Truro City vs QPR XI (23/07/11)

Match 122

Ground #: 89

Ground: Treyew Road 

Competition: Pre-Season Friendly 

Kick Off: 3pm

Cost: £10

Programme: £2 

Attendance: 1,056

Truro City 2

Afful 4’, Palmer 69’ 

QPR XI 4

Clarke (pen) 7’, 54’, Rowlands 9’, 72’

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The summer. Everybody’s favourite time of year? Well there is good weather (apparently), holidays (apparently) and just general all round good fun. It is missing something though. And that is football, and proper football. (I await hordes of feminists saying that the Women’s World Cup was proper football). Luckily though this break lasts only for a couple of months and by July we’re back with the matches and I am back with the travelling to the obscure. Before I leave for London, there was one big ground (football wise at least) that I had not yet visited in this area and really wanted to do so before that big move. When I saw then that Cornwall’s finest Truro City were playing a home friendly on a Saturday I had off, it was time to start my 2011/12 season.

Truro is the most southerly city in the UK and the only city in Cornwall. Truro grew as a port town and then as a major tin mining town for the mining industry which allowed it to prosper in the Victorian era and lead to Truro becoming a place for the rich and famous of it’s time. The nickname “the London of Cornwall” was also attributed to it because of the money around the place. It is also famous for its large cathedral which dominates the city skyline as well as its cobbled streets and Georgian architecture. It really is a lovely place to visit and would recommend a visit down there despite being deep deep down in the SW! 

Another reason people are starting to flock to the city is because of a sporting beast that is starting to get some momentum and could really start making some strides in the footballing aspect of England. In 2005/06, Truro City started in the old South Western League (Level 11) which they were then promoted at the end of the season to the Western League D1. They won that in 2007, 2008 they won the Western Premier, 2009 saw them win the Southern League D1 S&W and last season in 2011 they won the Southern Premier to cap an amazing 5 promotions in 6 season to begin life for the 2011/12 season in the Blue Square South (Level 6) – the highest a team from Cornwall has ever got. Backed by the property millionaire Kevin Heaney, money has been pumped into the club but management has still done a fantastic job in getting Truro this high. Life in Blue Square South is really a journey into the unknown as journeys to new clubs await and with bookies offering 14/1 on Truro winning the league – they may well be up there. This was a game I was looking forward to as seeing what chance they might have for this upcoming season. 

With all those rapid promotions, ground grading is important and so Treyew Road currently is on the temporary stand heavy side currently, although as they consolidate in the higher places of non-league, the ground should take a better shape. On the dugout side is two temporary stands that are uncovered and provide a great view of the pitch which is where I sat for the first half. Across the other side is a small covered standing area which is probably back from their South Western League days when attendances would most likely be under 100. Next to this is a identikit seated stand which was probably put in for their Western League days. Behind one goal is another large temporary stand, although this time covered and at the clubhouse end is just hard standing. It’s a decent ground at this time, but if Heaney puts more money in then it could be a cracker. However, when I was coming into the ground, a petition was going around asking for people to sign for the proposed “Stadium for Cornwall” which Truro City would share with the rugby union side Cornish Pirates. (Info about the proposed ground can be found here) The plans are at an early stage however, so Treyew Road isn’t in danger yet.

The visitors for today’s game was Premiership new boys QPR who were down in Cornwall playing various non-league sides for pre-season training. Their first XI had actually played the night before this game at Bodmin Town winning 7-0 so QPR for this one had brought a mixture of reserves, no hopers and youth team players. (I would have thought Truro would have provided a better challenge to QPR than Bodmin but never mind). I was interested in hearing the starting line up for QPR and was surprised to hear such names as Martin Rowlands, Lee Cook, Leon Clarke and Angelo Balanta all starting, whilst it wasn’t the QPR side that would line up against Bolton on the opening day, it was still a decent side that had made the trip here. That being said, Truro took the lead on 4 minutes. When some excellent play down the left from Barry Hayles (remember him!?) found a cross which went all the way to the back post, Les Afful slotted the ball home, only just though as goalie Alvin Putnins could not keep the ball out as the it crossed the line and the goal was given. How long could the non-leaguers last? Not very long. When a ball was punted into the box, Martin Rowlands took one touch and turn before being hacked down and a penalty was given. Leon Clarke stepped up and hammered the ball as hard as he could down the middle to make it 1-1. Only 3 minutes later and QPR had turned the game right around. Truro lost the ball in midfield and a brilliant through ball from Lee Cook put Martin Rowlands in and he smashed the ball past Tim Sandercombe into the bottom corner. The rest of the half was great entertainment as both sides just went for it in an absorbing 45 minutes. Both goalies made some excellent saves to keep the score at 1-2 and referee Kevin Friend even played his part by keeping a fairly low profile.

