11am 19 September 2021
Witney and District League, Division Four
Sherborne Harriers 3 Hatherop reserves 2 (att 136)
Division four might be the bottom rung of the Witney and District League, and the away side were the reserves of a club with a first team in the lowly Swindon League, but this was still a tempting fixture.
I can't be sure, but this might be the only game I've ever seen on land owned by the National Trust. The pitch is just off the A40, but well hidden behind trees and accessed via a pair of ceremonial gates.
Google, and the National Trust website, will tell you that Sherborne Lodge has a 'grandstand'. It's not a facility for Harriers supporters though, but a 17th century lodge. The football club makes do with a 1940s wooden pavilion in a corner by the pitch.
This is the lowest level of Saturday football, and on a bumpy pitch a flowing game was never likely. But the playing standard is an unreliable indicator of how entertaining a match might be, and this was a enjoyable morning.
Hatherop had a first half penalty saved, and looked to have paid a price for it when they went 2-0 down by half time. But they were the better side after the break and deservedly equalised.
The visitors seemed more likely to get a winner, but in the end it was the Harriers who were happiest after a late goal gave them three points.
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