The funding will help those eight schemes to either breathe new life into tired facilities, make them more efficient and sustainable, or improve existing and unused sites so that they offer better sporting experiences for people.

This new funding will go towards refurbishing Dorking Football Ground in Meadowbank which will provide a new full size floodlit 3G AGP, changing facilities, spectators stand and terracing, clubhouse, public toilets and parking to the football ground.

Sport England has been raising funds since 1994 and has invested over 5 billion pounds in grassroots sports over the past twenty years. Sport England is focused on helping people and communities across the country to create a sporting habit for life and will invest over £1 billion of National Lottery and Exchequer funding between 2012 and 2017 in organisations and projects that will:

• Help more people have a sporting habit for life
• Create more opportunities for young people to play sport
• Nurture and develop talent
• Provide the right facilities in the right places
• Support local authorities and unlock local funding
• Ensure real opportunities for communities

Sport England’s Property Director, Charles Johnston, said: “£5 billion is a huge sum of money, but it’s the projects and people that money supports which are really important. We’re delighted to have invested so much into community sport, and see on a daily basis the impact that it makes for local people.

“The latest round of facility funding continues to make a noticeable difference to community sports clubs across the country. By giving people top-class, sustainable facilities in which to play sport, and by improving and protecting our playing surfaces, we’re ensuring that more people can pay sport, more often.”

149 projects across England have been awarded new funding today, totalling £16.5 million of National Lottery money and a complete list of the funded projects is available here: https://sportengland.sharefile.com/d-s68ba6f27b3a4876b

The post Dorking football ground to be refurbished appeared first on Guildford.

Onslow FC, who play and train at the University of Surrey owned Sports Park, have provided youth football to the community surrounding the university since it was founded in 1986.

With age groups ranging from under 7s to under 18s, the new deal sees the Sports Park provide branded playing kit for a number of teams as well as continuing to host matches and training sessions.

Onslow FC Chairman, Chris Woodhatch, said: “This is brilliant news for the club as having the Surrey Sports Park logo on our shirts means that Onslow FC can continue to offer local children the opportunity to train and play on some of the best pitches in the region.

“The majority of our players live and go to school within a stone’s throw of Surrey Sports Park, so it is great that our neighbours are helping us to keep football alive in the local community.”

Surrey Sports Park Head of Marketing and Communications, Matt Burton, said: “We’re delighted to be sponsoring Onslow FC for the 2014/15 season.

“The club have been based out of University of Surrey sports facilities for over 25 years, and we’re pleased to be able to continue to support grassroots sport and the development of these young boys and girls.”

The post Onslow FC agree new Surrey Sports Park sponsorship appeared first on Guildford.

In truth the first half was a fairly bland affair with both sides probing without causing too many difficulties for the respective defences. Wintney’s Ross Cook did have the ball in the back of the net on 14 minutes, but on that occasion and numerous others in the first half, the visitor’s front line was adjudged offside. Minutes later Carlton Murray-Price forced Craig Atkinson into a diving save with a low effort from 30 yards, but it wasn’t until the 23rd minute that either side had a clear chance on goal. It was City who should have taken the lead- Sam Spencer’s defence splitting pass saw Navid Zandi run from the angle to nudge the ball past Atkinson. Sadly with the goal gaping Zandi under hit his shot and with the ball trickling towards the line, the Wintney defence just managed to scoop the ball away with a last ditch clearance.

As so often is the case in football, the dominant team are made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal, as three minutes later a fine piece of interplay up front gave Josh Drew the chance to shoot home under Lee Allen’s diving body. City did get back on level terms before the break though and it was a moment of real quality when Murray-Price picked out Sam Spencer on the right. Running at the defence, he drilled a delightful ball across the edge of the six yard box where both Khari Oriogun and a defender both slid in with neither making effective contact on the ball. Oriogun was the quickest to his feet and a deft back heel saw the home side on the score sheet.

HALF-TIME: Guildford City 1 (Oriogun) – Hartley Wintney 1 (Drew)

The second half was a different affair. Guildford enjoyed the majority of the possession and territorial advantage and will thus be grossly disappointed they didn’t go on to win the match. On 51 minutes Navid Zandi saw a shot blocked following Sam Spencer’s pull back, but moments later the same player nudged City ahead. Carlton Murray-Price saw a long range curling effort hit the crossbar, but Zandi’s effort from the rebound was blocked. However, within minutes of going behind, the visitors were back level.

