Spartan South Midlands League Division One
Preston Park, Harefield
Admission: Free
Programme: Free
Attendance: 257
Match Rating: 3
Today was the long awaited first day of the competitive football season, and although it was originally my intention to head for the Essex coast on yet another very warm and sunny day today, I was sufficiently tempted by the offer of free entry to this game, as part of celebrations marking the club's 150 year anniversary - indeed, the club has been acknowledged to be the oldest club in Middlesex.
Preston Park is about a 15 minute bus ride then 5 minute walk from Northwood underground station, with the clubhouse and various club signs close to the road and by the car park. It's very pleasant inside the clubhouse, with the main bar area modern and spacious and with a projector screen showing football on Sky, and a tea bar window in one corner. Also inside the building is a separate, much smaller bar area, and toilets. Spectators have to walk a short distance through the car park to reach the turnstile hut, although the turnstiles were closed today, with an adjacent gate left open instead. Team line-ups are posted on pitchside wall of the turnstile block, and straddling the half way line is a fairly long and shallow stand containing three rows of seating. There are slight grass banks either side, while on the opposite side there is a fairly high and large roof covering a flat standing area. There is just hard standing around the rest of the ground, including behind both goals. Tall trees around three sides of the pitch give this ground a pleasant setting. Although programmes were produced, they were certainly not actively offered, with none available in the ground and very, very few people had a copy, but eventually I managed to find some in the clubhouse. Although it had a nice cover, and was attractively laid out inside, it did not have any editorial and made precious little mention of the club's anniversary or history - it seemed a real missed opportunity on the club's big day. But that is not a criticism and any programme will be increasingly welcome these days.
Harefield had quite an average season last season, finishing ninth in the 20 team division following 18 wins and seven draws from their 38 league games. Winslow finished third, five points adrift of the second promotion spot, following 27 wins and two draws. In the two league fixtures last season, the game at Winslow in March finished in a 3-3 draw, whilst Winslow won 1-2 away last August.
On another hot and sunny afternoon, the first half was pretty even for the most part, although Harefield had slightly the better of things, but it was the visitors who took the lead on 15 minutes, when the ball was played in low from a corner and Aaron King poked the ball home from a central position. Harefield forced the visiting keeper into some good saves, but it was Winslow who held a slender lead at the break.
Harefield completely turned the game around in the second half with some terrific counter attacking play. On 51 minutes, a ball through the middle sent Lenny Farhall chasing towards the penalty area and he just beat the keeper to chip the ball over him and into the empty net. The home side were awarded a penalty on 61 minutes following a clumsy tackle as the Harefield forward ran into the box. Farhall struck the ball into the bottom left corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. Harefield opened up a two goal lead on 69 minutes, a lovely low pass threaded through the defence sent Tash Jordon through on goal, before dispatching a low finish past the keeper. They made the game safe on 83 minutes following another great ball through the defence, Farhall was just onside and as the keeper came out to close him down, Farhall clipped a lovely finish into the empty net to seal his hat-trick. The remainder of the match was played without much incident, and Harefield managed to secure a convincing win on their big day. They certainly deserved to win overall, although the final scoreline was harsh on the visitors.
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