Arkley’s two leading football teams met up for a local derby which put the village on the map and revived memories of past encounters  

Arkley has a new claim to fame – its top two football clubs are now in the same division and when they play each other their home matches are thought to be the closest local derby among leading English football leagues.

Until this season Liverpool and Everton held that honour because of what previously was the close proximity of their stadiums.

Local football fans believe that Arkley village may now have become the setting for perhaps the hottest local derby in the top eight tiers of English football.

The two clubs are based less than a mile apart.

Hadley FC’s stadium and clubhouse is in Brickfield Lane, next to Arkley village hall, and London Lions FC are a ten-minute walk away in Rowley Lane.

London Lions won promotion this season to the Southern League Division One Central and their first away fixture to Hadley ended in a 2-1 victory after they snatched the winning goal a minute from the end.

Hadley, hit recently by a bad run of injuries, had been hoping for a win and were in high spirits during the warmup – see above, from left to right, Hermes Gbio, Hedley Ogbebor, Jordan Edwards and Hadley goalkeeper coach Tim Teixeira.

London Lions under their skipper for the day Adam Lipman – see above with long-time Lions supporter Paul Woolfson – were disappointed when Hadley were deservedly 1-0 up at the end of the first half after striker Lenny Asamoah had made no mistake from close range.

Zan Appleson-Fidler equalised for the Lions in the 60^th minute and a minute from time Daniel Creese clinched the match for the visitors from six yards.

Veteran London Lions fan Neville Zeller (87) – above right with Darren Zeller – is no stranger to the local football scene. He has been a supporter of the club since he was 15.

The last time the two teams met was in 2014 when Hadley ran out 4-0 winners in a Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division match.

A decade ago, the two clubs were both ground sharing – Hadley at Potters Bar Town and London Lions at Hemel Hempstead Town but after ground improvements both returned to Barnet.

Hadley FC president Tristan Smith – above – is hoping for a better result when the two teams meet again at the London Lions’ stadium in Rowley Lane on 28 March.

Arkley became the permanent home of Hadley FC – which was established in 1882 and is the oldest football club playing in Barnet – after the club secured a long-term lease on the sports ground at Brickfield Lane in 2016 – where the regular chant is now “Come on You Bricks.”

Since 2016 the club has spent £1.3 million in improvements to its ground and facilities, including the installation of an all-weather training pitch.

The latest addition are new changing rooms which have been in use since the start of the season, and which were funded with the help of grants from the Football Foundation and Barnet Council.

Despite having been hampered since early November by having up to 13 players unavailable through injuries, club director Oliver Deed – far right above with club chairman Steve Gray and first team coach Mick Hore – is hopeful Hadley might make it to the playoffs for promotion.

“We reached the first round of the FA Trophy, as we did last season, and although we are mid table, we have still got a chance of reaching the playoffs in 2026. It’ll but tough, but we are hopeful.”

For club members perhaps the next phase in the club’s development programme might be improvements to the bar and seating area in their clubhouse at Hadley Pavilion.