Category Archives: L

Matchstick Man

22 Sunday Sep 2019

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Saturday 17th August 2019 ko 15.00
Cornwall Combination League

LIZARD ARGYLE 1 (Vaughan-Spruce 10)

ROSUDGEON 0 Fletcher missed penalty 90

Att 30

Entry by donation

Programme £1

“So there he was then, Penzance to play….

..And you, you would-be vagabond
No one invited you, you know
Matchstick man, up in the dawn
You’ve got five hundred miles to go.”

excerpt of Matchstick Man by Mark Knopfler 2018

Remember my comment that all too often I don’t pick my games, they pick me? Well this was a classic case of that happening. Robyn and I were in Bristol wedding planning and I knew that I’d be picking up an easel in Clifton but I’d be finished around 10.30am so could go anywhere within reason before heading back to Oxford afterwards. My initial idea was something in the Peninsula League but then something popped up on Facebook!

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Royal

05 Monday Aug 2019

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Tuesday 7th July 2019 ko 19.30

Pre-Season Friendly

8TH TRAINING BATTALION ROYAL ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL ENGINEERS 2 (Auger 52 J Allen 62p)

SHREWTON UNITED 4 (Johnson 17 Utterson 21 Watson 44 Himsworth 65)

Att 6  @ MOD Lyneham

Free Entry

After the Swedish Hop I surprised myself by enjoying some time off from football. I needed the rest and contrary to the beliefs of some I do enjoy plenty of other things other than just football! Gone are the days when my close season was short, and on one occasion less than 24 hours! (Final game of Swedish Hop then Derby Summer League the next day!) In the end I found myself looking for a fixture rather half-heartedly, it would have to be something interesting to make me end my  summer break. Then a game behind the fence at MOD Lyneham popped up! Continue reading →

My Happy Place

29 Monday Jul 2019

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Sunday 9th June 2019 ko 12.00

Division 6 Sydvästra Skåne

LILLA BEDDINGE 4 (Olsson 4 Klinterberg-Nickmål 46 Bassini 54 Vinqvist 85)

KORPEN MALMÖ 1 (Szeregnyi 52)

Att 69

The Swedish Hop’s cost of £285 included all entry fees, programmes, coach travel, 2 bridge tolls on the Øresund Bridge and 2 nights’ bed and breakfast at the Clarion Magasinet Hotel in Trelleborg.

Sunday morning dawned, with the weather perfect and the meatballs for breakfast seemed especially good. Even the slight hangovers evident in several of the party didn’t seem in proportion with the amount of beer we’d consumed in the Tre Lyktor the night before. And for all of that I found my sense of melancholy difficult to shift. Continue reading →

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 →

The Good

22 Wednesday May 2019

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Friday 19th April 2019

12.00 Hellenic League Premier Division

LONGLEVENS 2 (Welch 59 Malshanskij 62)

READING CITY 1 (Darboe 14)

Att 331

Entry £6

Programe £1

15.30 Hellenic League Premier Division

LYDNEY TOWN 2 (Thompson 59p Halford 83)

WINDSOR 0

Att 337

Entry £5

Programme £1

19.00 Hellenic League Division One West

NEWENT TOWN 0

CHELTENHAM SARACENS 1 (Barnard 54)

Att 369

Entry £5

Programme £1

Looking at it selfishly,  the Easter Hop moving from the North West Counties League to the Hellenic was a neat way of me swapping a probable 11 new ticks from 13 games to 11 re-visits. The Hellenic hinterland is my stamping ground, and so many of these clubs I know reasonably well, so for this weekend the pleasure was in the catching up rather than the process of accumulation. Look out for the click-throughs for the grounds as they were when I first visited them. In some cases the changes are remarkable.

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Dragon Soup

03 Friday May 2019

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Saturday 30th March 2019 ko 20.00

East of Scotland League Conference C

LINLITHGOW ROSE 3 (Roddie MacLennan 15 39 Coyne 63)

JEANFIELD SWIFTS 2 (Davies 6 Connor McLaren 46)

Att 618

Entry £6

Programme £2

We left Blackburn, and headed over Cockleroi Hill. We were a little tight for time, I’d spent a little too much time thanking those involved at our previous game. The nerves jangled slightly, was driving past a Korean War Memorial part of the plan? But then the county town of the Lothians peeped into view, and as it turned out, the hop coach used exactly the same route as we had. The over-riding reason for the nerves was due to a massive sense of anticipation. Continue reading →

The Magician

27 Wednesday Mar 2019

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Saturday 9th March 2019 ko 16.30

North-West Counties League Division One North

LOWER BRECK 6 (Milne 18 60 90 Moore 31 Colbeck 45 Henders 55)

ASHTON TOWN 1 (Johnson 84)

Att 339

Entry £3

Programme £2

From Litherland the coach picked its way through surprisingly quiet Saturday afternoon traffic. We knew we were close to Goodison Park by the blue banners on every lamp-post until we actually passed by Everton’s famous ground. Then we skirted by Stanley Park until the huge new 20,500 Main Stand at Anfield dominated the view. From there those lamp-post banners changed to red as we travelled a few more hundred yards to the rather more humble Anfield Sports & Community Centre in Lower Breck Road. Liverpool FC may operate on altogether more rarified plane than our hosts, but they did have a massive influence on this hop! Continue reading →

Sefton

24 Sunday Mar 2019

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Saturday 9th March 2019 ko 13.30

North West Counties League Premier Division

LITHERLAND REMYCA 1 (Foy 44p)

CITY OF LIVERPOOL 2 (Dalton 61 Clair 70)

Att 574

Entry £5

Programme £2

It really didn’t take long for the coach to pick its way through the Sefton district of Liverpool to Litherland Sports Park. The district has the distinction of appearing in the Domesday Book while Liverpool didn’t! I was pleased it looked busy at the Litherland Sports Park, even if we did have to exit the bus rather quickly to let others in! Continue reading →

What A Carry On

12 Tuesday Mar 2019

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Tuesday 5th March 2019 ko 20.00

Southend Charity Shield Section A Quarter-Final

LEIGH TOWN 0

LAINDON ORIENT 1 (Williams 90)

Att 31 at James Hornsby School, Leinster Road (Laindon Orient FC)

Free Entry

Programme £1

It seems to me that if you want a really obscure ground under lights you need to be able to trawl the obscure cup competitions. That’s not one of my few talents so I’m indebted to Southend-based hopper Peter Miles’ observation skills. It could have been even more obscure, the fixture was originally scheduled for the Stambridge Memorial Ground a week earlier, and Stambridge exited the Essex Senior League in 1992 and folded altogether in 2016. The ground is currently used by Essex Olympian League outfit Corinthians.

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Come As You Are

05 Wednesday Dec 2018

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Tuesday 6th November 2018 ko 19.45

United Counties League Premier Division

LEICESTER NIRVANA 6 (Nassor 32 43p 50 Anastasi 45 65 Brown-Wingfield 79)

WELLINGBOROUGH WHITWORTH 0

Att c50

Entry £5

Programme £1

It was of little surprise that this game was something of a hopper-fest. The case of Leicester Nirvana is an odd one, but rather compelling. The original Leicester Nirvana club started in the 1980’s and rose through youth football to play two stints in the Central Midlands League in the late 80’s and early 90’s. However in 1992 they left the CMFL to return to their roots of providing youth football. Continue reading →