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After heartbreak in the cup last weekend, Hoddesdon return to league action on Saturday as they look to kickstart their quest for a playoff spot.

A midweek friendly on Tuesday against Essex Senior League Premier Division outfit West Herts, will have done much to re-ignite the squads appetite for victory, running out comfortable 3-1 winners. All the squad got good minutes in the tank and at times, Hoddesdon looked irresistible. Goals from Jason Brown, Arnis Lala and new signing Harry Carter helped the Lilywhites ease past their higher ranked opposition and manager Simon Riddle will move into the weekend with more of a spring in his step than at full time last Saturday.

Carter is a creative midfielder who will no doubt strengthen our midfield options, providing quality in the squad. He previously played for West Essex, Barking, Frenford, Buckhurst Hill and most recently, Harlow Town, where he made 10 appearances for the Hawks this season. We are still waiting on the paperwork to be signed off but there is hope that the new man will be available for the visit of AS London this weekend at Lowfield.

AS London Football Club are based in Tottenham and play at the New River Sports Stadium (formerly New River Community Sports Centre). The stadium has a capacity of 5,000 with a grandstand that seats 1,000. The stadium has a 3G artificial pitch surrounded by an athletics track.

The club was formed in 1991 as a group of friends organising matches on a Sunday under the name of Park View FC. In 2003 the club affiliated with the Middlesex County Football Association (MCFA) and joined the Ghana Football Society. In 2007 the club joined Division One Central & East of the Middlesex County League, going on to win the division at the first attempt, but then left the league. They entered Division One of the London Commercial League in 2012, and were runners-up in 2013–14. The club then switched to the Amateur Football Combination, entering Intermediate Division One North. After winning the division at the first attempt, the club were promoted to Senior Division Two North and went on to win a second successive title, earning promotion to Senior Division One. They subsequently won the Division One title in 2016–17 and then entered the English football league system, joining Division Two of the Spartan South Midlands League. The club were unbeaten Division Two League Champions as well as Division Two Cup Winners in their first season in the league, earning promotion to Division One.

In June 2024 Park View was renamed to All Stars London (styled as AS London) for the 2024/25 season. The club in its early years drew many of its players from the Ghanaian community in London but can now boast of a diverse mix and are slowly becoming one to watch this season in the Eastern Counties Division One South.

After an indifferent start to the season, our hosts are now well and truly into their stride and are ripping up trees as they launch an assault on a top 5 position. Their last two games saw them score 16 goals without reply, against FC baresi and Newbury Forest respectively. Striker and captain Reece Simpson missed the last game against Newbury Forest, but bagged a hat trick against FC Baresi, taking his tally for the season to 17 goals in 17 games. He is one goal behind Stuart Zanone of Hutton, Hoddesdon and Cannon's Wood in the league's Golden Boot tussle and the former Athletic Newham striker will surely be a handful for the Hoddesdon defence come kick off.

AS also have the talented Alie Bangura in their ranks, and he himself has an impressive record in front of goal, with 10 in 11, coupled with 11 assists. Alie has previously played for Hemel Hempstead and enjoyed a promotion winning season with Berkhamstead, helping them reach Step 3. He also had stints with FC Romania and Leighton Town. Most recently, he was at Leverstock Green in Step 4, signing for them in June of this year before making the switch to AS London, and so plying his trade at Step 6 will undoubtedly be a huge advantage to him and his new club. AS London have secured a number of players from the higher echelons of non league football and the results speak for themselves.

From their ten away games this season, AS have won 7, drawn 1 and lost 2, scoring 34 and conceding just 9. This leaves them in 5th place in the table with 29 points. They are currently the leagues highest scoring team with 52 goals in 15 games, averaging an incredible 3.4 goals a game. Should they win their 3 games in hand, they would comfortably sit in third position, a. little way off of Harlow Town and champions elect, Hackney Wick. Their last defeat came on the 23rd of October at home to Harlow Town in a 3-0 reverse but the management and fans will see that as just a blip on their march towards a successful season.

For Hoddesdon, they remain in touching distance of a playoff place, but after being knocked out of 4 cups this season at the first hurdle, the realisation must now dawn that the only realistic chance for success this season lies in the efforts to finish as high up the table as possible. With Harlow and Hackney Wick running away with things at an early stage and seemingly nailed on for the top two spots, that leaves just three places for the Lilywhites to compete for, for the remainder of the season. Admittedly, there is a lot of football still to come but it's clear that the lads need to put a little run together now, starting this Saturday. We do have 2 or 3 games in hand over most of the teams above us, however, with the just 3 points separating the four teams below us, the gaffer will not want to lose ground.

