In our first weekend double of the season our second port of call was King George’s Arena to visit the home of the famous Corinthian-Casuals for the finals day of The Geoff Harvey Memorial Trophy.
It was my second visit to the ground having attended the same event last pre-season as Kingstonian proved the victors, easing past Merstham in the final with a 3-0 victory after Hampton & Richmond Borough had comfortably beaten the hosts to 3rd place earlier in the day.
Just like last year, the sun from the previous day had completely disappeared and it was a miserable, overcast looking day which greeted us as we rose on Sunday morning. With an 11am kick off, it was another early start. Our route was the 8.50am train from Havant to Wimbledon where we changed for a train down to Tolworth. The journey price was £18.10, but a neat little trick enabled me to save £3.00 – two separate tickets from Havant to West Sutton (where you’re recommended to change at Wimbledon) and then Wimbledon to Tolworth.
In the Tennis world, it was Wimbledon Finals day and that worked to our advantage as the train from Havant wouldn’t usually call at Wimbledon. This luck break shaved half an hour off of our potential journey time but sadly we wouldn’t be so lucky on the way home.
There’s not a lot to be said for Tolworth – at least what we saw of it. It was merely a straight half mile walk alongside the Kingston By-Pass and then a left turn to find the ground with nothing quite like the previous day’s scenery at Salisbury on offer.
We arrived at the ground with 10 minutes to kick off and managed to do a quick circuit of the ground before the rain started to trickle down. Corinthian-Casuals from the Ryman League South had occupied the ground since 1988 a move made possible by Geoff Harvey himself following the financial woes of the previous occupants Tolworth FC. It’s quite a modest affair with small main stand running down almost two thirds of one side of the pitch. A small covered terrace half the width of the pitch is situated behind one goal, with another small terrace which stretches the full width. Opposite the main stand are the two dugouts with hard standing for spectators alongside.
Behind the main stand is the bar with its walls adorned with trophies and memorabilia from their unique history which includes numerous tours of Sao Paulo to visit their namesakes in Brazil, Corinthians Paulista and a signed Manchester United shirt which marked the centenary of the club (then known as Corinthians) inflicting the heaviest ever defeat on the Red Devils with an 11-3 scoreline which remains a record to this date.
As had been the case last year, the 3rd placed play-off game featured the hosts, this time against Metropolitan Police. Unlike last year though, Casuals lined up in their famous pink and brown colours which I was personally very pleased to see. Two strong line ups were fielded with the Casuals debutant No. 7 named as Diego Maradona – surely a joke I thought to myself as I scanned the teamsheet.
Liam and I settled in the longer of the two covered terraces behind the goal as the game kicked off in the drizzle. The game was far from a classic and probably won’t live long in the memory. Both teams were very committed but weren’t creating too many clear cut chances going forward. Maradona looked dangerous often finding space down the right wing to deliver a few inviting crosses during the first half as well as some Ronaldo-esque stepovers. Indeed, it was Maradona, who of course hailed from…Brazil ironically enough, who broke the deadlock shortly after the hour slotting home the only goal of the game.
Aside from the goal, the highlight of the game was the Casuals fans who really got behind their team spurring them on to victory. Liam was a big fan of the chant they broke out into every time a train shuttled past towards Chessington South or Waterloo.
There was still the matter of the final to play for between Tooting & Mitcham United and Hampton & Richmond Borough. However, Liam and I decided between us to skip it and venture home. It was cold, it was wet and the 2 hours and 15 minutes before the next game was just a little too long to hang around for. The trains were a bit more of a hassle going home as we had to change in Wimbledon and Woking so this added additional time to our travel. All things considered, it seemed like a sensible move. In hindsight, we missed a bit of a goal fest and a penalty shoot out with Tooting running out 4-3 winners with the game finishing 3-3 after 90 minutes.
Despite our skipping of the Final, take nothing away from Corinthian-Casuals. It had been another successful, well organised tournament on their part and another enjoyable visit for me to their club. I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up again next season to support the tournament.
Matchday Experience:
Welcome – Friendly and jovial welcome at the entrance but with the weather being so grim we didn’t do much wandering around to meet anyone else. 7/10
Ground – Adequate for their level of football but quite basic. 6/10
Photo Opps – Some nice signage and some great memorabilia in the clubhouse. 6.5/10
Programme – A very good programme with plenty to read on the tournament history, the four competing teams and much more. 8/10
Club Shop – Didn’t see one on our brief circuit of the ground. N/A
Food/Drink – Reasonably priced and the bacon burger was just what I needed after a second consecutive early morning. Liam’s chips were decent too, just how I like them. No soft drinks available from the kiosk which meant I went without as the second half was starting as we were being served. 7.5/10
Toilets – A bit dated but adequately sized for the average crowds they get in the Ryman League. 6/10
Location – Pretty easy to get to from the station. The area itself didn’t seem to offer too much of interest but we didn’t really explore very far. 7/10
Value – Although we only watched one game, our £8.00 entry covered two representing excellent value for money. For anyone watching both days, they could see 4 games for £12.00. You can’t get much better than that. 8.5/10
Fans – Corinthian-Casuals fans were great. A small number, many the same faces I had met last year, congregated behind the goal they were attacking in each half and made themselves heard. Great camaraderie and great songs. Hope they have plenty to cheer about this coming season. 8/10
64.5/90 – 71.66%
About our Journey
(season total in brackets)
Distance Travelled: 56.2 miles (169.1 miles)
Journey Time: 4 hours 3 minutes (11 hours 50 minutes)
Distance Walk (station to ground): 1.2 miles (8.2 miles)
Train Delays: None (11 mins)
Hopper & Son 