Nine more matches took The FA's historian and superfan, David Barber, up to 192 games since June last year – but this season is pretty much over...
An apparently random tweet a few weeks ago alerted me to the fact that Wanderers and Clapham Rovers, who won six FA Cups between them from 1872 to 1880, were playing each other in a charity match at Mayfield Stadium in Thornton Heath on 23 May.
Goalmouth action at Mayfield Stadium
The present-day clubs play in the Surrey South Eastern Combination and Sportsman’s Senior Sunday League respectively and they put on a great show before a raucous crowd of about 40 on an overcast afternoon.
There was a free programme too. Rovers, in their historic colours of cerise and French grey, were ahead inside four minutes but Wanderers hit back to lead 2-1 at the break.
The laid-back referee did well to spot a subtle trip on a Rovers player in the box midway through the second half, smiling enigmatically as he pointed to the spot.
Wanderers’ ‘keeper, an Australian, saved the penalty but had moved forward too quickly and the retake ordered by the ref was thumped home for 2-2.
The Wanderers v Clapham Rovers match programme
It looked like a draw until Rovers netted twice in the last two minutes of normal time. The end-to-end play in the second period was as good as I had seen this season.
Earlier in the afternoon Wanderers Ladies beat Women Beyond Borders 3-1 and everyone involved clearly had a lot of fun.
I travelled to Hackney Marshes by tube and train the following morning with an Inner London Football League triple-header in prospect. When I got there, however, there were plenty of matches but none of them was in the ILFL.
Rangers’ goalie didn’t want Mustard with it
The fixture on ‘Show Pitch 1’ was about to start and it had to be important because I counted 85 spectators along one of the touchlines. It turned out to be the Hackney & Leyton Sunday League’s ‘Dickie Davies Cup Final’, featuring Clapton Rangers and Mustard FC, and they also did a programme!
A bloke behind the goal told me he had watched the same two teams play each other in the semi-final of another competition on the same pitch the previous Sunday. Mustard had prevailed 4-3 on that occasion, so I was expecting another close encounter. Not a bit of it – Rangers won 4-0.
I had a hunch the ILFL matches had been switched to nearby Mabley Green and sure enough I was in time to see London Gaza v Riverside (7-1), followed by Lotus v Reachout (4-1).
Lotus and Reachout do battle behind the Mabley Green rock
The lino said it was a Bangladeshi league and once again I thought the standard was very good.
Since then I’ve seen London Bees v Millwall Lionesses (2-1), Steer Davies Gleave v CH2M Hill (4-2), Arsenal v Aston Villa (4-0) and Inter Asia v Redcoat (1-0).
Saturday’s FA Cup Final was my 43rd and I sat in the Royal Box. It certainly made a change from the grassy bank at Market Road.
Have a good summer!
Total Matches Seen = 6,852. You can follow The Barber on Twitter @thebarberfan.
