Crofton Albion Sports & Social Club
Weigall Road
Kidbrooke
London
SE12 8HF
0208 856 8385 (Clubhouse)
Ground Number: 1430
Saturday 17th May 2025
Crofton Albion 6-0 OLAHM FC
Bromley & South London League John Cooper Premier Division
CROFTON ALBION FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was established in 1967 by former pupils of the Forest Hill Comprehensive School. They primarily came from two teams - Lewisham Engineers and Old Colfeians. As a number of the players were Charlton Athletic fans, they adopted the initials CAFC with the Crofton part coming from the fact that some players were from the Crofton Park area. They won the London & Kent Border League Division 4 in their first season and also reached the Semi-Final of the League Cup. Early homes included Footscray Road in Eltham, various pitches in Blackheath and the Glentworth Club in Dartford, currently home of Kent Football United. They moved to their current home in the 1980s, purchasing it to secure a permanent home for the club. The pavilion is named in honour of the first Chairman, the late Ted Davis, who gave so much unstinting time in the early days at their home.
Originally a Sunday League side, they added a Saturday team some time ago. Early days were spent in the Bromley & District League, with Crofton Albion winning Division 1 in 1989, the Memorial Cup and Division 3 double in 1993 and the Charity Cup in 1995. They then moved to the South London Football Alliance, winning Division 3 in 2003, Hospital Cups in 2005 & 2006, and the Premier Division in 2008, following a quick club up the divisions. They spent some time back in the Bromley & District League after this before the two leagues merged to form the Bromley & South London League in 2017. Crofton Albion were placed in Division 1 but finished bottom in their first season. A break for the COVID-19 pandemic followed a couple of unremarkable seasons in Division 2. A 3rd place finish in 2022 saw the club promoted to Division 1. Last season, they won the Jim Hampson Division 1 title, earning them promotion to the John Cooper Premier Division for this season.
MY VISIT
The choice of games was even less at this point of the season, with almost all of step 7 packed up for the season. There was the Essex Olympian League still going ahead, but there was only one top-level game going ahead. That was Toby, and as they had not played in weeks, I assumed that the league's basement side would not be playing this. However, they corrected me on Twitter and said that they would. There was a lot of CBA-itis in that league, and so it proved as Harold Wood Athletic pulled out of the game. The game against Catholic United was brought forward a week, but even so, it was a tricky one on public transport, and I fancied a day out on the train after driving last week. When the Football Traveller arrived on Wednesday afternoon, I picked out ten choices and narrowed them down to two favourites. They were Kew Park Rangers v London Hibernian in the Surrey South Eastern League, and Crofton Albion v OLAHM FC in the Bromley & South East London League. There was a reasonably functioning Twitter for London Hibernian and Crofton Albion, as I was wary of late cancellations. There had been a flurry of them last FA Cup Final day, and I'd ended up having no game after my original game and two backups all suffered a case of one side being unable or unwilling to fulfil.
Even though I got a fairly early night, I was still quite tired the next morning. I got through work, coming home and discovering that the fixture I was planning on in the Aylesbury & District League had moved ground. The next closest option was in Milton Keynes with a 7 PM kickoff. It was a stormy Monday afternoon, but I decided there and then that it would probably be just Saturdays for the rest of the season. Tuesday was a pleasant day off, and Wednesday was a decent day at work but the week dragged with no football. I learned on Wednesday afternoon that next midweek would be a blank one too. Thursday was a real grueller at work, and I stayed on an extra hour to help clear the backlog. A late decision could have been made to go to the Charlton Athletic v Wycombe Wanderers game, but the club took tickets off sale early. Probably for the best work-wise, as I feel tired in the morning as it is. Instead, I killed time waiting for the TV coverage to start by looking forward to this weekend, thinking that a trip to Crofton Albion would be a good day out. There was a potential Vets game before, and a backup in the same league just around the corner. I watched the Charlton Athletic v Wycombe Wanderers game on Thursday evening. A few drinks were required to watch the atrocity that is Mike Dodds' Wycombe Wanderers. The players and fans were all heroes and did brilliantly, but the negative style of football was abhorrent. We didn't manage a single shot on target for the entire last two hours of the two-legged tie and lost to a scrappy goal. It was what the tactics deserved, and what looked to be a glorious season at the turn of the year has been flushed down the toilet thanks to our egomaniac 'Chief Of Football' Dan Rice.
