Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Brickfield Lane, Arkley
Admission: Pay What You Want (standard admission £6.00)
Programme: Online Only
Attendance: 118
With a long day out planned next Saturday, I decided to stay relatively local today to tick off one of my nearest senior grounds that I had not yet visited. Another reason for choosing this game was to support an innovative promotion that the home club had devised to attract a higher attendance today (and for their other remaining home game next month). Spectators would be invited to "Pay What You Want", but with a twist - money would be collected as visitors left the ground, instead of when they enter.
Brickfield Lane is about a 40 minute walk from Elstree & Borehamwood train station, although buses regularly ply the route, and the ground is accessed by passing down a short private lane and then around the clubhouse, tastefully and attractively designed on the outside, modern and bright on the inside, with a large flat screen showing Premier League football. A small car park separates the clubhouse and the entrance to the ground, which is immediately behind one of the goals. A turnstile is located in the middle of wooden perimeter fencing, with club signage above and to the side. Facilities here are modest but perfectly adequate, and a lot of work has been undertaken to get the ground suitable for senior football - this is the third season that Brickfield Lane has hosted Spartan South Midlands League football, after having to groundshare at Potters Bar Town for eight long years. Straddling the half way line on one side is a modern metallic all-seater stand, whilst on the opposite side there is wooden cover for a flat standing area, with a step to the rear. There is just hard standing around the rest of the ground. The top of the clubhouse and a windmill are visible behind the wooden panel fencing along the entrance end, hedgerows line one length, behind the other goal there are trees, and there is a practice area behind the remaining length. Indeed, there is a lot to really like about the club. As well as being a leafy, neat and peaceful venue, and the "Pay What You Want When You Leave" promotion that was in place today, there was a really friendly and welcoming feel about the place, the club's supporters provide colourful and vocal support for their team, and another nice touch is the 50-50 competition, which is entered by throwing numbered tennis balls onto the pitch at half time - the closest numbered ball to the centre spot wins the thrower the cash prize. It's a very good idea which adds a bit of fun to the chance of winning some money, and it is really refreshing to see a club come up with novel ways of creating a welcoming, fun and enjoyable environment to raise money and attract supporters. Perhaps the only downside is that the club is one of a rapidly increasing number that no longer produces printed programmes, with a 16 page pdf version available for on the website, containing all of the essential info and stats.
An unintentional coincidence for me watching this game is that I watched the reverse fixture back in early December, which Crawley Green won 2-1. It was a rather surprising result given the respective league positions but, on the day, it was a deserved win for the Luton based outfit. But now reaching the business end of the season, Hadley are chasing down the league title and with it promotion to the Isthmian League. They were in second place, three points behind Tring Athletic having played the same number of games. They had won 22 and drawn four of their 32 league games, with six games left to play, and are in good form, winning their last four league games and unbeaten in their last 11 league games. Crawley Green were in 11th place, having won 12 and drawn seven of their 33 league games, and they came into this game in not the best of form, having picked up just two points from their last six league games, and one win in their last eleven, with a change in management occuring during that spell.
On a warm, sunny afternoon, the opening exchanges were quite even, but Hadley took the lead on 9 minutes. A long diagonal low ball into the box set the striker in a race to the ball with the keeper, and the keeper just managed to get a touch on the ball to avoid conceding a penalty, but the loose ball was retrieved by Alfie Bartram and he steered the ball excellently from the outer corner of the penalty area and inside the far post. The game remained quite even though, and the visitors equalised on 29 minutes with another very good goal, Oluwanimilo Ajigbolamu striding forward into the right side of the penalty area before drilling a shot across the keeper, off the far post and into the net. And the scoreline remained level at the break, with no further clear goalscoring chances.
Into the second half and Hadley imposed themselves more on the game, and on the hour mark a ball forward led to a race between their striker and the Crawley Green keeper, the ball spilled away and eventually a goalbound shot was quite comfortably blocked by a defender. But Hadley did take the lead three minutes later when Manny Hammond crossed the ball across goal and Rob Laney powered a downward header past the keeper and into the corner of the net. Although Crawley Green did threaten a couple of times during the remainder of the match, Hadley saw the game out quite comfortably for a win they just about deserved, with the narrow margin a fair reflection of proceedings. A good afternoon for Hadley became even better when news came in that Tring Athletic had lost their game at Colney Heath today, meaning Hadley are now level on points with Tring, with five games left to play, although Biggleswade FC are still very much contenders to pip both for the title, five points behind but with three games in hand. Considering their recent form, Crawley Green gave a good account of themselves today which offers hope for a better end to the season against teams not as strong as Hadley.
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