Powered By Blogger

Wednesday 16 January 2019

Shrimpers Continue Winning Run - Harwich And Parkeston vs. May And Baker

View from the terrace at The Royal Oak
Ever since Harwich and Parkeston made their return to senior football I've been wanting to visit but things such as engineering works, social engagements and mother's birthdays have prevented me from visiting and this weekend I final made it to The Royal Oak. I knew what to expect from all the pictures and the latest Groundtastic and it certainly didn't disappoint. Harwich and Parkeston's opponents were May and Baker who themselves were also in their first season in The Eastern Counties Division One South and both sides had acquitted themselves well finding themselves sitting in fourth and fifth position respectively.  Harwich had won the last ten games in a row while May and Baker were also on a good run themselves so it promised to be a good game.

Kick off at the Royal Oak
In watching the game and taking the ground in, my notes for this game were rather sparse. Harwich think they should have a penalty in the first half when the forward appears to be fouled right in front of the linesman but nothing is given. The winning goal for Harwich comes when the attacker controls the ball and lays it off for his team who slots it past the keeper. There's a lot of huff and puff in the second half without too many clear cut chances as Harwich get their eleventh win in a row.

Harwich defending in the second half
The closest station to The Royal Oak is Dovercourt but I stayed onto Harwich Town to have a look around first. Whatever you elect to do you first need to take a train to Manningtree from Liverpool Street and change there for the train onto Harwich Town and the whole trip takes around an hour and a half. If you want a drink beforehand I recommend staying on to Harwich Town as there is a better selection of pubs. The pub I visited The Hanover Inn which had a roaring fire and had a selection of ales. The pubs in Dovercourt, The Kings Arms and The Royal Oak were OK but the drinks choice weren't the best. So as you can tell from the pictures, the ground really is a cracker and worth the trip out to Essex is more than worth it and you are guaranteed a great welcome.




Dugout side of the ground


No comments: