Ground #343 - Borough Park

Date: 29th February 2020
Ground: Borough Park
Location: Workington, Cumbria

My third new ground of 2020 was on Saturday 29th February at Borough Park in Workington, Cumbria. The game was Workington vs. Clitheroe in Northern Premier League Division One North West.

Borough Park is on the banks of the River Derwent half a mile north of the town centre. The river borders the northern side of the ground with the eastern side backing onto a park and the southern side closest to a council building across the road. To the west is a supermarket with the town's rugby league stadium beyond this. The venue is just under half a mile north of Workington railway station and has been home to the club since 1937 when the club moved a short distance from the aforementioned Lonsdale Park.

The entrance to the ground is on the western side and leads onto an six level uncovered concrete terrace. There is a small covered seating area by the halfway line for officials and media only and this area is split in two by access to the dressing rooms contained within the stand. Working towards the northern end is an uncovered concrete terrace with access to the bar and clubhouse and then a flat concrete section running up the north-west quadrant. This north-west quadrant sees the start of an uncovered eight level concrete terrace which extends behind the northern goal round to the north-east quadrant.

At the end of the north-east quadrant is the eastern side of the ground which houses the main stand. Most of the structures were built around the time of the club's election to the Football League in the 1950s so are now showing their age. The main stand contains around 500 seats spread across five rows and a flat concrete section at the back of the stand. The roof is held up by nine support beams at the front of the stand. There are large uncovered concrete terraced sections either side of the stand and a few rows of terracing directly in front of it. The southern end has another large concrete terrace which extends to the south-west quadrant. This terrace consists of ten levels with the back half covered and the front half uncovered.

Workington were looking to strengthen their position at the top of the table against a Clitheroe side in the bottom reaches of the top 10. The hosts had a great chance to open the scoring in the 13th minute when Cerian Casson was tripped in the area while heading away from goal. Scott Allison sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot to put his side 1-0. Just six minutes later Workington went 2-0 up - the ball was zipped across the area by Dav Symington for Brad Carroll to drill low into the far corner from 12 yards. A minute before the half-hour mark the home side had a header cleared off the line but they did manage to notch up a third goal of the half in the 35th minute. A low cross into the box reached Allison who undertook some neat footwork to side-step a defender and smash into the roof of the net. This truly was a dominant first-half display significantly aided by a very strong wind towards the away goal. The home scoring was rounded off two minutes before the interval as Dav Symington knocked the ball across the area where Scott Allison steered home to round off his hattrick. With the wind against the league leaders in the second half the remaining 45 minutes were a much more even affair but Workington knew the game was already won. Clitheroe were able to pull one back in the 67th minute through a great 20 yard strike into the top corner by Tyrhys Dolan but there was never any danger of a comeback as the hosts played out a comfortable victory.

Result: Workington 4-1 Clitheroe
Division: Northern Premier League Division One North West
Attendance: 484

Ground #331 - Ladywell Arena

Date: 4th September 2019
Ground: Ladywell Arena
Location: Lewisham, London

My forty-sixth new ground of 2019 was on Wednesday 4th September at the Ladywell Arena in Lewisham, London. The match was Lewisham Borough vs. Forest Hill Park in the Southern Counties East League Division One.

Ladywell Arena is part of the Ladywell Fields park area in the Lewisham area of south-east London. The northern side of the ground has Ravensbourne River with green space beyond while the western side has the  Charing Cross to Hayes rail line separating the arena with further green space. The eastern and southern sides meanwhile are bordered by housing. The venue, which was opened in 1997, is well served by rail connections with Ladywell station half a mile to the north and Catford and Catford Bridge stations half a mile to the south.

The Ladywell Arena is an athletics venue with a six-lane running track meaning fans are a way back from the field of play. The west has an all-seater metal stand just to the south of the halfway line. This stand has around 100 seats spread across three rows. To the north of the stand is a small hard standing section with a barrier to indicate where this ends and the grass area, which is not designated for spectators, then begins. To the south of the stand is a long jump with sand pit.

