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Ryman League Division One South
CROYDON ATHLETIC (0) 0
WORTHING (0) 0
Attendance 124
Here is the conversation I had with somebody prior to the game –
“Who are you playing?”
“Croydon Athletic”
“What again? You played them Tuesday”
“No we didn’t. That was Croydon, this is Croydon Athletic.”
“Oh, so they’re the ones that play at the athletics track
because they’re Croydon ATHLETIC”
“No, Croydon play there”
“So Croydon Athletic don’t play at the athletics track, that’s
Croydon”
“Yes”
“So there are two sides that play in Croydon?”
“No, Croydon Athletic play in Thornton Heath”
“So why aren’t they called Thornton Heath?”
There’s no arguing with that really is there? If only the game was as eventful as the pantomime that surrounded it with broken down coaches and an even more broken down referee dominating proceedings. Add to the mix, the best food in the league, driving rain and a few “train-trippers” and you had a quite bizarre but strangely enjoyable fixture.
The rotation ”wheel of fortune” span and Messrs Beech and Ducille came in for Edwards and Dobbyn as Worthing started with a 3-5-2 formation, Ekoku playing as a central striker to counter the aerial strength of James Hall in the Croydon defence.
In cold, driving rain the Rebels had marginally the better of the first half with chances for Ekoku, Dicker and Lamont but the main talking point came when the referee “retired hurt” with chest pains. The call came over the tannoy – not “Is there a doctor in the house?” but “Is there a qualified referee in the ground?” Nick and Bernie’s big chance was here, as both being qualified, would they save the day? Well, no because Athletic Manager Haydon Bird objected and some poor guy was dragged from the adjacent local park to run the line. Play continued for the remaining nine minutes of the half and not a lot happened.
The second half was more of the same, the Rebels dominating play but looking vunerable on the break – Will Packham (or is that Will Pac-man?) making some sharp saves to deny Athletic three undeserved points. Freeman came on to shake things up in his own inimitable way but his performance will only be remembered for a fracas by the home dugout, sensibly dealt with by the senior linesman/referee, and possibly the worst corner I have seen all season – it barely made the 18 yard line before going out of play. The final whistle went and the disappointed Worthing team trudged off and out of a disjointed game that never got going. However that’s four points out of six from a pretty decent side, and you can’t ask for too much more than that. A point gained rather than two lost I reckon.
So to Epsom we go on Tuesday where anything other than three points will be seen as a massive disappointment. And I’m going to have a similar conversation as the one at the start of the report explaining why Epsom & Ewell play at Banstead’s ground in Tadworth.
TEAM - Will Packham 8, Andrew Beech 7,
Chris Dicker 6, Andy Lutwyche 5, Clay Lamont 7, Nko Ekoku 6 (Sub Darren
Freeman 6), Shaun Grice 6, Ross Johnson 6 (Sub Mark Pulling 6), Sam Francis
6, Mark Knee 6, Andy Ducille 6
SUBS NOT USED Daryl Plummer, Damian Dobbyn, Gavin Geddes
MY MAN OF THE MATCH – Rob Frankland, the Croydon Athletic ‘keeper. Great fun and a good performance, a shining example of what non-league football is all about.
(Thanks to Ian for this report)
7th Feb 2004