Monthly Archives: April 2014

Eternal

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Saturday 26th April 2014 k0 19.00

Super liga

FK PARTIZAN 2 (Drinčić 27 Kojić 90)

FK CRVENA ZVEZDA 1 (Mrda 56) Ninković missed penalty 25 Mijailović missed penalty 34

Att 30,000

Entry 2,000 RSD (£14.21)

No Programme

No Souvenirs (although overpriced ones are available at the airport!)

 

When it comes to football in Belgrade, and Serbia in general Red Star and Partizan dominate. Partizan was the team of the army, named after the Communist Partizans who fought the Nazis in World War II. Red Star were formed in 1945 out of the war-time Serbian United Antifascist Youth League, and became closely associated with the Ministry of the Interior and more specifically the Secret Police. Every since the two clubs’ formation the rivalry has been intense and during the existence of Yugoslavia, rivalries with the two Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb, and Hajduk Split were also ferocious. In fact many attribute the riot on May 13, 1990 at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb during a match between Dinamo and Red Star, as being the spark that started the Croatian War of Independence that began a year and a half later.

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Digging Down

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Saturday 26th April 2014 ko 11.00

Prva Beogradska Liga Grupa A (First Belgrade League Group A)

FK SLAVJIA 2 (Vzglats 10 Dragutinovič 63)

13 MAJ 3 (Pantič 50 66 Bustič 52)

Att 28

Entry FREE

No Programme

Team Sheet FREE

Bag of Nuts 100 Serb Dinar (100 RSD = 71p)

Played at Stadion Mladi Obelić, Beograd

We’d flown into Belgrade late Friday night and by the time I was ensconced into the Hotel Slavija Lux it was well into Saturday. Here’s a tip for you. Since it’s almost impossible to get Serbian Dinar in the UK, make sure your cards are cleared for use abroad. There’s a cash point in arrivals, and that may well be your only way of getting money for the bus or taxi into Belgrade if the Bureaux de Change are closed.

From the moment we landed it became obvious that Serbia thinks it has an image problem, and so a proud nation is doing its best to make foreign visitors welcome. Getting to this game was a case in point, we’d established that the game was on and when kick off was, but the location was a real problem. There appeared to be two stadiums and one office block for the home team, but with barely a word of Serbian between us we’d reached an impasse. Continue reading →

Lower Versus Upper

28 Monday Apr 2014

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Thursday 24th April 2014 ko 18.30

Banbury & Lord Jersey League Premier Division

HEYFORD ATHLETIC 4 (Blenford 6 73 Bone 13 Clack 68)

HEYFORD UNITED 1 (Douglas 82)

Att 35

Entry FREE

Programme NO

As far as I’m concerned the end of the football season isn’t complete without a midweek trip to watch some Lord Jersey League football. The league covers the villages around Banbury and Bicester and I’ve seen some real gems over the last few years, try clicking on GYFTID and Hanwell United, although both have since folded. However this one had a little more riding on it, in fact so much so the league paid for two appointed linesmen. Continue reading →

My English Friends

28 Monday Apr 2014

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Wednesday 23rd April 2014 ko 19.45

Western League Premier Division

ODD DOWN (BATH) 3 (Hunt 41 Jones 50 Hiroli 55)

BITTON 1 (Corrick 81)

Att c60

Entry & Programme £6

Badge-  Comp’

 

I’d had no intention of watching anything more under lights in the UK this season, but when my mate Andreas was over from Germany and decided he was going to Odd Down, it was an easy decision to join him. Apart from anything else I’d had a postponement a few weeks earlier report here so the place owed me a game, and it turned out to be an inspired choice, as I had an answer provided to a question I’d been pondering for a week or two. Continue reading →

The Dandridges

28 Monday Apr 2014

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Tuesday 22nd April 2014 ko 18.45

North Berkshire League Division Three

HANNEY UNITED 4 (Bishop 3 22 N Pimm 11 Harris 66)

BENSON LIONS 0

Att 3

Entry FREE

No Programme

I think Premier League pitches should take a leaf from Hanney’s book and have daisies in the grass. I’m not sure whether it would improve the football, but perhaps the quintessential Englishness could manifest itself in fairer play? Maybe not, but this was a wonderful excuse to watch a game in a location that could only ever be in England.

