Monday 20th October 2025 ko 19:45

Southern League Premier Central

REDDITCH UNITED 1 (Loughlan 52)

Fowler (manager) sent off 58 (foul & abusive)

ALVECHURCH 0

Hamilton sent off 55 (2nd booking)

Att 777

Entry £12

Programme- online only, non downloadable

The downside of the “Everywhere Once” groundhopping culture is that you seldom see how a ground develops over time. I’d visited Redditch United’s Valley Stadium back in August 2007 for a pre-season friendly against Bromsgrove Rovers. I liked the place, who couldn’t love that main stand, the terracing and that massive club shop? But I’d ticked the place, so why go back?

The reason was I had Swedish Groundhop organiser Kim Hedwall over for the week and he wanted to go! I did look up my photos from back then, and I must admit to them having whetted my appetite. That and the game being a massive local derby versus Alvechurch.

Valley Stadium 2007

The significance of the game meant we couldn’t park anywhere near the ground, no bad thing I could do with the exercise! But it was on arrival that my jaw dropped; I’d completely forgotten that the stadium had been converted to 3G in 2016. The shock was that the pitch had been shortened too so that the covered terrace at the near end is now substantially distant from the pitch. That said, I did watch the entire game from there, so clearly the view is still pretty good! The crying shame is that the club shop is no more- what a shame.

The game was as you’d expect from a derby, pressurised and towards the end distinctly tetchy. Things could have easily boiled over after Alvechurch’s Hamilton saw red, but in the end all it did was to blunt them going forward. Perhaps the draw was the fairer result on the balance of play, but as a neutral it was a good game to watch.

Kim and I headed back to the car, and as we did so he admitted he’d also visited the ground before. Perhaps there’s two of us that learned a little lesson that evening!

Valley Stadium 2025