Category Archives: L

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 →

Titan

03 Saturday Nov 2018

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Saturday 6th October 2018 ko 11.00

Western League Division One

LONGWELL GREEN SPORTS 2 (Brittain 2 Keary 36)

WELTON ROVERS 3 (Hunt 28 Seviour 54 77)

Att 213

Entry £5

Programme £1

When we started the Western Hop back in 2015 we actually passed Longwell Green Sports on our way between Bitton and Oldland Abbotonians. Whilst amusing myself with the knowledge that we’d succeeded in convincing a hopper that the latter club was so named because comedian Russ Abbott was a secret benefactor (He actually recorded it in his blog before rapidly deleting it!) we passed the ground and I wondered why we weren’t visiting there and then? Continue reading →

The Nest

31 Wednesday Oct 2018

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Saturday 29th September 2018 ko 15.00

Eastern Counties League Division One North

LAKENHEATH 1 (McCabe 3)

MARCH TOWN UNITED 3 (Cooke 7 Gillies 45p Mattless 74)

Att c100

Entry £5

Programme £1

One of the most welcome additions to the Eastern Counties League roster this season has been Lakenheath. I’d had a fair few hoppers recommend, The Nest or The Pit, depending on who you talk to but for no good reason I’d not managed to visit. I’m glad I did go but I do wonder whether I caught the club at a real crossroads. Step 6 will alter just about everything for Lakenheath FC, both as a club, and a place to watch football.  Continue reading →

Level Crossing

15 Monday Oct 2018

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Sunday 26th August 2018 ko 17.00

South Wales Alliance Division Two

LLANGEINOR AFC 4 ( Lock 38 73p Evans 45 Laidler 84)

AFC WATTSTOWN 2 (Fisher 53 Huggins 65)

Att 130

Entry £3

Programme £1

After the games at Vale United and Porthcawl Town we needed the groundhopping equivalent of a hug and a blanket. Whilst the two previous host clubs had been excellent, the weather had left us cold and wet, and with my organiser’s hat on I wondered what we’d find at the last game of the day.  Continue reading →

Mileposts

23 Monday Jul 2018

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Sunday 3rd June 2018 ko 19.00

Division 6C Stockholm

IFK LIDINGÖ BK 6 ( I Gustafsson 9 49 Broström 27 Undhammar 66 Sjöwall 70 Engdahl 77)

TORSTENS LÅJUNGAR BK 0

Att 43

Entry – FREE

One of the many reasons I love Sweden in general, and Stockholm in particular is that it manages to signpost significant points in my life. My first foreign football trip was to Nyköpings BIS in 2007 and my photos since then tell so many stories, from the start of the collapse of just about everything that meant something to me on the 2010 Swedish Hop to the newly separated man trying unsuccessfully to laugh his way around the hop a year later in front of “Offside Magazine”. Then two years ago something I thought would never happen did, Robyn arrived in my life, and actually wanted to join me on my regular little odysseys round Sweden. But unlike all the other times, this Swedish milepost I decided to be in full control of.  Continue reading →

The Swap

07 Saturday Jul 2018

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Wednesday 9th May 2018 ko 19.45

United Counties League Division One

LUTTERWORTH ATHLETIC 2 (Hobert 20 Pegg 66p)

STEWARTS & LLOYDS 1 (Mpofu 88)

Att 31

Entry £5

No Programme

Half the fun of this one was working out exactly who Robyn and I would be watching! In the beginning there was Lutterworth Town and Lutterworth Athletic with one playing the centre of town the other on the edge. Then one left, the other moved into the other’s former ground, and the first moved into other’s an out-of-town location. I’d seen Lutterworth at the in-town location back in the day but in the day’s leading up to this day the mechanics of football in Lutterworth did take a little working out!

Continue reading →