I was OK on Friday morning initially after going to bed at 11, but was knackered by late morning. I had a relaxed afternoon and evening at home, going to sleep at 9.30. A good night's kip was had for once, and I woke up at 7. It was just a matter of killing time and having breakfast until it was time to leave at 8.50. I opted for my Whitchurch Alport bag and my Abertillery Bluebirds shirt. I would have preferred to have taken the bus, but with the 50% increase in fares, it was uneconomical. Instead, I drove, parked near Amersham station and got to the platform ten minutes before my 09:22 train. It was an easy change at Finchley Road for the Jubilee Line, and I was ahead of time. A delay at Waterloo ate up the time saved, but I got off at Canary Wharf. A pleasant walk later, I got the DLR to Cutty Sark for Wetherspoons 403, The Gate Clock.
It got its name from the world-famous clock is mounted on the wall by the double gates leading into the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Installed in 1852, the gate clock is ‘the public face of Greenwich Mean Time’. The map of the area drawn a few years earlier, in 1869, shows that there was a brewery behind the site of these premises. The malt kilns were a long-standing local landmark. Arriving just after 11, Breakfast Muffin, a Monster to take away and a pint of Stowford Press came in at under £5. A pleasant, secluded table was secured, although I was behind time now, but in a relaxed mood. It was a 45 minute walk to 404, The Brockley Barge. The name of this pub recalls the barges which plied their trade on the Croydon Canal. Opened in 1809, the canal was replaced (in 1836) by the railway line, which was laid along the same course. With no new burgers, nor Shawarma Wrap, I had to settle for wings, chips and a pint of Black Dragon for £9. I was slightly behind, leaving at 12.40. A ten-minute walk to the bus stop and a four-minute delay had me arriving bang on kickoff for the vets' game. The game kicked off ten minutes late, or at least for the purposes of this blog it did. I'd had a dump before getting a pint of Strongbow for £4.50 and going outside to the patio. The Crofton Met Yellows bundled home from a corner after 35 minutes. That was it as far as my records were concerned, 50 minutes in, it was over to pitch two. It was later made 0- 2 and then 1-2, 1-3 and 2-3 from what I could tell. Though officially, it was a draw, so I must have missed something.
Crofton Albion were 3rd in the league, having won eleven, drawn three and lost just one of their games so far. Last time out, they had thumped Farnborough Old Boys Guild 5-0, although that was three weeks ago. OLAHM FC were 5th, having won seven, drawn one and lost eight of their games. Last time out, they lost 5-0 to Farnborough OBG. The hosts had won 2-0 at OLAHM earlier in the season and also 3-2 at home in the Queen Mary Cup Quarter Final. I had no idea how the team got their name, but they were established in 2021 and played a few miles away at the Coldharbour Leisure Centre in Mottingham. The game kicked off five minutes late due to four home players needing a piss. It was a small attendance compared to the 40 or so that watched the Vets game. OLAHM had the better of the opening period but Crofton Albion took the lead on 10 minutes, a drilled shot from the edge of the area. An excellent corner from the left and a firm header from within the six-yard box made it 2-0 on 18 minutes, though it was harsh on the visitors. Just before half time, OLAHM had a man sent off for pulling down the last man. In the second half, Crofton made it 3-0 when #8 beat the offside trap and slotted past the keeper. Both sides hit the post, but it was 4-0 around fifteen minutes from time, not that I think it crossed the line, but it was given. The final score on FA Full Time was given as 6-0 however. The game died out after that and was over around 4.20. From there it was to Kidbrooke Station via a meal deal at Sainsbury's and the 16:47 train into London.
THE GROUND
CROFTON ALBION SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB is a decent setup. It has plenty of parking and a bar and a decent food menu. It also shows TV football. The pair of pitches are fairly basic with no railing or dugouts. It's a nice, friendly club to visit, and the standard of football in the Bromley and South London League is decent.
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