Understanding

01 Sunday Jan 2017

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Tuesday 27th December 2016 ko 11.00

Southern Combination Division One

BILLINGSHURST 3 (Hawkes 25 O’Sullivan 74 Barber 90)

MIDHURST & EASEBOURNE 0

Att 83

Entry £5

Programme £1

The nature of groundhopping can be inherently selfish, it is your own count of grounds visited after all, but just occasionally you see an opportunity where you can help. The more grounds you clock up you realise that other people will read a set of fixtures the same way. Here there were no end of opportunities to clock up 3 games in day, but when you looked at it a little closer you could see that the majority would start their day at Billingshurst. Continue reading →

The Strawberry Line

30 Friday Dec 2016

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Saturday 24th December 2016 ko 14.00

Somerset County League Premier Division

YATTON ATHLETIC 3 (Copeland 8 Morris 42p Walters 65)

MIDDLEZOY ROVERS 4 (Conway 9p Temlett 10 Wright 16 Williams 48) Turner sent off 42

Att 42

Entry FREE

No Programme

From Banwell I struck north and traced the route of the embankments of a long abandoned railway. The Cheddar Valley Line ran from Yatton to Cheddar and Wells until its closure in 1963, and became known as the “The Strawberry Line” due to the large quantities of the fruit it carried, bound for markets in London.  Continue reading →

Camp Banwell

29 Thursday Dec 2016

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Saturday 24th December 2016 ko 11.30

Somerset County League Division Two West

BANWELL 6 (Evans 2 M White 20 53 57 61 Bobruk 37)

1610 TAUNTON UNITED 1 (Barrance 6) Elsley sent off (Foul & Abusive Language) 87

Att 32

Entry FREE

No Programme

Free Coffee!!

Yes, I know it was Christmas Eve, but it was also Saturday, and there weren’t anywhere enough football matches on. There was Stokenchurch in the Hellenic but I was promised to Bristol in the morning, so my attentions turned to the Somerset County League. Continue reading →

Incentiviser

29 Thursday Dec 2016

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Tuesday 21st December 2016 ko 19.45

FA Trophy 2nd Round Replay

NORTH LEIGH 1 (Cook 89p)

SOUTH PARK 3 (Lavery 29p Quartey 62 O’Sullivan 81)

Att 157

Entry £8

Programme £1

Back in the day I used to regularly drive along the A4095 between Witney and Woodstock. With psyche like mine that added up to finding out whether each village I passed through had a football club, and where they played. It didn’t take long to pay the grounds a visit. There was Witney Town who played in the Southern League, then as you headed towards Woodstock, there were no end of grounds to visit. Continue reading →

Aqueduct

19 Monday Dec 2016

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Satursday 17th December 2016 k0 14.00

Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division One

ACREFAIR YOUTH 1 (O Evans 5)

LLANGOLLEN TOWN 6 (Williams 8 19 45 Prosser 32 83 Jay 80)

Att 32

Entry FREE

No Programme

If you’re one of those football fans that likes to turn up at the ground 30 seconds before kick-off, then the Bont playing field, on the outskirts of Froncysyllte is definitely the the ground to break that habit. The ground sits with the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct as  is it’s backdrop so it makes sense to park up in either Froncysyllte or Trevor, and walk the towpath over the bridge for a quite wonderful view of the valley and the ground.  Continue reading →

Rebuilder

12 Monday Dec 2016

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Tuesday 5th December 2016 ko 19.45

Hellenic League- Premier Division

BRACKNELL TOWN 3 (Grant 9 Bowerman 59p Maloney 90)

BINFIELD 2 (Rodrigues 49og White 63)

Att 476

Entry & Programme £5

One of the more intriguing stories in the Hellenic this season has been Bracknell Town’s new ground. Now in groundhopping terms it’s a rebuild, the pitch at Larges Lane hasn’t moved, but save for the bar area everything is new, including a jazzy new 3G pitch.  Continue reading →

Shafted

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

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Saturday 3rd December 2016 ko 14.00

Hellenic League Division One East

HEADINGTON AMATEURS 1 (L Cuff 65)

SANDHURST TOWN 2 (Bryce 24 41)

Att 16

Entry & Programme £2

This season there’s been a steady stream of clubs finding a way to return home. The likes of Hadley and Slough have got new grounds, but one return has rather sailed under the radar. Headington Amateurs have returned home, but unlike the other clubs this has been far from a happy ending.

Continue reading →

A Touch Of Frost

05 Monday Dec 2016

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Tuesday 29th November 2016 ko 19.45

Surrey Premier Cup, 2nd Round

BANSTEAD ATHLETIC 5 (Smith 43 90 Maddock 54 Hill 67 Frost 90)

OLD WILSONIANS 2 (Gravesande 12 Steadford 16)

Att 25

Entry £6

Programme £2

Just every groundhopper has been in this position, stood by the pay gate while the referee paws nervously at a hardening, frosty pitch. You know that it’s too late to head elsewhere, even my other possible fixture at Sittingbourne was to fall foul of the weather. You try and dig a heel into the turf to see if the cold ground will take that mythical stud. You fret, and thinking selfishly I really wanted to see this game, as it was one of the more interesting ties in a County Cup this season. Continue reading →

Relationships

04 Sunday Dec 2016

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Sunday 27th November 2016 ko 14.00

FA Women’s Premier League- Midlands Division 1

LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS WOMEN 1 (Colledge 68)

LONG EATON UNITED LADIES 4 (Newton 2 62 Moulton 40 Pashley 74)

Att 12 at Holywell Pitch 4, Loughborough University

Entry FREE

No Programme

For somewhere a two-hour drive from Oxford I don’t half see a lot of Loughborough University! It is of course entirely logical that a football enthusiast should see a lot of Britain’s leading university for sport, starting with the Paddock Pitch for Loughborough Students’ game with the now sadly defunct Woodbourne Sports. Then there was the more straightforward visit to the Holywell Stadium for Longborough University’s match with Heanor Town. Last time I discussed the relationship between town and university, but those games, and this visit hints at another relationship altogether. Continue reading →

Sunday Morning Coming Down

01 Thursday Dec 2016

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Sunday 27th November 2016 ko 10.30

Long Eaton Sunday League Premier Division

ATTENBOROUGH CAV’S 4 (Brady 22 Beaton 41 Ford 66 73)

LONG EATON T.N.I. 2 (17, 86p)

Att 15 at Beeston Fields Recreation Ground

Entry FREE

I completely understand why some groundhoppers won’t watch Sunday League football, it is a slightly different animal to the normal Saturday league action. The pace of life is more relaxed, you’re unlikely to see a stand or even a rail, and the variance of players’ talent is often huge across a team. But once you accept that there’s so much to enjoy. Continue reading →