Keeping The Dream Alive

With no Clapton CFC men's game on Saturday, it was time for some pure groundhopping, something I hadn't done since April. During the week I'd scanned the fixtures for a game on a ground I'd yet to visit, within reasonable travelling distance (I was going to a pub for a catch-up with Jade on Friday night so didn't want an early start in the morning), Worthing v Dorking Wanderers in the FA Trophy looked like a promising game, on a ground not too far from the local station, on a direct train line from Portsmouth.

So I headed along the Sussex coast. There was a friendly lady on stewarding duty outside the ground, who was pleased to learn I was a visiting groundhopper - "it's really nice, and we're aiming to get into the league that Dorking are in so it should be a good game." The bar was spacious with plenty of comfortable seats, and Old Mout ciders on offer. The barmaids were a joyous bunch who didn't mind me taking pics of the bar with them behind it - "I'm a groundhopper, I like to chronicle my travels in photos". Some tasty pulled pork chips from the tea hut made a good lunch.

I sat in the stand, an elevated one overlooking the pitch from on high. A freezing wind blew for most of the match. Worthing had a lively group of fans who gathered behind the goal, putting up an impressive array of flags and banners, and sang for most of the game - several of their Sussex shanties bore more than a passing resemblance to some of the Cockney airs you hear at Clapton CFC games! The game was a decent spectacle. Dorking scored in each half and were good value for their 2-0 win. With the final whistle, I made my way down to pitchside, gave the teams a quick clap and made briskly for the relative warmth of Worthing station.

Yesterday was Clapton CFC women's second round WFA Cup tie at Hounslow. Getting off the train at Feltham station, I saw several other Tons fans coming off the same train. With Andy as our guide, we walked past a bingo hall and an industrial estate, then across a park and past Feltham Rugby Club (the mural on their building amused some of us, since one of our number pointed out it looked like a ref shooting a player). From there we went through woodland, then a local guy with a dog pointed us along a grass path that led to the ground.

We made for the clubhouse. I went for an Old Rosie. A couple of our guys passed the time talking about their escapades following their League teams (Leyton Orient and Swindon). The pictures on the bar's big screen of a snow-covered Turf Moor, accompanying news that Burnley v Tottenham had been postponed, caused amusement among several of our number.

The game! Before the match the general mood among Tons fans had been cautiously optimistic. Although Hounslow are in the third tier and we're in the seventh, Hounslow are having a dire season, having lost all their league games without yet scoring a goal, while our girls' tails were up after overcoming two fifth-tier and one sixth-tier team so far. Early on, Polly Adams made two super saves but after that the two sides looked pretty evenly matched. Emily Link had a shot saved for Clapton; after that neither side created goalscoring chances for the rest of the first half but there were some gripping battles across the park.

Hounslow went for the jugular for the first quarter hour of the second half but nothing was getting past Polly Adams as she pulled off a string of stunning saves. Clapton then began to get the upper hand with Marta Casanovas and Emily Link going forward but the Hounslow defence soaked up the pressure. Claudio brought on the Holmes sisters on the wings, and they led the home full-backs a merry dance for the rest of the game. In the closing minutes the home keeper narrowly beat Ana Holmes to a through ball, then Marta Boiro shot over the bar from a free kick.

Tension mounted through extra time. For us fans in the stand, biting cold set in. Clapton made a few shots on goal. At the other end Annie Lyons took a short pass from Polly and coolly skipped round Hounslow's danger woman. During the second period, a Hounslow player went down injured causing a long break in play. In the stand we fans upped the volume on the song 'Forza Clapton, allez allez allez' to the Yellow Submarine tune with our drummers beating along louder - and our players danced to our rhythm. Yes, it was freezing cold and they were dancing to keep warm, but that moment illustrated the special bond that there is between the players and fans at CCFC.

Emily Link and Kiki Marino had shots saved by the goalie, and then the whistle went. Penalties.

What seemed like ages went by, with the teams gathering for conflabs with their coaches, before finally the referee called the two captains together and the players gathered in team groups by the halfway line.

Marta Boiro scored. Polly saved Hounslow's first. 1-0 Clapton.

Kiki's strike was saved. Hounslow scored. 1-1. My heart sank.

The keeper got a hand to Emily's kick but it sailed on into the net. Polly saved Hounslow's third. 2-1 Clapton and we would all have been on the edge of our seats if we'd been sitting instead of standing.

Annie Lyons rocketed her kick into the roof of the net. Hounslow's fourth kicker had to score to keep her team in the match. She blazed over the bar.

As the Clapton players charged forward in celebration, every single Tons ran went on the pitch. We all gathered around the players singing "We are the Clapton". Lucy Spours hugged me. "Wemberley, Wemberley" rang out. Eventually the players and fans separated into groups facing each other for the Yankee Doodle call and response. Slowly, reluctantly, we made our way off the pitch, with one fan leading a chant of "Haringey...SHUT DOWN! Biggleswade...SHUT DOWN! Bedford...SHUT DOWN! Hounslow...SHUT DOWN!"

I followed a group of fans out of the ground and along the road. I asked if they were heading to the train station, they said they were but they were going to get a taxi. They were most apologetic that they already had a full cab load. It wasn't long before I found a bus stop with buses going to Feltham station. About twenty other Tons fans got on the same bus and they chanted at the tops of their voices all the way to the station.

On the platform and on the train some of us talked about who we fancied in the next round, when the second division teams come in - including Charlton, Crystal Palace and Liverpool. The thought of Liverpool away was a popular one, with several saying they'd turn that into a weekender. Others wanted us to face one of the fifth tier sides left in, dreaming of yet another giant killing. One of our fans, on hearing I was 'the fan who travels from Portsmouth', said he admired my dedication while another asked how I became a Tons fan. I explained about my Forest Gate link from student days and how I'd seen the old Clapton at the Old Spotted Dog back then in 1991, and how I'd been attracted by the new club's political ethos - "left up my street". Then we arrived at Clapham Junction, and it was time for my goodbyes and the long solo trek home.

Start of a week's holiday from work today. To Doncaster for tomorrow's Lionesses game v Latvia. On the train going north from King's Cross I saw the live announcement on Twitter of the WFA Cup third round draw. It's Plymouth away, another third-division team so our toughest test yet. Another two nights in a hotel, another new ground tick.

At Doncaster station, taxis come one at a time, one every few minutes, so I had to stand in a queue for a while. Compared to both days of the weekend, though, the weather was pretty mild. In the hotel room, having unpacked I switched on the telly. Stalag 17 was on Film4. After the film, wandered down to the Beefeater attached to their hotel for a couple of tasty Christmas cocktails and an excellent turkey with all the trimmings.