Match Information
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Rose & Thistle 2-2 Caversham United
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When: Sunday 24th March 2024
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Kick-off: 10.30am
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Where: Pitch 1, Mapledurham Playing Fields, Upper Woodcote Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire RG4 7EZ
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Competition: Reading & District Sunday League Division Two
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Attendance: 123
Sunday League Day (SLD) is an exciting initiative unveiled this season to boost grassroots football. It is driven by Reading area outfit Caversham United FC piggybacking on to the weekend of Non-League Day.
Hopefully it will lead to enhanced appreciation for Sunday League circles bringing increased sponsorship and advertising to clubs.
Significantly, Caversham United are prolific on social media currently possessing 19,600 Twitter followers. They signed up 44 year old former Premier League striker Dave Kitson to play for them on SLD.
He made his name locally of course at Reading FC and it would be his first competitive appearance for 10 years.
Personally, I could have picked a Sunday League game anywhere in the country for my match of choice but I decided on Caversham United so that I could completely immerse myself in the full SLD experience.
The fixture was against groundsharing rivals Rose & Thistle who were technically the home team on the day and enthusiastically tweeted beforehand: “The Rose are up for the challenge and are ready for this fight in this one of a kind Mapledurham Derby #uptherose.”
Therefore I set off on my 150 mile round trip via the M25 – negotiating a major closure at Watford – and the M4. Caversham itself is a village housing 24,000 residents situated two miles north-west of Reading town centre.
Ground Description
Two pitches side by side in the 25 acre public recreation ground. Recently refurbished pavilion amenities contain a community hall, a kitchen, two meeting rooms, toilets and sports changing facilities.
My five year old daughter would have loved the children’s outdoor playground area but it was rather chilly for her to tag along.
Programme Details
A magnificent 16 page glossy production printed on top quality paper. On sale for £2 at the busy coffee van behind one goal.
The Match
With the Caversham United reserve team playing simultaneously on the second pitch, there was a real buzz engulfing Mapledurham.
As kick-off approached and spectators filed in, someone enthusiastically exclaimed: “Look at all the hordes arriving!”
Man of the moment Dave Kitson put mid-table Caversham United one-up scrambling in from close range on 17 minutes.
His side deployed a long throw-in tactic for much of the contest and I heard Kitson chuckle: “This reminds me of when I played for Stoke alongside Rory Delap!”
Nevertheless despite previously picking up only one point all campaign, bottom placed Rose & Thistle mostly survived incessant aerial bombardments aimed at Kitson’s head.
Indeed, the matchday underdogs valiantly broke away to score twice courtesy of James Scobie (52 minutes) and Stefano Ascione (74 mins). Their second strike prompted a good-natured pitch invasion by Rose & Thistle coaching staff and substitutes.
Everyone quickly returned to the touchline whilst loudly singing: “2-1 on your big day out!” However two minutes into injury time at the very end, Kitson rose to dramatically nod Caversham’s equaliser.
Incidentally, our headcount attendance at this game was 123 but - including those observing the adjacent match - nearly 200 people were present throughout.
The People
I spoke to Paul Gutteridge, chairman of Caversham United and organiser of SLD, who told me afterwards: “Caversham United certainly grabbed SLD by the horns reflecting my club’s aim of championing grassroots football.
“And what a success it was! Circa 200 people in a public park to watch Sunday League football on a Sunday morning. Dave Kitson’s debut clearly helped the crowd figure.
“As for launching SLD overall, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We had a relatively short lead in period to this year’s event having introduced the plan in late 2023.
“Yet the reaction from teams, leagues and volunteers was strong. It definitely made a ripple among local media around the UK and on social media too. The #SundayLeagueDay hashtag being well used.
“Some clubs embraced fundraising for Prostate Cancer UK (similar to our big brothers Non-League Day). And the response wasn’t just Berkshire-based.
“Both the Derbyshire and Suffolk County Football Associations were keen on promoting and even a team in the USA (Peachtree FC, Atlanta) got on board.
“I believe the sky is the limit for SLD. The inaugural edition did exactly what I hoped - it gave proof of concept and confirmed promising legs for future iterations. Adult grassroots football will decline over the next decade if something isn’t done. Now is the time.
“By the 2025 occurrence, we want to assemble a band of volunteers to help run SLD. This will incorporate a form of website or way to point potential supporters towards games in more co-ordinated fashion.
“Another idea we would like to pursue is attracting a sponsor and holding a “’Goal of the Day’ competition online. So the best goal scored on SLD wins a prize as voted by the public.
“If anyone reading is interested in getting involved in SLD going forward, please find us at @SundayLeagueDay across social media.”
My current total of football grounds visited: 2,562
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
