Friday 28 July 2017

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














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