2.45pm 16 October 2021
Kent County League, Premier Division
Peckham Town 4 Tudor Sports 0 (att 186)
Like Newcastle Blue Star, Peckham Town are a step seven club who are pulling in the crowds and who look set to move up into the semi-professional ranks.
A crowd of close to 200 on a Saturday afternoon is impressive. Especially in London where there's plenty of competition and, compared to other parts of the UK, sometimes a lack of a collective local community.
But Peckham have worked hard to be part of their area's diverse community. It's paying dividends, not just in the number of people watching but in their ages. This isn't a non league club watched by a few elderly diehards.
The crowd for the visit of Tudor Sports may have been boosted by nearby Dulwich Hamlet not having a game. In some respects they're kindred spirits, having both found a way of tapping into latent support for non-League football.
Dubbing the likes of Dulwich Hamlet and Peckham Town as 'hipster clubs' does them a disservice. As a neutral who watches a lot of football at this level, it makes a refreshing change to visit a club with such a buzz about them.
On the pitch Tudor Sports were no match for Peckham. The home side were in control from the start. Three first half goals put the outcome beyond doubt, and a fourth followed in stoppage time after a largely forgettable second period.
Back in the 1980s I went to Dulwich Common for a Southwark Sports home game in the old London Spartan League, only to find on arrival it was off. It's taken a long time for me to finally see a game there, and Peckham Town have transformed the venue.
The 'Menace Arena', as it's now called, has a main seated stand on one side and a covered area behind one goal. There are other areas of spectator accommodation including a tiny corner structure labelled the 'world's smallest stand'. Only floodlights, and perhaps some additional hard standing, would be required for promotion.
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