The art of communication! In this age of modern technology accessing information couldn’t be easier, or could it? Having selected the Herts Senior County League Aubrey Cup game at Hatfield Royal British Legion Football Club for my intended footy fix today, like all conscientious hoppers I checked the match details before setting out. However it soon became apparent there was some sort of confusion over the exact kick-off time.

First off, I went on the internet. Although the latest fixture page on the trusty Football Mittoo site stated that the match was due to kick-off at 2pm this was at odds with the FA Full-Time pages which gave the time as 2.30pm. As always I decided to check with officers at the home club who would know best and gave them a call. Unbelievable! This didn’t help either as I was told that the start time was in fact....3pm! Oh dear. Confused? I was!

To cut my losses I decided to get to the ground before 2 o’clock, just in case. Thankfully the journey from Racing HQ via the A505 and A1(M) trunk roads was stress-free and I arrived at my destination, the Roe Hill Hall playing fields in Hatfield, well before the kick-off which I discovered was in fact 2.30pm!! Phew!

The ground itself is literally a stone’s throw from the Hatfield Galleria retail outlet and can be reached from the main A1001 by following Lemsford Road and then Briars Lane. The entrance on the right leads to a large car park and the main council run buildings incorporating the Roe Hill Hall, a large function room used primarily for wedding receptions, parties, discos and company meetings and the adjacent Briars Pavilion which provides a cafe, bar lounge and crèche facilities.

The spacious enclosed sports field is a venue shared by local rugby, football and cricket clubs. RBL plays its games on a basic pitch (partially hidden from view) marked out on the back field. Although there are no proper spectator facilities or dug outs, the playing area is fully roped off around its perimeter. Even though the playing surface is a good one it does slope down markedly from the near touchline across to the opposite side of the field. With very little space behind the goal line to the right and the adjacent rugby pitch (used by Hatfield RUFC) it can be distracting at times to concentrate on the immediate footy action.  

Hatfield RBL FC is playing its first season in the Herts Senior County League. The new club which is apparently made up of many ex-Hatfield Town players, has made a flying start to the new campaign with five wins out of seven games so far to head the seventeen club division along with fellow-debutants Aslan FC from Edmonton. Today saw the visit of Premier Division side Letchworth Garden City Eagles to Roe Hill in an exciting Aubrey Cup first round tie. It promised to be a mouth-watering contest as RBL faced the side with the most enviable record in the league cup ever as their opponents have won the competition for the last three years in a row no less. Last time out the Eagles beat Met Police Bushey 6-5 on penalties in the final (after the match ended 0-0AET) played at the County Ground in Letchworth back in May.

Despite going a goal down very early on following a terrific 25-yard shot from Ben L’Horne (6), the hosts managed to pull one back soon after when Mitchell Lewis (12) put the ball through his own goal to draw level. After the break it was the cup holders from Letchworth who took the lead. Mitchell Cox (66) tapped in from close range before John Stynes (75) added a third soon after, pouncing on a loose ball. With only five minutes remaining Cox (85) wrapped things up after converting from the penalty spot to give the visitors a comfortable 4-1 victory and earn a well deserved place in the second round draw.

The match played mostly in sunny conditions throughout was watched by a decent crowd approaching almost sixty spectators. Amongst those present I was lucky to be joined pitch side by fellow FGIF correspondent and hopper extraordinaire Bob Davies who had made the short trip from his base in Stevenage. It was great to catch up with all the local football gossip in such great company. What Bob doesn’t know about the local soccer scene isn’t worth knowing. Nice one mate. Hope you enjoyed your post match Chinese meal!

Sadly I bumped into another hopper who was unfortunately not so polite. My heart sank after hearing him repeatedly give one of the players a mouth-load of abuse during the game. After asking him who scored one of the goals, he snarled back with the immortal words: ‘I couldn’t give a f*****g s**t!’. I am led to believe this character/person appeared on a popular YouTube video where he amusingly tried to get the match officials to restart an FA cup game which had, to his annoyance and frustration, kicked-off early. I don’t know his name and hopefully won’t bump into him again!!

Although the club doesn’t produce programmes Bob reliably informed me that the two other new clubs, Aslan FC and Harvesters FC, who have also joined the HSCL this season, do issue. Paper-chasers take note!!

A visit to Hatfield RBL Football Club comes highly recommended. In the absence of a club website travellers should log on to the main league pages for all up-to-date, accurate, match information (including kick-off times!!) which are now uploaded at the Full-Time address shown below. The joys of hopping in leafy Hertfordshire continue...have fun wherever you go!.

FGIF Match Stats

Scorers: (H) M Lewis (og 12) and (A) B L'Horne (6); M Cox (66; pen 85); J Stynes (75) 

Attendance: 56; Admission and Programme: N/A; Match rating: 4/5; Ground rating: 3/5.

Links

http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?league=20290514