No.54 - Sat. 23rd May 2009; Essex Olympian League Division 2 2.30pm at King Geoge V Memorial Field, Station Road, Southminster, Essex. (Att: 106; Admn: N/A Prog: 50p)
Matchday images (15) >view> Southminster St Leonard's (1) 3 Sungate (1) 1 Signing off in style...
Well here we are again! It’s seems ages since we attended our first game of the season, when we travelled down to Mill Hill FC in Hertfordshire for a County League fixture. Just like that day, back in August, it was another glorious afternoon as we attended the King George V memorial playing field at Southminster St Leonards Football Club for our final game of the campaign. Travellers, in search of an eagerly awaited end of season tick, had come from far and wide to this tiny It was lovely to meet up with so many familiar faces as we made our way around the delightful ground. It was nice to meet up with you fellas (Steve/David; Keith; Rob; Vinny; Tony; Dave; Martin to name just a few) once again and I would like to thank all of you for the fantastic words of encouragement about the site. And yes Geoff, I’m already looking forward to receiving your photos! The playing field is fully enclosed and is also bordered by local housing; some open fields and a railway line. Having it's own station (a terminus), the village is served by trains travelling to and from neighbouring Burnham-on-Crouch and beyond, making it an ideal ground for hoppers to get to. The main facilities are found next to the car park and comprise of a floodlit multi-use games area; a couple of wooden buildings that provide the changing rooms; tea bar and toilets. A small patio area leads players to the pitch which runs lengthways from here. At present there is no pitch-side cover for spectators (and that includes dug outs). The playing surface today looked in excellent condition, having been mown perfectly in alternating lengths of light and dark strips. Many travellers remarked that it was indeed one of the best pitches they had come across during the last season. And they should know! It goes without saying that my old mucker and FGIF supremo Paul Roth would have salivated at this wonderful verdant sight. I certainly did! The pitch was surrounded by a blue perimeter rope that had been drawn tightly through a series of plastic stakes. A row of folding advertising boards had also been placed neatly in a row behind the nearside goal. It all looked very neat, tidy and colourful and contributed into creating a favourable impression amongst the neutrals. The game today could easily have been described as an ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ event. Both sides had been vying for the Essex Olympian League Second Division title over the last few weeks. However the results in recent games meant that this potential end of season battle would not be a title decider as many neutrals had hoped for. Midweek games played a few days earlier had already forged the destiny of both clubs: on Tuesday evening Southminster in second place needed victory over local rivals Maldon St Marys to keep their hopes alive. A hot tempered derby ending with a 1-1 draw was just not enough for them. The following night saw the visitors and league leaders win the title at the first attempt when they also drew 1-1 (with Shenfield) to earn that all-important point. On a positive note Southminster had also won promotion and can now look forward with Sungate to Division 1 football next season. Today’s game was seen by the hosts as a chance to seek a bit of revenge! A home win would see only one point separate both teams. It doesn't get much closer, does it? The game turned out to be an absolute cracker and for this reason made it a superb advert for the league. Wearing a yellow and black kit Sungate came closest to scoring first when they earned a penalty following a push in the area. Matthew Frew (15) wearing the number 15 shirt stepped up to take a place kick. He missed! By a quirk of fate this was, in fact, the second time in three days that he miscued a spot kick. Twenty minutes later Dave Main (38) showed how it should be done when he calmly converted his penalty for the homesters easily beating keeper Neil Murray with a well placed strike that found the bottom corner of his goal! With only five minutes remaining before the break the visitors pulled one back to restore: a long ball punted into the box was controlled by Jamie Watkins (40) who turned sharply to blast the ball past Jack Sibley. There was just enough time to give Lucky, our pet Border Collie, who had joined us for the trip a chance to escape his leash and stretch his legs for a few minutes. We had brought his favourite ball along with us as a way of expending some of his abounding energy, a trait well renowned in this breed of dog. Being a sociable type he chased after his toy which landed some distance away and quickly retrieving it, like a dog half his age, carried it back over again. However before we knew it he had made a quick detour towards the group of Sungate players who had gathered further along the touchline for their team talk! Pushing his luck the faithful hound had slipped out of view, no doubt looking to make some new friends! As I walked over I could see the black and white pooch lying on his back having his belly rubbed by one of the players. What a cheek! His fun was soon over though as the referee had already come back onto the pitch to re-start the game. With our faithful friend firmly tethered on his leash once again, order had at last been restored. With a frustrated sigh the disgruntled wolf reluctantly settled on the grass beside us. However his impatience to get off the lead again soon got him into a spot of bother. His incessant barking for attention became too much and forced Fran to lead him swiftly back to the car. Lucky had pushed his luck too far! Back to the action: as expected the opening period of the second half was a tight affair. The hosts, dressed in a red and black kit, took the initiative when Dave Main (68) scored his own and Southminster’s second after rising above the crowd of players on the edge of the six-yard-box to glance home a free-kick with a terrific header. But the best was yet to come! With time running out the young athletic-looking Danny Noble (82) seized the initiative on 82 minutes and reacting first to a misplaced pass, just inside the Sungate half of the field, struck the loose ball goal-ward. His effort simply rocketed into the top left-hand corner of the net from all of forty yards. A headcount gave the attendance as 106 spectators. Amazingly for the ‘hoppers the club had kindly produced a superb A6 programme (A4 folded twice) for the game. Fronted with a cover displaying the match details (in colour) the rest of the content featured a welcome page and match day notes, an advert promoting the club sponsors and of course the vital line-ups printed on the back. My copy had the number 66 typed onto it and doubled as an entry ticket in the free raffle. At 50p this mini issue represented great value and will become a welcome addition to the collection! Expecting a larger than normal crowd today the committee had wisely contacted an outside catering service to provide a wide range of hot and cold food and drinks. Despite the additional calories and blood-coagulating menu the take-away food went down very well with all those present especially the caterers who obviously made a nice little earner for themselves. What a cracking day it had been and certainly one to remember as the campaign draws to a conclusion. Well almost: all that remains for us is a very nervy ninety minutes beside the TV and Radio 5 Live as my beloved Tigers take on a second string (don’t you believe it!) It just remains for me to thank everyone who has contributed to FGIF over the last nine months. I cannot believe the places some of you go to in order to bring us your latest news no matter how great or small . It’s truly inspirational stuff, believe me! In the meantime, have a restful summer whatever you get up to and we look forward to hearing from you once again next season. Cheers and thankyou once again, Martin.
FGIF Match Rating: 5. edited 24/05/09
