AFC Hornchurch vs Grays Athletic (01/03/14)

Match 224

Ground #: 177

Ground: Hornchurch Stadium

Competition: Isthmian League Premier Division (Level 7)

Kick Off: 3pm

Cost: £7 (concession)

Programme: £2.50

Attendance: 341

AFC Hornchurch 1

Coyne 52’

Grays Athletic 2

Nouble (pen) 10’, Carlos 34’

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After another exam session that wiped football off the agenda for a few weeks (well it makes a change from the weather!) it was back to a Saturday free and one for football to get involved with. While games didn’t massively stand out, a ground that I had been keeping an eye out on for some time was hosting a proper Essex derby. Getting my fake tan and pejazzle sets on, it was off East, to glorious Hornchurch!

Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch originates from around the 12th Century when Henry II gave 1,500 acres to the hospice of St Nicholas and St Bernard, Mountjoux, in Savoy as a gift. A church was established in Hornchurch, but the monks were forced out during the 14th Century when a new law banned foreign land ownership. The lands were then given to Lord Chancellor William of Wykeham who made major renovations to the church. He subsequently gave Hornchurch to endow New College, Oxford, which still owns all the local church lands and buildings. During both World Wars nearby Hornchurch Airfield was an important RAF station; it was known as RAF Suttons Farm during the Great War, with its HQ as far away as Upminster Hall. During the Second World War, the airfield was known as RAF Hornchurch, and was home mostly to a number of Spitfire squadrons. During the First World War a large vacant country estate called Grey Towers on Hornchurch Road was commandeered by the Army Council as a military depot. In January 1916 it became the first Command Depot for the New Zealand Contingent in England but was found to be more suitable as a Convalescent Hospital Camp for New Zealand Servicemen, and was run as such until June 1919. Like most suburbs of London, Hornchurch had been entirely rural until the arrival of the railway which spurred huge property development during the early 1900s. Whole estates were constructed such as Emerson Park to the north. Development was fuelled further by the arrival of the electrified District Line during the 1930s with housing developments south and west of Hornchurch in places such as Elm Park.

AFC Hornchurch are only 9 years old, having been formed in 2005 following the demise of the previous Hornchurch FC. The previous incarnation of the Urchins date back to 1923 when Upminster Wanderers were formed playing in a local park at Upminster. After the Second World War, the club joined the Spartan League and played in Division One East for several years before being promoted to the Premier Division. 1953 saw the club move to the Hornchurch Stadium for the first time and change its name to Hornchurch & Upminster before dropping Upminster off the name altogether in 1961. On the pitch, they were up and down with an occasional trophy but an excellent FA Vase run in 1974/75 helped it gain promotion to the Isthmian Leagues. Plodding along nicely there, a fire at the clubhouse in 1989 led to years of struggle in the lower leagues until 2000/01 saw a promotion back to the Isthmian League. At this point, the club were restructured with an investment company taking over and the Hornchurch Stadium radically redeveloped into a 1000 seater ground. However, in 2004/05 when backers Carthium Ltd were declared bankrupt, despite 3,500 in the ground the season before for a FA Cup tie against Tranmere Rovers, Hornchurch FC were no more and the AFC suffix was in use again.

The new Urchins started in the Essex Senior League in 2005/06 and with a larger fanbase than most, cruised through this league back into the Isthmian. Momentum was on their side now and a second league win in 2 years was secured the following season with the Isthmian Division 1 North title picked up. Always there or thereabouts at the top end of the Isthmian Premier, Hornchurch finally made the step up to the Conference South in 2011/12 through the play-offs after just missing out to Billericay Town for the title. Conference South was a different monster though and all that hard work lasted just one season for the Urchins as they were promptly relegated in 20th place, just 1 point away from safety.

The Hornchurch Stadium has been the home of the Urchins since 1952, a short walk away from Upminster Bridge station. While the running track added in 1956 will instantly dishearten a lot of football purists, the view on the whole is actually quite good around the ground. Down the sides of the pitch are a substantial amount of covered terraces and seated stands with a small uncovered terrace in one of the corners. While unsurprisingly, the view behind both of the goals is poor due to the curve in the running track, the bar overlooking the ground also provides some excellent views across the pitch where a few stood to take in the game. Isthmian League grounds are radically different which I suppose adds further to the charm of this league. This is one of the better athletics grounds that I’ve been to and just adds further to the variety of the Isthmian.

With Hornchurch looking for an immediate return to the Conference South, it was no surprise to see them up there in the top 6. Coming into this game in 4th, they were well in the play-off hunt, having a 3 point lead over 6th place Bognor Regis Town. While it looks like the top 3 of Dulwich Hamlet, Maidstone and Wealdstone will battle it out for the title, another 3 way fight was brewing for the final play-off positions too. With Kingstonian (in 5th) and Bognor Regis having winnable games, it was vital the Urchins kept up the play-off push. In town from even deeper Essex were Grays Athletic who are a world away from 2005/06 when they were top of the Conference looking at a Football League place. Now without a permanent residence and floating just outside the relegation zone (albeit with at least 5 games in hand over teams around them), times do look tough for The Blues, having won promotion the season beforehand.

Despite a 5-1 win for Hornchurch at Grays back in October, the away team were backed by a pretty large and vocal following in the corner and saw their team make a decent start against a nervous looking Hornchurch. The home side had been fired a warning as early as the 3rd minute when Leroy Griffiths cut inside and fired a shot off the post. With Grays constantly pushing forward, they won a penalty in the 10th minute when a shot was fired at Elliot Styles and handball was given. It looked harsh, but Joel Nouble fired past Inigo Echepare for a 1-0 lead. Shellshocked into some action, Hornchurch pushed forward with a couple of half chances created before they were stunned again. Griffiths again tore down the left hand side to cut the ball back to Grays’ top scorer Joao Carlos for his 11th goal of the season. With the home fans irate at referee Graham Kane for a series of petty fouls, their mood wasn’t lifted in stoppage time when Michael Spencer fired a shot high and wide.

