Late Flurry Blows Visitors Away - Holland vs. May And Baker

Overview of Dulwich Road

The previous weekend I had three choices all with limited cover and with the forecast horrific weather, I needed to be as far east as possible. Luckily, Holland-on-Sea is pretty far east - the other choices of Chinnor and Storrington would have had rain all day. Holland have been in The Eastern Counties League for a couple of seasons now but this was their first at their own Dulwich Road ground having previously shared with Neighbors Clacton. Their opponents today - May and Baker were experiencing their first season at this level and had made an impressive start, sitting third at the start of play.

Pre match essentials

The aforementioned rain made taking match details difficult. But in testing conditions, the May and Baker goalie makes a great double save following a corner early on. The away side take the lead when they break out as a Holland move breaks down. Holland have a couple of chances before half but go in one down. Holland equalise early in the second when the forward is able to have two goes at chance but May and Baker restore their lead not long after. Going in to the closing stages it looks like May and Baker will claim the points but a late flurry of goals sees the hosts win 4-3.

Holland come close in the first half.

To get to Holland-on-Sea you first need to get a train from Liverpool Street to Clacton which takes around an hour and a half. From outside the station you can catch the 97 bus to The Roaring Donkey (which is also the best spot for the early kick offs) which is a short walk from the ground. Alternatively you can walk along the sea front to Holland-on-Sea which takes around thirty minutes. Recommended first stop in Holland is The Kingscliff Hotel which has a good choice of beers to help you recover after the walk. A bit more inland is The Oakwood which had a couple of ales and did good looking food. The bar at the ground had the sports channels and the usual selection of drinks. Everyone connected with the club seemed correctly proud of the work that's gone on to get the ground up and running and it is worth the trip to the Essex coast.

Holland attacking the sea end in the second half