11am 25 August 2018
Gwent County League, Division One
Athletic Club Pontymister 3 Blaenavon Blues 2 (att 238)
Organised hops staged over a bank holiday weekend can be a mixed blessing. The chance to visit extra games on new grounds is hard to resist, but battling holiday traffic, especially in August, can make it seem more trouble than it's worth.
I didn't bother with this hop's Friday night game, but as I needed first three (out of four) on the Saturday I decided to brave to motorways and head to South Wales. Just as well I left home very early, as I had to detour through Wolverhampton to avoid a closed M6.
Fortunately (and with thanks to my satnav) I still made it to AC Pontymister's ground with nearly half-an-hour to spare, and was rewarded with a decent game at a venue that exceeded my expectations.
Essentially it is just a railed off pitch, but it feels quite enclosed and the views around the ground are better than you might imagine for a suburb or Newport.
Blaenavon Blues went into half time having scored the only goal, but the second half was very entertaining, with the sides trading goals before the home team got a late winner from the penalty spot.
As is often the case with hop games, especially the first of the day, it was as much a chance to catch up with some old acquaintances as to concentrate on the football, but this game was good enough to hold my attention.
Gwent County League, Division One
Athletic Club Pontymister 3 Blaenavon Blues 2 (att 238)
Organised hops staged over a bank holiday weekend can be a mixed blessing. The chance to visit extra games on new grounds is hard to resist, but battling holiday traffic, especially in August, can make it seem more trouble than it's worth.
I didn't bother with this hop's Friday night game, but as I needed first three (out of four) on the Saturday I decided to brave to motorways and head to South Wales. Just as well I left home very early, as I had to detour through Wolverhampton to avoid a closed M6.
Fortunately (and with thanks to my satnav) I still made it to AC Pontymister's ground with nearly half-an-hour to spare, and was rewarded with a decent game at a venue that exceeded my expectations.
Essentially it is just a railed off pitch, but it feels quite enclosed and the views around the ground are better than you might imagine for a suburb or Newport.
Blaenavon Blues went into half time having scored the only goal, but the second half was very entertaining, with the sides trading goals before the home team got a late winner from the penalty spot.
As is often the case with hop games, especially the first of the day, it was as much a chance to catch up with some old acquaintances as to concentrate on the football, but this game was good enough to hold my attention.
Comments
Post a Comment