Hornchurch went at Grays for the vast majority of the 2nd half as the away side sat back on their two goal lead. The tactic looked comfortable as George Purcell fired a shot aimlessly high, however on 52 minutes Billy Coyne ran at the Grays defence and fired a low shot past Lloyd Anderson from well outside of the area. Suddenly, they didn’t look as comfortable as Grays resorted back to the performance their league position suggested they would. Spencer had a shot deflected over the bar before Purcell had a shot cleared off the line as it looked only a matter of time before Hornchurch grabbed an unlikely looking equaliser. Grays weren’t playing well and Craig Pope tried to play a pass only he knew what for which set up Purcell, but his shot was saved again. Towards the end of the game, with Grays clinging on now, Hornchurch resorted to pumping long balls forward which might have worked in injury time when Ryan Kirby brought down Stefan Payne through on goal. It looked like a red card, but only a yellow was shown. To add even more anger to Hornchurch, the free kick bounced around the box for Payne to hammer the ball home for a dramatic equaliser! Only to be ruled out for offside. It wasn’t meant to be their day.

Grays showed their various types of performance for this one as an extremely comfy 2-0 lead at HT should really have been wiped out by a wasteful Hornchurch side. Since this game, Hornchurch have picked up a decent 10 points from 15, including an impressive 1-0 win over Maidstone Utd. It leaves them down in 5th, just 2 points off 6th and with Lowestoft Town now joining the play-off fun, it will be a squeaky April for Hornchurch, but with a winnable looking run-in, they should make it. Grays unsurprisingly have ripped into their games in hand and now sit 16 points clear of the drop zone and with another 3 games left to go, there is the smallest of chances they could produce a brilliant late play-off surge. This was my first game in quite some time and was a decent one in a league I really should be visiting more often. Athletics grounds aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this one is decent enough and is worth a visit.

Photos from AFC Hornchurch vs Grays Athletic

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 6.5/10 (tale of two halves!)

- Value for money: 7/10 (fine amount for a concession to pay)

- Ground: 6.5/10 (yes it’s an athletics ground, but its a good one)

- Atmosphere: 7/10 (fair nose from both sides)

- Food: 8/10 (The Hornchurch Burger, i.e – a shed of meat, went down well)

- Programme: 7/10 (was a decent effort, have seen clubs charge £3 for this amount of content)

- Referee: Graham Kane – 6/10 (let down slightly by his linos)

South West London Chargers vs Torfaen Tigers (01/02/14) [RL]

RL Match 9

RL Ground #: 7

Ground: Dukes Meadow (normally used by Chiswick Rugby Club)

Competition: Challenge Cup 1st Round

Kick Off: 2pm

Cost: Free

Programme: None

Attendance: 102 (h/c)

South West London Chargers 12

Tries: Puna 1, Wojciechowicz 1

Goals: Coughtrey 2

Torfaen Tigers 6

Tries: Roberts 1

Goals: Brown 1

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That glorious British weather. A country that is already much maligned for its piss poor climate was really getting battered by the recent storms. While it is a minor point when people’s houses are being swept away and Somerset does it’s best Atlantis impression, this weather is not good for football. As Conference bosses voted against bringing 3G pitches in as some clubs haven’t played for weeks, my planned game was washed away and so another sport was required. Good old rugby league, “is there grass?” “is there beer?” “game on.” Good lads.

The Chargers currently play their home games at Chiswick RU in South West London. Chiswick is a district of the Borough of Hounslow and was first recorded in c.1000 as Ceswican. The name “Chiswick” is of Old England origin meaning ‘Cheese Farm’ and originates from the riverside meadows and farms that are thought to have supported an annual cheese fair in the area. Chiswick grew up as a village with its inhabitants practising farming, fishing and other riverside trades. By the early nineteenth century the fishing industry in and around Chiswick was declining as the growth of industry and the invention of the flush toilet were causing pollution in the river. Fish began to die out and the river became unsuitable as a spawning ground. Locks upstream also made the river impassable by migratory fish such as salmon and shad. The population of Chiswick grew almost tenfold during the 19th century and the area is a mixture of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian housing. Suburban building began in Gunnersbury in the 1860s and in Bedford Park in 1875. During the Second World War, Chiswick suffered a number of bombing raids. Both incendiary and high explosive bombs were used, and there was also damage from falling anti-aircraft shells that had not exploded as intended. The first V-2 rocket to hit London fell on Chiswick on 8 September 1944, killing three people, injuring 22 others and causing extensive damage elsewhere.

South West London Chargers were formed only last year as a result of the merger between South London Storm and West London Sharks. Picking Clapham Common as a training base, the Chargers entered the RL South Premier last season (essentially Level 4 in the pyramid) and won the league by a point with a narrow victory against 2nd Hammersmith Hill Hoists. The Chargers ensured the perfect season by winning the London Cup as well and will look to defend both of them when the league starts again in April. Entering the Challenge Cup for the first time (although both Storm and the Sharks did, a 2nd Round appearance for the Storm being the best record), the Chargers trying to improve London’s dismal record in this competition.

The Chargers play their home games at Chiswick RU’s Dukes Meadow ground, which was formally used by the West London Sharks. Chiswick currently play in rugby union’s (boooo!) London North West 2 league which is Level 7 in the RU pyramid. A basic ground which has the clubhouse on entry and then grass standing around the side of the pitch. Close to Barnes Bridge and the Fuller’s Brewery on the other side of the Thames, Dukes Meadow is a ground in a scenic area that on a great summer’s day, would be an excellent place to watch rugby. (The proper version!) The weather was fairly poor throughout the match and the lack of cover wasn’t great (view from the clubhouse overhang was blocked by the crowd!) but the place does the job for the likely low crowds Chiswick RU would have.

