2017/18
Last season as SSML team
Kyle Johnson scored a hat-trick as Sun Sports continued their impressive pre-season form with a 9-1 win over PFC Victoria.
The Yellows dominated from the off and were in the ascendency throughout as a brace from Karl Penny and goals from Mark Jindu, Luke Jones, Ronnell Dennis and Kamal Romain added to Johnson’s trio.
Despite Johnson’s hat-trick, it was Penny who took the man-of-the-match award after a fine individual display, which saw him cause the Victoria defence issues all game.
There was frustration for Sun in mid-week as their pre-season friendly with Enfield Town was called off at their opponents’ request.
United took the lead with 30 minutes played as some good vision from Jay Taylor saw him catch Matty Evans off his line and score with a lob from 35 yards.
They made it 2-0 before the break when a persistent run from Jaiden Irish ended with a smart finish.
Sun never really looked like getting back into the game and the frustration got the better of Tom Gibson late on as he was sent off in injury time.
Chairman Jeremy Wilkins explains why Kings Langley helped Watford neighbours Sun Sports in time of need
On Friday evening Sun Sports, a Watford footballing institution some 96 years of age, appeared to have breathed it’s last as a statement confirmed the club had folded.
What a difference 24 hours and a little help from some friends can make then, as the Sun did indeed rise once more on Saturday.
So often rivals, Kings Langley, among other clubs in the area, came to the aid of Sun and have offered to allow them to play their home games at Gaywood Park.
The need to do so came after the owners of Sun’s home ground demanded a payment, claimed to be £20,000, for the use of their home ground.
For Kings chairman, Jeremy Wilkins, the decision to come to the aid of a grand old club was a no-brainer. The need to do so came after the owners of Sun’s home ground demanded a payment, claimed to be £20,000, for the use of their home ground.
“Whether it be a youth team or a senior team,
, being unable to stage a football match is very, very sad. For a local club of Sun’s heritage it is particularly disappointing,” Wilkins said.
“We have quite a lot of connections to Sun. Players have gone between the two clubs and our current manager has been in charge there.
“It’s a local club in trouble so we picked up the phone and said ‘come along and we will see what we can do to help’.
“We don’t know the politics of the situation, we just want to be able to help, whether that be offering our pitch, equipment or players, we are willing to do that.”
While Gaywood Park will play host to Sun, it is a near impossibility they will be able to host all their home games there.
Kings need to complete their own fixture commitments and Watford Ladies will also use the ground this season.
With this in mind, Wilkins confirmed other local clubs have been contacted and it is likely Sun will play at a number of venues in 2017/18.
He also confirmed the use of any facilities will come free of charge as Kings look to help get their neighbours back on their feet.
“For us this is not about money. If they sort out the issues and get back to their home then happy days. This is not about Kings Langley,” he said.
“It could be perceived as us trying to make money from Sun’s misfortune, but that could not be further from the truth.
“We want to get them in a position where they can play their football, whether that is at our ground or somewhere else. We are talking to other local clubs to see if we can provide facilities for them to play.”
On the pitch, Sun picked up a morale-boosting victory over London Colney in midweek as they held their nerve in a penalty shoot-out Premier Division Cup win.
A battling display against the league champions saw Sun take the lead through a fine header at the back post, only to be pegged back in the tie.
With the sides unable to be separated the game was decided by the lottery of spot kicks and two fine stops from the Sun keeper gave Tim O’Sullivan’s side a 4-3 win.
Wilkins believes the victory is evidence of the ups and downs of football and provides proof things can get better for Sun.
He said: “On Friday it was doom and gloom and come Tuesday they won a cup game away at London Colney.
“So from a position of being without a club they are back playing and winning football matches.”
Sun Sports continued to rebuild after almost folding a fortnight ago as they took on Biggleswade United.
They couldn’t match their opponents on the pitch and went down to a 2-0 defeat, despite a good man-of-the-match performance from Chris Gosling.
Spartan South Midlands League 'reluctantly' accept Sun Sports' resignation
Sun Sports’ resignation from the Spartan South Midlands League (SSML) has been “reluctantly” accepted, the league has confirmed.
After years of playing in the local area, the news effectively brings to an end Sun’s time as a functioning club, and comes in the wake of losing the use of their home ground.
While hope remains the club will be able to rebuild and return to the league, the announcement comes as a bitter blow after plans to ground share with Kings Langley proved to be a false dawn in Sun’s survival bid.
“I am writing to advise you that at today’s meeting of the management board members reluctantly accepted the resignation of Sun Sports FC from the league,” a statement from the SSML read.
“This is due to the loss of their home ground. I would confirm that all players registered with Sun Sports FC are now free to sign for other clubs.
“It is hoped that the club will be able to resolve their issues and return to the league in the future.”
Leverstock Green thought they had finally got off the mark at the expense of Sun Sports on Saturday as Jonathan Lacey scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win.
However, Sun’s resignation from the league meant the result was expunged, and there was further misery for Green on Wednesday when they lost 4-0 at Harpenden Town.
Former assistant manager speaks of his sadness after Watford club Sun Sports' first team folds
The folding of any football club is a sorry state of affairs, but seeing a local club with 97 years of history cease to exist carries particular disappointment.
That is exactly what has taken place at Sun Sports, with the Watford based club’s resignation from the Spartan South Midlands League (SSML) being reluctantly accepted earlier this week.
For Pat Fallon, who served as assistant manager to Sun boss Tim O’Sullivan, it is the loss of this history which he finds particularly tough to stomach.
“The biggest factor for me is the 90-odd year history Sun has. That to me is more important than any of us, the club is bigger than us,” he said.
“That history ending is what I find really upsetting. The club had great traditions and I know a lot of people who played for Sun from the 70s and 80s and it has been a fantastic club down the years.
“It is so frustrating that we are not able to develop the team further. It is just politics stopping that and it is a real shame we haven’t been able to come together and sort it out.”
The decision to fold comes in the wake of Sun losing the use of their pitch after a dispute with the club’s owners.
Plans had been put in place to ground share with Kings Langley, with the Gaywood Park club eager to come to the aid of their neighbours.
However, Kings’ existing commitments with Watford Ladies, who will play their home games at their stadium this season, meant the SSML could not accept the proposal.
With no pitch to call their home, Fallon says the pressure of keeping the club going became too great and continuing to operate was always going to be difficult.
“We were going to share with Kings but the Southern League didn’t accept that. When you don’t have a home, it becomes demoralising,” he said.
“Our way of coaching is to see what has gone wrong and put it right on the training pitch, and we couldn’t do that.
“When we were told we couldn’t ground share, and we really appreciate what Kings tried to do, it became a lot of stress.
“The group of players we had were magnificent and we never had an issue on the pitch. The problem has really come on the financial side of things.”
While the immediate future looks nothing other than cloudy for Sun, the intention remains to battle on and pursue routes to reforming.
The SSML have left the door open for the club to return, with a statement saying they hope to see Sun resolve their issues.
Last season saw Sun mount strong runs in local cup competitions and the FA Vase and Fallon says the players who spearheaded those efforts are faithful to the club.
He also feels the infrastructure is in place for the club to be a successful one, providing off-field issues can be resolved.
“I went to Sun when my son was a young boy and it is a sleeping giant really,” he said.
“They have fantastic facilities, it just needs to be organised right. On the football side we were fine.
“The players are really loyal to the club, and that took its toll on them.
“If they could revive it, I would definitely come back. Some of the players would come back tomorrow we know that and we have wished them well.”
Although Sun's first team has folded, the club still have Reserve and Under-18 teams playing their home games at Queens' School and London Colney FC respectively.
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