Stanway Rovers - The Hawthorns

Stanway Rovers FC
The Hawthorns
New Farm Road
Colchester
Essex
CO3 0PG

01206 578187
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 594
Thursday 14th July 2016
Stanway Rovers 3-0 Braintree Town
Friendly

10 FACTS ABOUT STANWAY ROVERS FC

1:  Stanway Rovers were founded on the 10th July 1956, though records suggest there was a club in the same area in the 1900's.

2:  They moved to their current Hawthorns ground in 1979, developing it and opening a clubhouse in November 1982.

3:  The club's early years saw them join the Colchester & East Essex League, rising up the divisions to became Premier Division champions in 1974.

4:  They joined the Essex & Suffolk Border League in 1975, progressing up its divisions to eventually become Premier Division members. A runners-up spot in 1992 behind Harwich & Parkeston was enough to seal promotion into semi-professional football.

5:  Stanway Rovers joined the Eastern Counties League for the 92/93 season, starting in Division 1. They opened with a 2-2 draw at Swaffham Town. They went on to finish 10th that season and after a long run of top half finishes were champions in 2006, finishing with 103 points.

6:  Since then they have been in the Eastern Counties Premier, only finishing in the bottom half twice during that period. They have had their best ever finish in the past 2 seasons, finishing 3rd on both occasions.

7:  The club had its best ever FA Cup run in 2008, going out to Hitchin Town in a 2nd Qualifying Round replay. 

8:  The FA Vase 5th Round has been reached twice. The most recent occasion was in 2014/15 as they lost out to AFC St Austell.

9:  Their record attendance of 210 came against Harwich & Parkeston in a 2004 Eastern Counties League game.

10: Away from football, the local Stanway Secondary School was where 'Blur' band members Damon Albarn & Graham Coxon met, ironically the venue where Stanway Rovers played for a number of years.

MY VISIT

I only decided to go to the Stanway Rovers v Braintree Town game earlier that week. I'd seen Braintree fans Dan & Maurice announce on Sunday that they were attending the game and complaining about the £7 return bus fare. I said that I may make my way over, though it was more on a loose probability than any firm commitment. I made up my mind during a brutal day at work on Monday, deciding that I needed something nice to kick off my 9 days off work that would start on the afternoon prior to the game. The Braintree due had been great company on several Friday nights last season and had helped out with costs, petrol wise. I firmed up the arrangments that evening, also arranging to take Josh, who I'd started talking to a lot recently and who came with them to the Wycombe Wanderers v Stevenage game at Adams Park earlier this year.

I was really glad that it was my last day of work for a while, and again it was a busy one. This time though I didn’t say on to help others once I had competed my tasks and so was out by 12.15. After having lunch and a bath I spent the afternoon doing various bits before leaving at 3.15. Like Tuesday, the plan was to stop at a Wetherspoons en route, in this case the Port Jackson in Bishops Stortford. The journey over there took longer than I would have wanted with me arriving in Bishop's Stortford at 5.05. They were offering free parking for 30 minutes and though the pub was just under 10 minutes away I just managed to sneak it in. Thanks to thirds I managed to get 2 more ciders of my list, though it should have been 3 but I mistakenly had one that I'd had before. It was one of the best Wetherspoons that I've been in with a great selection and really fast service. My burrito took little over 5 minutes and I was back at the car by 5.40.

From there it was up to a small village near Braintree to pick up Josh. Thankfully the roads were nice and clear and I was with him by 6.10. Soon enough I'd picked up my usual travelling companions Dan & Maurice and we were parked up at the ground by 7. I got some pictures of the outside before paying £5 to get in. There was no programme but I wasn't that fussed for a friendly. I  caught up online while I waited for the game to start. It was a Braintree Town XI that took the field and it was disappointing that their new manager Jamie Day couldn't be bothered to attend to look at potential first team players. The goals from the game are below, thanks to Dan filming them.

The visitors lined up in a lovely Argentina style shirt although their start was more messy than Messi. Stanway Rovers piled heavy pressure on at the start and they took the lead on 3 minutes as a good cross was headed in at the far post. It was nearly 2-0 a couple of minutes later after the Braintree number 5 played a calamitous back pass but the chance was chipped wide by the onrushing striker. Braintree tried to get back into it but could only muster a couple of half chances. Back down the other end and Stanway's number 11 forced a cracking save out of the young visiting keeper. Braintree were getting back into it but despite some decent chances it remained 1-0 at the break. Right at the start of the second half a carbon copy of the first goal saw the home side's number 6 head in to make it 2-0. Stanway Rovers continued to dominate and restricted Braintree to chances on the break. They made it 3-0 on 85 minutes as their striker brought the ball down and smashed a delicious half-volley into the bottom left-hand corner and that was that.

