Pussy

Waltham Abbey  3  Hanwell Town  2

Isthmian League Division One (South Central)

I’ve never come across a football club that’s had a pet before!

I do remember Goldenhill Wanderers in the Staffordshire County Senior League having a fox that used to visit the pitch pre-match and do a spot of sun bathing in the goalmouth, but other than that, I don’t recall any domestic animals forming part of the fabric of a football club.

The Pussy

Until now that is, you see I was minding my own business while waiting to be served in Waltham Abbey’s clubhouse when a cat leapt up onto the bar next to me, and seemed quite happy to watch my pint being pulled. No one in the vicinity of the bar seemed to bat an eyelid, so I asked the obvious, and probably quite stupid, question.

“Is the cat yours?”

The reply was pretty succinct.

“It’s a stray, but it lives here, so we’ve adopted it, so yes, I suppose it is ours.”

And that was kind of it, I enquired as to how it got fed, only to find it was pretty much crisps and mini-cheddars, while it did prefer lager to bitter, so clearly it was a cat of very good taste.

A few minutes after sitting down, the cat, who’s name I failed to enquire about, decided it liked me, so over it trotted and up onto my coat it leapt. I had a friend, but it wasn’t overly talkative, it fell asleep.

WAFC

So how did I end up at Waltham Abbey on a Tuesday night? It was another work related manoeuvre, and being based in Milton Keynes again for a couple of days meant I was within striking distance of the M25, so lots of options were available. Waltham Abbey quite simply was the nearest unvisited venue, so, I decided to pay them a visit.

Situated right at the side of the M25, not far to the East of the A1 is the Essex town of Waltham Abbey. The ground, known as Capershotts, is accessed from the exit farthest from the town heading clockwise, and then back alongside the motorway before crossing it. Just as you pass the sign to say you are in the town, the ground appears on the right hand side.

Located down a driveway, a large car park opens out in front of you, with the social club set on the farthest edge away from the ground itself. After acquainting myself with the cat, it was soon time to go and have a look at the facilities, and I must say I liked what I found.

Capershotts

Entering through the turnstiles in the corner, a tea bar sits to the left, while to the right is a seated stand that straddles the half way line. The stand is of a more traditional construction than many we see nowadays, and painted to the rear in the club colours of green and white, the letters WAFC can be picked out on the wall.

The only other cover sits behind the car park goal, with two areas of terracing sitting side by side. One a sturdy brick built variety, while the other was somewhat more reliant on scaffolding poles.

The rest of the ground is open standing, and while the pitch was in fine nick, it did seem that it once had a sideways slope on it judging  by the angles of the fences and the perimeter. All in all, a very tidy facility, and on the night, 101 paid to watch the game.

Green Baize

Waltham Abbey’s more recent history starts with a spell in the old London Spartan League in the late seventies, right through to the early noughties when their record was expunged prior to the season finishing.

They regrouped and joined the London Intermediate League the following season, but after just one season they joined the Essex Senior League.  They remained in Essex until 2006 when a second place finish saw them promoted to the Isthmian League, where they have remained at Step 4, bar one season in 2009-10 when they were in the Premier Division, only to be relegated again.

They haven’t won a championship since the Spartan League in 1979-80, but, this could be the year? Before the game they sat in second place, having won five and lost just one of their opening six games. Visitors Hanwell Town sat in mid-table, so it promised to be an intriguing game.

Where Scaffold Meets Brick

What a game it was too, a real bobby dazzler, one that swung one way and another, and then finished with a bit of argy bargy!

Harvey Killeen gave Hanwell the lead after a series of corners on the half hour mark, having looked much the stronger side in the opening stages. But within eight minutes Ellis Brown had found an equaliser for the hosts when he poked the ball into an empty net from a cross. Just after the break though, it was the visitors who restored the lead when Tom Collins rifled the ball home.

This was the catalyst for Waltham Abbey to go up another gear, they equalised when Dan Aristidou slotted home from a through ball just before the hour mark. And then only five minutes later and it was turned on its head when Ronnie Winn shot low from the edge of the box to make it 3-2.

Abbey tried to play out the closing stages in the corner flag only for frustrations to boil over when a Hanwell player decided to go down the bag of an opponents leg, which in turn left him in considerable pain. This caused the obligatory handbags, but after much consultation between the three officials, nothing was done, and the final whistle was blown almost instantly when the free kick was taken.

Seats From Maine Road Apparently

It was a hard fought but deserved victory for Abbey who look a very good side to me. Can they keep it up? I hope so, because they do give you the impression of a well run club with some hard working officials, in a part of the Country where football fans have a lot of options, so support is limited and always will be.

The getaway was quick, and that meant last orders was made in Milton Keynes with considerable ease. It was an especially comfortable and enjoyable journey back given that it was accompanied by the commentary of Derby’s fantastic penalty shoot-out victory at Old Trafford.

I bet the cat enjoyed watching that in the bar at Capershotts…..