The southern end has the entrance with a large patio leading out from the main leisure building which includes the leisure facilities, dressing rooms and a food outlet. The south and west are the only identifiable spectator areas - the east side does has a slim grass verge behind the running track as well as the two dugouts while the northern end has a large shotput net which would impede views even if anyone did want to watch from this end.

This Southern Counties East League Division One league game was a local derby with both sides calling the Ladywell Arena home. Lewisham had experienced a better start to the season with Forest Hill Park second bottom of the table but having only played a couple of games it was still early days. Forest Hill had an early opportunity in the 6th minute when a nice ball was threaded in behind the defence but a striker bobbled his shot wide while one-on-one. In the 12th minute Lewisham had their chance when a cross into the area was met by Ijah Currie-Wilson who headed the ball down with it bouncing wide almost in slow motion with the goalie nowhere near it. The opening goal came in the 21st minute when Currie-Wilson was unnecessarily felled on the far side of the area. Mohamed Basir dispatched an excellent penalty into the bottom corner of the net. The rest of the half passed by with little action of interest though a couple of minutes before the break Currie-Wilson managed a good run down the left before cutting inside and shooting low at the away keeper. Barely a minute after the restart Currie-Wilson grabbed a deserved goal from a pot shot from 25 yards which took a big deflection en route to the bottom corner of the net. Three minutes later Currie-Wilson had another chance when a lovely through ball found him on the left of the area. He cut inside and decided to cut inside again instead of rounding it off with a dink over the keeper. This gave the defence time to get back and defuse the attack. Lewisham were well on top during the third quarter of the game and it wasn't until the final fifteen minutes until Forest Hill got a foot-hold in proceedings with a few wayward long range efforts. A third goal arrived in the 85th minute when the ball was clipped into the area and Tyrelle Thomas finished past the keeper from six yards. One minute before the end of the ninety Lewisham added a fourth when Josh Owen took an optimistic punt from nearly 30 yards. The ball took a wicked bounce as the keeper went down to save with the bacll flying well over him into the corner of the net. In the 91st minute a nice move by the home side was finished when a chipped cross to the back post was volleyed just wide. A five goal difference would have been a little hard on Forest Hill Park and the away side did manage to get a consolation three minutes into injury time after a bit of a scramble resulted in the ball falling to a striker who with his back to goal turned and shot low into the net.

Result: Lewisham Borough 4-1 Forest Hill Park
Division: Southern Counties East League Division One
Attendance: N/A

Ground #270 - Borough Briggs

Date: 15th August 2018
Ground: Borough Briggs
Location: Elgin, Moray, Scotland

My eighteenth new ground of 2018 was on Wednesday 15th August at Borough Briggs in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. The match was Elgin City vs. Arbroath in the Scottish Challenge Cup 1st Round.

Borough Briggs is in the northern part of Elgin close to the River Lossie which meanders through the city. The ground can count amongst its neighbours a leisure centre and childcare centre to the west, an industrial and retail park to the south and open fields to the north and east. The venue is one mile north of the city's railway station and has been home to the club since 1921.

The entrance to the ground is on the southern side with the turnstiles next to the main stand. This structure runs for around half the length of the southern side and has a seating capacity of 478. The stand has a low roof but no supporting pillars apart from at the two sides. The dressing rooms are located within and the player tunnel emerges in the middle of the stand. This stand also has the club reception, shop and offices. The two dugouts are positioned either side of the stand and beyond this is uncovered concrete terracing though there is a small covered plexiglass section for disabled fans towards the eastern end. Close by to this is a food outlet in the south-east corner.

A covered concrete terrace runs the entire length of the pitch on the northern side. This has 11 rows of terracing with the back two levels a larger size to allow more flat standing. There are a huge number of supporting beams holding up the old looking roof but the stand does retain sound well. Unusually the four floodlights on this side go through the roof into the terrace so is in amongst the standing areas. The eastern and western ends of the ground both have flat concrete sections directly behind the goal with a concrete terrace built into a grass bank behind. At the back of this the grass banking takes over up to the perimeter of the site.

