Match Information
・ Cambridge City 0-1 Waltham Abbey
・ When: Tuesday 3rd December 2024
・ Kick-off: 7.45pm
・ Where: FWD-IP Community Stadium, West Way, Sawston, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB22 3FG
・ Competition: Isthmian League – North Division
・ Attendance: 442
An exciting visit to Britain’s newest football stadium for the inaugural competitive midweek fixture under lights.
Cambridge City have moved back to local surroundings after 11 years without a base of their own since April 2013 when the previous City Ground on Milton Road closed and was sold for housing.
This was situated in Cambridge’s Chesterton district. The club subsequently shared at Histon FC and St Ives Town FC in the interim period.
And following a number of delays (planning permission was initially granted in 2014 and construction work commenced in September 2019), the FWD-IP Community Stadium finally opened last Saturday 30th November as a bumper crowd of 1,459 witnessed Cambridge City’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of visitors Tilbury.
So I wanted to take a look for myself and set off on relatively short 100 mile round trip. Sawston itself is a village housing 7,300 residents some seven miles south of Cambridge.
I’ve been to the area before for Cambridgeshire County League matches at both Sawston Rovers FC and Sawston United FC. Incidentally, I had actually seen Cambridge City grace their two preceding grounds during the 1980’s:
Wednesday 6th January 1982
1-1 draw versus Bromsgrove Rovers (attendance 123, Southern League Midland Division) at City Ground, Cambridge.
Wednesday 18th March 1987
1-1 draw versus Fisher Athletic (attendance 398, Southern League Premier Division) at the new City Ground which was rebuilt next door and slightly overlapped the original venue.
Ground Description
I was totally surprised by how good the facilities are throughout this 35 acre site. An elevated cantilever main stand delivers 500 seats offering superb sight lines.
Extensive hospitality rooms behind here are in the process of being fitted out to create a restaurant, a bar, an executive lounge and a function suite eventually accommodating 150 guests.
There are three separate sections of covered terracing on the other sides of the pitch. Catering is afforded courtesy of a couple of mobile burger vans.
Meanwhile, parking is plentiful whereby club stewards directed those arriving towards vacant spaces. Plus an outside 3G artificial playing surface lies alongside extra grass pitches for training and community use/external hire.
Programme Details
Priced at £3. A pleasing blend of current and historical content showed a great deal of thought had gone into the editorial. It made an excellent souvenir of the landmark floodlit game at Sawston.
In addition, I bought a printed fundraising draw ticket for £1 from a trestle table inside the gate to keep amongst my colossal collection of groundhopping memorabilia.
The Match
Braving a chillingly cold evening where the mercury plunged to zero, I wore my trusty thermals for the first time this season. It was 15th hosting 6th in the Isthmian League – North Division standings.
I felt Cambridge City shaded possession and chances early on but the second half was very even. Chants of “Come on City…” and “Come on you whites…” regularly rang out from vociferous home fans populating the side terrace.
Just as we were heading for a scoreless stalemate to defy any football betting on the outcome, Waltham Abbey manufactured the vital breakthrough with 10 minutes to go. Prolific marksman Jason Hallett scrambled in a rebound at close range.
The People
Cambridge City’s enthusiastic media & communications officer Sean Coxon was extremely helpful in confirming pre-match arrangements via Twitter direct messages and gave me a warm welcome in the press box at the top of the stand.
It was also nice to spot former professional striker Jamie Cureton in his role of Cambridge City manager.
Now aged 49, I first interviewed Jamie after he scored a stunning EFL Championship hat-trick for Queens Park Rangers against Coventry City in September 2004 at Loftus Road. He had featured on Premier League odds too appearing for Norwich City earlier in his career.
Furthermore, I bumped into lifelong Cambridge City fan and club historian Neil Harvey near the turnstiles selling programmes.
I’ve known him for more than 40 years and he is a much-respected Non-League football ambassador. Neil succinctly summed up everything at Sawston by saying: “We’re here, we’re back, we’re home and we like it!”
