When Hashtag came to Whitehawk there was just a few dozen extra kids along to watch. They don’t seem to have a big travelling support.
[Football] The Non-League Football Thread- 2023/24 Edition
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Brian Fantana
Well-known member
I took in the local-ish derby between Hartlepool and York today.
Spirited contest between two sides not totally out of the National League relegation picture.
A bit of a tetchy feel to the home crowd after news broke yesterday that their dodgy owner had turned down the offer that he’d elicited from a fans-led consortium wanting to take over the club.
The match itself was high on effort but low on quality. Pools won 2-1, thanks to a brace from Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, who looked far too good for that division. His hold up play and ability to spread the ball wide in particular were noticeable.
Overall, an enjoyable but freezing afternoon.
Spirited contest between two sides not totally out of the National League relegation picture.
A bit of a tetchy feel to the home crowd after news broke yesterday that their dodgy owner had turned down the offer that he’d elicited from a fans-led consortium wanting to take over the club.
The match itself was high on effort but low on quality. Pools won 2-1, thanks to a brace from Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, who looked far too good for that division. His hold up play and ability to spread the ball wide in particular were noticeable.
Overall, an enjoyable but freezing afternoon.
There was probably a coach load and a few more of enthusiastic Hashtagers yesterday , however I did notice that there were lots of teenage kids there , helped no doubt by free admission for under 16's for all league games which would have boosted the official attendance . Good to see though
ManOfSussex
We wunt be druv
This was my view. Looking forward to the derby against Lewes on the 10th.There was probably a coach load and a few more of enthusiastic Hashtagers yesterday , however I did notice that there were lots of teenage kids there , helped no doubt by free admission for under 16's for all league games which would have boosted the official attendance . Good to see though
Rock Lobster
Active member
Yeah always good to see an away team turn out with numbers, flags etc without any trouble.There was probably a coach load and a few more of enthusiastic Hashtagers yesterday , however I did notice that there were lots of teenage kids there , helped no doubt by free admission for under 16's for all league games which would have boosted the official attendance . Good to see though
I think the recent attendances have also been boosted by the club offering free tickets to the parents and staff of local primary schools. I'm assuming the club benefits from this judging by the bar and food queues!
Sirnormangall
Well-known member
- Sep 21, 2017
- 3,178
Incredible attendance at this level (and some envious clubs at higher levels). Well done Hastings.
stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,919
Pagham on saturday for the SCFL clash with Little Common
The ground, Nyetimber Lane, or as the countless banners told us "The Lions Den" is situated in what seems like a fairly residential area. There are a couple of pubs nearby and a cricket club next door. We went to one of the pubs, The Lion, which was perfectly pleasant.
Went into the ground at about 2:30, admission was £6. The ground itself is nice. There's two covered seated stands, one on each side. The south stand, or "main stand" was quite old and a bit ramshackle but comfy enough. One thing I loved is that you get to it from the back of the stand via steps. The walk from the clubhouse to the stand was full of random detritus including a wheelchair.
On the other side, however, is a brand spanking new covered stand. A nice touch, and I'll be reiterating this throughout the season- it's so much better when the ground is decked out in the home teams colours. In this case it makes it easier with Pagham's colours being black and white but still.
Clubhouse- not huge but very nice. They were very proud of having Mahou on tap. There's also a nice seated area outside.
Bovril is £1.50
The game itself was ruined slightly by a red card and penalty against Pagham in about the 3rd minute. Little Common were 4-0 up at half time. Pagham managed to get one back after the break but it was too little too late and the game finished 4-1 to the visitors.
Pagham have a lovely little ground, enjoyed it a lot
The ground, Nyetimber Lane, or as the countless banners told us "The Lions Den" is situated in what seems like a fairly residential area. There are a couple of pubs nearby and a cricket club next door. We went to one of the pubs, The Lion, which was perfectly pleasant.
Went into the ground at about 2:30, admission was £6. The ground itself is nice. There's two covered seated stands, one on each side. The south stand, or "main stand" was quite old and a bit ramshackle but comfy enough. One thing I loved is that you get to it from the back of the stand via steps. The walk from the clubhouse to the stand was full of random detritus including a wheelchair.
On the other side, however, is a brand spanking new covered stand. A nice touch, and I'll be reiterating this throughout the season- it's so much better when the ground is decked out in the home teams colours. In this case it makes it easier with Pagham's colours being black and white but still.
