Let’s forget that opening game last week and regard this visit of CB Hounslow United Reserves as the start of the men’s first team season.

The 4-2 defeat to FC Soma was a proper punch to the gut after a great pre-season – and watching a game through a cage is never an ideal experience, although thanks to everyone who made the best of it.

For this one, we hopefully will really be back on the terrace of the Stray Dog after 833 days, a pitch that holds only happy memories for the men’s first team having clinched the title there in 2019.

The two teams have met just once before, with the Tons winning at the Wadham Lodge Stadium 4-0 in October 2019 but it’s likely a very different line-up turning up on Saturday.

Our visitors, known as The Dragons, have dozens of teams starting at Under 6 level right through to their first team who play in the Combined Counties Football League Division 1, two steps above us. 

Their first team joined the Middlesex County Football League in 1994 and progressed through the divisions and beyond to reach the Combined Counties League Premier, Step Five on the football pyramid.

Meanwhile their reserve team has been in MCFL for 20 years too and in the Premier Division since 2014.

And the CB? That stands for Cater Bank, a company owned by their former chairman’s dad. It’s stuck ever since.

Match information

Clapton CFC vs CB Hounslow United Reserves is on Saturday, August 21 2021 at 3pm at the Stray Dog, Wadham Lodge, Kitchener Road, Walthamstow.

Advanced tickets are not needed, you can just turn up.

Entry as usual is free but with donations welcome, with a suggested £3 for waged adults. You can donate on the day or in advance if you wish.

We will have a mini programme available for suggested £1 donation.

The Matchday Centres bar will be open from 1pm, please follow their signs as a one-way system is in operation. You can take your beers out to the pitch, of course.

Covid rules

The pandemic is by no means over and not every adult has had the chance to have both jabs yet. So although the government and FA have scrapped all rules, we are continuing with the safety measures below. We want everyone to feel safe and comfortable.

• If you’re arriving by public transport, a reminder that face masks are still compulsory unless exempt
• Spectators are encouraged to wear face masks indoors, such as when visiting the bar or toilets
• There’s hand sanitiser at the entrance and a QR code for those checking in on the app
• Free NHS lateral flow tests are available if you wish to take a test before the game
• You can donate on the day or in advance to reduce cash handling
• Please follow the signs around the site and instructions from matchday volunteers
• Spread out around the ground as much as you can

Please do not attend if…

• You are ill or have symptoms of Covid-19 (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste)
• You’ve tested positive for Covid-19 within the last 10 days or someone you live with has symptoms or tested positive
• You’ve been told you’ve been in contact with someone who tested positive by NHS Test and Trace or pinged by the NHS COVID-19 app
• You have arrived from abroad (not including Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or other parts of the UK) and are within your required quarantine period.

Directions

• Wadham Lodge is about 20 minutes walk from Walthamstow Central station. Turn onto Hoe Street and follow the road all the way along (past the junction with The Bell pub) until Chingford Lane. Continue past Sir George Monoux 6th Form College and take the first right onto Brookscroft Road then left onto Kitchener Road.
• You can catch a bus along that route too. The 357, 34, 97, 215 will all take you to the top of Brookscroft Road from Walthamstow Central. It will take about 12 minutes.
• There’s also plenty of car parking space available at the ground.