Possession was lost cheaply in offence and Josh Drew made hay advancing deep into City’s half with space left in the channel. After cutting past Ray Guilford, Bruce McPhail slipped on the greasy surface and Drew was able to smash the ball home unimpeded from the edge of the box. City responded in fine style. Sam Spencer (who was much more effective in a deeper role) cut in and curled a shot just over. On 64 minutes, Carlton Murray-Price (who was guilty of holding onto the ball too long) twisted and turned on the edge of the box before once again seeing another effort clear the crossbar by inches.

It was very much against the run of play when the visitors scored what proved to be their winner on 73 minutes. There had been a warning a minute before, but on that occasion an isolated Bruce McPhail had pulled off a great tackle. On the second occasion Ross Cook got free of the City backline whereupon he rounded Allen to shoot home. For the last 15 minutes City streamed forward and as the clock wound down their play became increasingly anxious. On 75 minutes a threatening corner from Degiorgio was glanced wide by Jack Guilford, whilst Tommy Degiorgio rounded off a fine run into the box with a low shot that Atkinson saved with his legs.

As the match edged towards stoppage time, Jack Guilford’s half volley was tipped over at full stretch and Murray-Price’s 30 yarder once again brought the best out of Atkinson. Deep into stoppage time the final chance fell to Murray-Price whose turn in the box gave him a shooting chance but his left foot effort failed to find the target and so Guildford went down 3-2 for the fourth time this season at home.

Team: Lee Allen, Elvis Defreitas, Tommy Degiorgio, Bruce McPhail, Ray Guilford, John Symons (Anthony Bridgeman 80), Sam Spencer, Jack Guilford, Carlton Murray-Price, Khari Oriogun, Navid Zandi (Vences Bola 62). Unused subs: Ryan Wallis, Presley Mason.

Referee: Ryan O’Sullivan
Attendance: 102

Barry Underwood

The post Guildford City FC 2 – Hartley Wintney 3 @ Guildford Spectrum (15.11.14) appeared first on Guildford.

The squad are currently at the Sports Park for a week-long training camp, which includes grass pitch training, strength and conditioning and swimming pool recovery sessions before moving on to play two international matches. They head to Italy for a game on Saturday 8 November before returning to face Stuart Lancaster’s England on Saturday 22 November at nearby Twickenham.

Surrey Sports Park Chief Executive, Paul Blanchard, said: “We are delighted to welcome back the Manu Samoa squad to Surrey Sports Park and to host their training camp for what is set to be an exciting few weeks of international rugby. Samoa have now trained with us for three consecutive autumns and we are pleased to have built up such a strong relationship and continue to support them as a training venue.”

Manu Samoa have featured in every Rugby World Cup since 1991, getting to the quarter-final stages that year, as well as four years later in 1995. With the 2015 Rugby World Cup being hosted in England, Samoa will be hoping to acclimatise themselves to our conditions in preparation for next years’ competition. Samoa have been drawn in Pool B alongside South Africa, Scotland, Japan and USA and will feel relatively confident in qualifying from that group if they can perform to the best of their ability.

The University of Surrey’s Sports Park has a traditional link with rugby union teams as it is the permanent training base for Premiership side Harlequins, as well as being named a Team Base for Italy and Ireland for next year’s Rugby World Cup 2015.

James Martin

The post Surrey Sports Park hosts Samoa Rugby Union team appeared first on Guildford.

School kids from Uxenden Manor Primary School enjoyed a morning of American football skills coaching alongside the NFC Northern Division leaders, which included NFL megastar Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson (pictured at top), quarter-back Matthew Stafford, Ndamukong Suh  and Reggie Bush & Golden Tate (both pictured bleow).

Surrey Sports Park Chief Executive, Paul Blanchard, said, “It’s a pleasure to once again host the NFL here at Surrey Sports Park and welcome the Detroit Lions to London and the UK. This NFL Play 60 event offers the kids an amazing opportunity to get to meet and play with these sports stars and it was also fantastic that students from our University of Surrey team Surrey Stingers were also able to take part.”

The community event was held as part of the NFL’s Play 60 campaign, which aims to make the next generation of youth the most active and healthy by encouraging them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. In addition to national outreach and online programs, NFL Play 60 is implemented at the grassroots level through NFL’s in-school, after-school and team-based programs.

It was only last month that Surrey Sports Park hosted the Oakland Raiders for their NFL Play 60 Community Day before their big match up with the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. That week, the Raiders went down 38-14 at the national stadium on the Sunday, but hopefully the Detroit Lions will fare better this Sunday.

Detroit Lions take on Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium this Sunday as part of the NFL International Series. Since 2007, the NFL International Series has hosted regular season American Football games outside of the U.S.A and so far all of the nine games have been hosted at Wembley.

