Saturday, January 15, 2022

Fleet Spurs FC

Fleet Spurs 0 Romsey Town 2 - Wessex League, Division One





Fleet is a town in the Hart District of Hampshire and is situated 38 miles from London and 13 miles east of Basingstoke. The Fleet Pond nature reserve is a beauty spot on the northern edge of the town. Fleet Pond is the largest freshwater lake in Hampshire. In the past, the lake has frozen over which has allowed skating. A notable incident occurred at a branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken at Fleet Services on 14 December 2016. A fire broke out damaging at least 60% of the building. A customer on site at the time said that the fire was caused by a faulty coffee machine. More than 100 firefighters from Hampshire and Surrey attended the scene. 



The football club was established in 1948, joining the Aldershot & District League in 1951. Having also played in the Surrey Premier League, the club joined the Hampshire League in 1991. In 2004 Fleet Spurs were placed in Division Three of the Wessex League and currently play in Division One. In 2013 the club was obliged to change their badge, which included a stylised cockerel, because its similarity to Tottenham Hotspur’s logo infringed that club’s copyright.



I was offered a lift to the Surrey/Hampshire borders and an early start facilitated some exploring of the delightful village of Thursley and its surrounds. A very English part of our world boasting a fine traditional public house. A lovely lunch was enjoyed at The Three Horseshoes, supplemented with a couple of fine local ales. Shere Drop (4.2%) from the Surrey Hills Brewery in Dorking and Lion Brewery Bitter (3.9%) from the Crafty Brewing co in Dunsfold. Both ales were in excellent condition.



Fleet Spurs play at Kennels Lane which is actually in Farnborough, only a short distance from the M3. The drive over from Thursley was straightforward and it wasn’t long before we were parked up and ready for the match. I soon received the news that the Premier League had agreed to postpone the following day’s North London derby, but at least I would be watching Spurs this weekend!

 


The ground is “basic” for this level of football, but of course ticks all the relevant boxes. Floodlights, hardstanding and covered seating. However, the latter facility is some distance from the pitch and the sightlines are poor. For the majority of the match nobody was seated. This would have been different if we had experienced rain I’m sure. The clubhouse building is smart and contains the changing rooms, boardroom and refreshment facilities. The matchday programme was online for this match as “the printer is on holiday”



As the teams emerged for the match it was obvious that there was a colour clash. Apart from some of the assembled spectators, nobody seemed to be bothered too much. An attempt was made to find an alternative strip without success. To be fair the teams and officials seemed to cope rather well with this but the officials will have had issues determining who was who at times! Romsey Town dominated the first period and were well worth their two goal lead at the break.



On a cold afternoon my half time cup of tea was just what the doctor ordered! The second period was a more even affair and the home side managed to hit the woodwork on a couple of occasions. That said I felt that the visitors were always in the driving seat and emerged worthy winners. It was nice to chat with some of the Romsey Town officials and likewise those representing the home side. As is often the case, there seem to be a very few people covering a number of posts. The journey home via the M3 and M25 was swift, although the traffic congestion on the latter heading in the anti-clockwise direction looked less appealing.





Attendance: 35
Admission: £6:00/£4:00
Programme: Not issued (the above is taken from the club website)
Tea: £1:50








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