Life on the Ladder: Non-League @ The Football Blog

In the second part of our non-league mini series, William Geldart returns fresh from another hotly contested encounter at Victoria Park, home to Bournemouth FC (commonly referred to as Bournemouth Poppies). Having witnessed the Poppies’ 2-1 Wessex Premier League Cup win over Downton the previous week, our reporter was eager to watch the Dorset side in league action.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait too long with an enticing local derby against Christchurch FC scheduled for the following Tuesday night. Here is his account from the wooden benches.

Having nearly missed kick-off last week, I was determined to arrive at the gate in good time so that I could relax and sup a quick pint before Bournemouth’s Wessex League Premier Division match against neighbours, Christchurch FC. On this occasion, I was even prompt enough to buy one of the remaining programmes. I leafed through the thick edition in an attempt to learn as much as I could about both sides before battle commenced.

As I browsed through the extensive pages of the reissued programme, the original fixture having been postponed in December, I feasted on the statistics and plethora of information available. Programme editor Mike Robins really is the font of all knowledge regarding his team and the breadth of content included was worthy of a publication from a club playing a few leagues higher.  It’s worth mentioning it was just a quid too.

With my pre-game liquid refreshment savoured, I took up a seat in the main stand to try and gain a good vantage point to watch the action. Both teams emerged into rapidly descending fog, twenty-two men lined-up on either side of the pitch geeing themselves and each other up.

With Bournemouth in their red shirts, Christchurch in blue, it was reminiscent of the teams contained in one’s first Subbuteo box, the scene set for one of football’s timeless colour orientated clichés.

Even though both sides were so accustomed to each other from numerous past meetings, such familiarity certainly didn’t appear to dampen their enthusiasm for another skirmish. The pre-match rituals of both sides contained an edge that is the sole reserve of two tribes operating in close proximity to one another.

Attacking the Winton End in the first-half, Bournemouth promptly built an unassailable 3-0 lead over their dumbfounded visitors.

Two goals in quick succession, a slide rule finish from Sean Hogan and a bullet header from the irrepressible Jon Blake effectively ended the game as a contest with only seven minutes played.

A delightful curling shot past Christchurch goalkeeper Stewart Kearn from outside the area completed a brace for Hogan with just over half an hour gone to signal game-over.

A late reply from Christchurch substitute, the bustling striker Joe Kittle, was all the away side could muster as reward for their redoubled second-half efforts.

From the first whistle, this was a typical derby game. Before kick-off the teams were only separated in the league table by goal difference, Bournemouth edging their rivals with twelve fewer goals conceded.

The opening minutes were full of endeavour if little quality, with many spectators having to crane their necks to follow the flight of the ball.

Sean Hogan opened the scoring following one of the first fluent moves of the game. Some committed interplay resulted in the ball being forced out wide to Hogan in space on the edge of the penalty area, his cool finish setting the tone for a frenetic period of play.

Bournemouth winger, Matt Kemble, was a lively figure and his attempted through ball was knocked out for the corner that preceded his side’s second goal in as many minutes. As the set-piece was driven deep into enemy territory, Jon Blake rose to plant a header firmly into the back of Kearn’s net.

As Christchurch rallied, they struggled to find a way past the imperious Wayne Crutcher, the captain and towering presence in Bournemouth’s back line. His strong headed clearances contributed to a fine lesson in the art of defending.

‘Priory’, as the away side are nicknamed because of the historic ruins situated in the town, could have been three down after just quarter of an hour. A mix-up in the middle of their defence let Kemble through however a strong hand from Kearn ensured he was spared the ignominy of picking the ball out of his net again. For the time being, at least.

Perhaps the men in blue were taking their time to warm-up. I’d spotted at least three of their players wearing gloves although snoods were conspicuously absent.

The aforementioned Kemble proved to be a nuisance all evening for Christchurch. He cut a sultry figure, scowls and all as he stalked the by-line which he was making such effective use of. His Gallic demeanour was interesting to observe although any hint of arrogance did not diminish his ability to mesmerize and penetrate the opposition defence.