In town for the cup tie were Torfaen Tigers, from the South Wales Premier which they won last year. Currently playing at Cwmbran RU’s Kings Head, the Welsh boys would be a good match for the Chargers with both sides being league winners in 2013. Neither side had started their seasons yet and it showed when the game kicked off, with unforced errors all over the gaff. Chargers, however were backed by a good partisan home crowd and were putting the Tigers under constant pressure. Despite both sides never finishing their sets due to daft mistakes, it always looked like the Chargers would open the scoring first. They did on 23 minutes after good work from Nathan Coughtrey allowed Terance Puna to power his way over. The missed conversion attempt highlighted how tight this game would be and with the Chargers unable to score a 2nd try, you did wonder if the London side would regret it. Despite offering very little for most of the first 40 minutes, the Tigers nearly equalised on the counter attack, but the home side held firm.

The Tigers were understandably far better in the 2nd half as they began to push the Chargers defence further back. They also had the added bonus of a strong breeze to assist them going forward and so their 5th tackle kicks were causing the Chargers more problems than usual. The reason they weren’t adding more points onto the board was silly misplaced passes or handling errors with dropped the pressure. It was one of those handling errors which sent the Chargers on their way to the 2nd Round. From a scrum, the ball was worked out wide to Tala Petelo who put David Wojciechowicz away down the wing and he cut inside to get over the line with around 65 minutes played. Coughtrey added the conversion and even scored a late penalty to put the game well beyond the Tigers. You felt that the Welsh team deserved at least some points on the board and with the very last move of the game, a lovely long ball out to Gareth Roberts who had the easy task of going over the line. Luke Brown added the conversion but that was it and the Chargers were through to the 2nd Round.

On the balance of play you feel that the Chargers deserved to win, but it was a great cup tie and an excellent way to open my rugby league viewing for 2014. The Chargers have another home tie for the 2nd Round when National Conference One side Milford Marlins come down from Derbyshire. A tough game for the Chargers and you would expect the Marlins to win, but with home advantage, you never know… A decent day out considering it looked sport was well off when Havant & Waterlooville lost another weather battle. Good luck to the Chargers for the rest of the season, London rugby league isn’t dead. Despite what you read!

Photos from Chargers vs Tigers

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 6/10 (entertaining cup tie that was always in the balance)

- Value for money: 10/10 (it was free)

- Ground: 4/10 (basic, but scenic venue by the Thames)

- Atmosphere: 5/10 (occasionally backed by the home crowd)

- Food: N/A – didn’t eat at game, burger van didn’t look too appealing

- Programme: N/A – they don’t issue

- Referee: Craig Kay – 7/10 (did the job and let play flow as much as he could)

Brightlingsea Regent vs Bodmin Town (18/01/14)

Match 222

Ground #: 176

Ground: North Road

Competition: FA Vase 4th Round

Kick Off: 3pm

Cost: £6

Programme: £1

Attendance: 562

Brightlingsea Regent 3

Holman 5’, Kelly 60’, Gould 88’

Bodmin Town 1

Broomfield 52’

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When the FA Vase reaches the national rounds, the ties that really stand out are ones that pit teams from different leagues together. No way on earth would an Eastern Counties League side ever play against a Southwest Peninsula League side in normal circumstances. Yet when the Vase sent SW cracks Bodmin Town on a 325 mile trek to Brightlingsea for the 4th Round, this was a tie that stood out. A first viewing of the Eastern Counties League and a first viewing of SW non-league football for me since 2011.

Brightlingsea is a coastal town in the Tendring district of Essex, situated at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. Named in the Domesday Book as Brictesceseia, the medieval town grew up around two centres, firstly around the parish church and secondly close to the shore where a port had developed. Trade was in oysters, fish, copper and locally made bricks. The Cinque Ports were a confederation of the five most important ports on the coast of the English Channel. They had obligations to provide ships and men to fight for the king in time of war but were compensated by lucrative exemptions from taxation. Brightlingsea became a limb (or subsidiary) port for Sandwich although these days it is a purely ceremonial affair.

The port came to prominence again in the 1984-85 Miners' Strike where attempts were made to import coal through the Port. However the efforts of picketing miners prevented coal imports through Brightlingsea. It yet again came to national prominence in 1995 with an attempt to use the port again for a controversial cargo. Dubbed the "Battle of Brightlingsea" it comprised a series of protests against the live export of animals from the town for slaughter in Europe. During a nine-month period, over 150 convoys passed through the town and 250,000 animals were exported. 598 people were arrested by the police, of whom 421 were local residents but the campaigners eventually won and the live exports ceased.

Brightlingsea United were founded in 1928 by a merger of Brightlingsea Athletic and Brightlingsea Town. Playing their early football in the Essex & Suffolk Border League, they moved into their current North Road ground in 1929 and the Premier Division in 1931. After yo-yoing between the various divisions of the E&SBL over the years, Brightlingsea joined the Essex Senior League in 1972 and won the title two years running in 1989 and 1990 to join the Eastern Counties League for a new challenge. Promoted to the Premier Division in the first season, the upward trajectory suddenly stopped and were promptly relegated in 1993 before resigned from the league altogether in 2003. The resignation caused by a lack of proper changing facilities at North Road.

In 2005, a new chapter started with Brightlingsea United merging with youth team Regent Park Rangers. Back in the E&SBL, Regent won Division 2 at the first attempt and achieved a double promotion from Division 1 a season later. In 2011, nearly 10 years after resigning from the league, Regent were back in the Eastern Counties League after winning the Premier Division of the E&SBL. Under the guidance of boss James Webster, the Regent found their upward trend again and came 3rd in the Eastern Counties League 1st Division last season to be back in the Premier Division for 2013/14.

Regent’s North Road has been home to them for some time and still retains a basic look that it has most likely had throughout its history. A clubhouse with a changing room annex dominates the place and provides a good bit of standing cover for the usual 80 odd that normally attend Regent games. On the clubhouse side is a typical plastic stand that is usual sadly at this level today. Needing a minimum number of seats to achieve certain grading regulations, these quick fixes are never normally aesthetically pleasing or suit the ground well and this stand was no different. While the rest of the ground is hard, uncovered standing, Brightlingsea had used the money generated from the Vase run already to reach national news. Purchasing a similar uncovered plastic stand off eBay from the Isle of Wight, the club’s £5,000 fee for the stand managed to buy them national coverage from the BBC. The ‘eBay Stand’ (name it this lads!) has been plonked in the far corner of the ground next to the far car park to help Regent achieve another grading criteria and provide a tangible memento of this season’s Vase run for the future.

