Chessington & Hook United FC come from the south west of Greater London with the club being formed in 1953, having evolved from the original Chessington FC who were formed in 1921.
'The Blues' played locally before becoming members of the Combined Counties League in 1997. The club has many teams of different age groups and are proud to sponsor other sports teams in the local area.
All players at the club are required to pay subs and the club is run purely on a voluntary basis.
In season 2014-15 Chessington and Hook United FC will compete in the Combined Counties League Premier Division.
Chessington & Hook United 1 Badshot Lea 1 (Tuesday 7th May 2013) Combined Counties League Premier Division (att: approx 30)
The season was coming to a close and I was on early shifts at work. Being keen to see a game at grounds where I'd already visited wherever possible, the fixture at Chalky Lane looked a good option.
A train took me to Chessington South station, with the walk to the ground taking another ten minutes or so. I paid what I thought was a rather steep £7 admission to the youth on the gate, who told me that the programmes had sold out.
A cup of steaming hot tea for £1 quenched my thirst as the teams came out. The long haired enthusiastic C&HU trainer had his reluctant charges doing a few warm up exercises. The pitch was hard and rutted with several bare patches near to the dug outs. Shouts of come on Baggy from the visitors bench looked to inspire their team.
The support seemed to inspire Badshot Lea as they started by far the brighter side and with a bit of fortune would have taken the lead. However, the fifty fifty challenges were being won by the physically stronger home side and they knew it. Their big number five, who I think was Victor Martin ran the show from a deep midfield come defensive role as he used the ball sensibly and found himself in acres of space.
The floodlights came on after twenty five minutes as the smell of the country wafted over the stand and I listened to Wigan Athletic's vital Premier League clash with Swansea City. After half an hour C&HU had an effort cleared off the line, but they were not to be denied a couple of minutes later when a low shot hit the foot of the post before Daniel Harding tapped the ball into the empty net.
Theo Woodhouse could have stretched the lead when through on the stroke of half time, but he somehow managed to hit the same post as earlier with his effort. I retired to the tea bar for another cuppa and an excellent cheese burger for £3. It was advertised that the burgers and hot dogs were sourced from a local supplier, and I thought that this was evident in the quality.
The scores were levelled five minutes into the second period after the referee pointed to the penalty spot following an innocuous trip on a Baggy forward. Josh Pearson slotted home the spot kick and celebrated by mimicking the pros by whipping off his shirt and running to his bench in mock fashion. I'm not sure that the referee saw the funny side of it.
Apart from a scramble in the Baggy box soon afterwards, the game went downhill and became very poor end of season fare. The players looked tired and the pitch didn't always help them. I left with five minutes remaining to ensure I caught the hourly train back to the city.
It hadn't been the greatest game ever, but I was still glad to tick off another venue.
'The Blues' played locally before becoming members of the Combined Counties League in 1997. The club has many teams of different age groups and are proud to sponsor other sports teams in the local area.
All players at the club are required to pay subs and the club is run purely on a voluntary basis.
In season 2014-15 Chessington and Hook United FC will compete in the Combined Counties League Premier Division.
My visits
Friday 3rd November 2006
Friday 3rd November 2006
I was taking a trek around some of the areas non league grounds when the opportunity arose to take a bus from Leatherhead to Chalky Lane where the club play. In fact the bus pulled into the Chessington World of Adventure, which was nearby.
The lane down to the ground gave no real clues as it turned into a track before the entrance to the car park came into view. The gate into the ground was ajar and once inside I was greeted by a very friendly man who doubled up as groundsman and a senior club official. He was aided by a youngster. They were very proud of their club and the ground and were delighted that someone was taking interest in seeking them out.
In fairness, the Chalky Lane ground was nothing spectacular, but it was well cared for. The clubhouse, offices and changing rooms were in a corner at the Chalky Lane End, which also had a small wooden cover for standing spectators behind the goal. On the half way line down the right hand side stood a small stand complete with blue tip up seats, which the pitch sloped towards. The dug outs were the only constructions opposite. Practice pitches were behind the far goal. The rest of the arena consisted of flat grass and pathways.
I bade farewell to my new found friends and went back to the theme park to await my bus to my next port of call, Corinthian Casuals.
Chessington & Hook United 1 Badshot Lea 1 (Tuesday 7th May 2013) Combined Counties League Premier Division (att: approx 30)
The season was coming to a close and I was on early shifts at work. Being keen to see a game at grounds where I'd already visited wherever possible, the fixture at Chalky Lane looked a good option.
A train took me to Chessington South station, with the walk to the ground taking another ten minutes or so. I paid what I thought was a rather steep £7 admission to the youth on the gate, who told me that the programmes had sold out.
A cup of steaming hot tea for £1 quenched my thirst as the teams came out. The long haired enthusiastic C&HU trainer had his reluctant charges doing a few warm up exercises. The pitch was hard and rutted with several bare patches near to the dug outs. Shouts of come on Baggy from the visitors bench looked to inspire their team.
The support seemed to inspire Badshot Lea as they started by far the brighter side and with a bit of fortune would have taken the lead. However, the fifty fifty challenges were being won by the physically stronger home side and they knew it. Their big number five, who I think was Victor Martin ran the show from a deep midfield come defensive role as he used the ball sensibly and found himself in acres of space.
The floodlights came on after twenty five minutes as the smell of the country wafted over the stand and I listened to Wigan Athletic's vital Premier League clash with Swansea City. After half an hour C&HU had an effort cleared off the line, but they were not to be denied a couple of minutes later when a low shot hit the foot of the post before Daniel Harding tapped the ball into the empty net.
Theo Woodhouse could have stretched the lead when through on the stroke of half time, but he somehow managed to hit the same post as earlier with his effort. I retired to the tea bar for another cuppa and an excellent cheese burger for £3. It was advertised that the burgers and hot dogs were sourced from a local supplier, and I thought that this was evident in the quality.
The scores were levelled five minutes into the second period after the referee pointed to the penalty spot following an innocuous trip on a Baggy forward. Josh Pearson slotted home the spot kick and celebrated by mimicking the pros by whipping off his shirt and running to his bench in mock fashion. I'm not sure that the referee saw the funny side of it.
Apart from a scramble in the Baggy box soon afterwards, the game went downhill and became very poor end of season fare. The players looked tired and the pitch didn't always help them. I left with five minutes remaining to ensure I caught the hourly train back to the city.
It hadn't been the greatest game ever, but I was still glad to tick off another venue.
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