Date: 04.12.2018 Ground: 75 Match: 16 (2018/2019 season) Venue: Wellington Playing Fields Teams: Wellington FC V Westfields FC Competition: Herefordshire County Challenge Cup Quarter Final Admission: 5 Final Score: 3-5 ( H/T 2-3 ) Referee: Alan Robinson Attendance: 79 ( Head Count ) Mileage to venue and return: 68.6 Miles Programme: 1 Introduction A small milestone was achieved with visiting the Wellington Playing Fields for this Novice Ground Hopper. This was my 75 th different ground visit, 25 more visits to go until I hit the magic figure of 100 ground visits. Ground 76 will hopefully be achieved next week, at the moment the plan is to make a first visit to, Old School Lane to watch, Pegasus Juniors V Clee Hill United in another Herefordshire County Challenge Cup Quarter Final tie. I made the visit to the Wellington Playing Fields straight after I finished work at 5:00pm in Atcham, near Shrewsbury. I arrived at the ground car park with plenty of time before kick-off. My original plan was to have a little walk around the Herefordshire Village of Wellington to kill some time before the start of the game. Unfortunately, heavy rain had set in during my journey and remained for the duration of the evening. I made the decision to take sanctuary in the warmth and comfort of my car and finally headed towards the entrance to the ground at around, 6:45pm. I had briefly been talking on twitter during the day, to the chairman of Wellington FC, Phil Smith. During our conversation Phil asked me to make myself known upon my arrival to the ground. I walked towards the pay hut and paid my 5 entry and 1 for the match programme. I introduced myself to the chap in the pay hut and it turned out that I was talking to the chairman himself, Phil Smith. Phil welcomed me to the football club and kindly gave me a cup of tea which I drank in the warmth of the kitchen at the Wellington Playing Fields. Phil kindly allowed me to copy the team line ups from the two team sheets that were in the kitchen whilst I drank my cup of tea. As you can see, I received a fantastic welcome to Wellington FC and I would like to thank Phil for his hospitality and to the other members of the club that I met and chatted to before the game commenced.
As regular readers will note, I always like to give information and historical facts with regards too, the village or town of the football club that I am visiting. Therefore, the next section of my report will comprise of details on the village of Wellington. Wellington Wellington is a village and parish in Herefordshire, following the 2011 census the population of the village was recorded as, 1,005 people. The village is situated 5 miles North West of Hereford and stretches for approximately 1 mile from the main Hereford to Leominster road, known as the A49. The name Wellington is derived from the ancient, Walingtone and Welingtone, thus giving the meaning a village with watery meadows Another school of thought as to where the name comes from can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon word Weoh, meaning holy, through Weo-Leah meaning the temple clearing or possibly Weola s Clearing In 1038, the name was given as, Weolintun. Wellington is an area of great importance with regards to archaeology and is in fact one of the most important sites in the whole of the West Midlands. Spanning a period of ten years from 1986 and in advance of quarrying work within the parish of Wellington, archaeological digs discovered a vast array of items. These items range from, A group of early Neolithic pits, dating from approximately 4,000 to 3,500 BC too an early medieval watermill, dating to the early 8 th century. The Domesday Book, of 1086 and written under the instruction of William the Conqueror, refers to the resident Priest this, points towards the existence of a building or place of Worship. With this reference being made, it is distinctly possible that a Saxon building stood on the site of the presentday Parish Church. The library at Hereford Cathedral (please make a visit if you get chance, the Cathedral is beautiful) holds an ancient Latin version of the Gospels, on the back of said Gospel is a written Anglo-Saxon record, of a Shire-mote held during the reign of King Canute (1017-1035) at the summit of Aylestone Hill, nearby Aegelnoth s Stone. This was the resolution to a disagreement between a Mother and her Son with regards to property in Wellington and Eardisley. The court was witness that the Mother wished the entirety of her property, not to be passed on to her Son, but to a female relative who was married to, Thurcyl the White. A family by the name of, Chandos who were Baron-Marchers resident at Snodhill Castle, were constantly fighting the Welsh. During the time, the Welsh were persistent in invading the Western section of Herefordshire. For example, Robert de Chandos who was a land owner with an annual of value of 20 or more, was summoned thrice in 1282, 1297 and 1300 in order to accompany the Royal Forces across the border into Wales. Robert s son, Roger, was knighted and served as the Sherriff of Herefordshire for several years and received summons of his own to parliament as a feudal baron between the years of 1337 to 1355. When Sir Thomas de Chandos passed away in 1375, he held the manors of Snodhill, Fownhope, Lugwardine and Wellington following his passing, the manor was split into two separate parts between, tenants and relatives. Moving into the 19 th century Wellington was recorded as having: Nine farmers, a tailor, a blacksmith, a wheelwright, four cobblers and six pubs. The pubs in Wellington were called: The Globe, The New Inn, The Railway Tavern, The Bridge Inn, The Mason s Arms and the Plough. In 1852, Wellington School was known as Notts and Perrott s Charity School. The teaching of the pupils at the school took place in the early 18 th Century cottage situated behind the Church.
