Football Days

Oak Farm - Cove FC

Cove 1-1 Egham Town

11/04/13 - Combined Counties Premier League

Att: 40

Shift work has hampered my attendance at matches over the last few months with my shifts constantly clashing with the football fixture list, meaning that I've only just managed to get to see the Villa, never mind any other football. It's perhaps fortunate for myself that a horrendous winter decimated the Combined Counties League fixture list and as a result there is a large backlog of fixtures that need to be squeezed in before the 5th May, meaning matches are being played almost every day of the week and this re-arranged Thursday evening encounter was a perfect opportunity for me to get out and see some non-league football.

Cove's Oak Farm ground is in my hometown of Farnborough so travelling wasn't much of an issue as the ground was only a few minutes away in the car. The ground is signposted, but it's off a quiet road and then up a small lane and I can imagine it would be quite difficult to locate if you weren't familiar with the area. With nothing around the ground itself apart from a few houses and an adjacent rugby pitch it's in a quiet setting, but it's pleasant enough and the obligatory club house provides a place for visitors to sink a few cold ones before the match. It's also worth noting that the tea bar in the ground will serve you a cup of tea in a mug, how about that eh?

Inside the ground it's what you expect from most venues at this level with three sides railed off and open to the elements, while one side of the ground features a small seated stand with two covered standing areas either side. According to Wikipedia the capacity of the ground is 2,500, but with an average of just 39 for the current season there is plenty of room to spare on a matchday. That's more than what could be said 20 years ago when a crowd of 1,798 saw the newly formed Aldershot Town beat Cove 3-1 on this ground in the Diadora Division 3.

Cove have been the surprise package of the Combined Counties Premier this season and came into the match third in the league, although they were eighteen points behind their opponents and league leaders Egham Town whose promotion is far from secure, despite being thirteen points clear at the top of the league in the middle of April. Title favourites Guernsey have suffered the most from fixture disruption and their seven games in hand mean that top spot is in their hands, although fitting so many games in by the end of the season will be tough for the Green Lions, with the Channel Islanders being forced to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday on numerous weekends.

The teams emerged on to a playing surface that had been badly affected by recent rain and if it wasn't for the huge backlog of fixtures I bet the match wouldn't have been given the go ahead. But needs must and the match went ahead, with Cove in their home colours of yellow and black and Egham Town wearing their blue away kit. Both sides struggled with the playing surface but it was Egham who enjoyed the better of the play and were denied by a good save by the Cove goalie and also had two efforts blocked off the line, as well as two penalty appeals turned down by the referee. Cove had their fair share of the ball, but the chances all went to the visitors and despite this it was goalless at the half time break.

Having devoured a cheese burger and had another mug (yes, mug) of tea it was time for the second half to begin. Often you see one team dominate a half without scoring and find that they lose all their momentum during the half time break, but that certainly wasn't the case here as Egham continued to dominate proceedings. With twenty minutes left there were still no goals, but there were a few tackles flying in and when an Egham player went in late on Cove's full back it resulted in a serious injury to the Cove man, meaning play was held up for around twenty minutes while we waited for an ambulance to arrive.

Tempers got a bit frayed between the two teams in the aftermath of the tackle which, in my opinion, was just mis-timed and not malicious. With the play held up there was talk of the game being abandoned but Egham were adamant that the game had to go ahead, in fear of having to share the points should there not be space in the calendar for a re-arrangement. The referee ordered the players back into the changing rooms and the Cove players obliged, while the visitors stayed out on the field and kept themselves warm while extensive talks went on between officials and management. Eventually the ambulance arrived and the match got back underway.

Egham continued to press and with ten minutes remaining hit the post. It looked like it would be one of those nights for the visitors but when a corner was headed on to the bar it was scrambled into the net to give them a fully deserved lead with eight minutes left on the clock. There was a huge outpouring of relief from the visitors who knew they had to keep winning to keep the pressure on the chasing pack and they had other chances to extend their lead before the end of the match. Cove offered very little in return but with time all but up they won a corner. It was flicked on at the front post and nestled in the back of the net for the most unlikely of equalisers with next to no time for Egham to respond.

It was past 22:30 by the time the full time whistle sounded, much to the delight of the home side and to the frustration of Egham who won't believe they didn't win the match. It was certainly an eventful evening and a fine example of what makes football a great sport to watch. The ground itself is a pleasant one to visit and I'm sure I'll be back to visit again some time.