Both these sides were relegated from the Step 4 Ryman Isthmian League Div 1 North last season to the step 5 Essex Senior League. That is to say they are 5 divisions below the Essex Senior League.
This is a local derby and a game between the former tenants and landlords. Originally, Barkingside were resident at Oakside Stadium in Barkingside. Then Redbridge moved in as tenants. This situation swapped with Redbridge becoming the senior side. Then Barkingside moved out and now play their home games at Cricklefield Stadium in Ilford. This they ground share with Ilford, another Essex Senior League side.
I saw Redbridge play 9 days ago in the FA Cup when they were hammered at home by Waltham Forest. Barkingside won their FA Cup game the same weekend.
Before tonight's game, Barkingside had six points from three games and Redbridge one point from three games. The odds were therefore in Barkingside's favour, especially with home advantage.
Going to Cricklefield is rather easy for me. 20 minutes before kick off, I was at home having a shower. I still had time to get to ground, get in and meet my fellow ground hoppers before kick off. There was a good turn out of ground hoppers there tonight. This is one of the reasons why Barkingside play home games on a Monday night. The extra money from the dozen or so ground hoppers makes a huge difference to clubs at this level. The crowd tonight was 95. That means 12.5% of crowd were ground hoppers. A big boost to the income of a club.
I do like Barkingside as a club. They are a friendly club and the chairman greets fans with a cheery hello and makes you feel welcome. Some of you will remember my tweets last year or year before when I whinged repeatedly about not being able to get a cup of tea. The club contacted me via twitter the next day and offered me a free ticket to next game and an apology (catering difficulties).
Things like that are what is the difference between football at this level and the professional game. Here, you are valued and are not just a wallet. I should say I refused the offer of a free ticket. Barkingside need my money more than I need a free ticket. Indeed, last night I tweeted that I was going to game today. Today, I got a tweet from the club inviting me to blog about the game. Go to a professional game and you are threatened with ejection for taking photographs to support a blog post. What a difference in attitude. The Admission and a programme here costs £7. Compare this to League 2 Leyton Orient where admission and a programme would cost around £27.
The game itself tonight was a competitive affair with Barkingside starting slowly, but as the game went on they became stronger. They were awarded a soft penalty after 40 minutes. The decision was right, but the Redbridge player deserves a slap for bringing down a player running away from the goal and who did not have the ball under control.
Barkingside missed the penalty , well it was saved by the Redbridge goalkeeper who had a great night and kept Redbridge in the game.
It was not until the second half that Barkingside finally got the goal their pressure deserved. A simple header from a corner made it 1-0. Barkingside and Redbridge players contrived to miss numerous chances to keep the score at 1-0.
A deserved win in the end for Barkingside. I look forward to my next visit to Barkingside.
Looking through the programme, the Chairman asks for fund raising ideas for the club. I live less than a mile from the ground, but have never seen a poster advertising games in any of the local shops. Many people do not even know there is a football ground here. I know it is a matter of time, but a bit of publicity of the existence of the club, the dates of the games and the excellent value for money the admission price is would help. There is a school academy right outside the ground. Could some form of promotion of the club via free / reduced priced tickets for school pupils increase the attendances?
No comments:
Post a Comment