Following the 1870 Education Act, education in both England and Wales underwent great improvement. More than 5,000 schools in a period of four years were constructed, including the present-day school in Wellington. As the 19 th Century reached the year, 1871, Wellington was recorded as having a total population of 651 people and following the 2001 census, the population of Wellington Parish was recorded as having 1022 people. Wellington Football Club Wellington Football Club Wellington Playing Fields Wellington Hereford Herefordshire HR4 8AZ Founded: 1968 Nickname: The Wellies Chairman: Phil Smith Manager: Gary Stevens Assistant: Jonathan Pugh Physio: Marcus Priday The following piece of information is taken from the matchday programme (written by chairman, Phil Smith) that I obtained during my visit to the Wellington Playing Fields.
Following the success of England in the 1966 World Cup, the club was formed as a youth side playing youth team friendly matches. In 1968 the club, playing on a pitch loaned by a local farmer and changing in the village hall, entered Division 3 of the Herefordshire Football League. In 1974 the club won its first ever trophy, the Herefordshire League Junior Cup and began its rise to the position it has achieved today. In 1976 to the new village playing field and following the building of a wooden changing room in 1981, was invited into the Herefordshire Premier Division which it won at the first attempt. During the eighties the club continued its development and won the Premier Division again in the seasons 1987/1988 and 1988/1989. Th club has subsequently won the title a total of eight times, the last five times by the clubs second team. The first team have on several occasions reached the final of the County Cup which was always the one that got away but in 2009 were successful and for the first time the County Cup Trophy came to Wellington. In 1994 the club became actively involved in an initiative proposed by the Wellington Community Association to develop the sports facilities on the playing fields. In 1996 those new facilities were officially opened, and on completion, a Herefordshire Premier League and Cup double. In 1996/1997 the club successfully applied to join the West Midlands League and in its second season finished Champions of Division 1 South and League Cup winners. Unfortunately, promotion to the Premier Division did not result due to ground grading requirements. The following season 1999/2000, the team achieved runners up position and retained the League Cup. Following extensive fund raising, further ground improvements were made, and the club was promoted to the West Midlands Premier Division. The club officials are active in continuously improving the facilities at the ground and in 2005 purchased the adjacent field in order to secure permanently a playing surface for Wellington Football Club for future generations. The club prides itself in having a senior first team which is the flagship of the club together with two further senior team, the only club in Herefordshire Football to have this number of senior teams. These teams will now be playing in the newly formed Herefordshire County League. The club also has an associated junior section in the Herefordshire Junior Football League and a Wellington Girls team. The club has the capacity to grow its junior section and it is active in securing new team and players to fit and nurture into the Wellington set up. The junior section is a valued part of Wellington Football Club with the players safety and welfare paramount. With two junior pitches now in use and a recent refurbishment of the pavilion, changing rooms and showers thanks to a grant from the Environmental Trust through Tarmac Ltd the club can now offer superb facilities to visiting teams.. Before I go onto give you my thoughts on the Wellington Playing Fields complete with pictures, the next segment of my report will provide information with regards too, the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup. Herefordshire County Challenge Cup This competition is Herefordshire s Number One ranked knockout cup competition, it is also the oldest cup competition in the County and is for top flight clubs in Herefordshire. The cup was firstly contested in 1876, this was before the formation of the Herefordshire Football Association. The first ever final was between Hereford and Ludlow, Hereford were crowned the winners of the competition by beating Ludlow by 3 goals to 1.
The Herefordshire Football Association was formed in 1893, a year later Hereford were again triumphant in the competition by beating Builth 1-0 in the final. The competition that year was the first of its kind to be organised and run by the Herefordshire Football Association. Lots of clubs are eligible to enter the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup, these clubs are named as follows: Bartestree FC, Bromyard Town, Clee Hill United, Ewyas Harold, Fownhope, Hereford FC, Hereford Lads Club, Hinton, Holme Lacy FC, Kington Town, Leominster Town, Malvern Town U21 s, Pegasus Juniors, Orleton Colts, Tenbury Town, Tenbury United, Wellington FC, Westfields FC. The Wellington Playing Fields Home of Wellington Football Club The home ground of Wellington Football Club is situated on the left-hand side, just as you enter the village centre off the A49. The village s Football Club share a large site with the village community centre, school and the village bowling green. A decent sized car park is available on the site directly outside the football ground. Entrance to the ground itself is accessed by making a very short walk from the car par, walking along the left-hand side of the ground until you come to the Pay Hut pictured below: As you can just about see from the picture, the dugouts for both the home and away teams are to the left of the pay hut. On the opposite side of the ground, there is a smart looking covered seated stand which I would estimate hold 50-70 seats. There is another covered seated stand at the Wellington Playing Fields, situated in close proximity to the pay hut. This stand comprises of 70 seats, because of the poor weather I chose to sit in this stand for the duration of the game. I chose to sit at the back of the stand a picture of the stand is shown as follows:
To the right of this stand is a nicely constructed building, which holds several of the ground s facilities. These include a tea/snack bar, changing rooms, toilets, etc. If you so choose too, one could also watch the game from the front of this building as it is provided with cover on the walk way leading up to the snack/tea bar. The ground has hard standing all the way around the perimeter of the pitch. Unfortunately, I did not partake in my usual walkabout around the ground due to the inclement weather. I did however take a few pictures before the game started, the pictures I took were from the comfort of the area in front of the snack/tea bar and the stand next to the pay hut.
