April Sales

On Tuesday I saw the first leg of Hayes & Yeading United’s Conference South play-off semi-final with Eastleigh and there was drama from the first few minutes.

Hayes, on a 15-game unbeaten run, were a goal down in five minutes and conceded a penalty two minutes after that. The ‘keeper made an inspired save but the home side remained all at sea. It was 0-3 at half-time and they’d lost their top scorer to a red card too. But a Hayes goal right at the end of a traumatic evening made it 2-4 and gave them a glimmer of hope.

My birthday treat on Wednesday was Polytechnic v Old Salesians, a 6.15 kick-off in the Southern Amateur League. There were seven of us watching altogether. Despite having a player sent off, ‘Sales’ were holding their Chiswick hosts to a 1-1 draw until stoppage time. Then Poly snatched the winner, with the superfan now almost 100 yards down Cavendish Road but still able to follow the action through a wire fence.

I had no idea what ‘A.W.D.F.’ stood for, as they started their Islington Midweek League fixture with Dover Castle the following evening. ‘Come on the Angels’ gave me a clue and it turned out to be ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’, the title of a 1938 film starring James Cagney. They won comfortably, 5-1, and in my 5,663rd game I saw something I’d never seen before.

Midway through the second half A.W.D.F. scored with two penalties inside a minute. Both were for fouls, not disputed, and they were converted by different players. A Castle player was sent to the dressing room near the end and swiftly returned to the pitch, minus his shirt, to be restrained by team-mates before he could get to the referee.

I lived in Southall for the first two years of my life and much later saw a handful of Southall FC games at their old Western Road ground. After recently writing an article on their appearance in the 1986 FA Vase Final, when ‘Sir’ Les Ferdinand was their centre-forward at Wembley, I resolved to go and see them play in the Middlesex County League. Saturday’s ‘home’ fixture with Bedfont Sports had been switched to the latter’s ground and kicked-off seven minutes late.

If they’d started on time, I would’ve missed it. After discovering on the Piccadilly line tube from central London that due to ‘upgrading work’ it wasn’t going to stop at Hatton Cross – the only station anywhere near the ground – I was standing at a bus stop outside Hounslow West with the kick-off less than 15 minutes away. Sports won a full-bloodied game 2-0 to secure third place and (I think) promotion to the Combined Counties League.

Southall’s Amateur Cup semi-final with Pegasus had a crowd of 29,982. I counted 48 spectators on Saturday.

When I’d pitched up to Regent’s Park the previous Sunday morning to watch KIKK United’s Russell Cup tie with Fulham Deaf, I found the only sport being played was cricket. Not so much ‘moving the goalposts’ as ‘taking the goalposts away’. I drew another blank at Ealing Central at the weekend; the rusty-looking posts were still in place but the advertised game simply didn’t take place.

London Irish were worthy winners of the afternoon’s Hendon & District Sunday League President’s Cup Final at North Greenford United FC, 4-2 against Dutch Lions. There was another penalty and another red card. Worcester Park, who could still be crowned champions of the CCL’s Division One, won 3-0 at a cold and damp Warlingham on Monday.

I got hopelessly lost walking from Upper Warlingham station but still arrived at the Wars’ ground at Verdayne Gardens five minutes before kick-off, thanks to a nice couple who gave me a lift from Warlingham Sports Club, where we’d all gone in error.