Kingstonian 0-2 AFC Fylde, FA Cup 2nd
Round, att. 1,460
I don’t know which had me here today, whether it was my disillusionment with my own team (Barnsley), without a win in forever, or the state of the nation’s train system, . A month ago, I looked at train prices and it was 36 quid return to the north. When I went to book the next day, it had gone up to £41. And even then, I wouldn’t get back to London till half ten at nite due to engineering works. Bargain. Sod that, I thought – let’s see what alternatives are out there.
Having checked the fixtures, it turned out to be FA Cup 2nd round day. The greatest knock out competition in the world, apparently. Of the games played at the weekend, the only team I’d not been to was Kingstonian. Didn’t they play at Leatherhead these days? I did a bit of digging, and no, they didn’t play at Leatherhead. They’d moved on to a groundshare with Corinthian Casuals, at King George's Field in Tolworth. That probably means nothing to anybody – ‘cept I see this stadium from the train every day on the way to work each day in Chessington. I had to.
The stadium is a basic affair, though it does benefit from cover on three sides. A small seated stand straddles the halfway line, with a decent sized clubhouse behind. Each end has a small covered terrace about 4 steps high (enough for the average Corinthians’ game, that’s for sure) while the fourth side only contains the dugouts. Today, a couple of camera gantries on scaffolding eye up proceedings, no doubt provided by the BBC, who broadcast their Football Focus programme from here earlier. It also provided the most surprising answer of the day to ‘what’s been the highlight so far?’ ‘The arrival of the portaloos.’ THAT’S when non-leaguers realise they’ve hit the big time.
It was the usual advantage of not travelling up north today. I could leave the house the right side of one o’clock. I could have a flat white and Greggs steak-bake. I could get there before the match actually started. I could also have a 20 minute walk along the A3 and marvel at the mixture of concrete and Edwardian semis that make up suburbia. You can tell I’m not a fan.
I bought my ticket last week. Not wanting to risk the game selling out (it was bad enough repeating my weekday commute on a Satdy), I ordered it online. So well done the local record shop who allowed Kingstonian to utilise their online facility. Ticket ordered Sunday, on my doorstep Tuesday, and queues beaten at the stadium. There were still cash sales though, as AFC Fylde are not the biggest draw in the hat. Indeed, I shared a stand with their fans 2nd half, and they can’t have brought more than 50. What will happen when their sugar daddy leaves, time will tell.
The rest of the ground was busy though. The main home end and seats looked full, so I went to the far end and stood by a railing with a great view of the pitch and Fylde’s superiority; one up after 9 minutes (a shot from the edge of the box through a crowd of players) and the game sealed in 1st half injury time with a rebound. Jordan Williams bagged both, but my highlight was still when he controlled the ball and blazed over from 6 yards in the 2nd half. I guess he doesn’t like scoring hattricks. The result never seemed in doubt, for all Kingstonian’s endeavour.
Oh, and Barnsley won. Of course they did. 3-1. After 17 matches without a win, they wait till I’ve gone AWOL. Typical.
The Damage:
£10 ent
£0.60 postage
£2.50 prog
£8 train
= £21.10
The Tunes:
The Far Field (Future Islands)
Endtroducing (DJ Shadow)
Dubnobasswithmyheadman (Underworld)
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| Welcome to ... |
I don’t know which had me here today, whether it was my disillusionment with my own team (Barnsley), without a win in forever, or the state of the nation’s train system, . A month ago, I looked at train prices and it was 36 quid return to the north. When I went to book the next day, it had gone up to £41. And even then, I wouldn’t get back to London till half ten at nite due to engineering works. Bargain. Sod that, I thought – let’s see what alternatives are out there.
 |
| The teams line up. |
Having checked the fixtures, it turned out to be FA Cup 2nd round day. The greatest knock out competition in the world, apparently. Of the games played at the weekend, the only team I’d not been to was Kingstonian. Didn’t they play at Leatherhead these days? I did a bit of digging, and no, they didn’t play at Leatherhead. They’d moved on to a groundshare with Corinthian Casuals, at King George's Field in Tolworth. That probably means nothing to anybody – ‘cept I see this stadium from the train every day on the way to work each day in Chessington. I had to.
 |
| It's a sign! |
The stadium is a basic affair, though it does benefit from cover on three sides. A small seated stand straddles the halfway line, with a decent sized clubhouse behind. Each end has a small covered terrace about 4 steps high (enough for the average Corinthians’ game, that’s for sure) while the fourth side only contains the dugouts. Today, a couple of camera gantries on scaffolding eye up proceedings, no doubt provided by the BBC, who broadcast their Football Focus programme from here earlier. It also provided the most surprising answer of the day to ‘what’s been the highlight so far?’ ‘The arrival of the portaloos.’ THAT’S when non-leaguers realise they’ve hit the big time.
 |
| Them there portaloos. Stars of the show. |
It was the usual advantage of not travelling up north today. I could leave the house the right side of one o’clock. I could have a flat white and Greggs steak-bake. I could get there before the match actually started. I could also have a 20 minute walk along the A3 and marvel at the mixture of concrete and Edwardian semis that make up suburbia. You can tell I’m not a fan.
 |
| Lovely. |
I bought my ticket last week. Not wanting to risk the game selling out (it was bad enough repeating my weekday commute on a Satdy), I ordered it online. So well done the local record shop who allowed Kingstonian to utilise their online facility. Ticket ordered Sunday, on my doorstep Tuesday, and queues beaten at the stadium. There were still cash sales though, as AFC Fylde are not the biggest draw in the hat. Indeed, I shared a stand with their fans 2nd half, and they can’t have brought more than 50. What will happen when their sugar daddy leaves, time will tell.
 |
| The Fylde hordes, pre-match. |
The rest of the ground was busy though. The main home end and seats looked full, so I went to the far end and stood by a railing with a great view of the pitch and Fylde’s superiority; one up after 9 minutes (a shot from the edge of the box through a crowd of players) and the game sealed in 1st half injury time with a rebound. Jordan Williams bagged both, but my highlight was still when he controlled the ball and blazed over from 6 yards in the 2nd half. I guess he doesn’t like scoring hattricks. The result never seemed in doubt, for all Kingstonian’s endeavour.
Oh, and Barnsley won. Of course they did. 3-1. After 17 matches without a win, they wait till I’ve gone AWOL. Typical.
The Damage:
£0.60 postage
£2.50 prog
£8 train
= £21.10
The Tunes:
The Far Field (Future Islands)
Endtroducing (DJ Shadow)
Dubnobasswithmyheadman (Underworld)
 |
| St. George's panorama |
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| 1st half action |
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| Behind the goal, 1st half |
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| View from behind the other goal, 2nd half. |
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| Kingstonian's twin towers. |
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| The turnstiles |
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| Back of the stand (board room this way) |
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| (Both) Corinthians' legend Socrates. |
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| The Main Stand (with clubhouse behind) |
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| The cameraman behind the K's net, 2nd half. |
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| The home terrace |
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| Check out the hump in the goal. |
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| The sponsors await the teams. |
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| The TV/radio gantry. |
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