The 2nd half was a lot better than I expected too with the tempo still high and both teams playing some good attacking football. Truro started brightly in trying to get back into the game, but some final loose balls were hindering their goal scoring chances. Then on 54 minutes, QPR broke from a corner and Leon Clarke scampered away before smashing past Sandercombe at his near post to make it 1-3. While I thought this was probably game over, credit to Truro who kept going, although it was clear by now that QPR were the fitter team and had that extra yard on the home side. QPR though were getting scrappy in the midfield area and when Marcus Martin was brought down on the edge of the area Truro had a great chance. The free kick was whipped in Walker and after some pinball in the box, the ball fell to Ed Palmer who smashed home at the back post. Palmer had only signed the day before as he is on loan from Torquay United for 6 months. Palmer though went from hero to villain as he brought down Lee Cook on the edge of the area and up stepped Rowlands (see pic below) who curled a delightful free kick over the wall and in off the post giving Sandercombe no chance. Antonio German came on late on who I was looking forward to seeing. (A lad that is tipped to go far) And he made a few darting runs in the dying embers of the game. QPR nearly added a 5th right at the death when Clarke managed to pounce on a rebound from a corner but just fired wide. It was 2-4 at FT, a very enjoyable game in the sun.

For an opening game of the season for me, this was a cracking match played in the right way and with a great tempo. While paying £10 for a friendly is very steep, I had even forgotten about this price while watching the game between two great teams. For QPR, its tough to say how they will do this season in the top flight, with the team they put out for this game as very few of them will probably be gracing a Premiership ground near you this time out. As for Truro, their boss Lee Hodges admitted that conceding 12 goals in pre-season already (and they are still to play Plymouth and Torquay) is a concern. Good luck to them in the Blue Square South this season, when they come to a London based ground, I will definitely try and see them and see how Cornwall’s finest are getting on. 2011/12, NOW WE’VE STARTED!

Photos from Truro City vs QPR XI

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 7.5/10 (excellent entertainment)

- Value for money: 3/10 (£10 for a friendly? Really?)

- Ground: 6/10 (I liked it, some good views in there)

- Atmosphere: 3/10 (not great for 1000+ people but it was a friendly)

- Food: 6/10 (again pricey (£2.50 for a bacon roll) but can’t argue with the taste)

- Programme: 6/10 (looks professional and add in some more content and we’re there)

- Referee: Kevin Friend – 6/10 (was on his holidays down here and stepped in to do it, hero)

A brief interlude…

I was meant to start my season 3 days ago (Saturday 16th) and e-mailed 4 clubs asking about details for their friendlies on that day. In the end, I did an extra shift at work as I received not one reply from any of the four. I did not want to drive to places to find the game had been moved or cancelled and I do appreciate that these are friendlies. The benefit of these games are for the players rather than the spectators. But it is poor form for clubs to just ignore e-mails totally.

If I find out that the person I e-mailed was unavailable when I mailed them (I did give 2 weeks) or that e-mail address is no longer used (in that case then the club needs to update it’s contact details) then I will issue an apology straight away. However I doubt this will be the case.

The clubs above (Bideford, Topsham Town, Liverton United and Budleigh Salterton) were the clubs who just couldn’t be arsed and so it seems unlikely I’ll be visiting them anytime soon.

That being said this coming Saturday is another Saturday and I will be off to a game with it being 95% certain being Truro City vs QPR. A ground I have wanted to get to for some time so it should be a good one!

(The grand Truro Cathedral – with its team on the up)

It’s London Baby! (2011/12 preview)

Around this time last year I wrote my 2010/11 preview post for what I expected my season to be. It was hard to write anything substantial as I really didn’t know what I’d be doing with my life after graduating from uni. Fast forward to now and again this season preview will be hard to write but for completely different reasons! With a job in the big city and spare time really at a premium, here’s what you regular readers (it’s probably just me, to be honest) can expect from The Travelling Fan for 2011/12.

1) London Town, London prices

As I’ll actually be living right in London, I will have to pay a shit load out in rent, bills and the like. Therefore, I really don’t know how many games I will be at this season, although the target is to match last season’s haul of 39. What will also stop me occasionally is my study towards an accounting qualification which means so weekends spent in the classroom learning about stuff like FRS 4 and how that affects shareholders’ funds. (It’s a good read actually FRS 4, check it out)

2) New Leagues!

There WILL be football though, so don’t worry regulars, reports from some places you have never heard of and never visit will be coming. There is also some new leagues that I will be getting into as the highlights of the South East are now within touching distance. 2010/11 saw lots of SWPL and Western League grounds and this season will see some Hellenic League, Wessex League, Combined Counties and the famous Essex Senior and Olympian Leagues.

               (Essex Ladz! Coming to Travelling Fan for 2011/12)

3) New Sports! (Honestly this time)

When I wrote my season review in June last year I mentioned that I would be taking in new sports to write some more reports about and in the end, I only got to one, in July. This season, I do intend to get to some new places and take in sports that I know little about and see how it goes! Along with the normal Rugby League, I’m aiming for; Basketball, Ice Hockey, Horse and Dog racing and hopefully some others that might just turn up along the way!

4) Danger! Danger! Grounds in trouble!

Over the years, some absolutely classic grounds have sadly left us as teams have moved onto more modern grounds while others have been very lucky to move away from some utter shitholes to better things. That being said, I have missed some classic grounds since I started writing this blog (e.g, Chesterfield’s Saltergate and Hayes & Yeading’s Church Road) mainly due to the fact I didn’t have the money or the time to have a trip to these grounds. Now I do though (in theory) so this will not happen anymore! And the following grounds are high on my visit list this season due to their short expected life span:

- Worcester City (St George’s Lane) – Ground is an absolute classic and in danger as Worcester have problems between them and property developers St Modwen who they have sold the ground to.

