Saints Begin Hunt For Cup - Huntingdon Town vs. St Ives Town

View from the far corner at Jubilee Park

For my first game of the season in England I opted for a ground that I had always been put off by due to the long walk from the station however following a bit more research I found a good way to get there so headed off to Huntingdon Town against St Ives Town. This match was in the Huntingdonshire FA 125 Premier Cup which is a tournament involving eight local sides and this was one of the first games in the group stage. There is a three division gap between the two sides but with it being a cup and pre season game there was always the chance of a shock. St Ives' Westwood Road is an excellent ground as is the town itself and I really enjoyed my trip there. 

Kick off of the season in England!

The game takes a little while to get going as you'd expect but from the first serious bit of goalmouth action the opener is scored. A St Ives bouncing ball in isn't dealt with and is subsequently smashed into the net. Then the Huntingdon keeper does well to save a shot from the edge of the box and things sadly get worse from the resulting corner which sees the ball headed in at the back post. Huntingdon come into the game more in the second half but when they get behind the St Ives defence they fail to the final ball and the game ends two nil.

St Ives attacking the clubhouse end

As I said in the first paragraph, Jubilee Park isn't the easiest to get to. I first took a train from Kings Cross to Huntingdon which takes just over an hour. Then from the bus station in the town centre, I took bus B to Maryland Avenue and Jubilee Park was a twenty minute from here. In the town itself there is the Oliver Cromwell Museum which was worth going around and just across the square is The Falcon which had a wide selection of ales and ciders on offer. The clubhouse at the ground had the standard drinks on offer and the food looked good too.

Close shot of the covered accommodation at Jubilee Park