Hatfield Town - Birchwood Leisure Centre

Hatfield Town FC

Birchwood Leisure Centre

Longmead

Birchwood

Hatfield

Hertfordshire

AL10 0AN

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 984
Saturday 14th August 2021
Hatfield Town 0-2 Glenn Sports
Herts Senior County League Premier

HATFIELD'S FOOTBALLING HISTORY

HATFIELD TOWN FC was established in 1886, changing their name to Hatfield United soon after, following a merger with Dagmar House School Old Boys. There was a lot of movement between leagues in those days but highlights include five titles in various divisions of the Herts League. Stays in the Metropolitan and London Leagues with the former becoming the Spartan League. They moved to the South Midlands League in 1979, winning the Division 1 title in their first season. There would be five years out of football between 1984 and 1989 with the club folding due to financial difficulties. Following their reformation, they won Divisions 2, 1 and Premier of the Herts Senior County League in three consecutive seasons. They rejoined the South Midlands League Premier Division in 1992 and would go on to finish as runners-up behind Arlesey Town in 1996. They folded again, though this time it was just for one season with them starting the 1997/98 season in the Herts Senior County League Division 1. They were runners up in their first season, gaining promotion. They spent until 2006 as a yo-yo club between the Premer Division and Division 1 but after that, results became more consistent. Hatfield Town were champions in 2008, joining Spartan South Midlands Division 1. A 3rd place finish behind Royston Town and Kings Langley in their debut season was good enough for a second consecutive promotion. The 2010/11 season was a record best as they finished 11th in the SSML Premier. Results and a nomadic existence due to ground issues saw them relegated to SSML D1 in 2014 and the Herts Senior County Premier in 2019. The last two seasons have not been completed, but the results have been indifferent. The club has reached the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup three times and the 2nd Round f the FA Vase in 2012 where they lost 7-3 to Ely City.

HATFIELD UNITED FC was established in 1906 according to their badge, although a Hatfield United played in the Hertfordshire League in the early 1900s, but that was part of the history of Hatfield Town - see above. The first record of them playing was between 1981 and 1984 when they were known as Hatfield Eagles and played in the Herts League Divison 2. They changed their name to Hatfield United after this and spent until 1991 playing in the Herts Senior County League Divisions 1 & 2 without really troubling either end of the table. They must have linked up with Hatfield Town as they emerged in the Herts Senior County League as Hatfield Town Blues in 2012/13. This lasted for just one season as they were renamed Hatfield Social for the following season. This bought about immediate dividends with them winning the Division 1 title in 2014. A credible 4th place finish in the Premier Division was achieved the following year. They were rebranded Hatfield United in 2018 following their relegation from the Premier Division. Things have been a bit stop-start since then with the last two seasons abandoned due to the pandemic.

Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire which has a population of just under 40,000. Now a London commuter town, it was once big in aerospace with De Havilland and British Aerospace being dominant employers between 1930 and 1993. before production was moved to Woodford. The film 'Saving Private Ryan' was filmed there. It is situated on the A1M with the prominent landmark being the Galleria shopping centre. As well as United and Town, Hatfield Athletic represent the town in the Herts Senior League but play in nearby Lemsford. Famous people from the town include footballers Robbie Marsh & Iain Dowie, actor Guy Ritchie and actress Letitia Dean.

MY VISIT

As I was on my own this weekend, I wanted something fairly local. I didn't fancy a train trip, having done now the previous night. For the second Friday night in a row, the service offered by TFL was farcical and put a dampener on the evening. There were two local step 7 leagues that I wanted to complete - the Spartan South Midlands Division 2 and the Herts Senior County Premier. None of the two teams I needed was at home in the former, so the latter it was to be. I spotted a great looking double - Hatfield Town at 2 and Harfield United at 4. Both games were being played at a leisure centre with a railed pitch which was good enough for me. As it turned out, the Hatfield United game was cancelled, as was another late kick-off alternative a few miles away. Despite this, it was not too far and so I decided to stick with it. I'd maybe have preferred a shorter drive or even a game at Hazlemere Sports, up at our local recreation ground, but their league didn't start until next week. In any case, I'd put work into the research of the teams, including Hatfield United, though the two clubs histories are linked to some extent.