The game was a Scottish Challenge Cup 1st Round tie between League Two side Elgin City and League One side Arbroath. It was the visitors who edged the first half and had two clear cut chances during the first 45 minutes. The first of these came in the 21st minute when Kane Hester lifted the ball over the Elgin keeper Thomas McHale only to see Darryl McHardy clear off the line. In the 34th minute Abroath had another opportunity when the Elgin goalie was dispossessed while attempting some skilful play in his own area. The ball was pulled back and the resulting shot bounced off the crossbar and away to safety. The League One side took the lead in the 57th minute when a corner to the back post was headed into the top of the net by Thomas O'Brien. Within 60 seconds it should have been 2-0 when Kane Hester laid the ball off for Michael McKenna who blazed over from just inside the area. The last half-hour saw a more competitive showing from Elgin - with a quarter of an hour to play they should have pulled level when a cross into the area found an unmarked Chris McLeish who headed straight at the Abroath shotstopper. In the 83rd minute the late perseverence paid off when Jordan Lowdon lofted a free-kick into the area. Once again a key player was left unmarked but this time Darryl McHardy made no mistake and nodded past Darren Hill from six yards out. At the conclusion of 90 minutes the game went straight to penalties. The two sides were evenly matched after the first seven rounds of penalties but on the eighth round of spot kicks Elgin's Matthew Cooper's penalty was saved by Darren Hill ensuring a 7-6 spot-kick victory for Abroath.

Result: Elgin City 1-1 Arbroath (Arbroath win 7-6 on penalties)
Competition: Scottish Challenge Cup
Attendance: 401

Ground #254 - Goff's Lane

Date: 24th February 2018
Ground: Goff's Lane
Location: Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

My second new ground of 2018 was on Saturday 24th February at Goff's Lane in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. The match was Broxbourne Borough vs. Broadfields United in Spartan South Midlands League Division One.

Goff's Lane is located in the west of Cheshunt a few miles south of Broxbourne itself. The football ground takes up a small section of a larger parcel of land which breaks up the residential sprawl of the area. The main occupants of the site are a school with the football club bordering its western side. To the south of the arena there are additional pitches with roads to the north and west. The ground is a couple of miles west of Cheshunt railway station and has been home to Broxbourne Borough and its predecessors since 1975.

The northern side of Goff's Lane includes the club buildings outside of the football arena. Adjacent to the care park are the clubhouse, changing rooms and a small committee building. The entrance turnstile is located at the end of the car park and emerges in the middle of a covered wooden stand which takes up most of this end. This stand consists of a total of 131 seats split into three sections - 37 seats on the right-hand side of the entrance, 71 seats on the left-hand side of the entrance and 23 seats in the north-east corner for directors and officials. This stand continues round the corner before finishing around one-third of the way down the eastern side of the ground. This eastern section is a wooden terrace which has 2 levels initially before slimming down to a single level as the neighbouring artificial pitch encroaches upon the football arena.

The rest of this side is uncovered standing with the only other thing of note being the two dugouts. This uncovered standing continues at the southern end of the ground where space is at premium due to more neighbouring pitches. The western side has the only other stand in the venue - this large all-seater structure sits by the half-way line. It has 214 seats across 5 rows but has a very high roof requiring 5 supporting beams to hold it up. Apart from this stand the western side is a bit messy and overgrown with a few cordoned off areas. Upon my visit there was a food outlet vehicle near the stand but this was not open during the game. Aside from the stand it is uncovered standing with plenty of space either side of it. This uncovered standing continues round to the area behind the goal at the northern end until it meets the start of the seating area.

