FA Vase Second Round
Mile End Stadium, London
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 77
Match Rating: 3
At the conclusion of my midday kick off at Redbridge, I had to part company with the Essex Senior League groundhop event, as there would be no chance I would be able to get to the nominated game at Waltham Forest (against Woodford Town) anywhere close to on time for the 2.30 kick off there. So instead I raced back to Barkingside tune station and hopped on a Central Line underground train to Mile End, for a match in the FA Vase. It was perhaps convenient in keeping the day exclusive to the Essex Senior League that both clubs ply their trade in that league.
The Mile End Stadium is about a ten minute walk from Mile End tube station, much of it through Mile End park. Spectators enter through the sports centre building, paying admission at a turnstile inside. Spectator facilities are extremely basic, with most people sitting in the stand, which offers a good elevated and mostly unobstructed view, although views of the game are distant thanks to the running track in between. Virtually everyone preferring to stand did so on the flat standing along this length, although it is possible to walk all the way around the outside of the running track. There are a few steps of uncovered terracing towards the corner from the main stand. A leisure centre wall opposite the main stand offers quite a colourful background, behind one end there are trees in the adjacent park, with colourful leaves today, whilst behind the others there is a train line as well as various skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. The 16 page programme was overpriced, but did cover the basic information and had some interesting reading material.
Tower Hamlets came into this game in eighth place in the Essex Senior League, following seven wins and three draws from their 14 league games. To reach this stage of the FA Vase, they had beaten Hackney Wick 2-1 at home, Little Oakley 10-1 at home, and most recently Halstead Town away on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Enfield were in 17th place, having won four and drawn one of their 14 league games. In previous rounds, they had dispatched Haverhill Borough 1-0 at home, Stowmarket Town 4-5 away, and most recently Coggeshall Town 1-0 at home.
On a bright afternoon, Tower Hamlets looked the more dangerous in the early stages, and took the lead on 14 minutes. The ball was played forward and Curtis Pond shrugged off a covering defender to run towards goal and strike the ball low past the keeper. Their lead was to last barely two minutes though, a ball over the defence finding Andrew Tiravanhu, who fired the ball into the net via a deflection off of the keeper. On 25 minutes, the visitors were awarded a penalty, a rather mysterious award apparently for a pull as the ball was being thrown in towards the box. However, the penalty was saved by the keeper, and for the remainder of the half, it was Tower Hamlets who looked the more likely to score. 1-1 was how it would remain at the break, though.
The game was rather scrappy either side of the interval, but slowly Enfield grew stronger and stronger, and after creating a couple of decent chances, they took the lead on 70 minutes. Following a corner, there were a couple of stabs at goal that were blocked, before Joe Clark drilled the ball home. Things then really started to go wrong for Tower Hamlets, as they they had two players sent off, on 76 and 78 minutes, both being shown second yellow cards and then reds. The game was pretty much up, but they did battle to try and get the ball forward, but deep in added on time, a mass brawl ended with a further two Tower Hamlets players being shown red cards, including the goalkeeper who needlessly sprinted from his area to get involved, as well as an Enfield player. Fortunately for me, bearing in mind my need for a quick getaway, and probably for both teams too, the final whistle blew shortly earlier, with the match finishing with 7 players against 10 left on the pitch.
So it was Enfield who progressed to the third round of the FA Vase, and perhaps the red card count was more a reflection on a very inconsistent and at times baffling performance by the referee, as the game was certainly not ill tempered, at least until added on time at the end of the match.
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