AFC Royal Holloway - Royal Holloway Sports Centre

AFC Royal Holloway 

Royal Holloway Sports Centre

Prune Hill

Egham 

Surrey

TW20 9TR

01784 443892

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1424

Tuesday 29th April 2025

AFC Royal Holloway 2-1 Addlestone
SPCFL Challenge Cup Semi-Final

AFC ROYAL HOLLOWAY - A BRIEF HISTORY

AFC Royal Holloway was formed as Royal Holloway Old Boys in 1994 by a group of graduating students. Since its inception, it has grown from a single Sunday side to a successful Surrey Premier County Football League club with First and Reserve teams playing each Saturday. By the turn of the millennium, they were in the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) and won Division 2 in 2000. They spent a long time in and around mid-table in Division 1 before they finished as runners-up to the University of Surrey in 2010. They then spent several years around the lower reaches of the table before winning the Premier Division in 2017. This earned them promotion to the Surrey Elite Intermediate League, where they finished as runners-up to Tooting Bec in their first season, their record league finish to date. They adopted their current name in 2020 but have tended to finish in the bottom half of the table in recent years.

Famous people to have attended the college include comedian Lenny Henry and singer KT Tunstall. Also, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in the UK. The college is based in Egham, Surrey, a town with a population of around 7,300. The town's most prominent football team, Egham Town, play a couple of levels higher in the Combined Counties Premier Division North. Egham and the eastern part of its historic parish, Egham Hythe, share connections with the development and enhancement of prestige sports cars. Egham has been Ferrari's spiritual home in the United Kingdom in the listed Tower Garage. Famous past residents of Egham include the actress Hilda Braid, notable for playing Nana Moon in EastEnders.

MY VISIT 

Games were starting to dry up by now. I hadn't been to many Tuesday games recently, preferring to take in the Bedfordshire County League games on Wednesday. However, with Colin off for a picnic and groundhop at Cuxton on Wednesday, he was unavailable. This was not too much of an issue for me, as it was only Flitwick Town who looked like they were going to be relegated. Futbology has made me a bit of a completionist, and it felt like a slightly wasted journey if the side sent down and I lost one of the Beds Prem teams. The same applied to Tenterden Town on Tuesday, plus the fact that it was a long journey. The saviour was in the Surrey County Premier League. They had a cup semi-final game between AFC Royal Holloway and Addlestone. I'd barely done anything in the Surrey County Premier League, but this was only around 25 miles away. The kickoff was later than ideal at 7 PM, as the silly season games had been great with my 4 AM work alarm the next morning. That said, it was on my day off, so it wasn't so bad.

From the bus stop at Fairlop, it was a long wait in London terms for the 462 to turn up. I had to be on the ball as Google had their stops mixed up, but I was on my way 25 minutes after the game had ended. It was a quick changeover to the 123 towards Wood Green Station in Walthamstow. Due to roadworks, I had a longer walk than expected to Luke's Cider Tap in Walthamstow, but it was a fantastic, atmospheric little rabbit hole. No need to go and pay £4 entry at an admittedly decent venue near Elephant and Castle, this intimate venue ticked all the boxes. A can of Infernal Serpent later, and I was on my way. The walk to the Cider place has unearthed many gems, but towards the station, prices shot up, and the 'cash is king' freaks ruled the roost. It was not my cup of tea, and although I was peckish, I was only waiting for a few minutes for my train. It was then fairly seamless at Liverpool Street, and then a 20-minute wait for the bus at Amersham. The sandwich chiller at Tesco had been restocked from nothing and a nice brie and bacon sarnie filled a gap. Several rail replacement buses blocked the bus stop to home. Eventually, the bus came on time, and it was a smooth journey home. There was much discontent on Wycombe Wanderers' social media, not surprisingly, as we'd sold our soul this season and were playing dire football.

I had a nightcap before bed and was asleep around 10. I awoke before my alarm on Sunday, and it wasn't a bad day at work overall. I finished at 1 after an eight-hour shift and had a bit of a sleep in the afternoon. I confirmed the game details on Sunday evening, and the home club was very helpful in providing details of parking and confirmation of the game. Details of the West Lancashire League Hop were also released, which gave me something to look forward to for next season. Having learned my lesson about booking earlier from the South West Hop, I secured accommodation with free cancellation well in advance. With it being the school holidays, prices were still expensive, but I did the best I could.

