Game 44: Flackwell Heath 1.0 Holyport (Combined Counties Premier North) 06.04.24
The original plan for today was to head to Malvern Town with Alan but he wasn’t feeling well, so after checking the Combined Counties fixtures I decided to head to league leaders Flackwell Heath. They had changed places during the week with Rayners Park who had four points deducted for fielding an ineligible player. Visitors Holyport were in sixth place, just outside the playoff places.
I arrived at the ground about half an hour before kickoff and parked in a local side street as the small carpark at the ground was full. After paying £9 for a programme and admission I had a wander around the ground. Behind each goal was an area of covered terracing with the main stand at the far side. The pitch had a distinct downwards slope towards the stand. After the recent bad weather it was good to be able to stand in the sunshine although there was a very strong wind blowing across the pitch. There was a good sized crowd and the attendance was given as 301 spectators.
The game started brightly with both teams having a shot from distance early on. One of Holyport’s attacks saw the ball passed down the right wing, disturbing a pair of ducks that were waddling across the pitch together. They soon took off to find somewhere quieter for their afternoon stroll as the ball fizzed past them. Flackwell Heath came close to opening the scoring after fifteen minutes when a direct free kick went high into the penalty area. The ball went over the player’s heads, bounced in the six yard box and went just wide of the right post. Holyport countered with a good run down the left side and a cross into the box which was hit just wide of the right post.
Midway through the half Flackwell Heath were awarded a penalty when a player cut in to the area by the touchline and was pushed over. The penalty taker hit the ball to his right and it beat the dive of the keeper to nestle in the back of the net. Shortly after this they were forced to make a substitution as a player couldn’t continue after landing awkwardly on the pitch. The strength of the wind could be seen when Holyport hit a long ball towards the box and it held up for the keeper to catch. He then threw the ball with the wind and it ended up over the halfway line. Just before half time Holyport were incensed not to be awarded a penalty when one of their players won the ball and was shoved in the back in the area. He went down but the referee waved play on despite it looking the same as the challenge at the other end where he had awarded a penalty.
Flackwell Heath looked to have extended their lead shortly into the second half. A long ball set one of their players in behind the defence and he lobbed the keeper, only to see the flag go up as the ball entered the goal. They had another chance shortly afterwards but could only put the shot wide. The game became very stop start with scuffles after one challenge and several injuries on both sides needing treatment. At one point a substitute had to be substituted a few minutes after he had come on. Flackwell Heath pressed for a second goal but it wouldn’t come. An unselfish pass in the box went over an unmarked player’s head with the goal at his mercy while an interception and shot was well saved by the Holyport keeper. The game finally finished after fifteen minutes of injury time with a Flackwell Heath shot flying out of the ground.
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