One Step At A Time

Having settled on last Saturday a few weeks ago I made contact with Bruce for a trip up and I got far more than a bargained for which I will come to shortly. The trip up was broken by a couple of family visits, refreshing to see my mum finally back home after a mini stroke and the new foster dog in-situ at my younger brother’s.

It’s a fair trek from my home on the Sussex coast to almost anywhere, not often do I stop off in the middle anywhere, a welcome break this time in more ways that one. I made fairly good time despite the usual Dartford Tunnel jams, and first off encountered some very friendly stewards directing where to park.

I was actually in the London Borough of Barnet watching football but not sadly Barnet FC, been a very long while since that last happened. Bruce was there waiting and ready, inside for a pint in the pavilion, one of those clubhouses outside of the confines of the stadium.

Once inside I was introduced to Tristan Smith, the club President who immediately produced this complimentary ticket below for the game. Now I had expected as I usually do to be paying my way. I must admit I was a little taken back, there are plenty of grounds and places where they insist I don’t pay to get in, sometimes I don’t advertise I’m coming because non-league clubs need the money in my opinion, the gesture is nice and appreciated but you need my cash is my first thought.

I’d never been here before, despite feeling and as Bruce was saying it was like we’d known each other years it was the first time we’d met up at a game or indeed anywhere, the power and beauty of football and its connections.

We were in just in time for kick off, a lovely compact ground for the level, and the first thing that struck me was the amount of faces I knew from Underhill.

Hadley were a little understrength so Bruce told me, their opponents were Ascot Utd, an FA Trophy match as you see from the image above. The last time I saw The Yellas was at Wembley lifting the FA Vase, indeed sitting within their end as I prefer to do than the neutral section, it’s better within the fans on a memorable day out for them.

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The football itself was scrappy at times, Tris and Bruce pointing out this wasn’t their usual style, two important centre halves missing and a couple of players having recently returned from Wingate & Finchley.

Ascot took the lead, it took a while for Hadley to come into the game but the eventually did and Lenny Asamoah produced an equaliser, 1-1 at half time.

Hadley looked the better side in the second half and that man Asamoah produced a stunning driven shot that looked as if it would give the home side a passage into the next round, but Ascot came up with a leveller late on and to penalties we went.

A grandstand view of them in the seats behind the goal, keeper Charlie Taylor with three saves and a goal of his own, in a 7-6 win for Hadley.

After the game, most I spoke to quipped Hadley weren’t at their best that afternoon but sometimes you don’t need to be, just need to do enough to win the game, especially in the cups, and get through.

Lots more from Tris too, brand new changing rooms that are almost complete for use. A complete revamp for the small clubhouse becoming a big clubhouse to make use of the vacant space that is the current changing rooms.

Their rise hasn’t come cheap, some £1.6 million pounds spent since 2016, the time they’ve been at Brickfield Lane in order to improve the facilities, I can’t remember exactly if that figure includes the incoming revamp for the bar and it’s area.

I had known prior to the afternoon that the club is run by the Gray family, you might know the name of Matt Gray currently in charge at Eastbourne Borough, well it’s his. His brother Steve the chairman and his mum and dad heavily involved as well, great people and it is these people and us that make non-league football what it is.

They were disappointed with the crowd, not many travellers from the racecourse but they are likely to make up for that with a visit from Dartford in the next round in a couple of weeks’ time.

Just superb hospitality really, but then I know non-league football gives you that, some parts are unexpected like the free ticket and also a free programme, the type with more reading than adverts just how I like it.

A long journey home it might have been but I enjoy getting out of Sussex every so often, despite the amount of easy to get to football on my doorstep and when you get so well looked after, it makes it oh so worthwhile……..

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