Upon alighting at Fenchurch i went straight into the pub next to the station where Fosters was advertised at £1.60 a pint on Mondays. However once inside you discovered that they had run out of the aforementioned Fosters so i reverted to the normal £3 a pint for crap beer that is a feature of London life. The ground is a pleasant 15 minute walk from the town centre and is in a sleepy residential area. It was 9 quid to enter and £2 for the programme. As ever the first port of call on a warm summer day was of course the bar. It is situated in the corner of the Stadium and is elevated over the pitch. There are a few tables outside the bar as you enter so you can take your pint outside and chill which was my preferred option. To the far side of the bar there is another outside seating area where the club officials, WAGS and hangers on sit to watch the game (Well that's how it seemed although i am sure anybody can go out there if they wish.)
I sat outside and read the programme in the sun. It was actually quite a good effort. Not too much fancy colouring but plenty to read which is how programmes should be. All in all well worth the £2. The managers story about why the first team keeper will be out for a while was well worth reading.
The ground seems as if it was designed for athletics first and football second; with a running track around the pitch, pole vault and long jump at the bar end of the ground and a hammer/discus area at the other area. You can stand behind either goal but the view isn't the greatest. On one side there are two small stands with red and white seats in.(nice colour choice) On the other side there is another seated area and a terrace area where the most vocal Hornchurch fans stand.
Next mission was to try to get a club badge. The clubshop is a portacabin which sold more or less everything but badges. However help was on hand; one Wealdstone follower (I assume the chap who runs their club shop) Had a stall selling a large number of football badges. So i was able to pick one up from him. I also bought a Wealdstone badge and an Imps one from him that i didn't have.
Before the match a grabbed a burger; very nice it was too, and then went and sat on the far side on the halfway line for the first half.
The first half was quite dull; the ref didn't let the game flow and the match was littered with free kicks. Chances were few and far between but Hornchurch just about shaded it. Sorry if this seems a tab brief but there really isn't that much to tell about the first half. Wealdstone built up a head of steam and had a few corners late on in the half but that was that.
For me the star of the day was the club PA announcer. He is one of the few chaps who sounds like he like doing the job and is very enthusiastic about his work. Although he does like to repeat himself a bit e.g
"On Thursday Ladies and Gents its a Capital league game yes a Capital league game".
"Next up folks its away travel yes away travel!!"
I would still say though he is one of the best comperes i have heard over the past three seasons of watching non league football. Certainly much better than the chap we have at Lincoln doing the job.
Thankfully the second half was much better. I stood on with the Wealdstone fans over on the corner where they were attacking. On 53 minutes they took the lead when a great chip just crept over the line before the keeper punched it out. It was a bold call from the linesman to give it but the correct one in my humble view (I was smack in line with it). After that point, Hornchurch seemed to have run out of ideas till the Wealdstone defence took pity on them and conceded a needless penalty for a hand ball on 71 minutes. The penalty was rammed into the net and it was very much game on once again.
The game turned on its head two minutes later when the home side took the lead and it was from one of those goals that is so simple yet incredibly tough to defend against. A low cross was hit into the box with pace and met by the striker as he got across his defender from about 7 yards and turned it in. It was played brilliantly in that grey area between the Keeper and defender that is just a total nightmare to defend against. As a keeper if you go for it you run the risk of a deflection or bobble taking it away from you where as the defender doesn't want to go for it and bring the striker down.
Wealdstone huffed and puffed but never really tested the Hornchurch keeper after that. The home side held on for the points in what was a hard game that was at times ruined by the whistle happy ref. Both sides looked decent and i would think they will both be nearer the top than the bottom of the table come may.
All in all a decent day out and a trip to recommend.
Admission £9
Programme £2 9/10 good show all round here chaps.
Food Burger £3 decent enough 7/10
Clubhouse 8/10
Ground 6/10
Match Quality 7/10
The only problem of the day was the fact i managed to get lost coming out of fenchurch station when looking for the tube on Tower hill. Can there be a more annoying breed of person than the Japanese Tourist? Curse you London underground for your engineering works!
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