“The kick-off will be delayed. The lack of an opponent has something to do with that.”
Not the most auspicious start to my plans to watch five football matches in London over the same weekend. In fairness, though, this is likely one of a handful of games where the away side have needed to fly in.
It won’t be the only one by the time the weekend is up. Over the course of less than 48 hours, I will watch two men’s non-league matches, one game in the Women’s Super League, one in the Women’s National League Cup and one in the men’s UEFA Nations League as England host Spain at Wembley.
Just because there are no games in the Premier League or Championship this weekend doesn’t mean we’re starved of football. Here’s how I got on in my efforts to prove there’s more than the top two tiers.
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Match 1 – Bedfont Sports vs Jersey Bulls, Isthmian South Central
I’ve spent an hour and a half on various trains from South-East London to South-West London, where Bedfont Sports are hosting opponents who have had an even longer journey. For Jersey Bulls, every away game is a bit of an ordeal, but they have made an unbeaten start to life in the Isthmian League South Central.
Let’s start by addressing the late start, shall we? Bedfont Sports’ ground lies in the shadow of Heathrow Airport, to the point that I see several planes coming into land during the 15-minute walk from Hatton Cross tube station, though word is that Jersey Bulls’ flight came into Gatwick.
The wait isn’t too long at least – the 7.45pm kick-off has become 8.15pm – and both teams appear eager to reward the 261 attendees. I’ve roped a friend into joining, and we’ve had plenty of time to scour the teamsheet and come up with our own theories about why one of the Bedfont players’ names includes an ellipsis. ‘TYRIQUE MARIO DE PIEDADE…’ it was penned. It’s an interesting way of writing Tyrique Mario Piedade Tekasala.
As far as walk-out music goes, a mashup of ‘Where is My Husband’ and ‘Enter Sandman’ is as unique as it is seemingly accidental. On the field, it’s 2-2 by half-time with Dan Williams scoring the hosts’ second after playing on the shoulder throughout and finally getting the better of the Jersey offside trap.
The goalmouth action dries up after the break, prompting one Bedfont player to yell ‘Keep the levels high’. His heart doesn’t seem to be in it, though, and the tone really comes through when there aren’t enough supporters for a wall of noise.
Jersey take the lead for a third time just after the hour mark through Sammy Henia-Kamau, and this time the hosts can’t find a third equaliser. Everyone slowly filters out, and I start another 90-minute journey back home to rest up and prepare for no fewer than three Saturday games.
Match 2 – Charlton Athletic vs Manchester City, WSL
I leave the house in glorious sunshine and begin my journey to The Valley. Always something nice about a WSL side who play their home matches at the same ground as the men’s team, though The Valley is far from full for the visit of Manchester City.
There’s a fan zone outside the ground, emphasising the family-friendly focus. A couple of thousand fans have made it along – that’s a few hundred more than for last week’s defeat to London City Lionesses, but firmly in the bottom half of the WSL as far as average attendances are concerned.
The visitors have plenty of familiar faces in the team, with three members of England’s Euro 2025-winning squad in the starting XI. There’s a decent away following based on a cursory scan of shirts and accents, but we also get plenty of cheers for the hosts as the teams walk out to When the Red Red Robin Goes Bob Bob Bobbing Along.
There’s no denying Charlton are the underdogs here, but they’re here for the fight. Not least forward Lorena Azzaro, whose combative play helps rev up the fans early on.
Charlton soak up some early pressure and have a couple of early efforts from Hawa Cissoko and Cassandra Korhonen, which worry the reigning champions. City’s first big chance doesn’t arrive until there are nearly 20 minutes on the clock, with Mary Fowler firing an effort into the body of Addicks keeper Sophie Whitehouse, and we’re greeted to an unofficial hydration break a minute or two later when Emily van Egmond receives medical treatment.
One of City’s England internationals, Beth Mead, then stings the palms of Whitehouse on the half-hour mark. But it’s another of the Lionesses who breaks the deadlock, curling a pinpoint free-kick into the bottom corner with nine minutes to half-time.
No time to stay for the second half as I’ve got to make my way to the 3pm kick-off. Rather graciously, neither Charlton nor City score in my absence.
Match 3 – Cray Valley Paper Mills vs Herne Bay, Isthmian South East
Some poorly-timed roadworks mean my two-bus journey takes longer than planned, and I get to the Mayne Arena just as the home fans are celebrating an opener. Cray Valley have won just once all season, and their home record of three draws and one defeat doesn’t leave me full of optimism, though.
This optimism wanes even further when it’s pointed out that yes, they might be ahead, but they’re playing downhill. Still, with a one-goal half-time lead, it’s all to play for.
I also encountered one home fan who was also at the Bedfont game on Friday night. While I haven’t crunched the numbers, the odds of two people doing both matches seem fairly low.
