Hallen AFC v Chippenham Town. Tuesday 25th July 2017

 Hallen 1  Chippenham 3

I'd been meaning to pay a visit to Hallen AFC for a while. Not least because their ground is a mere 15 minutes drive from Gone For a Burton's north Bristol HQ. I'd heard good things about the Hallen Centre, plus as if I needed another reason to venture out on this glorious summers evening, tonights visitors were Chippenham town, newly promoted to the National League South, I saw them play three times last season and was treated to a feast of football on each occasion.

Hallen play in the Western Premier League (3 steps below Chippenham in the pyramid) and you can find their home a few miles north west of Bristol. I somehow managed to miss the entrance to the car park and ended up approaching the ground through a field. The ground is enclosed and has training pitches and facilities on the outside. 

After paying a ridiculously reasonable £3 entry, I took in the team news. Chippenham had bought a full strength squad and I was pleased to see David Pratt and Andy Sandell upfront. The Torvill and Dean of the Southern Lague last season, the chemistry between them is something to behold. They danced and pranced their way through countless defences before banging in the goals as Chippenham raced to the title.

I got chatting to the bloke on the turnstile, Tony was his name and he filled me in on Hallen's pre season to date and advised me to look out for their number 9, Aaron Anglin. The pitch looked fantastic in the bright sunshine, apparently Hallen recently invested in new drainage equiptment and the turf was resplendently green. As I chewed the fat with Tony, Chippenham were awarded a penalty which was duly converted by Sandell. [Boring fact: I checked when I got home and realised that in the 4 games I have seen Chippenham in the last year - Sandell has scored a penalty in every game!]

It was time to have a wander around the pitch, besides, Tony had excused himself to count the gate money before moving on to help with half time preparations.

The main stand, The Frank Fairman Stand, is a covered all seated affair straddling the half way line. Along side were a series of porta-cabins housing the tea hut amongst other things. On the opposite side were the dug outs with the changing rooms and club house behind the goal at the entrance. Behind the main stand and club house were the training pitches whilst the rest of the pitch was surrounded by high trees and picturesque countryside.

It seemed most people were in a relaxed and friendly mood tonight. Next up I got chatting to a couple of Chippenham fans, topics included Merthyr, of which they said "very insular" and "you wouldn't want to break down there" (a bit harsh) and Andy Sandell - "I think he's lost weight over the summer" (a bit generous).

Meanwhile on the pitch, the Hallen keeper was keeping his team in the game with a fine double save. The Hallen number 9, Anglin, then went on a run down the right and won a corner. The initial corner led to another and that was volleyed in by the number 11 from 20 yards out: 1:1.

It wasn't long before Chippenham were back in front courtesy of a James Guthrie effort from the edge of the box. 2-1 became 3-1 not long after when Alex Fergeson converted from close range. By this time I was watching from inside the main stand which afforded a great view of the goal Hallen were attacking with a lovely hillock in the background. There were a few kids in tonight and it was nice to see a Dad lean out the back of the stand and be able to check up on his son who was using the back of the stand as a goal with his mates.

As the half drew to a close, Hallen were unlucky not to score their second of the night, dogged determination saw their number 9 chase down what looked like a lost cause, he dispossessed the keeper and put the ball in the net, only for the ref to rule it out, presumably for a foul.

Half time let me wander around the ground some more. I was surprised to see what looked like a keepy upy pen emblazoned with the name of Everton star - Yannick Bolasie. It turns out Bolasie trains at Hallen in the summer and gave the club his support when they faced being evicted a couple of years ago following a dispute with Almondsbury council. What a man!  

Half time BBQ

A flurry of substitutions accompanied the beginning of the second half. Hallen continued to look dangerous at times, their floppy haired number 7 proving an effective outlet on the right. At the other end their keeper came to their rescue again when he made a fine point blank save from Scott Donelly, who'd been played in by a deft Sandell flick.

On another lap of the ground I met an old bloke who told me he played for Hallen as long ago as 1950 when they were called Lawrence Weston Athletic. Whilst we chatted away, Tony from the turnstile walked by, nursing his arms after another trip in to the stingers and overgrowth to fetch a lost ball. Surely Tony must be shoe in for Hallen Clubman of the year 2017/18? 

Back on the pitch Chippenham's new signing, Josh Morgan-Williams was putting himself about upfront having come on as a sub. He impressed when I saw him play for Bitton last year and hopefully can do well at the higher level.

As the game was petering out, a Chippenham centre back showed that he had either missed the memo about this being a relaxed friendly, or was single mindedly focussed on getting Chippenham's rear guard ready for National League football - he tore in to his right back for not "tucking in" with a level of venom that felt a bit out of place with the rest of the game.

3-1 at the final whistle. A thoroughly enjoyable evening at the Hallen Cetnre. As I slowly made my way out of the ground, there was no surprise when I saw Tony forgoing the club bar and taking down the nets on his own.

