Second half, saw the introduction of a few Ipswich subs, as no programme or teamsheet, hard to know who they are but one was believed to be an England schoolboy international and he certainly looked a class above the players already on the pitch. he was involved in everything. Ipswich went ahead after 52 minutes but Haverhill were back on level terms 5 minutes later after confusion at the back but Ipswich were back in front after 65 minutes and then in injury time the 'super sub' won a penalty which he converted himself. A decent game and great to see the two young teams play in front of a good sized crowd.
Welcome to my blog that concentrates on my love of sports grounds, from the new stadia like the Millennium to the quant non league grounds of rural Engalnd. Thank you Arcibald Leitch!
Friday, 31 October 2025
Supersub
Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Could not take all the points
Larger crowd than at the U21 games held at Colchester, I for one, would rather see Ipswich invest in the facilities at Needham or Felixstowe rather than hire Colchester United for U21 and Ipswich Women games.
Preston started well but Ipswich soon found themselves two up with both goals coming from Jamie Mauge, a local Ipswich lad whose dad (Ronnie) played professionally for a number of clubs, mainly at Bury and Plymouth.
This was the Ipswich U21 Second XI, as only 3 players who started against Brighton started today but it was still disappointing how in the second half they could not finish the game off and it was Preston who finished the stronger, getting one goal back from the penalty spot and then getting an equaliser late on.
Saturday, 25 October 2025
Jack again
Friday, 24 October 2025
Duck to water
Three nil up at half time and even manged to miss a penalty in the second half- Brighton got into the game late on but just manged a one goal consolation.
Be interesting to see how much bigger the crowd is next Friday, when the Under 21 team play a rare game at Portman Rd.
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Double defeat
Tuesday 21 October 2025, Ipswich Town Under 17s 1 Norwich City Under 17s 4 - PL Under 17 Cup, group game, Playford Road
Norwich started the sharper and could have scored earlier but Ipswich started to get back into the game but then fell behind after 18 minutes only for Ipswich to equalise a minute later from a cross/shot!
Ipswich then got on top and on 58 minutes a Norwich player got a straight red when as last man he took the Ipswich Number 9 down but instead of Ipswich taking advantage of the extra man, it was Norwich who seemed to benefit, playing on the break and going ahead after 62 minutes, and then adding a third after 87 minutes then to rub slat into the wound, scoring directly from a free kick on 90 minutes.
Game played on the main Training Ground (not Bent Lane) currently part building site/ training ground
Then it got worse!!
Ipswich Town 0 Charlton Athletic 3 - Championship, Portman Road
Totally dominated the first half, numerous corners but closest to scoring was a shot that hit the bar and then second half the defence went missing- and Ipswich now have some serious issues if we expect to return to the Premiership at the first opportunity.
Xherdan Shaqiri show
Tram 14 is currently unable to get to the stadium as line being renewed but Tram 10 or 11 dropped you just 10 minutes from the ground, plenty of outside bar and food stalls in place with club selling a special scarf for a cancer charity and the club supporters raising money for a club museum.
The game was the Xherdan Shaqiri show - scoring a penalty, making an assist, creating/involved in the best move of the day, taking every corner and Free Kick. He does not look very fit anymore but his passion for the game was on show and some of his passing was out of this world.
Afterwards, easy walk back to tram stop, 2 minute wait and back at hotel in 15 minutes.
No local morning games, all games played seemed to be late afternoon, so clashing with the FC Basel 6pm kick off, the club were offering cheap tickets for the indoor Basel indoor tennis tournament evening session, being held in the large sports arena next door to the football stadium
Sunday, no games for me but a large non-league calendar was in place, but nothing that stood out, all local games seemed to kick off between 12 an d 3pm - so again a double was impossible unless you were willing to get a train 30 miles plus to get an extra morning kick off game in.
Saturday, 11 October 2025
Left it late
Second half saw Everett do most of the attacking, but it seemed they would end up losing at home as they could not break down the well disciplined Buckingham defence, but with 10 minutes left one of the better Buckingham players hurt his knee and had to be subbed off, his replacement had a nightmare and gave a penalty away on 83 minutes which Everett converted. .
This gave Everett a great boost and they got in front after 88 minutes and added a 5th goal, deep into injury time.
Everett have a very good chance of winning the division, but it would mean they would have to undertake quite a bit of work to be able to play at Step 5.
Tuesday, 7 October 2025
Mad end
Looked like an away but then we had 4 minutes of madness, a Brantham sub equalised on 88 minutes, then a minute later the same sub got, what Brantham thought was a winner after a terrible mistake by the Tilbury keeper, but it was too good to believe and in the 93rd minute, Tilbury were back level after a looping header. B
Both teams look like they will continue to struggle for the rest of the season.
My first visit to Brantham this season, and no noticeable improvements since promotion
Sunday, 5 October 2025
Long wait over
Saturday, 4 October 2025
Friendly club
Mutford, promoted last season and had gone up the leagues' quite fast in the last few seasons, players have stuck with them through that rise, but they might struggle now in top division.
Ground is basic, on a field right next to the A12, Fully fenced off, two wooden dugouts and a very, very small wooden stand - however the club is well worth a visit!
Tea, coffee, rolls and cake (Victoria sponge, today) all available and just for a donation- in the hut next to the changing rooms, plus the room was warm, dry, carpet, even coffee tables to put your mug of coffee down on. Club badges on sale and at the end of the hut a table crammed with old team photos, programmes from Norfolk FA Finals from the 60's, medals from more recent cup wins , old club committee papers- a real bonus to the visit. Locals all keen to chat and made everyone welcome.

 










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