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Football: Wherever it may be

~ Laurence's football travels

Football: Wherever it may be

Category Archives: S

Gifford

21 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Football, groundhopping, Gloucestershire County League, Stoke Gifford, England, Hardwicke, Bristol, Non League, Stoke Gifford United, Stoke Gifford Stadium

Tuesday 28th February 2023 ko 19:45

Gloucestershire County League

STOKE GIFFORD UNITED 7 (McInevery 34 43 72 Weaver 38 72 90 Barry 45)

HARDWICKE 0

Att 39

Entry FREE

Programme £1

It does pay to keep an eye on the Gloucestershire County League. I tend to see it as a quasi-Step 6 league, the mandatory programme rule, and the reasonably stringent ground gradings to make for an experience unlike most at the level. It was though, an odd evening to be in Bristol.

On one hand Bristol City were at home to Manchester City that night in the FA Cup, but that only meant that the southern half of the city would be having cup fever. Stoke Gifford is in the northern suburbs, and well and truly in Bristol Rovers territory, so I expected and got studied indifference to the goings on at Ashton Gate. 

Of course there was an irony, Bristol City’s women played at Stoke Gifford Stadium prior to their move to the High Performance Centre for last season. I covered the fact that Bristol City Women used to be Bristol Rovers women in that article, and were Bristol Academy in between, and even had a men’s team too. They played at Stoke Gifford too, so I must admit when I saw Stoke Gifford had been promoted into the County League and were using South Gloucestershire & Stroud College too, I assumed they were using the same place. Well they aren’t… sort of!

The old Stoke Gifford Stadium is now 3G and laid out for American Football only, and as you work your way through the complex you’ll see the odd bit of signage for Bristol City, then the remains of turnstiles that were installed for Bristol City’s stint in the Women’s Super League. Stoke Gifford are using the pitch the other side of the changing room block and have improved their new home accordingly. If you’re the kind of person that sees this as part of the same then the complex then you’ll see my attendance as a revisit, if not, then you won’t!

Whatever your view Stoke Gifford are certainly friendly and the tea was much appreciated on a cold, dank evening. They’re also talented; there was nothing wrong with Hardwicke save for them having some key players missing, but they were taken to pieces by their hosts. I’ve not seen a beating this complete for a while. 

I don’t think this will be Stoke Gifford’s season to make the jump into the Hellenic League. They’re third, and the ground will need some sort of surrounding fence for Step 6, but I may have got slightly ahead of myself here. The fact is Stoke Gifford have a fine team, and a ground to match. 

Spiegerhalter

05 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Blind Beggar, Elephant Man, Football, George Cornell, groundhopping, John Merrick, Krays, Non League, Salvation Army, Spiegerhalter, Sporting Bengal United, Stepney Green Astro, Whitechapel, Wickhams, William Booth, Wimbledon Casuals

Tuesday 8th November 2022 ko 19:45

London Senior Trophy 1st Round

WIMBLEDON CASUALS 6 (Wren 10 Marshall 55 90 Lane 61 67 Parsons 90)

SPORTING BENGAL UNITED 0

Att c20 at Stepney Green Asto

Free Entry

Sometimes you stumble across a game that seems so far removed from your normal experience that you simply feel compelled to give it a go. For one thing having only a shade over two hours to get from Oxford to East London after work made driving out of the question and that was without thinking about Congestion charges, ULEZ charges and the like. I knew of the ground, some British Somali Champions League games get played there, but the time and location I thought would make me arriving there in time impossible, but then I had a brainwave. Continue reading →

Men of Kent

01 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by laurencereade in B, L, S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bearsted, Chris Berezai, Fisher, Football, Greenways, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Larkfield and New Hythe, Non League, Rochester United, SCEFL, Southern Counties East League, Staplehurst Monarchs, Staplehurst Monarchs United

Saturday 8th October 2022

11:00 Southern Counties East League Division One

STAPLEHURST MONARCHS 1 (Osagie 74)

ROCHESTER UNITED 0

Att 331

Entry £6

Programme £2

15:00 Southern Counties East League Premier Division

BEARSTED 2 (Freeman 18 52)

FISHER 1 (Kationa 52)

Att 229

Entry/ Parking/ Programme £8

17.45 Southern Counties East League Division One

LARKFIELD & NEW HYTHE 2 (Burdon 13 West 30)

GREENWAYS 1 (Saxton 49)

Att 243

Entry £5

Programme £1

There could be no doubt as to how important the SCEFL saw the groundhop; they did as the South Wales Alliance did and placed an official on the coach, mainly to help with directions but to troubleshoot where needed. Having Barry Fenn around was a godsend, not just for what he was mandated to do, but for the little nuggets of knowledge he imparted on the way. Continue reading →

Våra Barns Bramtid

06 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by laurencereade in G, S

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Football, Gavle, Gävle, Gefle IF, groundhopping, Non League, Stromsbro IF, Sweden, Testbovallen

Saturday 20th August 2022 ko 12:00

Sweden Gästrikland Youth League

STRÖMSBRO IF 3 (Bergland 53secs Törneld 35 Salminen 72)

GEFLE IF BLÅ 8 (5 15 25 41 51 65 68 75)

