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Sunday, 17 February 2013

Poor First Half Costs Robins - Ely City vs. Hadleigh United

The Unwin Ground with Ely Cathedral in the background
This Saturday I saw my first ever Eastern Counties League game between Ely City and Hadleigh United. I'd always wanted to visit Ely itself and it's always good to sample a new league. Hadleigh were on a high following their win the FA Vase over Ampthill Town of the Spartan South Midlands League the previous weekend. The visitors were in the top half of the table with games in hand over the sides above them due to their run in the vase. The hosts were in the bottom half table and lost in midweek to local rivals Wisbech Town in midweek. The reverse fixutre resulted in a 2-0 win for Hadleigh back in August. 

Kick off at The Unwin Ground
Hadleigh take an early lead when the home side fail to deal with a corner and the ball is put in to the net. The home side are given an excellent chance to equalise when they win a penalty following a very clumsy challenge but the keeper makes a good save from the spot. Following a mistake in midfield, Hadleigh manage to break forward in numbers but the killer pass goes astray and they are caught offside. Hadleigh then force a succession of corners and from the third one they double their lead. Just before half time Ely are again undone by another corner and they go in three nil down.

The view from the stand
Ely get on the score sheet almost immediately at the start of the second half. The ball is put back in to the box and the ball is headed past the keeper. Ely have plenty of possession at the start of the half but fail to trouble the away defence too much. Following a poor kick from the Hadleigh keeper the Ely midfielder has an effort from just outside the box but the keeper makes a good save with his feet. Ely are now starting to really put the visitors under pressure and the Hadleigh players are putting their bodies on the line to preserve the lead. Ely come very close when a header from a free kick hits the post and Hadleigh are able to clear. Hadleigh have a chance to make the game safe but the attacker is beaten by the bobble of the ball and the game finishes 3-1 to Hadleigh.

Another view of the stand and additional standing cover.
So far this season I have been lucky enough to visit a lot of scenic towns and Ely certainly falls in to that category. It is worth getting there early to have a walk around the cathedral and the town centre. Just outside the town centre is The Prince Albert which had a wide selection of ales and a large beer garden. After the game I also stopped off at The Lamb Hotel which was decent enough. Ely station is served by one train an hour from Kings Cross and the journey takes just over an hour. The Unwin Ground is a brisk half hour walk from the station. The clubhouse is quite large and has the usual selection of lagers.

I think an original cover of a programme goes a long way in terms of making a good programme and the cover is one of the best ones this season. inside there is plenty of reading including a detailed match report of Ely's match with Woodbridge the previous weekend.

Dusk at The Unwin Ground

   

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