 |
| Crowd watching on at Green Court Road Sports Club |
I was meeting friends later in the day so I need an early kick off somewhere close to London. There were a couple of early kick offs in the Kent Invicta League and the easiest one to get to was Eltham Palace vs. Bridon Ropes. This was my first game in the Kent Invicta League which was started last season to provide a stepping stone between the county and senior leagues. Both sides were in the top half of the table but neither had a chance of catching the top four. The reverse fixture in December ended in a seven nil win for today's visitors and so the hosts were looking for revenge.
 |
| Kick off at Green Court Road Sports Club |
Bridon Ropes take the lead in the opening minutes, a long ball forward finds the forward who slots the ball past the Eltham keeper. The hosts almost equalise soon afterwards but the Bridon goalkeeper makes a good save from a close range header. Eltham then put together a good passing which results in the ball going in to the net but it is disallowed following a tight offside call. The home side then win a free kick in a good position out wide but the ball in is a poor one. Bridon have one final chance but the effort from outside the box goes well wide.
 |
| Bridon Ropes celebrate the early strike. |
Bridon have a chance early in the second half but the Eltham keeper is able to get behind the scuffed shot from the edge of the box. Eltham then have a great chance to equalise following a defensive slip but they fail to make it count. Bridon are then reduced to ten for what appears to be a stamping incident on the far touch line. From the following free kick Eltham have the ball in the net but it is disallowed again for offside. The Eltham winger then sends in a wicked dipping half volley but the Bridon keeper makes a good save. Bridon then have a chance to seal the game after the Eltham midfield gives the ball away but the keeper is able to keep his side in the game. Eltham have a great chance from a free kick but the player fails to get any power behind the header and the chance goes begging.
 |
| Bridon try to clear their lines in the first half |
The closest station to the Green Court Road Sports Club is Swanley. Trains here depart from Victoria on a regular basis and the journey can take between twenty five and fifty minutes depending on what service you catch. The walk takes around quarter an hour. As this was an early kick off I didn't try to find a pub before the game, but I didn't see any on the walk to the ground. The bar at the ground looks quite new and has Sky Sports and serves tasty looking toasted sandwiches. From the stand you can see The Shard and Canary in the far distance.
The programme is full colour and doubles as the entrance fee which is great value. It is a brilliant for this effort and even has a quiz and a word search!
 |
| Match action from the interior of the stand |
No comments:
Post a Comment