There was a clear gulf between the sides in the league table with the visitors twelve spots above the home side at kick-off. Broadfields had the upper hand early on with a succession of corners in the opening minutes though these came to nothing. In an extremely poor half of football there was very little action bar a scramble by the Broxbourne goal just after the half-hour mark. The first meaningful event came in the 41st minute when Broadfields were awarded a penalty after an attacker was struck in the face when a home defender went to head the ball. Harry Henley was the man on duty to take the spot kick and his effort found the goal despite the keeper getting a hand to it on the way in. The away side doubled their lead in the 53rd minute - a forward rode a defender's challenge before his attempt to round the goalie saw the ball palmed away. Fortunately for Broadfields this diversion found its way to a winger who slotted into the empty net as Broxbourne appealed for offside. The home side's best chance came in the 65th minute when a midfielder broke into the area and shot straight at the keeper from close range. Within ten minutes the visitors found themselves 3-0 up as a winger picked up the ball on the edge of the area and managed to get a shot low away as a tackle sent him flying. The shot snuck past the goalkeeper into the bottom corner. Broadfields were cruising by this point and rounded off the scoring in the 82nd minute when Harry Henley grabbed his second. It came about when he gathered the ball on the right, advanced towards the area and shot from 20 yards with the ball bobbling over the diving keeper.

Result: Broxbourne Borough 0-4 Broadfields United
Division: Spartan South Midlands League Division One
Attendance: 10

Ground #237 - Privett Park

Date: 28th August 2017
Ground: Privett Park
Location: Gosport, Hampshire

My twenty-first new ground of 2017 was on Monday 28th August at Privett Park in Gosport, Hampshire. The match was Gosport Borough vs. Basingstoke Town in the Southern League Premier Division.

The football ground is part of the wider Privett Park in Gosport. This park is an area of green space surrounded by housing estates on all sides. In addition to the football ground there are four more full-size pitches, a cricket pitch, a concrete court and a playground. Gosport is the largest town in the UK not served by a railway station. The nearest is Portsmouth Harbour station though this does require an additional connection via the Gosport ferry to cross the channel between the two settlements. The venue was opened in 1937 hosting Gosport FC initially before Gosport Borough were formed in 1944.

The main stand is on the western side of the ground and consists of 7 rows of wooden benches. The middle section of the stand has plastic seats attached to these wooden benches. This middle area includes a separate section carved out for officials, a press box at the back of the stand and the players tunnel in the middle of the stand. The stand has a total of 4 supporting beams helping to support the roof so there are a number of restricted view seats as a result. In front of this stand there is a flat concrete area with the two dugouts in front of this. East of the main stand there is a long single-storey building which has a food outlet, toilets and a club shop. West of the main stand there are two other buildings which were both closed during my visit.

The eastern side of the ground has the Harry Mizen Stand which runs about half the length of the field. This modern all-seater stand has a TV gantry on top of it and the rest of the eastern side is uncovered standing. The southern end has a large clubhouse called 'Inn Off The Post'. This clubhouse has a covered standing platform section in front of it and a flat area with picnic benches adjacent to it in the south-east corner. To the west of the southern goal there is a large flat concrete section with a dozen car park spaces. The opposite end of the ground is uncovered standing with a sizeable grass section behind the hard standing area. This was once given over to a temporary stand when the side reached the 1st Round of the 2014/15 F.A. Cup.

