agamemnon3

Although I haven't seen it confirmed anywhere else, the FA Full Time site has it that Boreham Wood have withdrawn from the competition, (without having played a game), thus giving London Lions a pass into the next round.

Both London Colney and Rothwell Corinthians have withdrawn, so walkovers for Saffron Walden and Dunstable.

The esteemed GRS67, formerly of this parish, was not at SJP on Tuesday, and nor was he in attendance today, as he is currently 'persona non grata', and has been informed that he would be refused admittance. I am told that he has complained to the FA regarding his current situation. Where this goes from here is in the lap of the gods...

August 27th. FA Vase Preliminary Round. Edgware & Kingsbury v Leverstock Green, 2-2 (0-0), (E&K p4-2). Fergus Moore, Scott McGleish, and all of Leverstock Green's former Edgware players were greeted warmly and generously by all at SJP, with lots of friendly exchanges, hugs and banter regarding times gone by. I expected nothing less.

August 27th. FA Vase Preliminary Round. Edgware & Kingsbury v Leverstock Green, 2-2 (0-0), (E&K p4-2). Despite the build-up, and the potential, this was an oddly low-key encounter in front of a disappointingly small crowd, (41). Both sides had played 120 minutes midweek, and so started at little more than half-pace, and other than some neat sideways passing, and a couple of wayward shots, almost nothing of any consequence happened in the first half. After the interval, LG came out like a train, and goals from Kyeremeh and Beckwith on 45 and 46 seemed to have the game won. Curiously though, LG then backed off, and gave the midfield to E&K. E&K, and in particular the talented no 11, McGettigan, took full advantage, and goals from him on 56 and 57 had the sides level, with all to play for. Even curiouser though, with both the slope and the momentum in their favour, E&K then also chose to back off, and the game just meandered for a while and then eventually petered out. I'm sure the players won't agree, but from this relatively neutral spectator's point of view, it was almost as if both sides had decided to settle for the draw with thirty minutes still to play. As I said, most curious. On then to penalties, and with LG missing their first two, it was E&K who go through, to be 'rewarded' with a trip to Risborough Rangers. So, six unbeaten for E&K, five of which, really, they could probably have lost. Will London Lions be so accommodating on Monday ? I suspect not, but we shall see...

August 23rd. FA Cup Replay. Edgware & Kingsbury v AFC Dunstable, 1-0 (aet). A stunning rearguard action from E&K, on the back foot for most of the game, but won in the 120th minute by a penalty from Craig Tompkins, who had already missed one penalty after 77 minutes. AFCD were furious with the penalty award, for handball, and they may well have some justification, as it seemed extremely harsh to me, but they are such a mouthy, whiny, petulant bunch that it is hard to have much sympathy for them. So, after some very uninspiring pre-season results, it is now five games unbeaten for E&K. Some tough games to come, certainly, with Leverstock Green tomorrow, quickly followed by London Lions on Monday, but right now Rak Hudson's men are buzzing, and rightly so. Well done to all of them.

First things first -- David Armstrong. Extremely sorry to hear of David's passing, though I believe he had been unwell for some time and in recent years had been largely wheelchair-bound. 358 consecutive appearances for MFC, most of them in the top flight. Throw in friendlies and testimonials, and his actual run was well over four hundred games. I only met him once, and he was just as you would expect, a genuinely gentle man, modest and polite, ready to talk about anyone's talents except his own. Short and slight of build, it is worth remembering just how deceptively tough David was. In one game, (0-0 v Bolton ?), he came off after forty minutes with a badly-gashed ankle. Minutes later, another MFC player limped off, unable to continue. Only one sub in those days, so during the interval David, (without anaesthetic), had six stitches put into his ankle, and then went out and played the second half. A cliche, I know, but they really don't make them like that any more...

August 20th 2022. FA Cup Preliminary Round. AFC Dunstable v Edgware & Kingsbury 2-2 (0-1). Well, credit where credit is due, they say. And so it's a huge 'well done' to Rak Hudson's Edgware & Kingsbury side following their 2-2 draw at Southern League AFC Dunstable. E&K were never intimidated by their Step 4 opponents, took the game to them, and were good value for their 1-0 halftime lead, the first goal AFCD had conceded this season. The E&K defence dozed off just after the interval, and allowed AFCD to equalise with a free header, and so when AFCD went ahead on 73 minutes with the harshest of penalty awards, it appeared to be game over. Not so, however, and despite E&K missing a penalty of their own in the 92nd minute, an unbelievable 96th minute free-kick deceived everyone and somehow found its way into the corner of the AFCD net. A great performance then, and undoubtedly the best E&K result under Hudson's leadership. Can they finish the job on Tuesday ? Well clearly, AFCD must still be favourites, and will now know what to expect from E&K. On Saturday, though, it was noticeable how quick the AFCD players were to turn on each other once they went behind, so if E&K can get into them early on, and unsettle them, then they certainly still have chances.

