Game 29: Ardley United 0.2 Edgware & Kingsbury (Combined Counties Premier North)

Game 29: Ardley United 0.2 Edgware & Kingsbury (Combined Counties Premier North) 13.01.24

A trip up the A34 and M40 to visit the Nolan Oils Ground, home of Ardley United which is conveniently located just off junction 10 of the M40. I left home in typical January grey gloomy weather but as I headed through Oxfordshire the cloud lifted and the sun was out when I got to Ardley. There was a good sized carpark with plenty of space and I walked past the community hall to reach the ground where I paid £8 for admission. There was a board up with the teams on and I did a double take when I saw the home team had Lewis Gabbindon listed twice, once as the captain. It turned out that it wasn’t a typo and they did have two players with the same name!

Before kickoff Ardley United were 12th in the table with Edgware & Kingsbury below them in 18th. However this was Ardley’s first game for three weeks and their first home game since November so the visitors felt that they might have a chance as a result. The pitch sloped down the hill and at the coin toss the teams changed ends so Ardley were kicking up the hill in the first half.

It didn’t take too long for the first goal of the afternoon as Edgware scored from their first attack. They broke down the right and crossed the ball in for a pink and white shirted player to hit a low shot past the keeper in the first minute. They came close to adding a second a few minutes later when a driven shot from a direct free kick just outside the area was well saved. Ardley didn’t create many opportunities but were unlucky to see a shot in the area tipped on to the bar by the Edgware keeper. The ball bounced down into play and was cleared.

The first half had started a few minutes late and it was ten past four before the second half started. During the break I was getting updates from Alan about the Reading v Port Vale match where home fans had gone onto the pitch to protest about their ownership issues. Eventually that game was abandoned.

Edgware started the second half strongly and scored a second goal thanks to a defensive howler. The home keeper rolled the ball out towards a defender but he couldn’t control the ball and a pressing forward won it and ran towards goal before placing a shot into the open net. After that the game settled down and despite some late Ardley pressure, the visitors kept their first clean sheet since August.

Game 19: Highworth Town 0.2 Ardley United (Hellenic Premier)

Game 19: Highworth Town 0.2 Ardley United (Hellenic Premier) 16.04.16

Highworth’s last home game of the season saw their long serving manager given a guard of honour onto the pitch by both teams prior to his retirement. Neither team were able to score in the first half, Ardley coming the closest when a striker took the ball round the keeper but hit it too hard up the sloping pitch and put the shot wide. The pitch was slippery after the overnight rain and the home team saw a couple of bookings for late tackles.

Ardley took the lead shortly after the restart. A good header saw the ball move past the last defender and an Ardley player ran onto it and hit an early shot past the keeper and in at the far post. Highworth’s task was made more difficult as one of their players reacted to a challenge by grabbing the offender round the throat and pushing him around. The referee restored calm before sending the player off. As the game went into injury time, Ardley broke down the left side and after a cut back in the area another low shot found the net.