(Main Stand @ St George’s Lane)

- Kentish Town (Copthall Stadium) – Ground may not disappear but with Rugby Union side Saracens looking to move in and upgrade the athletics ground, KT may be kicked out. They do have some land they and a local youth team can build on, but with no money, will this ever happen?

(Barnet Copthall Stadium)

- Livingston (Almondvale Stadium) – Late last season some news from way left field came out that Livi were set to sell their Almondvale Stadium (only 16 years old) to a supermarket to finance a new ground a mile away. This means it could be a scamper up to Edinburgh to take in a Scottish 1st Division match or, hopefully, vs Hearts in the Scottish Cup.

(Home of Livi, but how much longer?)

- Harwich and Parkeston (Royal Oak) – I hear y’all now, “WHO!?” H&P are a club currently struggling in Essex and Suffolk Border League and play at their classic Royal Oak ground. However, a club who reached the FA Amateur Cup Final in 1953 but lost to Pegasus AFC in front of a crowd of 100,000 are not looking in good shape and a visit to their run down ground is also high on my list.

(Royal Oak’s classic Main Stand)

5) There’s still some Devon games!

My season officially kicks off on 16th July, although I don’t know where yet! I do know however that it will be in Devon as July & August will see me visit some of my last Devonian grounds for some time and bid good-bye to a region that I have found some absolute gems in.

6) Current List of games (subject to a LOT of change and awaiting fixture lists!)

16th July – PSF (either Liverton Utd, Budleigh Salterton, Topsham Town or Bideford)

26th July – Ottery St Mary vs Exeter City XI

30th July – Wadebridge Town vs Hallen (unlikely if I go to Otters on 26th)

6th Aug – Heavitree Social United vs Budleigh Salterton

9th Aug – Exeter City vs Yeovil Town (Carling Cup R1)

20th Aug – Sidmouth Town vs Exeter Civil Service

27th Aug – Galmpton United vs Ottery St Mary

10th Sep – FA VASE QUALIFYING ROUND 1

17th Sep – Dag & Red vs Morecambe

5th Nov – 4 Nations Rugby League @ Wembley

28th Jan – Crawley Town vs Morecambe

11th/18th Feb – Livingston vs Partick Thistle/Raith Rovers

17th Mar – Barnet vs Morecambe

24th Mar – Millwall vs Leeds United

21st Apr – Gillingham vs Swindon Town

7) And Finally…

Hope everyone out there enjoys the football this season! And if you do read my blog or follow on Twitter, leave some comments! I read them all and take them into consideration! Lets get going!

“What do you mean Heavitree Social United don’t do programmes!?”

Season 2010/11 – Teams Witnessed

It’s my annual “where are they now?!” fest with a look at all 66 different teams I witnessed playing this fine season. Some had crackers, some had stinkers. Here’s a look:

Abbotskerswell (Final Position: South Devon League Premier – 5th) –> A decent enough end, finishing in 5th but still miles away from the top sides in South Devon, i.e Champs, Upton Athletic.

Accrington Stanley (League 2 – 5th) –> Produced some stunning end of season form to finish in a play-off place before that dream was extinguished by Stevenage in the semi-finals with a 3-0 agg win.

Alphington (SWPL Div 1 East – 7th) –> Technically were the 2nd best team in Exeter this season with a seventh place finish. Decent too for a team with small crowds.

Appledore (SWPL Div 1 East – 6th) –> Would have wanted to do so much better. Not even a sniff of a title challenge and an early exit from the Devon Premier Cup they won last season. Must do better for 2011/12.

Axminster Town (SWPL Div 1 East – 16th) –> Finished bottom and 6 points away from 15th place Crediton. Will need to get better and rapidly so otherwise their new ground will be hosting Devon & Exeter League football instead.

Berwick Rangers (Scottish Div 3 – 6th) –> Same finish as 2009/10 so plodding along nicely. Got to Scottish Cup 4th Round and gave Celtic a good game before going down 2-0.

Bickleigh (SWPL Div 1 East – 10th) –> Yet another improving season for the village side. Reached the semis of the Devon Premier Cup and rose again in the league. Can they keep this up?

Billingham Synthonia (Northern League Div 1 – 12th) –> An average season for the Synths. Finished well in mid-table in the Northern League but did finish above town rivals Billingham Town.

Bishop Sutton (Western Premier – 5th) –> By finishing 16 pts behind Champs Larkhall Athletic, it shows there is much work to do, despite a good fifth place finish.

Blackpool (Premier League – 19th) –> So close and yet so far for Ian Holloway’s side. Still with a chance of survival on the final day, their 4-2 defeat to Man Utd saw them relegated back to the Championship. Still, they made a lot of friends with their gun ho type football and did the double over History FC, so that alone gets a massive thumbs up.

Blyth Spartans (Blue Square North – 9th) –> Normally a team tipped for a struggle, a great ninth place finish and a quarter-final appearance in the FA Trophy too. (Where they lost out to Gateshead). With new boss Steve Cuggy now in, a “revolution” is on for next season.

BOCA Seniors (North Devon Premier – 1st) –> Another successful season for the BOCA boys. Won the league with a 23 point margain to 2nd place Braunton and won the Brayford Cup with a 2-1 win over Bradworthy.

