Havant and Waterlooville

Havant & Waterlooville v Preston North End
FA Cup 1^st Round
Monday 10^th November 2014, 7.45pm
Paul Willott (Preston North End fan)

A visit to any non-league ground can be viewed as either a banana-skin in waiting or a chance to savour a new ground and an atmosphere to go with it for fans of established league clubs.

For me, it was very much the latter. This was, heightened by the fact that the match had been selected for an evening kick-off under the floodlights. Plus the fact that it was going to be televised  only whetted my appetite further. Perhaps my sense of duty also preyed upon me ; it wasn’t lost on me that a Monday night on the south coast would be beyond the reach of practicalities for many supporters in Lancashire, and living in Kent I could have no excuse.

My only difficulty came in trying to source a ticket ; unusually I found that the ticket office at Deepdale less than helpful but when I chanced my arm and contacted our hosts for the evening they bent over backwards to make sure a ticket was put behind the bar for me to collect upon arrival.

The next challenge was getting there.  Having paid a brief visit to my place of work in Croydon enroute I was settling down into my journey when I heard about major disruption on the M25 which caused me to ponder that using my original intended route would be a non-starter.  I mused that I may be best placed to stay headed south on the M23 till the outskirts of Brighton and then head across the south coast on the A27. This proved to be satisfactory and I was soon scouring a decent bit of on street parking near the Westleigh Park ground.

Main Stand

I was directed by some friendly stewards to the club bar which was a very impressive affair where I was given my ticket in exchange for the appropriate cash and I enjoyed some refreshments before wrapping up ready for the match.

Westleigh Park is quite a tidy ground ; from the away terrace behind one of the goals the dominant Main Stand looks quite impressive to the left, and the ground would not look out of place at all in the Conference. Worthy of note also were the excellent and friendly stewards both on the turnstiles and in the stadium who continued to make us feel extremely welcome.  If there were plans to develop the ground further though I suspect they may have some headaches to achieve much as the ground seemed quite hemmed in with local housing

Home Terrace

I enjoyed the build up to the match , watching the little ground slowly fill up as the locals came to see their club enjoy their moment in the spotlight and maybe create a bit of history.

Nearing kick off the ground seemed ready to burst at the seams. Sadly for home team, Preston soon started to impose their dominance upon proceedings and a goal on 7 minutes was followed by another before the half hour mark.  Thus the atmosphere for the home supporters fell a little flat from then on as it seemed pretty clear who was bossing the game with the league one club effectively just slowing things down a little and controlling the pace of play.

The only thing which marred the evening for me was the sending-off of 2 of Havant’s players in the second half ; it could give the impression that the home side had resorted to dirty tactics which they most certainly did not.  Although I’m aware that refs are there to apply the rules, I felt that this was an evening where the spirit of the competition could have allowed discretion to play a greater part.

Away Terrace

A third goal from the penalty spot for our hat-trick hero of the night Callum Robinson wrapped up the scoring, and the tie, but Havant & Waterlooville gave a good account of themselves and I wish them well in their quest to gain promotion to the conference, and we enjoyed the Military Band that performed during the interval !

I drove home reflecting happily on a potential banana skin having been safely negotiated at a very friendly well run non-league club.

Havant & Waterlooville v Boreham Wood
National League
Tuesday 7th August 2018, 7.45pm
Tony Smith (Doing the 134 + 24)

Havant & Waterlooville v Braintree
National League
Saturday 8th December 2018, 3pm
Steve (Braintree)

Havant and Waterlooville v Eastbourne Borough
National League South
Monday 26th August 2019, 3pm
Andrew Wood (Neutral)

Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting Westleigh Park?

Westleigh Park is quite close to Worthing, where I live, so I try to visit at least once a season.

How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?

Very easy. Train from Worthing to Havant and an easy walk from the station to ground.

What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?

For anyone visiting for the first time, then If you leave Havant station via the main exit, this takes you into Havant town centre, which. although small, has a couple of decent pubs and cafes. However, a much better bet is doing what I do and heading straight to the ground. While there is nothing to see on the walk to Westleigh Park, and no shops, directly opposite the ground is 'The Heron' public house. This is a 'Greene King' pub and serves a decent variety of drinks, and excellent (and reasonably priced food). Moreover, it is a large pub, with a massive beer garden so you shouldn't struggle to get served or find somewhere to sit. Failing that, adjacent to the ground itself is 'The Westleigh' pub. This is large, when compared to most non-league clubs clubhouses, and serves a good range of beers (including Theakstons ale, which is unusual for a Southern club) but understandably tends to get very busy on matchdays. So the aforementioned 'Heron' pub is your best bet for a pre-match tipple in my opinion. Havant fans (a large amount of whom tend to come here when Portsmouth are playing away judging by the Pompey shirts frequently on display) are a friendly bunch, and the Eastbourne fans present mingled with no problem.

What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of Westleigh Park?

Westleigh Park is a neat little ground, without looking spectacularly interesting. Behind each goal is a partially covered terrace. There is no segregation in force, so away fans can go where they please. Alongside one side of the pitch is another part covered terrace, similar to the ones behind the goals, in so far as the roof only reaches so far above the terrace, meaning if you're right at the front/pitchside, you're going to get wet if it rains! Alongside the other side of the pitch is a stand which can seat approximately 500 fans. This stand tends to fill up fairly quickly, so I don't tend to bother attempting to sit here. As well as this stand, there is further terracing, both covered and uncovered on this side of the ground.

Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..

It was a boiling hot day, so sadly, the game never really got going and finished 0-0. Havant were by far the better team and missed a penalty in first half stoppage time when their penalty taker blasted it way over the bar. Havant huffed and puffed in the second half, and but for a late spell of half-hearted pressure, never looked like scoring. Eastbourne bought a few fans, but they seemed to be dotted all over the ground rather than together, so the atmosphere was non-existent. It was too hot to do anything other than watch really! Stewards were about but kept a low profile, and the loos, situated behind one of the goals are neat and tidy, and fairly good for this level. Foodwise, Havant are as good as any I've visited in the National League South. Whereas most clubs only provide one food outlet, Havant have 3, each situated in a corner of the ground. 2 are identical, selling the usual burgers (at a scandalous £4.50), hot dogs (£4), but also bacon rolls, and a selection of things you can have with chips. These are more reasonably priced. Chips and cheese/chilli con carne or curry sauce will only set you back £3. Each outlet also sells hot and cold drinks. The third outlet is a small hut that sells pies and pasties at £3.50 a time. I saw no-one at all eating a pie, but plenty having a burger. Why? This smaller outlet also sells hot and cold drinks and helps reduce the often sizeable queue at the other outlets.

Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

A simple walk back to the train station, while trying unsuccessfully to find some shade.

Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

I went to 2 matches (Mansfield v Stevenage being the other) over the bank holiday weekend and both finished 0-0, in boiling hot conditions, which makes me realise I never want summer football. Westleigh Park is a nice place to visit, but £16 admission is quite a lot to pay at this level, although I gather some clubs charge even more! Not sure if anyone from Havant will read this, but one thing that has needed improving for years, is the match programme. While it may seem decent value at £2 for 48 pages, a whopping 29 of these are adverts. The back page team line up is simply a collection of names, so I had to get a team sheet from the club shop for which I was charged 20p so I'd have a vague idea as to who was who. Maybe Havant could increase the price of their programme to £2.20 and include a team sheet, thereby freeing the back page for another advertisement. All in all then, a poor day out, mainly due to the conditions, but don't let this report put you off, as Westleigh Park is definitely worth visiting. Don't bother buying a programme though!