Ground Hopper

SATURDAY AUGUST 5 Chipping Sodbury Town 3 Brackley Town Saints 1

I AM tempted by Forest Green Rovers’s first match in the Football League today but, then again, it’s FA Cup day so I postpone a visit to the New Lawn until Tuesday night in the not-so magical League Cup. The Fox suggests Chipping Sodbury Town mainly on the basis of the snigger value of the name. A gentle day in the south-west is planned, taking in a bit of birdwatching at Chew Valley Lake. Within minutes of joining the M1, plans are thrown into disarray when warning signs tell us of a 75-minute delay on the M5 near Bristol. By the time we are on the M42, the delay has risen to 90 minutes. Maps and Apps are employed to find a diversion to our chosen game. After an unscheduled stop at a small but charming nature reserve in Gloucestershire, we follow the back roads to Chipping Sodbury, actually passing the New Lawn on the way: useful for finding it again on Tuesday. From the moment I pull up at The Ridings, I am treated like royalty by club officials. Every single committee member and helper cannot do enough to make my visit a success. What a brilliant bunch of lovely people. After taking photos of the stadium, I have to make a dash back to the car to shelter from a short sharp storm. It makes for some atmospheric shots of the ground. While sheltering, a song by ‘The The’ comes on the radio: an amazing coincidence being as Matt Johnson is on the teamsheet today (look it up). The Ridings is set in a larger sports complex. There’s a rugby ground to the north and a cricket ground to the east. There’s a cricket match taking place, which seems a tad dangerous if a ball comes hurtling over onto the football pitch! The football stadium is neat and tidy. I enter at a small shed (£6 and £1 for the programme). All sides are open apart from the turnstile side of the ground. A small clubhouse is found to the left of the gate, as well as a stand and an area of covered standing. To the right of the entrance is a small seated stand, towered over by a wonderful horse chestnut tree. Hot food is available from a burger van – the Pig Out – and filled rolls and hot drinks are served from a hatch in the clubhouse. Today’s Extra Qualifying Round tie sees the hosts of the Western League Premier Division take on Brackley Town Saints of the Hellenic Premier. The visitors are basically the reserve side for Brackley Town, so who knows what would happen if the two were drawn against each other in future rounds?! The Sods completely dominate the opening half and could have been out of sight by the break. As it is, they are two goals to the good, the last scored with the last kick of the half. A spirited restart by Saints is soon brushed aside by a strong Sodbury side but they are extremely wasteful in front of goal. If this had finished 10-1, the visitors couldn’t have complained. Heavy traffic is a bore on the journey home but it is holiday season, after all... PRE-MATCH INFO: 7.5, WELCOME: 10, FACILITIES: 6, FOOD: 5, CHARM: 5.5, MATCH: 7.5, FANS: 6, RESPECT: 5 PROGRAMME: 3, OVERALL TRIP: 7.5, OFFICIALS: 8, ATT: 161