Another Saturday had rolled around and it was time to decide the next venue for us to ground hop, Its always a tough choice to pick a game but today was an easy one!
I'd already decided where I was going a few weeks back as the battle at the top of the Isthmian League South East Division (step 4) between Ramsgate FC and Cray Valley Paper Mill has been nip and tuck between the two standout sides in the League all season and with them both sitting on 85 points and only separated by one on goal difference this was going to be the ultimate 6 pointer with only 3 and 4 games left to play respectively till the end of the season!
On the way down from London on the train I read up on the two sides but having already seen Cray Valley PM play live twice this season already in the FA Cup against Carlshalton Athletic and on the TV against Charlton Athletic I knew they were a very good well organised side, I'd also been to see Ramsgate play at AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup but was hard to gauge how good they were against the Dons who were ruthless on the night winning 5-0.
The previous meeting of the clubs at Cray earlier in the season produced a 1-1 draw showing how evenly matched the teams are but Cray Valleys 100% away record of winning 16 out 16 on the road! showed that this was not going to be an easy game for the Rams who have only lost once at home all season!
After paying £10 to get in which includes a free programme from the friendly turnstile operator I then bought a book of tickets for the half time raffle as you do, and then went to find the bar for a pint!
There are two bars inside the ground and they are both situated on a raised area which gives you a great vantage point of the pitch with one of the bar indoors and the other outside with a serving hatch and next to that you can find the snack bar which had a great selection of food to pick from.
The atmosphere was building nicely now with the ground filling up, one thing that struck me was the amount of youngsters in attendance which was great to see!
Their was a good following of fans from Cray Valley as well and the outdoor bar area was buzzing with the beers flowing as we approached kick off with fans from both teams tying their flags on the barriers and the drum from the Ramsgate end getting the singing going on the terraced stand behind the goal.
The stadium has a capacity of 3500 with covered terracing at both ends and a long seated stand down one side behind the dugouts, one nice little touch that shows the club go above and beyond for the kids that come along was two circular football cages at one end of the ground where the youngsters could have a kickabout!
Onto the match, it was a very tight game as was to be expected with so much at stake with nothing between them and chances were few and far between, you can watch the highlights below in what turned out to be an enthralling game of football!
Summary
What a great day out on the South coast! in the end it was probably a fair result but until the last 10 minutes Ramsgate just didn't look like scoring against the well drilled defensive unit of Cray Valley, but hats off to the Rams who never gave up were urged on by the brilliant crowd of 2,563!
Its a shame that their is only one automatic promotion spot as both teams deserve to go up but I have no doubt the runners up will go up via the playoffs.
Cray Valley are in the driving seat with a game in hand and although today probably felt like a loss being 2 up so late, a draw was actually a very good result in the scheme of things.
As for Ramsgate, I've got to say what a fantastic club and set up they have with a really nice family vibe and if I lived in the area I would be going back to watch them every week!
Best wishes to both sides for the rest of the season!
How comes you paid £2 for a programme? They were given away free at the turnstile.