Bodmin Town (SWPL Premier – 2nd) –> Finished 8 points behind Champs Buckland but too many draws cost them as well as lack of goals. Bodmin were the only side in the Top 5 to score less than 100 (“only” managed 98 goals). Did win the Cornwall Senior Cup again though.

Bovey Tracey (SWPL Premier – 17th) –> A club on the up? They will still have SWPL Premier football at Mill Marsh Park next season and with floodlights being put in as I type this, FA national competitions will not be far away either.

Buckland Athletic (SWPL Premier – 1st) –> Almost like Bideford’s season in 2009/10 with a league win and a fantastic achievement by winning the Devon FA St Luke’s Bowl with a victory on penalties over Tiverton Town. Unlike Bideford last season though, the Bucks haven’t taken the step up. Lack of ambition?

Budleigh Salterton (SWPL Div 1 East – 2nd) –> Everyone’s least favourite club missed out on trophies twice by losing the league and Devon Premier Cup final to Liverton United both times. At least they have the chance of playing in a higher division next season, oh wait.

Bury (League 2 – 2nd) –> Managed to overcome the defection of Alan Knill to Scunthorpe midseason to secure promotion to League 1. Where they will play Alan Knill’s Scunthorpe.

Café Roma (Plymouth & West Devon Combination Div 2 – 7th) –> Mid-table in league and went out of the Devon Senior Cup in the 4th Round with an 8-3 defeat to Hookhills Utd. 

Callington Town (SWPL Div 1 West – 3rd) –> Would have secured 2nd place in the league but lost two goals in injury time in their last game to lose that place to Godolphin Atlantic. They did win the Cornwall Charity Cup to still make it a decent season.

Camelford (SWPL Div 1 West – 1st) –> Ignoring the controversy about THAT abandoned game, they played great football over the course of the season and had the balls to step up to the SWPL Premier. Good luck to them.

Cockfosters (SSML Div 1 – 15th) –> 23 points of relegation. That’s literally all I have.

Crediton United (SWPL Div 1 East – 15th) –> Very poor. Can they stop the slide anytime soon?

Crawley Town (Blue Square Premier – 1st) –> The FL has the scumbags.

Cullompton Rangers (SWPL Premier – 16th) –> I’m amazed they actually came where they did as they were one of the worst teams I saw this season. Surely will drop next season?

Dawlish Town (Western Premier – 6th) –> Decent final position for Dawlish capping off a good season. Strange that rumours have been coming out about them dropping back to SWPL though?

Dorchester Town (Blue Square South – 17th) –> Disappointing for the Dorset club as they were troubled by relegation all season. They crashed out in the FA Trophy 2nd Round to Eastbourne Borough after a replay.

Edinburgh City (East of Scotland Premier – 6th) –> 13 draws cost them a shot much higher in the league. With only 3 defeats all season, City have missed out on a much better finish here.

Elmore (Western League Division 1 – 19th) –> Rock bottom and a massive 12 points away from 18th. Their Western League days look outnumbered.

Exeter City (League 1 – 8th) –> An excellent season for the Devon club. Finished only 1 point off the play-offs and reached the JPT Southern Final before a defeat to Brentford stopped their trip to Wembley.

Exeter Civil Service (SWPL Div 1 East – 12th) –> Considering they won this division a couple of seasons ago, 12th place is extremely disappointing for a club seemingly stuck in this league.

Exeter University (SWPL Div 1 East – 8th) –> Bang in midtable shows that the uni side are getting to grips now with Saturday football. Their BUCS team came 3rd in Men’s 1A League.

Exmouth Town (SWPL Div 1 East – 11th) –> Will definitely need to improve next season. Especially as they are starting to live in the shadows of near neighbours Budleigh Salterton.

Falmouth Town (SWPL Premier – 5th) –> Just pipped by Torpoint for a Top 4 place but still a decent season for the Cornish side.

Foxhole Stars (SWPL Div 1 West – 13th) –> Not much comment to add here. Lower end of midtable.

Hamworthy United (Wessex Premier – 9th) –> Reasonable enough from the Hammers. With Poole now leaving this league, 2011/12 Wessex Premier should be an open one.

Harpenden Town (SSML Div 1 – 7th) –> A poor start cost them as they finished 20 points down on Top 3.

Hartland (North Devon Senior – 16th) –> Relegated again as Hartland rocket down the leagues. Only a –131 goal difference this time out and will probably be at the wrong end of Intermediate 1 next season.

Hengrove Athletic (Western League Division 1 – 10th) –> Promised much, delivered little.

Heriot-Watt University (East of Scotland Premier – 12th) –> Relegated down to EOS Division 1 on the final day of the season where they will now face some footballing giants such as Peebles and Coldstream.

Hungerford Town (Southern League Div 1 S&W – 7th) –> Finished just 4 points off a play-off place to mark a good improvement from recent relegation battles. Lost in FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round after a replay defeat to Cinderford Town.

Ipplepen Athletic (South Devon League Premier – 9th) –> Achieved their aim of staying up. SWPL football looks a long way away currently though.

Liverton United (SWPL Div 1 East – 1st) –> A league and cup double. Can they repeat it next season? And, will they go for promotion if they do?

Macclesfield Town (League 2 – 15th) –> Got over the tragic death of Richard Butcher to finish in a decent position.

