Ground Number: 446
Monday 22nd December 2014
Edgware Town 0-6 Hemel Hempstead Town
Friendly
EDGWARE TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The original Edgware Town FC was established in 1939 and lasted until 2008 when the loss of their ground led to them folding. They were known as Edgware FC for a 15-year spell between 1972 and 1987. Their formation was interrupted by the Second World War, but once peacetime commenced they played in now-defunct leagues such as the Corinthian and Delphian. In 1984, they joined the London Spartan League, the forerunner to the modern-day Spartan South Midlands League. After a 14th place finish in their first season, they never finished outside the top half, winning the league in 1988 and 1990, the latter occasion being promoted to Isthmian D2. A 14th place finish in their first season here was achieved, but they dropped down to Division 3 following a restructuring. They bounced back, winning the title at the first attempt. They'd finish 6th in 1997, their best ever finish in the Non-League Pyramid as it was step 4 at the time. A couple more restructures later saw them change division with them winning the Spartan South Midlands Premier in 2007. Their final season saw an 8th place finish in the Isthmian D1 South, but the loss of their excellent former home saw them fold. Sadly I never got to visit other than on a non-matchday. Notable cup achievements during the first club's spell saw the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round reached in 1978 before a narrow 1-0 defeat to Barnet. They were also notable for producing future England keeper Dave Beasant, most famous for saving a penalty in Wimbledon's 1988 FA Cup Final win over Liverpool.
The upcoming availability of a groundshare at a refurbished Silver Jubilee Park, the former home of Kingsbury Town, saw the club revived in 2014. Spending the early part of the season playing at Barnet's Underhill ground, they started out in the Spartan South Midlands League D1. After a 9th place finish in their first season, they lifted the title in 2016. A couple of mid-table finishes (17th and 10th) followed in their first two seasons in the SSML Premier. This season had started fairly well, Edgware Town sitting 10th at the start of play. Their best cup achievement since reformation is reaching the FA Vase 3rd Round in 2016 where they lost 3-0 at home to Ipswich Wanderers. The town of Edware has a population of just over 76,000 and famous people to hail from there include TV celebrity Max Bygraves, Radio DJ Pat Sharp, former Wycombe player Ben Strevens and TV personality Vanessa Feltz.
VISIT 1: EDGWARE 0-6 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
Originally on this day, I was supposed to be doing Barkingside v Grays Athletic in the Ryman League Cup with Anwar. But at 10am on the day of the game he text me to say that he couldn't make it as he was looking after his kids as his mum had been called into work. Resigning myself to a night in, I struggled through a very busy day with little motivation, though I knew that at least I had 5 days off for Christmas. After starting at 3.45 in the morning, I finished 10 hours later and drove home. Normally I’d have a bath and lunch, but I wasn’t hungry, and in any case, my Dad was going up our local brewery. I went to see what ciders they had got in from other producers, as though Rebellion is only a beer maker they do get in some ciders from other local places. I had myself around half a pint of samples for stuff that I had tried before. I got myself a couple of bottles of stuff that they were not sampling, including an award-winning one for Christmas lunch. I came home, expecting to play a night of Football Manager, but then I noticed on Twitter that there was a game at Edgware Town that night. I was going to save it for worse weather as they have a 3G pitch. But with me having lost my night out earlier, free entry to a Friendly against Conference South team Hemel Hempstead Town sounded decent. I would also get to eat at home as it was such a short journey, meaning it would be a cheap night out.
I left around 6.15 expecting lots of traffic, but there was none at all and I arrived at the ground an hour later. There was a bit of confusion finding the ground at first as the postcode was for some way away, but after following the floodlights I was there. I had about half an hour to get some pictures of the ground and check out Facebook. The game itself was very one-sided. Hemel were in the lead within 10 minutes when the number 7 who was the best player on the pitch put a good ball across the box after some good footwork for someone to tap in. It was 2-0 on 37 minutes although I didn’t see the goal as I was replying to a message on my phone. On 52 minutes it was 3-0 with a cracking 30-yard shot that flew in the top corner. 2 penalties and a goal that was down to poor defending completed the rout, though it could have been many more if it wasn’t for some last-ditch tackles and good saves by the keeper. In the end, though, 6-0 was a fair reflection of Hemel’s dominance. After the game, I had a good journey home again and got in just after 10. I spent the rest of the evening playing Football Manager and watching Coronation Street while chatting on Facebook. Next up will be another local game, a revisit to Flackwell Heath v Oxford City Nomads as I still do not have a programme from my previous 2 visits there.
I left around 6.15 expecting lots of traffic, but there was none at all and I arrived at the ground an hour later. There was a bit of confusion finding the ground at first as the postcode was for some way away, but after following the floodlights I was there. I had about half an hour to get some pictures of the ground and check out Facebook. The game itself was very one-sided. Hemel were in the lead within 10 minutes when the number 7 who was the best player on the pitch put a good ball across the box after some good footwork for someone to tap in. It was 2-0 on 37 minutes although I didn’t see the goal as I was replying to a message on my phone. On 52 minutes it was 3-0 with a cracking 30-yard shot that flew in the top corner. 2 penalties and a goal that was down to poor defending completed the rout, though it could have been many more if it wasn’t for some last-ditch tackles and good saves by the keeper. In the end, though, 6-0 was a fair reflection of Hemel’s dominance. After the game, I had a good journey home again and got in just after 10. I spent the rest of the evening playing Football Manager and watching Coronation Street while chatting on Facebook. Next up will be another local game, a revisit to Flackwell Heath v Oxford City Nomads as I still do not have a programme from my previous 2 visits there.
