No.34 – Sat. 16th December 2006; Middlesex County League Premier Division   2.00 at the RCT Sports Ground, Headstone Lane, Harrow, Middlesex (att: 10; prog:  8 pages, 50p)  View matchday images  01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Parkfield Youth Old Boys (1) 1  Southall (0) 1           Woeful finishing creates disappointing result         Parkfield Youth Old Boys - a bit of a misnomer surely? It just doesn't sound right does it? How can Youth and Old Boys represent one and the same? Well a quick look in the matchday magazine certainly clears things up. The club was formed back in 1999 as a continuation of Parkfield Youth FC to give the players an opportunity of playing at adult level once their junior days had passed. Originally a Sunday side competing in the Hendon & District League the club switched to playing on a Saturday in the season of 2003-2004. Since then they have gained promotion in successive seasons (as champions of Divisions 2 and 3 and more recently finshing as runners-up in Division 1 of the Middlesex County League) and also won the County Cup on two occasions. The club is based at the RCT (short for Raghuvanshi Charitable Trust) Sports Ground. A sign with this legend is found at the main entance. This venue is owned by the local Hindhu Community who allow the football club to use it for a nominal rent. In fact the large common room was being used for a religious gathering when we arrived. On matchdays both players and officials change inside the small annex at the end of the main building. A large playing field occupies the site which is hemmed in by adjoining fields and the the main Watford to London railway line. A constant procession of trains (including Virgin and Silverlink services) passed by at regular intervals during the course of the afternoon. The main pitch, found just beyond a rather forlorn looking cricket square, is roped off between some short wooden stakes which surround the perimeter. There is no cover. The game was not a classic. Despite some great endeavour shown by both teams, the players struggled to find their best form on what was heavy and, in places, overgrown surface. The opening goal was fashioned more from fluke than out of skill. A volley from outside the area hit the crossbar and with the keeper sprawled out like beached whale left a simle tap in for the Old Boys no.10 who had decided to follow the ball into the six yard box. The equaliser came with ten minutes to go. After mix up in the home defence involving at least five players the ball canoned off several outstetched legs before finding its way into the empty net. The only hope of victory was lost in the dying minutes when Parkfield mised a penalty. It really was a terrible spot kick but meant justice had prevailed; in fairness the decision awarded for handball had been harsh to say the least. Honest ref! Although the club do not provide catering facilities, a tidy eight page programme was available from the changing area to whet the appetite instead. Editor George Jones was apologetic for the lack of material in this week's issue and offered to send me some more substantial copies in the coming weeks. This home computer generated edition is most acceptible containing the match details on the front and club history, line ups, league table and even a brief history of the visitors inside. What more could a hopper want?! At this point I must say a quick thankyou to Keith Aslan who first told me that club were doing programmes a few weeks ago. Thanks Keith! The ground is an easy one to reach by public transport being close to the Headstone Lane railway station. By car follow signs to Stanmore and then  Harrow using the A410 London and Uxbridge approach roads.      FGIF Rating: 1*  Links - Map