Middlesex County League Premier Division, Saturday 26th March
Non-League Day for 2022 saw me over at the London Marathon
Community Track to check out Britain’s top ranked LGBT side Stonewall as they
welcomed Larkspur Rovers to Stratford for a Middlesex County League Premier contest, but neither side could break the deadlock as the game ended goalless.
Stonewall FC were established in February 1991 in London
when a founding member placed an advert in a gay publication asking if any like
minded people wanted to play competitive football, well since that ad the club
have gone onto fielding three eleven a side teams, as well as three Women &
Non-binary teams and also offering regular training and five a side sides too.
They have been successful in a number of international LGBT
tournaments too, reaching a final every year since 2000, and whilst doing this
they are still committed to creating footballing environments where people can
be comfortable as their authentic-selves, and are proud to be a driving force
in helping tackle discrimination with the game and are determined to continue
to challenge homophobia, transphobia and biphobia through football.
They are also the first LGBT side to obtain FA Chartered
Standard status, and the club is open to all players with a sizable amount who
do not define themselves as LGBT, so they must be commended for what they have
achieved so far and will continue to hopefully achieve in the future, so I
applaud them for that.
Their opponents today were Larkspur Rovers who have been in
the Northolt area of London for over 50 years, and they provide quality
football coaching and player development and have youth sections from Under 7s
to 18s, as well as the Men’s senior teams and Women’s senior teams with their
mission statement being ‘To Provide a positive community environment to allow
players to develop to their full potential and enjoy the game of football’.
They play their home games at Lord Halsbury Memorial Playing
Fields but today they were making the trip over to the Olympic Park and in the
shadow of the London Stadium, home of West Ham United of course, for a
Middlesex County Premier Division contest, Stonewall sat in fifth spot, three
points ahead of Larkspur who were in sixth, although the visitors had four
games in hand.
The hosts form since the new year has been good, four wins,
two draws, and just one defeat to leaders Clapton CFC, whereas the visitors
have only played three games since the turn of the year incredibly but have won
two of those three with their last game a 2-0 loss at Sporting Hackney last
weekend. And when these two did met on the opening day of the season way back
in August, Larkspur thrashed Stonewall 5-1.
Would that be repeated, or would Stonewall continue their
decent form and gain revenge for that opening day loss, well let’s see how the
match unfolded.
Well, on arrival in very warm and sunny conditions I noticed how poor the pitch looked, there were lots of bare patches that had been sanded and parts of the pitch had actual holes in it, and I overheard the referee say that if no sand could be found then the game may have to be postponed for safety, luckily this being an athletic venue too there was a sandpit behind one of the goals, so home players and staff of the venue filled up buckets with the sand and filled in the areas in question so we could have a game.
I heard afterwards that the pitch was once the best in the division until November when it was relayed, and since then kids have been playing on it and have ruined it by all accounts, so another relay is necessary, bit of a shame really and not really on considering the amount it must cost Stonewall to hire out for every game, but at least we had a game!!!
Whether this had an impact on the game who knows, but the pace and tempo of the game throughout was rather lethargic it has to be said, both sides struggled to really get a foot hold in the game and the only effort on target in the opening forty five minutes was a header from the visitors that was straight at the keeper.
The hosts did see a couple of corners swung in that caused a bit of alarm for the visiting keeper, having to tip one away from goal and then see another go narrowly over the bar, whereas the visitors saw another header fly over the bar, but chances continued to be at a premium and the second half was not much better, with the tempo and quality not especially high.
Larkspur for a time looked the likelier to score if anyone was too, and they almost netted a freak goal when a free kick into the box bounced off the rock hard surface and needed a smart tip over from the keeper to stop the ball going into the top corner, but as the game edged closer to the ninety minute mark it was Stonewall who had openings to snatch a win, but they could not find the target and the game ended goalless.
It is nonetheless a point a piece for both sides so at least they do earn something from the game today, but it was a game to forgot in the main, at least the weather was nice though!!!
Full time Stonewall 0 Larkspur Rovers 0
NW London took advantage of Clapton CFC's inactivity and hit top spot on goal difference and with two games in hand after a narrow win at relegation threatened Pitshanger Dynamo, and with fellow strugglers AVA and CB Hounslow United Reserves picking up points it wasn't an ideal day for Dynamo.
Kensington Dragons and Indian Gymkhana Club pulled further away from the bottom three as well with positive results, Gymkhana thrashing bottom side The Wilberforce Wanderers who looked pretty doomed. And although Stonewall and could not find the net, they do go up a place to fourth after Brentham lost at home, Larkspur stay in sixth after their point at Stonewall.
Next weekends fixtures are...
AVA Vs CB Hounslow United Reserves
Clapton CFC Vs Cricklewood Wanderers
FC Soma Vs Pitshanger Dynamo
Indian Gymkhana Club Vs Kensington Dragons
Larkspur Rovers Vs The Wilberforce Wanderers
Thanks for reading, I hope your enjoyed my latest blog
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