12.30pm 3 September 2022
Plymouth and West Devon League, Division One
Tamar View 6 Central Park Rangers 2 (att 18)
Lunchtime kick-offs are a regular feature in the Plymouth and West Devon League, at least for clubs whose home grounds are 3G pitches and subject to the availability of booking slots.
Finding a possible double is easiest when there are nearby games starting at 3pm, and as that's the case early in the season it was enough justification for me to embark on a gruelling 584-mile round trip.
I had two lunchtime options, and chose the lower division fixture mainly because the venue, Devonport High School for Boys, looked the more interesting. The football pitch is just a typical caged artificial arena, but it's in the grounds of the school whose buildings originally served as a military hospital when they opened in 1797.
Spectators can't stand inside the fence, officially at least, but that's no hardship as the best views are from the top of a steep grass bank that rises up towards a 19th century colonnade. There's also some bench seating on the bank.
This was my first experience of the Plymouth and West Devon League, and it was a good one. Tamar View looked the better side but Central Park Rangers did their best to match them, coming from behind to go 2-1 up until conceding an equaliser just before half time.
It remained fairly even after the home side went 3-2 up after the break, with chances at both ends. But once Tamar View extended their lead to 4-2 it was effectively game over, and two more goals rounded off their scoring.
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