Lancot Park

Lancot Park was an amateur football club based in the Bedfordshire town of Dunstable, that was formed in 2019 playing in the Bedfordshire County League before deciding to call it a day after a couple of seasons.

In their debut campaign, Park ended fifth in Division 3, which was enough to earn promotion to Division 2 where they ended up in third spot. The team lifted the Junior Challenge Cup defeating Harlington Juniors 1-0 at Langford thanks to a goal from Jamie Nolan.

My visit

Lancot Park 2 FC Haynes 6 (Saturday 1^st May 2021) Bedfordshire County League Supplementary Cup (att: c20) 

It was a strange time in everyone’s lives with many different Covid restrictions in place. While I was extremely wary not to overstep the mark, I also looked for every opportunity to live a normal life as possible.

The remarkable thing about this game was that it formed part of a treble bill of sporting entertainment. I took the train from Mill Hill Broadway to Luton and did a spot of shopping in Sports Direct and stocked up with snacks before taking a bus west. 

It was my first experience of the busway along the former railway line to Dunstable and very good it was too. Bus C took me to Cookfield Close in the furthest park of town from where I walked down a lane with wonderful views of the Chilterns in the distance.

I ended up at Lancot Park, the home of Dunstable Cricket Club where I was one of the few spectators who took in an hour or so of the friendly between the host club and Hayes & Whitton CC of Middlesex. It wasn’t particularly warm, but I found some shelter from the elements and took photos.

Nobody bothered me and fielders chatted away, so I presume that admission was permitted. Then the two football teams started arriving with hangers on and followers. The pitch was over on the far side of the field and in excellent condition, with the perimeter having some elevated banking on the far side.

Because my main attraction was kicking off at 3pm across the road at Totternhoe FC, I decided to watch the first half of this encounter with the final few minutes being viewed from near the entrance gate. Fortunately, it kicked-off a few minutes early.

I saw a decent enough encounter in which the visitors were quicker up front where it so often matters. For the record they won the game thanks to four goals from the excellent Scott Frusciante, with the others from Hayden Dormer and Chris Clarke.

The hosts responded with goals from Steven Manning and Peter Wilson. It had been an added bonus and one I was more than happy to enjoy. Later research revealed that the result was a bit of a shock as Lancot finished third in the league with their opponents in eighth place.