Both sides had experienced poor starts to the league season with Basingstoke having lost three of their opening 4 games and Gosport still looking to pick up their first point. It took all of 60 seconds for the visitors to take the lead when a cross from the right wing was met with a header by Ben Wright which looped over the keeper into top corner. On the quarter-hour mark Basingstoke doubled their lead after a dreadful defensive mix-up between Gosport keeper Matthew Cafer and defender Declan McCarthy saw a long ball over the top left by both of them. Sam Smart reacted quickly to the indecision, flicking the ball up and heading into the empty goal from 12 yards. The early going was all Basingstoke and they came close to extending their lead with half an hour gone when some nice link-up play saw Ben Wright's great volley from the edge of the area skim the top of the crossbar. Wright went close again from the edge of the area shortly after but his shot went just wide with the keeper watching. To be fair to Gosport goalie Cafer he made several saves to keep the score down during this period but the resistance only lasted until the 39th minute when Ousman Saidy brought down Sam Smart as he went past him on the left wing. Ben Wright placed his penalty low to keeper's right. Cafer did get a hand to it but it wasn't enough to keep it out. The visitors ran rings round Gosport in the opening 45 minutes and the hosts were fortunate to be only 3-0 down at the break. Any hope Gosport had of keeping it tight in the start of the second period were dashed when Basingstoke went 4-0 up barely a minute after the restart. Sam Smart was given the ball on the right wing and was allowed all the time in the world to cut inside and shoot across goal into the bottom corner of the net. The home side had their first chance of the game in the 54th minute when Tyrell Mitford was played in on the right wing and the visiting goalie pushed his shot onto the bar. Shortly after this Tyler Roach took a shot from the left wing requiring the Basingstoke shotstopper to get down well to stop the ball going in the inside post. This decent ten minute spell for Gosport was as good as it got and they found themselves 5-0 down in the 69th minute. The hosts were sleeping when a quickly taken free-kick was played to Ashleigh Artwell on the left wing and he crossed for Jack McKnight to smash into an empty net from a couple of yards out. It didn't take long for goals six and seven to arrive. In the 75th minute Connor Davis did well on the right wing and crossed for Jack McKnight to tap in. However before it got to him Gosport defender Ed Sanders stuck out a leg and ended up flicking it up with his heel, with the ball looping into the bottom corner. From the kick-off Basingstoke nicked the ball and forced a corner. The corner found Dan Collier who chested it down and smashed the ball through the keeper's legs from 6 yards out. The visitors weren't done yet and on the stroke of 90 minutes added an eighth. Good work by Marcus Johnson-Schuster down right wing allowed him to cross for Jack McKnight who shot well into the corner past a sea of players. In injury time the away side almost grabbed a ninth goal when a long ball put Connor Davis in the clear but his first touch was smothered by the keeper preventing an otherwise certain goal. After this the whistle went putting Gosport out of their misery until the next game at least.

Result: Gosport Borough 0-8 Basingstoke Town
Division: Southern League Premier Division
Attendance: 271

Ground #167 - Beveree Stadium

Date: 24th January 2015
Ground: Beveree Stadium
Location: Hampton, London

My second new ground of 2015 was on Saturday 24th January at the Beveree Stadium in Hampton, London. The match was Hampton & Richmond Borough vs. Dulwich Hamlet in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

The Beveree Stadium is located in the suburb of Hampton close to the banks of the River Thames. It is surrounded by a mixture of green space, residential properties and a school. The ground is half a mile east of Hampton railway station and has been home to the club since 1959.

The Beveree Stadium has a real mixture of viewing areas - on the western side of the ground there is a covered concrete terrace which runs from the south-west corner to near the half-way line. Attached to this is a seated structure with room for around 200 fans. The section where the two areas come together also contains a kid's food outlet. An additional semi-permanent all-seater stand was added to this side of the ground in 2008 in order to satisfy ground grading requirements.

The southern side of the venue saw a lot of improvements during the mid-2000s. In 2006 a renovated club house and changing rooms were completed and work was also done on the turnstiles during this period. Directly behind the goal is the Alan Simpson Stand, another all-seater structure able to seat around 100 supporters. The eastern side of the ground mostly consists of uncovered standing though there is one covered section about a quarter of the way along from the southern goal. The dugouts are situated on this side of the venue. The majority of the space behind the goal at the northern end is taken up with a covered standing section though there are uncovered standing sections either side of this.

The two sides came into the game off the back of varying form with Dulwich riding high having won six of their previous seven while Hampton & Richmond Borough had only picked up one win from their previous eight games. The visitors had the best of the early play and almost scored in the 35th minute when Nyren Clunis stuck the post from close range. In the 40th minute the ball found its way to Hampton's Charlie Moone on the edge of the Dulwich box and his smart turn gave him space to knock the ball into the bottom corner to give the hosts the lead at the interval. The muddy pitch deteriorated in the second half slowing the game down and this seemed to particularly Dulwich. They came closest to a goal with 10 minutes to go when there was a scramble in the Hampton penalty area but the ball was eventually scooped away and the home side hung on to win 1-0.

