THE future looks a little brighter for Beckenham Town Football Club after a floodlight inspection by the council and a resounding 2-0 win over championship leaders Ramsgate.

Last week the News Shopper reported on the plight of the Winstonlead Kent Premier Division club.

Due to horrendous weather conditions, the club's pitch had become saturated and they had not played since December 5!

Additionally, the club was only permitted to use floodlighs on Saturdays, making midweek games impossible.

On Monday last week, Bromley Council's environmental health officer met club officials at the Eden Park Avenue ground. The officer advised that the lights should be be adjusted, which was done on the night.

Chris Evans, the council's manager of development control for the area, said: "The officer seemed reasonably satisfied with them from a technical point of view."

Mr Evans went on to say that the matter still had to be put before a planning sub-committee meeting, scheduled for February 18, before the green light could be given.

Beckenham Town player/secretary Peter Palmer was optimistic about the future. "We are confident we can complete our fixtures," he said.

Meanwhile, after two-month's of kicking their heels on the sidelines, the first team resumed play at the weekend when they entertained Ramsgate.

Beckenham, showing no signs of rustiness on the sand-covered pitch. Veteran Alfie Hollingsworth was the star of the show, netting both goals for the home side.

In the 51st minute Joe Westphel broke down the right and cut inside. His pass gave Hollingsworth a clear shot but the 35-year-old decided to jink his way round the defence before opening Beckenham's account.

Fourteen minutes later another piece of Hollingsworth magic created space for himself to net the second and match-clinching goal.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.