efficient, calling your number when your order was ready.