Author Archives: laurencereade

Harvey

06 Sunday Nov 2016

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Wednesday 2nd November 2016 ko 19.30

Notts Senior League Premier Division

BILBOROUGH TOWN 2 (Webster 6 Narif 40)

REAL UNITED 1 (Blair 22)

Att 71

Entry £2

Programme SOLD OUT

Coffee £1

With Rob Hornby now retired from the rigmarole of organising groundhops in general, and specifically the Notts Senior’s event, it’s up to the hopper to keep the set of NSL grounds up to date. Arguably Bilborough Town’s new home, at the Harvey Hadden athletics stadium is the most interesting of this season’s new crop. Continue reading →

Station Jim

06 Sunday Nov 2016

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Tuesday 25th October 2016 ko 19.45

Southern League Premier Division

SLOUGH TOWN 2 (Moone 24 Hollis 89)

DORCHESTER TOWN 1 (Walker 11)

Att 589

Entry £10

Programme £2

When Slough Town left Wexham Park after a rent dispute in 2003 few would have bet on two things coming to pass. The first would be 13 years later the Rebels would return to Slough less than a mile from the old ground, and the second that Wexham Park would still be standing, and still recognisable as a football ground. Under the circumstances it seemed entirely sensible to pay the old ground a visit before the new… Continue reading →

Bampfylde

03 Thursday Nov 2016

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Saturday 22nd October 2016 15.00

North Devon League Premier Division

NORTH MOLTON SPORTS CLUB 3 (Phillips 25 35 55p) Body sent off (offensive / abusive / insulting language and / or gestures) 88

BRADWORTHY UNITED 9 (M Carter 13 51 60p 87 G Carter 42 83 90 Clarke 24 73)

Att 14 

Entry FREE

No Programme

As Forrest Gump once commented,  “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” In groundhopping terms that is certainly the case belpw Step 6. Yes, you’ll see your fair share of fields, but you’ll also see the occasional surprising little gem. And half a dozen hoppers at Rocksfield certainly enjoyed their afternoon here. Continue reading →

Mazzard

01 Tuesday Nov 2016

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Saturday 22nd October 2016 ko 12.00

North Devon League Premier Division

LANDKEY TOWN AFC 1 (Phillips 40)

BIDEFORD COMMUNITY 5 (Comerford 2 Morris 26 61 St John 29p Kewley 78)

Att 20

Entry FREE

NO Progamme

On the basis that any double is a good double it made sense to sit in a car for 3 hours to head to a small village near Barnstaple to watch that side play a Southern League side’s reserves. The reason for the early kick off was that the visitors wanted to travel afterwards to watch local boxer Tommy Langford fight in Cardiff that evening. The bout was cancelled, but the early kick-off was kept, and that was enough for half the attendance to have absolutely no connection to either side! Continue reading →

The Tangled Web Woven

31 Monday Oct 2016

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Tuesday 18th October 2016 ko 19.45

League 1

COVENTRY CITY 2 (Stevenson 28 Sordell 43)

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Crowley 90)

Att 9,912 (2,137 away)

Entry £22

Programme £3

Stadium Parking £10.20

At Oxford United we’re used to the awkward relationship between the club and the stadium. The club is, in effect owned by Daryl Eales but the stadium is owned by former chairman Firoz Kassam. Occasionally the two disagree, and the end game is clearly when in 10 years time the lease runs out and all options become open to all parties. It’s a complicated business, but compared to what’s facing Coventry City- it’s positively straightforward! Continue reading →

Homeward Bound

30 Sunday Oct 2016

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Wednesday 12th October 2016 ko 19.30

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division

HADLEY 1 (Belmansour 40)

EDGWARE TOWN 2 (McCluskey 52 Blackburne 68)

Att 95

Entry £6

Programme £1

There’ve been some remarkable returns home in non-league this season. One would be Fisher Athletic but in many respects Hadley’s return home is even more remarkable.  Continue reading →

Malaprop

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

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Tuesday 11th October 2016 ko 19.30

Kent County League Division One West

OTFORD UNITED 1 (Duff 45)

HALSTEAD UNITED 1 (Spears 11)

Att 36

Entry FREE

No Programme

Even if the names hint at League 1 and the Eastern Counties League surely noone could mistake Otford for anything other than the Kentish town near Sevenoaks? The ground is rather intriguing, set as it is at the back of Otford Recreation Ground, but why does a club playing at the 8th level of non-league football in England have floodlights? Continue reading →

Street Football

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

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Sunday 9th October 2016 ko 14.15

Western League Premier Division

STREET 4 (Herrod 27 Murray 42 62 90p)

CHIPPING SODBURY TOWN 2 (Guest 23 Sims 71) Criddle sent off 45 (Serious foul play)

Att 291

Entry £6

Programme £1

We headed back towards Bristol for the hop’s final game in the Somerset village of Street, named it seems because a Roman road ran through where the settlement built up. The Society of Friends, the Quakers established a base here in the 17th century and one Quaker family, the Clarks set up the eponymous shoe making business here. The factory closed in 1993 (although Clark’s still has its HQ in Street) and the factory was converted into an outlet shopping centre. The Clark family leased the firm’s former sanitorium to become, in 1931, Britain’s first Youth Hostel. Continue reading →

Who Would Break A Butterfly On A Wheel?

24 Monday Oct 2016

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Sunday 9th October 2016 ko 11.00

Western League Division One

CHARD TOWN 2 (Boyland 72 Friend 88)

BISHOPS LYDEARD 3 (Clunnie 50 Ryder Brereton 76)

Att 240

Entry £5

Programme £1

For me, this was the day when Zembard Lane’s famous slope ceased to define Chard Town. Yes, I know from many it’s the first feature you think of, and judging by the FA’s attempts to remove them from Pyramid Football they haven’t had my epiphany. But I do wonder how many of the club’s tormentors have actually paid the place a visit? Continue reading →

From Cheese to Ham

23 Sunday Oct 2016

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Saturday 8th October 2016 ko 19.45

Western League Division One

CALNE TOWN 3 (Dolman 21p Jones 29 Webb 61)

CORSHAM TOWN 2 (Pring 12 90)

Att 257

Entry £5

Programme £1

If the day started at the cheese of Cheddar then it finished at the Ham of Calne. Every time you’ve eaten a genuine slice of Wiltshire Cured Ham, chances are it originated at the Harris meat processing plant in Calne or until its closure in 1983 at least. Until then the trade in Irish pigs meant that the plant was roughly half-way to Smithfields Market in London. Time and pork wait for no man it seems. Continue reading →