Indeed, his corner, viciously whipped into the penalty area with nearly half an hour gone threatened to sail under the crossbar with only a strong header away preventing the ball from flying into the net.

The home side did not have to wait long to add to their tally. Only a few minutes later, after some head tennis on the edge of the area, Sean Hogan collected the ball and beautifully curled in a shot over the stranded goalkeeper from around 25 yards out.

Bournemouth were rampant and everyone was lining up to get on the score sheet. On 33 minutes, Hogan skewed wide, spurning the chance of a hat-trick.

Indiscipline was becoming a factor as Christchurch’s players argued amongst each other although the referee had thus far favoured a diplomatic approach, choosing to have a quiet word with offenders rather than immediately reach into his pocket to dish out bookings.

As Christchurch eagerly awaited the respite of half-time, the Poppies squandered more chances to kill the game off. Jake Rowley was guilty of a couple of near misses, one where he had blasted over from the right-side of the penalty box, prompting tongue in cheek jibes from the sidelines, including “how many more chances do you want?”

Rowley’s riposte was merely to jokily point out the obvious, as he quipped, “they haven’t exactly been sitters”. Fortunately his teammates would not be made to rue his missed opportunities as the half-time whistle blew.

An extremely hot vegetable soup later and it was apparent that the away team had received a rollicking during the interval from manager Graham Kemp.

Christchurch immediately caught the Bournemouth defence half asleep from the restart, with a powerful shot blasted straight down the throat of Bournemouth goalkeeper Jason Harvell from around 10 yards.

To restore order, the terrier-like Jon Blake rampaged across midfield to afford the visitors little time to settle on the ball.

The away side continued to press; a fierce drive acrobatically tipped over the bar. Energetic Bournemouth left-back Lucas Pickett scooped over following a strong run towards goal however the Poppies’ failure to convert on the break was punished on 65 minutes.

Former Poppies striker, Joe Kittle, broke free for Christchurch and rifled a shot at goal that rebounded off the underside of Jason Harvell and squirmed into the back of the net. The big man was proving there was life in the contest yet.

Harvell was under more pressure in the following minutes, lying prostrate in his area after awkwardly catching a cross into the box. Whilst he received treatment, Bournemouth regrouped and the players exchanged words in the middle of the pitch during an impromptu team meeting.

Kittle was difficult to handle, his pinpoint cross headed towards goal but well held by Harvell, who had now recovered.

The referee, Rudi Burton, a figure reminiscent of former Premier League official David Elleray, with the addition of a neat moustache, slowly saw his resolve tested. Christchurch netminder Stewart Kearn was given a stern rebuke by the man in black following a moment of dissent.

Think Elleray and his talking down to former Arsenal captain Tony Adams during an infamous televised encounter with Millwall in 1989 during a short-lived trial where referees were given microphones for the watching audience to listen in to their lecturing.

Burton showed no hesitation in doling out another card during the dying embers of the game as he booked Bournemouth’s Joe Byrne for a shinpad crunching tackle.

Ben Osborne fired a free-kick goalwards which only the fingertips of Harvell kept out. Despite their continuing efforts, the peculiar addition of around eight minutes of stoppage-time was still not enough for Christchurch to restore parity.

Bournemouth inflicted the eighth league defeat of the season upon their neighbours and claimed a well deserved three points in the process. The damage they inflicted upon their opponents during that mad first half-hour was enough to secure victory. Poppies manager Kenny Vaughan, seemingly also baffled by the referee’s time-keeping, questioned the accuracy of Rudi Burton’s watch as they made their way back to the changing rooms, closely followed by a friendly pat on the back. He had no further cause for complaint.

The Football Blog’s Life on the Ladder will return soon with another instalment from Victoria Park as the Poppies look forward to a Wessex League Cup semi-final and aim to improve upon last season’s respectable fourth-place finish in the Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division.