NON-LEAGUE NEWS: You wait 15 years, and then two cup finals turn-up at once. ANDREW SINCLAIR on a world record week for Croydon FC, and more progress from local rivals Athletic
David Beckham’s done it. Harry Kane did it for Bayern this season. Roy of the Rovers has probably done it a couple of times. But none of them can match the achievement of Croydon FC’s Ryan Hall, who scored from his own half last Saturday in what is thought to be the fastest goal ever in senior football – taking just 2.31seconds from kick-off until the ball nestled in the back of the opposition’s net.
Record-breaker: Croydon FC’s Ryan ‘2.31’ Hall
All subject to confirmation by Norris McWhirter and the editorial staff at The Guinness Book of Records, and the FA, of course.
Hall, 36, a former Palace and Leeds player, was making his debut for his boyhood club in the London Senior Trophy semi-final, with the first goal in a now famous 3-0 win over Cockfosters Reserves.
For Hall and the Trams, what’s followed has been a media whirl, with video of the goal (thank goodness one of the Trams fans had the presence of mind to have his camera phone on from the whistle) appearing on the BBC’s national television news, Sky Sports, BBC 5 Live Radio and across the national press.
And the hype and momentum must have counted for something, because just three days later, on Tuesday night, a fired-up Croydon side surpassed themselves when they won another cup semi-final, with the 2-1 win at Whitstable Town to reach the Kent Senior Trophy final. Hall was on the scoresheet again.
“We’ve had some incredible coverage and it’s exactly what a club like ours needs, even if one media outlet confused us with Croydon Athletic and said we were owned by Stormzy,” Tony Blencowe, Croydon’s vice-chairman said.
“We always said he bought the wrong club.”
In the record books: Hall’s goal from the kick-off last Saturday has been featured around the world
While local rivals Athletic have garnered a lot of attention during the season, Croydon have more than made up for it with their moment in the international football spotlight.
Hall’s deft, floated effort in those opening seconds set the tone for the rest of the game.
Trams boss Liam Giles told Inside Croydon: “Ryan and I played together for Croydon as kids and we go back a long way. I’ve been trying to persuade him to come to the Arena for a few years now because I wanted that someone who could bring a bit of magic. He’s certainly done that!
“That goal was so special and this whole week has been surreal – my phone hasn’t stopped ringing with people wanting to speak to Ryan. We’ve had Sky Sports, BBC, TalkSport and we’ve even gone and done some filming for Fantasy Football League on Sky which is pretty cool.”
The Trams’ social media even made a point of mentioning how the now re-named “Ryan ‘2.31’ Hall” had “taken his time” over scoring the first goal in the impressive performance on the Kent coast at at Whitstable.
“Winning any silverware for Croydon will be special because it’s my boyhood club and we’ve not won anything in 15 years,” Giles said.
“Getting into the London Senior Trophy final was third time lucky, as we’ve twice gone out in the semis – once on penalties and once because of an admin error.
“Winning at Whitstable though, that sits at the top of my managerial wins. The lads executed the game plan to a tee and delivered a class performance. Not many fancied us on a long journey down there on a Tuesday night but we showed that we can mix it with the best of the Premier Division.”
Croydon will meet either Elmstead or 11th tier Wimbledon Casuals in the London Senior Trophy final. In the Kent Senior Trophy, the Trams will play Erith Town, the club they beat to win the Kent League Cup in 2009, the last time Croydon won a trophy.
Tense moment: Ryan Palmer lines up the penalty that clinched Tuesday’s semi-final win at Whitstable
Erith are one place below Whitstable in the Premier Division and beat Croydon’s promotion rivals Larkfield and New Hythe 8-2 in the other semi.
That might not be it on the finals front either, as the Trams are set to kick off their KCL Charity Cup campaign in the next couple of weeks. An invitation tournament, Croydon are the highest-ranked team involved and begin in the quarter-finals away at Dartford-based Halls AFC.
10 points away from the play-off places, the promotion push begins
It’s back to league matters this weekend and Giles’ men are hoping that their new-found momentum will carry them into a promotion push.
They are currently eighth in the SCEFL Division One, three places and 10 points away from the play-off places. They do have a game in hand on most of the teams above, and it’s notable that three of their next five league fixtures are against the other sides in the promotion mix.
“The league has always been our priority this season, it’s just been very stop-start so we’ve struggled to find our rhythm. We’re in a good place though and we’re not going to give up on that goal of going up,” Giles said.
Crucial month: Rams manager Jermaine McGlashan
Over at Athletic’s Mayfield Stadium in Thornton Heath, the borough’s other non-league side is also well-placed to challenge for bigger and better things.
With Farnham Town setting a record-breaking pace at the top of the table with 23 wins from 23 games, Athletic manager Jermaine McGlashan’s side’s best hopes of promotion lie in the Combined Counties Premier Division South play-offs.
The Rams are currently seventh, two points off the play-off spots, but owing to issues with their pitch and others in the division they’ve got multiple games in hand on the sides above.
After the takeover last summer by Stormzy and Wilfried Zaha, the club’s Crystal Palace connections have grown and grown throughout the season, with former Palace prospect Andre Coker arriving on loan in January and Andrew Johnson joining this week as director of football.
The latest arrival was left-back Reece Hannam, who, after making seven appearances for League One club Stevenage earlier in the season, has joined “the project” at the Mayfield. Hannam made his debut in this week’s 3-0 defeat to a well-organised Tooting and Mitcham.
McGlashan will be hoping to get back to winning ways tomorrow against 15th-placed Cobham ahead of a meeting with their ground’s tenants, Balham, at the start of March. Two matches against league leaders in 11 days in March will likely determine the Rams’ promotion fate.
Balham are level on points with Croydon Athletic but have a significantly inferior goal difference and have played four games more.
Upcoming fixtures
AFC Croydon Athletic
Tomorrow: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Cobham (H)
Sat Mar 2: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Balham (A)
Tue Mar 5: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Farnham T (H)
Sat Mar 9: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Fleet T (H)
Tue Mar 12: Surrey Senior Cup 1st Rd v Camberley T (A)
Sat Mar 16: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Farnham T (A)
Croydon FC
Tomorrow: SCEFL Div 1 v Tooting Bec (A, at Chipstead)
Wed Feb 28: KCFL Invitational Charity Cup v Halls AFC (A)
Sat Mar 2: SCEFL Div 1 v Rochester Utd (H)
Wed Mar 6: SCEFL Div 1 v Lewisham Boro (A)
Sat Mar 9: SCEFL Div 1 v Meridian VP (H)
Sat Mar 16: SCEFL Div 1 v Larkfield and New Hythe (H)
Balham FC
Tue Feb 27: Southern Combined Challenge Cup v Westfield (A)
Sat Mar 2: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Croydon Athletic (H)
Wed Mar 6: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Guildford C(A)
Sat Mar 9: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Tadley Calleva (A)
Wed Mar 13: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Spelthorne Sports (H)
Sat Mar 16: Combined Counties Prem Div S v Epsom and Ewell (H)
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
