Ground #234 - St George's Park

Date: 5th August 2017
Ground: St George's Park
Location: Newport, Isle of Wight

My eighteenth ground of 2017 was on Saturday 5th August at St George's Park in Newport, Isle of Wight. The match was Newport (IoW) vs. Guildford City in the F.A. Cup Extra Preliminary Round.

St George's Park is on the south-eastern outskirts of Newport - while the town is not close to any railway stations there are regular bus services connecting it to the ferry ports at Ryde and Cowes. Until recently the ground was mostly surrounded by fields and wooded areas. However construction of a retail park bordering the ground is ongoing and the club have been given notice to vacate the site in the summer of 2018. The venue has been home to the club since 1888 so this will see the end of a 130-year stay.

The main stand is on the west side of the ground. This structure has 300 seats with supporters assigned the left and right thirds of the stand. The middle section is given over to officials and is also split by the players tunnel which leads back to dressing rooms. The interior of the stand also includes the main facilities and a directors box and boardroom at the top of it which look out onto the pitch. The two dugouts which drop below pitch level are in front of the stand. There is one additional building on the western side which houses a snack bar and toilets and there is a flat concrete viewing area in front of this. Other than this the rest of this side is uncovered standing.

The remainder of the ground is hard standing with a strip of concrete behind the barrier and decent grass sized areas behind this. Each of the three sides also have one covered area with the eastern one by the half-way line and the northern and southern ones directly behind the goals. The eastern and southern sections have one raised level with a large flat concrete section with the northern end having two raised levels of concrete.

The game was between Wessex League Premier Division side Newport (IoW) and Combined Counties League Premier Division side Guildford City. Guildford started well creating a couple of decent chances in first couple of minutes. Newport were on the back foot in the opening part of the match but had their first half-chance in the 23rd minute when Jake Ballentyne fizzed a low shot from 30 yards out requiring visiting keeper Luke Badiali to get down quickly to palm the ball to safety. In the 39th minute the hosts took the lead - it came about when the visiting right-back went down injured which left a gap for Charlie Urry to race into. Urry was then able to beat the last defender and goalkeeper in one move and roll into an empty net from 12 yards out. Guildford very nearly equalised in first-half injury time after a header from a corner was saved on the goalline by Newport shotstopper Gary Streeter. The away side started the second half well and went close again in the 48th minute after Louie Downey's weak shot squirmed through keeper Gary Streeter's legs. Fortunately for Streeter there was a covering defender in the shape of Will Quigley who cleared off the line. Newport's respite didn't last long though as four minutes later Guildford did get back on level terms - a corner was whipped into the home area and bounced up kindly for Kieran Campbell who smashed home from 12 yards. The Combined Counties League side continued to attack and in the 68th minute Gary Streeter had to be on good form to produce a double save to deny Campbell his second and then Downie on the rebound. The next goal surprisingly came from Newport - after going after the home goal the hosts were able to break on the counter. An initial shot in the area was cleared off the line but as Charlie Urry went for the rebound he was clattered into. The referee pointed to the spot and Aiden Sainsbury shot low sending keeper the wrong way. Newport's hopes of advancing to the next round took a hit in the 81st minute when City drew level for the second time of the day. One of the away midfielders did well in the middle of the park before threading the ball through to Kyen Nicholas who poked past the advancing Streeter. Both sides were keen to avoid a weeknight replay on the mainland so went for it in the final minutes trying to snatch a winner. However neither side could grab the crucial fifth goal meaning they would have to do it all over again.

Result: Newport (IoW) 2-2 Guildford City
Competition: F.A. Cup
Attendance: 174

Ground #215 - St George's Field (Reigate)

Date: 27th December 2016
Ground: St George's Field
Location: Reigate, Surrey

My twenty-sixth new ground of 2016 was on Tuesday 27th December at St George's Field in Reigate, Surrey. The match was South Park vs. Molesey in the Isthmian League Division One South.

St George's Field is part of the South Park area of Reigate on the south-western edge of the town. The ground is part of the South Park Sports Association with a cricket pitch to the north of the football area. The other three sides of the ground are surrounded by fields. Just over a mile and a half south of Reigate railway station, the venue has been home to South Park since 1925.

There is an impressive modern-looking clubhouse in the north-east corner of the sports area lying adjacent to the cricket pitch. A walk past the cricket pitch then takes you towards the football ground where there is an astroturf mini-pitch by the entrance. This is on the eastern side of the main football pitch and this side also has the dressing room building level with the half-way line which provides two covered standing areas and a snack outlet. The remainder of the east side is uncovered standing.

The western side opposite is uncovered standing though there is a decent sized grass area behind the strip of concrete. This side also has the two dugouts which are positioned either side of the half-way line. The area behind the northern goal is also uncovered and there is netting positioned directly behind the goal to prevent the balls from going onto the cricket pitch behind. The southern end is mostly uncovered but does have two all-seater stands as well. The larger of the two is a 105 seat structure on eastern side of the goal while the smaller 50 seat structure is on the western side of the goal.