 

It was a welcome day off on Tuesday, and I walked to Wycombe and back, stocking up on food at Iceland. I spent the afternoon at home but was just biding time before it was time to leave. Colin was early, and that meant leaving at 4.50. I came out in such a rush that I forgot my wallet, but in these days of paying by phone, it didn't matter. It was a decent journey with us getting to our pre-match meal place of Bunchies in Egham. I was treating myself, the 'Diet Starts Tomorrow' box was £17 once I'd added extras. It was very nice, although I could have done without the Mac N Cheese. We got to the ground at 6.35 but Colin realised he'd left his phone at the takeaway. We went back and got it and were back at the ground at 6.50. I had to register my car at reception to avoid a parking fine, but it was quick and easy. We were pitchside for kickoff, but there was the dying stages of a kids' game on, pushing kickoff back to 7.15. Still very reasonable for getting back, though. In attendance was TalkSPORT commentator and avid groundhopper, Tony Incenzo.

 

In terms of league placings, it was 10th v 12th, so a chance to put disappointing league campaigns behind them for each side. To get this far, AFC Royal Holloway had beaten Bagshot 2-0 and triumphed on penalties against AFC Walcountians. Addlestone had beaten AFC Cubo on spot kicks before being given a walkover against Cranleigh as their opponents couldn't raise a side. Addlestone were the better side early on and they took the lead on 7 minutes, #10 crossing from the right for #9 to finish with a low shot from six yards out. On 14 minutes, Addlestone thumped a header against the bar as they continued to boss the game. Royal Holloway got back into the game towards the end but never really threatened. Half time was over in eight minutes. AFC Royal Holloway started the second half more brightly, and they equalised on 57 minutes after good footwork and a low shot from just inside the area. On 69 minutes, the #14 was put clean through for Royal Holloway, but blasted the shot over the bar. A minute later, Addlestone had a shot cleared off the line. On 85 minutes, the hosts took the lead. A ball from the right was planted into the roof of the net by #11 to give his team a 2-1 lead. Injury time saw the Addlestone keeper go up in search of the equaliser. With the last kick of the game, Royal Holloway made it 3-1 on the break, slotting into the empty net.

 

THE GROUND 

ROYAL HOLLOWAY SPORTS GROUND is a smart and functional multi-sport complex. There is plenty of parking, although you need to enter your registration in the machine at reception to validate your car. Basic food and drink facilities are available, IE, a vending machine is available in reception. A basic grass pitch is usually used, but on the occasion I went, a caged 3G pitch was used, which has a decent-sized viewing area. 

Fairlop Rovers - Fairlop Oak Playing Field

Fairlop Rovers FC

Fairlop Oak Playing Field

Forest Road

Fairlop

Ilford 

IG6 3HJ

Linktree

Twitter

Ground Number: 1423

Saturday 26th April 2025

Fairlop Rovers 1-3 Philip United

Essex Alliance Senior Division

FAIRLOP ROVERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 2019. They started out in the Essex Alliance League Division 4 and were 4th in their debut season when football stopped due to the pandemic. This was good enough for promotion to Division 3, where they were 3rd when the season was curtailed in 2021. Fairlop Rovers finally got a full season in 2021/22, and they won Division 2 by a couple of points. The club skipped a division, finishing 5th in the Premier Division East in 2023. Last season, they won the title by nine points, winning fifteen out of eighteen games. This season has seen them consolidate in the Step 7 Senior Division. In terms of local cup honours, Fairlop Rovers won the Fenton Trophy in 2022 when they beat Old Esthameians 3-1 in the final at Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road.

 Fairlop is a suburban area of Ilford, East London, although it was in Essex up until 1965. The population of the wider ward is around 12,500. The area takes its name from the Fairlop Oak, a large tree, which once stood in the area, which was then part of Hainault Forest. Similarly, the Romany name for the district Boro-rukenesky gav means 'Great Tree Town'. The area was historically famous for the Fairlop Fair, a long-standing East End institution. The festival, which would grow to last for a full week per year, drew crowds of up to 300,000, mainly from the East End of London, although it stopped in 1900. In 1903, a railway station at Fairlop was opened on a new loop line that formed part of the Great Eastern Railway. In 1948, the line was taken over by the London Underground as part of the eastward extension of the Central line, and the station became Fairlop Underground station.

