Dunston Checks In (or The Fifth Round Proper of the FA Vase)

It would be tempting to fill this with a bunch of tortuous and tenuous airport related puns. I'll try not to though. As soon as I saw the draw for the 5th round of the Vase I knew where I wanted to be. My only other game in the Vase this year saw Burnham Ramblers get tonked at St Neots. I have always wanted to go to Stansted and this seemed the perfect opportunity. A clash of cultures, accents and league reputations was all secondary to the prize of the quarter finals of the Vase. Stansted vs Dunston UTS

I arrived wildly early having built in far too much time for the journey and the bits and bobs I had to do on the way. I was still just beaten there by the Dunston supporters coach. Seeing as Stansted's last home game drew less than 30 paying spectators the concept of a supporters coach is slightly out of the ordinary. It was just nice to see a home club so pleased to see the away supporters. And not just because of the amount of beer they looked likely to buy.

Germane Pennant?

The mid season demise of Leyton FC set me to thinking. Since I caught the non league bug again this season I have been trying to get to places I haven't been before. I hadn't seen a game at Leyton's ground since the club that played there was known as Leyton-Wingate. I had been meaning to get to see Leyton but each weekend found a game I would rather be at. Now I'll have to see who ends up playing at the Hare & Hounds next season. So in the meantime I thought I'd better get to some games while some of the other local teams are still around. It seemed apt that I should scamper along to a Waltham Forest match quick smart. Waltham Forest is the amalgam of non league teams left in that borough after the juggernaut that eventually became Dagenham & Redbridge left town. It has always irked me that although half the teams that make up that merger of merger were from Waltham Forest that was ignored in the name. So it is left to Waltham Forest to fly the flag. Although I had seen Leyton-Wingate in the past on a number of occasions and had managed to see Walthamstow Pennant a couple of times I hadn't seen this incarnation of the club before. Logically enough they currently play in the borough Redbridge where the share the not much loved (as far as I can tell) Cricklefield Stadium.

Hamlet Moment vs Sitting Bull

I am looking for a London non league side to take an interest in. Unfortunately most of the East London sides seem a bit too depressing. I am happy to go along to Ilford or Redbridge but it doesn't really light my fire. I hadn't been to see Leyton since the club that played at the Hare and Hounds was known as Leyton-Wingate and I have now missed the opportunity to see the most recent inhabitants of the other Leyton Stadium. Non league football south of the river seems to be a little less moribund and Dulwich Hamlet have always interested me. Maybe it's the history but more likely I just like the name and the unusual kit.

Surrey I Haven't a Clue

I had been tempted to go to bed early and ignore the New Year but having waited until midnight to see the it in and catch a short snippet of Jools Holland's hootabloodynanny I decided to reward myself with a visit to Sutton. It was a grey, grey day but the clangour of St Paul's as I strolled towards City Thameslink (such an evocative name for a station, they really should have stuck with Ludgate Circus) put me in a proper New Yearsy kinda mood. As previously mentioned Sutton United do evoke a certain cup romance due to their giantkilling exploits against Coventry City over 20 years ago and although most of the terraces behind the goals have gone it is still recognisably the same ground. Train timetables meant I had plenty of time to hoover up the atmosphere. Sutton certainly seems to be a proper community club where everyone knows each other but this South London/Surrey derby against Tooting & Mitcham United obviously doesn't hold quite the same attraction as the Carshalton-Sutton one. Nevertheless the Tooting travelling fans were out in force and unlike Sutton at Carshalton made a very good job of making themselves heard all through the game. Before the game though we got treated to Sutton's mascot:

This is Jenny, she is a giraffe. That is all the explanation I have. 

24 Minutes to Tulse Hill

My plans to overdose on football over Christmas were dealt a cruel blow by the remaining snow. I had been looking forward to a traditional Boxing Day visit to Orient and that bit the dust early on. That was a wee frustrating as having decided to cut back on Orient the times I actually want to seem to be cursed. I imagine that Dagenham & Redbridge fans were even more disappointed after having been told that their game was definitely on after a pitch inspection on Christmas Eve. That proved to be an incurable case of optimism or an attack of the stupids. In planning the games I was going see over Christmas I had tried to make sure that I would go to new places and see new teams but in the end there wasn't much choice. I had been to Carshalton for the first time back in September as I rediscovered the charms of non-league football and although I had enjoyed the game against Tunbridge Wells in the FA Cup I hadn't planned on going back any time soon. However once the Tooting-Kingstonian derby was postponed Carshalton's game against Sutton United was the only realistic alternative.

Talking Benelux

My plans for a footballmungous Christmas now lie in tatters. The postponement of Barkingside's league game against Barking last Wednesday was the thin end of the wedge. Since then my planned entertainment at Crawley was frozen off (though I was already viewing the pub as a more favourable destination so wasn't too disappointed. However the relatively small amount of snow we had in East London on Friday morning was enough to make me think that a game was going to a bit of a miracle on Saturday. Saturday morning brought 'proper' snowfall and I began to wonder when I will next get to a game. The 3 games I was thinking of for tonight all went out of the window a long time ago  and I have just found out the match between Dulwich Hamlet and Romford has been unsurprisingly called off already. In fact I have just about given up on anything before Boxing Day and I'm not too hopeful there either. At some point on Boxing Day I will have to decide whether or not to abandon my trip to Lancashire. This has a dual purpose of seeing some football; but also allowing me to step foot in the town of my birth 35 years or so since I left. Sentiments will be put to one side. If football is looking more likely in Rymanlandia is looking more likely than Chorley or Preston then I will bin the trip for another, more clement, time.

Anyway. I already had a ridiculous football trip this year.

It'll be Football this Christmas

Leatherhead open the scoring against Eastbourne Town with a very  yellow ball

My familial arrangements this Christmas see me home alone and absolved of the kind of responsibilities that prevent me getting to large numbers of games. I am now recovering from what was for me a new record of 4 games in 4 days. While I wouldn't yet call myself a groundhopper I added 3 new grounds to my tally and a goodly number of goals. It would have been more if Barkingside weren't seemingly intent of breaking some sort of postponement record this season. Over the Christmas period I am going to try to recount some of the games I've been to both over Christmas and earlier in the season and why I've chosen them. I am still getting to grips with a new camera and if I can avoid too much blur will post of few pics as well.