Hollands & Blair return to Star Meadow to play on their new 3G pitch against Deal Town in the Southern Counties East Premier Division

A record crowd turned out to watch Hollands & Blair return home on Saturday.

Having been away from Star Meadow for the best part of a year, Blair took to their new 3G pitch for the first time against Deal Town, losing the Southern Counties East Premier Division fixture 3-1.

A club record crowd of 660 were there for the match - beating the previous best attendance of 504 against Chatham Town in October 2021.

The newly installed pitch has been welcomed by the Blair hierarchy as a step forward for the club - who can now host all age groups at their own venue, which they share with Soccer Elite FA. Club chairman Paul Piggott has said it's a "massive opportunity to kick on and progress."

There were plenty of matches on the pitch in the build-up to the main event on Saturday, with Blair unfortunately unable to enjoy three points on their big day.

Visitors Deal took a seventh minute lead through Alfie Foster’s header and added a second shortly after the restart with Aaron Millbank's 20-yard strike.

Riley Alford made it 3-0 for The Hoops with 74 minutes gone but Blair didn’t give up and gave the home crowd something the cheer when Ben Brown was fouled in the box and Harry Brown converted past Henry Newcombe.

Blair get to sample their newly laid pitch again tonight (Tuesday) when they entertain Welling Town. Elsewhere in Medway, Lordswood are at home to Kennington in another SCEFL Premier Division fixture (Both 7.45pm).