Denmead looked at playing in Basingstoke and Eastleigh in bid to keep Wessex League promotion dream alive

The ambitious club could still win the Hampshire Premier League title in their first season in the top flight - almost a month after finishing their fixtures.

Denmead are guaranteed at least runners-up spot after Moneyfields failed to take advantage of their games in hand and also had three points deducted to fielding ineligible players.

Colden Common can still win the title, though, if they pick up seven points from their remaining three games at Locks Heath, Paulsgrove and Hayling United.

Denmead, along with Fleetlands and Stockbridge, had applied for promotion to the Wessex League earlier in the year.

But they were forced to withdraw their application late on after finding out their Front Lawn HQ would not pass an official ground grading inspection.

Following talks, Denmead had been hopeful the Hampshire FA - who run the Front Lawn facility in Leigh Park - and/or Havant Borough Council would finance the necessary improvements.

As a result, Denmead secretary Simon Strickland said it was a ‘massive hammer blow’ when both the FA and the local authority said they would not be finding the cash for upgrade work.

Denmead subsequently enquired about groundsharing for 2022/23 at two other Hampshire FA run venues - Winklebury in Basingstoke, almost 40 miles away from Leigh Park, and Stoneham in Eastleigh.

The Wessex League do allow groundshares - Infinity were sharing at Hythe & Dibden at the first half of the season just finished while promotion hopefuls Dorchester Sports, currently at the same level as Denmead, share with step 3 club Dorchester Town.

But Basingstoke Town and HPL club Twenty10 currently use Winklebury, while AFC Stoneham said they would struggle to fit Denmead in given their first team and development team commitments.

Denmead also considered grounds in Sussex and, closer to home, they also looked at Hawks’ Westleigh Park, where one of their Senior Division rivals, Clanfield, have been playing since October 2020. But, logistically, that was also ruled out due to questions as to whether the league would sanction staggered kick off times.

Strickland said: ‘We’re now looking into seeing whether we can do the work (at Front Lawn) ourselves. It’s not a massive amount.’

To meet Wessex 1 requirements, Denmead would need to open up hard standing for spectators on at least one more side - at present, they can only stand next to one touchline. Strickland said they would look to open up two, though - the end nearest the car park and the side opposite the current standing area.

Denmead would also need to erect a cover for 50 standing spectators or, to meet Wessex Premier standards, a covered stand for 50 people.

‘If we can’t do the work, then we’ll need to find an alternative venue,’ said Strickland. ‘That would almost certainly be a groundshare.’

One non-groundshare option, however, could be the proposed new football hub at Cosham. There, councillors approved plans for a new pavilion and all-weather pitches at the King George V playing fields earlier this year.

Denmead would have won the title by now had they beaten Stockbridge at Front Lawn in their final game on April 2. Instead, they were 3-0 down at half-time and eventually lost 5-1 - their heaviest defeat of the season - after keeper Chris Clark was sent off for violent conduct early on in the second period.

Strickland believes the fact the players knew they couldn’t win promotion affected their display that day.

‘We hadn’t officially confirmed it to them, but word had got around,’ he recalled.

‘We have done fantastically well, whether we finish first or second. It would be the icing on the cake if we did win it.

‘At the start of the season we would have been happy with anywhere in the top six.

‘We were expecting Moneyfields to win it, but it shows points on the board are worth more than games in hand.

‘The fact we drew and beat Moneyfields (in their two league games) we feel makes us worthy to finish above them.’