Welcome to the latest installment of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this chapter, we traveled back to Hereford for some more Hellenic League Premier Division action as Westfields FC took on Roman Glass St George at Allpay Park.
Some More Notable People From Hereford:
Arthur Boycott- Pathologist
Elinor Brent-Dyer- Author
Rose Ellen-Dix- YouTuber
Gilbert Harding- Journalist
Lucy Letby- Serial Killer
Some Notable Former Players
Dudley Tyler
Gary Bowyer
Steve Emery
A History Lesson From The Gloucester Groundhopper
Westfields FC was founded in 1966, the year England won its lone World Cup, by a group of local kids who played friendlies on Widemarsh Common. Andy Morris, one of the youths, is still connected with the club and is now its chief executive. Westfields adopted the claret and blue colours of West Ham United because its founders loved Bobby Moore, Martin Peters, and Sir Geoff Hurst, who were members of England's World Cup-winning squad in the year they were created.
Westfields first played in the Herefordshire Sunday League, where they won several trophies over a ten-year period. They formed their first Saturday squad in the Worcester & District League in 1973. They moved their ground from the King George V playing fields to Thorn Lighting's Rotherwas headquarters two years later, where they gradually developed the ground over the next two years.
The club joined the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1978, originally in Division Two. Promotion to Division One followed in 1983-84, with another step up to the Premier League three years later.
During the 2002-03 season, the club won the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division for the first time and defeated rivals Kington Town to win the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup. The title win earned them promotion to the Midland Alliance, where they placed sixth in their first season before falling to 20th place in their second season. In the 2015-16 season, they reached the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup final at Edgar Street, but were defeated by newly established Hereford, their Midland Football League divisional opponents.
For the first time in their existence, they qualified for the first round of the FA Cup during the 2016-17 season, when they met National League North club Curzon Ashton. They were eliminated after tying 1-1 at home and losing 3-1 in the replay.
Sean Edwards, the club's manager throughout its illustrious FA Cup run, resigned in February 2018. Andy Bevan took his place as coach. Bevan resigned in May 2019, and was succeeded by former captain and coach Phil Glover.
As part of a restructure at step 5 of the National League System, the club was transferred from the Midland Football League to the Hellenic League in 2019.
Honours
🏆 Smart & Brown Cup (Winners: 1967-68)
🏆 Fair Play Cup (Winners: 1967-68)
🏆 Hereford Sunday League Division One (Champions: 1971-72)
🏆 Hereford Sunday League Division One Cup (Winners: 1973-74, 1974-75)
🏆 Hereford Sunday League Division Three Cup (Winners: 1972-73)
🏆 Wye Guild Cup (Winners: 1974-75, 1977-78)
🏆 Hereford Sunday League Premier Division (Champions: 1975-76, 1976-77)
🏆 Hereford Sunday League Premier Division Cup (Winners: 1975-76, 1976-77)
🏆 Hereford League Division Two (Champions: 1976-77)
🏆 Hereford League Division Three (Champions: 1975-76)
🏆 Presteigne Ottaway Cup (Winners: 1977-79,1981-82, 1984-85, 1993-94)
🏆 West Midland League Premier Division (Champions: 2002-03)
🏆 West Midland League Premier Division Cup (Winners: 2001-02)
🏆 West Midland League Division One (Champions: 1986-87)
🏆 West Midland League Division Two Cup (Winners: 1979-80, 1983-84)
🏆 Kington Challenge Cup (Winners: 1983-84, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1989-90, 1991-92, 2004-05)
🏆 Kington Invitation Cup (Winners: 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1994-95, 1995-96)
🏆 HFL Premier Division (Champions: 2008-09, 2010-11)
Matchday: Westfields 3-2 Roman Glass St George
We travelled to Hereford on a wet Saturday morning as AFC Finners and I went to our first football match together in just over a month. We arrived in Hereford in good time, so we ventured into the city centre where Finners got his customary Thai Food from the market. We also bought a 'luxury hot chocolate' which was delicious, I must say. Following this, we went to the ground.
Arriving at the ground, there is a small car park for guests to use for free, which was useful considering their neighbours Hereford Lads Club charge for the privilege. On the gate, we were told that the club do not offer student rate. I know I keep on about it, but if you feel that OAPs can get a discounted rate, I don't know why clubs don't feel students should get the same treatment. Anyway, after paying £8 to get in (still quite a good rate to be fair), we entered the ground.
There was a slight issue with paying when the card machine didn't work and we had to practically beg to pay at the bar. Seemingly at most clubs the money that they make at the bar and at the turnstile is separate and they don't really like mixing the two. I'm sure the readers of this will educate me further, because I don't really understand it.
Finners at this stage wanted to go into the club bar to find someone for his vlog, and prior to our visit he had agreed with the aforementioned Andrew Morris that he could get an interview with him. Finners was taken to Mr Morris' office for an interview, while I stood guard waiting for his cheesy chips to be ready. After a good 20 minutes alone with Finners' cheesy chips, Finners appears. 'I'm just going to the boardroom' he says. At which stage, the cheesy chips and I are considering adding eachother on Facebook. Finners appears after 20 more minutes, the cheesy chips are cold, and he tells me the welcome should get a '10.' I'll have to take your word for it Finners 😂.
The food available at the club bar is pretty varied with a wide range of hot items, including the previously mentioned cheesy chips, and a lot of drinks available for a good price.
After this, we went to find our spot to watch the match. The ground itself is fairly good for Hellenic League level. With quite a few decent stands and a decent club bar. We decided to stand behind the management team as per usual, and it has be said that they were probably the most vocal people in the ground (which is what you'd expect).
Teamsheet
Westfields
Manager: Scott Russell
Vivian Zeke
Rory Thompson
Cam Davies
Paul Hurrell
Jac Evans
Justin Hall ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️
Nathan Davies
Adam Wakley
Archie Muirhead
Oli Barnes
Brad Phillips
Substitutes
Luke Griffin
Samuel Griffiths
Teddy Mee
Callum Nowell
Reece Edwards
Roman Glass St George
Manager: Andy Gurney
Josh Dempsey
Harvey Tierney
Loui Ward
Aidan Sanfelice
Sean Keet
Jack Spark ⚽️
Conor Hartley
Charlie Saunders ⚽️
Shea Mannings
Lewis Leigh-Gilchrist
Laurent Davis-Wilson
Substitutes
Shaquille Smith
Mike Bryant
Rhys Sarson
Josh Jenkins
Tom Anthony
The game started evenly as the weather clearly played a part in the proceedings. It was Westfields who took the lead in the 15th minute when some smart play and a good ball saw Justin Hall played in on goal and a clever finish saw Westfields take the lead.
It was a similar goal that saw Westfields double their lead. A good ball saw the ball land at the feet of Justin Hall, who rounded the keeper and finished well to make it 2-0.
Roman Glass St George pulled one back short after. A corner came in and some poor defending resulted in some pinball around the box and it landed at the feet of Jack Spark who finished low into the bottom left corner.
Just after half time, Roman Glass had an equaliser. A ball in was cleared only to Charlie Saunders, who had nobody around him, and he fired it into the top right corner from around 25 yards out.
With it all square, Westfields came out the blocks and sought a winner. That winner came late on when a shot from outside the box was spilled by the Roman Glass keeper straight to Justin Hall who was waiting patiently to tap in his hat trick goal.
Scores On The Doors
Atmosphere: 3/10
Food and Drink: 6/10
Stadium: 5/10
Welcome: 8/10
Overall Experience: 7/10
GG
A full album is available at the Gloucester Groundhopper Facebook Page, available here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078510199252