Written by Emma & Max!
Ground #44
Saturday 15th October 2022
Bristol Telephones 0-2 Cheddar FC
Western League Division 1 (Step 6)
Attendance: 26
Entry £6
Bristol Telephones were formed in 1948 as ‘Bristol Post Office Telephones’ and as you’d probably guess were a works team. They have played their football at their current ground since 1984 and have had a modest history playing mostly in the local Bristol and District Saturday leagues. In 2012/13 the club won promotion to the Gloucester County League and just 4 years later they won the league which earnt them promotion to their current step 6 division.
Today ‘The Phones’ were dialling up to face ‘The Cheesemen’ of Cheddar FC. Both teams went into the game level on points towards the bottom of the division so the heat was on. Would Cheddar melt under the pressure?
The game started evenly with the hosts getting the first real chance with a few early corners, but they were all dealt with maturely by the cheddar defence. Both teams were struggling for any real quality and that was meaning chances were put on hold. That was until the 25th minute when a good cross from a mobile Telephone’s winger was met by a good connection, but the header from the forward clattered into the post!
The visitors broke forward in the 37th minute and with their first real chance of the game went 1-0 up with a calm finish past the onrushing keeper.
Just before half time another Cheddar breakaway saw the first shot saved by the Telephones keeper, but the rebound was tucked home to see Cheddar go into the break with a 2 goal lead!
The second half was a pretty dull affair with the hosts never really troubling the Cheddar keeper who in truth had a very easy afternoon. The only big chance came from another Cheddar break, but the 3 on 3 counter was halted by the assistants flag!
In the end a good away performance from the men in yellow who will be over the moon (which is obviously made of cheese) with the 3 points. Unfortunately it wasn’t a good day for the Telephones who were left hung up.
Now to rate our day at the BTRA Ground:
Location 7/10
The BTRA Sports Ground is located in Stockwell which is a small village on the outskirts of Bristol with a population of just over 10,000. The ground is part of a large complex which includes 3 football, and one rugby pitch, one of which is home of local club Stockwell Wanderers FC.
We got the bus to the ground today from just outside the Temple Meads train station and after a short 20 minute journey we got off at the bus stop in Stockwell. From here it was just a 2 minute walk to The Concorde pub and about 5 minutes from the ground itself, you can’t complain.
Although the ground is not in the centre of Bristol it is very accessible by either public transport or car with ample parking around the town and inside the ground.
Kit: 3/10
The kit that “The Phones” play in is a very pale blue with matching shorts and socks. There isn’t really much to say about the kit as there is nothing that stands out on it, including the white sponsor and numbers which don’t stand out on the light coloured kit. We did however, like the fact the club crest was in the middle of the shirt which is something you don’t see very often.
Facilities: 5/10
The clubhouse at Bristol Telephones is a large, striking blue building which is shared between all the football and rugby clubs that use the facilities on the edge of the village. Due to this the bar is actually outside the ground itself and you have to leave the ground again through the turnstiles to get to the bar
Inside, the clubhouse has a traditional feel with photos and newspaper articles all over the walls showing the clubs history and achievements. The bar itself is a nice brick built structure with plenty of fridges behind fully stocked with all kinds of alcoholic delights…..but more on that later…
Look: 4/10
The Home of ‘ The Phones’ contains hard standing around all 4 sides, with one seated and one covered standing area. The older of the 2 is the stand which straddles the halfway line and contains the grounds only seating. As the ground is on a slight slope the view from this stand is good as you are slightly raised above the pitch, even when sat down.
The main attraction of the ground though, is the new terrace behind the far goal. With a shiny sign with the club name on, along with 5 rows of terracing, this is a fantastic stand for the level. Unfortunately though, as good as it looks, it doesn’t really serve its purpose as the view from almost all of the stand is obscured by the goal being directly in front of it! Although it wouldn’t look quite as symmetrical, it may have been better in hindsight to put the stand to one side of the goal. The poor view was made obvious by the fact that Max was the only person to go in the stand all afternoon as he took the photos for this blog. This is such a shame and a waste of a brilliant little stand.
Food and Drink: 4/10
Me and Max both arrived to the ground today STARVING, but first things first, we need a drink. Although there were no beers on tap, I was very impressed with the wide choice of cans they had on offer. All Thatcher’s flavours were available and so two Lemon Thatcher’s were our first choice, I did also opt for a Rose flavour later because who doesn’t like the taste of wine and cider all in one drink!
Food wise, there wasn’t a lot of choice, we spotted two slow cookers which intrigued us but found out these were for the teams after the match. GUTTED! With not a lot of choice we both went for a Cornish Pasty which warmed us up on this very windy October afternoon. It was nice enough although the filling was more of a mush rather than any actual noticeable meat being inside, and with some clubs in the Western League being from Cornwall itself, I worry for the club volunteers safety when these clubs come to town!!!
TOTAL SCORE: 23/50
We both enjoyed our weekend in Bristol and our first taste of West Country non league football! Although we both enjoyed our visit to the ground we were really disappointed in the attendance at today’s game. The crowd of just 26 is the lowest we have ever been apart of for a pyramid game and it was really sad to see. The ground and the club deserve more than that and we hope that this was just a one off rather than the norm.
If you would like to see where this places Bristol Telephones in our Non League Leaderboard click here: NON LEAGUE
If you’d like to see the football league grounds we have visited click here: The 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 