Stamford AFC

Stamford 0 Hednesford Town 2 - Northern Premier League, Premier Division

Northern Premier League

Stamford is a town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It is situated on the River Welland, in a south-westerly protrusion of Lincolnshire, between Rutland to the north and west, and Cambridgeshire to the south. It borders Northamptonshire to the southwest at the only point in England where four counties meet. The town originally grew as a Danish settlement at the lowest point that the Welland could be crossed by ford or bridge. Stamford was the only one of the five Danelaw boroughs not to become a county town. Initially a pottery centre, producing "Stamford Ware", by the Middle Ages it had became famous for its production of wool and woollen cloth (known as Stamford cloth). Stamford was a walled town but only a very small portion of the walls now remain.

We spent the morning exploring Stamford, in particular the Stamford Museum in Broad Street. It was here that we learnt about Daniel Lambert, one of the heaviest men in history. He was born in 1770 and was to eventually pass away in Stamford some 37 years later. By this time his weight had reached 52 stone and 11 pounds.

Stamford AFC are known as ‘The Daniels’ in honour of Mr Lambert, although it is fare to say that none of the players or spectators encountered on our visit came close to matching him for size!

Wothorpe Road lies adjacent, although somewhat higher, to Stamford Railway Station, which is situated behind the covered terracing along half of one side of the pitch.

On the opposite side of the ground are the covered seated stand and the clubhouse. Alongside the stand, although not part of the ground, is a terraced row of almshouses.

We were struck by the friendliness of the place. Hotspur was delighted to win an Easter egg in the free raffle for children and there was genuine warmth about the club, particularly in the clubhouse.

Visitors Hednesford Town took the points from an evenly contested match with 2 late goals. The defeat leaves Stamford looking nervously over their shoulders at the teams beneath them.

STAMFORD: Pledger, Guinan (Kirk), Hallows, White, Bonser, Bowater, Webb (Stubley), Towers, Pritchard, Byrne, Marshall. Unused sub Childs
HEDNESFORD TOWN: Evans, McLeod, Adams, Sheppard (Pedro) Marshall, Brown (B), Davies, Dyer (W), Dyer (R), Nagington, Maguire (Brown D).
Unused sub Robinson



Attendance: 262
Admission: £8.00 (Hotspur Free)
Programme: £1.80 (obtained for you Andy, Stan and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely)
Tea: 80p
Pastie: £1.00

PSV FC

PSV 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - UEFA Cup, Round of 16 2nd Leg

(PSV won 6-5 on penalties as the tie was drawn 1-1 on aggregate)

Eindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender brooks. The Gender was dammed off in the post-war years, but the Dommel still runs through the city. In 1232, when Duke Hendrik I of Brabant granted city rights to Endehoven, then a small town right on the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams. The city's name translates literally as "End Yards", reflecting its position at the southern end of Woensel. At the time of granting of its charter, Eindhoven had approximately 170 houses enclosed by a rampart. Just outside of the city walls stood a small castle. The city was also granted the right to organize a weekly market and the farmers in nearby villages were obliged to come to Eindhoven to sell their produce. Another factor in its establishment was its location on the trade route from Holland to Liège. The industrial revolution of the Nineteenth Century provided a major growth impulse. Canals, roads and railroads were constructed. Eindhoven was connected to the major Zuid-Willemsvaart canal through the Eindhovens Kanaal branch in 1843 and was connected by rail to Tilburg, 's-Hertogenbosch, Venlo and Belgium between 1866 and 1870. Industrial activities initially centered around tobacco and textile and boomed with the rise of lighting and electronics giant Philips, which was founded as a light bulb manufacturing company in Eindhoven in 1891.

Although often refered to as PSV Eindhoven, the correct title for the club is Philips Sport Vereniging. As its name indicates, the club started out as a company-sponsored sports club for Philips employees on August 31, 1913 to celebrate the centennial independence of the Netherlands from France. PSV has evolved into a fully professional football club.

Philips Stadion (capacity 35,000) was first used in 1913. The stadium is located in the Philipsdorp ('Philips village') part of the Eindhoven borough of Strijp, close to Eindhoven's city centre. As late as 1933, its capacity was only 300, and remained that size until its expansion in 1941 to 18,000 spectators. The final days of World War II witnessed great destruction in the city of Eindhoven and also to the stadium itself. Repairs were duly made, culminating in the expansion of the stadium to 22,000 capacity in 1958. Further expansions of the North stand (1995) and the four quadrants (in 2000 and 2002) of the stadium led to its current capacity.

