Fairlop Rovers - Fairlop Oak Playing Field

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Fairlop Oak Playing Field

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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.