Lemsford - Roundwood Park

Lemsford FC

Roundwood Park Sports Centre

Roundwood Park

Harpenden 

Hertfordshire

AL5 3AE

01707 333548

Lemsford FC FA Full Time

Lemsford FC Twitter

Ground Number: 1074
Thursday 11th May 2023
Lemsford - Hatfield United
Herts Senior County D1

LEMSFORD FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Like with many clubs at this level, details of the club's history can be hard to find. The earliest mention of them comes from 1908, which appears to be their year of formation. They started out in the second tier of the Mid Herts League although information on the history of those years is limited. In 2001,  the club joined the Herts Senior County League, starting out in Division 1 which is the eighth step of non-league football. In 2008, a 4th place finish was good enough for promotion to the Premier Division. The 2008/09 season saw the club have the best finish in their entire history as they finished 8th in the Premier Division. By 2011, results had deteriorated and following a bottom-place finish, they were relegated back to Division 1. The club finished as runners-up to Hatfield Social and returned to the Premier Division for a single season before being relegated back. They've spent a number of seasons in Division 1 before another relegation to Division 2 in 2019.  Lemsford were Division 2 champions last season and are looking good for a second successive promotion this year.

The club won the HSCL Greg Cup in 2022. The reserves play in the village of Lemsford still. However, the first team usually play at Welwyn Sports & Social Club, 3.5 miles away. Today, they were playing at Roundwood Park in Harpenden, seven miles away. Lemsford is a village in Hertfordshire. It is located near Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield. Lemsford Springs is a small nature reserve. Its lagoons are important for birds such as the Green Sandpiper. The yearly Lemsford Fete garners thousands of visitors and is a traditional English country fete. Held at St. John's School and Church, activities include maypole dancing, raffles and live music.

MY VISIT

With the fixtures drying up, I was keen to get in as many games as possible whilst the going was good. I was keen to complete the Hertfordshire League, so Lemsford seemed a natural choice. I'd intended to visit them almost a year to the day, albeit their reserves at Lemsford Village Hall. For some reason, their first team played at a ground in Welwyn Garden City. This was OK with me as it was a decent venue and a railed pitch than I fancied visiting. However, a spanner was thrown in the works when I checked the Lemsford FC Twitter and discovered it was being played at a local 3G pitch. I had no problem had this been their usual home venue but I tend to visit to tell the club's story rather than tick the ground. The one fact that might make me stick with it was the fact that they had a reliable Twitter, but I was still having second thoughts. 

It was another case of the Herts Senior County League having dud information. They had wasted my time twice this season. Firstly when I'd done a whole bundle of research, expecting to visit Baldock Town's old ground. I then discovered from the club's Twitter that their home ground was some dull leisure centre. Then, a month ago, I got to Bushey Rangers only to find that they'd called the game off the day before. I've since been to Bushey and it was a great ground to visit, but I'd rather not have had a wasted journey the first time. The alternative game was Indian Gymkhana v Kensington Dragons. This was a grass pitch but a pleasant venue by the looks of it. However, the Middlesex League site didn't specify a kickoff time and social media updates were less abundant. There were also more backups around the Herts League. After initially favouring Indian Gymkhana, I found myself going back to Lemsford as the more logical option.

However, I would make a final decision on the day of the game. I'd already researched Lemsford's history for my last visit, so that would be one less job to do. They also confirmed a 7 PM kickoff on Twitter which made things less of a rush after work. The day of the game came and it was a busy day at work. After leaving late, I only had around 40 minutes at home, eating dinner mainly, before leaving at 5.30. The traffic was as expected for that time of night with me getting there at 6.35. Seeing a gate with a lock on, not knowing exactly where the pitch was and having been locked in at Wingate and Finchley a couple of years ago, I exercised caution. Parking outside on the road, I took the five-minute walk to the sports centre where the pitch was. It was another decent setup, though nothing exciting. I met their reserve team manager, also called Russell and he shook my hand. He was the one who replied on Twitter and so, as per usual, I'd cheer on the home side.

Lemsford were in 2nd place and were in decent form. They'd beaten Bovingdon Reserves 5-1 in their last game. Other victories had come in a 2-0 win at Hertford Heath Development, 3-0 against Harpenden Town Development and beating Welwyn Garden City U21 4-0. On the flip side, they had lost 2-1 to L7 and 3-2 at fellow title contenders Baldock Town Reserves. Hatfield United were in 9th place. They'd beaten Knebworth 3-1 in their last game and also beaten Edgware & Kingsbury Reserves 2-1. However, they'd lost 6-0 and 4-3 to Harpenden Town Development and 4-2 at L7. They'd also drawn 1-1 at Evergreen Reserves. When the sides met at Hatfield on 19th November, Lemford recorded a big 4-0 win. Hatfield were giving a good account of themselves in the opening period. The first real chance came for Lemsford on 12 minutes. From wide on the right, #2 hit an inswinging free to from wide on the right which clipped the left-hand post before rolling across the line. From here, the hosts had a period of sustained pressure, coming close on a few occasions. They seemed to do everything but score in the first half with Hatfield restricted to chances on the break. They put this right, a few minutes into the second half. A ball from the right was headed in by Daniel Harper from close range at the back post. The second goal on 51 minutes saw a good through ball and a low shot from around six yards by Ennis Daly. The third goal came on the hour, a quick break and a low shot from 20 yards with the Hatfield keeper out of position, Daly again the scorer. Lemsford were running riot by now, getting a 4th on 63 minutes, this was Daly's hat trick. The best goal so far, a quick move on the right, a low shot finding the bottom corner from just outside the area. Hatfield pulled a goal back on 70 minutes, scrambling home from a free kick from the left. A quick goal on the break made it 5-1 Lemsford on 87 minutes, the ball rifled into the roof of the net, Daly with his 4th.

For the third matchday in a row, there was plenty of rain, so another soaking. It made taking notes and taking pictures tricky. The weather has seemed like a non-stop barrage of rain lately, aside from mysteriously, when I opt for a night in. Thankfully, it only lasted for 20 minutes and some of that was during half-time when I could shelter in the sports centre. By the time I'd walked back to my car, it was just before 9 PM. It was around an hour to get home. I typed my blog and caught up with things. Lemsford had edged closer to a second successive promotion. They are three points ahead of second-place Baldock Town Reserves who have a game in hand and an extra goal in terms of goal difference. They have their final game on Saturday away at relegated Knebworth but might not know their fate as Baldock play their game in hand a week later.

THE GROUND

ROUNDWOOD PARK is not Lemsford's usual home venue, but it is fairly decent. It's a basic 3G cage but the viewing area is of a decent size, holding around 200. There's a small bench but no cover which was a pain on a night like this. There's a vending machine in the sports centre, but to my knowledge, no food or drink nearby. There's plenty of parking but I'm not sure about public transport.