Ground #205 - King George V Playing Field (Exmouth)

Date: 7th September 2016
Ground: King George V Playing Field
Location: Exmouth, Devon

My sixteenth new ground of 2016 was on Tuesday 7th September at King George V Playing Field in Exmouth, Devon. The match was Exmouth Town vs. Tavistock in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division.

The King George V Playing Field is located close to the River Exe on a patch of green space nestled amidst residential dwellings. The Avocet Line runs directly behind the west of the ground and this leads into the terminus at Exmouth railway station a third of a mile south. The venue has been home to the club since 1964.

The east side of the ground has two separate stands - an older stand with around 60 seats is located towards the southern goal. This stand has a number of supporting beams in front of the seating which hold up the roof. Towards the northern goal is more modern 43 seater metal stand which was completed in early 2016. Set back from the pitch is a very well sized club house with a bar and food outlet included. There is an additional food outlet and club offices adjacent to club house and in front of the club house a grass area with a dozen picnic benches. Behind the older of the two stands there is a new looking wooden structure area for dressing rooms which demonstrates the recent investment in the venue.

On the west side of the ground there is a small covered stand level with the half-way line which consists of 3 brick platforms. The two dugouts are then to the front and either side of this stand. The areas behind both goals are uncovered strips of concrete with grass behind - due to the road running behind the ground the southern goal has a little less space behind it than the northern one.

Tavistock started the brighter of the two sides and wasted a couple of good chances in the early going. In the 17th minute they did break through when a nice backheel found Jack Crago on the left-wing and Crago cut inside before drilling the ball past home goalie Chris Wright. In the 28th minute the visitors had a goal ruled out for offside before the hosts had their first meaningful chance in the 33rd minute when Jordan Charran's effort was tipped just over. On the stroke of half-time Tavistock doubled their lead from the spot. Crago again caused problems down the left wing and after he was tripped in the box the referee gave a penalty. Glyn Hobbs smashed the spot kick straight down the middle. The visiting side continued to be on top in the second half having a goal ruled out for a foul in the 56th minute before notching up their third goal in the 59th minute. This time it was Hobbs doing well down the right and when his cross was sent towards his own goal by an Exmouth defender the keeper could only palm it as far as Steve Rogers who shot in off the post from a couple of yards out. It wasn't until the final few minutes that Exmouth started to have some success with their efforts at goal - in the 85th minute a good double save by Tavistock goalkeeper prevented a goal but couple of minutes later the hosts did get their reward when Luke Durham drilled in a shot from edge of the box and it was steered in off a Tavistock defender. Exmouth had displayed plenty of effort up until this point so deserved to get a goal out of the game but Tavistock were more clinical over the 90 minutes and good value for their win.

Result: Exmouth Town 1-3 Tavistock
Division: South West Peninsula League Premier Division
Attendance: N/A

Ground #204 - King George's Field (Tolworth)

Date: 29th August 2016
Ground: King George's Field
Location: Tolworth, London

My fifteenth new ground of 2016 was on Monday 29th August at King George's Field in Tolworth, London. The match was Corinthian-Casuals vs. Tooting & Mitcham United in the Isthmian League Division One South.

The ground sits within King George's Field - large area of green space close to the A3 road. The venue is surrounded by this except for the northern side which is adjacent to the Chessington branch railway line. The ground sits close to two railway stations with Tolworth half a mile to the east and Chessington North one mile to the west. The ground has been home to Corinthian-Casuals since 1988 when they were able to take it over from Tolworth FC and redevelop the site. This finally gave the side a permanent home after a nomadic existence of eight different locations in the post-war period.

The north side of the venue is the most heavily built up area. Starting from the north-east corner this begins with 5 rows of concrete terracing followed by an area with 3 rows of seating. This consists of 121 seats with a press box at the back close to the half-way line. There is also a separate directors area with 35 seats. Behind the main stand there is a covered eating area extending out from the clubhouse as well as a shed containing the club shop. This takes up around half of the northern side of the ground and with the exception of a single demountable for club officials next to the stand the remainder of the north side is taken up by uncovered standing.

Opposite this the southern side is fairly sparse with uncovered standing with a small grass section behind. The two dugouts are then located next to the pitch. The western end is also mostly uncovered though there is a covered section directly behind the goal with 3 platforms of concrete terracing. The eastern end has a covered stand for the majority of its length - this is larger with 4 platforms of concrete terracing.

