Spotting 2026

I’m not getting much spotting done due to ongoing illness and too much football 😅 This past week is a case in point where we played Cheshunt on Saturday and Potters Bar Town on Tuesday. That doesn’t mean no spotting was done though 😎

Saturday’s game against Cheshunt was another defeat though it was a close run thing. Cheshunt took the early lead, scoring twice. Then Wingate & Finchley came back with 2 goals of their own, Gianluca Botti scoring the second with a neatly placed shot under pressure through the keeper’s legs…

…Cheshunt then got a 3rd on the stroke of half-time. The second half was devoid of goals although both keepers had work to do – Here’s Charlie getting down to make a save…

…All in all a disappointing loss which dropped us into the bottom 4.

Fortunately, I had already salvaged my day with a very early morning trip out to Oakleigh Park. I was there before sunup and took this light-compromised photo of 801205 on the 07:03 departure from Kings Cross…

…bound for Edinburgh – It was 07:10 with the Sun due to slumber for another 7 minutes.

Once the Sun had crossed the horizon the light started to improve quickly as evidenced by this shot of 802301…

…operating Hull Trains 07:18 service from Kings Cross to Hull. Even so, the light has that early morning flatness. 07:29 and here’s the Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City stopper…

…operated by 717023 and running 4 minutes ahead of the special train that I and several other people are waiting to see.

And here she is in much improved light at 07:33…

…34067 ‘Tangmere’ – A Battle of Britain Class light pacific locomotive designed by the Southern Railway’s CME, Oliver Bulleid. The air-smoothed casing led to them being known as ‘Spam Cans’. The chill of the morning made for a great display…

…and there was that wonderful smell of hot coals and oil after she’s passed. After that I was able to live with the footballing disappointment of the afternoon.

Tuesday’s football was the proverbial ‘Six Pointer’ as we faced Potters Bar Town. A draw would not be good enough for either team – Both desperately in need of a win! Potters took the lead but that man Botti popped up again to get the equaliser before half-time…

…after a beautifully placed cross in from Loic Hernandez that he could run onto from behind the defensive line. Wingate went on to win the game with 15 minutes to go in the second half when 17yo substitute Josh Gibbons…

…produced a perfect pass to find Eddie Allsop at the edge of the area…

…who smacked the ball home to give The Blues the lead and ultimately a much needed win which has lifted us out of the bottom 4 for the time being.

It was an odd night – I’ve known some of the Potters Bar faithful for a number of years and we usually chat before and after a game but on this occasion that didn’t happen. They formed a closed group away in one corner of the clubhouse and kept themselves to themselves. I can only assume that they have a feeling of impending doom and it is proving a real downer. We are almost as much at risk of being relegated as they are but for some reason we seem to be handling it better. Most of our fans know we’ve been punching above our financial weight since we got promoted in 2011 so perhaps we’re more accepting of the possibility of going back down again than our neighbours. This Saturday we’re off to Burgess Hill who are hoping to get into the play-offs. Then we’re playing Canvey Island at home on Tuesday – That one will be another must-win game for both sides. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks ahead for everyone at the bottom end of the table.