Category Archives: N

El Bandito

01 Monday Sep 2014

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Sunday 24th August 2014 ko 18.30

Welsh Alliance Division Two

NANTLLE VALE 3 (Jennings 12 J Evans 45 Kay 60) D Williams missed penalty 17

AMLWCH TOWN 0

Att 344

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

From our exit from Penrhyndeudraeth we remained very much in slate mining country as we reached the foothills of Snowdon and the village of Penygroes. Whilst many of the slate mines have gone, the area remains an administration centre, and for the record the area’s two most famous sons have had absolutely nothing to do with slate mining. Continue reading →

Mercy

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

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Saturday 23rd August 2014 ko 14.00

Gwynedd League

NEFYN UNITED 0 L Evans missed penalty 76

LLANLLYFNI 4 (G Williams 29 M Davies 67 L Griffith 85 90)

Att 286

Entry £3

Programme £1

Badge £3

Like Pwllheli before, Nefyn lies on the Llyn peninsula and the nearer we got to the town where singer-songwriter Duffy grew up, the scenery got steadily more spectacular. The Iron Age hill fort Garn Boduan, and hills of Gwylwyr Carreglefain vindicated our decision to bring the hop here, despite Nefyn not being in the Welsh Alliance. Continue reading →

Paper

26 Tuesday Aug 2014

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Tuesday 19th August 2014 ko 18.30

Midland League Division Three

NORTHFIELD TOWN 2 (McGrath 6 Salademi 90)

INBERROW 2 (McManus 15 57)

Att 51

Entry & Programme £2

I always did like the Midland Combination, now restyled the Midland League after a close-season merger with the Midland Alliance, which has become its Premier Division. As a hopper I appreciate what it does well, excellent administration including a speedily updated website, and an active Twitter feed. I’ve seen a lot of Midland League football over the years, but Northfield Town managed to surprise even me! Continue reading →

La Grange

07 Thursday Aug 2014

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Saturday 2nd August 2014 ko 17.00

Peterborough & District League Premier Division

NETHERTON UNTED 2 (Patton 42 Mastin 69)

THORNEY 1 (Baldwin 89)

Att 281

Entry £4

Programme £1

Badge £3

It has to be said The Grange turned into one of the more difficult places to find. That’s no reflection on the club, more a reflection on the speed of development in this part of Peterborough. I mean, how many clubs change entrances without moving grounds? I visited the ground back in 2012, and used one entrance, report here and the stream of traffic, not least Rick and the coach caused more than a few surprised looks as the best part of 300 people drove through the new estate.

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Skewen

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

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Friday 23rd November 2007 ko 19.30

Welsh Premier League

NEATH ATHLETIC 2 (Price 78 Bevan 90)

ABERYSTWYTH TOWN 2 (S Roberts 18 Sherbon 32p)

Att 218 at Llandarcy Park

Entry £5

Programme £1.50

Today’s “Greatest Hit,” is a little unusual. Not only does the ground not exist (for football) but neither does the team either! The roots of the club lie in BP, British Petroleum and their predecessor National Oil Refineries. The club was founded in 1922 as National Oil Refineries F.C as the works team for the new refinery, and played at Llandarcy Park, now to the south-west of the M4 as it passes by Junction 43. Continue reading →

Empathy

09 Friday May 2014

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Saturday 3rd May 2014 ko 15.00

League 2

NORTHAMPTON TOWN 3 (Marquis 29 Toney 33 Kouo-Doumbe 50)

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Williams 6) Williams sent off 19 (violent conduct)

Att 7,529 (1,358 away)

Entry £19

Programme £3

I’ve watched my team lose their league status, and its a perfectly horrible experience, and one I wouldn’t wish on any fan (well perhaps Swindon, but that’s tribal!). The Conference may well be a quasi-League 3 but the process of falling into it still hurts a lot. 6 months ago, Northampton were racing favourites to take that drop, sacked manager Aidy Boothroyd, recruited Oxford United’s Chris Wilder more here, and went into this game out of the relegation zone for the first time this year, needing a point to guarantee League football.

