Hampton & Richmond Borough P
Tonbridge Angels P
Wasted Mileage: 120/5,285
Storm Eunice battered the United Kingdom on Friday, leaving the rail network in disarray. I had chosen to travel to Hampton by train because of the lack of parking at the Beveree and the surrounding residential area. The train from Staplehurst to Waterloo suffered a 20 minute delay which, as it turned out, was a minor irritation. Once arrived in London, we were met with fellow Angels supporters who informed us of no service to Hampton and were going to make their way to Charlton instead. Luckily, my travelling companion is a public transport guru and he quickly established that via an open line down to Kingston, we could catch the bus to Hampton, which we did and the plan worked perfectly arriving at the ground at 1:45 pm. The very first voices we heard on entrance were those of excited Hampton management pronouncing to their players that the referee had deemed the pitch playable and that it was game on!
Whilst queueing for a cup of tea, rain started to fall and with cuppa in hand we sought sanctuary in the bar, more for warmth than for reasons of the rain. As we looked out of the window, the players were going through their warm-up routines, so presumably all was well. Then, at 2:35, message came to the bar, that on further inspection, the referee had decided that the pitch had deteriorated and that the game should be postponed as blues skies took their place overhead.
In fairness, my pictures evidently don’t give a fair reflection and an area in the centre circle was underwater. Writing this whilst watching Leeds v Manchester United where the Premier League show ponies were splashing their way across an Elland Road pitch, I couldn’t help but think back 24 hours and question whether the Hampton pitch was any worse.
My problems for the day had not ended as by now all trains from Kingston back into Waterloo were now cancelled. Thankfully, my day took a turn for the better as the Club Secretary offered me a lift back to Tonbridge.
My issue is not with Hampton & Richmond Borough as such, this isn’t the first time I’ve travelled to a match that has been postponed and it won’t be the last. But I fail to understand the referee’s point of view that the pitch deteriorated that much in the space of probably less than half-hour. I find it hard to believe that it was playable at the time of the first inspection. Gary McCann, the Hampton manager, also said in his after match interview, that the game should have been called off earlier which probably would not have stopped me getting as far as Waterloo but would have saved the onward journey.
To round off my day, by the time I got home I had developed a cold! Update: the cold turned into Covid!
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