Very nice. And if you are applying the same factor of fanciful accounting that Bedford apply to their attendance figures, then there must be well over a hundred people in that photograph...

The missing match, to be played on October 1st, is Shepherd's Bush v Hertford Heath.

It was a 'development' side --- Lincoln's first team were at home to Blackburn Rovers. And while I'm here, Tuesday's game between Belstone and Berkhamsted Raiders is at 6.45pm, rather than 7.30.

1) Only adolescents have heroes, Rhodes. However, as almost everyone at Silver Jubilee Park, including the committee, recognise that it was a grave error to dispense with the services of Fergus Moore, I am sure that he will receive nothing less than a genuinely warm and generous welcome on his return. I also expect his side to win quite comfortably. 2) The esteemed GRS67, formerly of this parish, was in attendance, though I was told that he was only allowed in as long as he didn't speak to anyone. Consequently, he spent the game standing by himself over on the far side. Resplendent in bright yellow, he cut a rather forlorn figure. His relationship with Rayners Lane FC has, I am told, 'irretrievably broken down'. 3) 'If Luton send anyone along who even remotely know what they are doing, it will be a long night for the CG defenders... ' Result: Crawley Green 0 Luton Town 9. 4) 'Is this a 'genuine' reserve side, or is it just a bunch of phonies cynically using the E & K name to grab themselves a place in the HCL Prem ?' Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, it's the latter. 'Edgware & Kingsbury Reserves' are simply Aldenham, renamed. Aldenham finished seventh in the HCL Div 1 last season, and now find themselves, rebranded, with an undeserved promotion to the HCL Prem. Observers can expect them to be in the bottom three all season, and possibly even to fold around about February, when the harsh weather kicks in. It's astonishing, and depressing, that the HCL are still falling for this kind of nonsense. 5) Edgware & Kingsbury 1 Hadley 2. A rather lack-lustre game, played in a decent spirit, but at half-pace. E & K's goal, a snap shot from around twenty yards, was scored by a 17-year-old who is on a season-long loan from er... Hadley. I suspect that both of these sides, in their respective divisions, have no more ambition for the coming season than to avoid relegation. 6) Saturday ? Who knows --- perhaps the thermometer will decide...

Didn't see much point really, Rhodes, as there appears to be only the two of us on here. Still, if you insist... Four minutes on the train, and then it's a twenty-five minute walk in the fearsome heat up Watling Street, to the Medburn ground, where I arrive in plenty of time for the 2.00pm kick-off, as reported on this very site. Unfortunately, it's not a 2.00pm at all, but a 3.00pm, as originally agreed some weeks ago. Ah, well. what can you do ? Shoot the messenger, I say... 'Surprise 3-1 winners', you suggest on here. Ha ! The only surprise was that Crawley Green managed to keep it down to three. Belstone took the lead after only fifty seconds with a superb speculative lob that caught the debutant keeper hopelessly out of position, and scored again with a free header, (and the keeper nowhere), less than five minutes later. They scored a third from a well-worked move down the right on fifty-five minutes, and although CG got one back on the break after sixty minutes, the game was over, and when the final whistle went, it was Belstone who were on the attack. A serious statto could perhaps argue that in between the two penalty areas, Crawley Green had most of the play, possibly even as much as 80%, (as one might expect from a Step 5 side), but that isn't what counts, and the Belstone defenders dealt fairly comfortably all afternoon with almost everything that came their way. When a side wins a league, or gains promotion, but then that promotion is denied due to off-field technicalities, they can often find it difficult to maintain the motivation necessary to go ahead and repeat the performance. This is something that Risborough Rangers are going to have to come to terms with this season. For Belstone, I don't see it as being a problem. They are keen, they are ready, and they are up-and-running, and this season, in the Herts County League, they will again be the team to beat. Crawley Green, on the other hand, have a different hill to climb. They only escaped relegation on the last day of last season, and are probably in for a similar struggle this time. They have one or two capable, and willing, performers, particularly in midfield, but they are carrying far too many passengers. Over the next ten days, Belstone go on to play Brentham, and then Hillingdon Borough, both eminently winnable games, while this very evening, Crawley Green find themselves up against a Luton Town XI. Hmm... If Luton send anyone along who even remotely know what they are doing, it will be a long night for the CG defenders... Me ? I'll be at Silver Jubilee Park, to see the newly-christened Edgware & Kingsbury take on the newly-promoted Hadley. I'm not expecting much, but the word is that E & K have entered a 'reserve' side into the Herts County League, so I want to see what this is about. Is this a 'genuine' reserve side, or is it just a bunch of phonies cynically using the E & K name to grab themselves a place in the HCL Prem ? We shall see...

