Ebbsfleet Utd v Maidstone Utd

Stonebridge Road

National League South

October 3, 2015

Ground No 175

 

 

DOES someone have a gigantic specimen jar full of industrial strength pickling liquid, big enough to fit a football ground in?

You do? Then get in down to north Kent, pop Stonebridge Road in it and preserve it for all eternity - because this is exactly what a football ground should look and feel like.

There was a time when a matchday experience was like this at traditional grounds over the country and more is the pity that football venues such as Stonebridge Road are becoming increasingly few and far between.

I'm not going to rant on about soulless modern concrete bowls or propose a blanket ban on progress but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Wide open terraces - to which you can even take your fresh from the barrel pint of Palaeolithic ale - a proud old wooden stand, and the feeling that if this ground was a person it would be your elderly, yet wise, Uncle Alf who could regale you all day with stories and anecdotes from through the decades.

There are bold plans to modernise Stonebridge Road and the new-look stadium will be a striking structure by the look of it. But to the discerning visitor of football grounds it's like knocking down the Houses of Parliament to build The Shard.

After  parking at Ebbsfleet station, the stadium is a short walk away, situated just across the road from a café proudly trumpeting its speciality, the full Engllish breakfast. I'm sure it's llovelly.

With a big crowd taking advantage of the unseasonally warm weather as table-topping Fleet entertained their Kent rivals, the sizeable social club just the other side of the turnstiles was doing a roaring trade. The Wadsworth Old Rucker had sold out about half an hour before kick-off but fortunately there were a couple of barrels from the nearby Caveman Brewery and accompanying bar staff to ensure we didn't go thirsty.

And if you need to, you know, relieve yourself of said liquid intake during the match, you needn't miss any of the action - the eye level slits in the loo walls mean you can watch the action while you wee. Genius. I was going to take a photo must there's something intrinsically wrong about whipping out your camera and taking pictures in a crowed toilet.

The ground itself reminded me of Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road ground before areas of it were redeveloped.

There's a grand old all-seat stand on one side, an open terrace to the right - home to large and vocal visiting fans today - and a covered area to the left, this one a seated enclosure since 2006 but previously terraced, and opposite is a big, covered terrace.

Maidstone ended Fleet's unbeaten league record for the season so the home fans went home very much deflated. To be fair, the game wasn't a classic. But I went home buzzing in the knowledge that not only do grounds like this still exist, but that I'd just seen a game at one. I hope it's still like this next time I visit.