MY VISIT 

It was always going to be a groundhop this Saturday as I was going to Wycombe Wanderers games on either side of this day. I did briefly consider going to Leyton Orient for its 12:30 kickoff, but tickets sold out about 20 minutes before I decided to go. Then, 150 tickets were suddenly made available with restricted view on Thursday, but with no price reduction. Thinking they were rubbish, they were unable to flog to home fans, I opted against it. The only game that I could potentially double it up with, though, was Camden & Islington United v Larkspur Rovers. However, with the Middlesex League being unreliable and neither side having social media, I cast that aside for the time being.  Toby v Sungate and Kingsdown v Park United were dismissed due to a lack of pubs, and Fakenham Town v Walsham Le Willows was also discounted. Although it was the standout game in the Eastern Counties playoffs, the only way I could do it for a sensible price was to get advance tickets, although that was too risky with a long bus ride at either end. Mendip Broadwalk was also dismissed for cost reasons - even with split ticket fares, it worked out at over 24p a mile. So with my top five options out, I'd have to look again.

It was a longer drive home from my game at Riseley Sports than usual, as it is one of the more distant Bedfordshire County League grounds. It was a great game, though, and I dropped Colin off at 9.20 before getting home myself 20 minutes later. I sorted photos and got my blog up before bed. It was another reasonable day at work on Thursday, but it was time to decide on my Saturday game. A shortlist had been made, but most turned out to be unsuitable. Instead, I selected Fairlop Rovers against Philip United as staying in London appealed, with a potential cider festival after. However, this game was subject to the hosts being cleared of an FA Suspension, something to keep an eye on. Friday was a harder day at work, but at least I returned home to good news. My chosen game looked to be going ahead, but just in case, I had a few backups up my sleeve. This included Glendale v Parsonage Leys at what appeared to be another pitch on the same venue, so I was going to have to be careful to get the correct game. I put together a plan which involved Borough Market and a Wetherspoons before as well as a cider festival after.

I had a couple of drinks on Friday evening, although nothing too daft. I was in bed by 9.30 and for once got a good night's sleep, waking at 7. I had good news as my time off for the North West Counties Hop was approved and had time for a bath and breakfast before leaving at 8.30. I got the correct bus to Amersham Station, avoiding the one that took double the amount of time to reach it's destination with the two turning up a minute apart. The bus left me with enough time to pop into Tesco Express near the station but with a choice of precisely zero meal deal sandwiches, I didn't bother. I was on the platform well in advance of the 09.22 tube. After switching to the Jubilee Line at Finchley Road, I arrived at Borough Market at 10.40, slightly later than hoped. A half pint of Iford Pure Juice cider and a bottle of Perry from my favourite cider, Ross on Wye, was enough for a truncated visit. After getting an excellent Pheasant Empanada, I caught the Northern Line one stop to Bank and the Central Line to Fairlop, well ahead of time. 

It was once more frustrating that there was no signal on much of the underground, 25 years after mobile phones became commonplace and 15 years since the Smartphone revolution. London is the only Metro system that I know of that has this issue having had no issues in other European cities. When I did get a signal, I was glad to see my game was going ahead as scheduled. It was 10 minutes walk to Wetherspoons 402, The New Fairlop Oak. It was not the greatest, app not accepting orders, no box cider and mismatched glasses. Can't complain at 10 oz Ribeye (medium rare) chips and an Aspalls for £15.58 though. The steak was done more than I'd have liked, but it was still delicious. It was then a pint of Stowford Press whilst I watched the conclusion of the first half of Leyton Orient v Wycombe Wanderers on my tablet. It was a 20-minute walk to the ground, then 10 minutes via a couple of cricket games to the actual pitch. By now, Wycombe were 1-0 down at Leyton Orient, Ex-Chairboy Randell Williams doing the damage. 

