Shaftesbury - Cockrams

Shaftesbury FC

Cockrams

Coppice Street

Shaftesbury 

Dorset

SP7 8PF

01747 853990

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1246

Tuesday 28th November 2023

Shaftesbury 8-0 Lymington Town

Wessex Premier

SHAFTESBURY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1888 and by 1906 were winners of the Dorset Junior League. The club became members of the Dorset Senior League in 1932 and a season later were winners of the competition. They then joined the Dorset Premier League, or as it was known then, the Dorset Football Combination. Shaftesbury won the title in 1989 and 1997. In 2004, they were founder members of the Wessex Lasgue's second tier. Despite a 9th-place finish in 2007, they generally struggled and in 2011 were relegated back to the Dorset League. Another poor season followed with the club finishing second bottom. Between 2012 & 2017, the club changed its name to Shaftesbury Town. The final two seasons were successful with them being Dorset League champions in 2017 before finishing 3rd behind Hamble and Baffins Milton Rovers in the Wessex Division 1 the following year. This earned them promotion to the Premier Division where they remain to this day. Their best finish was in 2022 when they finished 3rd.

Shaftesbury's best FA Cup run came in 2021. That year they beat Amesbury, AFC Stoneham and Highworth Town before they narrowly lost 1-0 to Bath City in the 2nd Qualifying Round. In the FA Vase, Shaftesbury enjoyed their best FA Vase run during the 2022/23 season. Folland Sports, Badshot Lea, Olsland Abbotonians and Brimscombe & Thrupp were beaten before a loss to Brixham in the 3rd Round. Strangely, all games were decided by way of a penalty shootout and with them going out to Bashley the previous year via the same method, they had six successive FA Vase games decided on spot kicks. Local cup wins include the Dorset Football Combination League Challenge Cup twice, the Dorset Junior League Cup three times and the Dorset Junior Cup in 2008.

 

The most famous player to turn out for Shaftesbury is Steve Thompson. The midfielder had a stellar career, most notably 162 appearances for Wycombe Wanderers where he won the Conference and FA Trophy double in 1993 and the Division 3 playoff final in 1994. He made the last appearances of his playing career at Shaftesbury in 2009 at the venerable old age of 46. The town of Shaftesbury is located in Dorset, around 20 miles from Salisbury. It has a population of just over 9,000. Shaftesbury is the site of the former Shaftesbury Abbey, which was founded in 888 by King Alfred and became one of the richest religious establishments in the country, before being destroyed in the dissolution in 1539. Adjacent to the abbey site is Gold Hill, a steep cobbled street used in the 1970s as the setting for Ridley Scott's television advertisement for Hovis Bread.  

MY VISIT

Once again, fellow hopper Chris was available for this Tuesday. Although I'd expressed a wish to cut down on the midweek travel, this was one of a couple, along with Whitchurch Alport, that I had left to do in the Midland Premier. So rather than going south with Colin, or taking him and Anwar to this, I opted to save time by doing this with Chris. It meant I would have to chip in more with petrol but it would save me up to half an hour on the way home which was important when my alarm was set for 05:05. I agreed to the trip with Chris on the Wednesday before and with the weather looking good, I researched the club history on Friday night though there wasn't a huge amount to write about. That turned out to be a waste of time as things would transpire but I hope to be able to use it in the near future.

I also arranged to go to York for their FA Cup game on Friday. Saturday brought my 935th visit to Adams Park for Wycombe Wanderers v Reading. I had been very reluctant to go after the horrendous game against Stevenage. However, the temperatures were frozen so it would be a lottery as to whether games were on. Plus Reading had not won on the road for 378 days or 20 league games, so I was hopeful of a result. How wrong I was. It started well enough with a couple of pints at the Rose & Crown and a catch-up with my old workmate Matt. We recalled all the piss-taking antics we got up to with a Welshman who stitched us up bearing the brunt of it. From then on, it was a nice dinner at Grillbox and this was alright. But from the moment the game kicked off, we were second best. Though we had a brief good spell at the start of the second half, it was not a good day and as usual we rolled over to gift a team who were on a dreadful run and end to their misery.

It was with a feeling of regret for going to Wycombe that I awoke on Sunday morning, not the greatest feeling to get me through the most difficult day of the week. My mood was further dampened when I checked the weather and saw it was going to be just a single degree. That was too risky for me in terms of frozen pitch and the likes of Fleetands would only be a degree higher. I decided I couldn't be bothered with the lottery of pitch inspections and so decided on Shaftesbury. Happily, Colin was on board but Anwar was in the wrong direction. The day continued with me being late for work due to me leaving late and two sets of roadworks. It was then very busy and tiring. Added to that, the day also brought the sad news that Terry Venables had died. He for me, was the best manager England has had in my lifetime and gave me my most enjoyable moments during Euro 96. He also came across as a really nice guy and no doubt deserved all the nice tributes that he got.