The opening period of the match was action packed with a number of goals in quick succesion. This was almost started in the 10th minute when a bad Corinthian goal was kicked straight to Taurean Roberts who beared down on goal only for the keeper to redeem himself and palm away. His relief was short lived though as a minute later he was picking the ball out of the net - once again Roberts had an effort saved but this time Danny Bassett was there waiting to tap in the rebound on the goalline. The hosts equalised in the 14th minute when a free-kick to the back post was steered towards goal by Terry Murray and the ball bobbled through keeper's legs and into bottom of the net. Having within a couple of minutes the hosts found themselves behind again as Jordan Wilson's cross from the right side of area took a deflection off Josh Gallagher and looped over his keeper for an own goal. The Casuals had been on back foot but after conceding the second they got a grip of the game and made more of a fight of things. They got back to level pegging in the 40th minute when a tangle of legs saw Josh Gallagher brought down and the referee point to the spot. Josh Uzan steeped up and sent keeper the wrong way to make it 2-2. That wasn't the end of the first half scoring though as Corinthian put through their own net again - this time when Danny Dudley's deflected Claudio Hoban's corner into the goal. Into the second half Tooting had two efforts cleared off the line in quick succession but just when it looked like they could pull clear they gave away their second penalty of the match when Bashiru Alimi handballed in box. This time the keeper went the right way but couldn't stop Josh Uzun notching up a brace. This changed the nature of the game and it was now the hosts that were on top - shortly after making it 3-3 Uzan was inches away from securing his hatrrick when he headed over from six yards out. The home side were reduced to ten men in the 74th minute when Jordan Clarke received a second yellow for impeding the goalkeeper's goal kick. However this didn't disrupt the flow as both sides went close in the final 20 minutes. This entertaining match could have gone either way but the two sides had to be content with a point apiece.

Result: Corinthian-Casuals 3-3 Tooting & Mitcham United
Division: Isthmian League Division One North
Attendance: 212

Ground #130 - King George V Playing Fields

Date: 3rd September 2013
Ground: King George V Playing Fields
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk

My nineteenth new ground of 2013 was on Tuesday 3rd September at King George V Playing Fields in Ipswich, Suffolk. The match was Whitton United vs. Waltham Abbey in the F.A. Cup Preliminary Round.

The King George V Playing Fields is a complex of football pitches located in the Whitton area of Ipswich in the north-west outskirts of the town. The venue is located 2.5 miles from the Ipswich railway station.

The ground has one small all-seater stand which sits behind the goal at the northern end of the venue. This covered structure has a total of 112 seats.This end of the ground also contains a food outlet with wooden benches positioned in front of it and a small hospitality area. The player dressing rooms are located just outside the ground along with the clubhouse.

The west side of the ground has a covered standing section known as The Shed which sits towards the northern end of the venue. This side of the ground also houses the dugouts which sit level with the half-way line. Opposite this is another small wooden stand which provides shelter for any standing fans on the east side of the ground. The remainder of the ground is uncovered standing although the area behind the nothern goal is off-limits due to the fact the this area sits very close to the A1156 road.

The game was an F.A. Cup Preliminary Round Replay between Eastern Counties League Division One side Whitton United and Isthmian League Division One North side Waltham Abbey. The two sides had met three days earlier with Whitton salvaging a draw after going behind in the first half. The visitors looked intent on stamping their authority on the tie and didn't take long to start hammering at the Whitton goal. In the 18th minute they hit the bar from the edge of the box and just a few minutes later got the opening goal of the game. The opener came from a fast counter-attack from a Whitton corner - Waltham Abbey broke away and had three against two approaching the home goal. The ball was played to Ayrton Coley on the right wing and he struck low into the bottom corner. The away team doubled their lead in the 36th minute when Darelle Russell struck a low shot from the edge of the box which just went out of the goalkeeper's reach and nestled in the far corner. Waltham were comfortably the better team for the rest of the game. The closest the home side came to netting was in the 67th minute when a well struck free-kick which clipped the crossbar. Any hope Whitton had of getting back into the tie evaporated when a defensive error resulted in Tom Bruno being let into the area and in a one-on-one encounter with the goalkeeper Bruno tucked the ball into the goal to make it 3-0. Waltham did have another effort chalked off for offside late on so they had to settle for a three-goal victory en-route to the F.A. Cup 1st Qualifying Round.

Result: Whitton United 0-3 Waltham Abbey
Competition: F.A. Cup
Attendance:  102