2019/20 Season Review

It will come as no surprise when I say that, for me, the 19/20 season ended in a less than ideal manner. Nearly 3 months since the last match I was able to attend, I have just about processed what has happened and now I look forward to next season (whenever that may be). In the meantime I anticipate the birth of my first child any day now with massive excitement. Part of me was slightly reluctant to do this review of the season for fairly obvious reasons, however I thought it would be good to draw a line under it. So here goes…

Like any season, 19/20 started with preseason. I made it to 3 friendlies in July – 2 games local to me in Wiltshire – at Bradford Town (losing to National League South Hungerford Town) and Warminster Town (succumbing to the Wessex League’s Bemerton Heath Harlequins) – would sandwich El Chocolato: the first meeting of Cadbury Heath (of the Western League Premier) and Cadbury Athletic (of the Midland League Division One). The latter will hopefully become a regular fixture in preseason for years to come.

Both matches that I attended in August would take place in Keynsham. First an evening kick off in the Western Premier for newly-promoted Keynsham Town who battled to victory over Roman Glass St George. Later, a failed attempt (thanks to the railways) to get to Yate Town for an early FA Cup fixture saw me desperately searching for an alternative. I ended up at the impressive Somerdale Pavilion for the Somerset County League game between Fry Club and Stockwood Wanderers. I was not disappointed.

September saw me attend my first Wessex League game: One of Pewsey Vale’s last in that league as they would later find themselves plying their trade in the Wiltshire County League. This match would also mark the first of two Isle of Wight teams that I would see play this season. Later that month I travelled to picturesque Sherborne for Town’s match against Warminster in the Western League Division One. Not a game the home team would care to dwell on for too long!

Due to work commitments, a solitary match was all I was able to attend in October. Westbury United took on Longwell Green Sports of the league below in the Les Phillips Cup. It was a chilly evening and not one the Premier Division team would particularly enjoy as the visiting side came away with the victory.

Just the one game in November, too. But this time due to the weather. I made it to within a couple of hundred metres of Devizes Town’s Nursteed Road before seeing the perhaps inevitable Tweet confirming the postponement of their game against Wells City. I did, however, make it to Melksham Town later in the month for their Southern League Division One South clash with AFC Totton. It was a match with plenty of late drama!

More normal service resumed in December as I visited 3 new grounds, including a couple of festive fixtures. I finally made it to Devizes Town as they took on fellow strugglers Bristol Telephones. Boxing Day saw local rivals Plymouth Parkway and Tavistock AFC battle it out for South Devon Superiority. Two days later and another local derby between Ashton & Backwell United and Portishead Town would bring the calendar year to a close.

Sadly January saw me only making it to Bemerton Heath Harlequins for their match against East Cowes Victoria. It was a great visit but obviously I would have liked to have made it to more matches!

February was a month to remember. A top of the table clash in the Western League Premier between Bradford Town and Shepton Mallet – a game that contained my goal of the season: a stunning last minute winner from Town’s Charlie Maddison. A change of scene later in the month as I took in a Swiss Superleague match – FC Zurich v Neutchatel Xamax. A completely different experience to what I’ve been used to in the last few years!

It was becoming more clear now that Covid-19 was going to threaten the football season. March came around and I was determined to fit one more game in before any potential suspension took hold. Due to some slightly inclement weather I decided it would be wise to try to find a match that was going to take place on an artificial pitch. Roman Glass St George were taking on Cadbury Heath at the Gloucestershire FC HQ so I headed there for what would turn out to be the last game of my season…

So there we have it; another season done. And while the various leagues finalise their plans for how to finish of the season in terms of promotion and relegation, I keep my fingers crossed that there are few or no clubs that are unable to survive this unprecedented situation. No doubt i’ll be back as soon as spectators are allowed back at football matches. What the matchday experience will be like then remains to be seen, but as far as i’m concerned: as long as there is football being played, it can’t be that bad!

MATCHES WATCHED	16
GOALS SEEN	59
AVERAGE GOALS PER GAME	3.69
RED CARDS	1
SIN BINNINGS	0
OWN GOALS	0
PENALTIES AWARDED	5
PENALTIES SCORED	5
HAT TRICKS	1