We travelled to Eindhoven on the Eurostar service from London St Pancras via Brussels, from where we caught a train to Maastricht and from there another onward to Eindhoven. The Philips Stadion is no more than a five-minute walk from the main Eindhoven railway station. The ground, as expected, is fully enclosed, with visiting supporters housed in one corner of the ground. I would say that the ground is of a good standard but was not impressed with the view afforded from the away section, spoilt by large netting (but still better than the visitors section at Newcastle – Ed).

Tottenham Hotspur trailed 1-0 from the 1st leg at White Hart Lane and a better performance would be required if they were going to progress in the competition. Spurs certainly improved and took the match to their hosts with a very positive showing. Despite a number of missed opportunities, Spurs did eventually draw level in the tie, when Dimitar Berbatov netted with a fine instinctive strike 10 minutes from time.

Extra time failed to produce a winner and so it was left to a penalty shoot out to settle the matter. Since defeating Anderlecht in the 1984 UEFA Cup Final, Spurs have added only Peterborough United to their list of scalps via penalty shoot outs (a few significant failures in that time –Ed). PSV ensured that they would not be added to that brief list with a 6-5 victory after the sides were locked together at 4-4 prior to the sudden death scenario.

After the match we were escorted via a connecting tunnel, to a railway platform over the road from the ground. Not wishing to travel on the special trains to Amsterdam, we went downstairs, past the coaches (did not want those either - Ed) and then were escorted back through the stadium at pitch level and out the other side of the ground - Different I guess!

En route back to Brussels, Ciderman and I took time out to explore Maastricht as recommended by Uncle Joe. Being close to the Belgian border, the variety of beers available was extensive and your correspondent enjoyed the contrasting styles and flavours.

Attendance: 33,000 according to THFC
Admission: 37.5 Euros
Programme: Gratis, 24 pages (obtained for you Stan, the Pittsburgh Steeler and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely

Sun Postal Sports FC

Sun Postal Sports 0 Ampthill Town 2 - Spartan South Midlands League, Division One

Spartan South Midlands League

Watford is a town and district in Hertfordshire, situated 21 miles northwest of London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough lies just to the north of Greater London. Watford is first mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 1007. It does not get a mention by name in the Domesday Book, but was included in the entry for the then more important settlement of Cashio which stood half a mile away at the crossroads of the St Albans road and Hempstead road near the modern Town Hall. The settlement's location helped it to grow, since as well as trade along this north-south through route it possessed good communications into the vale of St Albans to the east and into the Chiltern Hills along the valley of the River Chess to the west. In 1100 Henry I granted a charter to Watford to hold a weekly market.

A lesser known fact is that Watford is the home to Sun Postal Sports FC of the Spartan South Midlands Football League. Originally founded as Sun Engraving FC IN 1898, the club changed to the current name following amalgamation with Watford Postal Services in 1995. Prior to then the club had gone under the name of Sun Sports FC.

Bellmountwood Avenue can be reached on foot in less than 25 minutes from the main Watford Junction railway station and it was via this route that Harry Hotspur and I arrived at the ground with plenty of time to spare before kick off.

The clubhouse facilities on the complex are excellent, serving not just the main ground but also the surrounding pitches. Hot food is readily available from the bar area. Hotspur and I were able to watch the last half hour of the Man Utd v Pompey FA Cup tie and delighted in watching Sralex throw his chewing gum down in disgust!

The ground represents a 'work in progress’, as the stand taking shape on one side of the pitch requires plenty of work before completion. The piles of breezeblocks are ready and waiting. When completed, this structure will enhance the spectator facilities at Bellmountwood Avenue.

Despite the forecast, the match was played in dry, if blustery, conditions. However, there would have been the opportunity to shelter in front of the clubhouse if necessary. Also the view from inside the said building, located in one corner of the ground is also good and affords a Throp style executive box experience (see Coventry City post - Ed).

Sun Postal Sports are not having the best of seasons, hovering just above the relegation zone. However, both the Chairman and Manager, via the match programme, expressed determination to gather the necessary points to avoid the drop. Visiting Ampthill Town FC are positioned comfortably in mid table. Those vital points were to elude the home side on this occasion as the Ampthill Mob (thanks for that MK James - Ed) grabbed the points, courtesy of a brace from Stuart Reynolds. Both sides had their chances but the visitors edged this one with a bit more decisiveness in front of goal.

Attendance: 10
Admission: £3.00 (Hotspur Free)
Programme: Included with admission (extras obtained for you Andy, Stan and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely)
Tea: 50p
Chips: £1.00
Burger: £2.00
Hotspur's Hot Chocolate: 70p
Fare: £7.85 Cheap Day Return from Tottenham Hale (Goldcard Discount)