Borough still standing
HILLINGDON BOR
HILLINGDON Borough FC are still very much alive and kicking but need support, according to club owner Dee Dhand.
Obituaries were last week once again being penned for a club who, in a previous incarnation, reached the 1971 FA Trophy final and twice applied to join the Football League.
A series of tweets suggested the club was resigned from the Spartan South Midlands League but it turned out to be more a cry for help than a final nail in the coffin.
The club’s plight even came to national attention when Everton winger Yannick Bolasie, who started his career at Hillingdon, lent his moral support.
Dhand said: “It had to come out. When you’re putting money in and working 18 hours a day every day and getting nothing back, I’d had enough.
“We’re not short of money, it was never a financial thing, but we’re getting no support from the league or the community, and it was all getting too much.
“I asked the league how much it would cost for us to pull out as I couldn’t take it any more, and before I knew it, it was all over Twitter. We had a fantastic response, I didn’t know how much this club is still loved in the community, probably due to our history.
“We’re still here, still going, and hopefully everything will work out. The league has been understanding, but more support from the community would be great. I just felt that something wasn’t right, especially with all the effort I’m putting in. We used to have a large committee but a lot of them have got too old for it now.
“The management team have been very supportive too. I just feel like I need a rest now, but we’ll keep fighting as a club.”
Dhand, who has been on the club’s committee for 16 years and owner for a decade, was the one who first spotted £25 million man Bolasie’s potential.
She added: “Yannick was playing for our under-18s. When the first team played away from home the rest of the committee would go while I’d stay and do stuff around the club and watch the youngsters play.
“Yannick always stood out, and the under-18s manager kept saying we had to get him into the first team, but it was about persuading the committee. It was lovely to hear he still has a place for us in his heart.”
Hillingdon, who sit mid-table in Division One of the Spartan South Midlands, saw their game frozen off on Saturday, along with all the borough’s other grassroots teams. They were due, weather permitting, to host Kensington Borough last night (Tuesday), before visiting highflying Harpenden on Saturday.
In the same division, Harefield United host Risborough Rangers on Saturday while AFC Hayes welcome Epsom & Ewell in the Combined Counties Premier. Over in Southern One Central, Northwood – who were due to travel to leaders Royston last night – host bottom side Petersfield Town on Saturday while Uxbridge take their turn to journey to Royston.