Men's football news
The Rooks head to South-East London on Saturday for what promises to be their toughest outing of the season, facing fourth-placed Greenwich Borough. Whilst Borough have not hit the headlines for their transfer dealings this season, they still have a very strong squad on paper and will prove to be a stern test for the Rooks. However, Greenwich’s recent form has been mixed to say the least, taking three points from their last four games whilst the Rooks have won four and drawn two of our last six league games and travel to Eltham with the only unbeaten record in the league (seven wins, two draws).
Gus Sow and Ronnie Conlon both came through the game on Wednesday against Phoenix Sports unscathed, although there is some concern about James Hammond who limped off in the second half. Bouwe Bosma will return to the squad after missing out on Wednesday due to suspension. Alex Malins is still absent with his ankle injury.
How was last season?
Big spending Greenwich Borough ultimately failed
in their aim to get back-to-back promotions as they were beaten at home by
Corinthian Casuals 4-3 in the play-offs.
Gary Alexander’s side found scoring goals was never an issue for them but
surprise home defeats to the likes of Chipstead, Sittingbourne, South Park and
Whyteleafe ultimately cost them a run at the title.
Borough have lost skipper Glenn Wilson, Rob Denness, Mo
Eisa, Lewis Spence and Liam MacDevitt, although former Brentford
centre-back Mark Phillips has joined from Ebbsfleet United.
Isthmian League South – 3rd – P 46 W 30 D 5 L 11 GS 102 GA 52 GD +50 PTS 95
·
FA Cup – First Qualifying Round – lost away to
Walton Casuals 3-2
·
FA Trophy –
Preliminary Round – lost at home to VCD Athletic 1-2 after a replay
·
Kent Senior Cup – Second Round – Lost at home to
Margate 6-1
·
Isthmian League Cup – Second Round – Lost at
home to Dulwich Hamlet 2-1
How has this season been for Greenwich Borough?
Despite starting the season as one of the favourites have seen some inconsistency this season. Impressive wins away at Carshalton Athletic and against Corinthian-Casuals have been off-set by surprise defeats at Shoreham and at home to Horsham. Alexander has brought in the impressive Jack Barham and Bradley Pritchard and they have been among the goals so far.
Borough have won six, drawn two and lost two at the DGS Marine Stadium this season, those two defeats coming in their last two games against Horsham and Carshalton Athletic. They drew 2-2 at Chipstead in their last outing a week ago.
When did we last meet
Greenwich Borough?
We lost both games to Greenwich Borough last season, 4-2 at The Pan in
early October and 1-0 in a tense affair at Badgers Mount in late March. In the first meeting Borough went in at
half-time 3-0 to the good thanks to a hatrick from Rob Denness. But a
second-half revival from The Rooks thanks to goals from Duncan Culley and
Charlie Coppola gave us some hope before a fourth Morrison secured all three
points. A Charlie McDonald strike was
the only difference between the two sides in a game of few chances on a dry and
bobbly surface in March.
About The DGS Marine Stadium (ground sharing with Cray Valley Paper Mills)
No more than three years ago, Badgers Mount was basically a pitch with a
small club house. Cray Valley Paper
Mills rise up the leagues to Step 5 of the Non-League pyramid has seen the
ground transformed. Floodlights have
been installed and there is now a small temporary-style stand that can
accommodate 100 fans under cover. Hard
standing surrounds the rest of the pitch.
The jewel in the crown is the relatively new club house that has a
decent sized bar and Sky TV. Food is
served from the hatch by the player’s entrance and you can also order drinks
from the bar through the hatch.
How
to get to The DGS Marine Stadium
The ground is easy to find if you are coming by car. It is located just off the South Circular
A205 at the Yorkshire Grey roundabout.
From the M25, exit at Junction 3 and follow the A20 towards Lewisham and
London. Pass through the two sets of
traffic lights and then when you reach the roundabout with the South Circular
A205, go around it and head back down the A20.
Take the first left where the entrance to GOALS! Is into Eltham Palace
Road. Follow this to the roundabout at
the end, turn left and first left for the ground. There is a large car park inside the ground. If you are coming from the A2 (either north
or south), head onto the A205 South Circular s/p Catford. At the roundabout take the second exit into
Middle Park Avenue. The entrance to the
ground is on your right-hand side. Journey
time from Lewes for the 67-mile journey is an hour and fifteen minutes on a
good day.
The nearest train station is Mottingham, which is on the
Sidcup Line from London Charing Cross/Cannon Street/London Bridge and is in
Zone 4. You can catch the 160 bus to the
ground or walk – it is about 15 minutes away.
Exit the station (from London turn left, from Sidcup/Dartford cross
bridge then turn left) into Middle Park Avenue and follow this for about a
mile, going straight on at the roundabout.
The ground is at the end of this road on your left-hand side. Journey time from Lewes, including a change
at London Bridge (or tube to Charing X from London Victoria) is around 2 hours
and an Off-Peak Travel Card fare is around £26.70.
Admission at The DGS
Marine Stadium
Admission this season will be £10 for Adults, Concessions £5 and Under11s
free of charge.
Fancy a beer?
There’s not a pub within a 15 minute walk of the ground so your best bet is to stick to the decent ones in Eltham. There is a
decent pub across the road from Mottingham station, The Royal Tavern but the
best option is to head to Eltham and sample a number of decent pubs there
including the outstanding Park Tavern in Passy Place or the Old Post Office
opposite. You can walk down Eltham Hill
to the ground in around 15 minutes.