Leverstock

LEVERSTOCK GREEN 5-4 ENFIELD 1893

Saturday 2nd October

FA Vase 1st Round

Pancake Lane

With a multitude ties in the FA Vase that appealed to us (Gary and myself), the difficult decision was choosing where to go!!! In the end we agree up Leverstock Green FC of the Spartan South Midlands League for their tie against Essex Senior League side Enfield 1893. The only reason I suggested this game was the fact that I liked the name of their ground of Pancake Lane. No other reason at all.

Leverstock Green is basically a suburb of Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire and is located on the eastern edge of the town. The following information is taken from the Wikipedia page:

"Leverstock Green contains a village school (Leverstock Green Church of England Primary School), village cricket club, village football club (Leverstock Green FC), village hall, village shops, village pubs and Holy Trinity church. Despite its recent amalgamation with Hemel Hempstead, the old names remain in memory of historical times.

Leverstock Green is a "modern" parish, formed about 1849 from parts of the parishes of St Michael's (St Albans), Abbots Langley and Hemel Hempstead.

There is documentary and archaeological evidence that people lived and worked in the immediate area of Leverstock Green from the time of the Roman occupation onwards. Recent research indicates that settlement along Westwick Row may well date back even further to the Iron Age and perhaps the Bronze Age. It seems quite likely that this settlement was a "suburb" of the major Iron Age settlement at Pre Wood just outside St. Albans.

Leverstock Green was and is still affected by the 2005 Buncefield oil depot explosion (the largest explosion in peacetime Europe), causing damage to houses and other buildings, such as broken windows, fallen chimneys and in some cases more serious structural damage, temporarily displacing a number of families.

The village is a growing village, with a location close to an industrial estate from which many large companies operate. Easy access to the M1 and M25 motorways, Watford and St Albans make the village popular for commuters.

The village introduced a village patrol scheme in late August 2008 successfully reducing a rise in litter and graffiti in the area."

It took around 1 hour 20 minutes to make the drive south primarily down the M1 from Leicester. To get to the ground itself exit at Junction 8 of the M1 and take the A414 towards Hemel, at the second island turn left onto the A4147 (signposted Leverstock Green). Pancake Lane is the fifth turning on the left with the ground being on the left hand side after Lombardy Close. Admission to the ground was £5 with a further £1 for a primarily stats based programme. As you enter the ground the main stand is on the far side to the right, with clubhouse, toilets, catering facilities and changing rooms all along the near side with an overhang providing further cover.  

The football club itself was formed around 1895 and competed in the West Herts League and Herts County League before joining the South Midlands League in 1991. In the 1996/97 season they won the Senior Division title. In the summer the South Midlands League amalgamated with the Spartan League and they became founder members of the Spartan South Midlands League (SSM). Green have remained in this competition to this day and last season they finished in 10th place in the premier division. 

A more detailed history on the club can be found on the club's website by clicking here. 

The game...we it is difficult to decide where to start as it is one of the best games I have seen in a very long time. A brilliant cup tie that was a credit to both teams and a game that both sides deserved to win. For the home side though they could not have had a worse start as they conceded a penalty after only fifteen (yes 15) seconds. Sherwin Stanley stepped up and sent the Leverstock keeper Carl Tasker the wrong way to make it 0-1. Six minutes later and the home side drew level when captain Lee Bircham headed home a free kick. This is when things started to get a bit daft as just three minutes later Enfield re-took the lead through Paul Oshin who headed home a cross. A minute later and they nearly made it 1-3 as Neal Hughes had is shot cleared off the line. They did though make it 1-3 on seventeen minutes with Hughes scoring from close range. The home side did not let their heads drop and pulled one back just two minutes afterwards when Adam Hallisey smashed the ball home from a corner. Leverstock nearly equalised a minute later when John Hickman pulled off a cracking save from a header by Charlie Gorman. Adam Hallisey was fouled after picking up the rebound and the referee awarded another penalty. Bircham stepped up and, despite Hickman getting a hand to the ball could not prevent Leverstock Green drawing level on 21 minutes. The game then settled down for the remainder of the half with no further scoring, but both sides continued to play an attacking brand of football. The second half startedEnfield took the lead for a third time on 59 minutes when Oshin got his second of the game by scrambling home a free kick. They nearly restored their two goal cushion a couple of minutes later as Hughes' powerful drive was well saved by Tasker. The game then got a bit niggly with a string of silly fouls and the referee handing out a few yellow cards. Into the last ten minutes and Leverstock drew level for a third time when Steve Hatch headed home a corner. Just as extra-time was looming Leverstock scored with what turned out to be the winner with a minute remaining in the ninety, with Adam Hallisey the hero as he headed home a corner. After a nervous few minutes of stoppage time the referee blew his whistle to end a superb cup tie.

