Author Archives: laurencereade

Incentiviser

29 Thursday Dec 2016

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Tuesday 21st December 2016 ko 19.45

FA Trophy 2nd Round Replay

NORTH LEIGH 1 (Cook 89p)

SOUTH PARK 3 (Lavery 29p Quartey 62 O’Sullivan 81)

Att 157

Entry £8

Programme £1

Back in the day I used to regularly drive along the A4095 between Witney and Woodstock. With psyche like mine that added up to finding out whether each village I passed through had a football club, and where they played. It didn’t take long to pay the grounds a visit. There was Witney Town who played in the Southern League, then as you headed towards Woodstock, there were no end of grounds to visit. Continue reading →

Aqueduct

19 Monday Dec 2016

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Satursday 17th December 2016 k0 14.00

Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division One

ACREFAIR YOUTH 1 (O Evans 5)

LLANGOLLEN TOWN 6 (Williams 8 19 45 Prosser 32 83 Jay 80)

Att 32

Entry FREE

No Programme

If you’re one of those football fans that likes to turn up at the ground 30 seconds before kick-off, then the Bont playing field, on the outskirts of Froncysyllte is definitely the the ground to break that habit. The ground sits with the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct as  is it’s backdrop so it makes sense to park up in either Froncysyllte or Trevor, and walk the towpath over the bridge for a quite wonderful view of the valley and the ground.  Continue reading →

Rebuilder

12 Monday Dec 2016

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Tuesday 5th December 2016 ko 19.45

Hellenic League- Premier Division

BRACKNELL TOWN 3 (Grant 9 Bowerman 59p Maloney 90)

BINFIELD 2 (Rodrigues 49og White 63)

Att 476

Entry & Programme £5

One of the more intriguing stories in the Hellenic this season has been Bracknell Town’s new ground. Now in groundhopping terms it’s a rebuild, the pitch at Larges Lane hasn’t moved, but save for the bar area everything is new, including a jazzy new 3G pitch.  Continue reading →

Shafted

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

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Saturday 3rd December 2016 ko 14.00

Hellenic League Division One East

HEADINGTON AMATEURS 1 (L Cuff 65)

SANDHURST TOWN 2 (Bryce 24 41)

Att 16

Entry & Programme £2

This season there’s been a steady stream of clubs finding a way to return home. The likes of Hadley and Slough have got new grounds, but one return has rather sailed under the radar. Headington Amateurs have returned home, but unlike the other clubs this has been far from a happy ending.

Continue reading →

A Touch Of Frost

05 Monday Dec 2016

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Tuesday 29th November 2016 ko 19.45

Surrey Premier Cup, 2nd Round

BANSTEAD ATHLETIC 5 (Smith 43 90 Maddock 54 Hill 67 Frost 90)

OLD WILSONIANS 2 (Gravesande 12 Steadford 16)

Att 25

Entry £6

Programme £2

Just every groundhopper has been in this position, stood by the pay gate while the referee paws nervously at a hardening, frosty pitch. You know that it’s too late to head elsewhere, even my other possible fixture at Sittingbourne was to fall foul of the weather. You try and dig a heel into the turf to see if the cold ground will take that mythical stud. You fret, and thinking selfishly I really wanted to see this game, as it was one of the more interesting ties in a County Cup this season. Continue reading →

Relationships

04 Sunday Dec 2016

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Sunday 27th November 2016 ko 14.00

FA Women’s Premier League- Midlands Division 1

LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS WOMEN 1 (Colledge 68)

LONG EATON UNITED LADIES 4 (Newton 2 62 Moulton 40 Pashley 74)

Att 12 at Holywell Pitch 4, Loughborough University

Entry FREE

No Programme

For somewhere a two-hour drive from Oxford I don’t half see a lot of Loughborough University! It is of course entirely logical that a football enthusiast should see a lot of Britain’s leading university for sport, starting with the Paddock Pitch for Loughborough Students’ game with the now sadly defunct Woodbourne Sports. Then there was the more straightforward visit to the Holywell Stadium for Longborough University’s match with Heanor Town. Last time I discussed the relationship between town and university, but those games, and this visit hints at another relationship altogether. Continue reading →

Sunday Morning Coming Down

01 Thursday Dec 2016

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Sunday 27th November 2016 ko 10.30

Long Eaton Sunday League Premier Division

ATTENBOROUGH CAV’S 4 (Brady 22 Beaton 41 Ford 66 73)

LONG EATON T.N.I. 2 (17, 86p)

Att 15 at Beeston Fields Recreation Ground

Entry FREE

I completely understand why some groundhoppers won’t watch Sunday League football, it is a slightly different animal to the normal Saturday league action. The pace of life is more relaxed, you’re unlikely to see a stand or even a rail, and the variance of players’ talent is often huge across a team. But once you accept that there’s so much to enjoy. Continue reading →

Groundhopping Hell?

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

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Saturday 26th November 2016 ko 14.00

Notts Senior League- Premier Division

NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY 2 (Fletcher 31 81p)

UNDERWOOD VILLA 2 (Voller 39og Thompson 78) Wright sent off 71 (foul language)

Att 14

Entry FREE

Programme FREE

On one hand if you want to complete the Notts Senior League, you’ll need to pay the Clifton Campus a visit, and it gives the club precisely what they need, a good facility at which to play its games. On the other for the spectator its a one-sided plastic pitch in a cage, utterly bereft of character; save for the Uni’s corporate branding you could be anywhere. It is though where the needs of the participatory league and those of a spectating league collide. Continue reading →

Doughty

28 Monday Nov 2016

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Saturday 26th November 2016 ko 11.30

U18 Professional Development League-North

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 3 (Gomis 26 28 McCormick 75)

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 2 (Scott 44 Dyson 79)

Att 88

Entry FREE

Teamsheet FREE

If a former owner of a club wants to leave a legacy, then there aren’t many better places than the club’s academy. Nottingham Forest’s academy in Gresham Close is named after former owner Nigel Doughty who ploughed over £100million of his own funds into the club but died suddenly in 2012 aged just 54. Continue reading →

The Move From Muntz Street

20 Sunday Nov 2016

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Saturday 19th November 2016 ko 15.00

EFL Championship

BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 (Adams 81) Spector sent off (serious foul play) 90

BRISTOL CITY 0

Att 18,586 (1,774 away)

Entry to “Legends Lounge” meal, programme, tea, teamsheet- Complimentary

I’d hate to feel pigeon-holed as to the kind of football I watch. I like the idea of being able to do something as basic as Beesands Rovers or as grand as the opening game at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, or even as crazy as the Belgrade Derby. Why set parameters? Continue reading →