Hampton & Richmond Borough 0-4 QPR XI
Beveree Stadium
12/07/13
Att: 651
A reminder
Well, the football season has now snuck back upon us, and to be honest my longing to see a game was severely limited. In many ways I had become disillusioned with the beautiful game. It hasn't been the easiest summer admittedly with Aldershot's relegation followed by the club nearly repeating what happened in 1992. I was worried obviously, but the whole affair kind of pushed me away from caring about the rest of football. I just couldn't find the passion or the interest to bother with football, particularly groundhoppping. Despite this I decided the week of this game that I'd go along in the hope of rekindling my enthusiasm.
As I went to buy my train ticket the extent of my not caring was shown in that I had done no prior research other than to check that the match prices weren't as extravagant as the £60 that Bournemouth are charging their fans to watch their PSF against Real Madrid in the coming weeks. Luckily it was only £3 with my student card, so I thought, but first I had to get there. As I stood looking blankly at the screen I had little clue on what station I would need, where I needed to change, or indeed whether I had left enough time to get to the ground. I ended up choosing Hampton (London) and to my relief this proved to be correct. A quick download of the network rail app on my phone revealed I needed to change at Twickenham and before long I was strolling through Hampton en-route to the ground.
From here my evening improved and I'd like to thank Hampton & Richmond for sparking my enthusiasm once more. At the turnstile I was pleasantly surprised that I qualified for free entry, so decided that I'd spend money I wasn't prior planning too in the programme and something from the club shop, before strolling round the ground taking photos. While 'the Bev' wasn't a new ground for me, I had little recollection of the last time that I had visited for a match. I had stopped en-route somewhere a couple of years back for photo's, however. As you enter the turnstile you're greeted by a small open area featuring the club shop and a programme stall. The near end features the clubhouse, named 'Hammonds Bar'. Next to this is an elevated stand, covered, capable of housing 100 people. Either side of this is a small strip of terracing. The far side features a path, although there is some covered elevating viewing. The far end features a couple of steps of terrace, and a roof with several obstructing pillars. The near side is the most developed at the ground. Split into 3, the far end is a covered, temporary, seating unit. Next to this is the main stand, a small seated structure which straddles the half way line. Next to this is a covered terrace, of a decent size, that runs into the corner. All in all it's a pretty characterful ground, with decent facilities.
On Twitter and the Hampton forum I noted several comments in regard to the pitch, I think it may have been relaid recently, safe to say it was fairly decent. The football played on it didn't quite live up to the same standard, being a case of it was over before it started. It took the visiting side the best part of 20 seconds to take the lead with Michael Petrasso trickled the ball underneath the onrushing Hampton keeper. The rest of the half was pretty equal. Hampton's standout attempt on goal coming around the half hour mark when the player had a couple of digs at the QPR keeper but, despite getting the ball under him, a defender was on hand to clear to safety. The game slowly played it's way to half time with little of note.
After the restart it took 10 minutes before QPR had doubled their lead. A free kick from 20 yards was curled beautifully into the bottom corner by Mo Sharif, past the dive of the Hampton keeper. About 20 minutes later Petros Skapetis had scored the visitors third with a simple header at the back post. The 4th goal, 5 minutes from the end, was the best of the match. A free kick was won 20 yards from the net, Max Ehmer stepped up and blasted the ball in via the underside of the keeper.
The game won't live long in the memory, that's for sure, but I left with a reminder of why I enjoy watching football so much.......Well until the weather gets cold again.
As I went to buy my train ticket the extent of my not caring was shown in that I had done no prior research other than to check that the match prices weren't as extravagant as the £60 that Bournemouth are charging their fans to watch their PSF against Real Madrid in the coming weeks. Luckily it was only £3 with my student card, so I thought, but first I had to get there. As I stood looking blankly at the screen I had little clue on what station I would need, where I needed to change, or indeed whether I had left enough time to get to the ground. I ended up choosing Hampton (London) and to my relief this proved to be correct. A quick download of the network rail app on my phone revealed I needed to change at Twickenham and before long I was strolling through Hampton en-route to the ground.
From here my evening improved and I'd like to thank Hampton & Richmond for sparking my enthusiasm once more. At the turnstile I was pleasantly surprised that I qualified for free entry, so decided that I'd spend money I wasn't prior planning too in the programme and something from the club shop, before strolling round the ground taking photos. While 'the Bev' wasn't a new ground for me, I had little recollection of the last time that I had visited for a match. I had stopped en-route somewhere a couple of years back for photo's, however. As you enter the turnstile you're greeted by a small open area featuring the club shop and a programme stall. The near end features the clubhouse, named 'Hammonds Bar'. Next to this is an elevated stand, covered, capable of housing 100 people. Either side of this is a small strip of terracing. The far side features a path, although there is some covered elevating viewing. The far end features a couple of steps of terrace, and a roof with several obstructing pillars. The near side is the most developed at the ground. Split into 3, the far end is a covered, temporary, seating unit. Next to this is the main stand, a small seated structure which straddles the half way line. Next to this is a covered terrace, of a decent size, that runs into the corner. All in all it's a pretty characterful ground, with decent facilities.
On Twitter and the Hampton forum I noted several comments in regard to the pitch, I think it may have been relaid recently, safe to say it was fairly decent. The football played on it didn't quite live up to the same standard, being a case of it was over before it started. It took the visiting side the best part of 20 seconds to take the lead with Michael Petrasso trickled the ball underneath the onrushing Hampton keeper. The rest of the half was pretty equal. Hampton's standout attempt on goal coming around the half hour mark when the player had a couple of digs at the QPR keeper but, despite getting the ball under him, a defender was on hand to clear to safety. The game slowly played it's way to half time with little of note.
After the restart it took 10 minutes before QPR had doubled their lead. A free kick from 20 yards was curled beautifully into the bottom corner by Mo Sharif, past the dive of the Hampton keeper. About 20 minutes later Petros Skapetis had scored the visitors third with a simple header at the back post. The 4th goal, 5 minutes from the end, was the best of the match. A free kick was won 20 yards from the net, Max Ehmer stepped up and blasted the ball in via the underside of the keeper.
The game won't live long in the memory, that's for sure, but I left with a reminder of why I enjoy watching football so much.......Well until the weather gets cold again.