QK Southampton v Infinity

The welcome sign at QK.

Star Date 2019, and HAH is still going, eight years on. And where was I this week? At the nearest ground to my home that I've not previously featured, QK Southampton. QK were formed in the Queen's Keep building in central Southampton in 1972 by my ex-union rep at my workplace, and he's been there ever since. They used to play at the old Civil Service ground in Shirley, but moved to their current ground in Lordshill when the Civil Service buildings shut down around twenty years ago (Boo! No more cheap beer for the hard-working civil servants of Southampton and their special guests!).

QK's ground was quite isolated until recently. There are a few old houses nearby in the area known as Hillyfields, but over the last couple of years, two to three hundred new houses have been built over the road on a new estate. Nearly finished now - you can see the concrete silos and unfinished roofs behind the changing rooms. As part of the deal to build on the fields where the local travellers and their horses used to dwell, Bloor Homes were to help QK upgrade their ground.

It's looking a lot smarter now than it did a few years ago. The highly-graffitied equipment container has been painted; another container has been placed next to it for the ref's changing room; the teams' changing rooms and cafe are also made out of containers in a U-shape on the halfway line; then there is a small new toilet block, painted bottle green like the ref's changing room.

A new entrance with a car park is currently being built. Unfortunately, a dump truck was left there overnight recently, and had disappeared by the next morning. Like a lot of clubs, QK suffer from the fact that some local people have no respect for others' property and will try to ruin all their hard work.

Talking of ruining hard work, the club erected a homemade stand during 2017, but the council didn't like it, so they had to take it down again. The concrete base is still there, so they might try again if planning permission is granted.

The competition on Saturday was the Southampton Divisional FA Intermediate Cup, which is open to clubs in the area which compete at Hampshire League level, plus the two senior divisions of the Southampton Saturday League. QK are struggling in the Hampshire Premier this season, although their form had been reasonable going in to the match against one of the Hampshire League's "Big Three", Infinity, who were clear favourites to win.

And so it proved. QK's young team conceded from a corner after just two minutes, as Mitch Fear rose highest at the back post to nod past Mike Adams in QK's goal. The experienced players of Infinity (most of whom have played at higher levels) controlled the game from that moment on, scoring three more before half-time. Danny Phillips ran QK's defence ragged, setting up two for Jamie White (ex-Salisbury and Blackfield & Langley), with Wayne Boud scoring the other from a tight angle.

At the break, Infinity looked like they could score an infinite number of goals, but QK improved as the game went on. They couldn't quite manage to get a consolation, but they'll be pleased to have kept a clean sheet for the second 45. 4-0 to Infinity, who progressed to the quarter-finals.

You can see the changing rooms and cafe on the right.

Details:
QK Southampton FC (0) 0 v 4 (4) Infinity FC
Saturday 19th January 2019
Southampton Divisional FA Intermediate Cup Second Round
Attendance: c30
Admission: None, but I bought a 50/50 ticket for £1 (failed to win, as usual)
Programme: No
Colours: Yellow / black / yellow v Dark blue & red / dark blue / dark blue
National Grid reference: SU3715

The view from the cafe entrance.

There's a match report from Infinity's perspective on their website here. I'm hoping to be back with another report in two weeks. In the meantime, there will be another 40 or so photos from Saturday's game on the HAH Facebook page.

The homemade stand in 2017 before it was forcibly taken down.

Mitch Fear (number 5) opens the scoring after two minutes.

QK's management team and subs look on as their full-back wins this tackle.

Goal by Infinity's number 21, Jamie White.

Concrete silos across the road on the new estate.

The new toilet block.

QK improved in the second half on this gloomy January day in Lordshill.

Millbrook Towers (in the background) is also visible from nearby Bush Hill and Team Solent.

Infinity's subs following the game from inside their dugout.

Awww!

Picture This...A Round-Up of Sorts

The new shelter at Andover New Street.

It's all over for another season. I've brought you more words and pictures, and you keep coming back to see whassup. I don't post about every match I go to, for my own sanity more than anything. I don't even take photos at every game - sometimes excitement has to come before art. But I do have a few pictures to spare from games that I didn't cover on here, so I thought maybe you'd like to see some? All of these photos were previously published on the HAH Facebook page. If you follow the blog on there, you'll be familiar with most of these, but not everyone is on Facebook.

So, would you like to see the new shelter at Andover New Street? Yes? Well, here it is, pictured in December last year. Plenty of places to stand under cover at the Wessex Premier's new boys. You'll never get wet at New Street.