Molesey had the best chance of the early going when a long distance swerving effort by Joe Pratley-Lewis almost caught out Calum Thomas in the South Park goal. South Park started to get on top as the half progressed though and in the 36th minute took the lead when Kieran Lavery picked up the ball down the left wing, cut into the box, used a couple of stepovers to make space for himself and drilled the ball into the corner from 6 yards. Molesey's first half ended badly when one of their players was sent off for dissent while leaving the field after the referee had blown to end the half. Less than 60 seconds into the second period things got worse for the visitors as they went two goals down. This one was scored by Jack Stafford who played a smart one-two with a teammate before curling the ball into the roof of the net from 20 yards. In the 63rd minute South Park hit the crossbar but the respite for Molesey was short-lived as Dylan Merchant headed in the resulting corner. In the 69th minute the away side managed to grab a goal after being awarded a penalty for Josh Andrew being tripped on the edge of the box. Joe Nwoko smashed the penalty down the middle into the roof of net. With ten minutes to go Asa Rixon-Nicholls bundled in a corner to restore South Park's three-goal lead but Molesey kept going and a few minutes later Joe Nwoko grabbed his second when a cross from the right found him 12 yards out and he steered home. With the visitors back within two again they pushed forward but were then undone twice in two minutes. In the 89th minute Molesey gave the ball away allowing Chris Smith a clear run at goal. He was able to lift over the advancing keeper to notch up South Park's 5th. Straight from the kick-off the home side got the ball again, ran into the box and though the initial shot was saved Smith was at the back post to score again to finish off a frenetic final ten minutes to the game.

Result: South Park 6-2 Molesey
Division: Isthmian League Division One South
Attendance: 126

Ground #111 - St George's Lane

Date: 8th December 2012
Ground: St George's Lane
Location: Worcester, Worcestershire

My twenty-third new ground of 2012 was on Saturday 8th December at St George's Lane in Worcester, Worcestershire. The match was Worcester City vs. FC Halifax Town in Conference North.

St George's Lane sat in a residential area just to the north of the city centre. It was 0.8 miles from the nearest railway station, Worcester Foregate Street, although the city's second railway station, Worcester Shrub Hill, was also nearby. The venue was the home of Worcester City from 1905 until April 2013. The ground has now been demolished to make way for additional housing.

The majority of St George's Lane was taken up by uncovered terracing with just two covered areas of the ground. One of the covered areas was the Main Stand which ran most of the length of the pitch on the southern side of the venue. This classic structure had a capacity of just over 1,000 and was the only seated area in the ground. In front of it was a narrow area for fans to stand as well as the dugouts.

Opposite the Main Stand was the Brookside Terrace which was mostly uncovered terracing with a covered area towards the eastern end of the ground. Adjacent to this was the Canal End which sat behind the goal and became increasingly narrow the further south you went due to the canal running behind the ground. Behind the opposite goal was the Dressing Room End which consisted of more uncovered terracing.

The game saw a fairly even first half with the home side just shading it for performance and chances created. The Halifax goalkeeper was drawn into making a few saves as Worcester pressed for the opening goal although the visitors were able to fashion some opportunities of their own including a run of corners which was dealt with by way of some last ditch defending from Worcester. Just before the interval the home side should have been in front as a corner was nodded onto Mike Symons who had time and space to pick his spot from six yards out. However the ball was sent over the bar to great cheers from the away fans. The opening 15 minutes of the second period were disjointed with not a lot happening and it wasn't until the hour-mark that the next chance came for Halifax with a shot being blazed over from the edge of the box. Worcester then began to play some decent passing football although the home supporters were frustrated with the lack of end product as the away goalkeeper was not really tested. The only goal of the game came in the 79th minute as a Halifax free-kick was swung into the box and Gareth Seddon rose above his marker to head home from close range. This seemed to deflate Worcester and the visitors very nearly added a second shortly after when a shot from outside the box flashed just past the post. Halifax saw out the rest of the game with ease and although they were unable to grab a second goal to really kill the game off they were still able to secure all three points on the day.

Result: Worcester City 0-1 FC Halifax Town
Division: Conference North
Attendance: 1,032

Ground #52 - Grosvenor Vale

Date: 26th July 2011
Ground: Grosvenor Vale
Location: Ruislip, London

My thirty-ninth new ground of 2011 was on Tuesday 26th July at Grosvenor Vale in Ruislip, London. The match was Wealdstone vs. Wycombe Wanderers in a friendly game.

Grosvenor Vale is half a mile walk from Ruislip Manor tube station on the Metropolitan Line. It has been home to Wealdstone since 2008 when the original occupants Ruislip Manor FC folded, leaving an empty stadium. Wealdstone who had been without a permanent home for some time moved in.

The ground has had much work done to bring it up to scratch in recent years but work is still ongoing to improve it further. There are two seated areas, one on the east side of the pitch just to the right of the dugouts. This stand split in two and can hold just under 100 fans. The other seated area is a larger stand on the west side of the pitch capable of holding just over 200 fans.

The rest of the ground consists of standing areas with three covered sections (one on the east side near the entrance, one behind the goal at the north end and one behind the goal at the south end) which give shelter to a further 568 people. Facilities are good and there is an excellent bar outside the ground though within the confines of the venue for fans to go to.

The game was a pre-season friendly between and Ryman Isthmian League Premier Division side Wealdstone and League One side Wycombe Wanderers. The match started off in a cagey fashion until the visitors opened the scoring on the quarter-hour mark as they raced clear of the Wealdstone defence. The home side responded in a spirited manner and pushed their higher-division opposite hard, creating several opportunities which finally paid off when they steered the ball home on the stroke of half-time. In the second period it was Wealdstone who looked more likely to win it, hitting the inside of the post and spurning further good chances. In the end though neither side could get the ball in the back of the net and it finished at 1-1.

Result: Wealdstone 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Friendly
Attendance: N/A