Category Archives: A

Beauty & Tragedy

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Saturday 27th August 2016 ko 13.15

South Wales Alliance Division Two

ABERFAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC CLUB 4 (Caffell 21 62 80 Madgwick 49)

FOCHRIW 1 (Brannan 25)

Att 220 

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

If ever there was a village touched by tragedy it’s Aberfan. So ingrained in the collective consciousness is the village it’s hard to believe it’s 50 years since a spoil heap collapsed on Pantglas Junior School killing 116 children and 28 adults. The village will be forever remembered for what happened on 21st October 1966 and while the graveyard in clearly visible from Grove Field, this was a day for at least some of us to see Aberfan in terms other than the tragedy. That said, I was pleased that many managed to visit the memorial garden either before or after the match. Continue reading →

The Facts Of Life

25 Monday Jul 2016

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Saturday 23rd July 2016 ko 11.00

Pre-season Friendly

ANDOVER TOWN 1 (Robertson 84)

WARMINSTER TOWN 1 (Shinn 28)

Att 32 at Sparsholt College, near Winchester

It’s a fact of footballing life that by and large groundhoppers and pre-season friendlies don’t mix, and its a view I have a lot of sympathy with. Games played at half pace with no cards and roll-on/off substitutes aren’t many people’s idea of what football is about, so in the summer months you have to be creative! And this game had plenty to enthuse.

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Fade Out

08 Friday Jul 2016

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Monday 16th May 2016 ko 19.00

North Berkshire League Division One

ABINGDON TOWN 3 (Davis 17 50 Pinkerton 90p)

KINTBURY RANGERS 3 (Allsopp 43 Collins 52 Mahoney 65)

Att 23

Entry FREE

No Programme

Some time ago I told the sad story of Mile Oak Rovers & Youth and how I came to witness their final ever game. Now this tale does have the distinction of me not knowing for certain that this was to be this club’s last game, but I do remember the nagging doubt. The biggest difference here is though is Abingdon Town’s long and illustrious history.

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Beginnings

23 Saturday Apr 2016

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Saturday 16th April 2016 ko 11.00

Carmarthenshire League Division One

ABERGWILI 4 (Callegai 50 Binding 57 78 79)

LLANSTEFFAN 1 (Soames 90p)

Att 140

Entry £3

Programme £1

When the previous Welsh Spring Hop finished its run in Ceredigion we thought it would be relatively simple to find a replacement league. After all there hadn’t been a Ceredigion League club that hadn’t enjoyed hosting, so you would have thought that word of mouth would have ensured a speedy set of negotiations wouldn’t you? Continue reading →

The Age Of The Exile

07 Monday Mar 2016

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Wednesday 2nd March 2016 ko 19.45

East Midlands Counties League

ARNOLD TOWN 4 (Slawson 7 Payne 73 Wood 87 Branston 90)

HOLWELL SPORTS 5 (Joachim 12 58 Stevenson 38p Wells 65 77)

Att 24

Entry £5

Programme £1 (double issue with the previous Saturday’s game)

Teamsheet FREE

Back in 2005 I paid a visit to Arnold Town for a Northern Counties East game at their former home, Gedling Road. I found a vibrant club, right in the centre of their community and seemed to be thriving despite some fairly obvious ground constraints. The club moved to a new ground, Eagle Valley in 2009, after a season in exile but its location was, and to some extent still is the surprising factor in the club’s recent history. Continue reading →

Horizons

29 Monday Feb 2016

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Saturday 27th February 2016 ko 13.00

Scottish Junior FA, West Region Superleague Premier Division

AUCHINLECK TALBOT 2 (Hyslop 17 53)

KIRKINTILLOCH ROB ROY 0

Att c350

Entry £6

Programme £1.50

The day after this I paid a visit to the Scottish Football Museum, in the Main Stand at Hampden Park. It’s a fascinating place, well worth the £8 entry, but its coverage of the Juniors is disappointing. All there is a corner with a video on loop and the display explains the SJFA as being “Junior” in standard to the “Seniors” rather than in terms of age. I wondered if whoever put that display together had ever seen the likes of Auchinleck, or Kirkintilloch play? Continue reading →

Gunpowder

07 Sunday Feb 2016

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Saturday 6th February 2015 ko 14.00

Southern Combination Division Two

ALFOLD 1 (Hallett 90)

AFC ROFFEY CLUB 0

Att 19

Entry FREE

Programme £1

It did seem a little strange driving down the A3 to take in a game in what used to be called the Sussex County League, passing through Guildford then making for Horsham. You’ll always be in Surrey, and genteel wooded Surrey at that. You really should stop on the way in Bramley, the Kingfish Chip Shop provides an excellent lunch, and once you’ve worked out how to navigate the nearby road junction, you’ll arrive at Alfold’s Recreation Ground. Continue reading →

Clockwork Brocoli

24 Thursday Dec 2015

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Saturday 19th December 2015 ko 17.00

Segunda B Grupo 4

ALGECIRAS CF 2 (Javi Medina 6 Javi Chico 90)

LA HOYA LORCA 1 (Roberto 83)

Att c3,500

Entry (Tribuna- main stand) €15 (£11)

No Programme

If ever there was the very epitomy of a port town it’s Algeciras. If you want to know where your Spanish import said goodbye to it’s mother country, chances are that it was the port the other side of the bay from Gibraltar. The town has always been associated with the sea, firstly from smuggling from North Africa, then via more conventional trading routes. In fact the real surprise for me was just how difficult the Estadio Neuvo Mirador was to reach from a base in Gibraltar. Continue reading →

Old For New, or New For Old?

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Tuesday 15th December 2015 ko 19.45

Wessex League Cup 2nd Round

ALTON TOWN 4 (Fox 3 Gray 7 Peck 73 Latimer 81)

FAREHAM TOWN 2 (Jackson 11 Laycock 85)

Att 96

Entry £6

Teamsheet FREE

I suspect when Coors started procedures to move Alton Town from their historic Bass Ground noone, least of all the club would have expected an outcome this good. Let’s face it, non-league football is littered with tales of homeless clubs groundsharing for a while, then slowly dying. What makes this all the more interesting is that the club have moved less than 400 yards, just across and along the main road, and in the process have gone home. Continue reading →

No Names, No Pack Drill

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Monday 7th December 2015 ko 19.00

Army FA Woolwich Cup Quarter-Final

ARMY AIR CORPS 8 (13secs 3 55 60 71 75 84 90)

ARMY INTELLIGENCE CORPS 1 (87p)

Att 22 at Tidworth Oval

Entry FREE

No Programme

I have a theory that when groundhoppers look for interesting stadia and games to visit, the Army FA is a blind spot for many. In a sense that is odd, the Army FA is treated as a county by the FA in exactly the same way as, say Wiltshire is, and the Military Stadium in Aldershot should be on everyone’s to-visit list.  However there are a few factors to consider before attending games.
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