Lymington Town at night.

How about a pretty picture of a church tower at night, taken at Lymington Town's ground in January? It rained that night. It rained every single day for three months...

Danny Phillips puts Infinity in to the cup final.

There was a league cup semi-final at Locks Heath in early February between Paulsgrove and Infinity. I'd seen top photographer Paul Paxford a few days before at Windsor. I asked him where the best place was to take penalty photos. He suggested behind the goal. He was right. The match went to a shootout, which Infinity won to send them in to the Hampshire League Cup Final.

Bush Hill go close against Sway at Hythe & Dibden.

The second semi-final was held at Hythe & Dibden a couple of weeks later. Bush Hill were cruising at 2-0 up with 15 minutes to go, but Sway came back to draw the game and win on penalties. They then beat Infinity in the final in May in what was a minor shock. I took this photo whilst stood on a raised platform behind the goal at the entrance end. Sway's number 7 heads off the line here. If that had gone in, it would have been 3-0 and game over.

The Mighty Havant & Waterlooville in action at Oxford City.

I follow the mighty Havant & Waterlooville when I'm not doing HAH. Here they are (in orange) at Oxford City's Marston Road in March. A hard-fought 1-0 victory for the Hawks.

Step art at Whitehawk at the Battle of the Hawks.

On Easter Monday, Havant & Waterlooville travelled to Whitehawk in East Brighton. They were possibly fortunate to come away with a 0-0 that day, but every point counted after 42 matches, as they finished level with Dartford, winning the league on goal difference.

The sun sets on Romsey Town's promotion hopes.

As clubs battled to finish their fixtures in April, one week it was possible to go to six matches in six days (a rare opportunity as there are very few Thursday night fixtures under normal circumstances). The week started at Romsey Town, who beat Laverstock & Ford 3-1 at the Bypass Ground. Unfortunately, a home defeat by Tadley-Calleva a few days earlier had put paid to their promotion hopes for this season. There's always next year...

Andover New Street's promotion party starting at Totton & Eling.

One team that never faltered - and surprised everyone - was Andover New Street. They were promoted after a 5-0 win at Totton & Eling. After being at (or near) the bottom of the Wessex since forever ago, no-one could begrudge them their success this season. Incredibly, they'll be playing in the division above neighbours Andover Town after the Portway side were relegated by the FA for refusing promotion to the Southern League.

Beneath the high rise at Team Solent.

My third game of this busy week was a Thursday night encounter between Team Solent and Alresford Town. Neither side had anything to play for, but it was an entertaining affair nevertheless. Alresford came back from two down to draw. They probably should have won.

Shock victory for Follands in their final home match.

The Friday night entertainment was at Follands (in yellow above). Rock-bottom, with one home victory all season, you would never have known they'd struggled as opponents New Milton Town were hammered 5-1. Most unexpected.

The home dugout at Fareham Town.

Blackfield & Langley won the Wessex this season. One of their final games was a visit to Fortress Cams, home of Fareham Town. It wasn't much of a fortress that evening as a visibly tired home team were easily beaten after they'd played approximately a zillion games in the previous fortnight. You can see the subs' shirts hung up in the home side's dugout at half-time here.

Paulsgrove rent the Front Lawn facility in Havant for their league match with Sway.

I don't think it counts in my season's match total if I only see half a game, does it? After watching the Hawks beat St Alban's City at Westleigh Park, I caught the last 40 minutes of a 4 o'clock kick-off at Hampshire FA's Front Lawn facility in Havant. It's a 4G pitch which was rented for the day by Paulsgrove for their Hampshire League game against Sway. The "home" club won that game fairly easily.

Ed Harris cadges a lift on Rory Williams' shoulders. This was an exciting moment, but not as incredible as what happened in the last minute.

Did I mention that I follow Havant & Waterlooville? And that they won the National League South to take their place in non-league's top division next season? Here they are celebrating their second goal against Concord Rangers on the final day of the season. 2-0 up against a team with nothing to play for? It's all over with an hour still to play, surely? Well, it wasn't, as the club from Essex somehow scored twice in the second half. Heading for the play-offs with a minute to go, Jason Prior scored with the coolest side-foot volley you'll ever see for the most exciting moment of 2017/18. There was a lot of leaping around right there and then, I can tell you.

One more post this season, and that will be the ever-unpopular roller round-up.