Not much more to add but a second consecutive game that we had seen nine goals following on from Shifnal Town's 7-2 victory @ Stafford Town on Tuesday evening, a first for both of us I'm sure. An enjoyable visit to a friendly club and good luck to both sides for the rest of the season.

Admission: £5

Programme: £1

Badge: £3

Coffee & Tea: 50p

Attendance: 98 (head count)

Match rating: 5*

Further photos of the game can be found here: LGFC

A game on a Saturday...You must be joking!!!

Buckingham Athletic 0-1 Sport London e Benfica
Spartan South Midlands League Division 1Saturday 16th August 2008
Stratford Fields

This was my first Saturday game since April 5th, the day before I started working nights at a well known supermarket. I made a conscious effort to get up early so I could get to a game and rose at 1pm. This comparing to the previous Saturday when I didn’t get out of bed till 5pm! A quick look at some fixtures and I decided on Buckingham Athletic in the Spartan South Midlands League Division 1. This is not a league that I have frequented very often in the past yet here I am about to attend my second game in a row in this division. As the previous post states I attended the New Bradwell – Ampthill game on the Tuesday and thoroughly enjoyed the game. Buckingham are one of two teams in the town, the other - `Town ply their trade in the United Counties League Division 1 which is the same level in the non-league pyramid as ‘Athletic’. I visited `Town last October in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw against Huntingdon. `Athletic play on the Stratford Road (A422) that goes south east towards Milton Keynes. The drive down was easy and uneventful with the sat-nav taking us down the M1 to junction 15, then onto the A508 towards Stony Stratford and then finally onto the A422 which led us into Buckingham. The time / distance given on Google maps UK is 1 hour 8 minutes / 54 miles. The ground is slightly hidden by large conifer trees on the left hand side before you reach the town centre. Despite being my second visit to watch football I have yet to have a look round the town centre so I cannot tell you much about the place. Below is a few links on the town and district itself:

Buckingham University - www.buckingham.ac.uk

Visit Buckinghamshire - www.visitbuckinghamshire.org

Buckingham Rugby Club - www.buckinghamrugby.co.uk

The ground has an open feel about it, despite being on the edge of town, with a stand on the Stratford Road side of the ground. Luckily the rain that was forecast never materialised in this part of the country so we didn't need the raincoat and / or umbrella! The only goal of the game came on the 2nd minute when the visitors were awarded a free kick on their left hand side and from the resulting kick the ball was headed home by Albert de Matos. The homesters didn't let their heads drop and felt they should have been awarded a penalty a few minutes later, the referee though waved away their claims. Personally I thought it should have been awarded having an excellent view of the incident. A lucky escape for Benfica came on the 13th minute when the keeper gave away possession when just outside the penalty area, only for a first time shot to come back off the post. Six minutes later it was role reversal when Buckingham had their own escape as the visiting no. 10 hit the keeper's left hand post with an angled shot after being put through. The remainder of the half was competitive with the visitors being given very little room and time to play their short passing game I saw at Bedford last year. A credit must go to Buckingham as they had obviously done their homework. The second half was again competitve with both sides evenly matched. Chances were created at either end with both keepers making saves, the visitors through probably created the more clear cut ones and should have made the game safe on 71 minutes when the previously mentioned no. 10 missed a sitter from what seemed no more than eight yards.

