Anagram Records Trophy - 2022/23

[agamemnon3]

At the time of writing, (Thursday afternoon), the plan is to be at Cuffley.

It's four buses and more than three hours away though, so not the easiest of grounds to get to.

Also, it's pouring down here right now, and there's more rain forecast for tomorrow, so the game must be in some doubt.

I'll wait and see what Saturday morning brings, and make a decision then.

[agamemnon3]

Incidentally, if Saturday's tie does go ahead, it will be the first in a run of eight consecutive away games for Belstone.

Who's in charge of the scheduling here ?  Mr Bean ?

[Rhodes]

I see the Cuffley v Belstone has been moved to a 3g surface in Luton so will be going ahead this afternoon, Chipperfield Corinthians v Catholic United has been postponed:

Saturday 2 March

Anagram Records Trophy Quarter Finals (ties due to be played on Saturday 2 March)

Chipperfield Corinthians P Catholic United
Larkspur Rovers v Shenfield AFC (at Jack Carter Centre 3g, Ilford, IG1 3PS, kick off 2.30pm)
Cuffley v Belstone (at Chalk Hills Academy 3g, Luton, LU4 0NE, kick off 2.00pm)
Sungate v Rayleigh Town (at Jack Carter Centre 3g, Ilford, IG1 3PS, kick off 2.30pm)

[Rhodes]

Just now, Rhodes said:

Saturday 2 March
Anagram Records Trophy Quarter Final
Sungate v Rayleigh Town (at Jack Carter Centre 3g, Ilford, IG1 3PS, kick off 2.30pm)

No problems with the Sungate v Rayleigh Town tie:

[Delaney]

Larkspur Rovers 2-5 Shenfield Association

Sungate 3-0 Rayleigh Town

Cuffley 1-3 Belstone

All three teams I expected to win won, I expect Catholic United to beat Chipperfield too.

Belstone vs Sungate Final in my opinion, and for the winners i'd be leaning towards Sungate.

Edited March 2 by Delaney

[Rhodes]

Thanks Delaney, I wonder how Agamemnon3 got on at the Cuffley v Belstone tie if he went, here are some highlights of the action courtesy of groundhopper and blogger Oliver Sims:

Edited March 4 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

On 02/03/2024 at 20:48, Delaney said:

Larkspur Rovers 2-5 Shenfield Association

A groundhopper from another Forum was at the Larkspur Rovers v Shenfield AFC tie, I gather that Tony Incenzo was also in attendance to tick off his 2,558th ground. I was 'reliably' informed that the tie was taking place at at the Jack Carter Centre in Ilford so apologies for that:

Anagram Records Feeder Leagues Trophy, Quarter-Final (scheduled for 2 pm)
Larkspur Rovers 2 Shenfield AFC 5 (H/T 1-3)
Entry - Free, Programme - two different issues, see below, Crowd - c 15-20
As mentioned in my WAYG post last night, this was played not at Larkspur's usual ground but at the Northolt High School's 3G pitch in Eastcote Lane, Northolt (7 mins walk from Northolt tube) which was officially opened in 2016. I am not aware of Larkspur having used this venue before and I suspect that it was only used because this was an important cup tie.
There is a tarmac spectator area along most of one side and it is deep enough for a couple of kit stands to be installed, not that this ever seems likely to happen. Curiously though, there is no railing to separate the spectators from the pitch. This was almost certainly the first ever match with neutral linesmen to be played here and surely the first ever match in a 3G cage anywhere where two different programmes were produced. One was an eight page paper issue produced by Larkspur, the other was an on-line only version produced by the visitors - I am going to get it printed in due course.
The match kicked off nearly 30 minutes late in order to allow a junior match to finish and it ended in a very comfortable victory for Shenfield, whose goalkeeper saved a penalty in the 18th minute and then just three minutes later gave his side the lead by scoring with a free-kick from the halfway line. Further goals followed in the 24th (an own goal) and 37th minutes before Larkspur pulled one back so far into first half stoppage time that the referee blew for half-time before the game could be restarted. Worse was to follow for Larkspur in the second half as they went 1-4 (51 mins) and 1-5 (55 mins) down before having a player sent off for a serious foul, although they did then somehow score via an empty net in the 75th minute.

Edited March 5 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

The Semi Final draw, for the 2023/24 competition to avoid confusion, date to be confirmed:

Anagram Records Trophy Semi Finals

Sungate v Shenfield AFC
Belstone v Chipperfield Corinthians or Catholic United

[agamemnon3]

A fairly straightforward win for Belstone, by all accounts, even though they had to come from behind.

I didn't go, despite my good intentions.  It rained heavily in NW7 on Saturday morning, and by the time I found out that the game had been moved from Cuffley, it was too late for me to get there anyway.  If anything, the Chalk Hills Academy, which is actually closer to the centre of Dunstable than it is to the centre of Luton, is even less accessible by public transport than Cuffley would have been.  I understand that they need to get games played, but at my age life is too short to waste hours travelling to random cages in the middle of nowhere.   

As a more serious aside, last night, (Tuesday), I was at Silver Jubilee Park to watch Edgware & Kingsbury play out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Milton United in the Combined Counties' League.  While there, I learned that the esteemed GRS67, formerly of this parish, had suffered a heart attack last Thursday.  After a few days in hospital, and some remedial surgery, he is now back at home, and, one would hope, on his way to a speedy recovery.  As I have said before, GRS is a resilient soul, (they breed them tough at Millwall), and so I would expect him to be back annoying folk at SJP before too long.  Certainly hope so, anyway.      

