Category Archives: P

Kentish Man

23 Wednesday Nov 2022

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Friday 7th October 2022 ko 19:45

Southern Counties East League- Premier Division

PUNJAB UNITED 1 (Vines 70)

STANSFELD 1 (Friend 68)

Att 347

Entry £8

Programme £2

If you drill down to the roots of every hop GroundhopUK organises they all have a conversation with a league official with either Chris Berezai or I at their genesis. Scotland is one of mine, as was the Western Hop while Chris’ include Wales, and the Northern Counties East. But the SCEFL is different, because the conversation wasn’t Chris’ or mine, it was between league chairman Andy Short and my wife Robyn! Continue reading →

Fields

31 Wednesday Aug 2022

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Tuesday 12th July 19:30

Pre-Season Friendly

RISBOROUGH RANGERS 5 (Fox 6 Hercules 54 Coles 70 Read 77 90)

HOLMER GREEN 2 (55 65)

Att c20 at Aylesbury Vale Academy 3G

Free Entry

Back in the day I used to work in Aylesbury, and was well used to the edge to town being Meadowcroft, the road you turn into from the A41 to get to Aylesbury Vale FC. Nowadays the town has expanded out at least half-a-mile to meet Aylesbury Vale Parkway, and the Aylesbury Vale Academy was built to serve the new community. It was an odd feeling driving along roads that only a few years ago were fields, and if you’ve ever driven on roads too new for your satnav you’ll know the feeling! Continue reading →

(Back on) My Old Stomping Ground

21 Thursday Jul 2022

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Saturday 21st May 2022 ko 14:30

South Wales Alliance W John Owen Cup Final 

CARDIFF CORINTHIANS 1 (Withers 90 +1)

LLANRUMNEY UNITED 1 (Rees 90+5)

No extra time, Cardiff Corinthians won on 5-4 on penalties

Att 507 at USW Treforest (Pontypridd Town FC)

Entry £4

Programme (superb) £1

Teamsheet Free

The truth of it is that all reputations are earned. The sheer numbers of groundhoppers at the South Wales Alliance’s Cup Final bore testament to that league’s efforts over many years welcoming groundhoppers, on no end of organised events over the years. As committeeman Phil Sweet put it, “We thought there might be groundhoppers, so we thought we’d do a programme.” They are a league that grasped what the hobby is all about a long time ago and have continued that knowledge throughout my time hopping. 

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The Bell

19 Thursday May 2022

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Tuesday April 5th 2022 ko 19:45

Spartan South Midlands League-Premier Division

LEIGHTON TOWN 1 (Morgan 53)

LEVERSTOCK GREEN 1 (Seale 83)

Att 304

Entry £7

Programme- Online only/ Non-downloadable

In the end I was surprised I hadn’t taken my wife Robyn here a lot earlier! Leighton Buzzard isn’t the most difficult place to get to from Oxford, and Bell Close is a ground full of character too. I did though manage to forget to get there early, the car park does fill up quickly and I did have to park rather “Creatively!” Continue reading →

Paddy

23 Wednesday Mar 2022

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Saturday 5th March 2022 ko 13:00

North West Counties League Premier Division

PADIHAM 1 (Hoskin 45p)

ASHTON ATHLETIC 5 (McDermott 16 Carr 23 53 73 Morton 49og)

Att 378

Entry £8

Programme £2

It must have been around twenty years ago that Dean, a Blackburn-based groundhopper told me I simply had to visit the Arbories. Sadly Dean was lost to the groundhopping world a few years ago, and for no sensible reason it took me until now to finally visit. My way of looking at it, is that at least now I could bring Robyn too! Continue reading →

Incognito

03 Friday Dec 2021

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Saturday 20th November 2021 ko 14:00

Gwent Premier League- Division One

P.I.L.C.S. 3 (Bown 28 34 39)

COED EVA ATHLETIC 5 (Perkins 35 55 Bloomer 72 Williams 76 88p)

Att 17

Free Entry

There was plenty going on before I even crossed the Prince of Wales Bridge. I knew I’d be based in Bristol for the weekend, with my wife Robyn watching Bristol City on the Saturday and seeing her girlie friends on Sunday morning. That gave me an opportunity or two, but we decided to have a Saturday evening family get-together at the ice hockey because the Bristol Pitbulls versus my hometown Oxford City Stars was too good an opportunity to turn down! Continue reading →

Velocity

02 Thursday Dec 2021

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Tuesday 16th November 2021 ko 19:45

Isthmian League Cup 1st Round

PHOENIX SPORTS 1 (Evans 40)

GREAT WAKERING ROVERS 3 (Jeremiah 14p Fuma 29 Gordon 87p)

Att 56

Entry £9

Programme -online

Teamsheet FREE

I’d just arrived at the Mayplace Ground, and was contemplating my first Bovril when my wife Robyn phoned. She asked where I was, and for once I swerved the opportunity to play the Smart Alec. It would have been oh-so-easy to have just said “Phoenix Sports” but chose to actually describe where I was. I said, “Barnehurst- or another way, that bit of South-East London that’s in Kent.” I hope that was sufficient an explanation! Continue reading →

Pass, Move, but Grin?

29 Thursday Apr 2021

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Saturday 24th April 2021 ko 15:00

Central Midlands League Division One South

PASS MOVE GRIN ACADEMY 1 (Adeifeh 84p)

MELBOURNE DYNAMO 0

Jones penalty saved 73

Savage sent off (Foul & Abusive) 84

Goodband sent off (Foul & Abusive) 84

Att c25 at Bulwell Hall Park, Nottingham 

With Robyn and I meeting GroundhopUK’s Chris Berezai for a lunch and a chin-wag it was close to inevitable that we’d end up at a Central Midlands League game, it does pay to be attending the game with the fixture secretary. The issue the league has for next few weeks is which of their clubs’ grounds counts as a public space? Most of the leagues I’ve watched since Lockdown#3 that simply hasn’t an issue. There was absolutely no question though of Bulwell Hall Park in Nottingham being anything other than public land. Continue reading →

The Reliable

23 Tuesday Feb 2021

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Friday 24th August 2007 ko 18.45

South Wales Amateur League Division One

AFC PORTH 3 (Evans 45 72 Snooks 64)

CAERAU 0 

Att 266

Entry £2

Programme £1

On any organised groundhop you want reliability. You want the weather to be fine, the clubs to make the best of their opportunity and at the most basic level you want the teams to turn up at the right place at the right time. But once you’ve got the basics down, you look for cooperation. In the widest sense you look that hoppers, clubs and league understand each others’ compromises but you learn to accept that almost never completely happens. So you look to those hoppers, and clubs who “Get” what you trying to achieve, and unquestionably one club that did in spades was AFC Porth.

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The Percy Point

11 Monday Jan 2021

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Saturday 24th January 2009 ko 11.00

Northern Alliance First Division

PERCY MAIN AMATEURS 2 (Betts 46 McEnaney 72)

GOSFORTH BOHEMIANS GARNETT 2 (Atkin 22 73)

Att 61

Entry £1

Programme 50p

If a small football club’s management is reading this and wants a one-off financial boost they could do worse than read this- with the one caveat being don’t try this if your club will be on an organised hop in the near future. Because even after 11 years after the event the adage still holds true- kick off at a weird time and do programme and you will attract groundhoppers. Continue reading →