Wadham Lodge 3G Pitch
Wadham Lodge Sports Ground
Kitchener Rd
London
E17 4LL
Ground Number: 1511
Saturday 10th January 2026
Ryan 3-2 Frenford Development
Essex Alliance Senior Division
RYAN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
One of the more unusually named teams in football, Ryan FC were established in 1994. They were originally known as BEAUMONT FC, but club founder Richard Williams decided to rename the club RYAN FC after his newborn son in 1995. They started out in the Ilford & District League, a forerunner of the current Essex Alliance League. In their maiden season, they won promotion from Division 4 behind William Fitt before their name change. The success continued, and in 1996, they were Division 3 runners-up behind the same opponent as the previous season. They were Division 2 runners-up behind Border Rangers in 1997 and then made it a fourth successive promotion the following year behind Melbourne Sports Reserves in Division 1. They made no mistake this time and won the Premier Division in 1999 at the first time of asking. They would also win the title again in 2004, but the main achievements around this time were related to the growth of the club, with several sides added to allow participation by more players. Currently, they have around thirty teams representing ages from under 6 and up, both boys & girls.
The club is based in the Chingford and Waltham Forest areas, and the first team plays in the latter. They share the Wadham Lodge complex, which contains three pitches. The main stadium is used by Walthamstow and West Essex FC in higher divisions. The secondary stadium was used by Clapton CFC in their formative seasons and is used in this league in case of good weather. Kulture FC, who also play in the Essex Alliance top tier, also utilise this facility, as do some other teams in lower divisions. The ground is located in Walthamstow, a large town in East London or if you prefer, Essex. The population is just under 110,000. It is home to Europe's longest street market at two-thirds of a mile long. It is home to five railway stations - Walthamstow Central, Walthamstow Queens Road, Blackhorse Road, St James Street and Wood Street. Several bus routes pass through the area, too. The most famous people from the area are the boyband East 17, who take their name from the town's postcode. Other famous people from the town include politician and former Prime Minister Clement Atlee, footballer Fitz Hall and actress Daniella Westbrook. As well as football, there is also a cricket club in the town. There used to be a greyhound stadium in the area, but this closed in 2008. It also hosted speedway and stock car racing and is now a housing estate.
MY VISIT
With the big freeze continuing this weekend, a 3G pitch was always going to prevail. Even then, I had severely limited options. Neither of the four clubs in the two Middlesex League games provided social media updates, given the notoriously unreliable nature of the league. That just left two 3G cages with no viewing areas, but I guess in this weather, beggars can't be choosers. That said, fellow hopper PuffPuff got a choice of free food at Thamesmead Town Reserves in midweek, so that previous sentence might not be 100% true. That was one of two options and was probably the better of the two, as it had a raised platform outside of the cage. The food also looked excellent, and the clubhouse would be most welcome. However, it was way off course for all of the Wetherspoons that I needed in London. In a far better location, but with basic facilities, was Ryan FC v Frenford Development. That allowed two Spoons pre-match, although the 13:00 kickoff was a double-edged sword. It would mean a reduced time pre-match, but would at least give me a chance to go elsewhere if things went wrong. It would also mean I could do something post-match, too. I did consider something in a lower league with FC Marylebone having no first team Twitter, but the better ground and London Hibernian being in an area with more pre & post-match opportunities, but being another 3G cage with no viewing area. I do wonder about the wisdom of building such setups, but in leagues where it is all about participation, it is kind of understandable.
