Abbey Rangers 3 Egham Town 0 - Combined Counties League, Premier Division North
Abbey Rangers Football Club was
established in 1976, initially as a youth club and was named after the nearby
Chertsey Abbey. Subsequently the club joined the Surrey & Hants Border
League, winning Division one in 2004-05. In 2006 the club joined the Guildford & Woking Alliance and won Division One at the first attempt. The following
season after finishing as runners up in the Premier Division, promotion to the
Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) was secured. Via a further move to
the Surrey Elite Intermediate League, Abbey Rangers gained promotion to the
Combined Counties League in 2014. Promotion to the Premier Division was secured
that first season.
Stand-up comic, William Evans (our good friend
from Spurs), is said to be a former player for Abbey Rangers and I will confess
that since I learned of this, I decided that a visit would be necessary. The
club play their home matches at Addlestone Moor with the nearest railway station being
Addlestone. The walk from the railway station is fairly straightforward
and takes a little over fifteen minutes. The only real obstacle being crossing
the busy A317 Woburn Road, along which it appears you are only eligible to
drive along it, if you are travelling fast.
There are no public houses or other refreshment
facilities on the direct route from the station. However, exiting the station
in the other direction would satisfy as it leads to the main town centre. The
excellent clubhouse building at Abbey Rangers is situated behind the near goal
as you enter the ground and includes a superb refreshment bar “The Dugout”, along with a licensed bar. Here I was
able to watch the second half of Everton v Aston Villa, having a choice of
three screens.
Many of the regular Abbey Rangers fans opted to
watch the match in front of the clubhouse with their pints. The main spectator
viewing areas are two covered seated stands and a further covered standing are.
All of which are located along one side, which also contains the dugouts. The
remainder of the ground is railed off, with hardstanding along the opposite
side but not the far end.
I was struck by the community feel to the place.
It was already busy when I arrived around 1:15 and there had been early
football activity for youngsters. Outside the main playing area there are other
pitches, including a 3G facility and the club is clearly ambitious, having
already taken great strides.
Assistant Referees
A glance at the league table in the matchday
programme revealed Abbey Rangers in third position and visitors Egham Town in
fifth. Therefore, a decent match was anticipated. On a chilly afternoon it was
the hosts that took the early initiative and were soon ahead, courtesy of a
fine strike by Archie Vincent, Further goals (a brace from Mo Diakite) ensured
a comprehensive lead for the hosts at the break
There were no further goals in the second period
despite the best efforts of both sides. Egham Town will have been frustrated
with their afternoon, with good build up play unrewarded. The final whistle
blew around 16:55 leaving just enough time to get back to the station and cross
the bridge to the London bound platform.
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