Category Archives: B

Perfect

29 Monday Mar 2021

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Friday 25th March 2011 ko 19.45

League of Ireland Premier Division

BOHEMIAN 0

GALWAY UNITED 1 (Yoffe 60)

Att c1,000

Entry €15 

Programme €4

It’s long been my conviction that the British and the Irish have far more in common than what divides us. We drive on the same side of the road, speak (predominantly) the same language and occupy the same set of islands. For the record Dublin is still the only airport I’ve ever landed in and not felt abroad. Most of the time its the extremists and politicians that seek to accentuate the differences while everyone else is happy to enjoy each other’s company; this trip rather proved the point. Continue reading →

Hindsight

11 Friday Dec 2020

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Friday 6th January 2006 ko 19.30

Welsh League Division One

BRIDGEND TOWN 0

BARRY TOWN 1 (Reddy)

Att c100

Entry £3

Programme 50p

My abiding memory of this game was arriving at Coychurch Road far too early, around 6pm as I didn’t know what time this game was to kick-off at. I knew nothing back then of course Coychurch Road had staged Southern League football, and Bridgend’s stint in English football had only ended in 1983, when the club had opted back into Welsh football.

The night’s visitors had been one of the “Irate Eight” who on the formation of the League of Wales in 1992 had wanted to remain in the English game. They’d played one season as Barri AFC playing out of Worcester City before returning to the Welsh game a season later. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t know what time kick-off time was either…

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Hallions

21 Friday Aug 2020

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Thursday 13th August 2020 ko 19.00

Friendly

BICESTER HALLIONS 2 (Bone 10 Brooks 68)

BLETCHINGTON 2 (Godfrey 4 Deabill 17)

Att 33 at KEA Sports & Social Club, Bicester

Free Entry

I wondered if I needed to be there, let along ought. The heat was oppressive, the clouds threatening, and I really didn’t fancy my first soaking of the season. As add to the malaise the engine management light on my car was on, and as I headed passed Bicester Village the dash bleeped “Engine Malfunction” In for a quid…. Continue reading →

Never A Step Backward

12 Wednesday Aug 2020

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Tuesday 4th August 2020 ko 19.15

Friendly

SILCHESTER FC 0

BADSHOT LEA (4 3 31 50 77)

Att c20 @ Queen Mary’s College, Basingstoke

Free Entry

With a friendly lined up at an unusual venue in Basingstoke, and plenty of time to get there, I took the chance to stop and spend a few minutes at the Camrose.  Until 2019 the ground, gifted to the people of Basingstoke by Lord Camrose in 1945 was home to Basingstoke Town. Continue reading →

Garlic

07 Friday Aug 2020

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Saturday 1st August 2020 ko 14.30

Friendly

BASILDON TOWN 3 (O’Brien 5 Smith 56 Bradbourn 89)

BARNSTON AFC 1 (Rollins 85)

Att c50 at Basildon Sport & Leisure Club

I doubt I’ll manage a quicker trip between grounds all season. Just a fence separates the Post Office Sports Ground from the Basildon Sport & Leisure Club, and while the entities are entirely separate, the gap in the fence was handy! Continue reading →

The New Normal

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

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Saturday 1st August 2020 ko 12.00

Friendly

PITSEA TOWN 11 (Goggin 45 47 62 85 Gentry 67 M Lewis 68 Richardson 74 Lunn 80 82 L Pellin 83 R Phillips 86) 

SOUTHMINSTER UNITED 0

Att c20 at Post Office Sports & Social Club, Gardiners Lane South, Basildon

Entry FREE

The Covid 19 pandemic had given me and many others a 140 day opportunity. Yes, there was no live football to watch, but there was time in abundance. Time to work on the house, time to develop other interests, time to spend on loved ones, and also time to reflect. Continue reading →

I am The Walrus

08 Wednesday Jul 2020

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Saturday 22nd August 2009 kop 14.30

Cymru Alliance

C.P. BETHESDA ATHLETIC 1 (Davies 84)

FLINT TOWN UNITED 3 (S Thelwell 14 PD Williams 45 Beck 86)

Att 54

Entry £3

Programme £1

In the days of the Welsh Alliance hop there was one club that GroundhopUK notably failed to visit and that was Bethesda. There was nothing sinister it it, the club suddenly folded just before the final hop in 2015, although the rejigging of the event to cover their absence did indirectly cause a real schmozzle at Llanllyfni when the league told us all we were watching a cup game, when that wasn’t quite the case. That is to be regretted but I had further regret, I knew just how lovely Maes Meurig is. Continue reading →

The Tobacco Factory

30 Saturday May 2020

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With the football season over prematurely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic I’m in the unusual position of actually having this blog up to date! So to keep the content coming, and for something to do, I’ll do some old grounds and games where there’s a story to tell.

Saturday 1st April 2006 ko 15.00

Wessex League Division One

B.A.T. SPORTS 3 (Lowther 2 (1 pen), Thorney)

BROCKENHURST 2 (Beck, Burton)

Att c50

Entry £4

Programme £1

I hate smoking, I hate the smell, and that it invariably triggers my asthma. But I do have history with British & American Tobacco. The firm owned International Stores and if my grandfather hadn’t moved to Oxford to manage their store in High Street, you wouldn’t be reading this. I’ll leave you to consider whether that’s a good thing…. Continue reading →

Water of Love

24 Sunday May 2020

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With the football season over prematurely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic I’m in the unusual position of actually having this blog up to date! So to keep the content coming, and for something to do, I’ll do some old grounds and games where there’s a story to tell.

Saturday 10th April 2010  ko 15.00

Northern Premier League Premier Division

BUXTON 2 (Reed 62 Morris 90)

ASHTON UNITED 0

Att 312

Entry £8

Programme £1.50

Quite deliberately I’ve made these archive offerings about either grounds you can’t visit anymore or represent some sort of personal milestone. This isn’t one, far from it. Buxton’s Silverlands is here because if you’ve visited here you’ll look at the photos and smile, and if you haven’t been you’ll add it to your bucket list. Put simply, this is a ground to do before you die. Continue reading →

Idiosyncratic

21 Thursday May 2020

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With the football season over prematurely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic I’m in the unusual position of actually having this blog up to date! So to keep the content coming, and for something to do, I’ll do some old grounds and games where there’s a story to tell.

Tuesday April 14th 2008 ko 19.30
Spartan South Midlands League Division One

BRACHE SPARTA 0

HARPENDEN TOWN 1 (Gregory 84)

Att 11

Entry & Programme £2

There are some times when you embark on the endless road that is groundhopping, that you find a club that somehow doesn’t quite fit in. That shouldn’t be seen as pejorative in any sense, but when you arrive at a ground and you know what level of the game you’re going to see you soon get a rough idea of what to expect. This short story is about one of those exceptions to the rule.

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