(The eBay Stand)

Before this season Brightlingsea in any form had never really had much of a Vase history, with only a 3rd Round appearance in 2012/13 being their furthest quest. Yet, having already seen off Felixstowe & Walton United (1-0), Stanway Rovers (3-0), Team Bury (1-0), Takeley (2-1) and then Colney Heath after a replay, they were already breaking new ground by reaching the 4th Round. They welcomed the might from the West Country in Bodmin Town to North Road in what was for me, the best looking tie of the Round. Bodmin have local pedigree being joint top of the Southwest Peninsula League and having previously seen them take down a higher level side in the Vase (albeit just over 3 years ago!) coming to Brightlingsea wouldn’t phase them. Having already dispatched of Bemerton Heath Harlequins and Kidlington, this game would be tougher, but I fancied Bodmin.

What I didn’t expect was Bodmin (who had made the long journey the day before) to actually not turn up for the opening spell of the game. Brightlingsea had already caused panic in the Cornish defence, but when a Ricky Griggs’ free kick was whipped in, up went Bodmin keeper Kevin Miller (yep, that one) and a home defender. Miller appeared to be unfairly challenged and a loose ball was flicked on and headed home by Jake Holman for a dream start. From where I was, it looked harsh on Bodmin, but Miller is tad bigger than his professional days so possibly could have used his strength better. Bodmin were all over the shop and only desperate defending and luck kept Regent out from adding a 2nd. Bodmin did get back into it but their anger with the ref increased when Chris Wright had an effort ruled out for offside. Despite beginning to impress forward, the Cornish team still could not defend crosses at all and Holman had a header from a corner smack the bar as Bodmin needed to regroup at HT. Intriguing tie.

Regent had looked ropey at the back and Bodmin needed to get at them for the 2nd half. They did from the off and grabbed an equalizer on 52 minutes. Danny O'Hagan received the ball on the right and just ran at the Regent defence. As they parted like the seas, Seb Broomfield collected the ball and drilled a low shot past Daniel Beeson in the swashbuckling manner I remember Bodmin to be. Regent looked stunned and as passes went astray and Bodmin began to push further forward it looked good for the Cornish side. So of course they fell behind 8 minutes later. In possibly their first foray up the field in the second half, Regent won a corner. The cross was drifted towards the goalie and Miller missed it completely to allow Phil Kelly to head into an empty net. Bodmin looked stunned now and despite a rally back into the game, they never again looked like threatening Beeson. Regent confirmed their place in the 5th Round with a late goal as Josh Gould arrived first from a free kick to head in. This time Bodmin were finished as Regent deservedly went through.

On the way home I did think that whoever met Regent in Round 5 would go through and that will fall to 2012 winners Dunston UTS. They are a lovely club and have come extremely far, but they don’t have the quality to trouble the Northern League side, especially up in the NE. Good luck to Regent for the future though – brilliant hosts and dealt with their big day well. Bodmin were a shadow of the side I remember them as and with the fears that some of the extreme ends of England are starting to become detached from the pyramid, (do you blame them for not going up in the current economy) the quality is starting to suffer. This was a long trip, but as with most Vase ties, one that was very much worth it. If only this rain would piss off eh!

Photos from Brightlingsea Regent vs Bodmin Town

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 6/10 (war of attrition rather than quality)

- Value for money: 7/10 (paid more for Vase ties so good work Regent)

- Ground: 6/10 (basic, but hopefully doesn’t become a plastic stand fest)

- Atmosphere: 7.5/10 (good noise from the home fans)

- Food: 6/10 (fair bacon roll)

- Programme: 5/10 (looked professional, but light on content)

- Referee: Paul Forrester – 5/10 (so fussy and couldn’t let it flow)

Road to the London Senior Cup 2013/14 (Quarter-Final)

One day more, another day, another destiny. A midweek trip to Tooting to watch this Quarter-Final clash in front of less than 100 people would have normally appealed. However, a trip to watch the outstanding Les Misérables was always going to win so the QF tie was missed.

(Can you hear the people sing?)

Tooting’s victory over Thamesmead in the previous round saw them face Southern Counties East League side Cray Valley Paper Mills. Slap bang in midtable and 12 points behind leaders Ashford United suggested that The Terrors should comfortably make the next round. It seemed that way too on 4 minutes when Zenio Aiken-Simon fired into the roof of the net. However, having already beaten Barkingside and Welling United (who both play in leagues above them), Paper Mills came back strong and after creating many chances Laurent Hamici finally equalised for the Paper Mills on 79 minutes. No more goals came and so it was penalties, which someone has to miss and that was Tooting’s Zenio Aitken-Simon to send the mighty Cray Valley (PM) into the Semi-Finals.

(Tooting take the lead)

Cray Valley (PM) now await the winners of the AFC Wimbledon/Cray Wanderers vs Bromley QF. Brilliantly, this Semi-Final has been scheduled to take place on 5th March when I’m in Poland. So it’s another tie that I’m likely to miss unless it’s moved. It’s going well…

ROAD TO THE LONDON SENIOR CUP 2013/2014:

1ST ROUND: Thamesmead Town 2-2 Greenhouse London [Thamesmead win 6-5 on penalties] (Bayliss Avenue, Att: 22)

2ND ROUND: Tooting & Mitcham United 2-0 Thamesmead Town (Imperial Fields, Att: 64)

QUARTER-FINAL: Tooting & Mitcham United 1-1 Cray Valley (PM) [Cray Valley win 7-6 on penalties] (Imperial Fields, Att: 96)

Macclesfield Town vs Sheffield Wednesday (04/01/14)

Match 221

Ground #: 175

Ground: Moss Rose

Competition: FA Cup 3rd Round

Kick Off: 3pm

Cost: £10 (concession)

Programme: £3

Attendance: 5,873

Macclesfield Town 1

Williams 72’

Sheffield Wednesday 1

Johnson 25’

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A final castaway to a Saturday evening, set at times that neither side’s fans could get home from. Teams playing weakened sides as they see the competition as a hindrance and going to Brackley Town and losing. (Hello Gillingham!) TV execs picking dreadful Premier League based ties that fail to take into account the romance of it all. It hasn’t been a good recent history for the FA Cup and the fear is clearly there that the competition is on its arse. The 3rd Round draw this season wasn’t the best either with very few standout ties. Step forward however, plucky Macclesfield Town who hosted struggling Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. The town got behind it too – with the game a sell out and thanks to Macc Phil (who I’d seen the Macc attack with at Wimbledon, Bradford and Barnet) we’d be there. The magic of the FA Cup.

Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, and the county of Cheshire. The Domesday Book records the town as "Maclesfeld" and in 1183 it was referred to as "Makeslesfeld”. The English Place-Name Society gives its name as being derived from the Old English name, Maccel and field meaning `Maccels' open country'. Macclesfield was granted a borough charter by Earl Ranulf III of Chester, in the early 13th century and was the administrative centre of the Hundred of Macclesfield, which occupied most of east Cheshire. In the uprising of 1645, Charles Stuart and his army marched through Macclesfield as they attempted to reach London. The mayor was forced to welcome the prince, and the event is commemorated in one of the town's silk tapestries. Macclesfield was famously once the world's biggest producer of finished silk with 71 silk mills operating in 1832. Macclesfield is the original home of Hovis breadmakers, produced in Publicity Works Mill (commonly referred to as "the Hovis Mill"). It was founded by a Macclesfield businessman and a baker from Stoke-on-Trent. Hovis is said to derive from the Latin "homo-vitalis" (strength for man) as a way of providing a cheap and nutritious food for poor mill workers.

Macclesfield Town (now referred to as the Macc Attack for the rest of this post) were first formed in 1874 and started out playing rugby union rules. (Some clubs would argue they still play by these rules today…) They played under a combination of names until football resumed after World War 2 when Macclesfield Town FC Ltd were created and the Macc Attack were truly born. The club joined the Cheshire County League and saw their first real successes in the early 50s and 60s, which saw league titles and reaching the FA Cup 3rd Round for the first time in 1968. The club were also founding members of the Northern Premier League (along with currently FL sides Wigan, Morecambe and Fleetwood) and won the competition in the first two seasons. Despite the excellent early start, the Macc Attack were relegated in 1980 when the stronger teams in the Northern Premier League founded part of the Alliance Premier League (or the Conference). It took Macc a while to get up to this level, but they rebuilt and achieved this in 1987.

Again, Macc Attack started off well in their new surroundings but started to struggle and so Sammy McIlroy was brought in as manager. McIlroy changed the club for the better as a positive approach was taken and they won the Conference title in 1995 but could not take promotion due to Moss Rose having too few seats. They won the title again in 1997 and could finally take their place in the Football League after work had been done on Moss Rose. McIlroy kept them going and Macc Attack were runners up in Division 3 so gain a 2nd successive promotion. This was as good as it got however as Macc started on a downward trend and after Ince nearly took them down back to the Conference (sound familiar?), years of fighting against the drop could not be avoided in 2011/12 as Macc returned to the Conference.

Moss Rose is a ground that is clearly under the “old-school” category for the Conference. Being Macclesfield’s home since 1891, the ground is dominated by the large Main Stand which reeks of being from a bygone era, but actually only dates from 1968. With no supporting pillars in the way of it, views from the Main Stand are excellent with terracing around and under it. Opposite the Main Stand is the more modern Henshaw’s Stand from 2001. An all seater stand that also has the hospitality areas at the back to give the ground a more modern look. Behind the first goal is a strange seated and terrace combo of the Star Lane End. The seating actually in front of the terracing as it was added on later to ensure the Macc Attack complied with Football League rules. Finally, just to add to the old school feel of the ground was the uncovered, large terrace behind the goal.

The Macc Attack had a cup run last season that was only ended with a narrow defeat to the eventual winners Wigan. The board used the money and the last remaining pennies to try and push towards promotion but it didn’t happen. Giving ex boss Andy King too much money for no return means the club are now suffering financially with the board desperate for extra investment. Despite a slow start, September saw them start a run (including a win at Barnet) and Macc were now making a play-off charge in 11th place. This season’s cup run had been kind, all home games with Vauxhall Motors battered (7-0), Swindon battered (4-0) and Brackley Town just scraped past (3-2) to set them up nicely for this. Wednesday were good opponents. Having a dreadful time in the Championship, they were hovering just outside the drop zone and with a caretaker boss in charge since the sacking of Dave Jones. This was going to be a proper cup tie.

With the grey skies (when is a classic cup game played in the baking sun!?) threatening rain, Wednesday made some of the early running before the Macc got right into it. Possibly not liking the up and at them approach, Macclesfield were unlucky not to take an early lead when Joe Connor’s header was cleared off the line. Macc were pushing forward when they stupidly got done on the counter. From their own corner, Macc tried a training ground move that within 10 seconds had allowed Wednesday to win a contentious corner. Big Reda Johnson was unmarked from the cross and powered a header past Rhys Taylor for a 25th minute lead. Macc Attack were rocked and Wednesday were unlucky not to be 2 up before HT as Taylor made an outstanding save from Jose Semedo. Wednesday did not look impressive and so everyone knew Macc had a chance in the 2nd half if they went for it.

Macc really did go for it! Winning more and more possession, they began pushing Wednesday back and creating more chances. Firstly, Chris Holroyd had a header from a corner cleared off the line with Wednesday keeper Damián Martinez beaten again. Scott Boden was then put through in the clear but Miguel Llera managed to track back and stop the chance before he could get his shot away. A frantic half saw Macc keeper Taylor make another fine save from a Jeremy Helan strike before Martinez did even better to keep out Danny Whitaker’s half volley. The pressure Macc had put on a team 3 leagues above them had been a fine effort and they were finally rewarded on 72 minutes when Steve Willilams stuck out a leg to divert a long ball in. Moss Rose was bouncing at that equalizer as Macc really really went for it! Neither keeper was particularly tested in the final 20 minutes though as a replay was required. (And probably the right scoreline on the day)

The replay at Hillsborough earnt Macc a fine pay day in their quest to close the financial hole they have and an away crowd of around 1,500 also boosted this. In the end, Wednesday did have too much for them but not without a scare as Scott Boden’s penalty cancelled out Chris Maguire’s opener. Scott Kay then had a glorious chance to put Macc in front but his shot struck the bar before late goals from Jacques Maghoma, Jermaine Johnson and Miguel Llera put Wednesday through to Round 4. A mightily brave effort over 180 minutes from the Macc Attack though.