Netley Central Sports v Infinity

A stylised Netley Abbey upon a shield. Now that's a proper badge!

We all have them. Little everyday irritations. You'll have your own, no doubt, and some of them may coincide with mine, but we're all different, so we'll agree to differ on certain subjects. I'm a Marmite and liquorice kind of guy; you're a Brussels sprout and parsnip kind of person. I'm not going to change my mind, and you won't be changing yours, so if we meet, let's just get on and enjoy the things we have in common whilst we're together.

However, as I'm in charge here (above the comments line, anyway), I'm going to let you know some of my bugbears in case we ever do have a chinwag - I have them all on a spreadsheet, so I can order them if I want to and delete them if I mellow with age (unlikely). Here's some of the worst:

•  Let's start with the workplace, and people who "build their own personal brand". I'm well aware that's what we're all supposed to do to get on in life - create a slightly over-the-top LinkedIn profile, dress to impress, talk quite loudly using buzzwords to cover up the fact that we don't really know what we're talking about, mingle with influencers, make out we're having a more interesting time than we really are on social media...I know how to do it, but just count me out. I'm me. I don't have a personal brand. Take me or leave me, but don't ever accuse me of having a personal brand.
• Related to the world of work, there are many many phrases that irritate me - "Assume makes an ass out of you and me", "There's no I in team", and so on. And then there are the people who have scrums instead of meetings...

A pair of Infinity players encourage one another as they emerge from the changing rooms.

Details:
Netley Central Sports FC (1) 2 v 0 (0) Infinity FC
Trophyman Southampton Divisional FA Senior Cup Third Round
Saturday 18th November 2017
Attendance: 20-ish
Admission: No
Programme: No
Colours: Blue with white sash / blue / blue v All yellow
National Grid reference: SU4508

Danny Phillips on the attack for Infinity.

Carrying on with the irritations...

• I mentioned scrums. Well, rugby union is right up there on my list. I Just Don't Understand It. I know it's photogenic, I know they're all supposed to be gentlemen (even the players who gouge other players' eyes?!), but I will never ever understand the rules or the general appeal.
• People who say "Confused dot com" instead of "Confused". Don't do it.
• People who call Berkshire the "M4 Corridor". It's Berkshire.
• Dog owners who let their pets slobber all over my crotch when I walk across the park so that I have to go home to change my trousers, and then say "he's only playing!"
• Pub quiz cheaters. What's the point of entering a quiz and then looking up all the answers on a smartphone? It's the equivalent of doping in sport. Beyond annoying for all the other teams who do it "clean".
• Premiership football and the tedious circus that surrounds it. Do I really have to explain this one?

There are many more irritations on my spreadsheet, and they grow almost daily. It's an age thing.

Matthew Watts scores Netley's first whilst a man checks his phone on the balcony of one of the flats overlooking the Rec.

Footballers and the people who run the clubs that they play for will have their big irritations as well, and I'm sure a lot of them will be similar to one another. At the level that I watched on Saturday, with a match being played on a village recreation ground, there's the doggy doo on the pitch. Probably left by the same dog that slobbered all over my trousers. Two of the most useful tools in the groundsman's arsenal are his poop scoop and bucket. Sure enough, there was a foul, steaming lump discovered in the penalty box before kick-off at Netley Central Sports, delaying the start by a few minutes. Not nice. Had the dog owner never heard of poobags?

Then there's the more general irritations suffered by the players, all dutifully recorded by pros in Shoot!'s Focus On... feature during the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. Biggest Drag In Soccer or Miscellaneous Dislikes is where they would record the fact that they didn't like losing, bad refs, or going shopping with the missus. If you search the internet, you will find some...

• Glenn Hoddle didn't like flying or losing to Wrexham.
• Alan Biley loved punk, but disliked ignorant people.
• Frank Worthington's biggest disappointment was not getting the lead role in The Incredible Hulk. Me too!

One for the Crap Football Photos Twitter account. They don't like unnecessary filters or slightly out of focus players or refs.

But I digress (to be honest, I've spent the last seven years on HAH digressing. One day, I'll actually write an entire piece about a football match...). Saturday's trip was to the recreation ground in the centre of Netley, a village to the south of Southampton (to my readers in the north - yes, there are places further south than Southampton). It's a typical village rec - there's a playground, a basketball/games court and one of those new-fangled outdoor exercise facilities that look like a playground, but are meant for adults to do "steps" or whatever. And there's doggy doo bins, thank goodness.

