Category Archives: C

A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours

26 Thursday Mar 2020

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Saturday 7th March 2020 ko 16.20

North West Counties League Division One South

CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS 1 (Foley 58)

STOCKPORT TOWN 5 (Depieaza 2 20 70 Furguson 12 Middleton 19) 

Att 343

Entry £5

Programme £2

Teamsheet 20p

Saturday’s 3rd game on the North West Counties Hop saw a change of locale, from Wythenshawe to the leafy Manchester suburbia of Cheadle. Or if you’re the unfortunate type that thinks along the same lines as me, then the start of second pair of the day’s clubs. While I’d greatly enjoyed Wythenshawe Amateurs’ company, I’d found their rivals Wythenshawe Town’s attempts at one-upmanship grating and their staging frankly poor. That last fact had a massive impact on our next hosts. Continue reading →

Velocity

01 Friday Nov 2019

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Tuesday 10th September 2019 ko 19.45

Isthmian League Cup – Group 10

CHERTSEY TOWN 2 (Baxter 80 Cozens 84)

Bennell sent off (serious foul play) 41

CHIPSTEAD 3 (Hudson 26 55 Miller 63)

Att 110

Entry £9

Programme £1

The dichotomy of having visited well over 2000 football grounds is that although my options for a midweek tick are fairly limited these days, I have built up a huge database of wonderful grounds for me to take Robyn to see. A distinct advantage is also a trip to Surrey commuter belt from Oxford is a lot easier than some of my more far-flung destinations! Continue reading →

The Ely Double

29 Tuesday Oct 2019

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Saturday 7th September 2019 ko 12.00

Cymru South

CAERAU (ELY) 2 (Lyon 33 Outlaw 49)

Lyon sent off 69 (Serious foul play)

LLANELLI TOWN 3 (Parker 28 Hurlford 57 90)

Att c50

Entry £5

Programme, online only

Many years ago it was the Thursday before the Welsh Hop and a few of us had congregated at the event’s base in Treforest. A South Wales Amateur League game at Caerau near Maesteg was our destination and we’d lined up programmes and a meal in the clubhouse after the game. But know-it-all Jim was impatient and wanted to leave early, so we checked he knew where he was going. “Yes, near Cardiff” he replied as he made to drive away. To this day I wonder if we hadn’t yelled at him to stop when he would have realised? Continue reading →

Double F

07 Monday Oct 2019

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Sunday 25th August 2019 ko 15.00

Gwent Premier League Division 2

CEFN FFOREST 4 (J Price 33 Bowen 77 90 N Williams 84)

GILWERN & DISTRICT  1 (McCarthy 86)

Att 247

Entry £3

Programme £1

As fun as the dip into the Bridgend Sunday League was, it was good to return to Gwent. We headed to the environs of Caerphilly to the tiny village of Cefn Fforest, and for the record that extra “F” is important, you wouldn’t want to pronounce the place as “Vorest” now would you? Continue reading →

Just Doing It

26 Thursday Sep 2019

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Saturday 24th August 2019 ko 11.00

Gwent Premier League- Division 1

COED EVA ATHLETIC 4 (Davies 8 62 63 Bream 37)

NEWPORT SAINTS 3 (Roberts 3 50 Bourne 11)

Att 227

Entry £3

Programme £1

After the trials and tribulations in getting this edition of the Welsh Hop up and running it felt good to do the simple things again. That included strolling down the hill at the university in Trefforest to meet Steve and the coach, then travelling for the breakfast that was billed as “Eat as much as you like” but plenty read as “Treat this as a challenge!” It is always a convivial start to the day, a chance to catch up with people and for those who’d spent the previous evening in the Otley Arms- a chance to compare hangovers! Continue reading →

Compton

05 Thursday Sep 2019

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Sunday 28th July 2019 ko 11.00

United Counties League Premier Division

COGENHOE UNITED 0

LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY 1 (Akpobire 32)

Att 262

Entry £6

Programme £1

As the hop coach climbed up into the hills above Northampton there seemed to be a symmetry between the UCL/PDFL hop’s visit to Compton Park and my visit 15 years-or so earlier. Then I’d watched a game in the wind and rain and returned to my car soaked. It had been a good thing that I was living in Banbury back then, less than an an hour’s drive away. Continue reading →

Hygge

08 Monday Jul 2019

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Wednesday 5th June 2019 ko 17.00

2nd Division Group 2 Promotion- Denmark

BRØNSHØJ BK 0

VANLØSE 2 (AK Jensen 61 JC Jensen 90)

Att 757

Entry 80 DKK (Approx £9.61)

Programme 20 DKK

With the Swedish Hop’s 13th edition being based once again in Trelleborg, and fiancee Robyn being a fan of all things Hans Christian Andersen it was remarkable that we hadn’t visited Copenhagen previously. Then there was the Danish concept of Hygge roughly translated as cosiness to consider too. The Danish are considered to be the world’s happiest nation, so as the plane touched down at Kastrup and I limped through customs I wanted to see if I could tap into the concept.  Continue reading →

The Light Blue Side Of Things

23 Sunday Jun 2019

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Thursday 11th April 2019 ko 19.30

Cambridge University Association Football League- Cuppers Final

FITZWILLIAM 3 (Saunders 40 Ellis 103 Burrows 110)

PEMBROKE 1 (Ireland 69)

After extra time of 10 minutes each way

Att c300 at Grange Road (Cambridge University RUFC)

Entry & Programme FREE

If you haven’t scrolled passed this, and headed straight for the pictures you may be wondering what the appeal was here? You might assume that since I’m from Oxford that I was looking at this through some sense of rivalry but unless you’re involved at either city’s university there is no rivalry at all. As I blasted along the M11 the sense was far more about this being a “Cradle of the game” job. Continue reading →

Plumb Line

18 Tuesday Jun 2019

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Tuesday 1st May 2019 ko 18.45

Midland League Division 3

COVENTRY PLUMBING 1  (Gardner 2)

CONTINENTAL STAR 3 (Smith 25p 33 84)

Att 42

Entry £2

Programme £1

It would appear that Westwood Heath Road in Coventry is something of a footballing hotbed. There’s the ground formerly known variously as Kirby Corner, and the David Sinclair Sports Ground, and was home to both Coventry Sporting and more recently Coventry Amateurs. Just a few hundred yards down the road is the University Sports Ground, that apart from being the first ever entry in this blog, was home to the now defunct Coventry Spartans, themselves a splinter from Coventry Amateurs.

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The Oxfordshire Day (That Wasn’t)

25 Saturday May 2019

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Saturday 20th April 2019

11.00 Hellenic League Division 2 East

STOKENCHURCH 0

CHALFONT WASPS 3 (Letterman 29 42 Williams 47)

Att 234

Entry & Programme £5

15.30

15.30 Hellenic League Division 1 East

CHINNOR 1 (Knowles 54)

HOLYPORT 4 (Raply 4 45 56 Driffill 16)

Att 196

Entry £4

Programme £1

19.00 Hellenic League Division 2 East

LONG CRENDON 0

YATELEY UNITED 0

Att 269

Entry £6

Programme £1

It was unusual to be in the middle of an organised hop and for me to wake up at home. But with the Hellenic Hop visiting 3 clubs all within 20 miles from home and with an elderly father to keep an eye on, it made sense to have a couple of nights back home, even if Robyn and I did miss the full English breakfasts back at the Almondsbury Interchange! I found myself harking back to the days of the North Berkshire League’s Hops too, and on arrival at Stokenchurch you could see why. Continue reading →