Morecambe (League 2 – 20th) –> The promotion hopefuls never got going at all and only finished 4 points clear from drop. Sammy Mac was rightfully sacked and new rookie boss Jim Bentley comes in for 2011/12 with the task of keeping them up.

Mousehole (SWPL Div 1 West – 14th) –> The tiny club from deep Cornwall are amongst the strugglers again. Can they improve?

Notts County (League 1 – 19th) –> Paul Ince couldn’t halt the slide and so was sacked with Martin Allen just saving the club from the drop on the final day. Finished just 3 points clear in the end.

Okehampton Argyle (SWPL Div 1 West – 15th) –> Poor season finishing 2nd bottom and two points off bottom club Hayle. Have been granted their wish though and will move sideways to start 2011/12 in Division 1 East.

Ottery St Mary (SWPL Div 1 East – 13th) –> Western League days look eternities ago as the Otters are really struggling currently. Hopefully will bounce back for their Centenary year this season.

Portishead Town (Western League Division 1 – 18th) –> Poor. Luckily have Elmore as whipping boys to stop them falling even lower.

Radcliffe Borough (Evo-Stik Div 1 North – 18th) –> Finished a comfortable 22 points off relegation and the financial fears they had seemed to have vanished for now.

Royal Marines AFC (SWPL Premier – 15th) –> The Navy boys started life in the SWPL Premier with an ok finish. Obviously progress depends on Navy tours and campaigns as well as football.

Sherborne Town (Western Premier – 14th) –> Ok season for a team in transition and reached broke new ground in the FA Cup by reaching the 2nd Qualifying Round.

St Blazey (SWPL Premier – 8th) –> A troublesome season finished off with a disappointing defeat in a classic cup final. They went down 6-4 A.E.T to Plymouth Parkway in the Throgmorton Cup final that would have saved their season.

Sunderland (Premier League – 10th) –> Flirted with relegation after poor 2011 form but managed to pull clear in the end and even finish above hated rivals Newcastle.

Taunton Town (Southern League Div 1 S&W – 9th) –> 9 points off play-off, although they did finish above the rest of their SW rivals. Will relish playing Tiverton Town next season.

Teignmouth AFC (SWPL Div 1 East – 4th) –> Could have finished in the top 2 but completely lost form towards the end of the season and just hung on to their top 4 place.

Tiverton Town (Southern Premier – 20th) –> Last season’s reprieve only delayed the inevitable. 5 points off safety and they never looked like finishing clear of the drop. At least will have some more derbies next season with Taunton, Bideford and Bridgwater.

Torpoint Athletic (SWPL Premier – 4th) –> A fantastic season for the Point. Top 4 in the league and reached the FA Vase QF when they went down to a 2-1 defeat at Poole Town.

Torquay United (League 2 – 7th) –> Lost in the play-off final to Stevenage as the Gulls failed to turn up for a big game again. Then boss Paul Buckle joins newly relegated Bristol Rovers and takes goalie Scott Bevan with him. Torquay may well be fighting a different battle under Martin Ling next season…

Torridgeside (North Devon League Premier – 6th) –> Finished ahead of Torrington rivals with a 9 point gap.

Vospers Oak Villa (SWPL Div 1 West – 4th) –> Decent enough from the Plymouth based side and even picked up a small bit of prize money too.

Wadebridge Town (SWPL Premier – 20th) –> Woefully bad as they picked up only 19 points all season and were promptly relegated.

Wellington AFC (Western Premier – 18th) –> Went into the final game of the season with a winner takes all match against Longwell Green Sports where the winner would stay up. They lost. And will be playing Western League Division 1 football next season.

Weston-Super-Mare (Blue Square South – 12th) –> Excellent season for a team that normally finishes in the relegation places only to survive due to another club’s financial meltdown. Needed none of that this time out.

Witheridge AFC (SWPL Premier – 14th) –> Well away from anywhere. Made their FA Vase debut with a 1-0 defeat to Western League side Brislington.

Yeovil Town (League 1 – 14th) –> Relegation favourites managed to stay up again due to some excellent loan signings and a top end of season run.

And that is it! The end of 2010/11, especially with next season’s top league fixtures being released today, I can now start to make plans for 2011/12 and a season really into the unknown. Photos below are some snapshots from professionals of games I was at this season. 2011/12 preview up soon!

Season 2010/11 review

3510 minutes. That is the exact (give or take injury time) amount of football I watched in my biggest ever season for myself, again. 39 games is far beyond what I imagined and expected my final total to be when starting this season way back in July 2010. There have been some absolutely cracking games and grounds I’ve seen in 2010/11 but on the other hand, there have been some utter guff I’ve had to watch too. This was also the first season I hadn’t been to any Hearts games since 2006/07 which meant I’ve had to view their results and performances from afar. I’ll give my two pence on our relatively decent season right at the bottom, but for now here are my stats for 2010/11 and some awards…

Statistics!