Att 25 at Testebovallens IP, Gävle

Free Entry

We’d long since planned our last full day in Sweden to be based around football. I’d thought about taking Robyn to any of the big 3 grounds in Stockholm, the Friends Arena, the Tele-2 and top of the list, the Olympic Stadium but there wasn’t a single game for us at any of them. We were happy to dip further down the Stockholm pyramid, but I knew Swedish Hop organiser Kim Hedwall was going to be in Gävle and let’s face it, you know he’d be able to sniff out an interesting game, or two as it turned out. Continue reading →

Sunday’s Revisits

23 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by laurencereade in L, S

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Belper United, Canal Street, Chris Berezai, Football, groundhop, groundhopping, GroundhopUK, Hamilton Park, League, St Andrews, United Counties League, West Bridgford

Sunday 31st July 2022

ko 12:00 United Counties League Premier Division North

LEICESTER NIRVANA 1 (Nelson 87p)

Nelson missed penalty 66

BELPER UNITED 0

Smyth penalty saved 78

Att 285

Entry £5

Programme £2

Ko 15:00 United Counties League Division One

ST ANDREWS 2 (Law 50 87)

WEST BRIDGFORD 1 (Stevens 67)

Att 290

Entry £5

Programme £1

After breakfast at the University of Nottingham we headed south to Leicester. I opted to take my car, with my wife Robyn helping Chris Berezai and Craig Dabbs it meant a quicker trip after the final game. I took quieter country roads, rather than the motorway and with crowds yesterday and crowds to come it was a treat to have a little time for reflection. Continue reading →

Lynn

05 Monday Sep 2022

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Cancer research, Football, groundhopping, Larkings Legends, Lynn Simpson, Non League, Sherborne Harriers, Sherborne Park, Witney and District League

Wednesday 27th July 2022 ko 19:00

Lynn Simpson Memorial Game/ Cancer Research Game

SHERBORNE HARRIERS 2 

LARKING’S LEGENDS 2

Att c30 at Sherborne Harriers

Metaphorically speaking if you scratch the surface of Sherborne Harriers you find Lynn Simpson. She founded the club out of the ashes of Northleach’s youth team, set them up in the grounds of Sherborne House and ran the club for 23 years. It was Lynn I spoke to when I first saw the Harriers 7 years ago and it was Lynn that added the flying pigs to the clubhouse wall when they finally got a long lease on Sherborne Park from the National Trust.

Continue reading →

Brunel

05 Monday Sep 2022

Posted by laurencereade in S

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Tags

Brunel, Cornwall, Football, groundhopping, Kimberly Stadium, Saltash United, South West Peninsula League, Truro City, Western League

Saturday 16th July 2022 ko 15:00

Pre-Season Friendly

SALTASH UNITED 2 (Miller 36p Smith 64)

TRURO CITY 3 (Harvey 3p 53 Grange 90)

Att 171

Entry £5

There are no end of reasons behind it, but Robyn and I had decided to make this summer all about catching up with people. Obviously the pandemic was the cause of a lot of our estrangment from people we hold dear, and so when we had a free Saturday we decided to visit our friends Mike and Vonnie who live in Plymouth. That came first, and the football match all followed on from that. There was though a slight catch. Continue reading →

Windmill!

25 Thursday Aug 2022

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bedfordshire County league, Football, groundhopping, Non League, Sharnbrook, Shefford Town and Campton, Spartan South Midlands League, Stevington, Village Hall, Windmill

Saturday 9th July 2022 ko 15:30

Pre-Season Friendly

SHARNBROOK 2 (Griggs 68 69)

SHEFFORD TOWN & CAMPTON 2 (63, 79)

Att 16 at Court Lane, Stevington

It is an oddity of my footballing life that Bedfordshire is a path less trodden for me. Take away the county’s clubs in pyramid football and those that got visited in the Bedfordshire Hops, and my list looks threadbare. Continue reading →

Coda

03 Wednesday Aug 2022

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Canning Town, Essex Olympian League, Fairlop, Football, groundhopping, Ilford, Ilford Wanderers, Non League, Sungate

Saturday 28th May 2022 ko 14:00

Essex Olympian League Premier Division

SUNGATE 0

CANNING TOWN 3 (Newson 82 90 Thogo 89)

Att 58 at Ilford Wanderers RUFC, Forest Road 

Free Entry

After something like 126 games it finally felt like the football season was coming to an end. It wasn’t that there wasn’t a lack of games, it was just that I wasn’t looking in the normal places any more. And the Essex Olympian League is one of those places that does seem to be a go-to league at the end of the season. Continue reading →

The Bull Washers

23 Monday May 2022

Posted by laurencereade in S

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

ASV Salzburg, Austria, Football, fussball, groundhopping, Landesliga, Non League, Salzburg, SC Leogang, Sportenlage Itzling

Saturday 9th April 2022 ko 16:00

1 Landesliga Salzburg

A.S.V. SALZBURG 4 (Takulja 45 Tabernig 72 76 Egleseder 81)

S.C. LEOGANG 2 (Gimpl 82 Lucic 89)

Att 103 at ASV Sportenlage, Itzling

Entry €6 ( c£5.06)

Teamsheet FREE

I’m aware that Robyn and I are not your normal married couple, and the first day of our honeymoon proved the point. The fact that it was delayed two years, three months is explainable, the pandemic changed more important things for more people after all, but how many couples make the first day of their honeymoon consist of a kebab for lunch, a non-league football match, and in the evening a trip to a bierkeller? We may not be a normal couple but who wants to be middle-of-the-road anyway?

Continue reading →

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