Sunny Sunday

Family in London for the day, so used the opportunity to enjoy the sun and knock off a couple of local grounds/pitches - tend to only watch Sunday football once or twice a season.

1030am

Shotley Rose 1 Golden Hind 2

Ipswich Sunday Morning League, Premier Division

Rose Playing Field

A rarity , a pub football team that actually plays at a pub! Shotley is a small village outside Ipswich, along the River Orwell, the pitch is in a field behind the pub, alongside a Bowls Club, hedges on 3 sides give it an enclosed feel,. Concrete dugouts also in place.

Both teams had some good footballers, with the young Golden Hind captain very impressive but I also remembered why I avoid Sunday football with a couple of players on each side ruining the game by play acting, fouling, arguing and time wasting. Even with 3 or 4 players trying to ruin the game, we did see some decent football, the Hind going 2 up after scoring in the 15th and 40th minute but in the second half it was Shotley Rose who were on top, scoring after 67 minutes but even with plenty of added on time they could not convert all the pressure they had on the Golden Hind in the second half to an equaliser. 

2pm

AFC Kesgrave Veterans 1 Bury Town Veterans 2

Norfolk and Suffolk Veterans League, South Premier Division 

Kesgrave War Memorial Community Centre

Another reason that Sunday morning football is struggling is that Veterans football is on the rise, not just hitting Sunday football with a local Senior Saturday side quitting last season only for most of the players to remain with the club to play for the veterans side. Veterans footballs seems more organised ( even if both teams turned up in all blue strips today) and far less arguing and moaning, 

We even have a Veterans team in Ipswich that has a player signed on, who played in the World Cup Finals. Even today, the visiting side, Bury have an ex-England Youth, Ipswich and Exeter player on their books, he was not in the team today.

No football furniture (portable dug outs were still in the equipment cage. The site includes a community centre, a sports hall and the football pitch is between the community centre and the cricket pitch, with a cycle speedway track behind one goal.

Home team started on top but somehow manged to fluff a few easy chances, Bury then got on top and went ahead after 38 minutes. They added a second right at the start of the second half. Kesgrave then took control, got a goal back in the 74th minute and had another goal disallowed towards the end of the game, with Bury hanging on to get all three points.