Cockfosters - Cockfosters Sports Ground

Cockfosters FC
Cockfosters Sports Ground
Chalk Lane
Cockfosters
Herts
EN4 9JG

0208 449 5833

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Ground Number: 403
Tuesday 26th August 2014
Cockfosters 0-2 London Tigers
Spartan South Midlands Premier









COCKFOSTERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1921 as Cockfosters Athletic, joining the Barnet League. In 1930, they merged with Cockfosters Juniors and joined the Wood Green League. They won Division 2 in 1932 and Division 1 two years later. They then won the Premier Division in 1939, part of a treble-winning season just before the Second World War as they captured the League Cup and Barnet Cup. Following the war, they joined the Northern Suburban Intermediate League Division 1, and after finishing as runners-up in 1947, won promotion to the Premier Division. Although they were relegated back to Division 1 after a single season, they won Division 1 in 1950 and finished as Premier Division runners-up the following year. Relegated again in the intervening years, they won Division 1 again in 1961 and the Premier Division in 1962.

Cockfosters made the step up to the Herts County League in 1966, winning the Division 1 title and promotion to the Premier Division in their debut season. They dropped the 'Athletic' suffix from their name in 1966 and would remain in the Herts County League Premier Division for 25 years. They were champions in 1979, 1981 & 1984, as well as finishing as runners-up twice. In 1991, Cockfosters joined the Spartan League Premier Division and spent six seasons there, with a high finish of 5th in 1996. The following season, the league merged with the South Midlands League to form the Spartan South Midlands League. Cockfosters were placed in the Premier Division South but finished bottom and were relegated to the Senior Division, which became Division 1. They won promotion back in 2007 as runners-up to Brimsdown Rovers but were relegated again after two seasons. Promotion was achieved again in 2013 as runners-up behind London Lions. They have been in the Spartan South Midlands Premier ever since, aside from three years in the Essex Senior League between 2019 & 2022. The club achieved its best-ever 3rd-place finishes in 2017 & 2025. The latter of those finishes saw them reach the playoffs, but lost to London Lions on penalties.

Cockfosters have reached the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round on three occasions. They achieved a notable 2-2 draw with AFC Rushden & Diamonds in 2013, but lost the replay 8-0. They have saved their best FA Vase run for this season, winning 4-0 at Long Melford in the 2nd Qualifying Round. Since then, it's been a case of holding their nerve in three consecutive penalty shootouts. They beat Tring Athletic 12-11 following a 1-1 draw in the 1st Round and then won 4-3 at AFC Welwyn on spot kicks following a 2-2 draw in the 2nd. In the 3rd Round, they triumphed 3-2 against Soul Tower Hamlets following a 1-1 draw. Local wins include four Barnet Cups, two London Intermediate Cups, two Spartan South Midlands League Floodlit Cups,  and two Herts Senior County League Aubrey Cups. They also won the Herts Intermediate Cup in 1979 and the Spartan South Midlands League Challenge Trophy in 2014. 

Cockfosters is a suburb of north London to the east of Chipping Barnet, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. It is 10 miles north of Charing Cross. Before 1965, it was in the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It has a population of just under 14,000. The name was recorded as far back as 1524 and is thought to be either the name of a family or that of a house which stood on Enfield Chase. One suggestion is that it was "the residence of the cock forester (or chief forester)". The Piccadilly line of the London Underground reached Cockfosters in 1933. The most famous former resident of Cockfosters is the former Manchester United and Scotland manager Tommy Docherty.

 

MY FIRST VISIT

I had been meaning to go to Cockfosters last May. In fact, I had actually got to the ground, sat in the bar for half an hour while it rained, only for the referee to give up on the pitch right on kickoff. He was going to start the game and saw how it went, which was encouraging, but he changed his mind. It was probably the right decision to be honest, as the game would have been a farce had it gone ahead, with puddles everywhere. We even went to London Colney after, but that too was a victim of the weather, being called off at 8.15. Still, I was aiming to complete the Spartan South Midlands League by the end of the season, so I wanted to get Cockfosters 'done' as early as possible. They'd had a crazy end to last season, with games on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, so they must have been pretty tired when it came to facing my local side, Holmer Green, a game which I sadly missed.

I knew from the outset that I wouldn't have Anwar with me, as he was going to Arsenal tomorrow night and only had limited time and resources. I wasn't even sure myself, as it was dependent on the weather and traffic. I had a pretty boring day as I was off work, and normally I'd be setting off mid-afternoon for football. I reflected on the Welsh groundhop I had missed on the weekend, in North Wales. I thought it would be just fields when speaking to organiser Chris, as he was evasive when I asked about stands and just said that the scenery was nice. In the end, I saw people's pictures from the weekend, and there were some quite decent grounds, set amongst the backdrop of Snowdonia as promised. I wasn't too annoyed, though, as I'd had a great time at Stevenage v Wycombe instead. I could have done 3 games in one day on Monday, too, but Anwar couldn't make it. Instead, we went to a wet and fairly dull game at Tilbury.

It turned out to be thumbs up as far as the game was concerned. I had confirmation that the game was on at 6.15 and after checking my sat nav, the traffic appeared fine, so I set off on the 32-mile journey. It turned out to be a good journey apart from some dawdlers on the single carriageways and I was there by 7.05. I went and had a look in the bar, and bought a signed Boreham Wood v Arsenal Programme in return for a small donation to charity. I then went into the ground, paying £6 entry plus £1 for the programme. There was still half an hour till kick off, so I made a start on my blog and checked Facebook while waiting for the game to start. It was ground 403 for me and the 19th out of 22 I needed in the SSML Premier. Entry & ticket were well priced at £6 and £1 respectively, whilst the car costs for the 63-mile journey were £10.

Cockfosters were making a good start to the season, unbeaten and top of the table, and it was a decent game as per usual in the SSML. My favourite step 5 league might be the Northern Counties East League, but the Spartan South Midlands is hard to beat for entertainment. The first half was goalless, but both keepers made good saves. London Tigers started the brightest, but Cockfosters finished the half well. Two second-half goals won it for the visitors - firstly a goal by Hendrix from close range on 66 minutes, then a really good strike from way out on 80 minutes by Larab. The referee let a lot go, but tended to favour the defending team, and there were a few complaints from the home side about this. The attendance was 73. It was an easy journey home, taking the same time as the trip there. I got in, checked Facebook, watched TV and went to sleep at about 11.30.

THE GROUND

DACRE FIELD, or the COCKFOSTERS SPORTS GROUND as it's sometimes known, is set in a pleasant green location. The car parking is not great, with only a few spaces, but you can use street parking or one of the spaces from one of the other sports clubs on the road.

The main stand is on the side that you come in. Previously, it was a smaller stand with benches (which was on my visit to take pictures in 2007. Since then, they have added big white seats, which are comfortable and seem to come from the Olympics in 2012, as there are similar ones at Beckenham Town. They are comfortable in any case. There is further cover on this side, as well as more behind the goal and on the other side.

The clubhouse and tea bar are pretty standard fare, with only Strongbow in cans available for cider drinkers (at least on my May visit anyway) I've not tried the tea bar. The programme is decent, quite thin but full of stats and a few good bits to read, and with minimal advertising too.  The club is nice and friendly, and with Cockfosters Tube station nearby, is easy to do if you don't drive.