Brentwood Town v Needham Market

Tuesday 25/01/2011

Inside the Clubhouse

A change in tact for the 3rd game of the tour.  Our first two games saw us visit the two highest placed teams in Essex in Non-League Football.  And the fact they were placed 1st and 2nd in the division when we stopped by, hinted that perhaps we hadn't yet seen the true nature of football at this level. 

So it was on a rather nippy, and increasingly wet Tuesday evening that we found ourselves pulling up at 'The Arena' to take in the delights of our first Ryman League Division One North game.  We were dropping two more tiers on the football pyramid for this fixture so because of that and the poor weather conditions, hopes were not high for a game of high quality. 

Entrance into the ground wasn't immediately clear but we soon discovered a single turnstile situated in the far corner.  Tickets were only £8.50 although you don't actually get a ticket, just a match programme to certify your arrival.  Chances of a high attendance were dismissed by the guy on the entrance as he pointed out that Arsenal had a home game that night.  This was confirmed by his method of jotting down on a scrap of paper each person that walked passed him that evening.  Still, we were eager, and were soon making our now customary pre-match wander around the ground. 

The players warm up

This didn't take long as there is only one main stand that seats 150 people, the rest is just a walkway, and in places a very muddy one at that.  I can confirm though that The Brentwood Centre Arena is the first ground i have ever visited with trees inside it's boundaries.  Interestingly, the players before the match could be found warming up on some empty playing fields behind the pitch.  Before long we headed to the clubhouse bar for a drink before kick-off.  Regular home support must be low as the barmaid presumed we were Needham fans, and indeed looking around we noticed the majority of fans there were dressed in the red and black of the away team. 

This fixture must have been a re-arranged game as the programme we had been given was from the end of October, meaning all of the information on the teams was somewhat out of date.  Not to worry though as due to our extensive research during working hours we were aware of the few big names there tonight.  Needham's main attraction was none other than former Manchester City and Northern Ireland International, Kevin Horlock.  At 38 he has now reverted to playing at left-back from a more familiar midfield role as well as taking on the job as Assistant Manager.  Not to be outdone on the international stakes Brentwood had one of their own.  Step forward Town and Montserrat striker Ellis Remy.  Granted Ellis' career at that level hasn't yet been as successful as Horlock's, as he has been restricted to just the 1 cap which resulted in a sending off and a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of that other huge footballing nation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  Still, Ellis has 12 years on Horlock so perhaps a huge performance tonight could thrust him back into the big time.

Before leaving the clubhouse i noticed a poster on the wall detailing a list of things that the club needed volunteers for.  The list contained some of the usual requests you may expect from a small club, such as asking for ball-boys, or people to help out as match stewards.  But number 4 was a personal favourite of mine, 'Can you lay felt on a port cabin roof', is all it said.  I'm not entirely sure if this was a request from the club or just a club official taking an interest in what the people of Brentwood are capable of in the DIY stakes.

As the game approached kick-off we made our way out to see the players emerge.  Brentwood's number 7 Steve Butterworth looked like he'd rather be anywhere else as he stood shivering with his arms folded in line to join the field of play.  Not much warmer ourselves, we headed into the stand to get a seat.  We opted for row 2 but were far too low down to guarantee a particularly good view, which was only worsened by all the posts and pillars between us and the pitch.  Looking behind us we discovered only 2 more rows, with very little difference in altitude, so before long opted to re-position ourselves elsewhere.

From kick-off the difference in quality compared to the Conference South was evident immediately.  It took all of 4 seconds for the ball to be played aimlessly long, and in the opening exchanges it appeared that only Kevin Horlock had the ability and confidence to get the ball down and distribute passes.  He did however seem out of place at left-back when not on the ball, and indeed his lack of pace and positioning proved crucial in the opener after 19 minutes as he was easily beaten by his man with the resulting cross headed in by Danny Dafter.

Going into this fixture, high flying Needham would have been favourites for the win, but to their credit mid-table Brentwood looked organised and resilient at the back.  With 30 minutes gone we'd by now found ourselves neatly placed between the two dugouts and the shock scoreline showed as the Needham manager's frustration began to boil over as he took it out on his players.  In contrast the Brentwood bench was quieter barring a few digs at striker Ellis, which was somewhat unfair in my opinion as he seemed to be holding the ball up well for his team-mates.  The guy's an international, he deserves a bit more respect!  How on earth he managed to pick up a red card on that fateful night playing for Montserrat bemused us, despite all the abuse and rough treatment from the opposing defence and his own management team the gentle giant never once reacted.

Besides the goal, there was very little else of note in a frantic first half of little quality.  The only highlight being when i took a photo as the game was in play with the Needham manager mistaking the flash of my camera with lightning.  As half time approached we noticed for the first time a lack of a stadium announcer, so were clueless as to how much extra time was to be added on.  The same applied when the teams returned to the field for the second half to the sound of the referee's whistle from the changing rooms.  We'd go on to be treated to another delight in the latter parts of the game when old fashioned substitute boards were used in favour of the new electronical ones.  I haven't seen numbers held up like that since the mid 90's.

Initially, the second half mirrored the first, Needham having the better of the play but Brentwood standing firm.  That was until the 63rd minute when Needham were awarded a penalty for hand-ball.  We rushed from our spot on the halfway line to get behind the goal for the taking of the penalty, arriving just in time to see it slotted home to the keepers right.  Straight from kick-off we were started to make our way back to our original spot and by the time we had arrived there Needham had made it 3-1.  Brentwood's players heads had dropped and their defending resembled that of a Sunday League team as they somehow managed to throw the match away by conceding 3 times in as many minutes.

For the remaining 15 minutes or so we headed behind the Needham goal in order to beat the queue's for the carpark at full time, but still had time to enjoy 2 more goals, first up a fourth for Needham with minutes remaining, before an injury time consolation from young sub Jacob Dingli, who pounced on a parried shot from the keeper who seemed to take an eternity to get to his feet after the initial save.

Parking: Free (Large Car Park)

Ticket: £8.50

Programme: FREE

Score: 2-4

Attendance: 88