The post Surrey Sports Park host Detroit Lions NFL Play 60 Community Day appeared first on Guildford.

Guildford indeed started brightly and right from the opening whistle they caused the visiting defence problems. Firstly Anthony Baker broke free on the right, burst into the box and his shot was saved by Josh Richardson’s legs. An opening goal wasn’t long delayed though and on four minutes a delightful cross into the box was powerfully headed home by Carlton Murray-Price. With the visitors taking time to settle, Guildford were creating opportunities. In particular Sam Spencer and Jordan Phillips on the left were interacting well and George Baldwin was just unable to put his header on target from another beautiful curling cross from Phillips. On 15 minutes City should have really gained that important two goal margin. From another Phillips ball into the box; Anthony Baker took the ball on with his first touch but crucially his powerful shot from 15 yards scorched just over the crossbar.

As the half progressed Bedfont visibly grew in influence and it was no great surprise when they equalised after 36 minutes. A deep cross into the penalty area was met by Julius Mngada who took the ball on and hammered a low shot into the far corner beyond the dive of debutant keeper Kieran Campbell. The visitors were looking dominant as the interval approached and in a goalmouth scramble, a shot was deflected inches wide of the City post, however, it was City though who went into the dressing room at half-time with the lead against the run of play. Stefan Joseph showed his strength by collecting the ball on the half-way line before running 40 yards into the box, shaking off challenges on the way, before having the composure to slide the ball home inside Richardson’s near post.

HALF-TIME: Guildford City FC 2 (Murray-Price, Joseph) – Bedfont Sports 1 (Mngada)

The Bedfont management team had evidently not been impressed with their first half performance as the players were given the ‘hairdryer treatment’ on the pitch at the interval. The treatment seemed to work though as the visitors looked more settled and cohesive after the break. It didn’t prevent Sam Spencer and Stef Joseph having shots saved in the same passage of play, but on 56 minutes the scores were brought level. Good interplay on the edge of the box led to the impressive Tom Mooney drilling a low shot inside the near post.

City were fading as an attacking force, although on 63 minutes Sam Spencer saw a brilliant effort fly inches wide of the angle between post and bar. The hardiest of Sweeney fans present amongst the lowest home crowd of the season would have settled for a point at this stage, but rather predictably it was Bedfont who were to score the winner. After having a warning sign from a corner just minutes earlier, Lloyd Nwag rose unchallenged in the box to power home a header from 12 yards. Try as hard as they might, Guildford were unable to make any further headway as the game came to its conclusion and despite this not being the worst performance of the season, it was nevertheless yet another defeat.

Team: Kieran Campbell, Liam Talbot, Jordan Phillips, Tom Penson, George Baldwin, Edward Boateng (Ryan Wallis 87), Anthony Baker, John Symons (Junior Alade 72), Carlton Murray-Price, Stefan Joseph (John Barrow 85), Sam Spencer. Unused subs: Navid Zandi

Referee: Shelby Elson
Attendance: 68

Barry Underwood

Images sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/nb68nvk

The post Guildford City 2 – Bedfont Sports 3 @ Guldford Spectrum (18.10.14) appeared first on Guildford.

Straight from kick-off City lost possession in their own half; resulting in Frimley winning a free-kick on the edge of the home box, Antony Hall though was alert to the danger and palmed the fierce effort over the crossbar. Having seen off this early danger, City took the lead after five minutes. Bruce McPhail’s great through ball set Anthony Baker clear and after skipping round Jamie Cunningham in the visitor’s goal, he side footed home to claim his third goal of the season.

The visitor’s always looked lively in attack and it took a great covering tackle from 18 year old Jordan Phillips to prevent them having a goal scoring opportunity. Frimley Green were not to be denied for long though, but their equaliser after 15 minutes did have a great deal of fortune about it. Martin Girling’s thunderbolt from 40 yards managed to squirm through Antony Hall’s hands and trickle agonisingly over the line, much to the despair of the keeper, outfield players and the Sweeney.

City, however, were back in front within a minute when McPhail’s cross was flicked on by Ryan Wallis and the skipper was on hand to half volley home from 15 yards. This was Ben Rayner’s 31st goal for the club in his 200th appearance.

There were further opportunities at both ends. Antony Hall’s fine save was followed by Frimley’s Andy Newcombe driving a free-kick just wide of the post. For City, Anthony Baker was set free on the left, where he found Ryan Wallis 20 yards from goal, but his effort was blocked by the covering defence. It was no surprise to regular watchers that City should then concede seconds before the half-time whistle. Bruce McPhail was unlucky to be called up for a foul just inside his own half, and from the free-kick the ball was flicked on for Nathan Thomas to volley home from eight yards.