Overall an enjoyable couple of hours, though the game deserved more goals. Still no 0-0 since Easter Monday 2006 so can't complain.

Attendance: 29 (football mitoo)

club websites:

Buckingham Athletic: www.buckinghamathletic.co.uk

Sport London e Benfica: http://www.sportlondonebenficafc.co.uk/

Withdrawal symptoms over...

New Bradwell St. Peter 3-1 Ampthill Town

Spartan South Midlands League Division 1

Bradwell Recreation Ground

Tuesday 12th August 2008

My first game of the season saw me and my dad end up in Milton Keynes, and more specifically New Bradwell St Peter Football Club. This is one club that I has been on my hit list as it were for a few years, especially as Milton Keynes is within easy reach of Leicester. I have only previously visited five clubs in the Spartan South Midlands League, three of the clubs currently ply their trade in the same division as New Bradwell and two clubs in the MK area - Newport Pagnell and Stony Stratford. The day started out with a trip to the Northamptonshire Records Office on the edge of Northampton to do some family research with the intention of trying to take the "Campion" name beyond the mid / late 1700's by looking at old parish records. Having spent around 2 and a half hours in the records office we did not manage to take the name further back but found out that the surname changed from "Camping" to "Campion" in the late 18th century. After leaving the records office the plan was to grab some lunch and then look at some of the villages and towns in Northamptonshire where our relatives came from. First up was Rushden, and more specifically Duck Street. Duck Street in 2008 is pretty non-descript, an average street on the edge of Rushden town centre. From there is was to Finedon and more specifically the church where a Campion was married in 1814. The final stop of the day was the village of Stanwick near Raunds. A lot of Campions / Campings in the late 18th century were christened here but strangely the father, an Edward Camping was neither born or buried in the village. Brick wall time!

After leaving Stanwick we decided to head to Milton Keynes itself and made the relatively short journey down the A509 and pulled into Willen Lake for a drink before heading to New Bradwell. Note - there are two Bradwell Roads. The one with the football ground on is in the postcode district of MK13. A phone call was made to the club to confirm location and we arrived with around 15 minutes before kick-off. No admission was taken, programmes had to be collected from a club official's house and I managed to get hold of one during the first half for £1. The club also had badges for sale from their centenary year six years ago which were sold for a bargain £1 each.


Despite arriving at the ground before kick-off we managed to miss the first ten minutes (and first goal for the home side) due to us talking in the bar and losing track of time. Shit happens I suppose!!! A couple of minutes after arriving at pitch side the home side were awarded a free-kick. Lee White stepped up and scored direct from the kick from fully 35 yards to make it 2-0 against a side that won 4-1 at the weekend. I'm not sure if it was intentional but the keeper was expecting a cross and was caught out position wise, added to the fact that the ball seemed to catch the wind. The home side continued to play the better football during the first half and should have been further ahead at the interval. The visitors came out with more intent and purpose in the second half (probably after a rollocking from their manager), but did not cause the home side too many problems. Both sides continued to create chances until Ampthill got a goal back on 77 minutes through Needleman. A free kick was spilled by the home keeper and the afore mentioned player reacted first to stab the ball home from a few yards out. The old saying in football that you are at your most vulnerable after you've just scored couldn't have rang truer, as just a minute later the home side restored their two goal cushion when the ball was diverted into his home net by a visiting defender from a right wing cross. No further scoring ensued and the home side were deserved winners. An enjoyable game hosted by a nice friendly club.

Trying to recall what happened without taking notes is difficult, even after less than 24 hours after the game ended. Hopefully the next time I attend a game I will remember to take my note book!

Distance / time (according to Google maps UK): 52.1 miles / 1 hour 7 minutes

Websites:

www.newbradwellstpeter.co.uk
www.ampthilltownfc.co.uk