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Thoughts

25 Friday Apr 2014

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Monday 21st April 2014 ko 18.00

Northern League Division One

NEWTON AYCLIFFE 1 (Hedley 4)

SHILDON 1 (Wood 68p)

Att 446

Entry £6

Programme £1

Badge £3

Its felt like the end of an era as the cavalcade reached the Newton Aycliffe Sports Ground. There were a few tired legs and still more tired faces, including organiser Harvey Harris. I managed to spend a few minutes with him and thanked him for his efforts, organising one hop a year isn’t easy, 4 including this hop, a monster 4 day 11 game epic is tough, very tough. He seemed pleased to be hanging up his boots, and I don’t blame him for that, the League will organise a staggered kick-off day, not a hop, next season so that people can keep up with new teams and grounds to the league. That day will be in co-operation with the hopping diary, so I’ll look forward to seeing, once again my friends in the North.

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The Icon

25 Friday Apr 2014

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Monday 21st April 2014 ko 15.00

Northern League Division One

SPENNYMOOR TOWN 4 (Graydon 13 Capper Taylor 80 90p)

TEAM NORTHUMBRIA 1 (Sayer 85)

Att 627

Entry £6

Programme £1

Badge SOLD OUT

If there was one ground that convinced me to attend the last day of the hop it was the Brewery Field. It has always been the home of football in Spennymoor right from when the first club Spennymoor United was formed in 1904, and took over the lease from Tudhoe Rugby Club. The ground used to belong to B. P. Junor’s ‘Tower Brewery’, hence the name ‘The Brewery Field’

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Past Glories

24 Thursday Apr 2014

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Monday 21st April 2014 ko 12.00

Northern League Division One

BISHOP AUCKLAND 8 (Megran 25 45 Hodgson 37 Hawkins 43 Lawson 48 Brunskill 57 64 Lane 70)

CROOK TOWN 1 (Davis 58)

Att 434

Entry £6

Programme £1.25

Badge £3.50

In many respects this season cannot finish quickly enough; yes you’ve read that correctly, but don’t worry, I’ll still watch the usual bucket-load of games while I can. I was and am tired, and when the Northern League announced the last of their reunion hops, it looked like a good excuse to have Easter away from the organised hops for the first time in a long time. That’s nothing against Harvey Harris, Mike Amos and the Northern League, they are lovely people to deal with, but time with family and friends looked a good option for me. Until I was sat in the pub on Saturday and GroundhopUK’s Chris Berezai phoned, should we go and support the event on its fourth and final day? On go on then….

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Whimper

23 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Saturday 19th April 2014 ko 15.00

Conference North

VAUXHALL MOTORS 2 (Tames 32 Clair 60)

WORKINGTON 1 (May 42)

Att 166

Entry £10

Programme £2

Badge £3.50

It’s a quirk of Rivacre Park that you use a different exit from the M53 to reach it than you do for the car plant. Nominally at least you’re in Ellesmere Port, the Cheshire town lying on the south side of the Manchester Ship Canal from the Wirral. It’s a town built on industry generally, and the efforts of the likes of Thomas Telford and William Jessop specifically. If you’ve not been here, but you own a Vauxhall Astra car, then do drive here, your car will be returning home! Continue reading →

Train Tracks

20 Sunday Apr 2014

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Wednesday 16th April 2014 ko 18.30

Oxon Senior League Division One

YARNTON 2 (Bunce 39 Marsh 44)

EYNSHAM 3 (McCudden 58p Glossop 63 69)

Att 28

Entry FREE

Programme No

Given that this pretty village is only about 4 miles from Oxford, on the A44 towards Woodstock it was high time I ticked this one off. In fact as I arrived committeeman Gary spotted me and laughed, “About time too!” I’d seen Yarnton twice last season, once at Chalgrove and once at Northway, and let’s face it, on a warm evening why wouldn’t you want to be in an English village with over 4,000 years of history?

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