Another respite from The Football League. Molesey 2 Whitstable 0
For anyone not familiar with this non league territory, a Ryman South game between a team on the edge of the play offs and a team bottom of the table. Whitstable sit bottom of the table with 14 points and a negative goal difference of 53 having conceded 89 goals in 33 games of which they have won a mere 4. Maybe the result then was predictable with a 2-0 win for molasses but for large portions of the game the result could have been in favour of Whitstable.
The Whitstable away support was in fact more noisy than the Molesey support most of the games with some curious chants, the most perplexing for me was the chant ” We know who we are”. However it takes a lot of effort not to mention money to come and support your team when they are expected to lose , and lose badly. I have no doubt that the pints of alcohol helped enormously dull the pain of this new loss.
The game though was end to end, and both goals were scored by the strong Stafforde Palmer, the first a powerful header from a corner minutes after half-time and the second a solo run where he kept composure and slotted home nicely. Before this game the player statistics in the programme informed us that in 27 games he had scored 22 goals this season, and in his complete Molesey career 62 goals came from 66 games. At this level impressive. The other player to observe was Craig Lewington the son of Ray Lewington. A tough tackling midfielder previously with Walton Casuals.
Having watched a dire performance from Brentford on the previous evening it was refreshing that in front of a crowd of 63 both teams were able to show 90 minutes of hard work and commitment in blustery conditions. The food is also somewhat better and cheaper than that served at league grounds, and served too with a friendly face. the cost of getting in is only £8 and for me thats too cheap even at this level.
I dont know much of the real history of molesey but the ground looks in need of a makeover and if I understand things is due for some sort of redevelopment, however it is surrounded by new looking houses, some of which overlook the pitch alongside the terracing.
Away support at this level is varied but I had an excellent conversation with the seemingly sole South Park fan standing behind the goal.
People come for different reasons and many nowadays bring cameras, including myself, and some excellent photos end up online post match.
This football is real, played by amateurs and watched by genuine football fans who in many cases have followed their clubs for years or even decades. Those fans who only watch league football at higher echelons could do worse than spend around 10£ or sometimes less to occasionally watch non league football. It does restore your belief that football is a game, that fans of all teams can stand together and chat, and that the complaints over the referee and officials do not stop at a league level!
chris1957
Arcticterntalk.org 