Hoddesdon Town take a break from their superb league campaign on Tuesday evening as attention turns to the League Challenge Cup and a mouth-watering local clash with Hertford Heath under the Lowfield floodlights. Kick-off is at 7.45pm, with Simon Riddle’s side looking to carry their outstanding early-season momentum into knockout football against opponents who have also made an eye-catching start to life at Step Six.

The Lilywhites enter the tie sitting proudly at the top of the Thurlow Nunn League First Division South after Saturday’s hard-earned 1-0 victory away to Marcelona. Connor Bolton’s 22nd-minute penalty proved decisive at Leslie Fields, while captain Jack Gibbs produced a commanding defensive display to earn the Star Player award as Hoddesdon extended their unbeaten start to five league matches. Town now have 13 points from five games, having won four and drawn one, with a goal difference of plus ten. May & Baker EC sit a point behind in second, while Lymore Gardens, Stansted and Tuesday’s opponents Hertford Heath are among a tightly packed chasing group in what has already become a fascinating opening month.

Assistant manager Jeff Cross believes the squad can take enormous confidence from that start, but insists Tuesday represents a completely different challenge.

“We have been delighted with the start because the players have shown different sides to themselves in different games,” said Cross. “We have won comfortably, we have come from behind, we have found a late winner and on Saturday we had to defend a one-goal lead away from home, so those experiences are all valuable. Now the league goes to one side for an evening and it is cup football,” he continued. “There is no point looking at positions or points because both teams know there is a place in the next round at stake. Hertford Heath are in excellent form and they will come here believing they can win.”

Assistant Manager Jeff Cross Gave His Pre Match Thoughts

Hertford Heath are newcomers to the First Division South this season following promotion from Step Seven. Originally formed in 1907, the club spent a number of seasons competing in the Hertfordshire Senior County League and finished third in its Premier Division during 2025/26 before being admitted into the Eastern Counties League for the new campaign. Their elevation has hardly fazed them. Although Heath opened the league season with a 4-0 defeat at May & Baker EC, they have responded superbly and arrive at Lowfield on a run of four consecutive victories in all competitions. That sequence began with a convincing 4-1 league win away at FC Baresi before a 5-0 demolition of NW London in the first round of this competition. They then won a remarkable 4-3 encounter away to AS London before edging another entertaining contest 3-2 at Coggeshall Town. Their league record currently reads three wins from four matches, leaving them fifth with nine points. Across their five competitive fixtures in all competitions they have won four and lost one, scoring 16 goals and conceding ten, which tells its own story about the attacking threat they will bring to Lowfield.

The most obvious danger comes from Zack Abdelhamid, who has started the season in extraordinary form. He has scored six times in four appearances and also contributed three assists, making him comfortably Heath’s most productive attacking player so far. Kachi Njoku has also been hugely influential, scoring twice and providing four assists in four appearances, while Alfie Porter has two goals and two assists from five starts. Adam Baylis has chipped in with a goal and two assists, and Samuel Hayes and Mark McElligot have both contributed to a side that has found the net regularly since that opening-day defeat.

Zack Abdelhamid Has Six In Four

Cross knows keeping those players quiet will require another disciplined defensive performance.

“They have scored a lot of goals and they have players in very good individual form,” he said. “Abdelhamid’s numbers speak for themselves, but it is not just one player because they have assists and goals coming from different areas. We will need the same concentration that we showed at Marcelona because if you switch off against a confident side you get punished,” Cross added. “At the same time, we are at home, we have our own attacking players in form and we want to impose ourselves on the game.”

There is also extra spice surrounding the fixture because of the strong connections between the clubs. Hertford Heath manager Matt Shepherd represented Hoddesdon during his playing days, while Conner Tokely is another familiar name to those who have followed Town over the years.