Monday was a lot calmer at work, though looking ahead, the weather was showing no signs of improving. It was my usual day off on the day of the game and I walked to Wycombe and back, over eleven miles in all. All the junk that I eat would offset though. It was fairly mild feeling, in fact, it was 5 degrees. Uttoxeter's forecast had risen by a degree and it was actually going to be warmer than Shaftesbury. I was glad of a few hours at home before it came to time to leave at 4. It was a reasonable 15-minute journey to Colin and we were on our way. The journey down was OK, delay on the M25 because it's the M25 and decent the rest of the way. We arrived at KFC in Shaftesbury at 6.40, I had chosen this so we could sit in the warm. I had an excellent gravy box meal for £4 thanks to the app, KFC had really upped their game since my last visit. We got to the ground at 7.10 and were given a lovely welcome. They apologised for the basic programme but for a quid, it was fine. We walked around and got some pictures of the ground before I settled down and started this blog. It was not as cold as originally forecast, but I was happy with my choice.

The two teams' fortunes could not be more contrasting with Shaftesbury top and Lymington bottom. The hosts had won four in a row, the latest victory coming when they won 3-2 at Petersfield Town on Saturday. The visitors had gained a respectable 2-2 draw at Portland United on the opening day but had since lost fifteen games in a row. The last loss on Saturday was a 1-0 loss against Christchurch. This season the teams faced each other in the Wessex League Cup at Lymington with Shaftesbury winning 3-1 with goals from Callum Sweeney, Brett Pitman and Luke Holmes. It was an own goal for Lymington's goal.  Historically though Lymington Town have a good record against Shaftesbury winning six times losing twice and drawing once.

Both teams lined up in really smart kits, especially Lymington in navy and yellow hoops. Shaftesbury, as expected, were well on top, hitting the post in the opening ten minutes. After 16 minutes, the hosts did take the lead, scrappy defending from a corner at the back post which turned out to be an own goal. Lymington had a brief spell but it was 2-0 on 34 minutes. More ropey defending, a through ball split the defence and Cam Beard raced through and finished with ease. On 39 minutes, it was 3-0, an attack down the right and a finish from close range with the visitors arguing about who was marking who. It was 4-0 a minute later, the keeper palming out a shot only for it to be followed up from the edge of the six-yard box. In added time, it was 5-0, a bullet header from a left-sided corner. It would have been more but for a couple of smart stops from the visiting keeper. Just before the hour, it was 6-0, a low shot from just inside the area. It was 7-0 on 75 minutes, the goal was not given originally but the linesman signalled a goal for Steve Walker. A lob by Steve Devlin from 20 yards made it 8-0 a minute later. The goals were eventually credited to Beard (3), Walker (2), Devlin, Kellaway and Pitman. Brett Pitman on the latest chapter of his footballing career which had seen him have a highly successful career at higher levels.

The Uttoxeter match actually went ahead but locally to us, Gillingham Town was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. Up at Barnsley, Wycombe had been looking good for a draw until a last-minute error or foul on our keeper whatever way you look at it gifted Barnsley a 1-0 win. I tended to think the former but elsewhere Uttoxeter and Studley drew 1-1 in my original choice of game. We left around 9.45, waiting for the Wycombe match report to come on the local radio. After, it was Greatest Hits Radio Top Ten at Ten with 1972 having a surprisingly decent number of tunes. It had been a very slow start to our journey, the A303 closure forcing us onto crappy slow roads. Eventually, we got to the M3 and M25, arriving back at Colin's at midnight. He had talked constantly from the moment we left to the moment we got home so the peace and quiet was nice. I was back home fifteen minutes later but it took me ages to get to sleep. I needed a nap the following afternoon to make up for it.

THE GROUND

COCKRAMS is a smart and modern venue right in the town centre. The main covered area is a long stand along the side, seated and holding over 200. The other side offers covered standing for around 75. The rest of the ground is open and well kept. Both the tea bar and the bar had a decent range and the bar had sports TV. The car park was quite small, but further street parking is available.

