No.20 - Sat. 22nd November 2008; Herts County Senior League Premier Division                  2.00pm at Welwyn Playing Fields, Ottway Walk, Welwyn, Herts. (Att: 7; Admn and Prog: 50p)

 

Matchday images (12)  >view>

Lemsford (0) 1 Bovingdon (0) 2 

 The Lemsford ghost is finally laid to rest

The trusty Wraymobile travelled along a very familiar route down into the leafy London suburbs for yet another match in the Herts County League. After setting out from racing HQ today I must admit however to feeling rather superstitious about my chosen game: the Premier Division fixture between Lemsford FC and Bovingdon to be played at the Welwyn Playing Fields...bear with me for a couple of paragraphs and I will try to explain…

 

My immediate concerns had nothing at all to do with the car, or the weather, or even the ground conditions – all well known gremlins that can frustrate the enthusiastic traveller (ie. well Fran and I). No it wasn’t any of these things…in fact the car was still chugging along very nicely thank you; the weather didn’t look bad enough to affect the game as an earlier phone call to the helpful club secretary had confirmed. With a big tick in all of these boxes it was definitely game on. So why all the anxst?

 

My last visit to watch a match at Lemsford Football Club was a rather creepy experience to say the least. In fact every time I see the club name in either a fixture list or in a league table I vividly remember my day out there. It's all a bit spooky really. Surely other hoppers have shared similar experiences at bogey clubs and grounds? Ask Paul R for instance about Codicote Football Club when you see him. In fact it might be better not to mention the ‘C’ word, as we now call it!.

 

The anorak in me can reveal that I last attended a game here almost six years ago now (on 7th December 2002) when Hinton visited the Village Hall ground for a Herts County Senior League Division 1 game. How sad is that? As we (Old Sloppy and I) pulled up in the car park on that day not a lot seemed to be happening, bearing in mind that we had arrived only a few minutes before the scheduled 2pm start (as per usual). The players had been called back into the changing rooms, partly to get out of the dank drizzle but more importantly to wait for some news concerning one of the officials. Apparently the match referee had failed to turn up and more importantly no one at the club could contact him. Our chosen game was in doubt without a ball having been kicked! Scary moment number one!

 

It was now ten minutes past two and it really didn’t look good. One of the committee members then suggested phoning his friend who was a qualified referee. Perhaps he could help? There was just a glimmer of hope of watching a game. Sadly this drew a blank too as he was currently out of the country on business. By now we had resigned ourselves to missing out on a game here altogether. Scary moment number two!

 

Eventually one of the older spectators, who had turned up late, heard the news and offered to help out in the circumstances although he was quick to point out that he had given up the whistle many years ago. Dressed in his tracksuit bottoms, a jumper and a pair of borrowed trainers, he summoned the players out onto the pitch ready to start the match. Game on! It was by now 2.25 pm and a decision was made to reduce the match to two thirty five minutes halves. The light, just like the blood in our cheeks, had rapidly started to fade. His offer to officiate, though, made sense and we hoppers had a game (at last).

 

All eyes seemed to be on the official. Was he up to the job? Despite his obvious lack of mobility and lung power, the re-born official managed just about to keep up with play and kept things in order. With only a few minutes to go before the end of the first half and with Hinton leading 2-0, a crunching tackle close to the half way line caused a stoppage in play. With much arm waving and shouting, the surrounding players called over to the trainer standing next to the dug out. It soon became clear that one of the Hinton defenders currently lying motionless on the ground was in absolute agony. The player was wrapped up in a blanket and a call was made for urgent medical attention. The nearest available ambulance had to come from Hertford, over ten miles away. Really scary moment number three!

 

The enforced wait seemed to take ages. It was at least fifteen minutes before the paramedics arrived and it took another fifteen before they managed to assess the extent of the defender's  injury and move him carefully, with an oxygen mask on his face, into the ambulance. It was now 3.25pm. We all thought that the game was going to be (justifiably) abandoned. It would be only right to call it off after such an injury, a little later diagnosed as a suspected broken ankle. We really did feel for him. There was another long pause as officials and players came to a decision about the match. Scary moment four!

 

In very dull conditions the referee agreed to finish the game. The players quickly changed ends and played out about twenty-five minutes before, finally. it got dark. Although the match finished without any further incident we had experienced a really stressful afternoon with more spent waiting around than actually watching a football match. What an unforeseen chain of events it had been. It was a frustrating roller coaster of emotion.

 

I digress! That was then and this is now. The spectre from the past thankfully didn’t raise its ugly head again today. On a bitterly cold and overcast afternoon the Herts County Senior League Premier Division game was a thoroughly entertaining affair played in front of only seven spectators including fellow hopper Keith Aslan who had come the short distance from London for the match. A smart photocopied 12 page programme was issued for the game for only 50p and refreshments were available in the pavilion at half-time.

 

With only seven minutes of the second half gone Alex McDonald gave his marker the slip on the edge of the box to fire in a low drive past the visiting keeper and give Lemsford the lead. With less than ten minutes to go it looked as though the hosts, dressed in black and amber stripes (similar to those Premier League Tigers), had done enough to clinch the points when the game suddenly came to life. Bovingdon piled on the pressure and scored a hotly disputed penalty, converted by the burly Steve Stratford (82) to level matters. Two minutes into stoppage time and they added a second with the lively Chris Marks (92) on hand to strike a rebound through a crowd of players from close range. As we walked over to the car there was still time for a couple of frustrated Lemsford players to see red as the hosts were reduced to nine men after some wreckless tackling. The second of these was given to the home keeper following a professional foul in the area. In the final kick of the game Stratford (96) stepped up to the spot again only for his shot to go wide. He turned to face his team mates with a wry smile as the whistle blew knowing his miss didn't matter and his side had taken the honours. It was a frenetic finish I can tell. It was also amazing to think that my second match at Lemsford should last much longer than my first all those years ago (by some 41 minutes)! The Lemsford ghost had finally been laid to rest.

 

Lemsford Football Club play their first team games at the Welwyn recreation ground whilst the reserves and junior sides still using the Lemsford Village Hall base. Facilities at Ottway Walk are excellent and the ground has a neat, tidy, well-maintained, picturesque appearance. A large car park runs along one side of the pitch which is set out on a plateaud embankment above being accessed by a row of steps in the corner. The changing pavilion is situated beyond the Welwyn Sports and Social Club as you walk behind the goal. A smart weather vane and clock sit proudly on the gable at the top. Mrs W thought that the toilets here were exceptionally clean and was impressed by the provision of antibacterial hand wash! A small function room and kitchen is manned by a welcoming band of helpers who dispense a range of hot and cold drinks as well as snacks. The matchday programmes are also available here.

 

The playing surface is railed along the near side, behind both goals and on part of the far side except where the cricket square overlaps in the centre. Some orange plastic perimeter netting (you would normally find at the site of road works) protects the lush grass and artificial wicket! Portable dug outs are placed at opposite sides of the cricket square. Another smaller practise pitch runs behind. An arrangement of play equipment can be seen behind the goal at the far end. There is no cover on site at present so a visit would be better in more conducive weather conditions.

 

It had been a great day out! A new ground tick; another programme for the collection and a smashing game of football that had lasted a full ninety minutes. Yes the Lemsford ghost had finally been laid to rest...the joys of hopping are definitely back!!   

 

FGIF Match Rating: 4.

edited 28/11/08