Follow the 'Lima 'Lima!

Thurrock v Eastleigh

After the mid-week appearance at Ryman North Division One Brentwood we had to make a decision on where to go next.  There really is no structure to our tour, other than to take a look at the forthcoming fixtures, do a minimal amount of research and see if there's any particular player at any club that makes us want to go there next.  Such is the concern for this lack of direction that Bob decided to up the stakes, betting me that we couldn't get to all of the clubs before my 27th Birthday in October.  Granted, the stakes are still low as my birthday is ages away, but at least now we have a target.

So, to look for the best option for a game on the last weekend of January.  There were a handful of non-league essex teams that were available on this day, and we were slowly making our way through each clubs respective websites when Bob stumbled across something that would immediately make our minds up for us.  In the first game of the tour we mentioned a certain Mr Paul 'O Lima who played and was then released by Lewes after a difficult game against top of the table Braintree.  And all of a sudden, here was his beaming face once again, top of the news page on Thurrock's website.  It turns out he had been a bit of a fans favourite at Thurrock and after his difficult trip to Lewes, the great man had returned once more. 

Information on most of the players we are watching can be scarce and difficult to get hold of.  So Bob took it upon himself to get in touch with the Press Office at Thurrock to see what else he could find out.  He sent out the following email...

Dear Sirs,

We are currently in the process of writing a piece on non-league football and it has come to our attention that Paul O' Lima is to make his comeback for Thurrock.

Our plan is to experience several games at Non-League level and write about our findings and draw comparisons with Premier League and league football.  For this project an associate and I attended a recent game between Braintree Town and Lewes in which Paul O'Lima featured prominently.  We were therefore surprised that Paul was released by the club 2 days later.

We would be very grateful if you could provide us any quotes either from Thurrock FC or Paul O'Lima directly regarding the reasons for his release by Lewes and also his happy return to Thurrock.

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

We will also be attending the match on Saturday against Eastleigh and the game will feature in our piece.

Many thanks and best regards,

Rob Smith

He wasn't expecting much of a response yet within 2 hours a reply came back...

Rob,

Give me a buzz when you get to the game on Saturday, i'll give you everything you need, I'll speak to Paul and see if he wants to chat to you.  I'm sure he will, he's one of the nicest people i've ever met, either in football or beyond.

Paul also has a bit of a cult status amongst our fans, might be worth you chatting to some of us and I can also provide you with our 'View From The Terraces'  written by a fan which goes into the programme every week when it featured Paul.

My number is 07********5

I look forward to speaking to you on Saturday,

Tony

What a man Tony is!  Not only did he get back in touch, he wanted us to give him a 'buzz'.  And as for Paul, we'd accidently tagged our journey with a non-league player, and it turns out that the one we'd be paired with just so happens to be one of the nicest people, not just in football, but beyond! 

So it was with great excitement that we drove down to Ship Lane on an absolutely freezing cold Saturday afternoon in anticipation of events that lay ahead.

Thurrock v Eastleigh - Saturday 29/01/2011

We turned up a little earlier than usual for this match, took a quick wander around the ground and then called Tony.  He was already there, enjoying a pre-match drink in the clubhouse and invited us to join him.  He bought us a beer and gave us a whirlwind run-through of some of Thurrock's greatest moments, and the rivalry between other local clubs.  You could tell that Tony was a man that enjoyed his job, sure he was the press-officer there, but primarily he was a fan of Thurrock FC.  During this chat he also tipped us off about a trip to Harlow - a club we had somehow omitted from our list - inadvertently extending our mission.  Thanks Tony!  We had hoped to meet Paul O'Lima before the game but he wasn't around.  Still, it was a good feeling to be accepted at the club, a reception that i am pretty sure we would not have got from a club at a higher level.

After the time it took to drink our pints, Tony excused himself as he had club issues to attend to, but invited us to meet him after the game, or to even come round during the match to join in the home teams 'fantastic support'. 

So off we went to take our place in the one main stand before kick-off.  On the way i grabbed a match programme and did plan to have a quick browse in the club shop only to discover it was closed.  It would later be revealed that this was due to the shop worker also being the programme seller, and she of course couldn't be in two places at once.

The teams line up

The game began with Eastleigh looking the stronger team as Thurrock opted for the long ball that lacked any great purpose or direction.  Eastleigh lapped up these long balls with ease and took a deserved lead after only 11 minutes.  I'd like to tell you all about the opening goal from former Spurs trainee Jamie Slabber, but unfortunately i'd taken it upon myself at that precise moment to take a trip to the toilet.  I don't know why exactly i waited until the game to begin before disappearing off, especially as Thurrock is a ground that possibly has more toilets than fans.  They are everywhere.  I returned to see out a rather uneventful first half unfold with the only real talking points being another great opportunity for Slabber about mid-way through the half, only for him to be thwarted by a good save from the keeper.  Thurrocks best chance came from a superb volley that only just looped over the bar from right-midfielder Matt Bodkin.  This strike caused me to lean back and snap my chair in excitement, so we took this as the perfect time to relocate to elsewhere in the ground.  As we made our way around the pitch on about 34 minutes, Thurrock equalised through a header from midfielder Kenny Clark, and even from our position at the opposite end of the ground we could make our an absolutely delighted Tony Flood on the terraces behind the goal, wheeling away in excitement to where the players were celebrating.

Fans favourite O'Lima warming up

Half-time soon arrived and against our better judgement we stayed out in the freezing cold to watch the subs (including our guy Paul O'Lima) warm up.  They also had a young portuguese lad Joao Carlos who was obviously not taking the warm up seriously but looked like he enjoyed playing the game.  Tony had tipped us about this guy being a great talent but just needing to learn the game a little more, as right now his talent is a bit raw.  He'd make an appearance in the second half and Tony was not wrong, the tricky winger causing all sorts of problems for the Eastleigh back line.

The fans got their first glimpse of the day from O'Lima after 55 minutes when he emerged from the dugout to warm up.  Immediately they began chanting his name, with cries of 'follow the Lima! Lima!' resonating from behind the goal.  It has to be said that the overall attendance from the home team was disappointing, but the support from those there was the best we have seen yet.  There was a small hardcore group of fans (including our man Tony) based behind the goal that didn't stop supporting their team from start to finish.  They didn't take themselves too seriously, and kept a steady conveyer-belt of football anthems come drifting across the pitch to cheer their team on.

And they got what they wanted and what their efforts deserved with a little over 10 minutes to go as the home side were awarded a penalty for handball, an opportunity that Jamie Richards wasn't going to miss. 

The game finished in a 2-1 victory for the home side, pulling their club further away from the relegation zone and taking their unbeaten run to 5 games after a dreadful start to the season where they went 15 games without a win.  We're not here to support or favour any particular team in Essex, but our experience at Thurrock was one of a club well run, and with genuine friendliness from those associated with it.

We waited around for as long as we could after the match but unfortunately did not get the chance to meet Paul.

Parking: Free (Large Car Park)

Ticket: £12

Programme: £2

Score: 2-1

Attendance: 225

In favour of a balanced experiment, in the following week Bob send an email to two League clubs about a former fans favourite returning to the club.  He wrote the exact same letter to Blackburn Rovers regarding the homecoming of Roque Santa Cruz, and another to QPR and Wayne Routledge's return.  A week later and we are yet to hear anything from either club.