It’s a road trip but not too bad a road trip, 1 hour and 7 minutes with Google at the wheel for 39.8 miles to take you to Saffron and Walden, or just Saffron Walden really, to see if The Bridge can rack up another road trip victory…Go on, you know you want to…
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Saffron Walden Town Football Club is a football club based in Saffron Walden, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Catons Lane.

History
The club was established as Saffron Walden in 1872 and are the oldest senior football club in Essex. They entered the FA Cup in 1876–77 but withdrew after being drawn against holders Wanderers as they could not afford to travel. Two years later they made their first appearance, losing 5–0 to Upton Park in the first round.

In 1882 the club were founder members of the Essex County Football Association. In 1890 club secretary Arthur Smith, the headmaster of the local Boy's National School, negotiated an annual fee of £3 with Lord Braybrooke for the use of a piece of land in Loft's Lane; previously the club had played on the town common, but had been unable to charge spectators an entrance fee. The club reached the final of the Essex Junior Cup in 1894–94 but lost 3–0 to Barking Excelsior. In 1896–97 they reached the final again, beating Leytonstone 6–1 in a replay.

In 1899 they entered the Haverhill and District League, which they won in 1907–08, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1928–29, 1929–30 and 1933–34. The club also entered the Stansted and District League, the Cambridgeshire League and Hertfordshire and Essex Border League during the same era, winning the Stanstead & District League on seven occasions and the Border League once. In 1926 the club reached the final of the Essex Junior Cup, where a record crowd of 6,000 saw them lose 2–1 to Rainham Athletic.

The club moved to the Essex & Suffolk Border League and the North Essex League, before joining the Spartan League in 1933. In 1936–37 they won Division Two.
After World War II the club moved to the Parthenon League in 1954, and, after a single season, left to join the Hertfordshire County League.

In 1971 the club were founder members of the Essex Senior League. After winning the league in 1973–74, they switched to the Eastern Counties League, which they won in 1982–83. After finishing sixth the following season, the club joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League. In 1996 the club dropped back into the Essex Senior League, following a rule change which deemed the sloping pitch at Catons Lane to be unfit for the league. They won the league in 1999–2000 and were runners-up the following year, but ongoing work on the ground prevented the club from being promoted.

The club tried to transfer to the Eastern Counties League but was prevented from doing so by the Essex Senior League. In order to fulfil their wish, in 2003–04 the club spent a season outside the league system, playing just friendlies, before rejoining Division One of the Eastern Counties League in 2004. In August 2011 they resigned from the league claiming that their financial situation meant that they could not guarantee that they would complete the 2011–12 season. In 2012 they rejoined the Eastern Counties League.

On 4 July 2012, members voted to convert the club into a Community Benefit Society. They were promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 2014–15 season after finishing third in Division One.

At the end of the 2017–18 season Saffron Walden were transferred to the Essex Senior League. In 2019–20 the club were top of the table when the league was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021–22 they were league runners-up, qualifying for a promotion play-off against Witham Town, which they lost 3–0.

Honours
Eastern Counties League
Champions 1982–83
Essex Senior League
Champions 1973–74, 1999–2000
Spartan League
Division Two champions 1936–37
Haverhill and District League
Champions 1907–08, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1933–34
Stansted and District League
Champions 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1923–24
Hertfordshire and Essex Border League
Champions 1926–27 (shared)
Essex Senior Challenge Trophy
Winners 1983, 1984, 1985
Essex Junior Cup
Winners 1897

Records
Best FA Cup performance: First round, 1876–77, 1878–79,1880-81
Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 1990–91
Most appearances: Les Page, 538
Most goals: Alec Ramsey, 192

30/01/24 Essex Senior League SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 3
(Stanley Leach 2, Coby Miles)
STANWAY ROVRS 0

27/01/24 Essex Senior League LITTLE OAKLEY 0
SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 1
(Olly Miles)

13/01/24 Peter Butcher
Memorial Trophy
1st Round SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 2
(Stanley Leach, Riley Cotter)
FRENFORD 0

06/01/24 Essex Senior League STANWAY ROVERS 1
SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 1

29/12/23 Tolleshunt Darcy
Memorial Cup SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 2
(Olly Miles 2)
CHELMSFORD CITY 2
Chelmsford City win 5-3 on penalties

23/12/23 Essex Senior League BUCKHURST HILL 1
SAFFRON WALDEN TOWN 3
(Joe Lilly 2, Ryan Melaugh)

After 22 matches (less than most), “The Bloods” are currently in 11th place in the Essex Senior League Premier. They have 36 points from those 22 games – 11 wins, 3 draws, and 8 defeats. They have a +2 goal difference, scoring 34 and conceding 32.

Home form consists of 5 wins, 2 draws, and 2 defeats, scoring 21 and conceding 10. Home defeats were against Romford 0-1 in November and Woodford Town 1-3 in August so they don’t lose many.

In current form they are in 4th place with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 defeat, scoring 9 and conceding 5.

We met in the Isuzu FA Vase in November and SWT knocked us out with a 2-0 victory with goals from Ryan Melaugh and Jamie Riley in a feisty encounter and they also won 2-1 at Lower Road in August with goals from Reece Barrett and Charlie Cole. Charlie Heatley replied for The Bridge. Time for a bit of revenge, me thinks.

Alex Awobimpe
James Bransgrove
Nathan Brath
Craig Calver
Charlie Cole
Riley Cotter
James Falaise
Natan Fuma
Jack Grosvenor
Jason Hallett
Thomas Head
Matthew Hurley
Stanley Leech
Dion Lewis-Kirwan
Joe Lilly
Darnell -Kithambo
Ryan Melaugh
Coby Miles
Olly Miles
Jarvis Monk
Louis Monk
Jacob Noble
Danny Norton
Solomon Ofori
Andrew Pinney
George Powell
Jamie Riley
Thomas Skelton
Charles Smith
Joshua Taylor
Oliver Travell
Joni Vukaj
Alex Warman
Ethan Williams
Luke Woodward

Well, top scorer is Olly Miles with 8, so definitely him and he’s scored recently as well, so definitely him and Stanley Leech has scored a few recently too, so definitely him and Solomon Ofori, we know all about him so definitely him as well…
Here’s Olly…

And friends!
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OK, it’s about time we beat this lot…2 defeats against them so far this season, and probably one last chance to redress the balance. Both teams are in relatively good form so it could be a tight one but it's about time so…
There remains just one thing left to say….