The roped off football pitch is raised above the rest of the field and is fairly flat. There's a drop of two metres or so behind the far goal, which means you can effectively watch a game at pitch level at that end. There are six floodlight poles, but no evidence that they work, as the match was played entirely in daylight. The changing rooms look fairly new, and have a tea hatch on the right-hand side as you look at it. 50p for a cuppa. Good value.

All in all, a perfectly acceptable venue for a local cup game.

Matthew Watts does the aeroplane celebration after scoring his and Netley's second.

The competition was the Southampton Divisional FA's Senior Cup, and both clubs had reached the last 16. Now, this is normally contested by men's football clubs within the local FA's area, from approximately the level that teams like Winchester City and AFC Totton play, down to Southampton Saturday League sides, with the final being a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the players to play at St Mary's Stadium. But this season is extra-special, as the competition is 100 years old, and Southampton FC have entered and are competing for the trophy. Granted, not the first team, but their under-23s. Still, even their u23s are good enough to stick 12 past Hampshire Premier League side QK Southampton, so they're clear favourites to lift the trophy.

Netley Central Sports play in Division One of the Hampshire Premier Football League (level 12 in the English football pyramid), whereas Saturday's opponents, Infinity FC, play one level higher in the same league's Senior Division. Thus, pre-match, a win for Netley would be unexpected.

What is this? The Matthew Watts Fan Club Page? Even goalscoring heroes have to tuck the corner flags away in a safe place at this level!

As it turned out, Netley were the better side on the day. They wanted it more. Listening to the people following the two clubs, this was Netley's best performance of the season, and conversely, it was Infinity's worst. But that's cup football for you. If the lower-ranked team play at their limits, they'll usually have a chance.

Netley took the lead two minutes after they'd hit the post, in the 37th minute. It had been coming. A cross came in from the right which Infinity failed to clear. Matthew Watts was in acres of space 10 yards out on the left. He thwacked the ball low and hard with his right peg into the opposite corner. Big smiles on the faces of the team in blue. They definitely wanted it.

Infinity have several experienced ex-Wessex League players on their books. A lot of people tipped them to do well in pre-season, but they showed little evidence of their collective pedigree on Saturday. The closest they came was hitting the base of the post early in the second half. But if anybody was going to score another goal, it was Netley, and so it was after 75 minutes when Watts was played through the centre. He ran on and slid the ball past Infinity's keeper to make it 2-0.

The same two sides meet again this coming Saturday at Netley in the quarter-finals of the league cup. Will the result go the same way? Netley are the lowest-ranked club left in both the Southampton FA Senior Cup and the Hampshire Premier League Cup. They have a good team which is also challenging for promotion - but they can't be promoted unless they buy some dugouts and have hard standing laid along at least one side of the pitch, which the council will have to approve. But at least they're still going, which wasn't a foregone conclusion as they nearly folded in the summer through lack of funds. They were saved at the eleventh hour by a sponsor coming in and putting enough cash in for them to start the season. It's never easy at this level, whether it's doggy doo in the box, or no money for kits and equipment. I hope they can carry on for a few more seasons yet.

Study of Autumn Leaves and a Goal Net.

In the next round of the cup (the quarter-finals), Netley Central Sports will play host to Wessex League Lymington Town, which will be extremely tough, with Lymmo playing three levels higher. But if Netley are at their very best, who knows? Further north, Saints u23s will travel to Winchester City.

I mentioned the Focus On... feature in Shoot! earlier. You can find a few examples of this in a book about goalkeepers that's just been published, called Glove Story. The book was co-written by Rob Stokes, who some of you may remember was Waterlooville's man between the sticks during the 1990s. There are some of my pictures in the book, including one of my dad's old quilted keeper's jersey which adorns the front cover and spine. Another one of my photos fills two pages later in the book. Wessex League followers will recognise the colourful goalposts of Bournemouth Poppies taken during a match against Fareham Town a couple of seasons ago. I know I'm biased, but I really do recommend this book - it's a cracking read! Glove Story can be ordered in time for Christmas from here.

More pictures from Netley will be added to the HAH Facebook page this evening.

Next time, I shall either be following one of our local clubs in the FA Vase, or I shall report on a game from the Hampshire FA Intermediate Cup. I'll decide nearer December 2nd. Thanks for reading. In the meantime, I assume HAH hasn't made it on to your personal Irritation Spreadsheet...