Hertford Heath FC

The most immediate link, however, is Ollie Babbage. The striker began the season with Hertford Heath and scored twice in three appearances before recently making the switch to Hoddesdon, where he announced himself in spectacular fashion by scoring the stoppage-time winner on his competitive debut against FC Baresi. Babbage has already shown the Hoddesdon support exactly why he was brought to Lowfield, adding pace, strength and another goal threat to an attacking group already featuring Bolton, Jack Gibbs, Harrison Cage, Freddie Wilkinson and Connor Casey. He won't feature against his former club due to being cup tied but it will add another intriguing subplot to an already compelling local cup tie.

Cup Tied New Signing Ollie Babbage

Hoddesdon have plenty of threats of their own heading into the match. Bolton is enjoying an outstanding opening to the season and added another decisive goal from the penalty spot at Marcelona, while Gibbs, Cage and Babbage have all produced major moments during Town’s unbeaten league run. The midfield combination of Blue Gallagher and Maurice Abana has also played a significant role in Hoddesdon’s excellent start, while Liam Nugent has recorded another two clean sheets in the last three league games. Behind all of that, Gibbs, Jack Orchard and Blesson Asekolenga have helped provide a defensive structure that has conceded only three league goals in five matches.

Tuesday’s competition has already provided Hertford Heath with one emphatic victory. Their 5-0 win away to NW London in the first round booked this trip to Lowfield, while Hoddesdon entered at the second-round stage. The prize for the winner is a place in Round Three, scheduled for the week beginning 21 September, when the Premier Division clubs enter the competition. That adds another incentive to what should already feel like a proper local cup night under the lights.

Once again, the match is taking place at Lowfield before Hoddesdon Town’s traditional football tenancy has officially begun, and the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Hoddesdon Cricket Club for helping make the fixture possible. The relationship between the football and cricket clubs continues to strengthen, and the ability to work together during August is already making a huge difference to the sporting life of Lowfield. For many years the football club would ordinarily have spent this period of the season almost permanently on the road while cricket remained in residence. The co-operation between the two committees now means important football fixtures can be staged sensibly alongside the cricket calendar, giving both clubs the opportunity to flourish rather than compete for the same space. That spirit of partnership deserves recognition. By working hand in hand, Hoddesdon Town Football Club and Hoddesdon Cricket Club are demonstrating that Lowfield can thrive as a genuine sporting hub for the town, and the future of both sports at the ground feels increasingly positive.

Special thanks must also go once again to groundsmen Adrian Lee and Neil Morris, who have worked tirelessly through a difficult, exceptionally dry summer to make the playing surface available. Preparing the ground for football while the cricket club remains in tenancy is no small undertaking, and their efforts have been essential in getting Tuesday’s fixture on. There has also been a considerable amount of work away from the pitch. Members of the committee and club volunteers have spent Monday at Lowfield erecting goalposts and fencing, tidying the ground and carrying out the many small jobs required to turn a summer cricket venue back into a football stadium for another evening.

Lowfield Will Play Host To This Intriguing Cup Tie

Cross hopes the players can reward that effort with a performance worthy of the occasion.

“There are a lot of people doing work that supporters probably never see,” he said. “The cricket club have been brilliant with us, Adrian and Neil have put huge hours into the pitch, and the committee and volunteers have been down there getting everything ready. The best way we can repay them is by giving everything on the pitch,” Cross continued. “It is a local derby, it is a cup tie and it is under the lights at Lowfield. Those are the nights you want to be involved in.”

Admission for Tuesday’s League Challenge Cup tie is £8 for adults and £5 for concessions, while all under-16s are admitted free. With two in-form Hertfordshire sides, plenty of familiar faces and a place in the next round on the line, it has all the ingredients for another memorable evening at Lowfield.

MATCH DETAILS:

Hoddesdon Town v Hertford Heath
Tuesday 25 August 2026
7.45pm kick-off
Lowfield
League Challenge Cup Second Round
Adults £8, Concessions £5 and Under-16s Free
Ones to watch: Hoddesdon — Connor Bolton, Jack Gibbs, Harrison Cage and Blue Gallagher.
Hertford Heath — Zack Abdelhamid, Kachi Njoku and Alfie Porter

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