Bizzare Ending In Bucks - Holmer Green vs. Edgware Town

Match action (what little there was!) at Airedale Park

When I realised where Holmer Green was and remembering how good the trip to Penn and Tylers Green was last season, this weekend's match choice was pretty straight forward. Holmer Green were facing Edgware Town in The Premier Division of The Spartan South Midlands League, a competition where I hadn't visited a new ground in since Christmas 2014 so was well overdue another visit. I'd seen Edgware at their sadly departed White Lion Ground when they played Wivenhoe in The North Division of The Ryman League. More recently I'd seen them in a high scoring FA Vase tie at Wellingborough Whitworth and I was hoping for more goals in this fixture. The two teams were next to each other just below mid table although Holmer Green did have a couple of games in hand on today's visitors. The two sides had met in mid week in a league cup tie with Holmer Green winning six one.

Kick off at Airedale Park

The match had an innocuous with the Edgware defence doing well to block an early Holmer Green shot on goal. The Edgware defence has to alert again shortly afterwards when another shot is blocked following a long throw into the box. The home side takes the lead as a cross from the right wing is headed back across goal into the opposite corner and into the net. Then things get silly.

The Edgware keeper watches a Holmer Green cross

The referee takes exception to something said from the crowd demanding that a supported is ejected from the ground. When this doesn't happen he picks up the ball and abandoneds the game after about ten minutes. One of the linesmen agrees to referee the game which prompts a mad dash to find a qualified linesman and when one isn't found the game is finished. This was by some distance the shortest game I ever watched and definitely the strangest endings I've seen.

Both sets of players try to amuse themselves

The closest station to Holmer Green is High Wycombe and the quick trains from Marylebone take just over twenty minutes. Then from Castle Street you can take the number 1 bus to Holmer Green. Oddly there are two number 1 bus routes run by two different operators from the same stop and both take around fifteen minutes to get to Holmer Green. Both The Earl Howe and The Old Oak are friendly locals both with one ale on in each. The Bat and Ball by the village recreation ground has the sports channels for the early kick offs and also had a couple of ales on. The ground is a ten minute walk from this pub and the clubhouse had a great selection of largers as well as the sports channels. It's a shame the game went the way it did as the club and the village itself were extremely welcoming and I enjoyed my short time in Holmer Green.

Elevated covered standing next to the entrance