Unhappy Easter For Fleet - Fleet Town vs. Thatcham Town

Calthorpe Park in the spring sunshine

I'd meaning to visit Fleet Town for a long time but never actually made it. I'd always considered it close enough for a week night visit but the train times never fell right. So Easter Monday provided a perfect opportunity as I didn't want to venture too far out of London as I was at work the next day. They were at home to Thatcham Town in the Southern League Central Division One. I'd seen Thatcham last season claim a one nil win at home to Abingdon at Waterside Park. The two sides were level on points in the bottom half of the league but neither side were in danger of relegation.

Early first half action with the stand in the background. 

The opening stages are quite tense and there are few chances. The first chance comes from the penalty spot following a clumsy challenge by the Fleet defender. The Thatcham player takes no chances and smashes the ball straight down the middle to give his side the lead. The game continues to be tight and Fleets first chance comes when they win a free kick in a decent position but the keeper easily claims. Fleet then lose the ball in midfield but Thatcham fail to make the most of the opportunity that is presented to them.

1-0 Thatcham

The Fleet keeper is called in to action early in the second half, saving down low to his left. The game continues to be scrappy and it soon becomes clear that Thatcham are a lot stronger on the ball. Fleet have another chance when a corner isn't fully cleared but they fail to trouble the Thatcham keeper. The home side create another clear cut chance with a fantastic cross field pass but the attempt is straight at the keeper and he soon makes another good save from close range. Thatcham though add a second late on the game to seal the victory.

The tree lined dugout side of the ground

Fleet is reached by a fifty minute journey from Waterloo and the there are four trains an hour. Calthorpe Park is about a twenty five minute steady walk down one straight road so is pretty easy to find. On the walk to the ground is The Emporium which I popped in to, to watch a bit of the Chelsea vs. Manchester United cup game. The Oatsheaf just down the road is a bit more upmarket but is more of a restaurant. The clubhouse was pretty large and had a big screen for the half time scores and again there were no pies on sale but the burgers made up for their absence.

The programme is a little on the thin side but the articles inside make for a decent amount of reading and there is a lot of info on the other Fleet sides.

Side on view of the stand