It was another hard day at work on Friday, and I was glad of the break. It would be a sober one for me as I'd had plenty on my usual non-drinking day of Sunday. It was an early night, though even with a three-hour lie-in, I still slept through til my 6.45 alarm. I got ready and had breakfast before leaving. My bus was on time but there appeared to be signalling issues around Harrow On The Hill affecting my train. I was able to get an earlier Chiltern Line train to try and get around the problem. There were still plenty of delays due to the problem not being fixed, but I got the Bakerloo to Picadilly and the Piccadilly to Southgate. This was delayed, but I was still on time to my first Spoons. I treated myself to some rail sale tickets, a £20 return to Exeter on Valentine's Day. The timings were not ideal and would mean a late night before an early work alarm, but at that price, it's a steal. I also pondered the possibility of a second game; there was one available ten minutes walk away with a 4 pm kickoff. It would depend on whether I could have some cans in place of a post-match pub crawl. Once in the pub, I ordered a Breakfast muffin, black pudding, an energy drink and Stowford Press for £5.68. The New Crown Wetherspoons in Southgate was named after the historic Crown Inn, a long-standing pub on Chase Side that was demolished in the 1960s; the current pub stands on the site of the former Crown Parade. Wetherspoons chose the name to honour the original pub, reflecting their strategy of using existing buildings and preserving local history. The area has historical links to brewing and is associated with notable figures like Sir Thomas Lipton.
I left here around 10.30 and walked to the bus stop. I got straight on the W6 to Lower Edmonton and had the whole bus to myself due to the lack of demand. I changed buses at a random roundabout and, due to confusion over the route to the next bus stop, lost some time. A ten-minute wait in the cold is unwelcome. The bus turned up, delayed by a few minutes, and I got to Wetherspoons 471, The King's Ford in Chingford, 15 minutes behind schedule. A Korean burger meal with a bottle of Aspalls comes in at £6.94. The town reminds me of the Only Fools and Horses episode 'A Slow Bus To Chingford' where Delboy sets up Trotters Ethnic Tours. The name "Kings Ford" in Chingford refers to a historic ford over the River Lea, potentially used by Alfred the Great, linking to the area's "King's Ford" name origin. This history is embodied by landmarks like the historic King's Head pub, a centre for local law and meetings since the 18th century, and the Tudor-era Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, highlighting Chingford's royal and rural past as a gateway to Epping Forest. A relaxed meal and drink means that I leave late, but I will still make the kickoff. That was the plan anyway, but with the road packed solid, I jog to the ground. Or at least the wrong side of it as Google Maps expects me to walk through houses. I get to the ground at 1.05 and am glad to follow the Ryan players into the pitch area. Luckily, the game got going at 1.15.
Ryan were just outside of the relegation zone in 12th place and had won six and lost eleven of their games so far. In their last game, they lost 3-0 to Greengate District. Frenford Development were a place below but had played three games fewer. They'd won three, drawn four and lost seven of their games so far. They had not played since 19th December, when they played today's opponents on their own patch with Ryan triumphing 3-2 in the Fenton Cup 3rd Round. Frenford enjoyed the better of the early exchanges. But the quality was severely lacking, as is often the case in the Essex Alliance. Lots of effort, but little inspiration. It was no shock to be 0-0 at halftime. Ryan had the better attack, though, and in the second half, which kicked off at 2.20, they hit the left-hand post. They finally scored on 55 minutes, a right-sided attack turned home. On 67 minutes, it was 1-1, a high swinging cross was headed home at the back post following a raid down the right. The visitors then took the lead, a good through ball and a punt into the top corner with around ten minutes remaining. The second half had delivered some good football. Straight away, Ryan equalised, #11 arrowing a low shot into the bottom corner for 2-2. Ryan went 3-2 ahead on 87 minutes. The keeper was absent, but they still managed to hit the right-hand post of an open goal. The ball was put back in, and with the glovesman rushing back from assisting the attack, he could only watch as the ball was blasted into the net. That was the full-time score, eventually providing great entertainment after a dull first half.
THE GROUND
WADHAM LODGE 3G is a rather basic venue, just a 3G pitch with no official viewing area. However, there is limited space for people to stand around the pitch. There is also the main stadium bar, which is decent and a good off-licence and a corner shop nearby. Walthamstow station is 40 minutes walk away.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.