Steve's Tours

Beckenham Town  3   East Grinstead Town  1

FA Cup – First Qualifying Round (Replay)

Admission / Programme – £10 / £2

Every once in a while (November 2010 was the last time), Steve plays an absolute blinder and suggests we head off on a long midweek jaunt down South to take in some football.

The aforementioned occasion twelve years ago wasn’t initially intended to be in a Southerly direction, we were actually about to head North to a game on the outskirts of Hull, only to find it had been called off, so instead we decided to head to a little place just off the M25 called Broxbourne Borough. That bit was easy enough, except when we arrived the fog was so bad I couldn’t actually find the entrance to the ground! We needed a Plan C, which came in the shape of Three Bridges in Crawley, you see when we phoned them up and asked about fog they laughed, and that was good enough for us!

It turned into a memorable night, I got truly imbibed and as we headed back down the A52 between the M1 and Derby on the way home, we drove past a car wheel that was trundling on it’s own down the carriageway. Somewhat perplexed, we drove a little further only to see what looked like sparks coming from a car that was also trundling merrily down the road! As we got closer the car was indeed missing a wheel, with the driver staring straight ahead, seemingly blissfully unaware that she was missing a crucial component. As a result we had a mini firework display going on where the wheel should have been!

We still laugh about it now, one for our very own folklore, Three Bridges beat Ringmer 3-1 by the way, don’t ask me for any more detail because I don’t have any, other than I seem to recall a very nice hot dog accompanying the lager!

So, Beckenham Town, following a promotion from the Southern Counties East League last season they now find themselves in the Isthmian League. That meant they dropped onto both of our hit lists for the current campaign, but as Steve was going to be the driver, I left him to tell me when the date was going to be.

Ramsgate in the Kent Senior Cup was the plan, a Tuesday night in September, the only thing that could put a spanner in the works, other than the obvious monsoons / plagues / traffic disasters was a potential FA Cup Replay, but that wasn’t a real spanner, it just meant that it wouldn’t be Ramsgate, it would be East Grinstead Town. That’ll do, a 2.15 pick up from Belper Towers was arranged, Kent here we come….

The journey was pretty steady going to be honest, it was a bit sticky around the M25 in the area around Enfield, but other than that we were straight over the Dartford Crossing and heading into the Garden of England.

The last stages of the ride into the vicinity of Bromley were pretty straightforward but then it became apparent that a very heavy rain storm had hit the area prior to our arrival. Flash flooding was visible in the streets and small rivers were running down the sides of the roads as the drainage struggled to cope with the deluge. We’d seen none of it, but hopefully neither had Beckenham's pitch!

The last couple of miles were a bit of chore but eventually we were turning right into the car park, something like four hours after we set off from Derbyshire. From that point afterwards, all I can say is that everything about Beckenham Town is simply first class. 

The welcome at the turnstiles, the friendly atmosphere in the bar, the excellent facilities, the quite outstanding playing surface, the food, the drink, the fans, just great. Both of us had a huge smile on our face pre-match as we watched the crowd make their way in (my smile perhaps helped by the lager of course), partially aided by the gathering of the South Eastern variant of the groundhopper that I have to say is in a different league to what we see locally, I’ll leave it at that……..

I dropped a tweet (is that a bit like a DJ dropping a banger of a tune?), proclaiming our efforts to get to the game and I have to say the response I got from the club, and some of the fans, on the back of that was fantastic, it further strengthened our initial impressions that this was a great football club.

The ground then. Well, it’s not the easiest to describe if I’m honest, largely because it has a plethora of pitch side structures that keep even the most ardent of photographers busy. A collection of covered terraces and seating areas adorn the stadium, but in simple terms you can be seated or stand on either side under cover, and you can also be under cover behind one of the goals.

We chose the stand at the end nearest the clubhouse, this after the clubs Twitter account had recommended we go and see Yvonne in the Tea Bar for a burger with extra onions. Yvonne, it appears, was ready for us…..

So, the game, well I have to say we were mightily impressed with Beckenham. The hosts created numerous chances in the first half and took the lead through Louie Theophanous, a lead they took into half time but in all honesty it could and should have been more.

Beckenham scored a second just after half time when a fantastic cross from Archie Johnson was turned home by Tyler Anderson. East Grinstead pulled a goal back through Matt Daniel but the home sides two goal advantage was restored when Theophanous netted his second of the game.

The visitors went down to ten men in the last minute of stoppage time when Harrison Parker saw red (or was it a second yellow?), which in turn lead to the referee and linesman having to confer to get the card colour correct, and even now I’m not sure what the outcome was, Parker got bored of waiting to find out and left the field, knowing one way or another his game was done!

198 paid to watch the game, including a deputation from Dartford who the winners were scheduled to face. As I write this, Beckenham will be celebrating right now because they’ve come away from the National League South high flyers with a very impressive 2-1 victory.

The journey home wasn’t too bad, we went via the Blackwall Tunnel and then out to the M11, pausing only briefly at Toddington for a comfort break. Arriving home just after 1am I can honestly say on this occasion, no three wheeled cars were spotted on any dual carriageways.

Beckenham Town though, a great club, on the up, and apparently very accessible by public transport if you can find a day when the trains aren’t on strike. Give them a visit, I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Good old Steve, same again in 2034?