I salute you Sir

Weston Super Mare v Bristol Rovers. Tuesday 11th July 2017

Weston Super Mare 0 Bristol Rovers 3

Football is back. So begins another long season. And pre season. As much as I've enjoyed a little break over the summer watching a bit of tennis and cricket on t.v., I couldn't wait to get back out on the terraces and embark on another 9 months or so of football.

The first Gone for a Burton trip of 2017/18 found me heading to Weston Super Mare for their pre season friendly against Bristol Rovers. Before the game the heavens had opened for the first time in weeks, remembering my wasted journey to Cinderford last year, I made sure I checked on Twitter before setting off, no news was good news; the game was on.

I was hoping get to Weston in plenty of time for a look around before kick off. My 3 year old son had other ideas though, his bed time rebellion ensured that by the time I left home I had little chance of making the start of the match, let alone enough time for an ice cream on the pier or a donkey ride on the beach. As it happened I arrived a few minutes in to the game. After paying my £12 entry (a bit eye brow raising for a pre season friendly) I was reliably informed the game remained goalless. 

Rovers had bought a strong first team squad along with the handful of trialists that often go hand in hand with pre season games. For Weston I noticed that Goggle Box regular Tristan Plummer was on the bench. I'd seen him last season playing for Hereford and he is now back at Weston for what is his fourth spell at the club. Of the Rovers trialists, one with a notable back story was young Tom Broadbent at centre back, tall and well built, from what I understand he is still serving in the army and is presumably hoping to swap his military fatigues for a full time contract.

On entering the ground I took a position behind the goal Weston were attacking. The first thing I heard was a young Rovers fan moaning to his mates about how steep the fine was for being caught urinating in public by the police. The beautiful game: I doubt you get to be in earshot of gold like this at Lords or Wimbledon often.

Having glanced over the teams it was time to re-orientate myself with the Woodspring stadium, a ground I had visited once before, a couple a years ago on a filthy winters night when Weston had beat Oxford City in an 8 goal thriller. The ground was opened in 2004 and sits on the edge of town on a main road. It reminds me a bit of Walsall's ground in that it has a stand behind the goal which towers over the rest of the ground. This is a large covered terrace that wouldn't look out of place at a league one or two ground. Behind the opposite goal is a small standing area with a bit of covering. One side of the pitch has quite a big club house with a covered stand in front that stretches about half the length of the touch line and is 4 rows deep. The opposite side is empty apart from the dug outs and the 8 foot wall that wraps round the grounds perimeter. All in all a decent ground with plenty of trees nearby making a nice backdrop.

A quirky feature of the big terrace behind the goal is that a few narrow rows of red seats have been plonked at its front. I presume this was very much an after thought to meet national league regulations around required number of seats. Tonight, despite a large crowd of 720, they nearly all remained empty.

I got chatting to a Weston fan who pointed out how nice the pitch was looking, indeed it was very green considering all the recent dry weather. He also pointed out that Weston's on loan midfielder from Cardiff looked to be "carrying a bit of timber for a full time pro". As we mulled this over Rovers took the lead. Some neat work from Billy Bodin, who I am delighted hasn't been snapped up by a championship club over the summer, created a chance for flame haired Northern Irishman, Rory Gaffney to sidefoot in past Purnell in the Weston goal. Bodin himself had a good looking shot saved shortly after and it remained 1-0 at the break.

The smell of onions coming from the snack bar was delightful, I'd had my tea though so instead went to the adjoining club shop and bought a lovely Weston mug. I lingered in this corner of the ground as the game restarted. I soon moved on though as a group of kids started entertaining themselves by throwing chips at each other.

A flurry of substitutions came from both teams. Weston are under the new management of former player Marc McGregor who clearly wants his team to play a patient passing game. Even in tight situations they were passing it out from the back and avoiding hitting the ball long where ever possible. Their best spell in the game came early in the second half and culminated in a fierce shot from their number 7 which beat Adam Smith in the Rovers goal but came back off the bar.

Rovers trialist Michael Kelly at left back looked pretty decent and put in the cross for Rovers second goal - A clever header from Ellis Harrison who diverted a ball that looked to be going behind him over Purnell and in to the net. With a Matty Taylor size whole in the Rovers front line, and no striker signed in the close season so far, it was nice to see both Gaffney and Harrison on the score sheet.

Weston continued to look well organised, Plummer, on at the break proved a handful in midfield though they didn't create many chances. Rovers bought on two youth players in midfield who I'd be very surprised if they were any older than 16. They more than held their own though and one was involved in some lovely build up play that led to the final goal of the night, a deft back heel flick from wide man Ryan Broom from a Harrison cross. All in all, a very enjoyable first game of the season. Here's to 2017/18 and all the thrills and spills to come.

@goneforaburtone