Out To Ruislip To See Wealdstone FC Again

Long time readers may remember when I went to London in 2019 I headed out to the suburbs to see a National League South match at Grovesnor Vale.  Well the last week of August my company sent me to our London office.  Monday happened to be a bank holiday so after getting some work done in the hotel room I headed out to Ruislip to catch Weqaldstone FC for the second time.

In the 5 years since I had last seen them they had been promoted to the National League (Level 5) after winning the National League South during the abbreviated COVID season of 2019-2020.  They are the only(?) semi-pro club at that level, or another way of phrasing that is that they're the best semi-pro club in the country. In their four seasons since they've hovered in the bottom half of the table, finishing between 13th and 19th.  This season looks like their toughest challenge with many picking them to be relegated.  Going into the match I attended they had played 4 games with no wins.

Not much had changed other than with the Piccadilly Line undergoing some depot work the only Tube line running to Ruislip was the Metropolitan line. 

Once you make the 10 minute walk to the Vale you see the same sort of entrance as before

And the stadium has the same small "high-school football" feel to it:

There are more seats now than there were in 2019, which seated areas now on all 4 sides of the pitch.  Another upgrade was in the media suite, seen in 2019 and now:

The game was fun, the Stones were facing AFC Fylde who had come down from Lancashire with 30-40 fans.  The home team scored early (an attempt to get a photo of the celebration while I was eating):

But of course the real appeal of non-league is being able to get up close to the game.  Some shots from the fence around the field:

This is the player tunnel, which kind of folds out to prevent fans from walking along the endline while the players are passing from the locker room to the pitch:

The lone goal held up, giving the Stones their first win of the season.  Unfortunately the two games since has seen a draw and a loss, which means they're on 5 points after 7 games and 22nd of the 24 teams (4 are relegated).  The 20th team is AFC Fylde who also have 5 points but a better goal differential (by 1) and 1 less game played.  19th is Boston United on 7 points.

I also picked up a few souvenirs, a program, a fan magazine about non-league football, and a new kit for my collection.  I'll be rolling with the Stones regardless of what happens this season and I'll be back out to Grovesonor Vale on a future trip!  (Or wherever Wealdstone is, as they're working on plans for a permanent ground they own)