Wednesday’s “reward” for this win was an away tie at Rochdale. A difficult and unglamorous game is probably not what they would have wanted. It is a winnable tie for them however and with Wednesday still in top form with a hammering over Leeds (6-0) and a credible draw at Burnley (1-1), a Round 5 tie likely awaits them. Macc have also been boosted by the tie and packed house at Moss Rose. Financial difficulties still await them but with form ok and the club just outside the play-off race, the next few months will be very interesting for Macc. While the occasions are rare, the FA Cup still means a lot to enough people to show it still has a place in today’s game. Just remember that when you next watch a dull TV FA Cup tie, it still matters. It did to the 5,873 fans for this game.

Photos from Macclesfield Town vs Sheffield Wednesday

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 7/10 (just lived up to expectations)

- Value for money: 7/10 (good work by Macc for this)

- Ground: 6.5/10 (looks tired in places, but still a great place to go)

- Atmosphere: 7/10 (full house and was rocking)

- Food: N/A – didn’t eat at the ground, lengthy queues anyway

- Programme: 6/10 (good amount of material for a Skrill League programme)

- Referee: Lee Mason – 5/10 (just got a lot wrong)

Edinburgh United vs Harthill Royal (28/12/13)

Match 220

Ground #: 174

Ground: Paties Road Stadium

Competition: East Region Juniors South Division

Kick Off: 1:30pm

Cost: £4

Programme: None

Attendance: 23 (h/c)

Edinburgh United 7

Gordon (pen) 5’, Mitchell 14’, 16’, McMillan 57’, 70’, 75’, Robertson (O.G) 86’

Harthill Royal 0

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Another Christmas and another week in Scotland allowed me to have a fairly vast choice of games for the festive period. Having put myself through 90 minutes of shite at Tynecastle on Boxing Day, the next Saturday it was back down to grassroots level. With the weather trying to recreate some sort of Atlantis style island on the UK, a list of 12 games were created and then the worst game of weather bingo was played on the Saturday morning. With choice #1 at Benburb falling early on, Edinburgh United were lucky #2 as their clash against Harthill Royal went ahead.

(Shit pitch bingo)

Edinburgh United plays in the Colinton area of Edinburgh which is situated in the south-west of the city. Originally sited within a steep-sided glen on a convenient fording point on the Water of Leith, Colinton's history dates back to before the 11th century. The nearby 15th century Colinton Castle was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell during his invasion of Scotland. Following repair, the castle was subsequently partially demolished by the artist Alexander Nasmyth in order to create a picturesque ruin. Other notable figures with connections to Colinton include: Robert Louis Stevenson who spent the summers of his childhood at the manse when his grandfather was the village's Parish Minister and the philanthropist James Gillespie. Between 1909 and 1915, the War Office constructed Redford Barracks to the east of the village. The barracks represent the largest military installation built in Scotland since Fort George in the Highlands although they are now earmarked for disposal as part of the defence spending review. The village was the location for numerous mills producing textiles, snuff, and paper and it is thought that the first banknotes produced by the Bank of Scotland were printed on paper manufactured in Colinton.

Now that The Spartans have withdrawn their Junior team into the East of Scotland League, Edinburgh United are the only side in Edinburgh now to play in the Junior Leagues. Formed in 1985, from a group of players at North Merchiston Juveniles, United won the East Region Division Two in their first season but with only a few hardcore spectators, have struggled to push on. Instead, spending most of their time in the lower divisions of the East Juniors. They finished last season in 15th place but the small reshuffle in the East Region last season seems to have galvanised United and they went into this game in 2nd place.

With a brilliant 7 away wins from 7 in the league so far, they were only 3 points behind leaders Dundonald Bluebell. Dundonald had won 2-0 at United in September, with the crunch return game to come later in 2014. For this game however, they welcomed a team who were struggling as Harthill Royal came to Paties Road. With only 3 points all season, they were clearly bottom of the league and a huge 7 points behind 13th place Rosyth. Harthill were rumoured at the end of last season to be thinking of taking an absence just to sort themselves out on and off the pitch (much like Bankfoot Athletic in the North Division), but they persevered and stuck at it.

A short(ish) walk from Slateford station, Paties Road Stadium is a decent venue for this level, settled very much in suburban Edinburgh. A large covered stand with seating benches straddles one side of the pitch and provides much needed cover for when the weather (like for this game) is absolutely perishing. The rest of the ground is grass standing with no old school grass banks such as those at Linlithgow. A simple enough venue, but set in the pleasant place that it is, Paties Road is somewhere that I would be happy to visit again, especially in the summer. (It was far too cold to head away from the stand and round to take pictures of the stand from the far side!)

For a team that has conceded 46 goals already this season, Harthill needed to keep it tight early on and try to hit United on the counter attack. This plan lasted just 5 minutes as a mazy run from Kayne Paterson saw him brought down in the area and Chris Gordon easily dispatched it past Davie McGuiness. From then on, Harthill showed why they were bottom of the league as United cut them open at will. It didn’t take long for United to add more goals as Kenny McMillan romped down the left on 14 minutes and his cross was spilled by McGuiness to allow Kris Mitchell in for an easy finish. Harthill then from that kick-off laughably gave the ball away which allowed Mitchell to again score from a McMillan cross. 16 minutes and it was already 3-0, oh dear. Amazingly, Harthill managed to survive until HT conceding no more goals but this might have been more down to United relaxing than the Royal getting better.