That opening goal came from the penalty spot and was scored by Ghana international Chris Dickson. If you’re thinking ‘Wait, didn’t he play for them nearly 20 years ago?’ then 1) how on earth did you remember that, and 2) yes, he’s now 41.
The visitors also have a player on their books whose name seems familiar. I realise I know Emmanuel Robe’s name from his exploits in Baller League, which on the strength of today seems more suited to his qualities than 11-a-side.
Dickson added his second midway through the second half, with substitute Bailee Cain making the points safe just minutes after coming on. There followed a chorus of ‘Ben Smith, it’s happened again’, targeted at the Herne Bay manager – someone who I’m told has a bit of history with Cray Valley.
Another man with history here is local lad Freddie Parker, who scored 38 goals in two seasons here before stepping away from football. The striker waves to the fans after they serenade him, prompting the inevitable ‘sign him up, sign him up, sign him up’.
No more goals but as I leave on the final whistle there’s plenty of positivity. On to number four, and it’s right across the capital again.
Match 4 – England vs Spain, UEFA Nations League
It’s a bus to Lewisham, DLR to Canary Wharf and tube to Wembley for the third match of the day. I’m one of more than 84,000 inside Wembley – including a not-insignificant number of Spaniards – for the UEFA Nations League opener between two of the three best teams in the world.
I don’t know if it’s because there’s still a bit of once-bitten nervousness post-World Cup or because kick-off is the best part of an hour away, but the tube journey is surprisingly quiet. We’re packed like sardines but, with a couple of brief exceptions, people aren’t breaking out in song in the way they would were this a club match.
On Wembley Way, things are livelier as fans make their way towards the gates. There’s also a small and peaceful protest, with Palestinian flags and calls to kick Israel out of FIFA, at more or less the same time, news breaks of Gavin Bazunu withdrawing from Ireland’s squad to face the Israeli national team.
There’s plenty of noise once in the stadium, though, and it ratchets up as England find their gear after a couple of let-offs. There is real quality on the pitch, but it is not a high-quality match, if that doesn’t sound too contradictory.
Marc Guehi’s early gift to Spain or Harry Kane’s crossbar-smashing penalty wouldn’t have looked out of place in the seventh tier. However, if you showed the counter-attacking play of Anthony Gordon and Jude Bellingham to a Herne Bay fan, they might spontaneously combust.
This is unsurprisingly the match with the most moments of real quality, though there were also a few moments the England defence would rather forget. What’s more, the crowd of 84,000 plus is really going to mess up the average attendance figure from these five matches.
Match 5 – Dulwich Hamlet vs Crystal Palace Academy, WNL Cup
After yesterday’s hours of travel, I’m grateful to have chosen my local club to round things off. Champion Hill, where Dulwich Hamlet’s men’s and women’s teams play, is just a walk up the hill made slightly longer by a detour to the big Sainsbury’s for a meal deal (beef and horseradish sandwich, green smoothie and spinach and feta Greek rolls from the hot counter).
After a win against Dartford and a defeat to Wimbledon, the home side need to win and hope results go their way elsewhere to reach the knockouts of the WNL Cup. There’s a healthy crowd for this one – bigger than either of the men’s non-league games – though some of the fans are a little subdued after following the Dulwich men’s team for an away game by the seaside on Saturday.
This is effectively home turf for me as well, so I know what to expect in some regards. One of the novelties here is that, after the attendance is read out, there’s a chant of ‘How many dogs?’ – today there are nine, and I meet one of them, named Scout, towards the end of the first half.
Dulwich Hamlet has a reputation as a family club, and there are certainly plenty here who have brought their kids, not all of whom are fully focused on the action. As the home side open up a 2-1 half-time lead, one of them is sitting on the steps of the standing section, filling in a colouring book.
As with Bedfont and Cray Valley, plenty of fans have pints in their hands throughout the game, and none pour them over a fellow supporter in celebration. Dulwich’s Supporters Trust put out a statement in response to Andy Burnham’s comments last week about bringing back drinking in the stands, pointing out that the current ban would negatively impact revenues if the men’s team were to get promoted.
The club have deals with local breweries and their own lager called the Rabble Rouser – named for the nickname given to the most vociferous home fans – while there’s top-shelf whisky available at the clubhouse bar and one fan is even sipping on a limoncello. It’s perhaps this Dutch courage that eventually sees the ultras in full voice during the second half with chants inspired by Depeche Mode, Dean Martin and even the West Side Story soundtrack.
Dulwich add a late third to win 3-1 but it’s not enough for cup progress and they’ll now move into the WNL Plate. I head home to work my way through the weekend’s chaos.
Final tally
Home wins – 2
Away wins – 3
Home goals – 10
Away goals – 8
Total attendance – 87,794
Total number of dogs seen – 10
Total number of planes spotted – 8
Number of stadium burgers eaten – 2
Number of chants to the tune of ‘America’ from West Side Story – 1
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