Kensington Dragons - Linford Christie Stadium 4G

Kensington Dragons FC

Linford Christie Stadium

Linford Christie Road

Wormwood Scrubs

London 

W12 0DF

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1500

Saturday 15th November 2025

Kensington Dragons 4-1 Civil Service 2nds
Middlesex Intermediate Cup 3rd Round

KENSINGTON DRAGONS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 2001 as a kids' team. It played at Kensington Memorial Park and has evolved to have thirteen youth sides and three senior sides across both genders. The men's side joined the Middlesex County League in 2008 and started in Division 3. A third-place finish in their debut season saw them promoted to Division 2. A runners-up spot behind Imperial College Old Boys in 2010 saw them win promotion to Division 1 West. Three seasons were spent here before Kensington Dragons finished as runners-up behind London POSSA (Post Office Sports and Social Association) in 2013. Their first season in the Premier Division saw their highest-ever finish - 2nd behind Sporting Hackney. They've been there ever since, struggling generally with notable finishes of 6th in 2017 and 8th in 2024.

The club plays on one of the pitches at Linford Christie Sports Centre, adjacent to the Linford Christie Stadium. The venue first opened as the West London Stadium in 1967. It initially had a cinder running track, which was upgraded to a synthetic surface in 1973. In 1993 the stadium was renamed after Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Linford Christie,  who often trained at the venue with the Thames Valley Harriers. The stadium was redeveloped further between 2004 and 2006, when additional facilities for sports, including football, rugby, and hockey, were installed. The work was funded by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the Football Foundation, Chelsea F.C., and Barclays. Chelsea players John Terry and Shaun Wright-Phillips attended the re-opening. The video for "So Many Roads" by Example was filmed here in 2007.

MY VISIT

This would be my fourth attempt at visiting Kensington Dragons. The first attempt on 21st December was cancelled due to Christmas, I guess, the game being flagged as having a waterlogged pitch as early as Thursday. The second attempt came a fortnight ago when I was planning on going to see them play Camden United. The Middlesex League website is not the most reliable and had the game down as going ahead on 'pitch 4', which I took as the outside pitch. I asked two people, and they both said that the outside game was the one I wanted. But alas, it was not and I ended up watching Kensington Dragons Blues (in red) versus Wiseman West, some two divisions lower. It was hardly a classic but I did see a beautiful wild bird. Colin's Dad had it down as a Hyacinth Macaw, which was debatable due to the colour scheme. Nevertheless, it was a good day out with a couple of Wetherspoons visited and back home nice and early. I then planned to visit on 1st February, but again the 'waterlogged pitch' excuse was deployed, despite every other match in the league going ahead.

It was always going to be a step 7 ground on this day. For a start, I had been to so many grounds at steps 1-6 that step 7 (and below) was all I had left. For a second, the weather looked dodgy, and I suspect this will be the case for most weeks for the next few months. For a long while, this day was going to be Richmond & Kew v Keens Park Rangers, but that fixture was altered to them playing Laleham owing to cup commitments. The whole reason for me originally wanting to visit on August 9th was the Mitre Pub in Richmond, which had a good range of ciders on at that time. However, I opted for Goring United that day as their pizza kitchen was closed. This time, however, the range was not so good, and so I was minded to park the idea once more. Options were reasonably abundant, which could be more than could be said for social media, which was very sparse at this level. The new favourite was Kensington Dragons, a ground I had visited the outside pitch of last season, owing to some confusion, thanks to the Middlesex County League site. Not much had changed, as there wasn't so much as a kickoff time on there, but it did offer the potential backup of Sporting Duet v Camden United, which was reportedly on 3G.

