Sheerwater 3 Beckenham Town 2 - Combined Counties League, Premier Division South
Sheerwater is a residential neighbourhood within the Borough of Woking
in Surrey. The border is defined in the north by a gently winding part of the
Basingstoke Canal and to the south by the South Western Main Line. Sheerwater
was also spelt Sherewater until the early 20th Century. It was since
the Norman conquest, a high sandy heath and notable pond (small lake) of
Pyrford. The pond was an extensive mere on the high Bagshot Sand, drained and
planted at the time of its enclosure, 29 September 1815. Sheerwater was
designed as a new neighbourhood by the London County Council and approved by
the local Urban District Council allowing 1300 homes to be built in the early
1950s when over 5000 people settled in the borough. Notable former Sheerwater
residents and pupils were Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler who
together with other pupils of the then Sheerwater Comprehensive School formed
The Jam.
Sheerwater Football Club was founded in 1958, by John French, and they began life as members of the Woking & District League. After achieving Intermediate status, they joined the Surrey Intermediate League (Western) in 1967. The club was a founding member of the Home Counties League in 1978, which was renamed a year later to the Combined Counties League. Previously Sheerwater played their home games at Sheerwater Recreation Ground. The Jam played some of their early gigs at the clubhouse, before releasing their breakthrough song "In The City".
I had visited Sheerwater FC’s
previous ground, Sheerwater Recreation Ground, in April 2016. That location was
only a few hundred yards from the new venue which opened this season. My
journey was made by train from Clapham Junction to West Byfleet, From the
station it is just short of a twenty-minute walk to Eastwood Leisure Centre, a
smart new complex situated behind Bishop David Brown School on Albert Drive.
Spectators enter the football
ground through the main building and are directed to an impressive large
clubroom with refreshment facilities, before proceeding out of the building to
the entrance gate. In truth there is not a lot of room for spectators
surrounding the artificial pitch, but it is possible to watch the match from
all four sides. The side adjacent to the main building is covered with seating.
The side is more spacious than the remainder of the ground but a decent view is
afforded throughout.
I had to wait until the 96th
minute of my previous match on New Year’s Day to see a goal, by contrast this
afternoon the first goal was scored on 28 seconds. Sheerwater increased their
lead a few minutes later and by the break were 3-0 ahead. However, visitors
Beckenham Town had not played badly and had probably created more scoring
chances than their hosts. Both sides were playing decent football enjoyed by a number
of neutrals present.
The second period continued to
provide entertainment and a couple of goals for the visitors gave the
correct balance to the afternoon. The last twenty minutes saw the play switch
from end to end and Beckenham Town can consider themselves very unlucky not to
have got something from this match as they were more than a match for
Sheerwater. Unfortunately, towards the end, the match took on a less pleasant
feel as the atmosphere changed somewhat.
Sheerwater’s last home match had
been abandoned when the opposition decided to walk off the pitch. This match
was completed, but on the final whistle there was a mass brawl involving most of
the players and many from the benches. It was all rather pathetic and not a
good sight for the children watching (a little bit more than the usual handbags
too) and I’m not sure how the match officials concluded matters. To be fair, some
participants were trying to defuse the situation, with little success. A sour
note to end what was actually a very good football match and a credit to the
Combined Counties League.
For a full set of photographs click here
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