ROMAN GLASS ST GEORGE 0 WESTFIELDS 1
THE Fox and I try Corsham again this weekend. The club had done everything possible to finally get this game on, including a Friday pitch inspection from a National League referee. The Fox is particularly confident!
To cut a long, painful story short, the match referee arrives at about 2pm and after an inspection and scamper around on the pitch calls off the game. The Deal contingent is not happy to say the least!
Fortunately, The Fox and I had sniffed that something was amiss and had already typed directions to Roman Glass St. George – our Plastic Fantastic back-up - into Jane SatNav upon our arrival.
The fog is getting thicker by the minute but, miraculously, when I arrive at Oaklands Park the sun is out. I visited St. George quite a few seasons ago. This place does not look familiar to me at all! I pay £7 to the friendly lady at the gate (£4 Concessions). The lady points at a Q Code taped to the door: “Today’s Programme”. I shan’t be bothering with that faff, of course.
While The Fox is trying to master his phone to access the ‘programme’, I take a look around. Oaklands is the headquarters of the Gloucestershire FA. I bump into a couple of local Groundhoppers, shepherded here by the fact there are very few games left to choose from. One tells me that when I saw
Romans at home, they played at a different ground (on Whiteway Road). This is a ground tick for me after all!
The players are warming up. The turnstile is behind one goal, so one has to watch what’s going on in case of misplaced footballs! There are seated and standing covered areas down the left side and a glass-windowed café behind the opposite goal. There’s no food in the canteen but a hot coffee is very welcome on this chilly afternoon.
It’s a frantic start to this game in the Hellenic Premier. There are several Westfields supporters in the stadium. Quite a proportion of them seem very angry! A few very obvious fouls are awarded by the referee and this causeses apoplexy among the visiting contingent. It’s really quite bizarre behaviour even within the realms of football-related nonsense.
The football eventually settles down. Both sides find their rhythm and the action becomes end to end. The only goal is a superb driven lob from 35-yards. It’s a wonder to behold and a goal that would grace any stadium in the world.
Thick fog sweeps in with 20 minutes to go but not enough to endanger the finish of the game; it’s found me again! The drive home is a steady one giving plenty of time to plan next weekend’s trip to Corsham. Again... 35(˨0$7&+,1)2 :(/&20( )$&,/,7,(6
)22' &+$50 352*5$00( +20( )$16 0$7&+ 29(5$// 75,3
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