AFC Turnford - The Lions Den

AFC Turnford

The Lions Den  

Wormley Playing Fields

18-24 Church Lane

Broxbourne 

Hertfordshire

EN10 7QE

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Ground Number: 1172

Saturday 15th August 2026

AFC Turnford 2-4 St Margaretsbury

Herts Senior County Premier

AFC TURNFORD - A BRIEF HISTORY

AFC Turnford was established in 2020 by a group of mates from Turnford School just wanting a kickabout. They started in Sunday football, playing in the East Herts Corinthian Sunday Football League. Starting right at the bottom in Division 6, they finished 5th in their first season. That league was scrapped the following year, and the club made the most of it, lifting the Division 5 title in 2022. The league shrank again and the 2022/23 season saw AFC Turnford finish 5th in Division 2. They improved to 4th the following season; that was good enough for promotion to Division 1, by now the top tier. Their final season in Sunday football saw them finish 3rd behind FC Broxbourne and Hertford Stags. Last season, they made the switch to Saturday football, namely the Herts Senior County League Division 1. It was a successful transition as they earned promotion to the Premier Division as runners-up behind Everett Rovers Reserves.

The club won the Hertfordshire FA Saturday Intermediate Cup in 2026, beating Croxley Green 3-2 in the final. This added to their Sunday League cup triumphs, which are harder to find information on. Turnford is a village in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. Including Wormley, where the team now plays their games, the area has a population of just over 8,000.  The name appears to have Saxon origins and is probably a compound of Old English tun and ford - the ford by the farm. Turnford lies in a site where evidence of Palaeolithic, Late Bronze Age and Iron Age relics has been recorded. By the late Saxon period, the village existed as a farm belonging to the manor of Cheshunt. A Benedictine nunnery was established in the 12th century on Turnford Marsh. Part of the medieval buildings survived within a farm until gravel quarrying destroyed the remains in 1955. Footballer Ossie Ardiles lived in the village whilst playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1970s and 1980s. Famous people who went to the school that helped establish AFC Turnford (now called Haileybury Turnford) include Laura Trott, the cyclist and GB's most successful female Olympian.

MY VISIT

For my first 'silly season' game of the year, I had a couple of choices in the Hertfordshire League, namely AFC Turnford or Norsemen. The latter was easily doable on the train and with a potentially good day out in London, I wanted to save it. Having been down to just one ground in this league last season, there had been three new teams promoted up. Owens had been up for a couple of years but had proved elusive thanks to cricket being played when the weather is warm. Therefore, a midweek tick was near impossible, with an alternate school pitch being of no interest to me. In addition to the two aforementioned teams, Ware United had come up, but that was quite a bit further away from home. Initially, I was a bit annoyed that I'd have to go to Wormley for a side pitch, but a look at AFC Turnford's YouTube channel changed my mind. Despite having only been formed in 2020 and playing at a lowly level, their content was fantastic. Hashtag United were one of the first teams to do this, and I enjoyed visiting their own base, despite them having no location associated with their name. The latest video confirmed they were using the outside pitch and showed all the work, such as adding a rail, that they had to do to get up to step 7 standard.

 

From Lowestoft, it was a nice journey back. I had uploaded my blog just as I switched trains and saw plenty of nice Ipswich fabs when I changed trains. It was a rarity to see a train with a bar; maybe a good thing they only did Inch's, as I couldn't have any more with driving later. I was looking at the FA Cup results. Notable closer to home was Aylesbury United v Flackwell Heath being abandoned due to floodlight failure last night. That day Penn giant-killed Beaconsfield 2-2, and my game was set up for Tuesday as North Leigh and Amersham Town drew 2-2. Originally I was going to Spratleys Meadow for a league game against North Greenford, but the FA Cup is a big upgrade. There was a small delay on the way home, but it put paid to me getting an earlier tube home, and instead the next scheduled Amersham train was nearly half an hour away. Rather than waiting for the specific train, I took the first Metropolitan line train to Harrow on the Hill, where there were more options. It didn't help, as I had to wait for the original tube anyway, but it was a nicer, quieter place. I was back at Amersham by 10.30 and home fifteen minutes later. I had a pint and went to bed around 11.30.

