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Sunday 12th August 2012 ko 3.00pm

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

COBHAM 1 (McLaren 28)

SOUTH PARK 1 (Burgess 12)

Att 133 (h/c)

Entry £5

Programme £1

This one was a complete bonus, although I’d have taken some convincing when becalmed on the M25. I never did find out how the “Leg O’ Mutton” field got its name, but its been on my to-do list for years. Why so long? Probably that doing it was too straightforward! I remember seeing them as the visitors at AFC Wallingford in 2003, they lost 5-1 but I did find out their most famous player was cricketer Bob Willis!

I reached the ground after a trip through millionaire’s row, realising why Chelsea FC have their training ground around here. Apart from the affluent, the area is the home to the site of the Brooklands motor racing circuit, and more locally the Cobham Mill, which dates from 1822, but is the site of milling from medieval times.

A warning for those visiting Cobham, the parking isn’t great. Ok I got there at 2.45, but set as it is within a larger park, once the little car park is full, you do have to park along the access road, and that’s a bit tight. The ground has a prefabricated stand to provide the requisite seats, but the interest is behind each goal. The scaffolding and carpet “cover” is funny, but the little wooden cover at other end is a cracker.

The reason for the unusual day was Cobham using their heads. With tenants Mole Valley SCR also having a home game, they let them have the Saturday, and opted to delay their game 24 hours, hoping they’d get the hoppers, which they did, and a lot of them!!

Sadly, we all watched a rather dull game, where Cobham made everyone forget they are a division below their Reigate based visitors. Even when South Park took the lead, through Dale Burgess, the result didn’t look assured, and so it came to pass, Conner McLaren squaring things soon afterwards. From then on in it was a case of watching a drifting game, and catching up with several hoppers in the warm sun.

A thought to finish with. Cup games where both sides are from the same league aren’t quite the same are they?