A veritable War of the Roses in prospect today as Gavin marches his Hamlet men up the M1 to take on the Tudors of Hemel Hempstead Town.

Hemel Hempstead as a town might have more than its fair share of detractors, with a recent survey, run by the website Crap Towns Returns, bestowing the unwelcome mantle upon Hemel Hempstead as the ugliest town in the UK. The poll of the “crappiest towns” saw Hemel “successfully” beat off the challenges of several architectural bombsites such as the perennially unpopular Luton, benighted Slough, Bracknell, and Birmingham all of whom were left trailing in the Hertfordshire town’s wake.

However down at Vauxhall Road, a tree-lined haven of bucoulic splendour far from the architectural eyesores of the concrete netherworld of the town centre, crap is last word on the lips of the denizens of Hemel, ugly a redundant metaphor for the football that has seen the Tudors enjoying one of their most successful seasons for more than a decade. Under the stewardship of manager Dean Brennan the Tudors sit defiantly aloft the Southern Premier Division, already with a five-point gap back to their nearest challengers, Chesham United. Not just leading the league but leading it in style with a potent attack force that had already found the net 37 times in just 11 league outings, an attack that can dig deep when the call comes as witnessed in last round of the cup away to Witham. Then FA Cup dreams looking to been evaporating into the Essex ether as the Tudors’ Isthmian North hosts held sway, leading 3-1 with mere minutes left on the clock before a triple whammy in the last six minutes turned the tie on its head. Yet it is not just in attack that the Tudors have excelled for their defence has provided more impenetrable that a Mongolian Art House film. Barring that three-goal aberration at Witham, not since an opening day defeat away to Hitchin Town has the Hemel defence been infiltrated more than once in a game.

No taking the foot off the pedal in midweek with today’s cup tie just over the horizon as Hemel Hempstead’s stunning run of form continued with a Tuesday night cruise, big spending Arlesey Town the latest to fall under the wheels of the Tudor juggernaut a to a 3-0 victory over Arlesey. Bagging a brace that night was striker, the former Coventry City first teamer taking his tally to 9 for the season with the electrifyingly pacy Charlie Mpi coming on from the bench to complete a comprehensive victory. Missing from the score sheet that night, a rare feat in a campaign in which he struck ten times already, was leading scorer Lewis Toomey. A local lad, the forward has the rare distinction of scoring a hat trick both for and against the Tudors, the former on his debut for the club, the latter for Hitchin Town last season before returning like the prodigal son to Vauxhall Road this summer.

Tuesday night’s railroading of Arlesey took the Tudors' tally of games unbeaten to 13 games in a row in all competitions with 10 consecutive league wins, two shy of away equalling their record set in the club’s triumphant 1999/2000 season when they lifted the Isthmian League Division Two title.

Among both sets of fans they is a mighty buzz of anticipation as they await what must surely be one of the ties of the round, pairing top of the Southern League Premier against second spot in the Isthmian Premier, once more awaking the age-old debate of which of these venerable competitions holds sway. Yet much of Hemel’s heritage lies in the Isthmian League, the Tudors joining in 1977 from the old Athenian League after spells in the Herts County League, the Spartan League and the Delphian League. For more than a quarter of century the Tudors plied their trade in the lower reaches of the Isthmian before a sixth-place finish in what is now Ryman Division One North in 2003/04 was enough to secure a place in the Southern League Premier Division after the reorganisation caused by the creation of Conference South, pipping Dulwich’s playoff conquerors Wealdstone to automatic promotion by just two points. However, for all their time in the same league the paths of the two clubs would cross only in the most august competition of all, the FA Cup. The first meeting came back in the days when flares were worn not thrown, unless you were a teenage girl at a David Cassidy concert. Moreover, it was something of a surprise when the then-Athenian League side came to Champion Hill for a 1st Qualifying Round tie and held a Dulwich Hamlet side struggling at the foot of the table to a scoreless draw before the Isthmian League side sneaked through 2-1 in the replay back at Vauxhall Road. By the time the two sides met again they shared the same league if not a division but the result and score line remained the same as Dulwich prevailed on their adversaries’ turf.

This afternoon’s game kicks off at 3.00 pm at Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club, Vauxhall Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4HW.

For an excellent overview of how to get to Hemel Hempstead, what to do when you get there and even how to enjoy the nightlife click here.

ADMISSION PRICES

• £10 for Adults
• £6 Concessions and Military Personnel (Id Required)
• £3 for Under 18s
• £1 for Under 12s
• Free For Under 5s

Programmes: £2.00