Author: Andrew Spiers

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Match Preview: Hartley Wintney FC – Home

Hartley Wintney F.C.

Game four of October already and we welcome Hartley Wintney FC to The Iconic Stadium.

Matchday: October 14th, 2023
Kickoff: 3 pm

About Hartley Wintney FC

Hartley Wintney FC was established in 1897 and played in various leagues before becoming founder members of the Home Counties League in 1978, which later became the Combined Counties League. They won three consecutive league titles in the mid-1970s and were league champions in 1982–83. They won the league’s Challenge Trophy twice, in 1987–88 and 1989–90, but went into decline in the late 1990s, finishing second-from-bottom of the league twice. They were relegated to Division One at the end of the 2004–05 season but were promoted back to the Premier Division in 2008 and again in 2012. They won the Premier Division in 2015–16 and the following season, they were able to take promotion to the East Division of the Southern League. In 2018, they won promotion to level seven the Premier South division by winning the promotion play-offs. The club finished bottom of the Premier Division South in 2022–23 and were relegated to the South Central Division of the Isthmian League.

Last Game

The Row lost on Tuesday 1-0 to Badshot Lea whilst The Moles lost 7-2 away to Westfield.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased on the gate. We take both cash and cards on the gate.

Prices are;

  • Adults: £10
  • Concession: £5
  • Under 16: £1

About The Iconic Stadium

Address: The Iconic Stadium, Hill Farm Lane, Binfield RG42 5NR

The club house and changing rooms at Hill Farm Lane. Photo: C2 Photography.

The Iconic Stadium is a modern non-league football ground with parking on site, disabled access and more including:

  • Licenced bar
  • Tea bar serving hot and cold food
  • Disabled access to pitch side
  • Toilets
  • Standing and seated covered areas to watch the match
  • Card payments taken on the gate, in the bar and at the tea bar.

There are over 100 spaces available to park at the ground.

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Fixture Changes

Due to the FA Trophy progress of South Park causing a conflict with our scheduled home game, the game has been rescheduled as follows;

Original date: 28th October 2023 at 15.00
New date: 5th December at 19.45

With the 28th now being available we have agreed with Badshot Lea to move our fixture originally scheduled for later in the season to the now available date in October.

Original date: 1st April 2024 at 15.00
New date: 28th October 2023 at 15.00

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Introducing Binfield New U9’s Girls Team

Binfield FC is a community club – we have all ages of players from our Soccer School through to the Vets team. Over the coming weeks and months, we will take be showcasing some of our teams.

A brand new team formed this season (2023/24) the girls are playing in the Berkshire County Girls Football League. Games are played home & away on Saturday mornings throughout Berkshire.

The team’s emphasis is on learning how to play football & have fun doing so! The girls are absolutely loving their first few weeks of football & are developing their Teamwork skills too! They’ve already scored a few goals including a hat-trick for one of the girls and are improving every week! 

The Team is managed by Rob Sutton & supported by Pete Kimble, Sarah & Louise Hayward. Training is currently held twice a week on Monday & Thursday evenings at Kings Academy & Luckley House School respectively.

If you’re interested in joining us or just learning more, please reach out to Rob via the Contact page.

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Match Preview: Westfield FC – Away

Westfield F.C._logo

After back to back 1-1 home draws, the Moles are on the road with a visit to Westfield FC.

Matchday: Tuesday October 10th, 2023
Kickoff: 7:45 PM

About Westfield FC

Westfield FC play in the Westfield area of Woking, Surrey. They were founded in 1953 as Westfields Boys Club. The club played in the Combined Counties from 1980 until 2018 when they were promoted to the Isthmian League South Central Division One.

In their first season, they finished fifth and qualified for the end of the seasons play-offs. They lost in the play-off semi-final 2-1 to our neighbours Bracknell Town. After the two seasons abandoned due to Covid, they finished 16th in the league last season.

Current Form

Westfield are currently having a good run in the FA Trophy. Last Saturday, 3-1 win over Leatherhead has put them into the first round for the first time in their history.

The Moles come into this game on the back of two 1-1 draws – both at first. Chertsey FC on Tuesday night and Metropolitan Police FC on Saturday.

Where do Westfield FC play?

Woking Park, Kingfield Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 9BA

Ticket prices:

Adults £10
Concessions £5 (Over 65 – Students with ID)
U16 £3
U10 FREE

Connor Gonzalez

U23 Win / Player of the Month

The U23 Development had great away win when they beat Reading YMCA Rapids 4-0. The goals came from Connor Gonzalez (2), Sam Applegarth and Lewis Lancaster.

This moves them up into third place in Division 1 of the Thames Valley Premier League although they have played two fewer games than the teams above.

Next Fixture

Their next game on the 14th October is a friendly against Finchampstead who play in the Premier League of the Thames Valley Premier League. The game will be played Finchampstead Sports Club, RG40 4JU and the kick off will be 2pm.