Clubhouse- not huge but very nice. They were very proud of having Mahou on tap. There's also a nice seated area outside.
Bovril is £1.50
The game itself was ruined slightly by a red card and penalty against Pagham in about the 3rd minute. Little Common were 4-0 up at half time. Pagham managed to get one back after the break but it was too little too late and the game finished 4-1 to the visitors.
Pagham have a lovely little ground, enjoyed it a lot
stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,919
words not uttered since William the Conqueror in 1066Not something I’ve heard before…….oh you mean the football stadium
I'm really enjoying this series. How many grounds have you been to now?
Every ground seems to have its quirk - the main stand at Pagham or the padded seats at Chichester. It is surprising how much character they have.
I'm anticipating your report on Hanbury Park (Haywards Heath). It is one of my favourite grounds.
stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,919
thank you!
I am on 6 at the moment. Eastbourne Borough, Bognor, Wick, Steyning, Chichester and Pagham.
Doing Broadbridge Heath tonight
If you are on instagram, I have an account (don't expect any flash social media stuff it's more for my benefit than anything else)
if you search for "sussexgroundhoppers" that's me
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,972
After 5 minutes I was ecstatic I was at the Dripping Pan rather than Luton . Then that went to shit too. 3-1 defeat to Carshalton. We made some silly errors, they looked decent though I can't stand it when semi-professional teams act"professional" with the gamesmanship that involves
Cowfold Seagull
Fan of the 17 bus
Come and see us at Horsham YMCA, sit in the main stand and your seat will have came straight out of the south stand at the Goldstone!
stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,919
Ground number 7 last night and it was Broadbridge Heath. This was for the Isthmian South East clash with Three Bridges,
This is a bit of a hidden gem so sit tight.
I can't quite explain it but this place just feels right.
Firstly, the ground is located in what can only be described as a leisure and sports CITY. Alongside the ground there is an athletics stadium, often dubbed the "Withdean of the North" (which I believe was the clubs previous home?), 5 a side pitches, a brand new leisure centre and even an indoor bowls venue. Incredible facilities for a small place like Broadbridge Heath. There's absolutely loads of free parking as you can park at the bowls club. Very easy for me to get to as it's just off the A24.
Admission was £10, about right for this level. They gave me a free programme as it had the wrong date on it (was this game re-arranged?)
The ground is very new, and unlike Chichester, just feels like it has a bit of character.
There is a small covered seated stand on the far side which I did take refuge in. The seats were comfortable but the view was a bit hampered by the Perspex panel on either side....I think maybe the dugouts were also a bit close. There is also a very cute covered terrace behind one goal which sadly went unused for most of the game.
The clubhouse is exactly how you do a new clubhouse right. Very, very impressed. They've crammed in a pool table, dartboard, sofas and several tables without it feeling cramped in any way. A spectacular touch was a screen showing live score updates from the division and an up to date league table. Not seen that at any other non league ground. I wasn't drinking but I noticed that they had a good beer selection. They've clearly put a lot of effort into this place and they've done a great job.
Bovril was £1.50....no pepper available sadly.
The match itself was played at a high tempo and the home side won 3-0. This was a bit of a surprise as they were below Three Bridges in the league. There seemed to be a lot of hatred for the Three Bridges manager and the entire subs bench would taunt him whenever Broadbridge Heath scored. At full time he stormed off without shaking anyones hand. Not sure of what the narrative was there.
In summary this is how you do a small, new ground right. Very impressed
This is a bit of a hidden gem so sit tight.
I can't quite explain it but this place just feels right.
Firstly, the ground is located in what can only be described as a leisure and sports CITY. Alongside the ground there is an athletics stadium, often dubbed the "Withdean of the North" (which I believe was the clubs previous home?), 5 a side pitches, a brand new leisure centre and even an indoor bowls venue. Incredible facilities for a small place like Broadbridge Heath. There's absolutely loads of free parking as you can park at the bowls club. Very easy for me to get to as it's just off the A24.
Admission was £10, about right for this level. They gave me a free programme as it had the wrong date on it (was this game re-arranged?)
The ground is very new, and unlike Chichester, just feels like it has a bit of character.
There is a small covered seated stand on the far side which I did take refuge in. The seats were comfortable but the view was a bit hampered by the Perspex panel on either side....I think maybe the dugouts were also a bit close. There is also a very cute covered terrace behind one goal which sadly went unused for most of the game.