The previous night had been a bit of a drama, Woodford Town were happy to be returning home after 28 years away, but the stadium was not great. I also suffered due to TFL's 'special' Metropolitan LIne service which meant a 50-minute wait at Finchley Road and me getting home an hour late at 1 am. I didn't have the greatest nights sleep ever, just under 5 hours before I woke naturally at 7.35 am. I pottered about for about an hour or so and got dressed before walking to Wycombe and back for some exercise. Though I didn't get everything I wanted in the shops, it was nice to catch up on my podcasts and get some fresh air. I was back around 12 and did my final check that my game was on, which it was. Six games in all had bitten the dust, presumably due to Covid. I wish everyone a full recovery, but it's frustrating that people are still aiding and abetting the virus and keeping it going. I was a bit late leaving after my lunch required extra time cooking amongst other things. Rather than leaving at 12.45 as planned, I left at 1.10 which had me arriving a minute before kick-off. The inevitable happened and time was added to my journey, around 15 minutes in all as workmen were poncing about cutting trees. This seemed a pointless task as all the emissions caused by the mile-long queues would have killed the trees anyway. I did make some time up in the end, but when I got to the leisure centre at 2.09, the car park was full. I dumped my car in a nearby side road and jogged over to the pitch.

I arrived pitchside at 2.13 and was glad to hear that it was still 0-0. The hosts Hatfield were playing in a yellow strip whilst Glenn Sports were wearing red. The visitors were a Watford-based club, coming from a local social club but playing at one of the pitches at the former ground of Spartan League side, Sun Sports. They had travelled around 15 miles to the game today. The visitors were the better side for much of the first half. They took the lead on 38 minutes, a 15-yard shot from a tight angle, way out on the left by McCarroll. Half time came at 2.51, so maybe I missed less than I thought. Hatfield were much improved in the second half and they started the second period brightly, having a couple of free-kicks and a corner but not really testing the keeper. With both teams trying to influence the referee, it needed a strong referee and the elderly Mr Chittenden was just that and had a reasonably decent game. A good spot by the Hatfield #11 set up #10 but he curled narrowly wide of the right-hand post. On the hour mark, Glenn Sports came back, heading wide of the left-hand post from a right-sided free-kick. It was 2-0 on 69 minutes, a free-kick from out on the left was headed home from ten yards by Seabrook. Glenn Sports deserved the win and they could have made it 3-0 in the dying embers when they lobbed just wide of the goal.

I left around 3.55, making my way back to my car. I tuned in to 98.0FM for the Wycombe commentary but could get nothing but fuzz at first. I heard occasional bursts of the Wycombe game but also some French stations and Radio 1 which shows how weak the signal is. It didn't help that my car radio was not the greatest at picking things up. Once I got on the M25, things improved and I listened as Wycombe won 3-1 at Cheltenham. As I got closer to home, the radio thought it was being helpful by switching over to the Watford game which was annoying. I was in at 4.55 and with my parents having a VPN, they were able to get a live stream by basing themselves in the USA. I saw the final few minutes and spent the rest of the evening typing my blog, sorting my photos, having dinner and playing an online pub quiz. I am hoping to go to a couple of Wycombe games in the next week - Wigan Athletic (A) and Lincoln City (H) as well as a groudhop at Dinnington Town next Friday.

THE GROUND

BIRCHWOOD LEISURE CENTRE is a basic but smart setup for step 7. It features a fully railed pitch in very pleasant surroundings. The facility is very well kept and is tree-lined on one side, along with a few benches. Snacks, drinks and occasional hot food are available from the leisure centre. Car parking should be OK normally, but because of a funfair, it was limited. There was still plenty of street parking available though. There's also a Tesco nearby, plus a few random smaller shops.