Pitshanger Dynamo - Brentham Club

Pitshanger Dynamo FC

Brentham Club

38a Meadvale Road

Perivale

Middlesex

London 

W5 1NP

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Ground Number: 1214
Saturday 26th August 2023
Pitshanger Dynamo 6-2 Shepherds Bush
Middlesex County League - Premier Division

PITSHANGER DYNAMO FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1972. They joined the Middlesex League, becoming members of the Premier Division in 1977. The club finished bottom of the division in 1978, 1982 and 1983. When the Middlesex County League was formed in 1984, Pitshanger were founder members. In 1991 the league was restructured, with Pitshanger relegated to Division Two. However, after finishing as runners-up in Division Two in 1992, they were promoted back to the Premier Division. In 1997, Pitshanger left the Middlesex County League. However, they returned to the league in 2010, joining Division Two. The club went on to win Division Two at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One West. They were Division One West runners-up in 2014, and again the following season, after which they were promoted to the Premier Division. They finished 4th in their first season. This was improved upon in 2019 when they finished 3rd, their best finish so far. In 2022, Pitshanger finished second-bottom but were not relegated. Last season, 4th place was achieved.

Pitshanger Dynamo have twice entered the FA Vase, losing at the first hurdle in 2017 & 2019. At the time, they must have been sharing at either North Greenford or Hanwell Town, two of their former 'home' venues. Others include the Brunel University Sports Complex and Argyle Road where they still have some presence on Google Maps. They currently play at the Brentham Club, primarily home of Brentham FC, who play in the division below, Division 1 South & East. This is adjacent to Pitshanger Park, presumably where the club played earlier and got their name from.

MY VISIT

For the Saturday of my game off, I was hoping for an FA Vase game. On a lot of Saturdays, that would not be a problem. However, for the nineteenth time this year, there was a strike or some kind of industrial action. As much hardship as it has caused me, I've always supported the strikes. After all, they rip off the passengers as much as they do the workers and our hopeless government let the greedy bosses get away with it. In fact, it is practically encouraged. Having had a few rocky periods at work, I wish I had a union as good as the RMT. It is most frustrating that Saturday is mostly chosen for strike action, but from the point of view of the worker, if you are going to lose a days pay, you might as well be able to enjoy yourself. Of course, the coach companies were quick to capitalise, trebling or quadrupling their prices to bring them in line with train fares. Not that you can really blame them, as I've had some great value trips in the past.

That didn't help me though. My nearest 'unticked' FA Vase game as the crow flies was at AFC Portchester, a 180-mile round trip away. With a late night the previous night and these trips doable midweek or when the trains are up and running, I opted to dip into step 7 again, just as I had done for my previous couple of games. Brentham Club had looked like a nice venue when I'd seen other hoppers visit and was less than 25 miles away. The club were also pretty active on Twitter which was a bonus. I'd tried to visit a couple of times last season, but for varying reasons concerning venue changes or no-shows from the opposition, I didn't get around to it.

I'd had a late night the day before and so woke at 9.30. Normally, it would be a walk down Wycombe but I didn't fancy it. I stayed at home and started work on tomorrow's blog for Downham. Summer had still not shown itself for anything more than a few days as yet again, it was raining. I reckon it has rained on the vast majority of matchday this season. With that in mind, I had a nearby backup at Larkspur Rovers but I wasn't overly concerned. I had some chicken for lunch and left at 1.45. I was annoyed to get a message about tyre pressure though thankfully it didn't appear to be a puncture and I just topped the tyres up. It was a reasonable journey through some very built-up areas. Nearer the ground was pleasant and peaceful suburbia with me getting there at 2.40. I was surprised to see that the game was Futbology as it doesn't often cover step 7 games.

Pitshanger Dynamo had played one game so far, beating Jolof Sports 3-0. Shepherds Bush had beaten Kensington Dragons 4-3 on the opening day and had followed it up by beating Camden United 3-0. They'd played Wednesday too, losing 4-2 at Shepherds Bush. It was a competitive game in the early stages but without many clear-cut chances. The game had started in bright sunshine but thunder and lightning soon halted play. Ten minutes were spent taking shelter from a torrential storm before the match was restarted. Pitshanger came close after the restart with an audacious lob from the halfway line. On 34 minutes, the hosts finally did take the lead, a square ball finished from close range. After a spell of pressure, Shepherds Bush equalised on 43 minutes. The ball was cleared to the edge of the area and a beautiful curling shot from the edge of the area found the top corner. On 50 minutes, Shepherds Bush went ahead through a penalty. A short corner routine on 58 minutes confused the visiting defence and Pitshanger Dynamo were level, much to the fury of their goalkeeper. The hosts were ahead within a minute, more slack defending, though I didn't see it clearly due to noting down the last goal. It was a good spell for the hosts who had a goal ruled out for offside. On 68 minutes, Pitshanger looked to have put the game out of reach, the #11 capitalising on hesitant defending and using his pace to shoot home from 20 yards. A beautiful lob from around the same distance on 76 minutes made it 5-2 and it was 6-2 on 89 minutes when a driving shot from 25 yards found the top right-hand corner.

It had been a decent contest which deserved more than the 20 that were present to watch it. I can see me doing more Middlesex League games in the future. Shepherds Bush did not deserve to lose by such a margin but some questionable defending and loss of heart made the scoreline look rather one-sided. I made my way back to the car, delighted that Wycombe had won 2-1 at Bristol Rovers. It was our first Saturday win since 18th February and since Matt Bloomfield took over. Weather had varied greatly throughout the game with that storm but it was once more blue skies and bright sunshine. I left around 5.05, stopping at Amersham Tesco for petrol and to stock up with a few bits. I was home at 6.10, having fish and chips for dinner. I spent the evening with the football phone in, a few ciders and typing this blog. It was nice not to have the sinking feeling about work in the morning and I instead had more football to look forward to.

THE GROUND

BRENTHAM CLUB is a smart setup. It is well kept and the main building has a cafe and a bar though I didn't explore either. The pitch area is pretty basic, no rail but the pitch was in superb condition. Cover of sorts is provided by trees and the changing room building. Parking is limited, but there's lots of street parking, especially in Holyoake Way. The nearest train station is Hanger Lane.