HALF-TIME: Guildford City FC 2 (Baker, Rayner) – Frimley Green 2 (Girling, Thomas)

City fashioned two efforts on goal in the opening minutes of the second period with Anthony Baker and Navid Zandi both shooting wide. However the free-flowing aspect of the first half had gone and the game had descended into a niggly, attritional affair. City weren’t helped when the impressive Jordan Phillips limping off on the hour mark and huffed and puffed going forward thereafter. It was Frimley Green who looked the livelier of the sides going forward and so it was no great surprise therefore when Nick Thumbwood broke free to lift the ball over Hall to put the visitors ahead.

An air of desperation became evident as City realised that another match was slipping away. John Barrow saw a couple of long range efforts comfortably saved, whilst Sam Spencer saw an effort from the edge of the box curl just over. Shortly after Tom Penson’s 35 yard effort sailed high and wide, the final whistle blew to mark another Guildford City defeat.

Team: Antony Hall, Bruce McPhail, Tom Penson, Liam Harwood, Jordan Phillips (Liam Talbot 60), Ben Rayner (John Barrow 79), Anthony Baker, Edward Boateng, Sam Spencer, Ryan Wallis (Junior Alade 60), Navid Zandi.

Referee: Clifton Richards
Attendance: 88

Barry Underwood

The post Guildford City 2 – Frimley Green 3 @ Guildford Spectrum (11.10.14) appeared first on Guildford.

The visitors are heroes of the Combined Counties League FA Cup after disposing of the Ryman League’s Ramsgate and only narrowly losing at Billericay, despite having just ten men for the majority of the match. Raynes Park also possess the league’s meanest defence and that was evident in this game after they kept another clean sheet. Fresh from an enterprising and attacking performance at Cove, the City attack found themselves blunted by the highly organised and efficient Vale backline.

Both sides failed to settle into the game in the early stages, but it was Guildford City who had the first serious attack on goal. Edward Boateng surged forward from midfield and was brought down some 30 yards out from goal. Ben Rayner took the resulting free-kick and debutant centre-back Jordan Phillips glanced the ball wide. The visitors had a similar opportunity when Tommy Tydeman halted a Vale attack in vigorous fashion, but the Paul Roberts resultant free-kick was drilled just wide. Midway through the half, after careful approach play, Carlton Murray-Price played Ben Rayner through at an angle but he was caught off balance and his early effort curled just wide.

Much of the threat at either end was coming from set pieces and on 30 minutes, Ed Boateng’s free-kick was comfortably saved by Sam Filler, whilst two minutes later, Vale’s Shane McEntaggart lifted his shot over the bar after a corner. Unfortunately, City’s fortunes and the final result were determined by two contrasting moments, both on 37 minutes. Firstly, Anthony Baker’s long throw into the box was back headed by Carlton Murray-Price onto the back post, where it rebounded out and was cleared. Then within seconds the ball was at the other end and Vale had space on the left to cross the ball into the six yard box where it fell to Ato Okai at the back post, who drilled home through a mass of bodies.

HALF-TIME: Guildford City FC 0 – Raynes Park Vale 1 (Okai)

The match continued in the same vein after the interval with few clear chances created at either end, although in truth it was Vale that looked the most likely to add to their lead. Anthony Baker had a good opportunity when he collected Khari Oriogun’s pin point free-kick in the six yard box, but the ball ran away from him as he tried to get a shot away. Then, on the hour, Carlton Murray-Price came close when he headed Oriogun’s corner just over.

With City still probing for an equaliser, Tommy Tydeman tracked back after losing possession in midfield to make a fantastic covering tackle in the box which kept City in the game. Guildford’s approach became more desperate as the game came to its conclusion and Murray-Price saw an effort go just wide after he shot on the turn from the edge of the box. Perhaps City’s best chance fell in the last minute when a deft touch from Ryan Wallis set up Murray-Price in a good position, but sadly his powerful effort passed just the wrong side of the post. A very disappointing night all round.

Team: Antony Hall, Anthony Bridgeman (Liam Talbot 85), Cory Knight, Jordan Phillips, Tommy Tydeman (Navid Zandi 72), Ben Rayner, Anthony Baker, Edward Boateng, Carlton Murray-Price, Khari Oriogun (Ryan Wallis 80), Bruce McPhail. Unused subs: Junior Alade, George Baldwin.

Referee: Luis Pinto Nunes
Attendance: 73

Barry Underwood

The post Guildford City FC 0 – Raynes Park Vale 1 @ Guildford Spectrum (08.10.14) appeared first on Guildford.