Despite the disappointing result from the perspective of my Braintree pals, it had still been a good evening. There had been some good entertaining football in some top notch company, We made our way back towards Braintree before I dropped everyone back at their respective homes. We hope to make this a more regular occurrence and go to more games. I then had to make the 90-minute trip back to Wycombe, but not before I’d stopped for the toilet, just before getting on the A120. I set up my car to listen to the Two Mikes podcasts and they kept me company for the journey home. It was a nice smooth trip with no issues and I was back by 11.40 in a good mood. Sadly I came back to the news that more cowardly murderers had committed a terrorist act in France, based on their twisted interpretation of a story book. Sadly there is no solution to this evil, and the best we can do is seek to minimise the pain and suffering caused to so many innocent people.

THE GROUND

THE HAWTHORNS is a ground that I first visited for pictures on 16th September 2008, prior to an Ipswich Town v Wycombe Wanderers reserve team game. I was pretty impressed by the ground at the time, it looked very well kept and full of colour. There were 2 small seated stands, seating a total of 100 people and a further area of cover behind the goal that would keep a further 300 dry at a push. The overall capacity of the ground is set at 1,500.

On my second visit I found that things had been upgraded a lot. The main stand had been extended and there was further cover behind the other goal. It was still a very well kept ground aside from some nettles on land surrounding the venue. There was even more colour added and the place certainly had a bit of character. In terms of other facilities, I didn't go in the clubhouse but the tea bar looked excellent with good choice at reasonable prices. There was also a decent range of merchandise listed on the website, but not all of it was for sale at what was a low-key game.

Cogenhoe United - Compton Park

Cogenhoe United FC
Compton Park
Brafield Road
Cogenhoe
Northamptonshire
NN7 1ND

01604 890521
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 593
Tuesday 12th July 2016
Cogenhoe United 1-1 Rugby Town
Friendly



10 FACTS ABOUT COGENHOE UNITED

1:  The pronunciation of the town often confuses people, who pronounce it phonetically. However it is actually pronounced 'Cook-No'

2:  Cogenhoe United were formed in 1967 and immediately joined the Central Northants League. They stayed until 1985, winning the championship in 1981, 1983 and 1984.

3:  The club joined the United Counties League in 1985, starting in its second tier.  They were promoted in their second season, finishing in 2nd place behind Baker Perkins.

4:  Since 1987, Cogenhoe United have been in the United Counties League. Impressively they have never been relegated and have only finished in the bottom half of the table twice in that period. Their finest season came in 2004 as they were crowned champions.

5:  The club has competed in the FA Cup in every season since 1994/95. Their most impressive run came in 2005 when they reached the 3rd Qualifying Round. After an impressive 1-1 draw in Staffordshire, they bought the game home and lost 4-3 in an enthralling encounter. Chasetown went on to reach the 3rd Round that year - beating Port Vale before losing to Championship side Cardiff City.

6:  Cogenhoe United have competed in the FA Vase in every season since 1993/94. They have reached the 4th Round on 5 occasions, most recently in 2008/09 as they lost to Bitton.

7:  The club moved to Compton Park in 1985. The first competitive match was on 17th August as they lost to Mirlees Blackstone. Prior to that Ron Atkinson bought his then Manchester United side to officially open the ground

8:  Cogenhoe United have produced several players through their youth team. The most notable was Darren Bazely who went on to have a successful football league career with Watford, Wolves & Walsall.

9:  The record attendance at Compton Park came in 1990 when over 1000 turned up for a charity game against an Eastenders XI.

10: Cogenhoe United's record win came in 1979 as they beat Ravensthorpe 22-0.


MY VISIT

After Anwar informed me he would be busy again , I knew I’d be on my own for this groundhop. Initially I tried to pick something down south, with my choice being the local derby between Three Bridges & Crawley Town. That was the plan for a few days anyway, until I was messaged on Twitter by a referee that I know. He offered me to be his guest for Cogenhoe United v Rugby Town as he was officiating the game. As I had an expensive week coming up, I decided to accept his kind offer as it was around the same mileage and I’d not have to fork out for a ticket.

On the day of the game I awoke after a good night’s sleep at 8am. After having breakfast I completed my most important task of the day - booking a ticket for Hearts v Birkirkara in the Europa League the following week. Then it was on to securing a hotel for the night. As I needed parking, my choices were very limited unless I wanted to spend a load of money. Therefore I had to compromise and book something that had mainly poor reviews on Trip Advisor, though my hope was that the recent improvement in ratings was a result of the hotel addressing issues as the last ‘Terrible’ review came for a stay in December. I was a bit annoyed that after more research I could have got the new phone I ordered for around a tenner cheaper after looking on another site, and rain prevented me from doing my weekly walk down town. However I was in a decent mood on my day off, knowing that only 2 more days of work were to be done before my 9 days off. It had been pretty brutal for around a month now with me having to stay on to complete the work every day.