September Player of The Month

The U23 player of month for September has been announced. The shortlist was Connor Gonzalez, Charlie Martin, Lewis Lancaster and Reegan Artman.

Connor Gonzalez

The winner is Connor Gonzalez – well done Connor. Connor scored 5 goals in 4 games in September.

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Match Mascot – Met Police FC

When we have match mascots at The Iconic Stadium, they usually come from our junior teams. For the home game against the Metropolitan Police FC we had a special guest as mascot.

We were honoured to welcome Luke Avis and friends who were visiting the club as part of his pre-wedding celebration. When we were asked if Luke could be the mascot for the game, we were more than happy to fulfil his wishes.

At half-time, he took part in dizzy penalties against Moles goalkeeper Tom Henry. He did managed to score but we are not sure about his goal celebrations.

Everyone at the club we like send to their best wishes to Luke Avis and his fiancée Emily Moat for their big day.

Wild Barber U15 Tornadoes

U15 Tornadoes and The Wild Barber

Over the coming weeks and months we will publish a series of articles to recognise those organisations who generously sponsor our junior teams. At Binfield we have a total of 28 mixed and 3 girls teams between across the u7 to u17 age group. This equates to a membership of just over 400 who through the support of various local organisations turn out in the famous all red Binfield kit.

First up we focus on the U15 Tornadoes who this season are sponsored by THE WILD BARBER.

Wild Barber U15 Tornadoes

Established in 2019 The Wild Barber is located in the heart of the Village on Forest Road. Open five days a week the shop is managed by Max Wild who is big football fan with Arsenal being his club of choice. Working with Max are Adrian, Cam and Sinead who between them have many years experience and as well as offering superb cuts create a great atmosphere in the shop.

Owner Lynne Wild commented “Steve and his son Will have been regulars with us since we opened our shop in Binfield. When he approached us with sponsorship proposal we thought it was a great opportunity to get involved with the club and give something back to local community”  

Unlike the majority of other barber shops The Wild Barber runs an appointment only service meaning you are guaranteed your slot and aren’t sitting around waiting in big queues wasting time that could be spent on the pitch or watching our junior teams!   

The link to various Wild Barber social media channels is below and appointments are made through Booksy app which is free to download.

Thanks to Lynne, Max and all at the Wild Barber for their generous support

www.thewildbarber.com

https://www.instagram.com/thewildbarber/

https://www.facebook.com/thewildbarber/

The Wild Barber
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Match Preview: Metropolitan Police FC – Home

Following the 1-1 draw against Chertsey Town on Tuesday night, the Moles are in action against fellow strugglers Metropolitan Police FC.

Matchday: Saturday October 7th, 2023
Kickoff: 3 pm

About Metropolitan Police FC

The Metropolitan Police football club was established in 1919 and initially played friendlies before joining Division One East of the Spartan League in 1928. They won their division in their first season, and after league reorganisation, the club won the Premier Division title in the 1929-30 season. The club has won multiple titles and cups, including the Surrey Senior Cup, London Senior Cup, and League Cup. In 2010-11, they won Division One South, earning promotion to the Premier Division. The club has made several appearances in the FA Cup first round, with the most recent being in the 2018-19 season. They were transferred to the Premier South division of the Southern League in 2017-18 as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid.

Last Game

In their last game, Metropolitan Police FC beat Chipstead FC 4-0 whilst the Moles drew 1-1 with Chertsey Town FC.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased on the gate. We take both cash and cards on the gate.

Prices are;

  • Adults: £10
  • Concession: £5
  • Under 16: £1

About The Iconic Stadium

Address: The Iconic Stadium, Hill Farm Lane, Binfield RG42 5NR

The club house and changing rooms at Hill Farm Lane. Photo: C2 Photography.

The Iconic Stadium is a modern non-league football ground with parking on site, disabled access and more including:

  • Licenced bar
  • Tea bar serving hot and cold food
  • Disabled access to pitch side
  • Toilets
  • Standing and seated covered areas to watch the match
  • Card payments taken on the gate, in the bar and at the tea bar.

There are over 100 spaces available to park at the ground.

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Match Preview: Chertsey Town FC – Home

Chertsey Town FC Logo

After an away trip to Southall (well, Burnham), The Moles are quickly back in action with a re-arranged home fixture against Chertsey Town FC.

Matchday: October 3rd, 2023
Kickoff: 7:45 pm

About Chertsey Town FC

Chertsey Football Club was established in 1890, and in 1963 it became a member of the Metropolitan League. After three seasons, they switched to the Spartan League, where they finished second in 1974–75. A year later, they joined the Athenian League and remained there until the league’s dissolution in 1984. After joining the Isthmian League, they were immediately relegated to the Combined Counties League. The club returned at the first opportunity as runners-up.  In 1986, the team started a 20-season tenure in the Isthmian League, winning three promotions and suffering three relegations across the divisions. 

