Waterwells

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Tuesday 24th March 2026 ko 19:30

Gloucestershire County League

QUEDGELEY WANDERERS 3 (Osbudhien 12 21 Miles 72)

STOKE GIFFORD SGS UNITED 0

Att 23

Free Entry

Programme £1

I’m close to having the opinion that the measure of a big numbers groundhopper is how easy it is to find a floodlit tick midweek. I suspect I’m on the cusp of that, given my opportunities these days seem to add up to Step 7 leagues and newly built grounds. The Gloucester County League does act as close as you can get to a Step 6 league as was the case 20-odd years ago.

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You’ll find Quedgeley to the south of Gloucester, the name deriving from the Old English cweodleah meaning ‘Cweod’s wood or clearing’ but given you’ll find Waterways at the back of an industrial estate you won’t feel that background! The club dates from 1994 and since they now have over 400 members across 23 competitive teams of all ages, they’ve come a long way in a short space of time.

We arrived in the midst of a day long deluge so put Quedgeley down on your list of well-draining pitches. Yes there was a programme, rather good in truth, but it was no bad thing the rain soon stopped, there is no cover at present, nor hard standing. I expected a good game and got one. Stoke Gifford have formed a partnership with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College- that’s what the SGS is about, so have a source of talented young players.

Therefore the game was experienced Step 7 players up against good youth. Experience won, mainly due to good finishing but we got the sense that before long you’ll see both clubs made the step up to regional football.

Badgers

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Saturday 21st March 2026 ko 15:00

United Counties League Division One

RETFORD UNITED 4 (Kolodynski 26 Duggan 44 Wilson 70 Allwood 90+6)

STAPLEFORD TOWN 0

Att 158

Entry £6

Programme £2

After the trials and tribulations of the Scottish Hop it speaks volumes that a 2 and a half hour drive represented straightforward! Ever since I’d visited Retford United’s great rivals Retford FC, it seemed daft that I’d not visited the ground on the edge of the town. And will all due respect to both clubs, it is Retford United who have the longer history.

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Brazil

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Sunday 15th March 2026 ko 12:15

East of Scotland League Division 3

COWDENBEATH CENTRAL 1 (Simpson 35)

NEWBURGH 2 (Martin 37 O McCallion 73)

Att 294

Entry £5

Programme £2

When we at GroundhopUK were handed the proposed host clubs for the Scottish Hop one name stood out- Cowdenbeath Central. It was simple as to why, a club new to senior football, on their own ground, those two facts were sure to attract even the most senior groundhoppers! The club’s background though was also interesting!

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Saintly

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Saturday 14th March 2026 ko 19:30

East of Scotland League Premier Division

ST ANDREWS UNITED 3 (Sneddon 69 Dunn 88p)

McManus sent off 59 (2nd booking)

SAUCHIE JUNIORS 1 (Elphinson 38)

Columbine sent off 67 (2nd booking)

Att 374

Entry £11

Programme FREE/ £3

4 game days are always tough, and with St Andrews being substantially further north than the other 3 games, we felt under pressure, particularly with a coach driver light. I understood all too well the East of Scotland League’s desire for the extra game- when else could we head to northern Fife?

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The Wet Patch

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Saturday15th March 2026 ko 17:00

East of Scotland League Division One

LOCHORE WELFARE 2 (Reddington 15 Kirby 70)

EASTHOUSES LILY MINERS WELFARE 1 (Hill 37)

Thomson sent off (serious foul play)

Malley sent off 90 (2nd booking)

Att 237

Entry £8

Programme £2

We arrived at Lochore Welfare to quite a throng. We knew parking was going to be an issue, the club had organised parking for the coach, and everyone else? Well that rough ground nearby proved to be handy! For those hard of geography we weren’t quite in Lochore, but in Crosshill to be exact.

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Taking Stock… again!

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Saturday 14th March 2026 ko 13:15

Lowland League

COWDENBEATH 0

BERWICK RANGERS 2 (Binnie 1 16)

Att 406

Entry £11

Programme £3.50

You could say GroundhopUK and Cowdenbeath go back a fair way. After all Chris Berezai and I visited Central Park back in 2008 to watch Annan Athletic’s first game in the Scottish League, from then the Blue Brazil’s fortunes rocketed, the club were playing in what is now called the Scottish Championship in 2010. But from that zenith the club’s form plummeted, and by the time we visited Kelty Hearts on the 2018 Hop, Cowdenbeath were back in the bottom tier of the SPFL. The assumption seemed to be that Kelty would swap places with the Fife neighbours.

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Albert

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Saturday 14th March 2026 ko 10:45

East of Scotland League – Division Two

LOCHGELLY ALBERT 1 (Donald 7og)

INVERKEITHING HILLFIELD SWIFTS 4 (Vannett 3 Shears 13 48 87)

Att 303

Entry £7

Programme £2

I always look forward to GroundhopUK’s visits to the Kingdom of Fife but sadly on this occasion the news wasn’t good, one of the coach drivers had been rushed to hospital after collapsing at a filling station. His condition wasn’t life threatening, thank God, and his wife was travelling from South Wales to Dunfermline Hospital to be with him.

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The Enclosure Act

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Friday 13th March 2026 ko 19:30

East of Scotland League Premier Division

HUTCHISON VALE 3 (Forster 17 57 Wilson-Need 57)

WHITBURN JUNIOR 2 (Nicolson 66 75)

Att 246

Entry £8

Programme £2

In groundhopping terms at least, a trip to Edinburgh’s Saughton Enclosure was long overdue. We’d planned on visiting as the 4th game on the Saturday of the Scottish Hop back in 2018. That was the year of the cold snap- it was bad enough at the Oriam Indoors, so losing the game at the then titled Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale was not necessarily bad news!!

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Scrubs

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Tuesday 10th March 2026 ko 19:45

Middlesex County League- Premier Division

KENSINGTON DRAGONS 3 (Martin 2 Springer 40 Tunc 60)

LONDON FENNECS 3 (Atoub 43p Rouighi 48 Mezaoui 88)

Att 29

Free Entry

Programme £3

It always pays to grasp opportunties when they present themselves so when journalist and QPR fan Tony Incenzo announced a midweek floodlit game in West London I was more than interested. And with a programme too? It would have been rude not to!

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Faerpinga in Middelenglum

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Saturday 7th March 2026 ko 14:00

Witney & District League Premier Division

CHARLBURY TOWN 1 (Robinson 61)

HANBOROUGH 1 (Varney 22)

Att 27

Free Entry

I’m sure I’ll never be the kind of groundhopper that’ll be able to say “I’ve completed down to…” or anything specific save for the “92.” There’s too much in my footballing life for that kind of thing, the Oxford United season ticket, GroundhopUK, trips abroad, and a love of football right at grassroots. But there is something fairly consistant about my liking for local football.

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