3pm 7 March 2020
Eastern Counties League, Division One North
Needham Market reserves 0 Mulbarton Wanderers 2 (att 66)
Reserve teams who play a different venue to their first team present something of a groundhopping quandary. If they're close enough to home I might visit for a midweek game, but usually I just ignore them.
However, Needham Market's second team plays step six football, and I'm close to completing all the grounds down to and including step six (the top 10 levels of English football from the Premier League down).
The Suffolk town is too far for an easy midweek trip, and anyway Needham Market reserves play evening games on the main ground at Bloomfields, rather than their official home next door on the 3G Arena.
So rather than a long trip merely to watch a reserve team at home I took the opportunity to double a visit with the day's earlier game at Henley Athletic. That the visitors were table-toppers Mulbarton Wanderers was an added bonus.
The 3G ground at Needham Market is a decent venue in its own right. Entrance is via the same turnstiles as for the main ground, but once inside you go left to the reserves' pitch. Two sides are open to spectators, there's a seated stand, and you can also watch the action from the balcony of a two-storey 'hub' that's between the 3G and main ground.
It's an impressive set up, and it's all been built since I visited Needham Market for a first team game five years ago.
The home side's young players were no match for Mulbarton. The visitors were guilty of wayward finishing in the first half, and should have had more than the one goal lead they managed by half time.
Needham Market had much more possession after the break, but were unable to get through a well organised Mulbarton team. A second goal for the visitors put the outcome beyond doubt.
One curiosity for me was this was, to my knowledge, the first game I've been to where the match programme was available online only. I read it on my phone before the game started, and see no need to print out a copy as well. It's surely the future of match programmes, if they'll continue to exist in any form, and makes perfect sense.
Eastern Counties League, Division One North
Needham Market reserves 0 Mulbarton Wanderers 2 (att 66)
Reserve teams who play a different venue to their first team present something of a groundhopping quandary. If they're close enough to home I might visit for a midweek game, but usually I just ignore them.
However, Needham Market's second team plays step six football, and I'm close to completing all the grounds down to and including step six (the top 10 levels of English football from the Premier League down).
The Suffolk town is too far for an easy midweek trip, and anyway Needham Market reserves play evening games on the main ground at Bloomfields, rather than their official home next door on the 3G Arena.
So rather than a long trip merely to watch a reserve team at home I took the opportunity to double a visit with the day's earlier game at Henley Athletic. That the visitors were table-toppers Mulbarton Wanderers was an added bonus.
The 3G ground at Needham Market is a decent venue in its own right. Entrance is via the same turnstiles as for the main ground, but once inside you go left to the reserves' pitch. Two sides are open to spectators, there's a seated stand, and you can also watch the action from the balcony of a two-storey 'hub' that's between the 3G and main ground.
It's an impressive set up, and it's all been built since I visited Needham Market for a first team game five years ago.
The home side's young players were no match for Mulbarton. The visitors were guilty of wayward finishing in the first half, and should have had more than the one goal lead they managed by half time.
Needham Market had much more possession after the break, but were unable to get through a well organised Mulbarton team. A second goal for the visitors put the outcome beyond doubt.
One curiosity for me was this was, to my knowledge, the first game I've been to where the match programme was available online only. I read it on my phone before the game started, and see no need to print out a copy as well. It's surely the future of match programmes, if they'll continue to exist in any form, and makes perfect sense.
The 3G Arena isn't yet on Google Maps but here's a map of the location
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