Monday 22 April 2019

Bourton Rovers - Rissington Road


Bourton Rovers FC
Rissington Road
Bourton-On-The-Water
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL54 2FB

01451 821977
Official Website
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Ground Number: 855
Sunday 21st April 2019
Bourton Rovers 3-1 Headington Amateurs
Hellenic D2 West










BOURTON ROVERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1894, playing at their current venue thanks to benefactor George Moore. The club is famous in its local area for a football match played in the towns River Windrush which has attracted up to 2000 spectators on occasions and has been contested for as long as the club has existed. The club has played in local leagues for the vast majority of their history, calling the Cheltenham League, Gloucestershire Senior League and Witney and District League home at various points during their history. In 2016, the club joined the Hellenic League at Division 2 West, winning the title in their debut season. Last season, they finished as runners-up to Newent Town, but on both occasions have been unable to take promotion due to lack of facilities. This season has seen a drop to 5th after the weekend's games. The Cotswold village of Bourton-On-The-Water has a population of around 3.300 and attracts many tourists thanks to the river, model village and motoring museum.



MY VISIT

With it being a rare Sunday off, I was always going to be keen to do a game on this day. I was pleased when the Hellenic Hop was announced and I found out that two of the grounds on Sunday were ones that I needed to do. I knew that the latter game at Moreton had a ground worth visiting, but I was unsure about Moreton. I decided, that as it was so close, I might as well do both as the groundhop games are always good events. It had been a late night the night before, with me taking advantage of not having to be up for work in the morning by having a few cans with Match Of The Day and then staying up even later than that. I was rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 8 am and after having a freshen up, getting dressed and having breakfast, I left at 9.15 am.  The roads were quite clear, though there were plenty of slow drivers holding up everyone on the single carriageways. Bourton-On-The-Water was a hive of activity when I arrived at 10:30 and there were plenty of random places asking for £3 for parking. I'd already sorted a spot on a side street called Ryeclose, as I'd read on Twitter that the club car park was reserved for players and officials. I paid £4 to get in, plus £1 for a programme. I was pleasantly surprised by the ground, there was no cover but the pitch was railed on two sides and the place had an enclosed feel.




There was a clubhouse too and as I'd left my drinks in my boot, I had a pint of Stowford Press Mixed Berries for the arbitrary price of £3.78. It was a new one for me and nice and refreshing on a hot day. I also bought an Easter cake for 50p. Headington Amateurs were the brightest side at the start of the game. Even so, it was 1-0 to Bourton after 19 minutes when a square ball found Steve Nurse and lax marking allowed him to find the net from around five yards out. In front of a healthy crowd of 278, Bourton had several chances to extend their lead thanks to a number of free-kicks in advantageous positions, but they didn't take advantage. It was a combative contest at times, with plenty of heavy challenges. It was a really nice goal that extended the hosts, Sam Tyack with a lofted shot from the edge of the area on 75 minutes. Headington Amateurs pulled a goal back through Ben Curtis eight minutes from time, though I didn't have the best view of what happened. The game was sealed in the last minute by Danny Way, who made it 3-1 to the hosts. He attacked down the left flank and shot across the visiting keeper. Although Keiron Brown got some hands on it, he was unable to prevent Bourton restoring their two-goal lead with the shot ending up in the corner of the net from a few yards out.



THE GROUND

RISSINGTON ROAD is a tidy venue for step 7. Though there is no cover, it's railed on two sides and is pretty enclosed. There's a clubhouse which has a reasonable range, plus there was a barbeque and other snacks when I went. If not, there's a range of pubs, restaurants and takeaways in the town which was around 5 minutes walk away. There's a small car park at the ground, plenty of payable public car parks, plus free street parking. 

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