Games Attended: 39

Goals: 131 (3.36 per game)

Most Goals: 9 (Hartland vs Cafe Roma)

Least Goals: 0 (Edinburgh City vs Heriot-Watt University, Cockfosters vs Harpenden Town)

New Grounds: 38 (Croft Park – Blyth Spartans, Stainton Park – Radcliffe Borough, Edge Down Park – Witheridge, Horsden Park – Elmore, Huish Park – Yeovil Town, Simmons Park – Okehampton Argyle, Bristol Road – Portishead Town, Raleigh Grove – Sherborne Town, Wordsworth Drive – Taunton Town, Pavilion Playing Field – Hartland, Meadowbank Stadium – Edinburgh City, Foxhayes – Exeter Civil Service, Sandy Lane – Dawlish Town, Woodspring Stadium – Weston-Super-Mare, Homers Heath – Buckland Athletic, Topsham Road – University of Exeter, Tarka Tennis Centre – BOCA Seniors, Chalk Lane – Cockfosters, Priory Park – Bodmin Town, Endurance Park – Royal Marines, Stadium of Light – Sunderland, Plainmoor – Torquay United, Coombe Valley – Teignmouth, The Mill – Torpoint Athletic, Southern Road – Exmouth Town, Sector Lane – Axminster Town, The Chronicles – Alphington, Globe Arena – Morecambe, Donnacroft – Torridgeside, Lords Meadow – Crediton United, North Street – Wellington, Moor Road – Ipplepen Athletic, Happy Meadow – Bickleigh, Trefew Park – Camelford, Mill Marsh Park – Bovey Tracey, Speeds Meadow – Cullompton Rangers, Ginsters Marshfield Parc – Callington Town, Coach Road – Devon FA)

Best and Worst

Best Game: Teignmouth 2-3 St Blazey – An absolutely cracking cup tie as the higher level side just scraped past a dogged Teignmouth effort. Despite the crap weather, this was a top game and would have happily watched 30 more mins as that was the least Teignmouth deserved.

Worst Game: Radcliffe Borough 1-0 Bury – People slate pre-season friendlies calling them fabricated and training ground routines, but I like them. This game however did question my sanity. The night before my graduation ceremony at uni (no joke) I watched two woefully bad teams in the freezing cold and wet. And it cost me £5. Was lucky to see one goal. Cockfosters 0-0 Harpenden Town was a close 2nd.

Best Team: BOCA Seniors – Remember this is relative to the level they play! BOCA would easily cut in in the SWPL so hopefully they begin to look at stepping up a level as it will become tiring very quickly if they continue to float around in the North Devon Leagues.

Worst Team: Hartland – Fair play to this little village club for fielding 3 separate teams in 3 different leagues, but if your 1st team is guff, then maybe merge them and create a fairly decent 1st team? I saw Hartland lose 9-0 and it was really a deserved spanking. Cullompton Rangers come a close 2nd for being so bad when I saw them.

Best Player: Camelford’s Dan Gusterson was a class player as I saw him rip apart Foxhole Stars and could easily play at a higher level.

Best Ground (Professional): Sunderland’s Stadium of Light wins this award. Great venue and would be rocking on a full house.

Best Ground (Non-League): Bickleigh takes this. Wanted to wait and do Happy Meadow on a glorious day and their game vs Appledore was perfect for it. A must do ground at a friendly club.

Worst Ground: University of Exeter – A soulless place nearly in the middle of nowhere. Not all their fault due to dickhead NIBMY’s around but I won’t be going back.

Most Picturesque Ground: Okehampton in September was extremely picturesque although it does have mighty competition from Bickleigh and its vineyards.

Biggest Dump: Sunderland city centre is a hole. It really does deserve the stick it gets.

Best Programme: Okehampton Argyle’s effort for a Level 11 club is superb. Puts a vast majority of clubs higher up the pyramid to shame.

Worst Programme: Teignmouth charged me £1 for essentially a book of adverts. Poor form.

Best Bar: Buckland Athletic’s clubhouse is a top notch building. Although considering it was built from lottery grant money then it really should be good.

Best Food: Callington Town’s pasties were so good I had two!

Funniest Moment: NEIL! NEIL! NEIL! At Weston-Super-Mare vs Dorchester Town. It was probably one of those moments you had to be there for though.

Best Punch Up: BOCA Seniors vs Exmouth Town. Just a 90 minute long “It’s a Knockout” punch up special on a mudbath. Still to this day say that game should have been postponed for another day.

Hardest Place to Find: I didn’t get lost this season! :o Although due to Google Maps being old, I did turn up at Camelford’s old ground.

Friendliest Club: Awards here to Torpoint Athletic and Callington Town. Some excellent club officials on their committees that other clubs should be envious of.

Most Miserable Club: Radcliffe Borough. Not completely unfriendly but first impressions count and their’s stunk. I won’t be back.

Best Supporters: St Blazey. All singing, all dancing rather than just “sing when you’re winning.” Shame their club play at Level 10, but maybe will play on a higher stage one day. Maybe.

Worst Supporters: None I saw this season. So I’ll give it to general all round plastics.

Best Song: None again. Any recommendations?

Coldest Ground: I was absolutely perishing at Radcliffe Boro and Cockfosters. My visit to Cockfosters was a cold Tuesday December evening though.

Best Goal: Grant Leslie vs Exmouth Town. Left foot volley straight into top corner. Bang, 1-0.

Most Attractive Female Employee(s): The blond woman who served me at Teignmouth was a stunner. In the words of Mr Keys and Mr Grey, “I’d smash it”.

Special Merit Award: All nice people who are involved in grassroots football. None of this corruption shite which happens far higher up.

