This Tuesday evening saw a last minute change of venue after I had planned to go further afield whilst the weather was still good, but got delayed by work. I always have a list of potential games and the estimated drive time so that I can change plans when required. Needing to find a game that wasn't much more than an hour away, I settled on finally visiting Wembley FC, a team that had featured on my planned list for some time.
Having finished bottom of the Combined Counties Premier North last season, Wembley were back in Step 6 for the first time in many years. Their opponents, Hillingdon Borough, have been in Step 6 since relegation from the Spartan Premier a decade ago. Last season's sixth place finish was their best league placing in that time.
Thanks to the stat-packed Wembley programme, I also knew that the teams last met competitively in the 2016-17 FA Vase. Wembley came out on top that day, edging through 2-1 despite having a player sent off mid-way through the first half.
This season has seen contrasting fortunes for the two teams so far. Coming into the game, Wembley were placed in 10th spot having won two, lost two and drawn one. They were also unbeaten i their two home games so far, a 1-0 defeat of Oxhey Jets and a 1-1 draw with Holmer Green. Meanwhile, Hillingdon's start has been fraught to say the least. Four defeats from their opening four games saw them sitting second from bottom before kick-off (third if you count Windsor who withdrew before a ball was kicked). Even more concerning for The Hillmen would be the number of goals conceded, 17 in those four games. Averaging four against is always going to make it very difficult to pick up points.
I'm pleased to say that there was no need to go looking for team sheets as Wembley very helpfully pin them up next to the turnstile before kick-off.
Having finished bottom of the Combined Counties Premier North last season, Wembley were back in Step 6 for the first time in many years. Their opponents, Hillingdon Borough, have been in Step 6 since relegation from the Spartan Premier a decade ago. Last season's sixth place finish was their best league placing in that time.
Thanks to the stat-packed Wembley programme, I also knew that the teams last met competitively in the 2016-17 FA Vase. Wembley came out on top that day, edging through 2-1 despite having a player sent off mid-way through the first half.
This season has seen contrasting fortunes for the two teams so far. Coming into the game, Wembley were placed in 10th spot having won two, lost two and drawn one. They were also unbeaten i their two home games so far, a 1-0 defeat of Oxhey Jets and a 1-1 draw with Holmer Green. Meanwhile, Hillingdon's start has been fraught to say the least. Four defeats from their opening four games saw them sitting second from bottom before kick-off (third if you count Windsor who withdrew before a ball was kicked). Even more concerning for The Hillmen would be the number of goals conceded, 17 in those four games. Averaging four against is always going to make it very difficult to pick up points.
I'm pleased to say that there was no need to go looking for team sheets as Wembley very helpfully pin them up next to the turnstile before kick-off.
Wembley free-kick Wembley were the first to show early on when Alfie Bates saw his far post effort go just wide after five minutes. The home side were holding sway in terms of possession, the lion's share you could say, but had their goalkeeper Avante Joseph to thank in the 12th minute. The stopper had to be very quick off his line to block well from Hamza Ali after a through ball split the home defence. Back up the other end Ben Lawson-Hatch pushed forward to good effect before sending over a low cross-cum-shot that beat Idris Kalokoh's left-hand post and evaded any incoming strikers.
The score remained level until the 24th minute, when a through-ball sent Freddie Stoner-Redfern free for a run on goal. The number 10 remained calm, stroking the ball low below Kalokoh. 1-0
Facing the prospect of a fifth straight defeat, Hillingdon tried to respond and on the half-hour mark, maybe should have had an opportunity to get back on terms. Another defence splitting pass allowed a Borough player to run in diagonally beyond the defence, only for Joseph to come hurtling out of goal and appear to take out the forward. My vantage point was from the opposite end of the pitch so I can't profess to have had a clear view, but it certainly didn't look good. Expecting the referee to point to the spot (if it was in the area) and possibly even issue a red to Joseph, I, the Hillingdon players and some spectators in the main stand, were very surprised to see the referee award a free-kick to Wembley and a yellow card to the Borough striker. The referee was much closer and had a much better view than I had, so who am I to argue. Maybe it looked worse from my angle than it actually was?
Whatever the case, it did seem to spark some fight in the Hillingdon belly, as the visitors began to look far more threatening as the half came to a close. Hamza Ali again tested Joseph after cutting in from the left and making the keeper go full-length to keep out his shot.
However, the referee soon drew the half to a close with Wembley still a goal to the good.
HT Wembley 1 Hillingdon Borough 0. The Lions deservedly ahead on the balance of play although Hillingdon began to assert a little more pressure towards the end of the half. The next goal could be crucial.