I still managed to get down town however, going with my Dad in the car. I got some drinks and crisps for later but still managed to get completely soaked in my short time out in the open. I can home and had lunch before spending the afternoon doing some research for tonight’s blog. I left home at 4.30 and thanks to the traffic being kind I was in Leighton Buzzard an hour later. My plan was to park in Tesco and visit the town's Wetherspoons, the Swan Hotel to continue my quest to try every cider in the festival. It went to plan with me reaching the halfway mark thanks to having a pint of Venton's Apple Vice which was one of the better ones I've had. To soak it all up I has Sausage Roll, beans and chips for a very reasonable £3.99. As it was for my other hobby of trying cider, this was not being added to my footy costs for the season, which did my budget no harm at all. I was glad I'd bought my waterproof jacket as it was tipping down and was pleased I also had a spare pair of shoes in my boot. I did however have to buy some socks in Tesco as mine were soaked through and I also picked up some other bits while I was in there.

I left just before 6.30 and made good time again, getting to Cogenhoe at 7.10. The first bit of news came from Wycombe's friendly in France where new signing Adebayo Akinfenwa had been sent off half an hour into his debut for being involved in a tussle. I met my refereeing friend Wayne who got me into the ground as his guest before going off to get ready for the game. I caught up online while waiting for the game to start. The match itself was an entertaining affair with visitors Rugby fielding a strong first half side. They took the lead on 3 minutes thanks to Louis Hamilton's low diagonal shot from the edge of the area. They continued to have the better of the half but made a host of changes at the break. This bought hosts Cogenhoe back into the game and they got their equaliser around the hour after Ryan Ansell turned in a  low cross from close range. They could have won it too but spurned a couple of gilt edged chances.

It had been a good evening and an entertaining game. I said goodbye to Wayne and made my way home. I was happy with Wycombe's 1-1 draw in France against second tier side Le Havre. The shock of the evening came in Gibraltar as Lincoln Red Imps defeated Celtic 1-0 and that will certainly make next week's game very interesting and I'm even more chuffed I managed to sort a ticket now. Apart from part of the A509 being closed and having to follow a diversion it was a good journey home and I was back inside just after 11. I watched TV for a while before going to bed around midnight.

THE GROUND

COMPTON PARK is a smart and tidy venue in the middle of the countryside. I am unsure of nearby amenities as I can in through what appeared to be the 'back route' and didn't see much around, though I do know the village is nearby. There was a well stocked bar when I went, though I didn't see any signs of food or merchandise, but then again it was a low-key friendly. The car park gets full pretty quickly, but clears equally rapidly at the end so you won't have a delayed exit.

The ground itself is very well kept and as you would expect is mainly open. The standard metal type stands are provided, though the seated area is better than most with windshields on the side and a capacity of around 250. There is a smaller standing area which could probably fit in 100 under cover, while the capacity overall is around 2000.  I enjoyed my trip here, everyone was nice and friendly and a saw a decent game played in the right spirit.

Grantham Town FC - South Kesteven Sports Stadium

Grantham Town FC
South Kesteven Sports Stadium
Trent Road
Grantham
Lincolnshire
NG31 7XQ

01476 591818
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 592
Friday 8th July 2016
Grantham Town 1-5 Lincoln City
Lincolnshire Cup Quarter Final



10 FACTS ABOUT GRANTHAM TOWN

1:  Grantham Town were founded in August 1874 with their first match seeing them win a friendly game 2-1 against Third Lincs Volunteer Rifles.

2:  The club moved to the 7,500 capacity South Kesteven Sports Stadium in the early 90's after a spell sharing at Spalding United. Prior to that they played at their old London Road home where they had played since their early years;

3:  The great Martin O'Neill started his managerial career at Grantham Town. After a long period without success, the Irishman moved to the club in 1987. He missed out on promotion by a single point before going on to manage Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and the Republic Of Ireland national team amongst others.

4:  The nickname of 'The Gingerbreads' is said to have come from an error made by a local baker in the 1740's who whilst making Grantham Whetstone biscuits, mixed up the ingredients in error. The resulting creation, the Grantham Gingerbread proved so popular that it continued to sell and became a permanent fixture.

5:  The club's best ever FA Cup runs have resulted in them reaching the 3rd Round on 3 occasions. Twice in the 1800's, and most recently in the 1973-74 season. That game against Middlesbrough saw a credible performance in a 2-0 defeat and their record attendance at their old home of 6,573.