The clubhouse is exactly how you do a new clubhouse right. Very, very impressed. They've crammed in a pool table, dartboard, sofas and several tables without it feeling cramped in any way. A spectacular touch was a screen showing live score updates from the division and an up to date league table. Not seen that at any other non league ground. I wasn't drinking but I noticed that they had a good beer selection. They've clearly put a lot of effort into this place and they've done a great job.
Bovril was £1.50....no pepper available sadly.
The match itself was played at a high tempo and the home side won 3-0. This was a bit of a surprise as they were below Three Bridges in the league. There seemed to be a lot of hatred for the Three Bridges manager and the entire subs bench would taunt him whenever Broadbridge Heath scored. At full time he stormed off without shaking anyones hand. Not sure of what the narrative was there.
In summary this is how you do a small, new ground right. Very impressed
stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,919
Ground number 8: East Preston.
I was intending to go to Mile Oak on saturday but some transport etc issues left me heading to my local side, East Preston and their Lashmar Ground for the SCFL Division 1 clash with Dorking Wanderers Reserves- which I think we can all agree was the biggest Sussex vs Surrey clash of the day.
I've been here a few times but not for a year or so, the ground hasn't changed but the clubhouse has.....
The ground is located in a park in a residential area just to the north of downtown East Preston. Nearest station is Angmering which is a 10 minutes or so walk away.
Admission is £6.
Bovril is £1.50
Lashmar has one decent sized covered seating area which is fairly new. Bonus points for it having seats in the clubs colours (take note Chichester City). Other than that there is a roof covering a bit of one corner but otherwise it's exposed standing. One side of the ground isn't open to spectators.
Animal lovers will be delighted to find out that the south west corner of the ground apparently houses a family of foxes.
Overall it's probably about on par for the division.
The clubhouse has had a spruce up since I last went. It's pretty big for a start and is now smart and fresh without feeling sterile. They had 4 dart boards, a pool table, couple of screens and, what I thought was a nice touch, a free smaller pool table for the littluns. Loads of seats and tables.
They've also done well with plastering it with East Preston memorabilia- old shirts, photos, trophies etc. They've done a great job with the refurb and the clubhouse is the main event here clearly.
Slightly against the odds, EP who are second bottom of the league beat Dorking who were second top 2-1. As you can probably imagine the Dorking lads were all pretty young- I reckon they get boosted every now and again by fringe first teamers dropping down but also suffer if a few of their better players get called up. They were good on the ball of course but EP had 4 or 5 absolute gym bro units who could barely play football but were able to muscle their opponents off the ball AT WILL.
I was intending to go to Mile Oak on saturday but some transport etc issues left me heading to my local side, East Preston and their Lashmar Ground for the SCFL Division 1 clash with Dorking Wanderers Reserves- which I think we can all agree was the biggest Sussex vs Surrey clash of the day.
I've been here a few times but not for a year or so, the ground hasn't changed but the clubhouse has.....
The ground is located in a park in a residential area just to the north of downtown East Preston. Nearest station is Angmering which is a 10 minutes or so walk away.
Admission is £6.
Bovril is £1.50
Lashmar has one decent sized covered seating area which is fairly new. Bonus points for it having seats in the clubs colours (take note Chichester City). Other than that there is a roof covering a bit of one corner but otherwise it's exposed standing. One side of the ground isn't open to spectators.
Animal lovers will be delighted to find out that the south west corner of the ground apparently houses a family of foxes.
Overall it's probably about on par for the division.
The clubhouse has had a spruce up since I last went. It's pretty big for a start and is now smart and fresh without feeling sterile. They had 4 dart boards, a pool table, couple of screens and, what I thought was a nice touch, a free smaller pool table for the littluns. Loads of seats and tables.
They've also done well with plastering it with East Preston memorabilia- old shirts, photos, trophies etc. They've done a great job with the refurb and the clubhouse is the main event here clearly.
Slightly against the odds, EP who are second bottom of the league beat Dorking who were second top 2-1. As you can probably imagine the Dorking lads were all pretty young- I reckon they get boosted every now and again by fringe first teamers dropping down but also suffer if a few of their better players get called up. They were good on the ball of course but EP had 4 or 5 absolute gym bro units who could barely play football but were able to muscle their opponents off the ball AT WILL.
Deanbha
Well-known member
Loving your reviews. Any chance you can watch my lads team Worthing United? Big game Saturday v Wick