Harold Wood - Harold Wood Park

Harold Wood Athletic FC

Harold Wood Park

Harold View

Romford

Greater London

RM3 0LX

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Ground Number: 1301
Wednesday 24th April 2024

Harold Wood Athletic 1-4 Shenfield

Essex Olympian Premier

HAROLD WOOD ATHLETIC FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1908 and has been based at Harold Wood Recreation Park since its inception. They were affiliated to the Essex FA in 1919, joining the Ilford & District League around the same time. From 1923 until 1926, they played in the Romford & District league but withdrew midway through the following season. After a couple of seasons away they rejoined in 1928 and remained until 1950 aside from the war years. Their last season here saw them win a league and cup double. They then joined the Southern Essex Combination League where they remained until 1977. They won Division 1 in 1962 and three Premier Division titles in later years.

After this, they joined the Essex Olympian League. A 4th place finish in 1984 was an early highlight and they remained in the top tier until they were relegated in 1990. Harold Wood would only spend a single season away before being promoted back behind Concord Rangers and Great Baddow Royals. Relegated again in 1994, they would remain in the second tier until the turn of the millennium when they were promoted back behind Nortel (Harlow). They remained in what is now called the Essex Olympian Premier for many years, winning the title in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2015. Harold Wood were relegated again in 2022 but bounced back last season when they finished as runners-up behind Old Chelmsfordians. This season sees them down the bottom of the table but with plenty of games in hand to recover. Local cup wins include the Essex Premier Cup in 2017 despite losing to Catholic United due to them fielding an intelligible player, the Essex Olympian Senior Challenge Cup in 2011 three Romford Charity Cups and three South Essex Intermediate Cups.

Harold Wood is a suburban neighbourhood in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is situated 16.5 miles northeast of Charing Cross. Harold Wood was part of the ancient parish of Hornchurch, which became the Liberty of Havering. Most of the current area of Harold Wood became part of Hornchurch Urban District in 1926. It is near to the Greater London boundary with Essex. The name Harold Wood was recorded in about 1237, when it was shown as Horalds Wood. It was named after King Harold Godwinson, who was defeated by William the Conqueror in 1066. He held the surrounding manor of Havering-atte-Bower. Some of the original roads are named after Anglo-Saxon kings such as Æthelstan and Alfred the Great. Harold Wood railway station is situated on the Great Eastern Main Line. It is served by Elizabeth line trains running between Shenfield and Paddington via Whitechapel, Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road. The nearest tube stations to Harold Wood are Upminster Bridge and Hornchurch, both on the District line.

MY VISIT

This game was decided upon on the Thursday before. Originally, I'd been considering going to a Middlesex, Oxfordshire or Bedfordshire league game. However, I was fed up of having to do all the driving and noth having time to edit some of this blog whilst I was on the move. For that reason, I opted to do a game in the Essex Olympian League that fellow hopper Daniel had spotted. He was going to do it if Braintree weren't playing, a rare occasion of him actually going to see them play with it being a playoff game. They would have been playing on Wednesday if results went their way but they failed to beat Eastbourne Borough on Saturday and had to play on Tuesday. I'd seen the side win impressively at Kelvedon Hatch recently and both teams were pretty sociable on Twitter. Therefore it was a no-brainer to go and I could even tie in a visit to Chadwell Heath Wetherspoons for food.

From my game last night at Alcester, it was a fairly simple drive home. We listened to the Cambridge United 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers commentary before I dropped Anwar off and I was back home at 10.15. I'd sorted my pictures and uploaded my blog by 11 although it took me over an hour to get to sleep. The 5 am alarm was most unwelcome and I was hoping that work would be smooth. Not for the first time, Daniel lived up to his surname of Turner and decided against coming. Though with a late night the day before and a 2.30 alarm, I couldn't really blame him. I was glad when I got out at 12, giving me nearly a couple of hours at home. I got a few things done as well as having lunch before leaving at 2.20. I was at the station well in advance after finding a parking space.

It was a simple journey, Metropolitan to Moorgate, walk to Liverpool Street, Elizabeth to Chadwell Heath. The first train was fairly quiet and the journey passed quickly with me playing my Berwick Rangers Championship Manager 97/98 save. The people thinned out as we got out of London. I was able to resume and secure promotion with three games to go, albeit only on the runners up spot. I was at Chadwell Heath by 4.30. Wetherspoons 326 was the Eva Hart, named after one of the longest-living Titanic survivors who lived in the area. It was nothing special but a pint of Strongbow at £2.80 was good value. It was then a shawarma wrap, chips and a bottle of Aspalls for £8.67. This was all superb and left me in a decent mood. It was five minutes back to the station and a few minutes wait for the train. I was at Harold Wood by 5.50 and via a shop and a Turkish chocolate cake, I was at the ground at 6. Fellow hopper Richard was in attendance as was Neil, the pretend commentator. Of course, the 18:15 kick-off started at 18:34 but it is hard to get from work in time for these sorts of kick-offs.

Harold Wood Athletic were in 13th whilst Shenfield were in 6th. The hosts had lost both their games since I'd seen them win 4-0 at Kelvedon Hatch on 6th April. This included a costly 3-2 loss at fellow strugglers Canning Town on Saturday. Shenfield, a couple of stops down the Elizabeth Line were unbeaten in three league games. On Saturday they had also won 3-2 at Sungate in the Anagram Records Trophy. Shenfield started the strongest but then Harold Wood had a good spell. On 23 minutes, Shenfield took the lead, a close-range Frankie Fealty finish from a cross. On 28 minutes, the visitors led 2-0, Luke Williamson bundling home the ball at the far post from a right-sided corner. After a six-minute halftime, the game resumed at 7.25. Harold Wood had a brief spell at the start of the second half but on the hour it was 3-0 following a well-worked move, Fealty getting his second. On 79 minutes, the hosts finally showed a bit of quality, a shot on the turn from the edge of the area, the strike of the game so far. However, on 82 minutes, Shenfield bettered the goal from a similar position to make it 4-1, Louie Young the scorer.

There were 47 in attendance, quite impressive for the venue. A number of hoppers were in attendance and I was in good company of Richard and Neil. It was nippy and dark by the end and the late start meant I was going to get home half an hour later. There was the possibility of a game in Wales on Friday at Aberbargoed Buds. I intended to revisit CB Hounslow, but the game was moved back a few weeks. It would depend on others coming though. It was ten minutes back to Harold Wood. I could have changed at Romford to get back quicker but it seemed pointless when I would be waiting for the Amersham train anyway. If all went according to plan,. I'd have this blog done on the train home, get back to Amersham at 22:24 and be back home by 22:45.

THE GROUND

HAROLD WOOD PARK is a very basic venue but a pleasant place to watch a game. It's a world apart from the mainline station less than ten minutes walk away where there are a range of shops and takeaways. The pitch, as the name states is in a prk with other football pitches and a cricket field. There is no hard standing but there are benches and a few benches near the pitch. Near the cricket square, there is a clubhouse, this has a bar, snacks and other facilities. There are also a number of pennants and other stuff from the various clubs that use the facilities.