TT No.43: Andy Gallon - Tue 16th September 2008; Haverhill Rovers v Stanway Rovers; ECL Prem Div;          A-A (75min); Att: 75 (h/c); Admission: £5; Programme: £1 (36pp); FGIF Match Rating: **

The clock is running down on Haverhill Rovers' tenure at Hamlet Croft, their home since 1913. Council owned, this interesting ground is scheduled to be bulldozed and houses constructed on the site. Rovers hope to be playing at a purpose-built community stadium by the middle of next season. Though there are complex funding issues still to be resolved, work on the new venue, close to the Samuel Ward Upper School and Technology College in a part of town known as Chalkstones, could begin early in 2009. Rovers don't particularly want to move but the council is keen to cash in on Hamlet Croft's enticing acres. The new stadium will feature a stand, clubhouse and an enclosed pitch. Importantly, Rovers' numerous teams - which include a women's side and several for juniors - will be united at a single site, so strengthening the bond with the parent club. Officials see this as the biggest benefit of the relocation. The fact Rovers have been told by the council for some years that a move is likely explains why Hamlet Croft is relatively undeveloped. Who wants to spend money on a property destined for the wrecker's ball? It is as well concealed as the Holy Grail and devilishly difficult to find. Even when finally on Hamlet Road, the sailing is far from plain because the ground is on a higher level and hidden by tall trees and a small estate of modern houses. The key to unlocking the puzzle is Tudor Close, named after the adjacent timber-framed house dating from that era. This eyecatching structure, built in 1540, was part of the marriage settlement between King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. Restored and refurbished in 1986, it has stood the test of time - unlike the King's marriage, which went the way of his previous ill-fated liaisons. Tudor Close, a narrow lane laid in concrete sections, squeezes between the houses and into the confines of the ground, the bulk of which is over to the left as you drive in. There is a wooden pay hut on the right. The lane curves round to the left and runs in front of the only stand - and all the other meaningful facilities - before petering out in a car park behind the far goal. The most interesting thing about Hamlet Croft is the story of the pitch's former slope. To get some idea of how precipitously the land once fell away from the top touchline, you have to appreciate the pitch originally ran right up to the front of the stand. The playing surface was levelled during the 1960s, and this explains why there is now such a steep grassy bank between touchline and stand on this side. It's amazing to imagine how the layout used to be. Lack of investment has, apparently, left the pitch a pudding of compacted clay to a depth of a couple of feet, which means it drains very poorly. Rovers now regret not sorting it out a few seasons ago.  The simply-designed stand, a sloping and propped roof over seven rows of bench seats, dates from the 1930s and is positioned slightly off centre. The seats are painted black and white. To the left of the stand (as you sit in it) is the first of three plain brick buildings. This houses the hospitality room for directors and their guests, and the kitchen/refreshment hatch. A strip of concrete, and the ground's sole crush barrier, is to the front and looks directly over the halfway line. It's a popular choice for Rovers regulars. To the right, with a flight of steps spilling down the bank and providing access to the pitch, are the 1950s vintage dressing rooms, complete with a curious angular porch. Beyond is the rather spartan social club and toilets, built in the 1970s and possibly not altered since. A hardstanding strip surrounds the rest of the pitch, which is enclosed by an unpainted post and rail barrier. Trees, of various species and heights, embrace the ground, which has a small area of grass for training behind the goal at the near end. This can be illuminated by rudimentary floodlights mounted on telegraph poles. The abundant foliage does much to obscure Rovers' neighbours. Behind the main stand there is open land, also destined to become part of the housing development, and then a factory. The tallest trees fringe the bottom touchline and modern houses can be glimpsed through the leaves. The floodlights are masts, with four per side and two lamps on each. All in all, Hamlet Croft is rather basic - really too open and exposed to be considered homely. If you restricted your exploration of Haverhill to the football ground and the Anne of Cleves house, you wouldn't miss out on much. Only the parish church, with its castellated tower and walls, will divert your attention on a High Street notable for its large number of pubs, takeaways and obese bodies. One shop, perhaps a refugee from the East End, sells pie and mash, and jellied eels. I can't envisage any circumstance which would lead me to put an eel, jellied or otherwise, in my mouth. Others clearly relish the prospect. Haverhill could be a template for Small Town Britain. Three of the biggest names on the main drag are Co-op, Woolworth and Wimpy. Oh dear. Bored tea-time teenagers (don't kids get homework any more?) kick their heels and find new ways to propel saliva on to the pavement as the place prepares to shut down for the night. The local Weekly News's front page story tells of fears over increasing anti-social behaviour amid community police budget cuts. The arts centre is showing a play called Penis (part of the res-erection tour, says a poster, trying hard to attract the attention of Sixth Formers), and the Your Move estate agency has folded after selling its last house God knows how long ago. You get the picture. Less is definitely not more in this sleepy extremity of Suffolk. The match itself, as drab as the town, did not reach a conclusion. With 75 minutes gone and the deadlock yet to be broken, Lee Hurkett dislocated a knee attempting to block a Rob Thorne shot and was left on the turf, audibly screaming in agony. The Haverhill left-back was made as comfortable as possible and covered with blankets pending the arrival of an ambulance. Referee Nigel Smith gave it 15 minutes and, having consulted both managers, abandoned the game. Woe. The ambulance passed me, all blues and twos, a couple of minutes after I'd driven out of Hamlet Croft. Apart from their understandable concern for the unfortunate Hurkett, Rovers would be the happier because they had been reduced to 10 men in the 49th minute when Stuart Kingham was sent off for pulling back Luke Callender as the Stanway striker ran through on goal. Haverhill, facing almost constant pressure after the central defender's dismissal in only his second game for the club, were hanging on grimly at the time of the injury to Hurkett, who faces three months on the sidelines. The lively running of Rovers right winger Marc Abbott lit up a generally murky first half. His crisp 20-yarder was saved at the second attempt by Michael Church and he then put a chance on a plate in front of goal for Craig Cutts, who couldn't get the necessary touch. Stanway's Sam Newson lobbed fractionally wide after a route one move and the visitors had a strong penalty claim waved away when a Ben Newson volley struck Neil Hammond. The Essex boys stepped up the pressure after Kingham's red card and the wasteful Callender squandered three opportunities. Ben Newson headed against the far post having climbed well to meet a Michael Burch cross. It was the high point of the evening. Haverhill attempted to hit back and Hammond's acrobatic close-range volley was parried by Church and then hoofed clear. But Hurkett's agonising reaction to what looked a harmless collision in the penalty area put paid to any hopes of an entertaining climax - and added one more fixture to Rovers' Hamlet Croft countdown.

contributed on 18/09/08