Ground #406 - Lower Road

Date: 6th October 2024
Location: Sutton-at-Hone, Kent
Ground: Lower Road

My sixth new ground of 2024 was on Sunday 6th October at Lower Road in Sutton-at-Hone, Kent. The game was Sutton Athletic vs. Tunbridge Wells in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division.

Lower Road is out in the countryside in between towns in west Kent. It is surrounded entirely by fields except for the road, that lends the ground its name, which runs south of the venue. A mile east is the M25 Motorway. Lower Road is 2 miles north of the nearest railway station at Swanley.

The main side of the ground is the southern side. The entrance is on this side and a path leads towards the club building in the south-west corner which houses the clubhouse and the dressing rooms. This side has the two dugouts and a covered standing section set back from the pitch by the halfway line. 

The northern flank has a three-level all-seater stand towards the western end with around 100 seats. The rest of this side is uncovered standing with a grass bank behind. The western and eastern ends are uncovered standing with the western end having a good amount of room, including additional car parking space and the eastern end being rather thinner with an advertising board directly behind the goal.

Sutton Athletic had endured a poor start to the season with just one win in their first ten games leaving them sitting second-bottom of the table. Tunbridge by comparison were sitting in the middle of the table in 11th. The first half produced very little of interest with the best play coming three minutes before the break when Tunbridge's Festos Kamara danced his way past a couple of defenders and drilled a shot just wide of the post. Straight after this Jacob Feasey headed straight at the keeper from close range so a decent couple of chances for the visitors. This continued into the second half with Regan Corke shooting directly at the keeper just after the break. Corke was involved again in the 72nd minute when his cross found Festos Kamara who steered towards the keeper who tipped wide when it was heading in. The resulting corner saw James White's shot cleared off the line as Sutton kept the game goalless. Tunbridge pushed on with Harry Hudson dragging a shot wide from the edge of the box in the 84th minute and Rhys Bartlett having a goal ruled out for offside in the 87th minute. Completely against the run of play the hosts then grabbed the lead a couple of minutes later when Elias Ahmed headed into the corner from a cross from the right. As Tunbridge raced to equalise they left space at the back and in the 93rd minute Sutton snatched a second to wrap up a rare victory.

Result: Sutton Athletic 2-0 Tunbridge Wells

Division: Southern Counties East League Premier Division

Attendance: 327

Ground #242 - Coles Lane

Date: 18th September 2017
Ground: Coles Lane
Location: Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

My twenty-sixth new ground of 2017 was on Monday 18th September at Coles Lane in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. The match was Romulus vs. Gresley in the Northern Premier League Division One South.

Coles Lane, also known as the Central Ground, is in a residential area south of the town centre. Housing borders the ground to the south and west with a grass area to the north and a canal separating the site from a primary school on its eastern side. The venue is a mile south of the town's railway station and has been home to Sutton Coldfield Town since 1920. As well as Sutton Coldfield Town the ground is also currently inhabited by Romulus who I saw during this game.

The main stand straddles the half-way line on the south-western side of the venue. This stand consists of 7 rows of flat wooden benching on a concrete platform. There is a carved out section in the middle for officials and a couple of supporting beams for the roof. The seating is raised up above ground level so provides decent views of the pitch. In front of the stand are the two dugouts and the rest of this side is uncovered standing. On the opposite side of the pitch is the north-eastern side of the ground. Two-thirds of this is uncovered standing with a 101 seat stand known as the Bernard Bent Stand situated in the northern corner. This stand includes a flat section at the front for disabled spectators. This is adjacent to the clubhouse which contains a spacious bar and a food outlet facing out towards the pitch.

Much of the space behind the goal at the north-western end is taken up by a car park. There is then netting directly behind the goal to prevent wayward balls damaging cars. In the western corner there is an additional stand called the Richard Underwood Stand. This tiny structure is a raised metal platform which is covered and upon my visit five chairs had been placed on the platform. The other end of the ground is covered standing for most of its length with fencing behind this. The back of the covered area is linked a building behind the goal. The southern corner is uncovered standing albeit mostly on grass rather than concrete as per the rest of the ground.

Romulus edged the first section of the game but didn't test Robert Peet in the away goal too much. The closest they came was in the 22nd minute when Romario Martin snatched at a shot and steered it across goal to go just wide. The visitors got back into the game around half-hour mark but in the 38th minute the hosts grabbed a goal. It came about when a ball over the top found Romario Martin. With a lot of work to do Martin shrugged off the challenge of one defender, beat the remaining defender and then sidefooted past Peet from close range. Ten minutes after the restart Gresley's Jon Stevenson put the ball in the net but it was ruled off for offside. In the 66th minute he went close again when Reece Morris drilled a shot at Romulus keeper Billy Spink who palmed the ball to Stevenson. Unfortunately for the visitors Stevenson shot the rebound the wrong side of the post. In the 83rd minute a Romulus counter-attack from a Gresley corner saw the ball launched towards Martin on the left-side of the penalty area and his shot flashed inches wide. Martin's earlier goal proved to be the difference between the two teams on what was a forgettable night of football.

Result: Romulus 1-0 Gresley

Division: Northern Premier League Division One South

Attendance: 120

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