Chalfont Wasps - The Nest

Chalfont Wasps FC

The Nest
The Playing Fields
Crossleys
Bowstridge Lane
Chalfont St Giles
Bucks
HP8 4QN

01494 875050

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Ground Number: 386
Thursday 24th July 2014
Chalfont Wasps 1-11 Marlow United
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CHALFONT WASPS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Chalfont Wasps FC was formed in 1922. They spent much of their history in local leagues, joining the Wycombe Combination where they won the Division 1 title in 1931 and 1940. They went on to play in the Chalfont Minor League which they won in 1947 before returning to win the Wycombe Combination Division 2 in 1949.  At this time, the club President was A.E. Kirby, the first female football club president. They won the Wycombe Combination Division 1 in 1961 and the Premier Division in 1964. They were founder members of the Chiltonian League in 1984 and were relegated to its second tier in 1986. In 1989 they were promoted back up and finished 7th in their first season. However, by 1992, they were relegated again, only winning promotion back in 1999. They stayed in the Premier Division for a single season before the league was disbanded and merged into the Hellenic League. In 2007, Chalfont Wasps were Division 2 runners-up before winning the title the following season. 2008/09 would see their greatest-ever season as they finished 7th in the Hellenic Premier. However, ground grading regulations saw them demoted after a single season. They played in Division 1 East until 2018 when more stringent regulations saw them demoted again. They've been in Division 2 East ever since, this season's 5th place finish represents their best finish in years.

They have only ever played one game in FA Competitions, this came in the Vase in 2008, when they narrowly lost 2-1 at Kidlington in the FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round. Local cup wins include the Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup four times, two Wycombe Senior Cups, six Wycombe Junior Cups, two Chesham Challenge Cups, four Chalfont & Gerrards Cross Cups, four Chesham Charity Cups and the Chesham Subsidiary Cup in 1972. The club is based in Chalfont St Giles which has a population of 6,000. It is not to be confused with the larger and nearby Chalfont St Peter. Famous residents have included Nick Clegg, Noel Gallagher and Ozzy Osbourne.

MY VISIT

Originally on this night, I planned to go to the delightfully named Eversley and California v Aldershot Town. This match had been announced months ago and was one of the first I had planned in, as it was due to mark the opening of the home side's floodlights. I had looked a few weeks ago, and there was no mention of the game anywhere, nor any updates on the hosts' site. Someone even mentioned to me that the club had bitten the dust, so I decided to scrub it off of the list. This date remained vacant until the day of the game when I decided to go fairly local to Chalfont Wasps v Marlow United. I considered this previously, but with seemingly no one manning the home club's Twitter, they could not tell me whether it was at their home ground or not. In the end, Marlow United's Twitter confirmed it, so it was all systems go.

 

On the day of the game I was working, but only till 12PM and it was a pretty easy day. I spent the afternoon watching TV, typing my blog and chatting online before having dinner and leaving at 6.15. I left on time and in the end, the journey was a lot quicker than expected, with me getting there in 20 minutes. I parked up and checked my phone for messages before going off to find the football pitch. It was very basic with only the one area of cover and only a handful of people watching. There was a minutes silence before kick off, possibly for Kyrece Francis, the 13-year-old nephew of former Wycombe player Lewis Cook, who died in an accident on the Thames in Marlow recently, such a tragedy when he had his whole life ahead of him. The game was spilt into 3 thirds, and there were quite a lot of goals as you will see below. I’ve done my best to get the goal scorers and timings correct, but it was tricky to spot what number some of them were wearing.