VISIT 2: EDGWARE T 1-1 WEMBLEY (SSML PREM, 18/12/16)
The choices on what was going to be potentially my last groundhop of the year were extremely limited. There were just three viable options with fellow hopper Chris - Anstey Nomads v Birstall United, Wolverhampton Casuals v Abbey Hulton United and Ellesmere Rangers v Shifnal Town. By far the favourite was Anstey Nomads as it was closest, but we would have to keep an eye on the weather as once again it was going to be wet. There was also the backup of Leicester City v Manchester City, but neither of us really fancied it. The night before, I got all of the information together, including phone numbers for the secretaries and food options so as to avoid a wasted journey. The morning came and I had a productive day off, getting my haircut and virtually completing my Christmas shopping. I came back in the afternoon and watched as the fixtures fell, one by one, including our planned trip to Anstey. With just the two backups in place (both of which eventually fell) we decided against the game. I looked at options nearer home and it boiled down to 4. Bedford Town v Aldershot Town was the best option but also the priciest and furthest away. There were three revisit options within a similar distance - Hanworth Villa v Guildford City fell early and Welwyn Garden City were showing little enthusiasm for their game against Hadley, not even a tweet to promote the game. So I opted for the safe 3G option of Edgware Town v Wembley, last visited almost exactly 4 years to this day. I'd only been there for a friendly before and the Spartan South Midlands League had never let me down for a good game. Plus my blog needed a tidy up and I wanted to get some better pictures of the ground. It was a real local derby too, with less than 4 miles between the two grounds.
After having dinner and researching the club history, I left at 6.40. It's not the nicest of journeys at the best of times, but the incessant rain made things worse. I got to the ground at 7.35, a little later than I'd have hoped. I paid £6 to get in, which I reckon is the perfect price for this level. No programme was offered, so I didn't ask, but I did see others with one, but with me running out of space, I wasn't bothered. I got some pictures of the ground before taking a place under the metal cover on the far side. Edgware featured former Wycombe striker Scott McGleish. He lined up in defence at the grand old age of 44 and looked competent and assured all night, later moving into midfield. I learned from a Hendon supporting friend that he had also signed on for them as a dual registration player. It was the visitors though, sitting firmly in the lower reaches of the table that had the better of the opening exchanges. They had a number of chances before taking the lead on 40 minutes. A free-kick from captain Massine Fehmi-Gil was only parried and Adrian Dinham was there to follow up. Wembley continued to have the better of proceedings but Edgware did have a few bright spells, their best chance coming when McGleish got down the right, crossed and narrowly missed a sliding Calvin Osborne. The points looked to be heading the way of the visitors until the final minute. But then a powerful run down the left by Tyriq Hunte was capped off by a good finish to give Edgware a share of the spoils. I left at 9.40, setting up my phone to play the Blackpool v Solihull Moors game through the car audio. In the end, the non-leaguers were screwed over by a very poor refereeing decision, bravely going out 3-2 and gifting a most unpleasant owner a big payday. Due to a fire around Wembley and road closures my journey home had a big diversion, but even so, I was home by 10.35. As per usual, it took me a fair while to get to sleep, but I dropped off eventually.
THE GROUND
SILVER JUBILEE PARK used to be the home of Kingsbury Town, and then (Kingsbury) London Tigers. Though the former no longer exists, the latter play around 5 miles away in Greenford. Edgware Town moved into the newly refurbished ground midway through the season of my first visit after starting it at Underhill, the former ground of Barnet FC The ground has a 3G pitch, which is great for the bad weather. The biggest stand is along the side and is all seated, holding around 150. Although it is elevated, it has several pillars blocking your view. A lot had been added upon my second visit - a seated stand for just over 100 behind one goal and three further covered standing areas meaning that the ground has at least some cover on all sides.
You can see some old pictures that I got on both my previous visit and a visit in the mid-2000s to get snaps of Kingsbury Town's ground at the bottom of this blog. Back to the present day, the bar had been refurbished and offers a reasonable range of drinks plus basic food such as pies and burgers. I didn't see an Edgware Town club shop but I know that Hendon have one and there was also signs of a bigger tea bar outside. Being a built-up area, there are a fair few options within walking distance of the ground, but I didn't try any.
OLD GROUND PHOTOS
Your ground touring efforts put mine to shame... I try hard to get round as many grounds as I can but I've still only been to 112 grounds.. That's about 1/4 of the amount you've been too! Great effort mate!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoy reading your blog.
I've recently started up http://www.footballphotos.co.uk and was wondering if you'd be willing to do a link exchange. I think your site is an excellent read and would really love to hear back from you about a reciprocal link.
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Stuart
Thanks mate, will add you to my links once you have out some stuff up
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