In contrast Oxford had been in the play-off positions virtually all season, but since Wilder’s departure form had slumped with the club destined to finish 8th whatever the result. They had nothing but pride to play for, but the Cobblers’ conundrum was as follows. If they lost and either Wycombe or Bristol Rovers won, they were down, so how the club decided to stage the game surprised me.

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The Long Road Back

04 Sunday May 2014

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Thursday 1st May 2014 ko 18.30

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division Two

NEWENT TOWN 4 (Bayliss 7 12 Gibbs 69 74)

LONGFORD AFC 1 (Edwards 16)

Att 31

Entry FREE

No Programme (the club issue for “Big” games)

Tea £1

Around 15 years ago, I was being given a lift to watch an Intertoto Cup game at Newtown AFC, and our driver had decided to avoid the motorways and take the scenic route, just clipping the top of the Forest of Dean. We passed a sign for Newent and he commented that the town’s club used to be in the Gloucestershire County League, but had disappeared off of his radar. I was new to groundhopping, and took a stupidly snobby attitude to the perceived quality of football on show. The simple fact was that I was in no position to judge, and when I saw this fixture on the club’s website, I felt I owed them a visit. It may have taken me far too long, but it was a good choice on my part, the football was excellent.

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Thoughts

25 Friday Apr 2014

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Monday 21st April 2014 ko 18.00

Northern League Division One

NEWTON AYCLIFFE 1 (Hedley 4)

SHILDON 1 (Wood 68p)

Att 446

Entry £6

Programme £1

Badge £3

Its felt like the end of an era as the cavalcade reached the Newton Aycliffe Sports Ground. There were a few tired legs and still more tired faces, including organiser Harvey Harris. I managed to spend a few minutes with him and thanked him for his efforts, organising one hop a year isn’t easy, 4 including this hop, a monster 4 day 11 game epic is tough, very tough. He seemed pleased to be hanging up his boots, and I don’t blame him for that, the League will organise a staggered kick-off day, not a hop, next season so that people can keep up with new teams and grounds to the league. That day will be in co-operation with the hopping diary, so I’ll look forward to seeing, once again my friends in the North.

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Obelisk

14 Monday Apr 2014

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Thursday 10th April 2014 ko 18.30

Northants Combination Division 3

NORTHAMPTON AFC OBELISK 0

KISLINGBURY 1 (Richards 79)

Att 13

80 minute game

Entry FREE

No Programme

 

If you travel to the Kingsthorpe district of Northampton you’ll find an obelisk. It’s not in brilliant condition, its 100 feet’s’ worth of sandstone in need of renovation, despite its Grade II listed status. It was placed there by order of Lord Strafford of Boughton Manor, friend of the 4th Duke of Devonshire, educated here by his tutor the Rector of Boughton, and the inscription reads as follows,

“This Obelisk was erected in the year 1764 in memory of His Grace William Cavendish
Duke of Devonshire.
There in the Rich, the Honour’d, Fam’d and Great,
See the false seat of Happiness Compleat.”

The estate that surrounds it is modern, and as a result the obelisk looks rather out-of-place with its surroundings, but it does serve one purpose; if you want to find a fourth tier Northants Combination game, just aim for the obelisk, and the Obelisk club is to be found at the end of the lane to its left. That said, as I photographed the structure several visiting players asked me whether they were heading in the right direction!

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The Brightest Star

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Saturday 29th March 2014 ko 14.00

West of Scotland Junior Cup 3rd Round

NEILSTON JUNIORS 0 Digney sent off FT (2nd booking)

SHOTTS BON ACCORD 1 (McKenna 88p)

Att 121

Entry £5

Programme £1

Scarf £5

We had a guest on this mini-tour, Sim loves his football despite being an Oxford United fan, and with this fixture being the centrepiece of the weekend I wanted it to give him a true flavour of the Junior scene in Scotland. We drove south-west from Glasgow for around 11 miles to Neilston, just south of Paisley. Like the latter town the village grew massively during the Industrial Revolution due to the textile trade and the derelict Crofton Mill still stands, the only survivor of the seven mills than stood beside the River Levern between Neilston and Dovecothall.

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