Emirates FA Cup 2021/22 Extra Preliminary Round

Larkhall Athletic FC v Lymington Town FC (Saturday 7th August 2021)

There aren't as many sloping pitches as there used to be. One of my rare 11-a-side appearances was on a fiercely sloping pitch at Sheffield Hallam Uni (Sheffield Poly back then) for a crack outfit from the Stats department. Daffern, Waite, Gascoigne, Johnson, Blogg, Kendall, Sime, LeVoi, French, Hillman and Simon's Mate are names that were destined for greatness until the match began. After taking an early lead we lost 2-1 and I was dropped (correct decision by the team manager, me). That's sloping pitches for you.

Oxford United, Barnet, several others but perhaps most famously Yeovil were furnished with The Sloping Pitch back in the day. Add to that list Larkhall Athletic FC and their home at Plain Ham on the outskirts of Bath. Programme notes advise that after the land being used as allotments during World War II, The Larks moved back to the ground in 1951. After another 24 years of sloping around, the ground was levelled in 1975 to accommodate senior football.

Many species of Lark thrive in dry habitats. The Larks of Larkhall Athletic (and indeed the Linnets of Lymington Town) were faced with a very wet habitat for this FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie. Several torrential downpours gave the Plain Ham drainage (improvement works in 2004 and 2011) something to cope with, but the pitch held up well to the task of hosting this entertaining match-up between two teams from Southern League Division One South.

Before kick-off I noticed possibly the smallest stand I've ever seen, The White Stand. Apparently, this is where The Guy With The Pole (it's not quite Vic Reeves' Man With The Stick) houses himself to rescue balls stuck up in the trees which surround two sides of the attractive ground. A very long scaffolding pole is often called up for action, but sadly I didn't get to witness any such rescue missions.

The first 45 minutes were hard-fought with each 'keeper called into action a couple of times. The Larks seemed to be gaining the upper hand with a flurry of corners and goalmouth action towards the end of the half, but it was 0-0 at the break.

An early second half free-kick and flick saw Harry McGrath open up the scoring for Lymington, prompting 15 minutes of The Larks laying siege to the Lymington goalmouth. Alex Lambert brought The Larks back on level terms with a decent header from a corner just before the hour mark. The crowd of 145 then enjoyed an end-to-end final half-hour before coming to terms with the seemingly inevitable replay. Harry McGrath had other ideas, stepping up to take advantage of some pinball in the box to net the winner for Lymington with just a couple of minutes remaining.

Full Time: Larkhall Athletic 1 Lymington Town 2

This was an enjoyable return to The FA Cup, a lovely (but wet) setting and a decent pint of Dorset Ale in the friendly atmosphere of the clubhouse. Thanks to Larkhall Athletic for hosting and best of luck to Lymington Town in the preliminary round at home to Portland United or Bournemouth FC. And, of course, best of luck to both teams in the league this season.