Saturday 1st March 2025 ko 13:45 (but delayed to 13:55)

North West Counties League Premier Division

STOCKPORT TOWN 0

Schofield sent off (DOGSO) 26

CHEADLE TOWN 1 (Delaney 15p)

Att 435

Entry £6

Programme £2

For me and a few others a trip to Stockport Sports Village represented something slightly unusual. Back in 2010 I’d paid the place a visit on a cold December day to watch the hosts play Cammel Laird. The catch is it wasn’t Stockport Town! Woodley Sports used the ground, later to be Stockport Sports, but they folded in 2015, in no small part to Stockport County’s own financial troubles.

A lot has changed since then, and I don’t just mean the huge gym now to one side of the pitch, there’s now a multipicity of pitches beyond and below the far touchline and yes I did see quite a few hoppers pondering how many are full-sized and worthy of a visit…. But I digress slightly, here’s what the place looked like nearly 15 years ago.

In the here and now, the issue we all had was actually getting there from Cromley Road. The roads were choked, and since I’d joined Craig as the “Advanced party” we got to see why. It was all down to a hooded youth on an electric scooter with the local constabulary in lukewarm pursuit. We got to our second kick-off of the day in time, just- but the kick-off was delayed 10 minutes to get everyone in.

We may have lost a few hoppers to other games, but the stadium was really busy, to the point where I do wonder if this event is heading towards being a victim of its own success? The fact was that the ground was busy, the queue for the pies was lengthy and the food did run out. But I suspect it would have been difficult for the club to do much more, save for to move the entire operation outdoors as Georgians had.

Obviously we at GroundHopUK offer the advice of 23 years’ experience in these events, but even taking that into account the North West Counties Hop is seeing attendances beyond anyone’s expectations. The attendance of 435 is normal for this hop, but beyond an organiser’s wildest dreams in other events. Perhaps the queues are a sign of our collective success? Or are we piggy-backing a wider renaissance for non-league football?

On the subject of catering, I was amused that both Stockport Town and Droylsden claimed to be selling “Award winning pies” I can vouch for the quality of Stockport’s but who doles out the awards? Is there a split in the awarding body like in boxing? Is there a World Pie Council and an International Pie Federation?

The game was decided on the dismissal of Stockport’s Josh Schofield for a clear denial goalscoring opportunity. He clearly didn’t think it was, his opinion wasn’t what counted, and I’m bound to say his team mate Paul Turnbull switched from outfield to in goal outfield admirably. But his team were unable to consistantly get a foothold in the game, so Cheadle‘s early goal was what counted.