Hearts in Europe for 2011/12. Had you told me that at the start of the season just gone, I would have laughed at you. Having predicted a 5th or 6th place finish for us, to finish 3rd (albeit fairly close to 4th in the end) means we’ve had a great season. I won’t even look at the negatives as they have been too many recently being a Hearts fan, and will only look at the positive stuff. We were easily the 3rd best team in the league throughout the season and have already starting to strengthen for next time out with the signings of John Sutton, Jamie Hamill and Danny Grainger. I hope they all have a cracking career with us. Big JJ has also got rid of some guff (see ya Jamie Mole ya cunt!) and I hope we are closer to 2nd than 4th next season.

On a personal note, it has been a cracking season just gone and with 2011/12 moving into the unknown, quite literally, I’m hoping to write up some cracking trips for you. Keep reading (if you do!) or following on Twitter and I look forward to continuing my experiences and sharing them with you. Have a top summer. (Team review up soon)

Road to Wembley 2010/11 (FINAL)

This was it. A competition that started on August 14th and finished on 14th May. 759 clubs were accepted to play in this years competition and it had now been narrowed down to the final two. Stoke City (in their first ever final) and Manchester City (their 9th final, their first since 1981). It was very much a clash of rags v riches as Stoke (who are fairly wealthy) came up against The Richest Club in the World. The manager’s who were going up against each other was also a clash of cultures with suave Italian Roberto Mancini with brash Welshman Tony Pulis.

I’ll be blunt straight away, this final was shite. It really was one of the worst finals I had seen with Man City not having to play all that well because Stoke City never turned up. Yaya Toure scored the only goal of the game on 74 minutes to secure a deserved win for Citeh and their first FA Cup since 1969. Stoke offered little and only Kenwyne Jones had a clear cut chance for Stoke but it was saved by Joe Hart.

This though was more about the journey from August all the way through to May as I kept up with the winners of Elmore vs Hamworthy United and worked the way through morris dancing, record breaking runs, baths, Clint Eastwood, some Welsh blokes and a derby before capping it off with Citeh’s win.

I really have enjoyed this feature this season so have decided to continue it in some way for 2011/12. But do you know what would actually be better than watching the final on TV? Being at Wembley for the final! The road begins now… (When the draws are released)

ROAD TO WEMBLEY 2010/2011:

EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND: Elmore 1-5 Hamworthy Utd (Horsdon Park, Att: 247)

PRELIMINARY ROUND: Hamworthy Utd 2-2 Sherborne Town (County Ground, Att: 122)

PRELIMINARY ROUND Replay: Sherborne Town 3–0 Hamworthy Utd (Raleigh Grove, Att: 154)

1ST QUALIFYING ROUND: Wimborne Town 1-3 Sherborne Town (The Cuthbury, Att: 226)

2ND QUALIFYING ROUND: Sherborne Town 1-2 Hungerford Town (Raleigh Grove, Att: 138)

3RD QUALIFYING ROUND: Swindon Supermarine 4-0 Hungerford Town (Webb’s Wood Stadium, Att: 365)

4TH QUALIFYING ROUND: Swindon Supermarine 0-0 Bath City (Webb’s Wood Stadium, Att: 551)

4TH QUALIFYING ROUND Replay: Bath City 3-4 Swindon Supermarine (Twerton Park, Att: 665)

1ST ROUND: Swindon Supermarine 2-1 Eastwood Town (Webb’s Wood Stadium, Att: 1,159)

2ND ROUND: Colchester United 1-0 Swindon Supermarine (Colchester Community Stadium, Att: 3,047)

3RD Round: Swansea City 4-0 Colchester United (Liberty Stadium, Att: 7,005)

4TH Round: Swansea City 1-2 Leyton Orient (Liberty Stadium, Att: 6,281

5TH Round: Leyton Orient 1-1 Arsenal (Brisbane Road, Att: 9,136)

5TH Round Replay: Arsenal 5-0 Leyton Orient (Emirates Stadium, Att: 59,361)

QUARTER-FINAL: Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal (Old Trafford, Att: 74,693)

SEMI-FINAL: Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United (Wembley Stadium, Att: 86,549)

FINAL: Manchester City 1-0 Stoke (Wembley Stadium, Att: 88,643)

Liverton United vs Budleigh Salterton (12/05/11)

Match 121

Ground #: 88

Ground: Coach Road (Devon FA)

Competition: Devon FA Premier Cup Final 

Kick Off: 7pm

Cost: £4

Programme: With Admission

Attendance: 295

Liverton United 1

Broadway 10’ 

Budleigh Salterton 0

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306 days. Or 43.714 weeks since I stepped onto the terraces of Blyth Spartans’ Croft Park. Now, some 38 games later after my biggest ever season it was time to wrap 2010/11 up. Now I like to pick my final game with something riding on it. In 2009 it was Carlisle United securing safety from League 1, in 2010 it was saying goodbye to Christie Park and Morecambe’s play-off dream and now for 2011 it was off to a cup final. As the majority of my games have been in Devon this season, it was fitting to round it off with Devon’s 2nd biggest county competition with the final of the Devon FA Premier Cup at Devon FA HQ, Coach Road in Newton Abbot.

