Snodland Town (0) 1
Chatham Town (1) 2 Spice 20 Bearman-Dyce 79
Headcount: 62
New Ground: 313
Entrance: £3
Programme: None
Mileage: 35/631
A dismal 0-0 draw at Cray Valley was my nemesis for neutral games and I made the vow at the end of that season that I wouldn't do any more, well almost. As, at the time, Tuesday evenings were my only night off from work I kept that night sacrosanct for football especially if a new ground was involved. Pre-season is a time for busting the rules anyway, so with a reasonable interest in Chatham, a first visit to Snodland Town was a welcome addition to my fixture list.
A mistaken entry into Google Maps sent me on a short tour of the delights of Snodland, of which there are few and left me with one of the lucky last couple of parking spaces at Potyns Sports Ground. The Community Centre acts as the changing rooms and this leaves a walk of over the width of a football pitch to the ground, which I would guess cannot be ideal for any future ground grading. But, once inside the gate, there is a tidy little ground with a main stand that would squeeze in 40 people at a pinch. There is hard standing all the way round and the pitch is enclosed by what appears to be a job lot of downpipes and u-bends that nonetheless does the job.
Chatham, following their relegation from Ryman South, will be looking to bounce straight back with a new look team that, without the aid of a team sheet, was unrecognisable bar a couple of players, from last season.
For Snodland, there was the archetypical older guy upfront, carrying a little bit of weight but showing the touches that told you he was a good player in his day. Alongside him was a young whippersnapper who certainly had something that said that his day would actually come.
Despite their ultimate victory, Chatham will have to present a whole lot more if their stay in the SCEFL is to be a short one.
Snodland had a couple of good chances before Chatham took the lead after 20 minutes when a free kick into the box was poorly dealt with allowing Bradley Spice to supply the finishing touch.
Chatham took reasonable control of the remainder of the first half.
Snodland equalised after nine minutes of the second period when the old and young heads combined for the former to supply a pin-point cross for the home side's number seven to convert with an easy header.
The game developed into a good one and certainly competitive for a preseason friendly.
The Chats eventually won the game in the 79th minute when Caleb Bearman-Dyce was allowed too much time and space to convert a cross from the right from the left hand angle of the six yard box.
The older head had one last chance to rescue the game for Snodland when he broke through with two minutes but he hit the post denying Snodland the draw their efforts deserved.
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