6:  In the FA Trophy Grantham Town have reached the Quarter Final twice. The most recent occasion drew the South Kesteven Sports Stadium's record attendance of 3,695 for the visit of Southport in 1998. The Gingerbreads drew 1-1 before going out in a replay on Merseyside.

7:  Grantham's best ever league finish came in 1974 when they finished as runners-up to Dartford in the Southern Premier. This was prior to the establishment of the Conference, and therefore was the joint highest league in non-league football.

8:  The club's record appearance holder is Adrian Speed who made 667 appearances between 1989 and 2006. Record goalscorer is Jack McCartney who netted 416 times between 1937 and 1955.

9:  Grantham's record win of 13-0 came against Rufford Colliery in the 1934-35 season, while they will want to forget the 16-0 defeat to Notts County in the 1892-93 season.

10: The most famous person to come from Grantham was the divisive and controversial Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher who was born in the town in 1925 and ran the UK from 1979 until 1990.


MY VISIT

Last season I attended a number of Friday night games and thoroughly enjoyed them as a way to wind down after a long and tiring week at work. I was keen to do the sane again this season and was very pleased when the Lincolnshire Senior Cup Quarter Final between Grantham Town and Lincoln City was scheduled for a Friday night in early July. It would be an interesting clash - not only was it a competitive game in a sea of Friendlies but it was the new Lincoln City management duo’s first game. Danny Cowley and his brother Nicky had moved to the Imps in May following a great season with Braintree Town in which the minnows finished 3rd in the Conference. Hopes were high amongst the Lincoln support of them finding the magic touch to propel them back into the football league following their relegation in 2011. Previous attempts had been way off the mark with last season’s 13th placed finish under David Moyses being their best so far.

On the day of the game, work was a real grind as per usual, with absences meant that I had a load of extra work put my way and didn’t get out until over an hour after my shift was due to finish. I went home and checked out the FA Cup draws that had been released that lunchtime with an endless list of possible games for me to visit on August 6th. I’ll decide nearer the time though, once I know what games have been moved to Friday and Sunday. After I’d had a bath I made a start on my blog, but as time was tight I couldn’t get as much done as I wanted. I left home at 3.35, meeting Anwar in Aylesbury and before long we were on our way.

As expected in the Friday night traffic it was a frustrating journey over and there was an hour delay added to our journey as we crawled through various spots, mainly the A1. At one point it looked as if we would miss our pre-match meal but once the traffic cleared I started to make up time and we were in Grantham by 6.40. Previously the Tollemache Inn had been my favourite Wetherspoons in the chain, owing to it’s excellent drinks selection. But this time it was a bit of a let-down with them having none of the 23 ciders that I had remaining to tick in the festival on sale - instead having 6 of the 7 that I’d already had. Instead I had a retry of one of the weaker ones - Tempted Sweet Irish Craft and a Chicken Balti Curry which came in at under £7.50 for both. From there we left for the ground, getting there at 7.15 after a 10 minute drive.

We paid a tenner each to get in, which was just about reasonable enough. There were no programmes though, so I went up to the clubhouse and found a team sheet. It was a bit mangled and badly printed, but at least it was something and it was the only one available. I also got myself some curry sauce and chips for £2 as I was still peckish. After taking some pictures of the ground I went and stood on the terrace on the far side to watch the game. Lincoln were impressive and it was a great start for Danny Cowley’s management of the Imps as you can see from the Non League Paper’s match report below.

After the game we made our way home. Before leaving we stopped in Grantham as I wanted to pop into a cider bar to see if I could get some to take home. There was one called Weston’s Rocket Fuel that I’d not tried, but sadly they were not licensed to do take out and at 8.4% there was no way I was having it and then driving home. The journey home was decent, with just a small diversion off the A1 at Sawtry. Usually the diversions are a poor route, badly signposted and a right pain to use. For once though, it was well signed and only added 5 minutes onto the journey. I dropped Anwar off at 11.40, getting home myself at midnight.

THE GROUND

THE SOUTH KESTEVEN SPORTS STADIUM is one of the biggest grounds in the Southern League with a capacity of 7,500. Located just over a mile from the town centre the bar and food facilities at the ground are good, with a decent choice and regular special offers in the bar. There is also a small table selling club souvenirs and an outside food van. Other than that there is a chip shop on the way to the town should you not have so much time. Parking at the ground is plentiful and free.

As for the stadium itself, I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I should, due to the running track around the ground. It’s a fair distance to the pitch thanks to additional space between the stands and the track, but thanks to the steep pitch of the stands the view from them is not bad. There is seated accommodation for 750, with most of it under cover and elevated, so views are good. On the other side there is a covered terrace for around 1500. The rest of the ground is made up of a few large banks of uncovered terracing and a few steps around the rest of the ground, though the view from behind the goals is a bit distant.