Match Information
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Almondsbury 0-2 Warminster Town
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When: Saturday 29th October 2022
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Kick-off: 2pm
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Where: The Field, Gloucester Road, Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire BS32 4AF
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Competition: Western Football League Division One
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Attendance: 41
Whenever I caught passing glimpses of a football venue in the distance whilst travelling somewhere in bygone days, I found it both irritating and intriguing.
Most definitely irritating for me if I had not been there already to attend a fixture. Yet also intriguing because it conjured up evocative pictures in my mind concerning what it must be like to watch football in those surroundings.
This fascination dates back to my teenage years going to matches on the train. I remember gazing longingly through the carriage windows and spotting stadiums such as Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Crewe Alexandra, Peterborough United, Stockport County and Walsall.
Furthermore at Non-League level, I espied numerous interesting grounds including Barkingside, Bath City, Berkhamsted Town, Chelmsford City, Didcot Town, Friar Lane Old Boys, Maidenhead United, Taplow United and Wolverton Town next to the tracks.
Nowadays, I drive everywhere and I had caught sight of Almondsbury FC near Bristol several times since it is right next to major interchanges at the M4 Junction 20 and M5 Junction 16. Indeed, you could cheekily observe a full 90 minutes if you happened to break down on the motorway slip road!
Anyway, my aforementioned irritation syndrome was kicking in so I decided to set off on a 300 mile round trip to see Almondsbury play. The village itself contains 4,700 inhabitants.
I previously visited the other local football arena – Oaklands Park – on New Year Bank Holiday 2nd January 1995 when Almondsbury Town FC lost 3-1 at home to Tuffley Rovers before 84 spectators in the Hellenic League Premier Division.
Funnily enough, my main memory from that occasion was actually driving en route down the M4. All of a sudden, someone approached in a car on the outside lane and started waving frantically at me.
To my great surprise, it turned out to be then QPR player (and future manager) Ian Holloway who is a good friend.
Ground Description
Calling this ‘The Field’ is an understatement due to it being fully enclosed. There is a 50 seater grandstand plus adjacent covered terracing for 50 further spectators.
I really liked seeing the players and match officials ascending steps before kick-off to reach the pitch which is on a plateau. This concept added a grandiose sense of occasion in my groundhop-tinted eyes.
In addition, I relished such close proximity to the M4 and M5 directly behind one goal. Therefore I spent my afternoon trying to capture an action photo with towering motorway signs in the background.
After numerous pathetic failed attempts, I eventually achieved my aim late in the second half!
Programme Details
A 20 page online edition called ‘FIELD REVIEW’ which was produced on behalf of the club by Bristol Soccerworld – an excellent website covering Non-League news in their catchment area.
The well-researched programme content incorporated Almondsbury chairman Mike Blessing’s welcome notes, club honours, away team history, Western League table, fixtures, league news across three pages, member clubs’ addresses, a guest Non-League Paper column, fixtures/results and matchday line-ups.
To keep my football grounds memorabilia collection up to date, I always get these online programmes converted to hard copies by specialist printer Mark Kettlety for a reasonable fee.
The Match
It was 17th versus 14th in the Western League Division One rankings.
Having journeyed 40 miles up from south-west Wiltshire, Warminster Town edged a tight game via strikes by Max Wyatt (19 minutes) and Corey Gardner (71 minutes).
The decisive goals were wildly celebrated by a small but passionate group of Warminster ultras who filmed proceedings for their social media purposes.
*Credit for photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*
