Category Archives: A

Times Like These

10 Friday Jan 2020

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Saturday 2nd November 2019 ko 15.00

FA Premier League

ARSENAL 1 (Aubameyang 20)

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1 (Jiminez 76)

Att 60,383

Entry £56.50

Programme £3.50

For a while I’d known my future brother-in-law Scott wanted to visit the Emirates Stadium. Now on one hand I’ve seen enough of Arsenal over the years for there to be little or nothing to be achieved from another visit. It is a case of “Been there done that” but on the other hand, he’s family and I’ve got history. Continue reading →

The Tavern

26 Tuesday Nov 2019

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Friday 4th October 2019 ko 19.45

Western League Division One

LEBEQ UNITED 3 (Brown 7p 59 Sarr 13)

DaCosta sent off 55 (violent conduct)

RADSTOCK TOWN 1 (Rustell 14p)

Att 192 at Oaklands Park, Almondsbury (Gloucs FA Ground)

Entry £5

Programme £1

In a few ways the organised groundhop should have visited Oaklands Park far far earlier than this. Think back 15 or so years ago to the days of the Welsh Hellenic Hop, when GroundhopUk would spend August Bank Holiday Saturday in the South Wales Amateur League then spend Sunday and Monday in the Hellenic. Each and every year we traveled east across the Severn, and each time we failed to visit, but why? Continue reading →

The Antonym Of Accidental Revisit Syndrome

15 Tuesday Oct 2019

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Monday 26th August 2019 ko 11.00

Gwent Premier League Premier Division

ABERTILLERY EXCELSIORS 2 (D Jones 18 54p)

VILLA DINO CHRISTCHURCH 0 Lewis penalty saved 65

Att 236

Entry £3

Programme £1

The more senior hoppers have a little saying for those occasions when you realise on arrival that unexpectly they’ve visited the ground before. When you’ve done 300 or so grounds it seems barely creditable that you could have forgotten one. But when you’ve clocked up 4 figures worth of grounds, accidental revist syndrome can creep in. Except here at the Jim Owen Field I managed the exact opposite- I thought I was heading for a revisit and ended up ticking off a new ground! Continue reading →

The Hellenic Western Side

19 Sunday May 2019

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Thursday 18th April 2019 ko 19.30

Hellenic League Division One West

ALMONDSBURY 3 (Sheppard 45 Lane 85 Bisp 87)

MALMESBURY VICTORIA 2 (Jones 6 Tranter 77)

Att 195

Entry £5

Programme £1

As I mentioned in the Barnton article the original plan for Easter was for GroundhopUK to be based in the North West Counties League. Conventional wisdom would be that they made a mistake in turning down Easter for their hop, but they got excellent crowds for their event in March, so perhaps they bucked that trend. If turning down Easter could be said to be their loss (and I’m not totally convinced), then the Hellenic certainly gained. By swapping the two events around the Hellenic got a prime groundhopping slot, and he chance for 13 clubs to host rather than the 7 we’d originally planned. Brian King at the Hellenic jumped at the chance of an expanded hop but we did create an oddity though, and that was Almondsbury hosting.

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Reviver

14 Sunday Apr 2019

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Tuesday 26th March 2019 ko 19.45

Hellenic League Division One East

ABINGDON TOWN 3 (M James 12 83 J James 45)

MILTON UNITED 2 (Powell 13 69) Beech sent off 90 (2nd Booking)

Att 50

Entry & Programme £5

It all felt like a catch-up. I’d watched Abingdon Town play the final game of the North Berkshire League’s 2015/6 season, and I remember leaving Culham Road worrying for their future. I always got on with their chairman Tom Larman, but the club’s problems seemed too deep-seated for Tom to cope with on his own. The club failed to even register with the Berks & Bucks FA for the next season, and when Tom died a few months later it seemed that the area’s oldest club had been lost. Continue reading →

Bohemian Rhapsody

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

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Sunday 11th November 2018 ko 10.15

Fortuna Divize A/ Czech 4th League-Division A

FK ADMIRA PRAHA 4 (Pavlata 13 Doudera 54 Martinic 67 Zahalka 79)

Zahalka penalty saved 37

TJ TATRAN SEDLČANY 1 (Senft 69)

Att 334

Entry 40 Kč (around £1.40 ) (for Robyn 20 Kč)

Programme 10 Kč

The tram snaked its way through virtually deserted streets in Prague’s 8th district, better known as Kobylisy. While the beery previous evening was the the cause of our relatively quiet selves, the great advantage of Czech lower league football kicking off early is that it gets you out of bed early, and you still have plenty of time afterwards for sightseeing!

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A Tale Of 2 Aylesburys

23 Thursday Aug 2018

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Tuesday 10th July 2018 ko 19.45

Pre-season Friendly

AYLESBURY FC 3 (Ware  26 Coyle 75 Touceda 87)

OXFORD UNITED U18 0

Att c50

Entry £5

If you’re in Aylesbury and you’re a football fan then I think you feel drawn to Buckingham Road. Aylesbury United played here from the mid- ’80’s until a rent dispute saw them depart to a nomadic life, they’re currently sharing Chesham United. But 12 years later the ground is more-or-less in situ, albeit in a state where it awaits demolition, the club having ruled out even moving back, and the developers seemingly just waiting for the mod.  Continue reading →

More Than Just Football

13 Monday Aug 2018

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Saturday 9th June 2018 ko 16.00

Division 5 Sydöstra Skåne

ANDERSLÖVS BoIK 3 (Jonsson 6og Wikström 71 86)

SKEGRIE 2 (Melander 12 Larsson 51)

Att 114

Entry & Programme 40 sek

The Swedish Hop’s £230 cost included two nights bed and breakfast in Trelleborg, coach travel including to and from Kastrup Airport, tolls on the Øresund Bridge, and all entry fees and programmes for the games.

If we thought that Klågerup had been amazing, then I sat on the coach heading towards our final destination of the day wondering how on earth Anderslöv could possibly live up to what had happened before? The coach pulled into a car park behind a local school and driver Jörgen laughed. I leaned forward and laughed too… Continue reading →

Kim’s Stockholm

30 Monday Jul 2018

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Wednesday 6th June 2018 ko 15.00

Division One Norra

AKROPOLIS I.F. 1 (Alemayehu 43)

SOLLENTUNA FK 1 (Ramsell 28)

Att c250

Entry & Programme 100 sek

Our last day in Stockholm was the day where Swedish Groundhop organiser Kim Hedwall showed his mettle. The Swedish hop was the first non-UK hop and has run every year since 2007. The reason it started was Kim and without him it couldn’t run- he and the event are indivisible. So when he asked the 4 of us to meet him earlier in the day at Fridhemsplan metro station our notoriously individualistic selves didn’t need to ask questions, we just planned our route!

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Convenience

09 Monday Jul 2018

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Saturday 19th May 2018 ko 13.30

Welsh League Division Two

AMMANFORD AFC 1 (Frater 19p) Glendon sent off (dangerous play) 62

PONTYPRIDD TOWN 3 (Hooper 48 Boddard 57 Hillman 68)

Att c150

Entry & Programme £4

It seems a common theme of this season has been me stretching the concept of “its on the way home” to its extremes! Here the plan of action was to collect Robyn from a few days holiday in Weymouth, and I was tasked to find us a game between there and Oxford. Well, South Wales and one of the most westerly clubs in the Welsh League is close enough isn’t it? Continue reading →