The score remained level until the 24th minute, when a through-ball sent Freddie Stoner-Redfern free for a run on goal. The number 10 remained calm, stroking the ball low below Kalokoh. 1-0
Facing the prospect of a fifth straight defeat, Hillingdon tried to respond and on the half-hour mark, maybe should have had an opportunity to get back on terms. Another defence splitting pass allowed a Borough player to run in diagonally beyond the defence, only for Joseph to come hurtling out of goal and appear to take out the forward. My vantage point was from the opposite end of the pitch so I can't profess to have had a clear view, but it certainly didn't look good. Expecting the referee to point to the spot (if it was in the area) and possibly even issue a red to Joseph, I, the Hillingdon players and some spectators in the main stand, were very surprised to see the referee award a free-kick to Wembley and a yellow card to the Borough striker. The referee was much closer and had a much better view than I had, so who am I to argue. Maybe it looked worse from my angle than it actually was?
Whatever the case, it did seem to spark some fight in the Hillingdon belly, as the visitors began to look far more threatening as the half came to a close. Hamza Ali again tested Joseph after cutting in from the left and making the keeper go full-length to keep out his shot.
However, the referee soon drew the half to a close with Wembley still a goal to the good.
HT Wembley 1 Hillingdon Borough 0. The Lions deservedly ahead on the balance of play although Hillingdon began to assert a little more pressure towards the end of the half. The next goal could be crucial.
Borough trying for a consolation And we didn't have to wait too long for that next goal to arrive. Six minutes to be exact. That's when a corner from the right hand side was met by the head of Gabriel Tshibangu. The big central defender getting enough on the ball to bundle it over the line. 2-0
Again, the Hillingdon response to the goal was good. Withing a few minutes Jacob Wint cut in from the left and fizzed in a real stinger, heading for the bottom corner. However, Joseph got down exceptionally well to get fingertips to the all, turning it away for a corner.
That saved proved to be crucial too when, four minutes later, an excellent left-wing cross from Ben Lawson-Hatch found Freddie Stoner-Redfern who deftly nodded the ball past Kalokoh. 3-0
That effectively sealed the points with 30 minutes remaining. Stoner-Redfern had a couple of efforts to seal his hat-trick and, for Hillingdon, Jamie Pitt came close with a clipped effort that beat keeper and crossbar, but there was to be no more scoring.
FT Wembley 3 Hillingdon Borough 0. In the end, a comfortable three points for Wembley, who move up to 7th spot, level on points with four teams above them and only two points off leaders Bedfont. Hillingdon remain just above Deportivo Galicia on goals scored, but have now played a game more. It's now five defeats on the bounce for The Hillmen and life doesn't get any easier. On Saturday they make the short trip to The Orchard to face top of the table Bedfont. Wembley are back at home, and could do Borough a favour, as they welcome bottom side Deportivo Galicia to Vale Farm.
Wembley: Joseph, Osborne, Lawson-Hatch, Tshibangu, Statham, Baker, A.Bates, Osei, Acheampong, Stoner-Redfern, Iley. Subs: Lupumba, F.Bates, Williams, Langan, Sheehan
Hillingdon Borough: Kalokoh, Pitt, El-Kaffash, Salaam, Campbell, Wint, Binaj, Animashuan, Almeida-Joaquim, Ali, Ipinson-Fabien. Subs: Thomas, Andar, Gobishavi, Preko, Martial
Again, the Hillingdon response to the goal was good. Withing a few minutes Jacob Wint cut in from the left and fizzed in a real stinger, heading for the bottom corner. However, Joseph got down exceptionally well to get fingertips to the all, turning it away for a corner.
That saved proved to be crucial too when, four minutes later, an excellent left-wing cross from Ben Lawson-Hatch found Freddie Stoner-Redfern who deftly nodded the ball past Kalokoh. 3-0
That effectively sealed the points with 30 minutes remaining. Stoner-Redfern had a couple of efforts to seal his hat-trick and, for Hillingdon, Jamie Pitt came close with a clipped effort that beat keeper and crossbar, but there was to be no more scoring.
FT Wembley 3 Hillingdon Borough 0. In the end, a comfortable three points for Wembley, who move up to 7th spot, level on points with four teams above them and only two points off leaders Bedfont. Hillingdon remain just above Deportivo Galicia on goals scored, but have now played a game more. It's now five defeats on the bounce for The Hillmen and life doesn't get any easier. On Saturday they make the short trip to The Orchard to face top of the table Bedfont. Wembley are back at home, and could do Borough a favour, as they welcome bottom side Deportivo Galicia to Vale Farm.