AFC Portchester - Wicor Recreation Ground

AFC Portchester

Wicor Recreation Ground

Cranleigh Road

Fareham

Hampshire

PO16 9DP

01329 233833

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1245

Tuesday 21st November 2023

AFC Portchester 1-0 Blackfield & Langley

Wessex Premier

AFC PORTCHESTER - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1971 as Loyds Sports. They joined Division Six of the City of Portsmouth Sunday League. After amalgamating with Colourvision Rangers in 1973 they gained a place in Division Two. In 1976 the club became Wicor Mill, after which they joined the Portsmouth & District League. The club were runners-up in the Portsmouth & District League in 1998 and were promoted to Division Three of the Hampshire League. The following year they adopted their current name.[4] Division Three was also renamed Division Two and the club were runners-up in 2000, earning promotion to Division One. They were champions in 2002 but were unable to take promotion due to the lack of floodlights. They'd started to struggle by the time they joined the newly established and short-lived third tier of the Wessex League in 2004. When it was disbanded in 2007, AFC Portchester made the cut for Division 1, following a 4th-place finish. In 2012 the club finished as runners-up to Verwood, Town, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They've been there ever since their best finish came when they finished 3rd in 2015.

The club has reached the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup on four occasions. This has included a number of higher-division scalps, perhaps the most notable came in 2017 when they defeated Southern League Premier Dorchester Town 1-0 in the 1st Qualifying Round. AFC Portchester have also twice reached the FA Vase 3rd Round. Local cup honours include the Wessex League Cup in 2015 and the Russell Cotes Cup in 2014 & 2017. Well-known former players include former Football League striker Brett Pitman whilst former Arsenal player Graham Rix was manager. Portchester is a village in the Borough of Fareham in Hampshire. It is 4 miles northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population is just under 18,000.

MY VISIT

In terms of new grounds on this day, there were seven possible options with either one or both of my regular hopping pals. I fancied staying closer to home after doing a couple of long-distance games on the previous two Tuesdays, so was always going to choose the closest option that was going ahead. I've always said that I'd not let work affect my free time but I'd recently been moved to 6 am starts. Whilst I felt fine the following morning after getting back at 1 am, I think it caught up with me later in the week. For that reason. it would be just Colin coming with me to AFC Portchester. It was one of my nearest grounds still to go to in the top ten levels of football. I planned everything on Sunday, including an Indian takeaway for dinner.

It was my usual day off on the day of the game and for once, I actually got a decent night's sleep for once, around 8 hours. I still walked to town later than I'd have liked though, picking up some Currywurst hot dogs from Aldi for lunch. I walked over ten miles in all which would only partially make up for all the junk food I consume. These were decent but not exceptional and I probably won't bother again. I had enough time to spend a few hours at home before leaving at 4. Tesco in Amersham had the cheapest fuel in the area and it was conveniently pretty much on the way to pick up Colin.  I was with him on time and he was there waiting for me. It was the usual slow run around the M25, the bulk of the hour delay being due to the roadworks at junction 10 which take two years to complete due to them only working part-time. From thereafter it was a good journey with us getting to the pre-match takeaway of Nahidz at 6.50. I ordered Hara Chicken Tikka and lemon rice for £11.50. We ate it at the ground before the game and mine was excellent. Less welcome was the unrelated random nosebleed as I came to finish it. I cleaned up in the toilet and was out in time for the game.

 

AFC Portchester were 4th in the league whilst Blackfield & Langley were 18th. The hosts had suffered a setback on Saturday as they lost 2-0 to AFC Stoneham. They had been unbeaten in 13 games before that. The visitors on the other hand had lost five in a row, the latest a 4-1 defeat at Sherborne Town over a week ago. It was an even start until AFC Portchester opened the scoring on 13 minutes. A good through ball found Josh Benfield who slotted home from just inside the area. The hosts were always on top, but no further goals came before the halftime break. The second half was a more muted affair. Portchester with the better chances but Blackfield and Langley holding their own without really threatening. There were no further goals, Portchester seeing the game out for a valuable three points.

The ground had a friendly atmosphere and played some great tunes on the tannoy. At half-time, I met Lee Roberts who was doing a commentary on the game. It was great to see non-league clubs being proactive in spreading the word. AFC Portchester have decent support and 215 for this midweek fixture was a good effort. We left at 9.45 and despite a road closure, Goggle had us back at Colin's by 11.25. I was home a little over ten minutes later, staying up for around an hour to type my blog and watch TV.

THE GROUND 

WICOR RECREATION GROUND was a far better ground than I expected. There are several small stands offering cover, around 250 seated and 400 standing. The rest of the ground is open to the elements. Smart and functional rather than a classic, it's a shame there is not more orange. It's a friendly club and there is reasonable food and drink facilities. Outside the bar are a number of benches and tables which are very useful. There's also a decent amount of parking and card payments are accepted. Portchester centre and train station are half an hour's walk away. Nahidz takeaway is good for a midweek curry or the Delme Arms looked like a decent pub and they sponsor the club. As for the programme, it is online only but is a good effort.