No, I have not taken 3 wickets in three balls at the Twenty 20 cricket, nor have I scored 3 goals in a football game. The hat trick I am referring to is doing 3 games in 3 successive days – and all at different grounds and in different competitions.
Taking advantage of the last three days of my leave from work, and the unseasonably warm evenings, I decided to get myself out and watch some local football.
Monday 25 October 2021
Barkingside Fc 1 v 0 Buckhurst Hill Eastern Counties League Division 1 South (Step 6)
This was a night of firsts for me. My first trip to Cricklefield Athletics Stadium this season, and my first time watching Buckhurst Hill play.
I say a trip to Cricklefield. It was more like a gentle stroll. The ground is less than a mile from my home, so I had a stroll down there. Getting my steps count up for the day as well! both Barkingside FC and Ilford Fc play home games here. You may think I am lucky to have a ground so close with two teams playing there. The reality is that this is one of the worst venues to watch football at. The pitch is inside and athletics track, with the spectator facilities outside, so you are effectively a long way back from the pitch.
Now, the pitch, that is another thing. It is very uneven and very hard to play good football on as you can never be sure the ball will not bobble up at an unexpected or inopportune moment. to make matters worse, it was a floodlight game. The floodlights here are not the best, and are very uneven in their distribution of light. I’m not an electrician, or qualified to test lights, but I do not believe the light distribution is consistent enough to pass the relevant ground grading
Admission is £7 ( no concessions now at Barkingside), but you do get a programme included with the admission price. I took my seat in the Main Stand ( ok, only stand) and spoke with the usual groundhoppers. Barkingside try to play their home games on a Friday or Monday to attract groundhoppers when there is little competition. It is a policy that works. Tonight the crowd was 115, far more than when they play on a Saturday.
The visitors are in their first season at this level and are a rapidly growing club. They were formed as a junior club in 1985 and are in their 1st season at this level. The club seem to have very good foundations, including rarely for London, owning their own ground. They are challenging for promotion from this league and had a great 5-1 away win at Great Yarmouth on Saturday in the FA Vase.
Given the uneven state of the pitch, it was not going to be a footballing classic. The game itself was relatively even until Buckhurst Hill took the lead, then added a second. At 0-2 it was game over I thought, until a great goal almost immediately from Buckhurst Hill made it 1-2. That however was the highpoint for Barkingside as they eventually sucumbed to a 1-6 home defeat.
I would expect Buckhurst Hill to be in the promotion fight at the end of the season. Barkingside? Staying in this division will probably be the best they can hope for. Its a shame as its a friendly club and Jimmy the chairman does wonders to keep the club going.
I always enjoy my visits to watch Barkingside
Tuesday 26 October 2021
Waltham Abbey 0 v 2 AFC Dunstable Southern Premier League Division 1 Central (Step 4)
Tuesday and I decided to head to Waltham Abbey for a change. Its a venue that I like to attend. It is a smart ground, if simple, but always looks very neat. The fence around the ground and the pitch fence are always in impeccable condition, as is the pitch. Spectators on the far side and the far goal have a simple concrete walkway to spectate from. Behind the near goal is a covered small terrace and a seated stand, and down the other side is a seated stand and a small covered standing area. All very simple, but well maintained, smart and functional. I suspect if Waltham Abbey ever got promoted, they would need to do little to meet the higher ground grading. They have even tarmacadamed the large car park during the period since my last visit.
Sadly, Waltham Abbey are not a well supported club. They have only had one gate over 100 this season, which is poor for a step 4 club. Tonight the attendance was a second three figure crowd, with 105 there for the clash with promotion chasing AFC Dunstable.
Free car parking, and a reasonable admission price of £8 is seemingly not enough to attract more people from the local town. This despite their also being a rather decent clubhouse at the ground.
The first thing I notice on entering the ground is that a bit like Aveley on Friday there is a new electronic scoreboard. Also a bit like Aveley, they appear unsure who they are playing. The scoreboard announcing the visitors are Biggleswade. clearly geography is an issue in the Home Counties.
I am pleased to say that by kick off time they had realised they were playing AFC Dunstable.
The first half of the game was largely forgettable with a lack of excitement, until the 39th minute when AFC Dunstable took a probably deserved league. The second half was largely the same, especially after AFC Dunstable had added a second goal to make it 2-0. Like on Monday night, I expect the visitors to be challenging for promotion at the end of the season.
Wednesday 27 October 2021
May & Baker 0 v 2 Saffron Waldon Town Essex Senior Cup ( Step 6 v Step 5)
A third game in successive evenings. This only came about as a result of circumstances. Normally on a Wednesday I help out at a Food Surplus Hub helping to distribute food and reducing landfill waste. This time, I could not remain at the charity centre after dropping off 300+ meals as I was taking part in some development scheme in relation to road signs. It so happened this research finished at 1900 and was in Dagenham, so only about 5 or 6 miles from Aveley, where May & Baker play there home games. I like it when things fall into place
May & Baker are the former works team of …May & Baker a pharmaceutical company. They had a large plant in Dagenham which closed in 2000, but the social club and sports teams continued. By a twist of fate, the research I attended was actually on the site of the old May & Baker plant.
M& B are the 3rd team to share at Aveley, along with Grays Athletic. This means that Aveley usually play weekend home games on a Friday evening. The ground at Aveley is far better than most if not all step 6 teams in the rewgion. A great 3G pitch and good spectator facilities make it a favourite of ground hoppers.
Getting to the ground and paying the £5 admission fee, the first thing I notice was the rental M&B pay obviously does not cover the use of the electronic scoreboard there. There was a small crowd there, which was to be expected for a county cup tie against a team from the north of the county and a host team that do not represent an area and play a few miles from their base. The crowd was 58.
The game was a very entertaining one in which M&B pushed their higher ranked visitors close. A goal in either half put Saffron Waldon town 2 up and surely cruising to a win. However, their inability to close the game down allowed M&B to pull one back 10 minutes from time and made for a nervy last 10 minutes for the visitors. M&B hit the woodwork 3 times in the game and may feel a little disappointed not to get anything from this game.
Bobby Shaftoe's Gone to Sea 