To be fair to the Royal, they must have received some bollocking at HT because they looked a much more determined outfit at the beginning of the half. They even had a few half chances to give the United defence something to think about, especially United goalie Ross Combe who must have been perishing after not needing to do anything for the first 45 minutes. Harthill then had all their work undone on 57 minutes as a simple long ball forward completely took out their defence. This allowed McMillan to get forward and fire home for #4. With the game now quite open as Edinburgh looked to boost their goal difference, they added another 3 goals before full-time. McMillan completed his hat-trick with two close range finishes, the 2nd being a header while stooped on the floor. The final goal scored right at the death sadly epitomised Harthill’s performance. A low driven cross was diverted in by Colin Robertson as no danger looked on. United declaring at 7.

United have kept up their surprise form so far this season as the games after this one has seen them beat Dunbar United 6-3 before another away win, this time at Haddington Athletic. This continued good form along with Dundonald Bluebell seemingly losing some bottle means United currently sit in the nose bleeding position at the top of the pile. Harthill’s next game saw them grab a famous point with a 2-2 draw against Lochgelly Albert to leave them now only 9 points behind Rosyth. A return visit in the summer to Paties Road Stadium is a must, mainly to enjoy the far side and hopefully a tighter game! It was good to see another new ground up in Scotland, but it was far too cold to really enjoy it as the bovril was nearly spilt through shivering! An extremely cold way to end watching football in 2013.

Photos from Edinburgh United vs Harthill Royal

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 4/10 (too onesided and far too cold)

- Value for money: 7/10 (fair amount for Junior football)

- Ground: 5/10 (basic, but scenic ground)

- Atmosphere: 3/10 (the Harthill ultras tried their best to encourage their team)

- Food: 6/10 (good pie)

- Programme: N/A – did issue earlier in season but a fall-out in the committee stopped it

- Referee: Paul Crosbie – 7/10 (don’t think he had much to do)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Anzhi Makhachkala (12/12/13)

Match 218

Ground #: 173

Ground: White Hart Lane

Competition: Europa League Group Stage

Kick Off: 8:05pm

Cost: £20

Programme: £3.50

Attendance: 23,101

Tottenham Hotspur 4

Soldado 7’, 16’, (pen) 70’, Holtby 54’

Anzhi Makhachkala 1

Ewerton 44’

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Despite living in London now for over 2 years, there was still one professional ground that I had still not managed to get to. It was strange too, my best friend at uni supports Spurs, my housemate supports Spurs and my girlfriend’s Dad supports Spurs. All roads lead to White Hart Lane it seems! The time had come then to finally get there.

Tottenham is an area of North London in the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated 8.2 miles north east of Charing Cross. Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; as Toteham. When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, about 70 families lived within the area of the manor, mostly labourers working for the Lord of the Manor. A humorous poem entitled the Tournament of Tottenham, written around 1400, describes a mock-battle between peasants vying for the reeve’s daughter. From the Tudor period onwards, Tottenham became a popular recreation and leisure destination for wealthy Londoners. Henry VIII is known to have visited Bruce Castle and also hunted in Tottenham Wood. While it was a semi-rural and upper middle class area until the 1870s, today the area has been fully absorbed into London (helped by the various transport links that run through the area). They also love a good riot in Tottenham, with the deaths of Cynthia Jarrett and Mark Duggan in 1985 and 2011 being the cause of some serious disturbances between the population and Met Police.

Tottenham Hotspur’s history is far too much to write in just a single paragraph or section, but I got Billy Radstock to pen a few words to try and explain the Spurs:

“Tottenham Hotspur – a love excelling

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is situated in North London, an area it shares with Arsenal Football Club. The latter re-located from Woolwich, in South London, in the first part of the 20th century and was elected to the First Division in 1919, on the resumption of football after World War 1, and at the expense of Tottenham. Not surprisingly this injustice was resented by all Spurs fans and is still something of a sore point to this day. Arsenal fans may quibble about the exact boundaries of London, and whether Tottenham was actually in Middlesex rather than London, but common sense and natural justice will tell any normal person that Spurs are the genuine North London article and Arsenal a bunch of South London interlopers.

Tottenham are the only football league team to be named after a Shakespearean character (Harry Hotspur), the only non-league team to win the FA Cup (in 1901), and the first British team to win a European trophy (The Cup Winners Cup in 1963).

Tottenham’s teams have become associated with free flowing attacking football, this stemming from Arthur Rowe’s ‘push and run’ team of the 1950s and Bill Nicholson’s double winning side of 1961. To this day Spurs managers are judged against this criteria; the team has to play with some style. Most Spurs fans would rather not win the Premiership if it meant we had to play boring defensive football that no-one would like or remember. In this context the ultimate Spurs hero would either be the prolific drinker, smoker and goal scorer Jimmy Greaves, or the mercurial Scottish ball player Alfie Conn, who lit up a dark time for Spurs fans when we were relegated in the 1970s, although the magnificent lion hearted Dave Mackay has some claim to be rated the greatest of them all.

Tottenham’s home ground, White Hart Lane, is famously difficult to get to and away from, and now has a reduced capacity of 36,000. Plans are afoot to build a new stadium nearby. Visitors to the stadium can alight at the nearest tube station, Seven Sisters, and walk along the attractive continental boulevard known as Tottenham High Road. Tottenham fans enjoy this promenade greatly, particularly on winter days when it is cold and raining.

Spurs last won the league championship in 1961 and will probably never win it again, as Chelski and Man City hoover up all the quality players, but we don’t really care. We want to see some decent football, played in the Tottenham way, with a bit of success occasionally, perhaps in the Champions League. Not much to ask really...”

