Author Archives: laurencereade

Wonderland

18 Wednesday Mar 2020

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Saturday 22nd February 2020 ko 14.30

Duchy League Division Two

NANPEAN ROVERS 6 ( Brown 22 R Willmott 35p 66 J Willmott 37 45 L Truscott 81)

BOSCASTLE RESERVES 1 (Joliffe 30)

Att 32

Free Entry

I’m used to the type of groundhopper who’s closed their minds to any football below Step 6. I can understand why they feel that way, the sixth tier of non-league is the lowest where all grounds need to be (amongst other requirements) to be enclosed and have cover. The self-imposed rule acts as an emotional security blanket against the perceived horror of watching a game on a “Field!” What tends to be forgotten is that you can easily see both below Step 6, and sometimes the lack of ground grading requirements is actually a benefit. With that in mind, dear reader, please consider the glory that is Victoria Bottoms. Continue reading →

Sanity

17 Tuesday Mar 2020

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Monday 10th February 2020 ko 19.45

Southend Charity Shield Section A Quarter-Final

WAKEBURY 3 (Little 59 81 89)

WAKERING SPORTS 0

Att 36  at Garon Park 3G, Southend-On-Sea

Free Entry

Programme £1

There are some games you know that the groundhoppers will travel to in their droves, there are others however, that are only ever going to attract the committed and then there are the few that only those with questionable sanity are going to head to. This is the story of one of those. Continue reading →

Zero

16 Monday Mar 2020

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Saturday 8th February 2020 ko 16.00

Southern Counties East – Division One

MERIDIAN V.P. 0

GREENWAYS 8 (Cross 9 25 36 Lear 41 48 81 Akers 58 A Kleman 82)

Att 14

Entry £4

Programme £1

You couldn’t help but see the Meridian Sports and Social Club in Charlton as a converted works ground, it’s typical of so many you see in non league, Ashby Ivanhoe’s NFU Sports Ground being a good example. Here’s though, there is a twist. Continue reading →

Superlatives

14 Saturday Mar 2020

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Wednesday 5th February 2020 ko 19.45

FA Cup 4th Round Replay

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 (Stephens 12og Lucas 78 Son 87p)

SOUTHAMPTON 2 (Long 34 Ings 72)

Att 56,046 (5,690 away)

Entry £25

Programme £3

I don’t think I could be the kind of hopper that couldn’t get interested in stadiums like this. The title of this blog is rather self-fulfilling I’ve found! Then there’s the question that only a groundhopper could ask, “Is it a new ground?” Well it has been built from scratch… Continue reading →

The QR Code

11 Wednesday Mar 2020

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Tuesday 28th January 2020 ko 19.45

Wessex League Premier Division

AFC STONEHAM 0

HORNDEAN 0

Att 102

Entry & Programme £6

My regular reader might recall my visit to AFC Stoneham back in 2015 when they were in the final season in the Hampshire League prior to promotion to the Wessex League. Back then they were playing at the old Pirelli works ground, Pirelli General folded in 2003. But despite the “Purps” improvements to the ground, the facility was always destined to be demolished, but even back then the club had a plan… Continue reading →

The Village

05 Thursday Mar 2020

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Saturday 25th January 2020 ko 14.00

Mid-Oxon Cup Quarter-Final

BRILL UNITED 2 (Price 5 Boiling 75)

ASHTON FOLLY 1 (McPherson 82)

Att 27 at Whitelands Farm Sports Ground, Bicester

Free Entry

I’d wanted to watch Brill for a while. The village has the distinction of both being in Buckinghamshire and having once been on the London Underground but still managing to be a mere 12 miles from Oxford. The football club has an excellent Twitter (@BrillUtd) account, and there’s an obvious vibrancy about them. Continue reading →

SAD

04 Wednesday Mar 2020

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Saturday 25th January 2020 ko 20.30

Primeiria Liga

BELENENSES S.A.D. 0

VITORIA DE SETUBAL 1 (Guedes 39)

Att 2,012  at Estádio Nacional, Lisbon

Entry – Complimentary

As a tourist in Lisbon, its virtually inevitable you’ll end up visiting Belém, in the west of the city. You’ll take the 15E tram from Cais do Sodré and visit the Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery, and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, all within 5 minutes from the tram stop for the monastery. But before you leave do cross the road at Largo dos Jerónimos and have some grilled sardines at the excellent Flor dos Jerónimos cafe, then discover a hidden piece of Lisbon’s history. Continue reading →

Leões

02 Monday Mar 2020

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Friday 17th January 2020 ko 21.15

Primeira Liga

SPORTING CLUBE DE PORTUGAL 0

SL BENFICA 2 (R Silva 80 90)

ATT 41,017

Entry €65

Robyn and I knew we’d like to spend the weekend after our wedding in Lisbon. We knew they’d be plenty of interest to visit there, and the idea was to use this as a “Mini-Moon” with a longer honeymoon in the summer. The problem was would we want to watch any football? We rapidly agreed on one game, as let’s face it, clocking up an entire weekend watching nothing but football is hardly romantic. Continue reading →

Nicosia

27 Thursday Feb 2020

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Saturday 28th December 2019 ko 14.00

Gloucestershire County League

AEK BOCO 5 (Slocombe 45 52 80 90 Thier 89)

HENBURY 0 Heal sent off (2nd booking) 49

Att c50

Free Entry

Programme £1

Bristol, just like Nicosia is a divided city, and the second Robyn and I started seeing each other part of the fun was seeing just how divided it is. Of course Bristol’s divide is on purely footballing terms, the green line in Nicosia separates Greek from Turkish Cyprus. In Bristol the line is blue….. Continue reading →

Castle On The Hill

25 Tuesday Feb 2020

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Friday 27th December 2019 ko 19.45

Eastern Counties League Division One North

FRAMLINGHAM TOWN 8 (Berry 24 66 89 D Smith 30 57 75 Ling 47 Willett 51)

FELIXSTOWE & WALTON RESERVES 2 (Ingram 23 Norman 68)

Att 75

Entry £5

Programme £1

It is difficult to avoid reference to Ed Sheeran in Framlingham, and in any case, why try? The singer/songwriter is Framlingham’s most famous son, and while there doesn’t seem to be quite the same connection with the club that Olly Murs has with Coggeshall Town, the singer has tweeted his allegiance to the club after being spotted at, of all places, Stamford Bridge! Perhaps that’s why Framlingham Town market a replica shirt with Sheeran’s name on the back. Continue reading →