Isthmian League South Central Division
Beaconsfield Road, Hayes
Admission : £10.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 216
With a lack of particularly attractive fixtures at grounds I had not previously visited, I decided to make today a landmark occasion, ticking off my final ground of the Isthmian League South Central Division, whilst belatedly taking in my first non-league action of 2019.
With walking from Hayes & Harlington and Southall train stations being rather long, indirect and not distances, I instead caught a bus from Ealing Broadway station, with the ground about a ten minute walk from the bus stop. I had previously visited this site back in 2005, when The Warren played host to Yeading, but after Yeading merged with Hayes in 2007 to form the current club, it was demolished and a new ground built on virtually the same site. There are a few visible signs remaining of The Warren, most notably the stand covering a few steps of terracing which was behind one of the goals - it still is for that matter, although it is now located outside of the ground's perimeter wall and has lost its rear wall. The couple of small stands and clubhouse building of The Warren were demolished and replaced with a huge grandstand and is as imposing and impressive outside the ground as it is inside, with turnstile blocks located either side, although only one set was open today, with a portakabin to one side outside serving as the club shop and selling drinks and snacks. Once inside the ground, excellent elevated and unobstructed views from the all-seater stand, but there is just hard standing around the rest of the ground. A burger van is located just inside the entrance, as are toilets inside a portakabin and an additional temporary unit. As impressive as the grandstand is at first glance, it is very much a work in progress still. A vast indoor area above the seating is mostly unfinished and inaccessible, the outer thirds of the seating is taped off and out of bounds, many of the facilities at ground level are unused, presumably unfinished, and whilst walking through the corridors to the bar (which, incidentally, had real ale available in the form of the very good Rebellion IPA) one notices several areas that remain unfinished. In truth, the facilities the stadium has currently open and available are more than adequate for the level the club finds itself at currently, and certainly superior to most if not all clubs in the division, which is why presumably there is no apparent rush to complete the works. However once all of the works to finish off and tidy up all of the planned facilities take place, presumably most likely should the club get back to the National League, this will be a very impressive stand indeed inside as well as outside. Programmes and team sheets were available from what is designed to be a disabled area at the bottom of the main stand, and a very well designed and professional looking programme it is too, serving as double issue also covering their Tuesday home fixture. It was an interesting read, in full colour and consisting of 32 pages.
After six seasons struggling near the foot of the table as the club slid down from the Conference National, not being helped by leading a nomadic existence, things are now looking up for Hayes & Yeading. After finishing third in the Southern League East Division last season, they came into this game top of the table, five points clear of the chasing pack with two games in hand. They had won 15 and drawn two of their 19 league games, averaging four goals a game. Chalfont St Peter transferred to this division with Hayes & Yeading, and were in 13th place following six wins and nine draws from their 20 league games. This is the first time the two teams have met this season, with the reverse fixture in ten days time.
On a very grey and increasingly cold afternoon, this was a very comfortable game for Hayes & Yeading, particularly once they scored the opening goal on 15 minutes, Toby Little driving forward from the half way line, through a couple of defenders before eventually firing in a low diagonal shot that went under the keeper's body and into the net. They doubled their lead on 39 minutes when a low cross from the right was stabbed first time into the net just inside the near post by Little. And they almost put the game beyond realistic doubt in first half stoppage time when a low diagonal shot by Little was parried by the keeper but the follow up shot by Lee Barney in the six yard box was blazed just wide.
The hosts did score their third on 49 minutes when Scott Dennison struck the ball low from the edge of the area and crept just beyond the keeper's dive and inside the post. Chalfont then had a couple of decent chances to pull a goal back, before the hosts scored their fourth on 67 minutes, and a lovely goal it was too. Tom Jelley picked up the ball from just outside his own penalty area and kept running forward virtually unopposed, before playing a one-two with Barney, and then passing the ball into the net. At that stage, it was looking like things might get ugly for the visitors, but the hosts seemed to ease off slightly for the rest of the match, though they did still have some decent chances to score a fifth, and had a goal ruled out for offside.
So a very comfortable and convincing victory for Hayes & Yeading, a performance certainly backing up their league standing, and they look a very good bet for promotion, barring a massive dip in form. As for Chalfont, they did look that bad on the whole, but will be glad they will rarely come up against a team as strong as Hayes & Yeading.
Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here.
No comments:
Post a Comment