2025/26 Pre-season schedule confirmed

The club can now confirm its full pre-season schedule ahead of the 2025/26 season. After a solid campaign in 2024/25, where the Blues finished in 11th place with 60 points, attention has already turned to the upcoming league season. With a packed schedule including games against sides from each of the top five levels of the non-league pyramid, you can read more about our opponents below.

Our pre-season campaign starts on Tuesday 1st July, and like much of the first half of our pre-season schedule, will take place at our training pitches at The Football Pad on Barnet Lane. The first visitors to EN5 will be Sutton Common Rovers, a team that finished 21st in Isthmian South Central last season and next season will be playing in the Combined Counties South at Step 5.

On Saturday 5th July, we will welcome Royston Town for the third season in a row, with the last two seasons' competitive clashes ending in a 1-1 draw in 2023/24 and a 2-0 victory in 2024/25. The Crows finished 11th in the Southern Premier South division (Step 3) last season and represent tough opposition early in the schedule (note 12pm kick off).

Next to visit The Football Pad on a Tuesday night will be Grays Athletic on 8th July. Grays finished 9th in the Isthmian North division last season, and will likely be looking to make a playoff challenge to return to the Isthmian Premier League, where they last played in 2016/17.

Our first away trip of the pre-season schedule sees us travel to Uxbridge on Saturday 12th July, as we travel to Honeycroft for a 3pm kick off. The Reds finished 2nd in the Isthmian South Central last season, behind runaway winners Farnham Town. They were victorious in the playoffs which has put them up into step 3 and they have been placed in the Southern Premier South division.

The fourth and final fixture in EN5 will be a Tuesday night meeting with Welwyn Garden City, where Blues club legend Marc Weatherstone will bring his step 4 Citizens side to face the Blues. Last season in the Southern League Central division, Welwyn Garden City finished in 9th place and will be looking to push towards the playoffs in the coming season.

In the second half of the pre-season campaign, we will travel to Hendon FC's Silver Jubilee Park on Saturday 19th July. Hendon were relegated from the Isthmian Premier League last season and will now be playing in the Isthmian South Central divison in 2025/26 where they will be looking to bounce straight back.

Our first pre-season clash at the Maurice Rebak Stadium will see us welcome Enfield Town on Saturday 26th July. In their first season at National League South level, the Towners were successful in their bid to stay up, finishing in 19th place, three points clear of St Albans City in the final relegation spot, and will be looking to go again in 2025/26.

Just three days later we will be back at the Maurice Rebak Stadium, on Tuesday 29th July, to welcome newly promoted Boreham Wood. The Wood won the National League South playoffs this weekend to return to the National League at the first time of asking. This will be our highest-ranked opposition of the pre-season schedule and one not to miss!

Finally, on Saturday 2nd August we will make the short trip to Brickfield Lane where we will face Hadley, in our customary pre-season fixture. Last season we won 3-1 against a side who reached the Southern Central (step 4) playoffs last season, losing out to Berkhamsted who were evenutally promoted.