Herts Senior County League Premier Division
Medburn Ground, Radlett
Admission: £3.00
Programme: None
Attendance: 85 (rough headcount)
Although I had long since pencilled in this game, I was tempted instead to take in cup finals at either Whitstable Town or Lydd Town, or even some hurling in Ruislip, but all were at grounds I had previously visited. Ultimately, despite this being virtually a dead rubber game, the lure of a new ground for me to visit proved too strong to resist, and so I headed to a club I had heard good things about, on and off the pitch.
Although Radlett station is a little closer, I chose to alight at Elstree & Borehamwood instead, partly motivated by saving a few pounds (every little helps in the expensive hobby that is groundhopping….) as it is the last stop in the London Travelcard area, but perhaps more by a more pleasant walk, across a golf course and through several wooded areas. with the just under two mile walk taking about half an hour. The entrance to the ground, located off the historic Roman road of Watling Street, is decorated with club signage, with a sizeable car park located between the entrance and one end of the pitch. A brick clubhouse building is set in one corner of the ground, and while the choice of drinks was rather limited at the bar today, with only bottles and cans on offer, it is homely inside, has a large flat screen, and there is a decent pitchside patio area outside with picnic tables to watch the game from. There is hard standing along this end and both lengths, with a grass bank behind the remaining end. Straddling the half way line is a rectangular grey stand made of corrugated sheets supported by scaffolding poles, with individual chairs placed on paving slabs inside. Tall trees line this length and the end opposite the clubhouse, while beyond the other length are secondary pitches, with intermittent trees in between. Immaculately maintained, and with a rural and peaceful setting, this was a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon in the warm sunshine today. The club had applied for promotion to step 6 but their application was unsuccessful - the most obvious issue is the lack of floodlights. Hopefully they will be successful in moving on up soon - it is clear Belstone is a club on the up, with a lot of pride taken in the club and their facilities, and with pleasing importance attached to the youth infrastructure of the club.
A point earned at home last Saturday ensured that Belstone would win the Herts Senior League Premier Division, following 17 wins and seven draws from their 27 league games, and the large league winners’ shield was proudly on display in the clubhouse before the game. Wingate & Finchley Development came into this game in eleventh place in the 15 club division, following seven wins and eight draws from their 27 league games, and avoiding defeat today could see them rise a place, while a defeat could see them drop a place.
In warm conditions, and with little to play for, I was not really expecting a scintillating game of football, and so it proved, although the game was certainly watchable, as both teams looked to play some decent football on an excellently prepared surface. Belstone always looked to have more of a cutting edge, and they took the lead on 18 minutes when a long ball over the top found their forward, and he showed good composure in running towards goal before finishing emphatically past the keeper. And they doubled their lead on 40 minutes, when a corner was headed home.
And within five minutes of the restart the outcome was put beyond all realistic doubt when a Belstone player cut in from the left before firing a low curling shot beyond the keeper and inside the far post. Wingate battled gamely, without ever really looking likely to reduce the deficit, and as the game entered added on time at the end of the game, they were reduced to ten men for a strong two footed tackle.
And so Belstone won the division by four points, and they lifted the winner's shield themselves on the pitch shortly after the game - rather bizarrely, no league officials were present to officially hand over the shield, which seemed a shame. Wingate & Finchley finished their season in twelfth place.
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