Originally, on Tuesday, I had planned a long trip to Halesworth Town. This was my 7th closest ground in terms of steps 1-6 that I had not visited. However, at a hefty 280-mile round trip, it was always liable to change with a 3.50 am alarm the following morning. The Football Traveller arrived the Tuesday before and presented us with three options. Colin was keen to save money, and so had Amersham v Everett Rovers in the Herts St Mary's Cup been an accurate one, that would have been our choice. However, Colin's contact at the club said that it had been pushed back to next year. So, it was the option at Verwood which kicked off 15 minutes earlier and saved 80 miles that we chose. However, it was postponed on the afternoon of the game, and there were no options that I fancied. Colin spent 35 minutes on the phone trying to persuade me with a list of uninspiring visits, but I was not to be swayed. Attention turned to my next game, which would hopefully be Melbourne Dynamo on Friday. The weather once more looked like the game had the potential to go ahead on Tuesday, but as the week wore on, the outlook worsened. So, attention turned to Saturday.

From our last game at Aylesford, it was a 90-minute drive home. A few slow drivers aside, it was a good journey, and I dropped Colin off at 8.55. I was home 15 minutes later and had hoped to get to bed at a reasonable hour once my blogs had been done. But as ever, it was a case of good intentions, but the reality of my not being tired. In the end, a 10.30 bedtime aim was pushed back to midnight. The only thing I cared about was being fit to drive in the morning; tiredness could be dealt with as and when. Inevitably, I was tired the next morning, but I didn't care. The supervisor who has been getting on my nerves lately was at his charmless worst. I reckon there are people on death row with nicer and more positive things to say than him, and he has the people skills of Basil Fawlty. The day dragged, but soon enough it was time to leave. I got a meal deal for lunch and headed over to Amersham to pick Colin up. We then headed over to Berkhamsted for the FA Sunday Cup game between Hemel Hatters and Strafford Arms, the visitors based out of a pub in Potters Bar. First impressions were not great; there was barely any parking, so I had to sling my car in a side road. But from then on, excellent. I'd forgotten what a charming ground Berkhamsted was; it was a pleasure to revisit. The only disappointment was the lack of food, but the bar did a roaring trade with the 70 or so attendees. Hemel Hatters brought a raucous support, but they were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline. It was a justified win for the Strafford Arms in a cracking, competitive game.

Monday was a calmer day at work and a lot easier, though funnily enough, I still felt tired. The afternoon saw the start of us looking after my aunt's boxer dog, Barkley, for a fortnight.  It was my usual day off on Tuesday, and I took my usual ten-mile walk to Wycombe & back. The afternoon was spent relaxing at home, fully expecting to go to Verwood Town v Sturminster Newton United in the Dorset Senior Cup. However, despite the forecast looking OK when I checked, the game was called off around 3.30 after discussions between the two club secretaries. At least it saved me a wasted journey, and with the options either too far away or uninspiring, it was a night in for me. I had a pizza and watched the Gillingham v Wycombe Wanderers EFL Trophy game online. Wycombe won 3-0 with a very much reserve side, and there was plenty to feel optimistic about. Wednesday was my short day at work, and in a minor miracle, the previously mentioned supervisor actually said something positive. A firmer plan was put together on Thursday, with Wetherspoons, another small bar and a backup put in place. I had some Friday night Groundhopping planned, but, as with Tuesday, I was not confident and was 90% not going. This turned out to be a wise decision as it saved me from being disappointed the next morning when it was inevitably called off. I also learned that my game on Saturday was likely to be on their 3G pitch, saving any weather-related worries.

I still had some Friday night football planned, though, thanks to a rather ludicrous situation. In 2023, Milton United were informed that they would need to improve their clubhouse to meet new ground grading requirements. However, the council's stalling on planning permission meant that they were forced to move out. Further complications were possibly put in by spiteful residents who moved into a recently built development, long after the football ground had been established. A third evil force was the adjacent bowls club, which had blocked access to the ground on the small private road. All in all, there we a whole load of people who had forgotten the meaning of the word community. As a result, they were forced to groundshare at Beaconsfield Town, an 83-mile round trip away from their home. It was far closer than that to me, and as well as loving Friday-night football, I like to help clubs out who have been badly treated. It was £8 to get in, fairly reasonable for the Combined Counties Premier North. 9th-place Milton United faced 6th-place Hilltop, themselves a Somali diaspora club who had previously shared at Beaconsfield. It was a reasonable game, not the best, but Hilltop were good value for their win, and their opening goal was a peach.

