Ground #381 - Bloomfields 3G Ground

Date: 11th March 2023
Ground: Bloomfields 3G Ground
Location: Needham Market, Suffolk

My sixth new ground of 2023 was on Saturday 11th March at the Bloomfields 3G Ground in Needham Market, Suffolk. The game was Needham Market U23s vs. Parson Drove in the Eastern Counties League Division One North.

Bloomfields 3G ground sits adjacent to the south of the main Bloomfields ground which is home to Needham Market's senior team. The complex is located around half a mile from Needham Market railway station with the ground nestled on the western outskirts of the town in the midst of a residential area. The 3G ground is bordered by the car park and housing to the east, fields to the south and west and the main Bloomfields ground to the north. Needham Market has been at Bloomfields since 1996 with the 3G ground opening in 2019 for their junior side.

With the 3G arena being next door to the main ground it does share facilities. The Hub Cafe & Bar (on the north side of the 3G ground and south-west corner of the main ground) is a two-storey building with dressing rooms and toilets on the lower floor and a cafe and clubhouse on the top floor. It is designed so the two pitches can be seen from opposite ends of the building. The one overlooking the 3G ground has a balcony where a number of people viewed the game from.

The only stand at the venue is the Terry Ingram Stand to the west of the halfway line on the northern flank. This small stand has seating for 52 spectators. The rest of this side is hard uncovered standing and this extends round to the eastern side behind the goal. The remainder of the ground is not accessible to fans leaving it as a two-sided venue. The south and western sides run right up to the cage enclosure with the southern flank also having the two dugouts.

Needham Market were comfortably in lower mid-table in 13th spot whilst Parson were in 17th in one of the potential relegation spots by a point but with three games in hand. It took the visitors less than a minute to open the scoring with Matteo Perkins capitalising on a terrible back header by a Needham defender to slot past the keeper from 12 yards with only 50 seconds on the clock. It was almost two in the 5th minute when a punt upfield went straight to Perkins and his shot and follow-up were both saved by Needham's Finlay Shorten. The hosts' first threat on goal came in the 11th minute with a cross by Ben Smith knocked onto the crossbar by Archie Exworth. Needham were still failing to deal with Parson's attack though - in the 21st minute Matteo Perkins was let in on goal yet again only to drag his shot across goal just the wrong side of the post. Four minutes later with warnings not headed it was 2-0. A visiting attack initially saw a shot through Finlay Shorten's legs blocked on the line by Shane Wardley but the ball was only cleared as far as Martin Tudosa on the edge of the box and with Shorten out of position he picked his spot low into the bottom corner. The home side came into the game after this with Parson goalie keeping out efforts by Eddie Baker and Seth Chambers before half-time. The perseverance paid off ten minutes after the break - a cross from the right found Archie Exworth and though his first shot hit the bar the ball bounced right back to him and he smashed in from close range. It was pretty end-to-end after this - Finlay Shorten pulled off a terrific double-save in the 72nd minute whilst a minute later a Needham free-kick in a dangerous area was blazed over. In the final minute Matteo Perkins scored his second and Parson's third to wrap up an important three points for the visitors.

Result: Needham Market U23s 1-3 Parson Drove

Division: Eastern Counties League Division One North

Attendance: 41

Ground #19 - Bloomfields

Date: 8th February 2011
Ground: Bloomfields
Location: Needham Market, Suffolk

My sixth new ground of 2011 was on Tuesday 8th February at Bloomfields in Needham Market, Suffolk. The match was Needham Market vs. Ware in the Isthmian League Division One North.

Bloomfields is located around half a mile from Needham Market railway station with the ground nestled on the western outskirts of the town in the midst of a residential area. It is bordered by housing to the east, fields to the north and west and as of 2019 to the south has a separate 3G ground. Bloomfields has been home to Needham Market since 1996.

As it was only constructed in the mid 90s the ground looks comparatively new and is very neat with nice facilities for eighth-tier level. The clubhouse building in particular is rather impressive and the place has a feel of a well run community club with good local support. Surrounded by trees on most sides, the ground is very green and pleasant on the eye.

On my visit the venue had only one seating area on the east side of the venue which can fit a couple of hundred people. However in 2014 the club added an extra 75 seat structure behind the northern goal. There are two covered standing areas taking up most of the western side of the ground. These two stands have a gap between then taken up by the two dugouts and a TV gantry. There is also a covered stand with 5 rows of concrete terracing directly behind the southern goal. The remainder of Bloomfields is uncovered standing.

The game was of good quality with Needham playing some excellent football as they quickly raced into a 3-0 lead. Their fans were enthusiastic and created a good atmosphere as their club continued on in their attempt to gain a second successive promotion. Towards the end of the game Needham took their eye off the ball somewhat allowing Ware two goals, generating a nervy finish, but Needham were able to hold on which was nice as it would've been somewhat unfair of them to have come out of the evening with less than three points.

Result: Needham Market 3-2 Ware
Division: Isthmian League Division One North
Attendance: 208