Crows Fail To Take Flight - Hollands And Blair vs. Crowborough Athletic

First wing action with one of the covered areas in the foreground

So for my last weekend of non league action this season I wanted a game with something riding on it. After getting to Arundel last season only for the game to be called off, my first choice was to see them host Shoreham who needed a win and for Haywards Heath to slip up but engineering works put that idea out of commission. Luckly there was a similar scenario in The Southern Counties East League where Crowborough needed to better Ashford's result at home to Rochester. Crowborough were at Hollands And Blair who I'd seen a couple of times in The Invicta League and had been meaning to visit for a little while. As the name suggests, they were initially a factory side. Crowborough won the reverse fixture two nil and needed the same today.

Kick off at Star Meadow

With regards to the match summary, a couple of frustrating events means that there wont be a through summary. Firstly, I forgot my note book, forcing me to take notes on my phone. Then on the walk back to Gillingham Station, I dropped my phone, smashing the screen and so losing the notes. Essentially it was a frustrating end to the season for Crowborough. They started well but news filtered through that Ashford were walking their game and the energy went from the game and it finished nil nil.

Crowborough look for the early goal to settle their nerves

The nearest station to Star Meadow is Gillingham. Trains here can be caught from either St Pancras, London Bridge or Victoria with the quicker trains take about forty minutes. Star Meadow is then a half hour walk up a steady incline. Pub wise there were a couple of decent ones. Firstly I visited Past And Present  which is a great micro pub with three ales on as well as a wide choice of ciders. Then just around the corner is The Will Adams which is a quiet backstreet pub also with a selection of ales. Then at the top of the hill around the corner from the ground is The Old Ash Tree which is good for watching the early kick off. The clubhouse had a great array of drinks including one ale as well as Sky Sports. I was really impressed with the set up at Star Meadow, they've put a lot of work to get a great ground and the program was also excellent. 

A cross eludes the Crowborough forward in the second half