Monday, 4 January 2016

Match 19. Hoddesdon Town v Hertford Town

Saturday 28th December 2015 @3pm
Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
HODDESDON TOWN 1-1 HERTFORD TOWN
The Stewart Edwards Stadium, Lowfield, Park View, Hoddesdon EN11 8PX.

Admission: £6
Programme: £1.50 (52pp)
Attendance: 302
Refreshments: Becks Blue, £3. Hot dog, £2.50. Minestrone Cup-a-soup, £1. 

Another ground revisit over the festive season.  No parking at the ground and restrictions nearby meant I had to park 5 minutes away near the town centre. The football ground is adjacent to the cricket pitch and the complex is surrounded by trees on one side where the entrance is.  To the left is a DIY covered standing area between the dugouts and a main seated stand is on the opposite touchline.  The club building incorporates changing rooms, tea bar, toilets and clubhouse.

 A bumper crowd watched a match that was full of incident.  The home right back was sent off after just 3 minutes for a late lunge at the left winger. The sides evened up when said left winger was dismissed just before the interval.  Both were the teams’ captain and bad discipline continued in the second half when another Hertford player got sent off for a second yellow and the manager also got his marching orders.  I stood between the dugouts in the first half and the “banter” between the dugouts was borderline abuse.

To make matters worse for the home side, a 20 yard free kick from Hatherly went into the net after 10 minutes.  The ten men didn’t give up and kept the score at one by half time and with the team numbers now level, started the half well and put pressure on Hertford especially after the visitor went down to nine men.  They finally drew level on 75 minutes and almost won near the end but a shot was cleared off the line.

Friendly bar and tea bar staff and with the very readable programme, a visit to Lowfield is highly recommended.

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