Author Archives: laurencereade

The Hospitality

16 Tuesday Jan 2024

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Friday 12th January 2024 ko 19:30

Northern League Division One

NORTHALLERTON TOWN 0

REDCAR ATHLETIC 1 (Boyes 37)

Att 403

Entry £7

Programmme £2.50

Hospitality package (entry, programme, 2 course meal) £25

It’s odd how some things work out. Robyn and I had tried to watch Northallerton Town around 4 years ago. We’d travelled up from Oxford, and as we reached the Calvert’s Stadium, the floodlights were switched off; the game had just been postponed due to a frozen pitch. We found a meal locally, then headed back home down the A1(M). As Robyn put it, it was a mighty long way to go for a Chinese!

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Royalty

15 Monday Jan 2024

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Saturday 6th January 2024 ko 13:45

Witney & District League Division One

WITNEY ROYALS 0

DUCKLINGTON 2 (Fisher 25 Williams 70og)

Att c15 at Pitch 1 Burwell Recreation Ground, Thorney Leys, Witney

Free Entry

I’d had all kinds of ideas as to where to watch a game. The determining factor was a triple of sorts, football, Oxford City Stars Ice Hockey unusually facing off on a Saturday evening, and the pub quiz at 9pm. But as much as I like being busy there was another factor to be considered- the rain.

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Nesting

09 Tuesday Jan 2024

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Saturday 30th December 2023 ko 15:00

Northern Counties East League Division One

SWALLOWNEST 1 (Spick 84)

SHIREBROOK TOWN 6 (Macaskill 17 38 Day 44 54 Skelton 49og K Watson 80)

Att 135

Entry £6

Programme £2 (reissue from 12/09/23)

On the way back from Warrington we’d pondered ideas for our last game of 2023. I must admit we’d rather neglected the Northern Counties East, I’d more or less completed the league when the groundhop was based there, but that event finished at Selby in 2017 and there’s been plenty of club churn since then.

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Cantilever

01 Monday Jan 2024

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Saturday 23rd December 2023 ko 15:00

National League North

WARRINGTON TOWN 2 (Harris 36 Amis 83)

BANBURY UNITED 1 (Hewitt 21)

Att 1,137

Entry £15 (£12 in bought in advance)

Programme £2

In my eyes at least, I’m slowing down. Part of it is that it’s now almost impossible to find a floodlit game at a new ground midweek, and part its due to a general feeling of not being in any great rush. I see some groundhoppers clocking up the grounds at a rate of over one a day, and while each to their own, I know it’s not for me; I have other interests.

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Mystery

21 Thursday Dec 2023

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Tuesday 19th December 2023 ko 19:45

Isthmian League Cup 4th Round

CHATHAM TOWN 3 (Evans 64p Isiaka 70 84)

BASILDON UNITED 1 (Fitzer 90)

Att 453

Entry £12

Programme £2.50

Mulled wine and mince pies- Free!

In the groundhopping scheme of things, someone travelling from Oxford to Chatham to watch a game isn’t that unusual. What was, was that when I made the decision to head to Kent I was sat in the car park at Ipswich Town’s training ground! I’d arrived there precisely 7 minutes after they’d postponed the game, and with my evening game at Little Oakley quickly succuming to waterlogging too, it was time to play the 3G card.

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Downton

18 Monday Dec 2023

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Saturday 3rd December 2023 ko 14:00

Witney & District League- Division One

BAMPTON UNITED 6 (Parker 13 J Haley 44 Gardiner 48og S Haley 55 Pritchard 66 Hughes 75)

EYNSHAM SSC 1 (Oates 77)

Att c20

Free Entry

I’ll always feel that Bampton is the one that to some extent, got away. If like most you use the A420 to get here you’ll see just how this part of what is now West Oxfordshire forms the border between the North Berkshire League and the Witney & District League. As in to demonstrate the point, I drove past Kingston Bagpuise, of the North Berks, and the old Bampton Town transfered out of the North Berks in 2011.

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Hub Spot

15 Friday Dec 2023

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Saturday 2nd December 2023 ko 14:00

Central & North Norfolk League Division 3

WEST ROW GUNNERS 6 (Tuffs 3 73 Andrade 61 81 88 Tamayo 90)

FC VIKING 1 (Basson 78)

Att 12 at Mildenhall Hub

Free Entry

Sometimes you stand at a game and wonder how on earth you ended up there. This was an unusual one though, even by my standards! The key to it was that Robyn and I had been invited to a birthday celebration at AFC Sudbury’s clubhouse in the evening. We’d be staying over so needed time to get to our accommodation, get ready and get to the venue. And before you ask, no Sudbury weren’t at home!

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Stockwood the Third

12 Tuesday Dec 2023

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Saturday 25th November 2023 ko 14:00

Somerset County League Division 2

CUTTERS FRIDAY 1 (Thorn 90+6)

WELTON ROVERS RESERVES 1 (Benjamin 82)

Att 14

Free Entry

You’ve probably spotted the running theme. With family in Bristol, I tend to tick off another ground in the area whenever I’m visiting. And that is how I became interested in what you could call the Stockwood treble. It evokes the now impossible Lenton Lane treble, in Nottingham of Bilborough Pelican, Dunkirk and Greenwood Meadows. Sadly, both Meadows and Pelican are defunct, but there’s now the Stockwood treble for groundhoppers to attack.

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(Kent)

11 Monday Dec 2023

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Saturday 18th November 2023 ko 15:00

Isthmian League Division One South-East

ASHFORD UNITED 3 (Draycott 16 Brand 41 Carney 90+4)

SHEPPEY UNITED 2 (Willis 4 Bessey-Saldana 14)

Att 478

Entry £10

Programme £2

We’d reached the part of the season where the weather makes sure you either pick a game that’s on 3G or have a whole slew of backup plans. Added to that I had two thoughts on the back of my mind. The first was that I wanted something with seating and cover, Robyn’s ankle was still causing her pain, and there was the vexed question of the Southern Counties East. I took the view to cash in a 3G insurance policy.

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Almost

05 Tuesday Dec 2023

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Saturday 11th November 2023 ko 14:00

Shropshire County League Premier Division

ST MARTINS 1 (Smart 28og)

DAWLEY TOWN 9 (Sabar 17 Knowles 48 67 81p 88 90 Watkins 65 Smart 67 McLeod 75)

Att c40

Entry FREE

Programme £2

After being involved in 3 organised groundhops in 5 weeks, I wanted to avoid anything quite so organised for a while. If you have asked me on the way back from Billingshurst what I fancied visiting next I’d have probably said something low-key with a view. I’ll leave you, dear reader to work out whether St Martins added up to that choice!

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