No.16 - Sat. 13th October 2007; Bedfordshire Senior Trophy Round 1                                    1.00pm at Renhold Playing Fields, Top End, Renhold, Beds (Att: approx. 30; Admn and Prog: £1)

View matchday images  01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Renhold United (3) 3 Arlesey Athletic (2) 4 United edged out in seven goal thriller! When the excellent Football Traveller magazine reported that Renhold United were issuing programmes this season I couldn't wait to visit the Bedfordshire League club. A mouth watering home tie against Arlesey Athletic in the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy provided an ideal opportunity to travel to the village club located on the outskirts of Bedford. Like several fixtures, the kick-off today had been brought forward to 1pm to give players and supporters the chance to watch the televised Euro 2008 match between England and Estonia.   And what a cracking set up this is! The football ground which shares with cricket is directly behind The Three Horseshoes (Greene King) public house off Top End, the main road passing through the village. Entry to the field is via a gate at the end of the pub car park and this leads to the pitch which runs lengthways from here.  Away to the left is a small pavilion complete with changing rooms and a tea bar. The club name is proudly displayed above the door to reveal: 'Renhold United - 50th Anniversary, 1953-2003'. Some plastic garden furniture is in situ and provides a bijou patio area outside the front entrance! The pitch is beyond a cricket square and is bordered by trees behind the goal and along the far side giving the playing area a semi enclosed feel. There is no cover pitchside at the moment. With a local farm backing onto the field don't be surprised if you see chickens encroaching onto the pitch during the game. These must be the extra free-range variety!   The club is run by an enthusistic, well organised band of helpers who between them muck in to cover all the necessary jobs expected on a matchday. Everyone visiting the club is made to feel very welcome. Both Lynn and Barry Dimmock (club Chairwoman and Treasurer respectively) were busy manning the tea bar and selling programmes well before kick off time. They were more than happy chatting to the travellers present and ensured that all the important team line ups had been correctly entered into our notebooks! Although hard working programme editor Keith Harlow couldn't make it to the game due to work commitments, he was extremely helpful in providing directions to the club when I spoke to him on Friday night. What service. Bigger clubs take note!    This first round match was a real thriller with the result in doubt until the last few minutes. United came from behind twice to take the lead and were on the brink of victory until the visitors (members of the South Midlands League Division 1) scored twice in the second half to win 4-3! It was captivating stuff and we all hoped that the hosts would equalise so that we could watch another thirty minutes of entertaining football! The players of Renhold United should be proud of their performance though and looked the better side for a large part of the match.   A crowd of about thirty was in attendance including hopping stalwarts Mick Burt, Andy Marnoch and Pete Bonny who had driven up from West London. Refreshments including fresh cheese and ham rolls, snacks, sweets and hot drinks were served from the tea bar before the match and again at half-time. A smashing 12 page computer generated programme was issued for the game and was included in the £1 admission charge. All the match details are printed on the front cover with playing squads typed in red and blue (matching the club strips) listed on the back page. There are plenty of stats inside covering all those vital league tables, results, fixtures and goal scorers. A couple of colour photos showing past teams complete the content. A superb effort. Apparently the club issues for all home games and is probably the only one known to produce programmes in the entire Bedfordshire League.    To reach Renhold is fairly straightforward with the village being only a few miles off the main A1 dual carriageway. Continue towards Milton Keynes using the A421 and turn off at the junction with Great Barford. Follow signs to Renhold village and look out for the pub on your right handside. There is plenty of parking space along Top End road.   A visit to this delightful club comes thoroughly recommended. You will not be disappointed by what you find there. The joys of hopping.                                                                  FGIF Rating: 5*                                                                                                    Map

edited on 19/10/07