Tims 92

Hayes & Yeading United

Church Road

Ground No. 228

Visited - Tuesday 19^th April 2011

Result - Hayes & Yeading United 3-1 Gateshead

Competition - Blue Square Premier

Attendance - 502

It seems to happen so often, a club announces that they’ll be leaving their ground with hardly any notice for fans to get there, so it was a nice change when Hayes & Yeading announced that the final game at Church Road would be the one I’d been planning on attending for several months!

When the clubs merged in 2007, whilst Church Road was the more developed ground, it was also in need of updating, so the plan had always been to sell it for housing and instead redevelop Yeading’s ground, The Warren. Set in a residential area, the land value of Church Road was much greater than The Warren, which in contrast sits on the edge of an industrial estate about 1 mile to the east, plus it had the disadvantage of not having much room to expand, so even without the merger, its future was probably in question. Since the two clubs had come together though, the news had gone a bit quiet, to the point that it seemed like they were one of those who constantly talk about leaving, but never really get round to it. Even so, with the warning signs present, I’d planned to try and get it done just to be on the safe side, choosing the final match of the season versus Gateshead

Situated in West London, Hayes are quite unusual in that they were founded by a female, Eileen Shackle, who formed Botwell Mission FC in 1909. They moved into Church Road (known as Cox’s Meadow) in 1920, and nine years later changed their name to the more familiar Hayes FC, after which they entered the Athenian League, where they’d spend the next 40 years, before moving to the Isthmian League, and stepping up to the top level of non-league football in 1996, pipping Enfield to the title by a single goal! Yeading on the other hand, were a relatively young club in comparison, being formed as a youth side in 1960 (there’s a tenuous link to a club that existed from 1894 to the 1920s). They didn’t step up to senior football until 1984, however their progress was swift, and they were competing in the same league as Hayes just eight years later after an impressive four promotions during that time. With the clubs so close together, and now competing at the same level, it was this, along with both struggling for crowds, that in the summer of 2007 saw them get together and decide to pool resources and merge.

Since joining together they had enjoyed a period of success that promised a bright future, gaining promotion from the Conference South in their second year (both sides had been playing at this level in 2007), and then surviving against the odds in the Conference in 2009/10. The visitors, Gateshead, had trod a similar path during the past several seasons, also winning promotion to the Conference in 2009 and staying out of the drop zone on the last day of the season thanks to a goal difference only one better than Forest Green, a surprise 1-0 win against Wimbledon keeping them alive whilst FGR suffered a surprise defeat in a game I was at, at Grays, another final match, that time for the Recreation Ground. The Tynesider’s could even claim a merger of their own during that time, albeit at youth level when Low Fell Juniors banded together with the club’s youth set-up.

Setting off early, I’d booked the day off work and decided to spend some time in London before making my way over to Hayes in the late afternoon, heading first to the ground to have a quick look. Walking up Church Road from the town centre, the first thing you notice is the clubhouse which forms the gateway to the ground itself. Covered in ivy, it’s vaguely reminiscent of Preston North End’s old Pavilion Stand, although doesn’t date back quite as far, in fact it was built in the 1950’s, the Luftwaffe having considered the previous clubhouse vital enough to the war effort to score a direct hit! Beyond it was once the car park, the new housing development already in full flow, encroaching right up to the turnstiles and main exit gate. Inside, and after entering, it instantly reminded me of Manor Park, Nuneaton Borough’s old ground with its sweeping terracing. At the near end is uncovered terracing, 12 rows high that is officially the away end, and but for a break in the corner, runs around the far side and end with an unusual crank in the centre of each side. A cover provides shelter on the far side. On the near side, the Main Stand sits centred on the halfway line, raised from pitch level, with an upper tier of seating, and two rows of seating beneath it, added presumably for grading requirements seeing as no one in their right mind would sit there, with the view restricted to the rear of the dugouts! Interestingly, whilst the stand and dressing rooms underneath were built in the 1960s, it retains the appearance of a much older stand. The original Main Stand had been built in 1925, and looking at the old pictures of the ground in the programme, the roof looks remarkably similar, either a copy, or perhaps the stand rebuilt underneath it. Beyond, hard standing runs up to the far end, whilst on the near side stands the clubshop (a portacabin) and another small section of more modern terracing.

After having had a look, I made my way back into the town, to meet up with someone I’ve known online for several years, but never had the pleasure of meeting until now, the author of the wonderful 100 Football Grounds Club website, Shaun Smith, who had made the long journey down from Tyneside along with ‘the Heed army’ to see the visitors in action. Several pints and stories of groundhopping later we made our way back to the ground, meeting with another legendary groundhopper and Wycombe fan, Russell Cox and his friend Corey who were making the last of many a visit to the ground.

Whilst United were still officially in a relegation battle, with three games to go and sitting six points above Southport, then no one in this part of Middlesex seemed overly worried about the prospect of starting next season in the Conference South. Gateshead on the other hand, had pushed on from last year and finished in a comfortable mid-table position, playing only for pride at this stage, and it showed from the off, with the hosts taking the lead after just 10 minutes. After some good work through the centre, wide man Peter Holmes crossed the ball in from the right to Bradley Pritchard who seemed to mishit the ball only for it to go off him, and loop into the far corner over visiting keeper Tim Deasy. Pritchard’s almost embarrassed celebrations seeming to confirm the goal as a bit of a fluke! After that, the half began to even out more, and both sides created chances only for wild finishes to see the ball sailing over at either end. Gateshead had the best of the latter stages, but were unable to level the scores until after half time. Before they did though, it could have been 2-0 when Steve Masterton hit a free-kick against the bar shortly after the restart, but Ashley Winn grabbed the equaliser on 50 minutes when he placed the ball into the net from the edge of the area, after good work by Michael Liddle who had bravely won the ball, before being barged out the way by Winn! After that, the game passed into a typical end of season affair, with blood and guts off the menu in favour of neat passing and possession, and it was the hosts who were next to score, a Masterton corner being met by the head of Ben Wright who headed it home for 2-1 in the 71^st minute. There was still some action to come and after Andy Yiadom had been pulled down in the area, up stepped Lee Brown to convert the penalty deep into injury time to not only go down in the history books as the final goalscorer at Church Road, but also to keep his side in the Conference for next season.

After leaving, I made my way back into central London and eventually home on the last train, not arriving back until the early hours, but glad to have come.

Whilst you can understand the clubs wish to move to something more modern, it’s a shame that it has to come at the expense of a great old ground like this. In its heyday, 15,000 once packed in, and whilst it holds considerably less these days, it still has the feeling of a bigger ground. Still, that’s progression, and hopefully after a year of sharing with Woking next season, the redeveloped Warren is worth the loss of one of London’s great old amateur grounds.