The next club in our series of articles introducing the other members of the Isthmian League South Central Division is one preparing for their first ever season at Step 4 and who lent us their ground while the RPS was being redeveloped.
There aren’t many clubs who have spent 89 years in the same league, but last season’s promotion ended an incredible sequence for the Hammers. Having joined the Surrey Senior League in 1937, they were still in membership when the League attempted to rebrand as the Home Counties League in 1979 and was forced to change its name again, adopting its current title, a year later. In 1998-99, Cobham were runners-up in both the League, which was won by Ash United, and the League Cup; the Final ended 1-0 to Ashford Town (Middlesex). However, that campaign was followed by a series of disappointing seasons and in 2009 Cobham were relegated to Combined Counties League Division One.
In 2018, Cobham won promotion back to the Premier Division and reeled off a series of mid-table finishes. The installation of a 3G pitch at the Reg Madgwick Stadium and the appointment of Craig Lewington as First Team Manager have helped to transform the club’s on-field fortunes. In 2024-25, Cobham won the Combined Counties League Cup and last season they were so dominant in Premier Division South they became the earliest League Champions in the entire country. Cobham then went on to lift the Southern Combination Cup in May.
The Reg Madgwick Stadium will be familiar to many Tangerines, given that we took up an emergency groundshare there during the 3G installation project, ultimately staging 19 home matches there. However, if you’ve never been, what you’ll find in the Leg O’Mutton Field is a ground not massively different to our own. There are two seating areas on one side of the ground and covered standing on the other. There is also a compact but tidy clubhouse.
A road journey from ground-to-ground is approximately 17 miles and should take around 25 minutes if the M25 behaves itself. There are two potential routes from Ashford to Cobham & Stoke D’Abernon station; either go to Clapham Junction and change there for a service to Cobham & Stoke D’Abernon or travel from Ashford to Weybridge, then take a train from Weybridge to Surbiton and change again. Either route will take just over an hour and a half; the station is a mile and a half from the ground.
Ashford Town (Middlesex) and Cobham were both in the Combined Counties League for a decade, so there have been a good number of games between the clubs although this season’s fixtures will be the first League meetings for 26 years.
| Season | Match Date | H/A | Competition | Division / Stage | Res | GF | GA | Scorers | Other Info | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 22/08/1990 | H | Combined Counties League | D | 2 | 2 | Mathurin | O'Hanlon | ||||
| 1990-91 | 01/01/1991 | A | Combined Counties League | D | 3 | 3 | Young | Cloke | A Smith | |||
| 1991-92 | 31/08/1991 | H | Combined Counties League | L | 1 | 5 | Vaughan (pen) | |||||
| 1991-92 | 14/05/1992 | A | Combined Counties League | L | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| 1992-93 | 20/03/1993 | A | Combined Counties League | W | 5 | 0 | Desbonne 2 | Silbery 2 | Hoad | |||
| 1992-93 | 03/04/1993 | H | Combined Counties League | W | 7 | 2 | Holman 4 | Hill | Desbonne | Fabian | ||
| 1993-94 | 20/11/1993 | A | Combined Counties League | W | 4 | 0 | Silbery 2 | A Smith | Lyons | |||
| 1993-94 | 26/04/1994 | H | Combined Counties League | W | 2 | 0 | Newey (pen) | Selley | ||||
| 1993-94 | 02/05/1994 | A | Combined Counties League Vase | Semi Final | W | 1 | 0 | Holman | ||||
| 1994-95 | 19/11/1994 | H | Combined Counties League | D | 1 | 1 | Selley | |||||
| 1994-95 | 28/01/1995 | A | Combined Counties League | W | 2 | 1 | Holman | Hollands | ||||
| 1995-96 | 22/08/1995 | A | Combined Counties League | D | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 1995-96 | 05/12/1995 | H | Combined Counties League | W | 4 | 1 | Holman | Heggarty | German | Hill | ||
| 1996-97 | 26/08/1996 | A | Combined Counties League | D | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 1996-97 | 31/03/1997 | H | Combined Counties League | W | 3 | 1 | Silbery | Hollands | Hill | |||
| 1997-98 | 23/09/1997 | A | Combined Counties League | W | 4 | 2 | McDonald 2 | D Smith | Holman | |||
| 1997-98 | 20/12/1997 | H | Combined Counties League | W | 4 | 3 | McDonald 2 | Eggington | D Vertannes | |||
| 1998-99 | 06/03/1999 | A | Combined Counties League | L | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| 1998-99 | 13/04/1999 | H | Combined Counties League | D | 2 | 2 | Frost 2 | |||||
| 1998-99 | 30/04/1999 | N | Combined Counties League Cup | Final | W | 1 | 0 | D Vertannes (pen) | at Woking FC | |||
| 1999-2000 | 05/10/1999 | H | Surrey Senior Cup | 3rd Qual. Round | W | 3 | 0 | Eggington | Holman | Ossei | ||
| 1999-2000 | 06/11/1999 | H | Combined Counties League | W | 2 | 1 | Frost | Nolan | ||||
| 1999-2000 | 01/04/2000 | A | Combined Counties League | W | 4 | 0 | D Vertannes | McDonald | Eggington | Nolan | ||
| 2007-08 | 27/11/2007 | H | Southern Combination Cup | Second Round | W | 4 | 0 | W Harris 2 | S Harris | Timba | ||
| 2022-23 | 22/11/2022 | A | Surrey Senior Cup | First Round | L | 0 | 2 | |||||
Reg Madgwick, after whom Cobham’s ground is named was a former player and committee member whose lifelong commitment to the Hammers saw the ground dedicated to his memory following his passing in 1995.
Some fans will be delighted to learn that Cobham FC are going back to printed programmes for the 2026-27. While here at Ashford there are no plans to go down that road, we do offer possibly the best value Season Ticket in English football. For just £100, supporters can watch up to 32 home League matches across the Men’s and Women’s First Teams AND get 20% off in the Clubhouse and at the Tea Bar for the entire season.because holders are entitled to attend up to 32 home League matches across the Men’s and Women’s First Teams AND get 20% off in the Clubhouse and at the Tea Bar for the entire season.