Newton Abbot is actually quite a surprising hotbed of football. If you like your grass roots stuff. Along with Coach Road, there is Homers Heath (home to Buckland Athletic) and the Recreation Ground (home to Newton Abbot Spurs) along with some smaller (even for me) South Devon League grounds around the outskirts. I had only been to one other County FA ground (Lancashire) and was wondering what Coach Road would look like having not seen any pictures before hand. I have to say, its a great wee venue in a quiet part of Newton Abbot. The main feature is the massive stand which straddles one touchline which is actually raised above the pitch so offers some great views. I reckon the stand contains around 400 seats and would not look out of place at some grounds far higher up the pyramid. The rest of the ground is railed off with standing all the way round (no cover). There is a clubhouse/bar area in one of the corners, imaginatively named The Cornerhouse Bar while behind the goal nearest the entrance is a smart looking building that presumably the Devon FA Heads sit and hand out footballing justice across the County. (I wasn’t allowed in)

I had seen a few Devon Premier Cup ties this season and they had been a bit mix and match. From Exeter Civil Service, through University of Exeter to BOCA Seniors, this was a fairly competitive cup. Perhaps unsurprisingly the finalists were the two teams who finished highest up in the highest league possible to enter this competition, the Southwest Peninsula League Division 1 East. Liverton United who had finished top of that league and Budleigh Salterton who had finished 2nd. Both sides had not taken promotion for various reasons, which I won’t go into, again. Both sides had beaten decent opposition to get here with Liverton seeing off North Molton (4-0), Watts Blake & Bearne (3-2), Exeter Civil Service (3-2), Sidmouth Town (2-1) and winning their semi-final against Bickleigh 2-0 at Exmouth. Budleigh reached here with wins over Lee Moor (8-2), Axminster Town (5-1), Ottery St Mary (6-0), BOCA Seniors (3-1) and a 3-2 win over Galmpton United at Crediton United. In the league meetings this season, it was 1-1 at Budleigh and Liverton won 2-1 at their home game. So it was a tough game to call and I hoped it would be a fitting end to the season for me.

As the players walked out to the Champions League theme (no joke) we had the bollocks before every final where the players shake hands with the guests of honour that nobody has ever heard of. When the game finally kicked off (bang on time at 7pm to be fair) Liverton started the better, playing some decent football and really getting stuck into Budleigh. They should have taken the lead on 6 minutes when from a Liverton corner, defender Dan Harrity headed into the ground and over from about 7 yards out. What was worrying for Budleigh is that he had a free header and their defending from corners would have to improve rapidly. It didn’t. On 10 minutes, Budleigh couldn’t clear a corner away and the ball fell to Robbie Bowker on the left who put in a great low cross for Dan Broadway who side footed home from close range to give the League Champions the lead. And although only 10 minutes had been played, they deserved it. Liverton’s calmness on the ball was the reason why they looked so comfortable against a Budleigh side running around like headless chickens and playing pointless long balls over the top. They did nearly surprise us all with an equalizer on 27 minutes when a long range effort forced an excellent save from Liverton goalie Josh Oak. That being said, Liverton should have gone into the HT break 2 up when a Budleigh defender was robbed on the right touchline which allowed the striker to burst into the box and set up Simon Lewcock who fired over the crossbar from around 5 yards out. What a shocking miss. Budleigh were lucky to be still in the game at HT.

2nd half started much like the first with Liverton dominating the play again as Budleigh had just not turned up for this final. Lewcock added to his growing portfolio of shocking misses when he fired high and wide over the bar from around 8 yards this time after his first shot was blocked. Budleigh for all of this half were quite poor as long balls were just aimlessly punted forward towards their big striker Danny Williams who needs to learn the offside trap ASAP. There was only one other real chance of the half (yes the 2nd half was that bad) when a drilled shot towards the Budleigh goal was flicked on by Lewcock which hit the bar and bounced over. For the final 10 minutes I actually watched Devon FA officials bring the trophy out onto a table and then sort the various medals and stuff out as it was more exciting than watching Budleigh pump balls into the box which were instantly cleared. It was a shame to end the season on a poor game, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Well done to Liverton United then who easily deserved to win this cup final and take the League and Cup double home and again pip Budleigh to the post. I won’t dwell too much on this game but it was really quite poor. (Not sure if its the worst game I saw this season, still to make my mind up on that) The ground itself though at Coach Road is really worth seeing and an excellent venue to watch football on a summers day. It’s now the summer holidays for me and my blog reports (on the football side) at least as I have to prepare (and a LOT of preparation to do too, and my life in general) for 2011/12. My various season reviews and previews will be published over June/July as well as my various excited tweets when the fixture lists start coming out. I do like to end my season with a moment that really finishes it off and as I walked towards my car at Coach Road I could hear the Liverton team partaking in a round of “CHAMPIONES OLE OLE OLE!” Good luck to them next season. Now where is that cold can of Irn Bru to relax with…

Photos from Liverton United vs Budleigh Salterton

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 4/10 (poor)

- Value for money: 7.5/10 (pleased it was £4 actually)

- Ground: 7.5/10 (smashing little ground)

- Atmosphere: 5/10 (very polite clapping mainly)

- Food: 7.5/10 (decent enough)

- Programme: 7/10 (good Devon FA effort for free)

- Referee: Andrew Quin – 6/10 (refereed with a smile on his face)