[Rhodes]

Sports Shots were also in attendance at the Cuffley v Belstone Quarter Final tie and here are their numerous photographs as well as a match report:

Anagram Records Trophy Quarter-Final; Cuffley 1-3 Belstone - Sports Shots

[Rhodes]

On 28/12/2023 at 15:22, Rhodes said:

2023/24 Anagram Records Trophy First Round
Hertford Heath 1 Toby 1 (Hertford Heath won 5-3 on pens) 
https://www.sportsshots.org.uk/2023/11/12/anagram-records-trophy-1st-round-hertford-heath-1-1-toby-5-3-pens/

I have unearthed numerous photographs and a match report from this First Round tie between Hertford Heath and Toby, courtesy of Sports Shots:

Anagram Records Trophy 1st Round; Hertford Heath 1-1 Toby (5-3 pens) - Sports Shots

[Rhodes]

Chipperfield Corinthians and Catholic United's delayed Quarter Final tie will take place on Saturday 30 March, kick off 2.00pm, for the right to travel to Belstone in the Semi Finals of the competition:

Anagram Records Trophy Semi Finals

Sungate v Shenfield AFC
Belstone v Chipperfield Corinthians or Catholic United

[Rhodes]

Dates for the two Semi Final ties, Chipperfield Corinthians defeated Catholic United last Saturday, in the delayed Quarter Final tie, 5-4 on penalties following a thrilling 2-2 stalemate. I assume that Agamemnon3 will attend at least one of the ties:

Anagram Records Trophy Semi Finals

Belstone v Chipperfield Corinthians (Saturday 6 April, kick off 3.00pm)  
Sungate v Shenfield AFC (Saturday 13 April, kick off 2.30pm)

[agamemnon3]

Weather permitting, I hope to be at Belstone tomorrow.

[Rhodes]

14 hours ago, agamemnon3 said:

Weather permitting, I hope to be at Belstone tomorrow.

 Agamemnon3 - There doesn't seem to be any problems at the Medburn Ground this afternoon so enjoy the game:

[agamemnon3]

A hard-fought, but thoroughly deserved 2-0 win for Belstone over Chipperfield Corinthians yesterday.

Chipperfield started well, but Belstone always had the edge, and individual goals from Marley Wilson-Braithwaite on 9 minutes and Ollie Salami on 38 were enough for them to reach their second successive ART Final, in a game often made difficult by the swirling winds.

The game was watched in the company of Paul Mallett, Director of Football at the Herts FA, whom I had run into three weeks earlier at the Arthurian/Herts inter-league clash at Edgware.  A knowledgeable chap, and excellent company.  

Following the game I discovered a public footpath running from the A5 alongside a farm and then through a golf course leading to just north of Elstree & Borehamwood station, thus cutting a good twenty minutes off the usual journey time of forty-five minutes walk from the Medburn to E & B.  Certainly not one for a rainy day, or for attempting in the dark, but useful to know about nevertheless, so a good day all round. 

[Rhodes]

On 03/04/2024 at 16:23, Rhodes said:

Sungate v Shenfield AFC (Saturday 13 April, kick off 2.30pm)

How do we see the second Semi Final going tomorrow afternoon between Sungate and Shenfield AFC, both from the Essex Olympian League Premier Division, kick off is actually 2.00pm:

Edited April 13 by Rhodes

[agamemnon3]

Sungate v Shenfield 0-2.

Final:  Belstone v Shenfield, 2.30pm, May 18th, at Wormley Rovers FC. 

[Rhodes]

6 hours ago, agamemnon3 said:

Sungate v Shenfield 0-2.

Final:  Belstone v Shenfield, 2.30pm, May 18th, at Wormley Rovers FC. 

Agamemnon3 - Thanks for that, a groundhopper from another Forum was present, also see a link to the match programme:

Week 32 by shenfieldafc - Issuu

Anagram Records Feeder Leagues Trophy (semi-final) 2 pm
Sungate 0 Shenfield AFC 2 (H/T 0-1)
Entry - Free, Programme - see below, Crowd - c 40-45
For the second consecutive Saturday I went to a match in the Greater London area, which may well be the first time since the early 80's that I've done such a thing. There are no neutral venues in the Semi-Finals of this competition and this match was played at Sungate's usual home at Ilford Wanderers Rugby Club, although their last two home ties in this season's competition were played on Frenford's 3G pitch, presumably to avoid a fixture pile-up.
The ground is in Forest Road, a 13 minute walk from Fairlop tube station (a map outside the station clearly shows the rugby club) and is surrounded by other sports grounds. One - to the south and west - is called the London Marathon Playing Fields, and another to the east has more football pitches. I counted at least six matches being played across both sites. Post #4 on this thread mentions a game in the Fairlop area this morning but I am not sure whereabouts the Oakfield Playing Fields are located. I think one of these sports grounds may have staged London Spartan League games in the past before the league merged with the South Midlands League, but I am unsure which Club's were involved.
The irony of the ground belonging to a rugby club was not lost on me when it turned out that there were no rugby matches being played on the ground today. Instead, there were two football matches being played on adjacent grass pitches and this match, unsurprisingly, was on the main one which is enclosed by a modern white plastic railing, the posts being square rather than round. The only cover is an overhang from the changing-room / clubhouse building, not that it was needed on a fine and sunny day.
A note regarding the programme - firstly, visitors Shenfield have put a digital version on their Twitter, as they are doing for all home and away games this season. It is unclear whether Sungate did something similar but another hopper who was at the match told me that he had spoken to a club official in the hope that a PDF can be e-mailed to those who were present.
I had seen Shenfield win 5-2 away to Larkspur Rovers at Northolt High Sports Centre (see WDYG for Sat 2nd March) in the previous round and so it did not surprise me that they won again. Their goals came in the 30th and 69th minutes, while there were as many as three instances of the ball hitting the post, twice by Sungate and once by Shenfield.