Wembley: Joseph, Osborne, Lawson-Hatch, Tshibangu, Statham, Baker, A.Bates, Osei, Acheampong, Stoner-Redfern, Iley. Subs: Lupumba, F.Bates, Williams, Langan, Sheehan
Hillingdon Borough: Kalokoh, Pitt, El-Kaffash, Salaam, Campbell, Wint, Binaj, Animashuan, Almeida-Joaquim, Ali, Ipinson-Fabien. Subs: Thomas, Andar, Gobishavi, Preko, Martial
Vale Farm
The Ground
Vale Farm has long been on my list of grounds to visit, and I was not disappointed. Situated just off Watford Road in North Wembley, the ground is penned-in on three sides by housing and an NHS facility, with a park bordering the eastern perimeter. The outside of the walled perimeter on the park side is decorated with a series of Soul'D Art works, some of which can be seen on the web site (https://sould-art.com/). The Wembley Stadium arch looms above the ground, just over 2 miles away. There's a small car park within the grounds of the stadium and plenty of free parking available a very short walk away. Access to the ground is via a short service road and then through a turnstile. Whilst the stadium a few miles away has all mod-cons it has nothing comparable to the charm and character of Vale Farm. The ground boasts a plethora of covered stands, all of different design due to the organic growth of the stadium. The biggest is the main stand, The Budweiser Stand, that spans half of the eastern side. The south side has a covered standing area and a further covered stand is situated on the lower section of the west side. This side, which is where you enter, also has the entrance to the clubhouse and snack bar, as well as the players and officials changing rooms and the dugouts. Alongside the entrance there is also a shallow terrace which has a single row of seats on the top level. The most intriguing feature is on the northern side, behind the goal. There are extra toilets in this section, although they are currently closed, but that's not the oddity. Behind the goal there is a row of bench seats and tables, akin to a picnic area or the outdoor area of a fast food joint (you can see these on the Google maps photo section).
Vale Farm is a gem of a non-league ground. Quirky and full of history and character.
Vale Farm has long been on my list of grounds to visit, and I was not disappointed. Situated just off Watford Road in North Wembley, the ground is penned-in on three sides by housing and an NHS facility, with a park bordering the eastern perimeter. The outside of the walled perimeter on the park side is decorated with a series of Soul'D Art works, some of which can be seen on the web site (https://sould-art.com/). The Wembley Stadium arch looms above the ground, just over 2 miles away. There's a small car park within the grounds of the stadium and plenty of free parking available a very short walk away. Access to the ground is via a short service road and then through a turnstile. Whilst the stadium a few miles away has all mod-cons it has nothing comparable to the charm and character of Vale Farm. The ground boasts a plethora of covered stands, all of different design due to the organic growth of the stadium. The biggest is the main stand, The Budweiser Stand, that spans half of the eastern side. The south side has a covered standing area and a further covered stand is situated on the lower section of the west side. This side, which is where you enter, also has the entrance to the clubhouse and snack bar, as well as the players and officials changing rooms and the dugouts. Alongside the entrance there is also a shallow terrace which has a single row of seats on the top level. The most intriguing feature is on the northern side, behind the goal. There are extra toilets in this section, although they are currently closed, but that's not the oddity. Behind the goal there is a row of bench seats and tables, akin to a picnic area or the outdoor area of a fast food joint (you can see these on the Google maps photo section).
Vale Farm is a gem of a non-league ground. Quirky and full of history and character.
The Programme
The Wembley match day programme follows the same lines as Vale Farm. It's not quite symmetrical, some pages aren't quite stapled in line and some of the printing isn't spirit-level straight. But you know what? Much like the stadium, it's all part of the charm. At 24-pages for £1.50, it's a good value programme. Part colour and containing more articles than adverts too. Aside from the standard team lists, results, tables and statistics, it also boats a few more unusual sections. There's an "on this day" section that highlights other Wembley games over the years and a page of more in-depth season stats so far. In this particular edition there was also part 1 of an article chronicling the constitution changes for Steps 5 & 6 this season. It's a programme that is clearly put together with some thought and a love for the club. Well worth a read.
Ground Number: 455
Att:46
Entrance: £7.00
Programme: £1.50
The Wembley match day programme follows the same lines as Vale Farm. It's not quite symmetrical, some pages aren't quite stapled in line and some of the printing isn't spirit-level straight. But you know what? Much like the stadium, it's all part of the charm. At 24-pages for £1.50, it's a good value programme. Part colour and containing more articles than adverts too. Aside from the standard team lists, results, tables and statistics, it also boats a few more unusual sections. There's an "on this day" section that highlights other Wembley games over the years and a page of more in-depth season stats so far. In this particular edition there was also part 1 of an article chronicling the constitution changes for Steps 5 & 6 this season. It's a programme that is clearly put together with some thought and a love for the club. Well worth a read.
Ground Number: 455
Att:46
Entrance: £7.00
Programme: £1.50
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