Fairlop Rovers were 10th in the league, having won eleven, drawn five and lost twelve of their games so far. They'd had a tough last couple of games, losing 6-0 to Lymore Gardens and 3-0 to Haringey Borough U23. Philip United were top of the league, having won 23 and lost five so far. They'd scored a massive 118 goals, winning 7-1 at Waltham Forest Borough in their last game. When the two sides met in November, Philip United won 4-1. The game kicked off at 14.07. Philip United had the better of the opening period and took the lead on 5 minutes with a lob from the edge of the area. Wycombe had lost 1-0, but Philip United were 2-0 up, a quick break amid strong claims for a foul. It was a good curling finish as they got clear through. Just before half-time, the visiting keeper made a great save to tip a Fairlop shot onto the bar as they sought a way back into the game. It was a competitive second half without too many shots. To seal the game, Philip United #11 blasted home unoppo from the edge of the area to make it 3-0 for a deserved win. I the last minute, Fairlop got a consolation, deserved for their efforts, a finish into the top of the net from the edge of the area. It appeared from the celebrations that Philip United were champions and on this display it was a worthy accolade.

 

THE GROUND

FAIRLOP OAKS PLAYING FIELD is a rather basic venue. Entry was via the Power League entrance and it was a long walk to the game. My game of choice was the front pitch whilst on the back pitches was Glendale by Parsonage Leys to the left side and something in the Essex Olympian League to the right. It's more about the community clubs at this level it is a shame they don't stagger kickoffs as each has a story to tell. The pitches are around a 20-minute walk from Fairlop Station, an extra ten minutes from the main area which includes a Wetherspoons. There is not much at the ground, a busy road separates it from a nature reserve. 

Riseley Sports - Gold Street

Riseley Sports FC

Gold Street

Riseley

Bedford 

Bedfordshire

MK44 1EG

Linktree

Twitter

Ground Number: 1422
Wednesday 23rd April 2025

Riseley Sports 2-0 AFC Oakley
Beds County Premier

RISELEY SPORTS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1890 and was originally known as Riseley Rovers FC. They dropped the Rovers suffix two years later, and as there were no local leagues, they only played friendlies up until 1898. That year, they joined the Bedford District League Division 2 and were known as Riseley Excelsior between 1899 and 1903 before reverting to their former name. Riseley ceased to have a competitive football team from December 1912 until March 1921 due to the First World War. After the War, Riseley had a very successful team with most of the players coming from the village, although the champion winning team of 1920/21 included Abanarida, an overseas player from Siam visiting the village to attend language school held by the Reverend Dodds of Riseley church. In 1927, the club's name became `Riseley Stars`, running three teams in different age groups with the 1st XI competing in the Bedford District League Division 4 up until the Second World War in 1939. The name Sports was adopted when the football and cricket clubs amalgamated in 1962.

In more recent times, they were in the Bedfordshire County League Division 5 in 1987, but little over a decade, they had worked their way up to the Premier Division. They remained there up until 2010 when they resigned from the division and dropped down to Division 3. They hardly pulled up any trees at the lower level, but 5th place in 2013 was good enough for promotion to Division 2. Despite finishing second-bottom in their only season here, they were moved up to Division 1. In 2016, they were relegated but would win the Division 2 title in 2017. The following season, they finished as runners-up behind Totternhoe Reserves in Division 1 to earn promotion to the Premier Division. They remain here to this day, despite finishing second-bottom last season. The season, they had their best finish since returning of 8th.

Bedfordshire County League cup honours include the Iganic Bowl Challenge Bowl in 1995, the Executive Cup in 1989, the Presidents Cup in 1987, the Aubrey Tinget Memorial Cup in 1992 and the Jubilee Cup in 1988 & 1989. The club can count Matt Jackson amongst its former youth players. The defender made 513 appearances in the Football League, mainly for Everton & Wigan Athletic. He is currently the club president of Grasshopper Zurich in Switzerland and has family connections with the club. The village of Riseley is located in North Bedfordshire and has a population of just under 1,300. The nearest big town is Rushden in neighbouring Northamptonshire. Riseley has a long tradition of brick and tile making, dating back to at least 1558, due in part to its clay-rich soil. During World War 2, Riseley was used by the USAAF as a base to store and fill bombs, which were then forwarded to local American air bases.