I really liked the Wellington Playing Fields, it is a neat and tidy set up and has everything that is required for the level of football Wellington Football Club compete at. I could also tell that the club has a lot of hardworking volunteers who help out a lot with the Football Club and the ground, they should be proud of the football club they have and the facilities that they provide.
Match Statistics Wellington FC Westfields FC 1. kyle De Garis 1. Ian Havard 2. Will Thomas 2. Alex Hainault 3. Brett Chillow 3. Ollie Butler 4. Jack Lewis ( c ) 4. Kane Khaki 5. Aaron Morgan 5. Sam Plane 6. Will Perkins 6. Ben Miller 7. Glenn Seagust 7. Craig Jones ( c ) 8. Sam Pearson 8. Keanu Cooper 9. Saul Thomas 9. Aidan Thomas 10. Matt James 10. Jamie Molyneux 11. Paul Jones 11. Carlos Moreira 12. Ian Smith 12. Ollie Smith 14. Matt Williams 14. Hayes 15. Ivan Ivanov 15. Josh Thomas 16. Jon Pugh 16. Ben Hames 17. Joe Davies 17. Mark McGee Goal Log: 37, 45 + 2, 88 Goal Log: 2, 7, 36, 59, 80 Attempts at Goal: 9 Attempts at Goal: 14 On Target: 7 On Target: 10 Corners: 3 Corners: 3 Offsides: 1 Offsides: 4 Yellow: 3 Yellow: 2 Red 0 Red: 0
Match Report This eight-goal thriller was a great game and not really full settled until the final ten minutes of the game. Westfields, playing one step higher ( step 5 ) than their step 6 hosts, stormed into a two goal lead inside the opening 7 minutes of the game. In the second minute they opened the scoring with the first chance of the game, a low and fierce cross was delivered from the Westfields right, De Garis in the Wellington goal could not hold onto the ball, leaving Carlos Moreira to finish into an unguarded goal from six yards out. Wellington responded with two good efforts at goal after falling a goal behind. The fourth minute saw Wellies Number 8, Sam Pearson try his luck with a long-range shot, shooting just over the bar. A minute later Pearson again went close for this time. The Wellington man was put clean through on goal, his early taken shot was tipped onto the post by visiting goalkeeper Havard. Westfields went 2-0 ahead on seven minutes, Ben Miller scoring with a great strike from the edge of the area, leaving Kyle De Garis no chance of getting near it. The home side again responded positively and created a couple of chances of their own but could not find that vital goal. Westfields looked to have made the game safe on 36 minutes by taking a three-goal lead. Keanu Cooper, ran for quite distance with the ball before shooting left-footed from the edge of the box into the bottom left corner of the goal. It looked like Wellington were in for a long night after falling three goals behind, but credit must go to them for providing a great come back in the latter stages of the first half On 37 minutes the home side got their first of the night, Havard completely missing his kick following a pass back to him, the mistake enabled Saul Thomas to roll the ball into an empty net. On the stroke of half time, Wellington got themselves right back into the tie. This time Sam Pearson with the goal after he latched onto a through ball, reaching the ball just before Havard and poking his shot just past the on-rushing Goalkeeper. Half Time: 2-3 Westfields went close on 51 minutes but were thwarted by great goalkeeping by De Garis who smothered the ball following shot by the on rushing Westfields player. On 54 minutes Wellington went very close to equalising, Sam Pearson unleashed a great volley which was well saved by Havard at the near post of his goal. This save was proven to be very important as five minutes later Westfields increased their advantage by scoring their 4 th goal of the evening. A dangerous looking cross from the Westfields right was not sufficiently cleared and the ball was tapped in by Aidan Thomas. On 62 minutes Westfields almost but the game to bed, unfortunately for them the first-time volley from their player crashed against the cross bar. With ten minutes of the game remaining Westfields did indeed make the game safe. Jamie Molyneux expertly rounded De Garis and two on-rushing defenders before finishing into an empty net. Credit must go to Wellington who never let their heads drop, the home side ended the scoring for the night on 88 minutes, with a goal that after much consultation in the stand I was sitting went down as an own goal. Full Time: 3-5
Conclusion This was a pulsating cup tie which I really enjoyed, looking at my records I think it is the first 3-5 score line that I have witnessed on my ground hopping journey so far. I would again like to thank Chairman Phil Smith and other club officials at Wellington Football Club for their lovely welcome. It was also a pleasure to meet and chat to several-ground hoppers at the game. I believe the chaps I met all live quite local in Herefordshire, I really enjoyed talking to them throughout the evening. This was a very pleasant evening of ground hopping on a terrible evening with regards to the weather which provided a difficult drive back to HQ in South Shropshire.