In team news, goalkeeper Liam Nugent and midfielder Connor Casey remain sidelined with injury.

Connor Bolton victoriously returned to the top of the club's goalscoring charts at the weekend, his penalty putting him on 4 for the season, level with Ben Clarke. Bennison, Casey and Gibbs trail not far behind with 3 a piece.

In this fixture last season, it is no exaggeration to say that the Lilywhites should have won this game comfortably. In the final analysis it was their failure to take the multitude of chances they created that cost them two points.

They were up against a Park View (now AS London) side that until recently had been languishing at the bottom of the league but were now completely overhauled with new management and players recruited from higher levels. Since this overhaul they had won two games against much higher placed sides and it was probably a safe bet that they would climb to safety. In the end hoppwever, they finished 3rd from bottom in the relegation zone, and only a reprieve guarenteed their Step 6 status for this season.

From the kick-off the Lilywhites put pressure on the visitors’ goal and with a dominant first-half performance they should have taken a potentially match-winning lead into the break.

Hadley Richards brought a good save out of the keeper with a rasping 25-yard drive in the 7th minute and two minutes later George Rankin hit a post from the edge of the box. Connor Bolton shot wide from a good position in the 26th minute and Conor Casey had a shot saved on the half-hour mark. Another good chance was created for Connor Bolton three minutes later by Blue Gallagher but his mis-hit shot was easily saved. In the 37th minute Conor Casey volleyed over the bar from close range at the back post from a left-wing cross and with half-time approaching George Rankin had another decent effort saved.

The deserved breakthrough came in first-half added-time when Conor Casey received the ball on the right-hand side of the area, cut inside a defender and placed his shot beyond the keeper.

The second half found the visitors raising their game and the game became a much closer-fought contest although they still weren’t presenting a very serious threat. The Lilywhites still looked the more likely to score, though, and continued to waste chances. Harrison Cage fired over the bar when well-placed in the 57th minute and Bailey Eden did likewise in the 71st. Then, with 13 minutes remaining Dion Laughton had a glorious chance when he was put through on goal but his lob over the advancing keeper went agonisingly wide of the target.

The Lilywhites were totally in command and in the 80th and 82nd minutes both Harrison cage and Bailey Eden had shots saved when they might have done better.

The writing was on the wall, though, when wasted opportunities and a slender lead very often result in an equaliser. And it happened six minutes before the final whistle the visitors found the back of the net when they capitalised on a loose ball in the Lilywhites’ six-yard box. Albeit against a decent team, the Lilywhites were forced to accept a point when it should have been three. Man-of-the Match that day was Hadley Richards

With AS London currently in sublime form, a repeat of that result may well be welcome on Saturday afternoon.

Entry on Saturday is £8 Adults and £5 Concessions, Under12s FREE.

We invite all our supporters, old and new, to head to Lowfield where a warm welcome is waiting for you. Hoddesdon Town FC is embarking on a new era and we are working closely with our co-tenants, Hoddesdon Cricket Club, and the wider local community, to bring you a multi sports venue to be proud of, and create a local hub for everybody. Opening up our club to all is at the top of our agenda and your support is hugely appreciated. Our tea bar will be open serving hot and cold refreshments, as well the bar inside the clubhouse where you will find great beers, ciders and stout on draught, in conjunction with our partner and sponsor, Greene King. Indeed, Greene King's delicious Level Head IPA is our new Man of the Match sponsor, and winners will be presented with a case for their efforts.

Kick Off is 3pm and we will also be showing the 5:30pm game between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City, as well as Liverpool versus Aston Villa kicking off at 8pm, our our three Big Screens.

There is also the Youth Team 'Hawks' Quiz Night in the clubhouse after the game. There will be a quiz and a raffle, an opportunity for families to get together and all are welcome. Raffle tickets are £2 per strip or 3 for £5 (selection of prizes inc Bottles, Chocolates, Toiletries and Games), Quiz packs are £5 each (highest score will win a bottle of wine), Kids Quiz packs are £2 each (all kids taking part will get some sweets).

Come along, enjoy a few drinks and get to know other team members and their families. Any questions, contact Suzi on 07815 319090.

Enjoy the game.

#COYL