14/7/15 Pre-Season Friendly. Winchester Castle 1-1 Fareham Town
Well the title isnt strictly true. Fareham Town are my wife. I love them unconditionally, I sometimes get frustrated by them, but they are there for me and yes just like your good lady partners can do, they do occasionally answer back. Would I change them for a newer model or one higher up the football ladder winning competitions more regularly than we do? No chance. A football club is for life not just for trophies.
Winchester Castle is a fantastic setting and on the night are fantastic hosts. High on the South Downs outside of the City itself. A shame the weather means some of the views are lost amongst the low cloud. It must be the only place I know which doesn’t appear to have a postcode which caused a few players to arrive late and a late change to the starting line up. Simple instructions are M3, A31 towards Alresford, turn right at the HCC Depot sign. The pitch is immaculate, there’s cover on this damp night and Town are playing. What more do you need in life?
Its the opening pre-season friendly of the season, a chance to see how what I’ve seen the lads do in training has rubbed off, what some of the new lads are like in game time and catch up with people you’ve not seen since that infamous day at Andover Town in April where we won to secure our Premier Division status for the season ahead.
And what a start, Fans favourite Ash Tattersall gives Town an early lead following up his initial saved shot after George Davis won the ball well in midfield. Town look good, knocking the ball around well and both Callum Laycock and Tats again had good chances to increase the lead in the first half. A few half chances in the 2nd, but on the whole we are knocking the ball around well. At the back new midfield player Adam Fisher and Defender Zac Gill are impressing the watching Creeksiders faithful. Then come the inevitable changes and not helped by a couple of our better players getting injured.
10 minutes from time the home side level the score and from then on with Town’s side changed team running low as the cobwebs set in we are on the back foot and Castle sense they can win it and miss a great chance on the stroke of full time to do so but in the end, both sides are happy with their evenings work and I wish Castle well for the season.
Both sides played some decent football in a competitive spirit without over stepping the mark allowing a relatively comfortable evening for the officials and the game as a whole to just flow with the weather and one pesky Hornet which wouldnt leave us alone the only dampeners on the night.
allpointsonacompass 