White Hart Lane is a short distance (ish) away from their pals Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium but could not be more different. White Hart Lane being the old school ground that despite being modernised several times, still retains that character that is massively missing from the red bowl up the road. 3 of the 4 stands have undergone major refurbishment since the 1980’s which has also included the introduction of two “Jumbotron” video screens above either goal. We were situated in the West Stand which was apparently “the prawn sandwich brigade” section according to a season ticket holder. With some decent views over the pitch, the compact nature of White Hart Lane means this was an excellent ground to finish the London Professional scene on. (Until someone gets a new ground! Or the Olympic Stadium…)

While many clubs started this season with a period of transition, you feel in the Premier League at least, none were in more than Spurs. After the World Record sale of Gareth “likes a dive” Bale (I’m not letting that disgraceful 15 minutes from him in Cardiff 2012 ever go) for a ridiculous amount, boss AVB decided to star in a real life Football Manager game. In came Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado, Étienne Capoue, Vlad Chiricheș, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela for the nice sum of £105m. With a completely new team comes some time to adjust and while the early form saw Spurs challenging for the title, defeats to West Ham, Newcastle and a complete embarrassment at Man City means AVB is a man under pressure. They were 6th in the league in this game, but these new signings weren’t meant to achieve that, they had to be much higher.

Another piece in Spurs’ current state of transition is the announcement (and seemingly the start of the construction too as I walked past it) of their new ground right next door to White Hart Lane. While the Lane has been home to Spurs since 1899, its current capacity of 36,240 means it is smaller than many of their rivals and could see them missing out on potential revenue. While they lost the right to move to the Olympic Stadium (do West Ham really need a 60,000 stadium? Really!?) they have proceeded with a project called the Northumberland Development Project which should see Spurs move into a new 56,250 capacity ground in 2016.

(That looks remarkably like The Emirates Stadium…)

While AVB was under some pressure in the league, this game against the Russian Premier League side should have provided some respite with Spurs having already secured top spot in the group and their opponents Anzhi Makhachkala bagging 2nd. Spurs were one of only 2 teams in the Europa League Group Stage (as well as Red Bull Salzburg) that were going into this game with a 100% record so far. With the easiest group in the competition, Spurs were expected to cruise through and having already done the double over Sheriff Tiraspol and Tromsø, only Anzhi now could deny Spurs the 100%. It would be tough for the Russians as Anzhi’s days of mass spending have long finished with owner Suleyman Kerimov no longer wanting to heavily finance the team. With big names such as Samuel Eto'o, Willian, Lassana Diarra and Christopher Samba sold on, Anzhi are struggling in the league and currently sit in bottom place. With no wins to their name and 5 points away from safety, they need a big 2014 in the league to pull themselves out of this one with 11 games to go.

While Spurs may have expected a coast in the park, Anzhi came out and showed they could cause problems up front. In fact, Spurs had their defence to thank for getting back and covering Ilya Maksimov before he could get his shot away when through on goal. While up front, Anzhi looked ok, defensively they were hopeless and when Andros Townsend was brought down, the resulting free kick was whipped in and met by Soldado who gave Spurs the lead after just 7 minutes. Spurs could relax now, play some nice football and try to reduce the pressure on AVB for the upcoming Liverpool game to be played that Sunday. This nice football was too much for Anzhi as a slick passing move just 6 minutes later saw Lamela play Soldado in again and he found the bottom corner to make it 2-0. If any of the crowd still thought Anzhi had a chance in the game after the 2nd goal, that should have gone on 40 minutes when Townsend was through on goal, but his shot was lifted over Yevgeny Pomazan and wide of the goal. Spurs under AVB however, have had a habit of conceding daft goals and did the same right on HT when an Anzhi corner seemed to hit Brazilian defender Ewerton and go in. Game back on then!

Anzhi started the 2nd half well causing Spurs more problems at the back and winning a series of corners. With nothing to show from them however, Spurs effectively killed the game off on 51 minutes with a piece of class. Having not properly cleared a corner, despite having about 3 attempts to do so, Anzhi saw the ball played back in by Townsend where Lewis Holtby controlled the ball perfectly before lifting it past the keeper with his other foot. Brilliant. Anzhi were going to struggle to score once again, never mind twice and when Jucilei stupidly brought down Ryan Fredericks in the penalty area, Soldado stepped up to complete his hattrick and make it 4-1. With the hattrick hero brought off, the game slowed right down for the final 20 minutes as everyone knew it was up. Anzhi did force a couple of decent saves from Friedel, but never really looked like getting back into it as they suffered their largest ever European defeat. Spurs, along with Salzburg (who beat Danish side Esbjerg) maintained their 100% record for the group and things looked good for AVB!

Well actually, it got sour, rather quickly. A 5-0 defeat to a team inspired by that racist was the final straw for Chairman Daniel Levy as AVB was punted. This has caused mass debate in the (normally useless) football media as the journalists try to decide what just went wrong for a manager who now will surely struggle to get a top job in this country again. Coach Tim Sherwood took charge for their next two games and his decision to play attacking football seems to have paid off as he has been bizarrely given the job until the end of 2014/15, despite some top names being linked with the job. His first objective will be to try and get in the slipstream that Man Utd have created on their way back up the league to join the fight for the title and European spots.

(Dnipro Arena – Spurs next leg on their Europa League journey)

Spurs reward for their Group K win was a Round of Last 32 tie against Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Despite me being certain they had, Spurs have never played them and so a trip to the Dnipro Arena awaits them in February. For Anzhi, I said at the game whoever they drew would knock them out and so that falls to Belgian club Racing Genk. Spurs should they get through that tie with Dnipro (they should) will face the winners of PAOK or Benfica as they go for the Champions League qualification spot that winning this tournament brings. Considering how many people I could go to White Hart Lane with, I’ll be back there, probably many times before Spurs move across the road. A ground with good views, good atmosphere and occasionally sexy football (strikingly similar to watching Hearts actually), its worth the visit.

Photos from Tottenham Hotspur vs Anzhi Makhachkala

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Match Ratings:

- Match: 7/10 (reasonably decent for neutral)

- Value for money: 7/10 (nice of Spurs to reduce the prices)

- Ground: 7/10 (excellent ground)

- Atmosphere: 6/10 (good noise from a small block of Spurs fan)

- Food: 5.5/10 (pies that break apart are not pies, sort it Spurs)

- Programme: 6.5/10 (was ok, but crossing that £3 mark for a programme is a no)

- Referee: Stefan Johannesson – 7.5/10 (was good and even consulted the mysterious penalty box official for the penalty)