Result: Hampton & Richmond Borough 1-0 Dulwich Hamlet
Division: Isthmian League Premier Division
Attendance: 639

Ground #156 - The New Croft

Date: 12th August 2014
Ground: The New Croft
Location: Haverhill, Suffolk

My sixteenth new ground of 2014 was on Tuesday 12th August at The New Croft in Haverhill, Suffolk. The match was Haverhill Rovers vs. Newmarket Town in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.

The New Croft is on the eastern outskirts of the town as part of a larger sports complex. The nearest railway station is the small one at Dullingham around 9 miles north-east of the ground though for connecting bus services Cambridge is more suitable. The venue was opened in 2010 with its name a reference to the club's former home at Hamlet Croft where they had played from 1913 until the move. In addition to Haverhill Rovers, the venue is also the permanent residence of Haverhill Borough FC.

There is a covered all-seater stand capable of holding 158 people located on the western side of the ground. Behind this is the main club building including the bar, food outlet and dressing rooms. There is also an outside seating area to the left of the stand. The New Croft was built 2010 at a cost of £2m and this shows with the club building as it is very impressive compared with other teams in the division.

The only other stand in the ground is a small covered metal terrace directly behind the goal at the southern end of the venue. The rest of The New Croft is uncovered standing behind a metal barrier which extends round the pitch. The two dugouts sit on the eastern side of the ground opposite the main stand.

This one turned out to be a one-sided affair with a rampant Newmarket thrashing the home side. The visitors opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 27th minute - Richard Chadwick was clumsily fouled in the box allowing Lee Clift to dispatch the resulting spot-kick. In the 36th minute Newmarket doubled their lead when Jake Wayne cut inside a defender before chipping the goalkeeper from 20 yards. Just a few minutes later it was 3-0 as Ollie Snaith's sweetly struck shot from the edge of the area went in off the post. Things didn't get much better for Haverhill in the second half, they fell four goals behind in the 51st minute when Andrew Claydon was left unmarked from a corner and was able smash the ball in off the crossbar. In the 66th minute the visiting side extended their lead to five as a Jack Higgs free-kick took a big deflection on its way past Adam Whybrow in the Haverhill goal. The bad night for the hosts was compounded in the 84th minute when they were reduced to 10 men after a wild tackle by Dan Cornwell on Newmarket goalkeeper George Lawton.

Result: Haverhill Rovers 0-5 Newmarket Town
Division: Eastern Counties League Premier Division 
Attendance: 72

Ground #122 - Middlesex Stadium

Date: 8th April 2013
Ground:  Middlesex Stadium
Location: Ruislip, London

My eleventh new ground of 2013 was on Monday 8th April at Middlesex Stadium in Ruislip, London. The match was Hillingdon Borough vs. AFC Dunstable in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division.

Middlesex Stadium is located on the northern outskirts of Ruislip with the venue surrounded by fields. It is 1.5 miles from Ruislip tube station and has been home to the club since they re-formed in 1990.

The entrance to the ground is through a sports bar which was built in 2007. This is an impressive attachment to the venue and the outside seated area doubles as a balcony to watch the game from. The rest of the southern side of the ground is uncovered standing behind the fencing. It is a similar story on the opposite side of the pitch with just the dugouts and a raised concrete section in this area.

There is an all-seater stand which sits behind the goal at the eastern end of the ground. With around 200 seats this is fully covered. Behind the goal at the northern end of the venue there is a covered stand which consists of a raised concrete section. This side of the football arena backs onto a multi-use 3G astroturf pitch  behind the wall.

The game saw Hillingdon start the better of the two sides. The hosts were dangerous from set pieces and could've netted on a couple of occasions in the opening 10 minutes. The opening goal came in the 20th minute and it was a goal Dunstable would rather forget. A long ball was punted towards the Dunstable penalty area but with the goalkeeper advancing towards the ball to hoof it up the pitch there didn't seem to be any danger. Unfortunately the keeper completely missed the ball allowing a Hillingdon striker to then slot it into the empty net. The visitors were frustrated for the rest of the half and were limited to speculative long-range efforts which rarely troubled Hillingdon's shotstopper. Just after the hour mark the home side doubled their lead as an attacker was left acres of space to push into the penalty area. He drew the keeper and then passed it across the box to a teammate who rolled it into the goal. The home side started the game many places below Dunstable in the league but were by far the better team on the night. Hillingdon could have won by a few more goals but it finished 2-0.

