football rambles

 Finally a home game across the road I could go to. Due to sharing with a cricket team, Downham have been playing away games since the last time I went there after just moving in in April. They did have one other home game, but I was in Italy at the time. Stowmarket are a team that I also saw at the end of last season when they were relegated Isthmian North back into the Eastern Counties Premier. On that occasion they lost to Enfield 4-0, who themselves were also relegated but to the Essex Senior League. On Saturday's performance it doesn't look like they are going to turn much around despite now being in a league lower. Downham dominated the first half and could have been 5 or 6 up. Stowmarket managed a solitary shop that was easily saved. Downham went in at the break two goals to the good, Rudy Da Rocha scoring the first and Harley Murkin marking his debut with a goal. Chances were few and far between in the second half, but Downham must have felt it was job well done and it ...

This was Enfield's las home game in Bishop Stortford before they move to a groundshare with Hertford next season, after gaining promotion to the Isthmian North last season, they managed to stay up this one. However, they were helped by the demise of East Thurrock and  the poor results of a very young Stowmarket team who provided the opposition today. The first half was fairly miserable with the best chances falling to Stowmarket who hit the woodwork twice. In all senses though it really did have a feel of an end of season game where both teams would be glad to get it over and done with. However, whatever the Enfield players were told at halftime seemed to have the desired effect. Robert Clark opened the scoring for the Es on the 53rd minute and from then on Enfield didn't look back. It looked like a good performance to me, although some of the Stowmarket fans seemed to think that it was a case of heads dropping as soon as they went a goal down. Either way, on the hour mark subs...

The day after the Ely game we were back at the football and back in the Eastern Counties League Division 1 as King's Lynn reserves took on Stowmarket. It was a really entertaining game and couldn't have got off to a better start when Simon Bird put the home side ahead on 4 minutes. Both teams were keen to attack and there could have easily been more goals when Jack Frohawk doubled the Linnets' lead on 23 minutes. Stowmarket were keen to get back into the game by fair means or foul and a brilliant counter attack by Matt Dylon led to Josh Cheetham converting to make it 2-1 at the break. The second half was equally frantic and at times bad tempered, but chances were fewer and further between. On 70 minutes a wonder strike by Wayne Proctor gave the visitors an equaliser. The game finished 2-2. It was probably a fair score, although the Linnets may have regretted not putting all their early chances away