I came home and had a few cans whilst playing a 1989/90 season version of Championship Manager 01/02. I was asleep just after midnight and woke up just before 7. After getting ready and having breakfast, I left at 7.40, and the 8 am bus is pleasant and quiet. It was a 20-minute wait for the train on a busy platform, but the Chiltern service was once more quiet. It was a nice walk from Marylebone to Edgware Road, where I got the District Line to Fulham Broadway. From there, it was a short walk to Wetherspoons 455 - The Walham Green, Fulham Broadway. An excellent train-themed pub near Stamford Bridge. Limited cider selection but you can't knock Breakfast Muffin, energy drink and a pint of Stowford Press for £5.48 in a posh area of London. I discovered that my game was scheduled to kick off at 2. Combined with making good progress earlier, I had plenty of time to kill. I decided to walk to the Central Bar in Shepherd's Bush, assuming the kickoff stated by Civil Service was correct. However, Kensington Dragons had not posted, and the FA sources both said a 13:00 kickoff. Nevertheless, I ordered a Brie and Cranberry Panini, chips and a pint of Black Dragon for a little over £9, planning to be as quick as possible. A Wetherspoons that lacked character but had my favourite cider on. I was at the Linford Christie Stadium by 1 and found the adjacent 4G pitch ten minutes later. There was no sign of life, but I decided to wait it out. It proved to be a good decision, with both teams turning up shortly after.

Kensington Dragons sat 12th in the Middlesex County Premier, having won two, drawn one and lost four of their games so far. Such was the kamikaze nature of the Middlesex League that some teams had played four games, while others had played thirteen, and there had been multiple points deductions, to the extent that Hilltop 2nds were on minus 22 points. Kensington Dragons were in mixed form, but they had beaten Kodak Harrow 4-0 in their last game. They had won by the same scoreline at Rusilip Rangers in the previous round of this competition. It was step 7 against the off-pyramid Civil Service 2nds. A hugely historic club that deserves a visit in its own right, they played in the Southern Amateur Football League Senior Division 4. Although they were at the bottom of the league, having won one and lost four, they were in good form in the cups. Last week, they had beaten Old Lyonians Reserves 5-2 in the Amateur FA Intermediate Cup. The first half saw the sides well matched but Kensington Dragons having the majority of the possession. They had a couple of chances but Civil Service defended well. The visitors' most notable contributions were a couple of heavy tackles, the latter resulting in a yellow card. It was a very quick turnaround for halftime, a few minutes or so. Civil Service started the second half brighter, smashing the underside of the bar from 30 yards and having a shot cleared off of the line from the resulting corner. The follow-up play saw a handball in the box and on 50 minutes, the penalty kick was converted to see them lead 1-0. There was a lengthy stoppage whilst the referee sorted out a minor fracas, but when play resumed, Kensington Dragons equalised, a shot from out wide, possibly from the corner, which deceived the visiting keeper and went in the net just before the 70-minute mark. This prompted the hosts to have a good spell, and they got a penalty of their own for a foul on 80 minutes. This was converted, and they led 2-1 with ten minutes plus injury time remaining. The game was sealed on 83 minutes, a good ball forward found #11, who took the ball on and finished past the keeper from just inside the area. In the lengthy period of added time, another good move saw #10 make it 4-1 to the Dragons. 

THE 4G PITCH

This is a new facility that was built on the site of a former astroturf pitch and is excellent as a 4G pitch. There is plenty of space to walk the whole way around and it has lights and dugouts. It will require a drop-in stand and minor adjustments, but then it'll be ready for step 6 football, as well as serving as a great community facility for almost all weather conditions.

THE STADIUM

The Linford City Stadium is a historic venue with plenty of space for expansion. The main stand holds a few hundred people under cover, and there is a large terrace to the side. There is also additional uncovered terracing. As with many athletics grounds, you are a long way from the action, but it is well located near transport links and is near Wormwood Scrubs prison. There are very limited food and drink options at and around the ground.