And that's where I'll be. But sshhh, don't tell anyone -- it's a secret...

Excellent stuff, Rhodes, well done. Some proper games to pencil in at last...

A Sunday morning teaser for you. Here are ten football teams: Barnsley, Bridon Ropes, Chepstow Town, Glebe, Ipswich Town, Needham Market, Portishead Town, Prestwich Heys, Rossington Main, Worksop Town. I could add more, but ten will do. So, what links them all ? The answer ? They all played football yesterday ! It would appear that they can all play, but poor old Larkspur Rovers can't. This is complete nonsense -- either FA Rules & Regulations apply equally to everyone, or they are not fit for purpose and should be scrapped. And if the Middlesex FA were so damn concerned, why did they not e-mail Larkspur two weeks ago, when the fixture was first announced, rather than have people buggering about trying to find out where the game was being played ? Tcha ! Timewasters -- doncha just luv 'em ? So, in the absence of any football, (or trains), for me yesterday, my new season will now start on Friday, at Coles Lane, where Haringey Borough are due to entertain Leyton Orient. Let's see if the blazers, (or the RMT), can interfere with that one...

And now, (Saturday morning), Arlesey are tweeting that the Larkspur game is off anyway... Ho-hum...

According to the Larkspur Rovers' twitter account, Saturday's game against Arlesey Town is taking place at Brunel University.

People will have their own thoughts, obviously, but in my view this is actually not a bad move. Although, if anything, it comes eight years too late. Over the years I have run into a number of old Kingsbury Town supporters who flatly refuse to watch Edgware, (or Hendon), at Silver Jubilee Park, regarding them as little more than opportunists. If the Club had embraced the reality of the situation back in 2014, and changed their name as soon as they moved in, then these people may well have climbed aboard. Still, better late than never, and I wish them well. Who knows, it may even give Barnet ideas...

I notice that tonight's defeat at Tring means that Risborough Rangers still have some work to do to be SSML champions. New Salamis will now take the title if they can win at Risborough on Saturday. It's a tough ask, but the Salamina have the best away record in the League, and fear no-one, and so will certainly be up for it. More importantly perhaps, it is being reported on a number of other platforms that Risborough have failed the Step 4 ground-grading requirements and have been informed that they will not be promoted, which may mean that Hadley go up automatically in their stead. It is not yet clear why Risborough have failed, but as they have topped the table for most of the season the requirements needed for promotion must have occurred to them before now. Ground-grading standards are clear for all to see, it is not as if they come as a surprise. At a game earlier this season, I noted some Risborough officials exclaiming quite loudly that they 'couldn't wait to get out of this shit division'. This seemed a bit rich, as they didn't actually 'earn' promotion to 'this shit division' in the first place, but were simply awarded it by the FA following their performances over the two truncated seasons. Risborough are appealing the grading decision, and I am aware of one source citing 'bloody-mindedness' and 'arrogance' on the part of the ground-graders. Well chaps, perhaps you reap just what you sow...

Hadley v Aylesbury Vale Dynamos ? No, I was at Meadow Park, watching Boreham Wood beat Eastleigh 1-0 in quite the dullest game I've seen for some time.

HSCC Semi-Finals: (provisionally) 7.45pm, Tuesday, March 15th: Cheshunt v Hitchin Town 7.30pm, Friday, March 18th: Hadley v Royston Town

So as things stand, New Salamis and Risborough Rangers, whichever order they finish in, would both be promoted to Step 4. And who's coming down into the Spartan ? My guess would be Colney Heath and Chalfont St Peter --- still some way to go though.

According to another (usually reliable) forum, the attendance at Flackwell Heath yesterday was 403.

Hadley v Holmer Green 4-0 Another routine day at the office for Hadley, against a spirited, but limited, Holmer Green side who seemed to accept their fate quite early on and concentrated on keeping the score respectable. Goals from Solomon Ofori on 11 and 55, Luke Alfano on 31, and Cameron Ferguson on 38 secured the points, making that nine successive league wins for Hadley, with a goal difference of 28-2. With Leighton continuing to drop points and Risborough finally losing, this could still be a season to remember for the Brickfield Lane faithful. Three points next Saturday at Bell Close would certainly help.