No.6 - Sat. 30th August 2008; Herts County Senior Football League Premier Division                    3.00pm at Herts County FA HQ, Baldock Road, Letchworth, Herts. (Att: 107; Admn: £2; Prog: 24pp, £1)

 

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Baldock Town Letchworth (0) 2  Codicote (2) 3 

New ground, new name, new era! 

After gaining promotion and leaving the Knights Templar Sports Centre at the end of last season Baldock Town Football Club has since moved out of town to the Hertfordshire County FA Headquarters in leafy Letchworth. As well as a new home, the club also has a new name and are now called Baldock Town Letchworth Football Club to reflect their new status. So a bit of history was made as we attended their first ever ‘new home’ game, a Herts Senior County League Premier Division match against Codicote FC (a team Paul Roth will no doubt be familiar with?!)

 

On a baking hot autumn afternoon both teams served up what was a veritable feast of football in front of a crowd officially counted at 107. Current league leaders Codicote were made to work hard to gain all three points in an end-to-end classic encounter. The visitors took the lead through Steve Teale (21). The tricky striker directed a powerful header from a Pete Duffy delivery to leave the home keeper Jack Farmer with no chance. It was Teale's fifth goal in as many games. The Baldock back line then pressed the self-destruct button. Defender Harry Holland was caught in possession allowing Duffy time and space to burst down the wing and deliver a perfectly weighted pass for the oncoming Daryl Smith. The front-runner casually passed the ball under the advancing Farmer (40) to make it 0-2.

For the opening fifteen minutes of the second half Baldock searched for a goal to drag themselves back into the game. It came when front man
Holland (59) scored from any easy close range tap-in. The hosts continued to pile on the pressure and it wasn't long before substitute Michael Fortune (70) drew his side level (even though the Codicote rearguard were adamant that the scorer was two yards offside). Despite these protests referee Paul Flanagan agreed with the linesman and allowed the goal to stand. Codicote manager Dan Kennoy didn't waste a second and replaced his front two of Teale and Duffy for Smith and Stephenson. The change seemed to have an immediate impact when Anderson (82) managed a neat one-two on the edge of the box to chip delicately over Farmer giving the Welwyn-based side their fourth win of the season. Their delighted manager said afterwards: 'We made hard work of it today. It's frustrating when you nearly throw away a two goal lead, it makes the win taste bitter. I can't fault our determination today though, hopefully the lads will learn from this and realise how to see out games when we have a comfortable lead.' Maybe Baldock will prove him wrong when the two sides meet again in an Aubrey Cup tie in a couple of weeks time at the John Clements ground in Bury Lane on Saturday 13 September*.

 

My last visit to the County Ground in Baldock Road was made over 15 years ago now and my hopping records show that I went there to watch Letchworth FC play Sun Sports, result 0-1, in a Herts Senior Cup Round 3 tie on 23/01/93. Naturally a lot of work has been done since then to transform the ground into a decent football venue. From first impressions travellers will appreciate the well-appointed facilities and lovingly maintained arena decked throughout in blue and white. A large sign displaying the new club name and logo welcomes spectators as they arrive at the main entrance; another next to the turnstile advertises details about forthcoming games. There is plenty of cover on site with a new all-seater main stand (on the entrance side) and standing cover on the other three sides which are slightly banked to give the place a more enclosed feel. A vibrant social lounge and bar area is located underneath the main stand and sells a range of cold, drinks, crisps, sweets etc throughout the game. Today the pitch looked in immaculate condition. Early teething problems with the surface meant that the club had to play their first four matches away from home. Thankfully all the extra work carried out on it during the late summer months paid off.

 

The matchday programme is an excellent publication and can be purchased (price £1) from a table placed just inside the entrance. Editor Lee Rushbridge pens 24 pages copied in full colour throughout. All the match details are displayed on the front; the main content is neatly laid out with header titles arranged vertically and printed in large red font on each page covering the main news items - notes on the visitors, Red Rover reports and loads of up to date stats. The team squads posted conveniently on the back page (where I like ‘em). As many hoppers will probably know already, the club has a superb website, details of which can be found by logging on to this address: http://www.baldocktownfc.co.uk/ It’s well worth a look and shows that the fledgling football club is definitely trying to raise its profile in the local area.

 

To reach the club we used the A505, by-passing Baldock (at Weston Hills) and picked up the A6141 (Great North Road). After continuing over the roundabout (at J9 of the A1M) follow signs for Letchworth along Letchworth Gate and turn right to join the A505 again (next to the BP garage). The ground is about 100 yards from here on the right hand side of Baldock Road. The large floodlight pylons will provide a useful landmark for travellers.

 

A visit to the club comes highly recommended and committee members will welcome all hoppers to games at their new base. Let’s hope that the move to Baldock Road proves to be a more permanent and successful one after enduring the period of instability in recent years. The joys of autumn hopping!

 

* Baldock did gain revenge two weeks later beating Codicote 5-6 in the Aubrey Cup! Result!!                         

FGIF Match Rating: 5.

edited 18/09/08