Ascot United 1-1 Wootten Bassett Town
Racecourse Ground
14/09/13
Att: About 60
Warning: Contains no horse puns
If you ask anyone what they know about Ascot I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that it wouldn't be long before Royal Ascot or the nearby Racecourse is mentioned. I'd then also be willing to bet that in that conversation, unless you've played locally at a junior level or are knowledgable in Non-League football, Ascot United wouldn't come up. I'd been disappointed in myself for some while that I'd neglected the chance to visit this ground for some while, but with Aldershot having played on the Friday and not wanting to travel far I decided that now was as good as ever to visit the......er.....Racecourse ground.
The morning of the game was a slow start, I wasn't even ready come 2pm, thankfully I didn't have to run down to the train station as I was able to get a lift, meaning I didn't have to horse around at the station before and after the game. To those with a trained eye, you'll know where the ground is as the queen travels past it each morning during Royal Ascot week. The club directions describes the location as Car Park 7&8, with the ground nestled right next to the 6 furlong mark on the track. Parking up you can't fail but to notice groundskeeping gear and other materials used for the racing littered around the car park.
The ground is fairly typical of Hellenic League grounds. The Racecourse has been home to Ascot since the mid-sixties when a clubhouse was constructed on the site, but in the last 20 years they have slowly developed it to bring it to what you see today. As you walk from the turnstile/shed you pass some junior pitches before coming to the back of the clubhouse and stand, the only real developments at the ground. The Clubhouse, built in 2010, is one of the better you'll find, spacious on the inside, with an overhang providing standing cover to the front. Tucked away to one corner is the aforementioned stand, an Arena construction with capacity for around 100. This is dwarfed somewhat by the nearby stand at the Racecourse. The rest of the ground is undeveloped, save for hard standing on all but the Racecourse end of the ground. The ground is completed by 6 fairly modern floodlights.
After gaining some initial impressions it was time for the game, one that left me throughly confused, possibly due to not watching it properly. The game started brightly, with much of the first half spent in the visitors half as Ascot continued to press again and again, but they failed to make the break. It seemed as though every couple of minutes the visiting keeper was flapping away at chances, rather uncomfortably I must say, as Ascot could've gone two or three up. Saying that he made two fantastic saves from what looked like certain goals. As it was the opening goal had come in the 10th minute when a corner was shuffled in at the near post by Ascot's Jon Bennett. The visitors best chance of the match came not long before halftime when a rifle of an effort from 20 yards was punched away by the home keeper.
The second half was much more even, and end to end, with the visitors equalising not long after the restart. A WB player was tripped in the box and the referee had no choice but to award the penalty. The player stepped up confidently and dispatched the ball into the bottom left hand corner. After this the referee appeared to want to spoil the flow of the game, much to the despair of players and fans alike. Chances were common, although none with a lot of conviction to worry the keepers too much, save for an Ascot chance that somehow whistled past the post. There was controversy in the final minutes with a couple of cards, including a red after full-time.
If you ask anyone what they know about Ascot I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that it wouldn't be long before Royal Ascot or the nearby Racecourse is mentioned. I'd then also be willing to bet that in that conversation, unless you've played locally at a junior level or are knowledgable in Non-League football, Ascot United wouldn't come up. I'd been disappointed in myself for some while that I'd neglected the chance to visit this ground for some while, but with Aldershot having played on the Friday and not wanting to travel far I decided that now was as good as ever to visit the......er.....Racecourse ground.
The morning of the game was a slow start, I wasn't even ready come 2pm, thankfully I didn't have to run down to the train station as I was able to get a lift, meaning I didn't have to horse around at the station before and after the game. To those with a trained eye, you'll know where the ground is as the queen travels past it each morning during Royal Ascot week. The club directions describes the location as Car Park 7&8, with the ground nestled right next to the 6 furlong mark on the track. Parking up you can't fail but to notice groundskeeping gear and other materials used for the racing littered around the car park.
The ground is fairly typical of Hellenic League grounds. The Racecourse has been home to Ascot since the mid-sixties when a clubhouse was constructed on the site, but in the last 20 years they have slowly developed it to bring it to what you see today. As you walk from the turnstile/shed you pass some junior pitches before coming to the back of the clubhouse and stand, the only real developments at the ground. The Clubhouse, built in 2010, is one of the better you'll find, spacious on the inside, with an overhang providing standing cover to the front. Tucked away to one corner is the aforementioned stand, an Arena construction with capacity for around 100. This is dwarfed somewhat by the nearby stand at the Racecourse. The rest of the ground is undeveloped, save for hard standing on all but the Racecourse end of the ground. The ground is completed by 6 fairly modern floodlights.
After gaining some initial impressions it was time for the game, one that left me throughly confused, possibly due to not watching it properly. The game started brightly, with much of the first half spent in the visitors half as Ascot continued to press again and again, but they failed to make the break. It seemed as though every couple of minutes the visiting keeper was flapping away at chances, rather uncomfortably I must say, as Ascot could've gone two or three up. Saying that he made two fantastic saves from what looked like certain goals. As it was the opening goal had come in the 10th minute when a corner was shuffled in at the near post by Ascot's Jon Bennett. The visitors best chance of the match came not long before halftime when a rifle of an effort from 20 yards was punched away by the home keeper.
The second half was much more even, and end to end, with the visitors equalising not long after the restart. A WB player was tripped in the box and the referee had no choice but to award the penalty. The player stepped up confidently and dispatched the ball into the bottom left hand corner. After this the referee appeared to want to spoil the flow of the game, much to the despair of players and fans alike. Chances were common, although none with a lot of conviction to worry the keepers too much, save for an Ascot chance that somehow whistled past the post. There was controversy in the final minutes with a couple of cards, including a red after full-time.