Considering the lack of sleep, I didn't feel too bad after about four hours sleep on Sunday. It was a mega-busy day at work, and I was just glad to get out the door. I got a better night's sleep, and Monday was far calmer. I got another great night's sleep and woke up around 8. It was my usual 10-mile walk on my day off before I spent the afternoon at home. In the evening, I made my 20th visit to Spratleys Meadow to watch Amersham Town v North Leigh in the FA Cup, which brought out a bumper crowd.  Sadly for Amersham Town, they lost 2-1, but it wasn't a bad game. The worst news, though, was that our game at AFC Turnford was off due to the solar eclipse. Over caution perhaps, but better than a wasted journey. With me struggling for a game on Saturday, I decided to do it again, planning the best value way to do it and with a good day before and after. As it turned out, the eclipse just made the sky slightly dim, a total overreaction by the leagues that postponed games - I've seen games continue in far worse than that. I was glad to see that AFC Turnford put out another video on Thursday, the final stages of them laying the concrete needed for the hard standing. A fair few players gave up their free time to help out, a lovely thing to see. Friday was a busy day at work; worst of all, I was told that I would have to start work at 4 am now. Nothing back from them, of course, such as two days off in a row, as flexibility only works one way. I'm still reluctant to leave, though, as I like the people I work with, especially my boss, and don't mind the job itself. Why take the risk when I could lose 25 years of service and end up working with people I don't get on with in another job?

In the evening, I made my third visit to Rayners Lane FC to watch Broadfields United v Ampthill Town in the FA Vase. I got petrol at Holmer Green on the way, and it was a decent journey until near the ground when a small patch of unattended roadworks added ten minutes to the journey. I was there at 7.35, getting the last space in the car park and paying £9 to get in. A quid more than I paid at Amersham Town on Tuesday, but normal now. I got a pint of Strongbow (£4.90) and some Peri Peri Chips (£3). The latter were 50p more than on the menu, but the money went to the club, and they were bloody delicious, so I didn't mind. I may return sometime to try the £8 Tithe Tower. Off the field, the club were great; on the field, less so. They started OK but Ampthill Town, a step below, took control. They were devastating on the break, not least their second goal, which came from a totally shambolic Broadfields free kick which was passed into the wall. 30 seconds later, Ampthill had roared up the pitch and bagged a goal. A feeble second-half attempt saw Ampthill go 3-0 up. But at 87 minutes, the game was dead and buried, but Broadfields finally turned up. A late rally saw two goals to make it 3-2 in what was a gripping finale. It was no surprise that the hosts had been pumped 6-1 by Herne Bay in the FA Cup in the week. Due to a substitution irregularity, this game must be replayed next Tuesday. Broadfields were happy to concede, but the FA had different ideas. But if they showed the will they had in the closing stages of those games, they'd have done themselves justice. It was 40 minutes to home, again a delay due to those pesky works, but I was in at 10.30 and had a couple of pints before bed.

I got off around 1, waking around 7 and going back to sleep for an hour. After getting ready, I left just before 9.25 and got the 9.45 bus to Amersham station. I just missed the Chiltern Line so it was a couple of tubes to London Bridge. Borough Market was excellent as ever, three messy tacos and a big bottle of cider were both delicious and good value for £12 each. From there I got the Northern Line to Liverpool Street, then a Weaver Line train full of Spurs fans to Theobalds Grove. The poor sods got off for another season of disappointment at White Hart Lane, and I finally got a seat. It was another 15-minute walk to Theobalds Grove, where I had a ten-minute wait for the 310 bus, sadly out of the TFL Zone. Sewage dumping scum, Thames Water's abandoned hole, and Christmas cracker traffic lights caused significant delays, which did the area no favours. Eventually we got to near the ground at 2.30, I went to a shop for supplies and got to the ground at 2.45, the pitch I needed was at the back.

 

Only one game had been played so far thanks to the league's eclipse phobia. Last Saturday AFC Turnford had drawn 0-0 with Owens whilst St Margaretsbury had been beaten 5-0 by Cuffley. There was a minutes silence; the game got going at 15:09. Turnford were the better side, #5 gave them the lead, sending back a clearance from a corner on 10 minutes. The referee, a Scottish guy, was taking no nonsense and told the players to concentrate on playing. Turnford were the better side, but lacked the cutting edge. 43 minutes in, it was all square; an interception from a defensive clearance was turned around and with the keeper and defence out of sync, the ball was swept into the empty net. Half time was a fair break, so I wasn't going to make that earlier bus. The second half kicked off at 16:20 after a 22-minute half-time. Turnford took the lead a minute into the second half, someone drilling home a cross because 'his missus turned up' according to a teammate. On 62 minutes, it was all square once more, an attack down the right and a finish from an acute angle. Turnford retook the lead on 64; a loose ball in the middle of the box was slotted home for 3-2. A drinks break broke the momentum of the game. Near the end, it was 4-2 Turnford as a cross from the right was headed home from six yards. The game ended at 17:13 with Turnford deserved winners.

THE GROUND

THE LIONS DEN is a solid setup for step 7, and thanks to the players, it was built very quickly. The pitch is fully railed and has dugouts on one side and hard standing on the other. It's set in a nice park with lots of parking. The ground has its own toilets and dressing rooms but shares facilities for food and drink with Wormley Rovers. The location is a bus ride away from the TFL network.