Brickies make the grade

Sittingbourne's Woodstock Park has finally been passed fit for Ryman League football.

The Ryman South's Brickies were forced to kick off the campaign last weekend at Whitstable's Belmont when Jim and Danny Ward's side lost 1-0 to Three Bridges.

Bourne must return to Whitsable on Tuesday night to take on Walton & Hersham as the grading must be in place for seven days before they can use their own turf. Ironically, Whitstable will be Brickies' first opponents at Woodstock Park on August 24 when they finally kick off at their new home.

Inspectors finally passed the WEM Stadium on Thursday after revisiting the ground to assess work carried out since it failed to pass muster. A team of club volunteers worked hard to complete pathways, trim hedgerows and extend covering over terracing in order to meet the Ryman League and FA criteria.

A delighted Brickies Chairman Maurice Dunk told Kentonline.co.uk: "It's a big relief to get it all done. A lot of people have given up their time to make it happen. There's been a few crash courses in mixing cement! All the uncertainty must have affected the players but now we can get on with playing football."

Image courtesy of the ballissquare.co.uk