London Senior Cup First Round - Clapton vs. Fisher

Kick off at The Old Spotted Dog Ground.

Since moving to London, a competition I've always kept an eye on is the London Senior Cup. My favourite game of this competition was Tooting's victory over Hendon at Imber Court in the 2007-2008 final. The previous Fisher club last won the competition in the 1988-89 season. Clapton won the last Senior Cup of the eighteen century and their last win was in the 1918-19 season. Clapton play at the fantastically named Old Spotted Dog Ground in north east London. Both are on a par in terms of level of the pyramid but as Clapton were yet to win a game this season the away side were the favourites.

First half action looking towards the club house.

Fisher, backed by a small but vocal band of followers have most of the possession and chances in the first half with Clapton looking to score on the break. The first half ends goal less and Clapton are still in the game. The second half is much of the same and Clapton fail to make the Fisher goal make a save as most of their efforts are quite wayward. The two goals that Fisher score are quite scrappy. The first one is a long ball forward which is tapped past the on rushing goal keeper. The second one is a finish from a tight angle following a bit of chaos in the penalty area.

A corner in to the Clapton box.

The nearest station to the ground is Plaistow on the District Line which is under a 30 minute journey from town. From there you can get the 325 bus from stop D which takes you to just outside the ground. I ended up getting to the ground quite late and so did not have a chance to visit any pubs before the game. However, I did walk past a few on the way to the bus stop. The clubhouse only sells cans for quite a cheap price and is a decent size.

The other end of the ground. Note how the floodlight in the corner has been lowered as the trees covered the old ones.