A small slice of sporting history will be made at Brickfield Lane in Arkley on Saturday as Hadley Football Club host their first ever Southern Football League Division One Central match against Kidlington. Following promotion last season, the Bricks will now play in Step Four of the non-league pyramid, constituting a meteoric rise for a football club that plied its trade in Step Seven not so long ago. 

By way of a slight detour, the Southern Football League is one that has a rich history having been founded in 1894. In its early days, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Fulham competed in and won the Southern Football League. The more mature Barnet FC supporter may recall the club’s own Southern League campaigns, and particularly their Division One Championship winning seasons in 1965-66 and the Division One South title win in 1976-77. The Bricks follow in big footsteps by entering this league.

Whilst Saturday will see the first game played at Brickfield Lane this season, proceedings kicked off in earnest back on Friday 5th August as Hadley took on Stansted in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. On that day, Stansted ran out 1-0 winners, which was the same scoreline a week later as the Bricks lost their first ever game in the Southern League at Wiltshire-based Highworth Town.

Having dominated large parts of the game in Wiltshire, the result was a disappointment to manager Anthony Clark, who returns for his fourth campaign at the club. It demonstrated the clinical edge and defensive concentration that will be required to secure points at a higher level. A home match offers an opportunity to put that right, ahead of a challenging looking set of fixtures which includes a Bank Holiday visit to high-flying Hertford Town.  

There is much to look forward to in this first season at a new level. The club will play in the FA Trophy for the first tim and has been drawn at home to Sevenoaks Town in the First Round Qualifying, which takes place on Saturday 10th September. Fixtures on Boxing Day, and 2nd January mean the Bricks will have a busy festive schedule for the first time in a long while. Games against the likes of AFC Dunstable, Berkhamsted, Hertford Town and Walthamstow are likely to attract big crowds.

For those wishing to get their footballing fix in Barnet, there is now much to commend a visit to Brickfield Lane to you, starting with the Kidlington match on Saturday. Whatever happens on the pitch this season, history will be made.