Result: Hillingdon Borough 2-0 AFC Dunstable
Division: Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Attendance: 38

Ground #65 - Borough Sports Ground

Date: 29th August 2011
Ground: Borough Sports Ground
Location: Sutton, London

My fifty-second new ground of 2011 was on Monday 29th August at Borough Sports Ground in Sutton, London. The match was Sutton United vs. Dover Athletic in Conference South.

Borough Sports Ground (also known as Gander Green Lane) sits just behind the railway line and is only 150 yards from West Sutton railway station. The venue has been home to Sutton United since 1912.

The stadium has an unusual oval shape due to the fact it was a racing track before it was converted to a football ground. The effect of this is that fans on the north and east sides of the venue in particular are a long way from the pitch meaning a strong atmosphere is difficult to generate. The Main Stand, which runs alongside the pitch on the south side of the ground is the only all-seater area in the stadium and can hold 765 people.

The majority of rest of the ground consists of uncovered concrete terracing which encircles the pitch. The exceptions to this are the two covered terrace structures, one running alongside the pitch on the north side of the ground and one behind the goal on the west side of the ground. These two stands were the most popular places for fans to congregate. Because the venue itself is rather large there is also plenty of free space behind the spectator areas on the north and west sides of the ground.

The game started off tentatively with the away side probably edging the first period though it was the hosts who came closes to scoring after a rasping 25-yard drive cannoned off the crossbar just before the break. In the second half Dover started more positively but were kept at bay by some good goalkeeping. As the game advanced Sutton came back into it and in the last 20 minutes they spurned a host of golden opportunities to grab all three points as Dover tried to hang on for the draw. In the end the combination of a lack of clinical finishing and quality goalkeeping meant it finished goalless.

Result: Sutton United 0-0 Dover Athletic
Division: Conference South
Attendance: 714

Ground #62 - Coles Park

Date: 23rd August 2011
Ground: Coles Park
Location: Tottenham, London

My forty-ninth new ground of 2011 was on Tuesday 23rd August at Coles Park in Tottenham, London. The match was Haringey Borough vs. Leverstock Green in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division.

Coles Park is positioned 1 mile from Wood Green tube station on the Piccadilly Line. The ground is on White Hart Lane, with the Tottenham Hotspur stadium just a mile further down the same street. Coles Park has been home to Haringey Borough and their previous incarnations since 1930.

The ground has one raised stand which dominates the venue. It runs alongside the pitch on the north side of the venue and has around 250 seats although a good few seem to have been lost over the years. The stand has several supports across it restricting views slightly but because the stand is quite high, the view of the pitch is pretty good. Behind the stand sits a rather standard clubhouse.

The pitch is surrounded by expanses of tarmac on all sides which provides a great deal of car parking space to deal with the venue's other purpose as a car boot sale site. Metal barriers runs round the grass to separate the pitch from fans but these looked to be in a state of disrepair demonstrated by the fact a piece of the barrier fell off on its own accord during the match.

The game was a rather one-sided affair with Leverstock Green looking much the better team over the fixture. It took the visitors just 7 minutes to open their account when a free-kick was drilled into the box and headed into the goal. A quarter of an hour later Leverstock extended their lead with a terrific 25-yard volley which dipped into the bottom corner out of the reach of the goalkeeper. The game was threatening to turn into a rout when a looping header found its way into the goal to make it 3-0 after 36 minutes. Haringey came back strongly after half-time and laid siege to the Leverstock goal but they were hit on the counter attack with an excellent team move culminating in a toepoke home from inside the six-yard box. The hosts managed to grab a consolation in the final minute but Leverstock still came away with an impressive victory.

Result: Haringey Borough 1-4 Leverstock Green
Division: Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Attendance: 47