Brentford vs Clapton Community FC takes place on Sunday, September 29 2024 with a 3pm kick off at the Brentford Community Stadium, Lionel Road South, Brentford, TW8 0RU

It’s a huge moment for the Clapton CFC Women’s First Team as we visit league leaders Brentford at their Premier League stadium, the Brentford Community Stadium, aka the Gtech.

On the pitch it looks a daunting task against a Brentford side who haven’t lost for over a year and who boast a 100 per cent record this season averaging almost EIGHT goals a game. However, CCFC have won two games in a row, finally getting some rewards for good performances, and we did manage a draw against The Bees in April. So an upset is possible.

The biggest ever crowd for a Clapton CFC game so far was 1,266 so this should be comfortably beaten. Let’s see if we can help Brentford beat their record crowd for a women’s game of 5,116 too. Get your tickets now!

The opponents

Brentford Women began in 1990 and a season later entered the Greater London Women’s League then into the current London & South East Regional Women’s Division One North four seasons ago. Since then manager Karleigh Osborne and his side have gone agonisingly close to promotion, with attendances rising as well. Their regular home is at Bedfont Sports but their now annual game at the Gtech has seen two wins in front of attendances of 5,116 and 4,856.

Previous meetings

Brentford have won 4 of our 6 meetings so far. Thanks to goals from Emily Link and Egle Trezzi we grabbed a 2-2 draw at the Old Spotted Dog Ground last season, ending a run of 11 straight league wins for the Bees. Our only win against them was in the GLWFL in 2020/21, which ended 3-1 on a very muddy Stray Dog pitch.

Form guide

Brentford have missed out on the one promotion spot for the last few seasons by the smallest of margins but they look unstoppable this season. They’ve won all their games so far – 4 of them in the league, 2 in the FA Cup – while scoring 47 and conceding just 6. In fact they have gone a calendar year without a league defeat with a record of 19 wins and two draws (one against us).

Players to watch

Brentford’s strike force is formidable. Big summer signing Ashley Cheatley is already on 13 goals having been one of the top scorers playing two levels higher last season. Chloe Logie is just behind on 11, having been top scorer in our division in the last two seasons with 49 and 36.

Admission

Adult tickets are just £2, children’s tickets are free (under 18s). Please book your ticket online via the Brentford website.

There is no segregation but Clapton CFC supporters will mainly be in blocks S104/105/106/107/108/109 so we suggest booking in that area of the stadium so that we are as close as possible. There are only a handful of tickets still available in these areas.

We have a small number (20 or so) returned printed tickets for blocks S105/106 which will be available from the merch stall at Saturday’s Men’s First Team game at the Old Spotted Dog Ground.

If you decide on the day to come along, tickets will be on sale in the box office at the South Stand.

Match rules

This game is going to be unique. For many, particularly players and their families, the experience is likely to live on in the memory for years. For some, the restrictions around the game being in a Premier League stadium may remind them why they prefer lower level football. Either way, it’s a one-off experience.

There are various rules and regulations which we don’t usually need to worry about. Some of these restrictions include:

Some points to particularly highlight:

• Small bags are allowed in but they will searched by stewards
• ‘Inoffensive’ banners smaller than 2m x 1m are allowed
• Persistent standing is not allowed and you will be asked to sit down
• You won’t be able to take alcohol from the concourse to your seat
• Drums are not allowed – this is a rule for all games, as decided by Bees fans

Food and drink

The food and drink concessions in the stadium will be open from about 1.30pm (tickets say 2pm but they’re aiming to open earlier).

Transport

There are engineering works on Sunday so one of the main routes to the ground, via Gunnersbury station for Overground and District, is not an option. You can still travel to Kew Bridge railway station, however, which is next door to the ground. It is on a line direct from Waterloo and Vauxhall.

Alternatively, you can get the Piccadilly Line to Acton Town (29 minutes’ walk away) or South Ealing (28 minutes’ walk). Or get the District Line to Chiswick Park (28 minutes’ walk).

There are around 300 cycle spaces at the stadium.

Parking

A Brentford fan tells us: “There is limited parking near the ground and it is unclear whether the controlled parking zone restrictions will be in place as strictly as for men’s games but I’d assume they are given the anticipated crowd. Anyone I know who drives to games usually park at least a mile away.”

Recommended pubs before the game

Our Brentford fan tells us: “Brentford has retained many of its previous football friendly pubs near to the old Griffin Park and other pubs are now more easily accessible from the new ground. Near to the ground you might visit:

The Express Tavern – very convenient for the stadium – wide range of food including Sunday lunches, large beer garden, up to 10 real ales

The Bell & crown (Fuller’s) and the Steampacket – in “Strand on the green” – the attractive Chiswick riverside area is a nice spot to have a drink and stand or sit by the river if it’s a nice day. The City Barge and the Bulls Head complete the half a mile riverside mini-crawl. Get off the train at Chiswick and head for the Bulls Head if you want to visit them all or enjoy a lover riverside walk, pre-match.

The Pilot (Fuller’s) in Chiswick – convenient for Gunnersbury area (shame the station is closed). There are a few more popular pubs across Kew Bridge itself around Kew Green which this author is yet to visit.

Nearer Brentford station, near to the High Street or to the site of Griffin Park you can also choose from

The Black Dog Beer House – an excellent selection of cask and craft beer and some relatively gourmet food choices, they also do burger and chips.

The Griffin (Fuller’s) one of the famous four corner pubs, a well known unspoilt locals and football friendly pub

The New Inn – a large independent Irish pub. Along with the nearby Royal Horse Guardsman, also an Irish pub, they show a lot of live sport

Magpie and Crown and Brewery Tap – both good reliable ale outlets on/near Brentford High Street

Brentford are rare amongst Premier League clubs in not having widespread restrictions on where away fans can drink, so wearing football colours should not be an issue. It’s worth keeping in mind that a few of the upmarket pubs will be focussing on Sunday lunch customers and may object to very large groups or excessive noise (For what it’s worth the Black Dog for example are generally very friendly but have a particular hang-up about football singing!)