Swindon Supermarine
Hunts Copse


Ground No. 245
Visited - Saturday 7th April 2012
Result - Swindon Supermarine 2-1 Stourbridge
Competition - Southern League Premier Division
Attendance - 178


As you might have guessed, the unusual name of Swindon Supermarine can be traced back to the famous aircraft manufacturer who were responsible for producing the legendary Spitfire fighter plane that won so many accolades for its role in the Second World War. Ironically though, the Supermarine company themselves were based in Hampshire, and the Spitfire itself is more renowned for being built at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, however Supermarine were owned by Vickers and with the wartime effort requiring maximum output, not to mention protection from German raids, factories throughout the country were set-up to keep the production line rolling, and South Marston just outside Swindon was one such site, mainly building Masters and Stirlings before late in the war the first Spitfire rolled off the line in 1943. As was custom for most large factories at the time, the Swindon branch had a well organised sports and social arm, which included a football side, Vickers Armstrong, who were founded in 1946. Changing their name to Vickers FC and later Supermarine FC, the club joined the Hellenic League in 1982, having a great first season after stepping up from local football, losing the Division One title only on goal difference to Rayners Lake, with that disappointment being offset by still being enough to see them promoted to the Premier. 

At the time, one of their local rivals were a club known as Penhill FC, who themselves had stepped up to the Hellenic League in the 1980's, the two clubs most notably meeting in the 1985/86 Wiltshire Senior Cup Final, which Supermarine won 1-0. Having been formed in 1968, Penhill couldn't boast quite as long a history as Supermarine, but they trod a similar path, finishing runners-up in their first season in the Hellenic League to go straight up to the Premier Division, where they would remain until 1992, when after having changed their name to Swindon Athletic three years previously, a merger was agreed with their South Marston rivals to form Swindon Supermarine, the clubs agreeing to use the site just outside the town to develop and push for promotion with Athletic having issues in being able to redevelop their own Southbrook Ground.

After merging, the new club consolidated until winning the Hellenic Premier in 1997/98, but unfortunately the ground was considered inadequate and so they had to wait another three years before the club were able to step-up, winning the title again in 2000/01. Promotion to the Southern League Premier came in 2006/07 when having suffered play-off heartbreak the previous year, the club bounced back and knocked out Burnham in the semi's before beating Taunton Town 2-0 in the final to reach the highest level they'd played at, which is where they remain today, the play off promotion success having only since been bettered by their 2010/11 FA Cup run which saw them reach the second round before succumbing to Colchester United with a narrow 1-0 loss. 

So, onto the present day and whilst 2011/12 had seen Swindon fighting relegation, 80 miles north, West Midlands side Stourbridge had been having a season to remember, knocking Plymouth Argyle out of the FA Cup in front of the TV cameras, before gallantly losing to Stevenage in the second round. The Glassboys had been going for promotion, and rolled into town heavy favourites to win, having won the home fixture at Amblecote 4-1 in December. I've got a bit of a soft spot for Stour, so when Chris the Albion fan mentioned the game, then it didn't take too much persuading to tag along. 

Originally known as Hunts Copse prior to sponsorship, the ground is part of a sports complex that includes Rugby, Bowls and Archery. It was opened in 1990 after the original Vickers Sports Complex was sold to build an industrial estate, the developers building this site as part of the agreement to sell. Cricket was originally hosted here as well, but disbanded some time ago. On entering, it's actually a little difficult to spot the football part, with the Rugby ground seeming to be more prominently signposted, however after parking up, a small passage leads down to the turnstiles which are situated just adjacent to the halfway line. Heading in, a small hut operates as the clubshop, whilst an attractive looking clubhouse, complete with a traditional gable stands to the left. To the right is the Main Stand, which was brought with the club from their previous site, and features a unique looking roof along with three rows of seats that look like, along with many similar ones around southern grounds, they may have originated from the old Wembley. Adjacent to it is a newer, more basic seated stand which was built for ground grading reasons when the club were promoted to the Southern League, whilst around to the far end is hard standing that runs for most of the far side as well except for in line with the near penalty area where sits a small terrace of metal construction. The near end is hard standing as well, with a cover in the centre whilst back round along the near side sits the dressing rooms in the corner adjacent to the clubhouse. With trees on all four sides the ground has quite an enclosed feel, and so all in all, quite a nice backdrop to watch football in. 

Having spent pre-match in the clubhouse, when the game got underway Stourbridge came out wearing their change strip of green and yellow, colours considered to be unlucky in some circles, which might have gone someway to explaining the Stour performance. The first 15 minutes looked promising enough for the visitors, and they put the home defence under pressure with it looking inevitable that they'd be the ones to take the lead, however it was against the run of play when the hosts went 1-0 ahead courtesy of Max Etheridge who took advantage of a shaky defence to fire home from close range, and as they say, goals change games, with 'Marine taking the initiative and making it 2-0 just before the break, Etheridge again firing home from within the box. Half time saw a bit of argy-bargy in the near corner as the home players strolled into their dressing room whilst the away team were forced to wait outside, the key to the door having been conveniently lost, but despite that they still came out first having received an earful from manager Gary Hackett, which seemed to go unheeded, the second half being a dull affair, but for a sending-off when Linden Dovey received a straight red much to everyone's puzzlement, the ref having a generally poor game, never quite getting in control of the players, with the home side being aptly nicknamed Swindon Supermoan by the travelling away support! Stour's man of the match, Leon Broadhurst curled home a free kick in the 83rd minute, but despite some late pressure from the Glassboys it was to prove only a consolation as the home side held on for a much needed three points.

After leaving, the journey home went quick enough, stopping off in Redditch to watch Wolves' customary loss on the TV, before getting back having enjoyed the day out. 

Whilst the result might not have been quite what was hoped for (nor the off-tasting beer in the clubhouse), the ground itself is a great little set-up, and whilst having the downside of being miles from the town (to the point that we never even made it into Swindon), it’s one of the more pleasant ones in the league, along with a friendly welcome from the club officials, which is always worth a mention and a welcome feature of non-league.





Welcome to Swindon Supermarine


Game of the Day


Outside the Ground


The Turnstiles


The Club Shop


The Near Side and Clubhouse


The Far End


The Near Side


The Far Side


Far Side Terrace


The Near End


The Near End Cover


The Near End


Ready for Kick Off


The Near Side


The Near End


The Far End


The Far Side


The Near Side



Hunts Copse Panoramic 1
(click here for full size picture)


Hunts Copse Panoramic 2
(click here for full size picture)












2 comments:

  1. Brilliant report, very interesting, I support Swindon Town but didn't know a great deal about Supermarine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is the first time that I have seen a place that it is wood based. I think that the maintenance is quite expensive something that pay per head call center friends would agree with me.

    ReplyDelete