HERTFORD TOWN (Hertingfordbury Park)

SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE CENTRAL, HERTFORD TOWN 1-4 KIDLINGTON, ATTENDANCE: 200

Storm Eunice had wreaked havoc across the UK over the previous 24 hours meaning plans for the weekend had to be changed and the list of grounds with an artificial pitch had to be scoured.

My options for a new ground were few and far between but there was one that immediately jumped out when scrolling the fixture cards and that was the huge 'six-pointer' at the bottom of the Southern League Division One Central. 18th placed Hertford Town were hosting 17th placed Kidlington and both teams certainly needed a win.

It is only this season that Hertford Town have gone with an artificial pitch and earlier in the season they played eight successesive games away from home whilst the 4G pitch was laid. Indeed today was the eighth and final successesive home game of those reversed fixtures.

Hertingfordbury Park has been home to Hertford Town since they were founded in 1908 (though their origins go back to 1901 as Port Vale Rovers before mergers with Hertford United, Blue Cross FC and Horns FC) and the ground is dominated by a wonderful old stand that dates from 1959. There are even some of the original wooden seats in place, which obviously reminded this blue of Goodison Park.

Hertford Town have spent their history in various leagues which cover the Hertfordshire area but mostly recently, in 2017, they achieved promotion from the South Spartan Midlands League, after a decade as members, when they finished runners-up behind London Colney, who declined to take the step up. They joined the Isthmian League before being transferred to the Southern League at the end of the Covid curtailed 2020/21 season. The way the current season has gone thus far there is a real danger of relegation back to step 5, creating the need for victories, starting this afternoon.

As the game kicked off the rain was still teeming down which helped create a slick passing surface. It was Kidlington who were able to take advantage of the chances they created by blitzing their hosts with a four goal salvo in the opening 33 minutes.

After Hertford had started brightly, Connor Mattimore (14) was played through on goal and he fired a shot across the 'keeper which nestled in the corner of the net. After 22 minutes the ball fell to Luke Stokoe on the edge of the box and his low curling shot was just out of reach of 

didn't exactly cover himself in glory with Kidlington's third goal on the half hour when he allowed Rhys Wells' shot to squirm through his hands and into the net. Hertford's misery was completed after 33 minutes when the ball was squared to Ryan Knight inside the penalty area and he sidefooted the ball into the net.

Hertford were not without their own chances but it seemed that every chance Kidlington created ended up in the back of the net.

Half time gave Hertford the opportunity to regroup and in the second they had a go but in truth never looked like getting back into the game. They eventually got a goal back after 83 minutes through Alexander Cathline but by then it was too little too late. Hertford are by no means certain to go down but its vital they start picking up points, I wish them luck in their endeavour.

After hearing various tales of woe from other football supporters this afternoon (especially from Everton fans en-route to Southampton, where trains terminated in London) I was just grateful to watch a game of football on this wretched afternoon. However, if you want some sort of positive spin on things it was good to be back to weather causing postponements rather than Covid-19!

Come on you Blues!!

TRING ATHLETIC (The Grass Roots Stadium)

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, TRING ATHLETIC 0-2 BALDOCK TOWN, ATTENDANCE 95

This was not my intended destination when I left home just after 9am, as I failed to take into account how much the rainfall over the previous days had impacted on pitches across the country. Maybe my groundhopping senses had been dulled by the lack of action in 2020!

Regardless, after scouring the fixture lists whilst at a pit stop halfway down the M40, I doubled checked on Twitter and Tring Athletic had tweeted it was matchday and it was game on. No issues.

The only thing I knew about Tring is that former Premier League referee Graham Poll was from there - a popular referee (sic) with us Blues, especially after disallowing Don Hutchinson's derby 'winner' in April 2000, a mistake he admitted after retirement.

So, it was to the Grass Roots Stadium that I headed. As I was travelling to the ground I drove by the Tring Brewery. Well it would have been incredibly rude not to pop in!

Tring Athletic were formed in 1958 as a youth set up and it wasn't until the early seventies that they became a fully fledged adult club. The club played their home games at Mansell Lane but problems led to the ground being sold to the council in 1976. The club joined the South Midlands League in 1988 and were founder members of the Spartan South Midlands League a decade later.

In 2003, with Mansell Lane failing to get permission to erect floodlights, the club absorbed Tring Town and set up base at what is now called the Grass Roots Stadium. The club reached the Premier Division that season and have remained there since.

With capacity limits in place because of Covid regulations, my heart skipped a beat when I was directed away from the car park at the ground as it was full. Surely they were not here to watch Tring Athletic? It turns out they were next door watching a rugby match. Each to their own I guess!

Baldock Town were the visitors and this was both teams first competitive game, post-lockdown. It was far from a classic but both teams seemed to have the advantage when kicking down the sloping pitch. Chances were at a premium, but Baldock managed to score a goal in each half. The first came after 28 minutes when a long throw into the box was flicked home by Ashley Jay (pictured below).

The second goal came after 80 minutes when a corner kick fell to Baldock skipper Josh Furness, who smashed home from the edge of the six yard box to seal the victory for The Reds.

The programme is online only. You can click here to read.