The Curfews returned to the Combined Counties League in 2006 after the non-league pyramid was reorganised, and they regularly finished in the top half of the standings. Following a disagreement on the appropriateness of the league champion’s stadium for the higher division, Chertsey Town, who came in second place that year, was promoted to the Southern League Division One Central. The club, however, struggled for three seasons before being demoted back to the Combined Counties League. The Curfews won the Combined Counties League Premier Division in 2018–19 with just three defeats, and they also won the FA Vase at Wembley Stadium. The club returned to the Isthmian League in 2019 but saw the first two seasons curtailed.

Head To Head

Last season, we had an early season 1-1 home draw whilst the away ended up 2-1 to the Binfield in a thrilling game on a heavy pitch.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased on the gate. We take both cash and cards on the gate.

Prices are;

  • Adults: £10
  • Concession: £5
  • Under 16: £1

About The Iconic Stadium

Address: The Iconic Stadium, Hill Farm Lane, Binfield RG42 5NR

The club house and changing rooms at Hill Farm Lane. Photo: C2 Photography.

The Iconic Stadium is a modern non-league football ground with parking on site, disabled access and more including:

  • Licenced bar
  • Tea bar serving hot and cold food
  • Disabled access to pitch side
  • Toilets
  • Standing and seated covered areas to watch the match
  • Card payments taken on the gate, in the bar and at the tea bar.

There are over 100 spaces available to park at the ground.

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Safeguarding Awareness for Parents & Carers

Binfield FC work to ensure that we create a safe environment for all of our players. The club have signed up to the FA’s Play Safe scheme.

The FA offer a short course for parents and carers to help you to make an informed choice about the football setting you enrol your child in.

The course only takes 30 mins to complete and we would encourage all parents and carers to complete it.

The course can be found on the FA Website here.

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Pledging Our Support For The Play Safe Weekend 2023

Saturday 30th Sept/Sunday 1st October

Play Safe

At the end of this month, English football at every level will unite to promote Play Safe – a national campaign to focus attention of the vital importance of safeguarding in our national game.

Led by The Football Association, the Play Safe campaign is endorsed by the NSPCC and supported by every level of the game, including the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship, and right across the grassroots game.

We are proud to be supporting Play Safe on our website and social media channels – and also by making an online Play Safe Pledge. Our pledge will see us reinforce the Play Safe message throughout our club by highlighting to our members and visitors the importance of safeguarding within the Grass Roots game. This will include asking parents/carers at Binfield FC to watch the Play Safe films on our social channels and also take the new, online free FA course on safeguarding for parents/carers. We will also have on display within the club some FA information posters to reinforce our messaging to members and visitors at the club.

Of course, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, so if you haven’t already, why not make your own Play Safe Pledge? We encourage you to do so.

“Safeguarding always has been and always will be at the top of our agenda at Binfield FC. As a community club it is important to remember that ALL OF US have a part to play in safeguarding. ALL OF US have a duty to make sure we keep children and young people safe.” C.Gilbert, Vice Chairman.

This year’s Play Safe weekend has two main messages:

  • ‘Everyone, everywhere, every time’ should have an understanding of safeguarding in football;
  • Everyone should ‘watch, listen, talk and act’ if they have any safeguarding concerns.

If you have a safeguarding concern, or would like some advice, the person to contact at Binfield FC are Bob Chapple (07496568868) and Jenny Spender (07881504605).

Together, let’s create an ever-safer culture across the game we all love.

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Match Preview: Southall FC – Away

Southall FC

The Moles close off September hoping to kick start their season with an away trip to Southall FC.

Matchday: Saturday September 30, 2023
Kickoff: 3:00 PM

About Southall FC

Southall FC was founded in 1871, making it one of England’s oldest football clubs and they celebrated their 150th anniversary in 2021. They played friendlies for the first 20 years before joining the West London League. Their recent history involve them playing in both the Combined Counties and Spartan South Midland leagues. They were Spartan South Midland Division One champions in 2017–18 before then playing in the Combined Counties Premier division the following season.

The club has quite a role call of former players including Les Ferndinand, Alan Devonshire, Gordon Hill and Justin Fashanu. Given their location in West London, a lot of their players have gone on to play for Brentford, QPR, Fulham amongst other clubs.

Current Form

Southall sit in 15th position on 4 points from 3 games. Their last game was a 3-1 defeat to Leatherhead in the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Trophy. In fact, all of their games so far in September have been cup games with their last league game being a 0-0 draw against Ashford Town (Middx) at the end of August.

Where do Southall FC play?

Southall have been nomadic since leaving their Western Road Stadium in 1992. They currently play at the The 1878 Stadium which is the home of Burnham Football Club.

Please note – Cash only at the gate