06: Marlow United take the lead after number 15 lobs the keeper, a chance made possible by a good through ball. (0-1)

13: Home side had a chance to equalise, but no one connected with number 9’s cross. They paid the price as number 15 gets his second with a low shot from close range. (0-2)

15: Number 16 scores with an angled shot into the bottom right-hand corner. It seems to be all one-way traffic, but Chalfont did have a chance towards the end, number 10 being unable to make contact with the ball when it was fed into him. (0-3)

40: Number 7 has an easy finish, he profited from poor zonal marking (0-4)

42: Poor marking again, allows number 4 to score with a today finish (0-5) 

47: Chalfont have actually seen some of the ball at the start of this second period, number 10 gets a goal back for them (1-5)

54: Keeper couldn’t keep out number 10’s powerful shot, the defender was unable to clear it off the line, and it’s getting embarrassing for Chalfont (1-6)

65: The best goal of the night, a wonderful curling shot from number 15, tight from the corner of the box. It goes in off the post and is worth the effort of going to the game for that goal alone (1-7)

74: A great goal by number 4, from the edge of the area, flies in the top right-hand corner (1-8)

78: The first time I have seen a team score 9, the ball was chipped over the keeper by number 9 into no man's land and he was left with an empty net to head in to. (1-9)

84: It looked like the home side were trying to wind the clock down to avoid the ignominy of double figures. It didn’t work, as number 13 slots in the loose ball, following another defensive mess, (1-10)

88: Number 14 finds himself in the clear, rounds the keeper to make it a thoroughly miserable evening for Chalfont Wasps.

FT FROM THE NEST: CHALFONT W 1-11 MARLOW U

Well, it’s taken me 1483 games to finally see double figures, the previous highest score coming in the mid-2000’s when AFC Wimbledon beat Cove 8-0 Marlow United were a league below their hosts too, though it was very much a squad game, with rolling substitutes. I’m not sure what to make of Chalfont, but one thing is for sure, Marlow United were mighty impressive and could have had 20. I’d back them to do well in the Reading Senior League next season. After the game, I drove home and was back within 20 minutes, having enjoyed seeing a bit of personal history made, I spent the rest of the evening digesting the figures and set about writing my blog, before watching TV and going to sleep.

VISIT 2: CHALFONT WASPS 1-6 ASTON CLINTON SPORTS - HELLENIC D2 - 18/4/24

This was an extremely last-minute decision for me, deciding at 6.08 ahead of a 6.15 pm kick-off. With it taking 17 minutes to get there, I was keen to make up time but a slow Mercedes in front held me up. I got there around eight minutes in for this revisit, hearing a goal go in as I got out of my car. That was the champions Aston Clinton Sports, unbeaten in ten games, taking the lead. Chalfont Wasps were having a decent season, sitting 5th. Their form was mixed, but they'd won more than they lost, The last meeting between the two sides was on 4th April with Aston Clinton winning 3-1. That was Chalfont's last game and they did look a bit rusty. However, they did equalise on 21 minutes through a penalty. However, the visitors retook the lead, awarded a penalty for an unspecified offence, perhaps as the ball crossed the line but the referee was too far away to call it. There were shades of Paul Robinson for England against Croatia for the third goal as a simple passback went over the home keeper's foot to make it 3-1. He made several great saves before and after though to more than make up for it though. Two quick goals made it 5-1 to the visitors at the start of the second half. Then, as full time approached, the goal of the game, a long-range shot to make it 6-1.

I wish I'd prepared and decided earlier but I made a late decision due to fellow hoppers Daniel and Colin going. The ground was exactly the same as it was before but I enjoyed my second visit more. The club were excellent hosts and they gave us a free badge and invited us to the post-match BBQ. Colin and I were happy with a burger each but Daniel stayed on and said he was going to eat as much as he could manage. I had spotted a book on sale, however, they didn't have any in stock. They said they had some on eBay though and despite the extremely pricey £4.75 postage, I decided to go ahead with it. I'd more than had my money's worth over two visits. It was just a shame they didn't win. I'd probably go back again to be honest as it's a nice local club and I am getting to appreciate the early kickoffs at step 7. 

THE GROUND

THE NEST is a very basic ground, as is generally the case in the lower divisions of the Hellenic. The only area of cover is not a brilliant design, having the dugouts bang in front of it. Even so, it was a nice enough place to watch football on a sunny evening. There was a very nice modern bar with a basic range of drinks on and TV’s showing the sports channels too. Chalfont St Giles Village centre is nearby too.

2024 PICTURES