Category Archives: S

Almost

05 Tuesday Dec 2023

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Saturday 11th November 2023 ko 14:00

Shropshire County League Premier Division

ST MARTINS 1 (Smart 28og)

DAWLEY TOWN 9 (Sabar 17 Knowles 48 67 81p 88 90 Watkins 65 Smart 67 McLeod 75)

Att c40

Entry FREE

Programme £2

After being involved in 3 organised groundhops in 5 weeks, I wanted to avoid anything quite so organised for a while. If you have asked me on the way back from Billingshurst what I fancied visiting next I’d have probably said something low-key with a view. I’ll leave you, dear reader to work out whether St Martins added up to that choice!

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The Brother

29 Wednesday Nov 2023

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Saturday 28th October 2023 ko 17:45

Southern Combination Division One

SELSEY 2 (Henton 54 Morey 72)

ROFFEY 2 (Fernades 16 Joseph 20)

Fender sent off (violent conduct 50)

Att 327

Entry £6

Programme £2

The fact that it wasn’t raining between leaving Bosham and arrival at Selsey felt like a window of opportunity. We’d passed by the oddity that is Infinity at Sidlesham with many of the coach party craning to catch a glimpse of the Memorial Ground. It’s always the same whenever we pass by a ground….

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Mussel Bound

22 Wednesday Nov 2023

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Friday 27th October 2023 ko 19:45

Southern Combination Premier Division

SHOREHAM 0

Tims sent off 50 (2nd booking)

CROWBOROUGH ATHLETIC 4 (Murraine 59 Killick 62 Pearson 72 83p)

Att 223

Entry £8

Programme £2

I must admit an organised groundhop for the Southern Combination came as a surprise to me. My regular reader might remember that we’d wanted a southern-based hop for a while. That started in 2015 with my unsuccessful attempt to get the Wessex League on board but out of the ashes of that project two things happened. The first was that late Mark Edmonds contacted us at GroundhopUK to organise a hop for the Western League, and around that time I contacted the Southern Combination.

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Tell Sid

21 Tuesday Nov 2023

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Tuesday 24th October ko 19:45

Hampshire Premier League Senior Division

INFINITY 1 (Powell 15)

BISHOPS WALTHAM DYNAMOS 2 (Riddell 11 Dawson 74)

Att 34 at Sidlesham Memorial Recreation Ground

Free Entry

When GroundhopUK’s Chris Berezai phoned me to say that the Southern Combination Hop was in part, going to be based in around the Selsey Peninsula I looked at a map and wondered why I’d never got around to visiting Sidlesham FC? With the line-up we had I knew the following weekend’s event would be passing by the Memorial Ground, and I knew not having seen a game there would irk me.

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Crazy Bear

14 Tuesday Nov 2023

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Sunday 22nd October 2023 ko 10:30

Upper Thames Valley Sunday League

STADHAMPTON 0

J Davies sent off 86 (2nd booking)

FC CHILTON 3 (Barrett 13 Hickman 27 Jacks 71p)

Att 27

Free Entry

I don’t think too many hoppers would put up a Swedish groundhopper in their house for the weekend and immediately think, “I know, let’s go and watch Stadhampton FC!”

Swedish Hop organiser Joachim “Kim” Hedwall was over from Stockholm for the weekend, and like me when in his country we see it as the host’s responsibility to find a game that isn’t too obvious. The idea is if the visitor can find it from home, then it’s probably not obscure enough! I’ll leave it to you to decide whether the Upper Thames Valley League is obvious!

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Leisure

18 Monday Sep 2023

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Tuesday 12th September 2023 ko 19:45

Eastern Counties League Division One North

STANWAY PEGASUS 5 (Booth 6 Kabongu 14 Griffith 35 81 Ager 73)

CORNARD UNITED 0

Att 156

Entry & Programme £7

Roughly speaking I reckon there are three reasons why a groundhopper visits a new ground. One is simply because it’s there, another its because it’s known to be superb, and the third is you need it to complete a league. There can be little doubt the reason I was at Stanway School was the third reason….

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The City That Isn’t

22 Tuesday Aug 2023

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Sunday 30th July 2023 ko 12:00

United Counties League Division One

SOUTHWELL CITY 3 (Law 5 Peace-McDonald 42 Bowles 81)

LEICESTER ST ANDREWS 0

Att 477

Entry £5

Programme £1

As is so often the case, the whole timbre of the event changed for the Sunday games. We left suburban Nottingham and headed north to Southwell and got caught in the middle of a bicycle race, and don’t let football club’s name mislead you, Southwell’s minster refers to the Newark diocese rather than the town itself. On a groundhopping basis though, our visit was a little unusual.

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Dynamic

10 Thursday Aug 2023

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Friday 28th July 2023 ko 19:45

United Counties League Division One

SAFFRON DYNAMO 1 (Scott 68)

BIRSTALL UNITED 5 (Burton 4 16 Crossley 13 30 45)

Att 400

Entry £6

Programme £1

Such is the dynamic of the United Counties League Hop, and the expanded GroundhopUK meant that Robyn and I could do a normal Friday day at work and Chris had Craig and Paul to make up the programme packs and set up the stall outside the first gate. Next time round it’ll be Robyn and I with Chris. Many hands and all that!

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Flexibility

07 Monday Aug 2023

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Saturday 22nd July 2023 ko 14:00

Pre-season friendly

YATELEY UNITED 3 (Westell 49 57p 61)

ROMSEY TOWN 3 (Moreno 36 A Trialist 60 B Trialist 83)

Andy Samuels (manager) sent off 38 (foul & abusive)

Att 32 at Sandhurst School 3G, Greenfinch Road

Free Entry

Online Programme

It does pay to have a back-up plan. I’d woken up expecting to watch Glyncorrwg AFC, but they were kind enough to let me know their game had been lost to overnight rain, so I changed plans and headed to Wiltshire League club Ludgershall Sports. But the A34 was blocked at Abingdon; I waited an hour before being slowly shepherded off the main carriageway on to a diversion where a working knowledge of the North Berkshire League was handy.

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The Lake

05 Wednesday Jul 2023

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Saturday 3rd June 2023 ko 13:00

Ettan Norra

SOLLENTUNA FK 1 (Dejene 57)

NORDIC UNITED 2 (Shhab 51 60)

Att 116

Entry by donation

The Swedish Hop’s cost of £450 included bed and breakfast for two nights, all transport in Sweden, together with entry fees and programmes for all games.

The start of Saturday morning on the Swedish Hop was a bit of a mystery to me. We were based in a quite superlative hotel more or less adjacent to Sollentuna railway station, with a game at Sollentunavallen, no more than half a mile away at 13:00, so why was the Swedish Hop party all in reception at 9:30 and ready to go? Continue reading →