MY VISIT

For the fourth Wednesday in a row, it was a game in the Bedfordshire County League for Colin & me. I was going along nicely with visiting the grounds in this league and had enjoyed my visits to the various clubs. The venues tended to be more basic, but the league was good at updating its fixtures on the FA Full Time website. I'd have preferred to go to the three sides in the Hertfordshire Premier, but Chesunt Development, Elneny and Owens all had no midweek games. In the week before the game, I was struggling to find a way of cramming everything I wanted to do into the limited time off work that I got. Not lucky enough to get away with working part-time like Colin or have an overly generous holiday allowance like Daniel, I was banking on getting an unpaid day off for the North West Counties Hop. I'd not banked on the hop being mainly in February when I'd been forced to choose my holiday dates a few weeks ago, but that was how it had fallen.

 

From our game at Long Crendon, I drove towards home and had planned to drop Colin at my local bus stop. But the hourly bus was due to get to the stop three minutes before us, so I made a diversion to drop him in Amersham. On the way home, I passed the bus coming the other way and got in just before 9. I managed to get that blog before bed, but had done nothing towards tonight's blog. The day of the game came, and I awoke at 3.55 to hear the sound of torrential rain outside. I checked for tonight, and thankfully, it wasn't coming down all day in Riseley. It was a pleasant and easy day at work, with it only being a six-hour shift. Afterwards, I got a baguette and some pastrami to take with me tonight. It was a slower journey than usual to home due to extra roadworks, but I had plenty of time before I was due to leave. Riseley Sports had made an online programme available for the game, and it was a superb effort at any level, let alone a step 7 club with a small but dedicated fanbase. 

I spent the afternoon at home, doing some research for this blog, which took a while. I was glad when the Football Traveller arrived as I'd still not decided upon my Saturday game. For once, there were a lot of games on Friday night, but with most of them requiring an overnight stop,m I'd probably not bother as Colin was unavailable due to completing the 92 at Stoke City. I noted that this was probably the furthest away venue in the league but they all had to be done. For that reason, I was going to fill up with fuel before I went, as the local garage was the cheapest place unless I went hugely off route. I left at 3.45 and had a slight wait at the petrol station due to a faulty pump. From there, it was a slow drive to Colin's, the schools being back not helping. It was also slow in parts for a lot of the trip. Colin was asleep within a couple of minutes, so I got some peace. We arrived 20 minutes before kickoff, parking in a nearby road. We met up with Hertfordshire Hopper who told us they'd had to work on the pitch to ensure game on. After getting some pictures and settling down for my pastrami baguette. 

Riseley Sports were in 10th place in the league, having won eight, drawn two and lost thirteen of their games so far. They'd been in mixed form, but in their last game, they had win 3-0 at Shefford Town & Campton Reserves. AFC Oakley were top of the table and could confirm the title tonight. They had won seventeen, drawn three and lost three so far. They were unbeaten in nine league games and last time out had beaten Queens Park Crescents 2-0. When the two sides met in November, AFC Oakley won 2-0 on their own patch. The visitors had travelled around 7.5 miles to get to the game. It was a fast start. Riseley, playing in their yellow away kit hit the bar with their first attack and James Cooke headed home the rebound with 30 seconds on the clock. After less than two minutes, it was 2-0, a lob from outside the area by Crook. On 35 minutes, an Oakley forward slid in on the keeper with a ridiculous late challenge. It'd have been a red in professional football but the referee settled on a yellow card. AFC Oakley weren't creating many clear-cut chances, blasting over the bar from close range. There was also a header wide as they started to improve. Riseley had some defending to do in injury time too and were well organised. The visitors improved after the break, forcing a couple of good saves out of the Riseley keeper. Up the other end, the hosts came close with a header. Plenty of strong challenges went in as the intensity heated up. Riseley had a header ruled out for offside on 63 minutes. Meanwhile, the Oakley #5 was sin-binned for gobbing off at the ref. On 74 minutes, Riseley's player Crook got a straight red for a high challenge, and it was probably the right decision. There were a number of comings together, and the ref did excellently to keep a lid on things with the agitated players, and there were a lot of bookings to keep them in check. It had been an excellent advert for Bedfordshire football and the league.

 

THE GROUND

GOLD STREET or RISELEY VILLAGE HALL is a decent venue for the level. The pitch is more basic but there is a small area of cover behind one goal. It is roped off and has chairs in place of dugouts. The bar has a decent selection of interesting drinks, including Appleshed cider. There are hot drinks available from a separate hatch. There is a small car park, plus street parking. It's good to see a couple of club signs letting you know who plays there. There is a pub outside the ground but I didn't see any takeaways.